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A pair of blue glazed bottle vases with gilt medallion decorations, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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A pair of blue glazed bottle vases with gilt medallion decorations, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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A pair of blue glazed bottle vases with gilt medallion decorations, Guangxu six-character marks and of the periodEstimate US$4,000 - 6,000 (€3,500 - 5,300)Photo: Bonhams.

The medallions scattered across the waisted necks and globular bodies including auspicious characters, plants, animals and emblems while shou-characters alternate with composite lotus and leaf sprays within the raised borders on the neck, the powder blue ground also applied on the interior neck and within the tall recessed base where the mark appears on two vertical rows of dark blue regular script. 15 1/4in (38.7cm) high

NotesFor similarly decorated vases from the Guangxu period, see the example sold in Bonhams, Hong Kong, sale 21940, 27 November 2014, lot 175; and the bottle vase sold in Christie's, Hong Kong, sale 3322, 28 May 2014, lot 3452 (15 3/8in, 39.2cm high). A similar vase in the Nanjing Museum was published in Gongting Zhencang: Zhongguo Qingdai Guanyao Ciqi (Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty), 2003, p. 482 (38.5cm high). A comparable example in mirror black glaze in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was published by H. A van Oort, Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th centuries, 1977, Pl. 93, p. 74.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO


A copper red glazed deep dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A copper red glazed deep dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A copper red glazed deep dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$2,000 - 3,000 (€1,800 - 2,600)Photo: Bonhams.

Its wide curving well and exterior walls covered with a dark raspberry red wash that thins along the rim to expose the white body beneath a colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad and of faint greenish tinge across the recessed base centered with the mark in underglaze blue seal script. 6 3/8in (16.1cm) diameter

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A copper red glazed dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A copper red glazed dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A copper red glazed dish, Qianlong six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$2,000 - 3,000 (€1,800 - 2,600)Photo: Bonhams.

Molded with a shallow curving well and raised on the tapered foot, the interior and exterior covered with a deep scarlet wash that thins along the rim, exposing the white clay fabric beneath a colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad but displaying a faint celadon hue across the recessed base where the mark is written in underglaze blue seal script. 6 1/2in (16.5cm) diameter

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A rare flambé red glazed fanghu, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the period

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A rare flambé red glazed fanghu, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the period

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A rare flambé red glazed fanghu, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$10,000 - 15,000 (€8,800 - 13,000)Photo: Bonhams.

Of rectangular section with indented corners to the rim and neck supporting a pair of rectangular lug handles, the body flaring outward above a tall foot and molded with raised peaches on the opposing faces, the glaze layer displaying opaque reddish-blue areas streaked with sky blue and thinning to a translucent olive green with dense craze lines, the mark incised in regular script to deeply recessed base where the glaze has fired to a dark buff color. 11 7/8in (30cm) high

NotesCompare the flambé glazed fanghu of slightly larger size (30.5cm, 12in high), with a similar incised six-character mark sold in Sotheby's, London sale, 12 May 2010, lot 142. See also a similarly incised six-character Xianfeng mark on the teadust-glazed bottle vase sold in Christie's New York, sale 2463, 15 September 2011, lot 1594 (13 1/4in, 33.6cm high). 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A fine copper red-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A fine copper red-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period

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A fine copper red-glazed stem bowl, Qianlong six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$20,000 - 30,000 (€18,000 - 26,000)Photo: Bonhams.

Molded with a flared rim to the wide, curving well and raised on a tall conical foot, the dark copper red wash on the interior and exterior walls stopping along both sides of the rim where the white fabric is visible beneath the colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad, the glaze of more pronounced greenish-white hue on the interior foot where the mark is written in a single line of seal script. 5 7/8in (15cm) diameter; 4 5/8in (11.7cm) high

NotesThe stem cup with copper red glaze made its first appearance during the Yuan Period. For examples from the Yuan and early Ming preserved in the Palace Museum, see Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji 37: Yanse You (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 37: Monochrome Porcelain), 1999, no. 2 (Yuan), p. 3 and no. 4 (Yongle), p. 5. Copies for imperial use during the Qing period are known from the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, but seldom appear at auction. A cup of the similar size, also Qianlong mark and of the period, sold in Christie's, South Kensington sale 8833, 17 May 2013, lot 1333 (4 1/2in, 11.5cm high). See also the Qianlong copper-red stem cup of similar diameter to this lot (15.2cm) offered in the Marchant, London, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Tang to Qing, 6-30 May 2014, no. 58; from the collection of Mr. Y.C. Chen.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A cobalt glazed deep dish, Daoguang six-character mark and of the period

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A cobalt glazed deep dish, Daoguang six-character mark and of the period

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A cobalt glazed deep dish, Daoguang six-character mark and of the period. Estimate US$1,500 - 2,500 (€1,300 - 2,200)Photo: Bonhams.

Its wide curving well and exterior walls covered with a uniform dark blue wash that thins along the rim to expose the white body beneath a colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad and of faint greenish tinge across the recessed base centered with the mark in underglaze blue seal script. 6 3/8in (16.2cm) diameter

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A flambé red glazed fanghu, Guangxu six-character mark and of the period

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A flambé red glazed fanghu, Guangxu six-character mark and of the period

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A flambé red glazed fanghu, Guangxu six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$5,000 - 7,000 (€4,400 - 6,200)Photo: Bonhams.

Of rectangular section with indented corners to the rim and neck supporting a pair of rectangular lug handles, the body flaring outward above a tall foot and molded with raised peaches on the opposing faces, the scarlet glaze layer streaked with lines of dark blue down the four corners of the body and the faces of the handles, stopping along the unglazed foot and deeply recessed base where the mark is impressed in regular script. 11 3/4in (30cm) high

Provenancegiven to the current owner's father, a captain in the navy during World War II

NotesA flambé red glazed vase, of similar size (12in, 30.5cm high), also with an impressed Guangxu six-character mark and of the period, sold in Christie's, London, sale 5889, 6 November 2012, lot 209. For a vase in the Imperial collections, also with an impressed Guangxu six-character mark, but shorter in size (25.8cm high), see Zhongguo Meishu Fenlei Quanji: Zhongguo Taoci Quanji (Complete Series on Chinese Fine Art Categories: Chinese Ceramics Series): vol. 15, Qing, part 2, 2000, pl. 218 and p. 305.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

Hemmerle at Masterpiece London 2015

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Hemmerle at Masterpiece London 2015

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Hemmerle bangle, diamonds, ebony, silver, white gold. Image courtesy of Hemmerle.

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Hemmerle earrings, diamonds, blackened silver, white gold. Image courtesy of Hemmerle

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Hemmerle earrings, diamonds, septarian discs, silver, white gold. Image courtesy of Hemmerle.

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Hemmerle earrings, aquamarines, silver, white gold. Image courtesy of Hemmerle.

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Hemmerle, earrings, tourmalines, garnets, silver, white gold. Image courtesy of Hemmerle.

Hemmerle - Stand Number B33. Masterpiece London from June 25 to July 1, 2015,.

To book an appointment email info@hemmerle.com or call +49 89 24 22 600www.hemmerle.com


A famille rose and gilt enameled Eight Immortals dish, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the period

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A famille rose and gilt enameled Eight Immortals dish, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the period

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A famille rose and gilt enameled Eight Immortals dish, Xianfeng six-character mark and of the periodEstimate US$ 8,000 - 12,000 (€7,100 - 11,000). Photo: Bonhams.

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Displaying crossed vajras within a lotus flower roundel and a band of shou-characters separating the Eight Buddhist Treasures below the rim, the exterior walls encircled by the Eight Immortals set against bodhi leaves in various colors amid jeweled pendants, animal heads, rocks and waves, the mark on the recessed base written in iron red regular script. 6 1/4in (15.9cm) diameter

NotesFor a bowl in the Qing Court collection, of the same pattern and same mark written in regular script, see Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji 39: Falangcai Fencai (The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 39: Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration), no. 225, p. 254 (17.5cm diameter). A bowl of the same pattern, but displaying a Xianfeng reign mark written in iron red seal script, was sold in Bonhams, London, Sale 18981, 10 November 2011, lot 262.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

Two similar yellow ground famille rose medallion bowls, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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Two similar yellow ground famille rose medallion bowls, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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Two similar yellow ground famille rose medallion bowls, Guangxu six-character marks and of the periodEstimate US$ 8,000 - 12,000 (€7,100 - 11,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Each painted in black outline and pale famille rose enamels with fruiting and flowering gourd vines across with deep curving well below a leiwen band at the rim, both patterns repeated on the exterior walls against a lemon yellow ground separating four roundels, each filled with a lantern, ribboned scepter and a vase with five stalks of grain, the decoration differing mostly in the tiny bosses painted to the lantern bases on one bowl but missing on the second, the mark on the recessed base of each bowl painted iron red regular script. 5 1/4in (13.5cm) diameter

Notes: The roundel illustrates the rebus wugu fengdeng (may there be a bumper harvest of grain): the five grains (wugu) appearing in the vase and the lantern (denglong in Chinese) a pun on bumper harvest (fengdeng). See Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, 2006, 8.16.1, p. 241.

A deep bowl of the same shape, decoration and size, also as Guangxu mark and of the period, was sold in Christie's, Hong Kong, sale 2915, lot 4263 (5 3/8in, 13.5cm diameter). See also the smaller shallow bowl with the same decoration and reign mark in the collection of the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Gongting Zhencang: Zhongguo Qing dai Guanyao Ciqi (Treasures in the Royalty: The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty), 2003, p. 469 (12.4cm diameter). 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

Two iron red 'dragon' wine cups, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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Two iron red 'dragon' wine cups, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

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Two iron red 'dragon' wine cups, Guangxu six-character marks and of the periodEstimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,700 - 4,500). Photo: Bonhams.

Each of inverted bell form but slightly different size to the rim and foot, the exterior painted with two striding dragons, one in profile and the other with its head turned backwards as they pursue flaming peals above a band of breaking waves, the reign mark written in underglaze blue standard script to the center of each recessed base. 2 3/16 and 2 1/4in (5.9 and 5.8cm) diameter

NotesFor a pair of 'dragon' cups of similar diameter, also with underglaze blue Guangxu six-character marks and of the period, see Bonhams, London, sale 17859, 11 November 2010, lot 261 (5.8cm diameter); and S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Qing Mark and Period Monochromes and Enamelled Wares, 1981, no.45 (5.8cm diameter). See also the pair of 'dragon cups' with iron red six-character Guangxu marks sold in Bonhams, Hong Kong, sale 21940, 27 November 2014, lot 191 (6cm diameter).

A pair of iron-red 'dragon' wine cups Guangxu six-character marks and of the period

A pair of iron-red 'dragon' wine cups Guangxu six-character marks and of the period. Sold for £3,600 (€5,069) at Bonhams London, 6 Nov 2008. Photo: Bonhams.

Bonhams London, 14 May 2012

A pair of iron-red 'two-dragon' wine cups Daoguang seal marks. Sold for £8,750 (€12,322) at Bonhams London, 14 May 2012. Photo: Bonhams.

Bonhams London, 15 May 2014

A pair of iron-red 'dragon' wine cups, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period. Sold for £4,000 (€5,633) at Bonhams London, 15 May 2014. Photo: Bonhams.

Bonhams Hong Kong, 27 Nov 2014

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A pair of iron-red 'dragon' wine cups, Guangxu six-character marks and of the period. Sold for HK$ 87,500 (€10,073)) at Bonhams Hong Kong, 27 Nov 2014. Photo: Bonhams.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A large polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' vase, Late Qing-Republic period

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A large polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' vase, Late Qing-Republic period

A large polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' vase, Late Qing-Republic periodEstimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Of hu form with a body of pear shape raised on a tall foot, the applied deer-head handles enameled in black and iron red while herds of tiny deer feed amid towering pines and peach trees filling the rocky landscape rendered in a richly hued 'blue and green' style, a colorless glaze covering all surfaces except the foot pad on the recessed base. 17 3/8in (44cm) high

Note: Similar item:

Bonhams San Francisco, 15 Nov 2011

A large polychrome enameled porcelain 'One hundred Deer' vase Qianlong mark, Late Qing-Republic period. Sold for US$ 27,500 (€24,544) at Bonhams San Francisco, 15 Nov 2011Photo: Bonhams.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A pair of polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' Vases, Late Qing dynasty

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A pair of polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' Vases, Late Qing dynasty

A pair of polychrome enameled 'Hundred Deer' Vases, Late Qing dynastyEstimate US$ 20,000 - 30,000 (€18,000 - 27,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Each of thickly molded pear form with iron red and gilt-painted loop handles, the body painted in inky black outline and richly hued enamels with opaque white enamel highlights to form mirror images of deer grazing amid towering mountain peaks and forests against a clear glaze covering all surfaces except the pad to the tall foot. 17 7/8in (45.5cm) high

Provenance: Bonhams, Los Angeles, sale 13037, 19 September 2004, lot 8531

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A fine jadeite carving of a beauty, Late Qing-Republic period

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A fine jadeite carving of a beauty, Late Qing-Republic period

A fine jadeite carving of a beauty, Late Qing-Republic periodSold for US$ 68,750 (€61,362). Photo: Bonhams.

he large stone of mottled green and white streaked with brighter apple-green inclusions, exquisitely carved as a refined lady with a hair tied in a high chignon and long, flowing robes tied with a tasseled ribbon, holding aloft a flower vase incised with a lotus, the elegant figure standing beside Lake Tai rock-work issuing peony buds and blossoms and lingzhi fungus heads and sheltering beside a tall plantain with luxuriantly spreading fronds; mounted on a wire-inlaid wood stand. 13 1/2in (34.3cm) high

Provenance: acquired in 1966 as per acquisition number 1966.2286.3

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A massive coral figure of an Immortal, Late 19th-Early 20th century

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A massive coral figure of an Immortal, Late 19th-Early 20th century

A massive coral figure of an Immortal, Late 19th-Early 20th century.  Sold for US$ 35,000 (€31,238). Photo: Bonhams.

Depicting He Xiangu holding a basket of flowers and a lingzhi branch while standing on a rocky promontory, the willowy maiden flanked by a pine bough at left, two stately deer at her right and two cranes biting lingzhi branches below, one stag carrying a branch of ripe peaches in his mouth as he steps on a pine bough bridge, set into a hardwood base carved in high relief with a network of bamboo, pine and lingzhi. 17 1/2in (44.5cm) high; 13in (33cm) long

Provenance: acquired in 1966 as per acquisition number 1966.342  

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO


An inscribed gilt bronze seated figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Kangxi period, dated to 1680

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An inscribed gilt bronze seated figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Kangxi period, dated to 1680Sold for US$ 185,000 (€165,119). Photo: Bonhams.

Cast with his two principal hands in namaskaramudra, the raised left hand holding the remains of a lotus stalk and the right hand a single drilled jewel as he sits dhyanasana on a double lotus plinth trimmed with pearl bands and fronted by the lower edges of his shoulder scarf, his slender body draped in princely jewelry, his head encircled by a five-peaked crown and a seated Buddha fronting his tall chignon; the front top edge of the base inscribed Namo Guanshiyin Pusa and the back inscribed Da Qing Kangxi gengshen nian zheng yue chu shi ri cheng (completed on the first ten days of the first month of the gengshen year [1680] during the Kangxi reign of the Great Qing); the base unsealed, but showing the remains of red lacquer and chisel marks along the foot pad. 7 7/8in (19.5cm) high

Property formerly in the Collection of Erich A. Heinrichs, Chicago, IL 

Notes: Dated bronze images from the Kangxi reign appear to be rare: for another gilt bronze figure of Shadakshari dated 14th year of Kangxi (1675), see Christie's, New York, sale 1115, 19 September 2002, lot 175 (7in, 17.7cm high). See also the gilt bronze Guanyin on lotus-topped plinth dated cyclically to 1698 in Sotheby's London, sale 16 May 2012, lot 234 (7 7/8in, 20cm high).

Dr. Erich A. Heinrichs was a PhD. Chemist with his degree from the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. After graduation in the early 1930s, he took a position with the Fuji Film Company in Japan and relocated to Asia. Accompanied by his wife, Tamara, they enjoyed Asian culture and became fluent in the language. It was during this time that Dr. Heinrichs likely acquired the Shadakshari Lokeshvara (lot 7088). The couple also took interest in Noh theater, and netsuke collecting became a major interest as well as ikebana, the study of Japanese flower arranging. The couple was forced to stay in Japan by the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1951 they emigrated to the United States, bringing the collection with them. Erich went on to enjoy a long career with the HB Fuller Co., greatly enjoying the items which he collected during his time in Asia until his passing at the age of 95 in 1999.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A parcel gilt and enameled archer's ring, Qianlong period

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A parcel gilt and enameled archer's ring, Qianlong period

A parcel gilt and enameled archer's ring, Qianlong period. Sold for US$ 23,750 (€21,197). Photo: Bonhams.

The exterior finely executed in an openwork archaic bronze style band of split-tailed zoomorphs, each body composed of interlocking geometric spirals enclosed by narrow bands of kui-dragons on a green enameled border. 1 1/4in (3.2cm) high

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

A rare orange glass brush washer imitating realgar, 18th century

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A rare orange glass brush washer imitating realgar

A rare orange glass brush washer imitating realgar, 18th centurySold for US$ 5,000 (€4,462). Photo: Bonhams.

Of compressed globular shape tapering inward toward the wide foot and shallow recessed base, the swirling changes in color from pale yellow-orange across the base to dark orange on the interior achieved by the merging of red and yellow glass that formed the matrix. 5 1/8in (13cm) diameter

Property from the Collection of William Lillyman.

NotesFor a vase of similar striated orange and red color imitating realgar, incised with a Qianlong mark and of the period, see Claudia Brown and Donald Rabiner, The Robert H. Clague Collection: Chinese Glass of the Qing Dynasty, 1987, no. 40, pp. 40-41.

See also the imitation realgar glass brush washer of similar shape to this lot, where the yellow glass predominates in the color mix, also 18th century and originally from the Lillyman collection, sold in Bonhams, Hong Kong, sale 20960, lot 367 (13.8cm diameter). A second yellow glass brush washer of compressed globular shape similar to this lot, from the Alan E. Feen collection and also 18th century, was sold in Bonhams, Hong Kong, sale 18592, 24 November 2010, lot 205 (12.7cm diameter).

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

Paul Cézanne masterpiece may leave United Kingdom unless a buyer can be found

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Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906) Vue sur L’Estaque et le Château d’If

Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906), Vue sur L’Estaque et le Château d’If. Oil on canvas, 73 x 59.7cm. Unsigned. Painted circa 1883 - 1885.

LONDON.- An important Cézanne painting that has been on long-term loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge for almost 30 years is at risk of being exported unless a UK buyer can be found to match the £13,522,500 asking price. 

In order to provide a last chance to keep it in the UK, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has placed a temporary export bar on the painting, Vue sur L’Estaque et le Château d’If (View of L’Estaque and the Château d’If) 

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: "For almost 30 years this quietly beautiful painting has adorned the walls of the Fitzwilliam Museum where it has been enjoyed by countless visitors. I hope that the temporary export bar I have put in place will result in a UK buyer coming forward and that the painting will soon be back on the walls of one of our great public collections". 

This painting is a vibrant treatment of one of Cézanne’s favourite subjects, the Bay of L’Estaque on the Mediterranean at Marseilles, and is the only example of a view of L’Estaque executed in vertical format. Cézanne painted at L’Estaque from the 1870s and the landscapes he executed in the early ’80s from high vantage points overlooking the bay are among his calmest and most magisterial evocations of the Mediterranean. Whilst there are 35 paintings by Cézanne in British museums and galleries, there are no paintings of the Bay of L’Estaque among them, and consequently a vital aspect of Cézanne’s achievement is missing from our great public collections. 

The painting was acquired in 1936 by Samuel Courtauld (1876-1947) and descended in his family until its sale in February of this year. During his lifetime, Courtauld assembled the greatest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art formed in this country and was instrumental in bringing these movements to the wider attention of the British public. Vue sur L’Estaque et le Château d’If was the last of twelve Cézanne canvases Courtauld acquired and has subsequently become well-known to the British public during the twenty­ nine years (1985 to 2014) it hung on long-term loan at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey took the decision to defer granting an export licence for the painting following a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by Arts Council England. The RCEWA made their recommendation on the grounds that it is of outstanding aesthetic importance, it has a close association with our history and national life, and it is significant for the study of Cézanne’s painting, in particular his work of the 1880s. 

RCEWA Member Aidan Weston-Lewis said: "Cézanne was a painter whose art was forged out of prolonged meditation on familiar motifs. Like Mont Sainte-Victoire, the village of L’Estaque and the Bay of Marseilles beyond was a view he returned to repeatedly during the 1870s and 1880s, and it inspired some of his most ground-breaking pictures of these decades. This is a rare opportunity to fill a significant gap in the UK’s otherwise impressive holdings of Cézanne’s work". 

The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred for a period ending on 21 December 2015 inclusive. This period may be extended until 21 June 2016 inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase the painting is made at the recommended price of £13,522,500 (plus VAT which could be reclaimed by an eligible institution).

An unusual high karat gold 'dragon' snuff bottle, Qianlong mark

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An unusual high karat gold 'dragon' snuff bottle

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An unusual high karat gold 'dragon' snuff bottle, Qianlong mark.  Sold for US$ 185,000 (€165,119). Photo: Bonhams.

The oval bottle finely cast with an energetic five-clawed dragon encircling the side walls striding through dense, layered cloud scrolls pursuing a flaming pearl, all against a stippled ground, the underside designed with scrolling waves, the matching cap sided with swastika symbols on blue enamel, and topped with another dragon and a pearl, hinged to the shoulder and open to reveal a leiwen-decorated neck incised with the six-character mark, the stopper surmounted with a red bead amongst clouds, extending a handle carefully rendered as a scaly dragon leg with its claw holding the spoon. 2 1/8in (5.4cm) high

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 23 Jun 2015 10:00 PDT - SAN FRANCISCO

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