Platinum, Diamond, Onyx and Emerald Bracelet, Lacloche Frères, France, circa 1925. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

Of floral design, set with numerous rose, single and old European-cut diamonds weighing approximately 4.30 carats, the flowering vines set with calibré-cut cabochon onyx segments, spaced by stylized shou characters, symbolizing longevity, set with calibré-cut emeralds, the reverse decorated with floral engravings, length 6½ inches, signed Lacloche Frères, indistinctly numbered, with French workshop and assay marks; circa 1925.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels, New York, 24 Sep 2015

Platinum, Colombian Emerald and Diamond Ring, circa 1925, Tiffany & Co. Estimate 150,000 — 250,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

Centering an oval-shaped cabochon emerald measuring approximately 19.2 by 12.6 by 7.7 mm, flanked by trapeze-cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.60 carats, further set with square-cut diamonds weighing approximately .25 carat, size 6½, signed Tiffany & Co.; circa 1925. With signed box.

Accompanied by AGL report no. CS 60816 stating that the emerald is of Colombian origin, clarity enhancement: minor, type: traditional.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels, New York, 24 Sep 2015

A large Longquan celadon vase, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 12th-14th century. Estimate 40,000 – $60,000 USD. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The vase is sprig molded and applied with meandering stems bearing peony blossoms between a band of carved upright leaves on the lower body and three foliate sprays on the neck, and is covered overall with a thick glaze of sea-green tone. 20 ¾ in. (52.8 cm.) high

Notes: A similar Longquan celadon molded vase, also with reduced, metal-bound rim, but of smaller size (27.6 cm.), was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2221. See, also, two Longquan celadon vases with similar molded decoration and with reduced, metal-bound rims, illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Cereamics in the Topkapay Saray Museum, vol. I, London, 1986, pp. 288-9, nos. 205 (TKS 15/213 and TKS 15/9755).

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A small Longquan celadon pear-shaped vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate 15,000 – $18,000 USD. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The vase is finely potted and covered allover, and inside the foot, with an even glaze of sea-green color that thins on the edges of the dished rim. 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Notes: Two similar Longquan celadon vases of similar size are illustrated by B. Gyllensvärd in Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, p. 50, nos. 96 and 97. See, also, the similar vase of slightly larger size (6 3/8 in.) sold at Christie's New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2104.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A Longquan celadon 'Dragon' jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate 150,000 – $200,000 USD. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The body is carved with upright petals below a scrolling band on the rounded shoulder which is applied with a dragon and a bird that encircle the neck below the rim. The cover is surmounted by a bird-form finial. Both are covered with an unctuous glaze of soft sea-green color that thins on the raised areas, and also covers the inside of the foot. 10 ½ in. (26.7 cm.) high, box

Provenance: T. T. Tsui Collection, Hong Kong.
Sotheby's London, 19 June 2002, lot 36.

Literature: The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 45.

Notes: Covered dragon jars were popular during the Southern Song period and have been excavated from Song tombs in southern China. The conventional wisdom holds that such jars were made in pairs, one with a dragon coiled around the shoulder and known as a panlong ping, or 'coiled-dragon jar', and the other with a tiger around the shoulder and known as a panhu ping, or 'coiled-tiger jar'. Likely filled with grains, other foods, or aromatic oils, their contents offered sustenance to the spirit of the deceased and eased its passage to the next life.

The dragon-and-tiger imagery reflects Daoist directional symbolism, in which a green dragon represents the east, a red phoenix the south, a white tiger the west, and a black intertwined snake and tortoise the north. According to the principles of fengshui, or Chinese geomancy, tombs traditionally were constructed with their entrances facing south, their backs to the north. With north and south thus clearly indicated by the tomb’s architectural orientation, the east and west walls were symbolically designated by the appropriate placement of the dragon-emblazoned and tiger-embellished jars. Imbued with less elevated symbolism, the cover’s finial typically represents a bird in flight, as on the present example, or a recumbent dog or tiger. 

Suzanne G. Valenstein’s characterization of Southern Song Longquan celadon ware and the related jar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (34.113.4) perfectly summarizes this handsome example: “Decoration on Southern Song Longquan wares is always underplayed: perhaps a few lotus petals carved on the outside of a bowl or dish or, at most a plastic decorative element that is totally appropriate to the piece. This is exemplified here by the beautifully articulated dragon that winds around the shoulder of the jar.” (Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989, text on p. 100, dragon jar illustrated on p. 105, no. 99.)

A very similar jar, formerly in the collection of Lord Cunliffe, is published in J.J. Lally & Co., Chinese Ceramics A.D. 400–1400: Selections from an American Collection, March 19 - 31, 2007, New York, 2007, no. 19. A pair of jars in the Percival David Foundation Collection, now displayed in the British Museum, is published by Margaret Medley inIllustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares, London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1977, pl. IV, no. 36. An example excavated at Longquan and now in the Wenzhou Museum is published in Zhu Boqian, ed., Longquan Yao Qing Ci / Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pl. 105. Another similar jar in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, (B62P147.a-.b) is illustrated in He Li, Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, New York, 1996, no. 281. A slightly smaller example is pictured in Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1988, no. 509. The somewhat simpler dragon jar in the Eli Lilly Collection and now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art (47.141) is published in Yutaka Mino and James Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art,Indianapolis, 1983, pl. 78.

Robert D. Mowry,
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and Senior Consultant, Christie’s

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A Longquan celadon  'Twin fish' dish, Late Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century. Estimate 50,000 – $80,000 USD. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The rounded sides that rise from the tapering foot to the everted rim are carved on the exterior with a band of upright petals, and the center of the interior is relief-decorated with two small fish, all under a glaze of sea-green color that also covers the interior of the foot. 8 ¾ in. (22.2 cm.) diam.

Provenance: John Sparks Ltd., London, November 1950. 
Collection of Lord Cunliffe. The Rt. Hon. Rolf, 2nd Baron Cunliffe of Headley (1899-1963).
The Cunliffe Collection; Bonham's London, 11 November 2002, lot 61.

Notes: The decorative scheme on this handsome dish claims a variety of meanings. At its most basic, it can be read simply as two fish swimming in the bluish-green waters of the small pond suggested by the dish’s circular form and aquatic color. But Chinese are fond of plays on words, particularly of puns based on homonyms, or words that are pronounced identically but have different meanings. Many Chinese designs thus lend themselves to presentation as rebuses, or visual puns. Pronounced yú in Mandarin Chinese, the word for “fish” is a homonym for “surplus” and, by extension, “abundance”. Thus, as a visual pun, the fish can be interpreted as a wish to the viewer for abundance in all things. Moreover, because there are two fish, Chinese viewers would interpret the design as shuangyú, which means “double fish” and, by extension, is an auspicious wish to the viewer for double abundance or great good fortune. Additionally, the double-fish motif stands as a symbol of marital harmony. See, Stacey Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2001, p. 19.

The popularity of fish in Chinese art stems from a well-known passage in chapter 17 of the Daoist text Zhuangzi which recounts that when the philosopher Zhuangzi (c. 4th century BC) and his friend Huizi were strolling on a bridge above the Hao River, Zhuangzi exclaimed over the “happiness of the fishes”. Huizi questioned how Zhuangzi could know that the fish were happy. The argument that follows is resolved by Zhuangzi's final retort, “Let’s go back to the beginning: you asked whence I knew of the fishes’ happiness, thus already knowing that I knew. I know it just by being here above the Hao.” (Wendy Swartz, Robert Ford Campany, Yang Lu, and Jessey J.C. Choo, eds., Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook, New York, 2014, p. 242, note 13.) This favorable mention in a revered classical text assured fish of a place in the repertoire of Chinese art motifs. 

It likely was a silver vessel from the Tang dynasty that inspired this and similar Longquan celadon dishes. Although used for inlays and for the occasional vessel or article of personal adornment since ancient times, silver and gold gained widespread popularity in China only in the Tang dynasty, beginning in the seventh century. Vessels in those precious metals influenced the shapes of Xing ware, the most famous of the early porcelains, and also of Tang-dynasty sancai,or 'three-color', ware. Obviously imitating the shape of a Tang silver dish, the famous sancai footed dish in the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at The Asia Society, New York (1979.128), has the same broad flat floor, rounded cavetto, wide everted lip with thickened edge, and angular transition from cavetto to lip as the well-known Tang silver dish in the San Diego Museum of Art. Such broad-rimmed silver dishes most probably count among the ancestors of the present celadon dish.

A virtually identical dish with twin-fish motif from the Sakamoto Goro Collection sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2014, lot 2. The related but slightly smaller dish in the Metropolitan Museum (Oriental Ceramics: The World’s Great Collections, vol. 11: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 51, no. 34.113.8) lacks the rising-lotus-petal décor that enlivens the exteriors of the present dish and that from the Sakamoto Collection. An example from the Riesco collection sold twice at Sotheby’s, London, once in 1984 and again in 1986, and then at Christie’s New York, on 19 September 2007, lot 260. Another Song example is published in Longquan Qingci (Longquan Celadon), Beijing, 1966, pl. 32. Yet another, from the Sir Percival David Collection and now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in S. Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 11.

Robert D. Mowry,
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and Senior Consultant, Christie’s

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A Longquan celadon tripod censer, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Estimate 100,000 – $150,000 USD. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The compressed body is raised on three slightly splayed, conical supports and surmounted by a cylindrical neck rising to the flat, everted rim, with three narrow flanges beginning at a slight ridge on the shoulder and trailing down each leg. The censer is covered overall with a soft green glaze of even tone ending at the bottom of the legs to expose the pale grey ware. 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm.) diam. box

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 21-22 May 1985, lot 76.
Simon Kwan Collection, Hong Kong.
Sotheby's London, 12 November 2003, lot 90. 

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, 1994, cat. no. 56.

Notes: Influenced by the antiquarian taste of the day, this superb Southern Song tripod censer from the Longquan kilns assumes the form of a Shang- or Zhou-dynasty liding cauldron, a bronze vessel that in antiquity was used to boil millet for use in ceremonies honoring the spirits of deceased ancestors. In both early bronzes and later ceramics, the tri-lobed bodies of such liding-form vessels resolve themselves in a circular neck and lip, as seen in this fine censer. Most Bronze Age li and liding cauldrons are embellished with integrally cast taotie masks and other designs, just as most of them sport a pair of loop handles that rises vertically from the rim; by contrast, the related Longquan censers lack both handles and ornamentation, relying for aesthetic appeal on their crisply defined forms and exquisitely hued glazes. This censer’s short, cylindrical neck and everted lip, set at a slight angle, complement its organic, curvilinear body and short, conical legs. The slight ridge that distinguishes neck from shoulder and the vertical ribs that embellish the legs further articulate the form and subtly enliven its surfaces. (The ridge at top of the shoulder probably was molded, but the ribs on the legs likely were trailed in slip before application of the glaze slurry.) Appearing white because the classic bluish-green glaze thins in those areas, the low-relief ribs were perhaps inspired by the flanges that typically appear on the legs of archaic li and liding cauldrons. For a Bronze Age prototype of this Longquan censer, albeit an example with handles, see the 10th-century BC Liding of Duke Xi of the State of Lu, now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (47.230). For a 9th-to-8th century BC example with strongly everted lip and without handles, see the lifood vessel from the J.T. Tai Collection that sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 22 March 2011, lot 31.

Standard Southern Song Longquan wares typically feature thick, semi-opaque glazes of cool, bluish-green hue over dove-grey stoneware bodies. The jade-like glaze’s semi-opacity results from the presence of numerous tiny bubbles and particle inclusions. Because such glazes would obscure underglaze decoration, most Longquan celadons are unornamented; in addition, classic Longquan ware lacks craquelure. This censer’s glaze exemplifies the finest color associated with Longquan ware, a shade of bluish green best-known as kinuta, the name Japanese collectors conferred on it centuries ago. Such exquisitely colored glazes typically appear on vases with cylindrical body, steeply canted shoulder, long tubular neck, and wide everted lip; because that shape recalls a kinuta (Chinese, zhen)—a type of mallet used in dyeing cloth—this perfect color has come to be known as kinuta, or “mallet [-bottle] colored”. For an example of a “mallet vase” with kinuta glaze, see the example from the Xiling Collection now on loan to the Harvard Art Museums (38.2007).

A closely related but slightly larger Longquan censer is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums (1997.122). Another related example was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 March 2009, lot 706.

Robert D. Mowry,
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus, Harvard Art Museums, and Senior Consultant, Christie’s

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 17 - 18 September 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A yellow-ground green-enamelled 'Dragon' bowl, China, underglaze blue Guangxu six-character mark and period. Estimate 2000/3000 €. Lot sold 2.200 €. Photo Nagel

The deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to a flared rim, painted to the exterior with two pacing dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls, all below a foliate scroll and above ruyi heads, the interior with a shou character medallion, all reserved on an egg-yolk yellow ground, the base with a six-character reign mark - Very minor wear

Nagel. Asian Art - 2015/06/05-06

A pair of yellow-ground green-enamelled 'Dragon' saucer dishes, China, Guangxu six character marks and period. Estimate 3000/5000 €. Lot sold 3.600 €. Photo Nagel

Each with shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to a lobed rim, the interior incised and enamelled in green with a central medallion enclosing a frontal dragon coiling around a flaming pearl amidst floral sprays, all encircled by two dragons pacing amongst floral sprays in pursuit of flaming pearls, the exterior similarly decorated, all reserved on an egg-yolk yellow ground, the base with six-character reign mark in aubergine enamels - Good condition

Property from a Dutch private collection

Nagel. Asian Art - 2015/06/05-06

Evening Coat, House of Chanel, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, 1927. 

Silk jacquard patterned with black and green graduation and gold chrysanthemum motif; matching tie-collar; two panels at back; wadded sleeve hems.

The chrysanthemum had often appeared as a fashionable motif sine the latter half of the nineteenth century. The textile with woven chrysanthemums in Japanese makie-like (gold lacquer) style represents the taste of Art Deco. The soft wadded cuffs are similar to the kimono’s fuki (wadded hem) in style.  

Images and text taken from the book:
Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, Kyoto Costume Institute, pgs 448-449.

Coat, House of Chanel, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, 1927. 

The convergence of Art Deco line, the modernist impulse to facilitate pure form, and Japonisme’s potential to offer a vocabulary of untailored wrapping shapes was more than fortuitous. Chanel uses a French ombré textile with pattern sources from the Japanese kimono but brings to it the ethos of chaste minimalism. As Western fashion designers discovered from the East that untailored lengths of fabric could constitute modern dress, the cylinder and the textile plane became the new forms for apparel.

Evening Cape, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, House of Chanel, 1927. 

This evening cape is constructed of two 45-inch-wide lengths of silk crepe sewn together vertically and then ingeniously gathered and knotted to form a cape. The color of the silk crepe changes from black to cream, with metallic brocade covering the transition area. The influence of Japanese art is evident in the construction and drape of the cape and the use of the chrysanthemum motif. Chanel combined Art Deco aesthetics along with East Asian forms and techniques to create a critically modernistic look.

(Source: collection.imamuseum.org)

An ivory vanity case, by an unknown Japanese craftsman, circa 1915© 2015 LIANG YI MUSEUM

A handbag made of turtleshell, Bulgari, circa 1950s© 2015 LIANG YI MUSEUM

A gold mesh bag with coral clasps, Cartier, circa 1910© 2015 LIANG YI MUSEUM

A peek inside a beautifully intricate nécessaire, Wolfers, 1950s© 2015 LIANG YI MUSEUM

Zhao Na, Wedding banquet, 70x120cm, 2015

1983 Born in Liaoning province, China 
2002 Graduated from Beijing College of Art and Design, Beijing, China 
2006 BA, The Mural Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
2010 MA, The Mural Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
Lives and works in Beijing, China

Jan van den Hecke The Elder (Kwaremont 1619/20 – 1684 Antwerp), A bouquet of flowers in a glass vase. Estimated Price: CHF18,000 - CHF22,000. Photo Koller Auctions

Oil on copper. 37.5 x 27.5 cm.

Old Master Paintings by Koller Auctions, September 18, 2015, 3:00 PM CET - Zurich, Switzerland 

Evening Coat, 1925. Kyoto Costume Institute.

White cotton voile; black and silver bead paillette embroidery; lotus flower and wave motif; wadded collar; back blousing supported by another fabric from inside.

An influence of Japanese design can be seen in this example, a coat, showing embroidered motifs, wadded collar in kimono style, and blousing at the back of the body. There is no label, but its perfect form and elaborate decoration suggest that it was most likely made by an expensive Parisian maison.

Image and text taken from the book: Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, Kyoto Costume Institute, pg 439

Maria Monaci Gallenga, Evening Coat, 1922. Kyoto Costume Institute

Black velvet with stencil of arabesque pattern; bodice with kimono-like over-sleeve; pillow-shaped collar; tassels; velvet lining.

The Japanese kimono was copied, adapted, and finally assimilated into Western clothing. This example, a coat with long sleeves inspired by a Japanese kimono. For surface decoration, an arabesque pattern in stencil-printing was applied.

Image and text taken from the book: Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, Kyoto Costume Institute, pgs 438-439