Pendant, 16th century, cameo in agate, rubies, enamel, 8 x 5 cm. MNMC 4326. Museu Nacional Machado de Castro.

Of Italian influence, the pendant becomes the most popular piece of jewellery in the 16th century. This handsome example is composed of two articulated pieces: the upper segment is in the shape of a crown; the lower segment consists of a cameo in agate encircled by two concentric rings, the first of quadrangular rubies and the second of pierced plant scrolling enriched with gem work. The reverse is completely covered with delicate polychrome enamelwork

Pectoral Cross, 16th century, crystal, 13.5 x 7.5 x 1 cm, MNMC 1359, Museu Nacional Machado de Castro.

This unique cross is a genuine symbol of episcopal eminence. Rectilinear in shape, it is made of crystal entirely cut into diamond point facets on the back, the front and along the edges. In 1717, the Bishop of Coimbra, D. António de Vasconcelos e Sousa, was buried with this pectoral cross.

Lot 305, A rare underglaze-blue and yellow enamel 'gardenia' dish, Hongzhi mark and period. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides rising to a lipped and everted rim, all supported on a short tapering foot, the center finely painted in soft shaded tones of underglaze blue with a leafy branch bearing two large five-petaled gardenia blossoms and two tightly closed buds, the cavetto decorated with fruiting branches of pomegranate, persimmon, grape and a ribbon-tied lotus bouquet, all enclosed between double-line borders, the exterior wall with a continuous floral meander of large rose blossoms borne on leafy budding stems, all reserved against a brilliant clear yellow enamel ground, the base glazed white and inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle. Diameter 10⅛ in., 25.6 cm

Provenance: Collection of Edward H. Bennett (1874-1954), and thence by descent.

Notes: Yellow and underglaze-blue 'gardenia' dishes of this type were first produced during the reign of the Xuande Emperor, and continued through to the late Ming period. It has been suggested that the Xuande period dishes formed part of an original dining service, and that the dishes of subsequent reigns were manufactured as replacements for those broken in daily use.

The gardenia is indigenous to China and the flowers were not only admired for their beauty and fragrance, but the pods were also used to produce a brilliant yellow fabric dye and used as a tonic in traditional Chinese medicine. The ripe pomegranates bursting with seeds symbolized fertility and carried the wish for numerous offspring. The rich orange color of persimmons symbolized wealth and their name in Chinese, shi, formed the basis of the rebus shishi ruyi (may everything go according to your desire). The grapes were a motif popular during the Ming dynasty imported from Persia. The spreading vines, tendrils and numerous seeds of the grape also symbolized progeny and a long family line. The lotus was a Buddhist symbol of purity. The blossoms on the exterior are difficult to identify with certainty, but because of the spiralled innermost petals, which were a convention used to depict roses, the blossoms are likely to be roses.

The combination of blue and yellow, and the bold but perfectly arranged design of flowers and fruit is particularly striking. The design was first painted in cobalt beneath a colorless glaze, then fired. The yellow enamel was then filled into the spaces between the underglaze decoration and refired. Two firings were therefore necessary to attain this pleasing effect.

Hongzhi dishes of this design can be found in important museum and private collections; for example see two in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. II, Tokyo, 1977, pls. 72 and 73, together with their blue-and-white counterparts, pls. 70 and 71; and one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 231, together with a Chenghua example, pl. 230, and a Zhengde example, pl. 233.  Compare also a dish in the Shanghai Museum included in the exhibition Chugoku rekidai toji ten / Chinese ceramics through the ages], Seibu Art Museum, Tokyo, 1984, cat. no. 80.

Similar dishes can also be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 2, Tokyo, 1982, col. pl. 16; the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, op.cit., vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 226, from the Kempe Collection; and another illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1674, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 57. One example from the Sir Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum, London, is included in Margaret Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1966, cat. no. A740. The companion dish to the Percival David Foundation example was sold in our London rooms, 15th October 1968, lot 108.

A similar dish from the T.Y. Chao collection was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1995, lot 387; another from the Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo, was sold in our London rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 22; and one from an important private collection of Ming porcelain was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 226.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 306, A magnificent and rare large yellow and green 'Auspicious emblems' dish, Yongzheng mark and period. Estimate 600,000 — 800,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the shallow rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a broad everted rim, finely incised and enameled in green and two shades of aubergine against a bright-yellow ground with a central shou medallion enclosed within a ruyi-border, surrounded by five bats alternating with lotus blossoms borne on foliate scrolls with attendant buds and enclosed within bands of wavy clouds, the cavetto decorated with eight lotus blossoms rising from bound foliate scrolls, each supporting one of the ribbon-tied  Buddhist ‘Eight Auspicious Emblems’, all below eight shou medallions alternately flanked by confronting pairs of stylized chilong andkuifeng, all within a beaded rim, the exterior wall decorated with three fruiting peach branches interspersed with pairs of bats, the base glazed white, with an underglaze blue six-character mark within a double circle- Diameter 15 3/4  in., 40.5 cm

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH MEAD MERCK 

Provenance: Collection of Edward H. Bennett (1874-1954), and thence by descent.

An Abundance of Blessings in Three Colors
Regina Krahl

This exquisitely designed and executed, massive charger of the Yongzheng period (1723-35) is extremely rare and only one companion piece appears to be recorded, although the same pattern was recreated again in the Qianlong reign (1736-95) and some examples are also known from that period.

The highly attractive sancai (‘three color’) glaze combination had been popular with Chinese potters ever since it was devised in the Tang dynasty (618-907), when it was used on low-fired earthenwares, often in accidentally splashed patterns, but already at that time also for more carefully designed decoration with incised outlines separating the colours. This technique, similar to an ink drawing colored with different washes, was masterfully employed on the present dish.

In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when many different low-fired glazes began to be used on porcelains at the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen, yellow and green were often used together, but rarely in combination with brown or aubergine tones. In the Kangxi reign (1662-1722) of the Qing dynasty the imperial kilns revived splashed sancai wares and at the same time began to produce porcelains with incised designs in the sancai palette. While most common in this scheme were small dragon-decorated dishes, which remained popular throughout the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the imperial kilns already created chargers of this large size, decorated with dragons and flower motifs. A dish of that design in Taiwan is included in Kokyū Shin shi zuroku/Illustrated Catalogue of Ch’ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, Republic of China, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1980-81, pl. 34; another in John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, no. 197; a pair of dishes of this type from the collection of Captain C. Oswald Liddell, formed during his residence in China between 1877 and 1913, was sold in these rooms, 4th December 1985, lot 281, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 18th May 1988, lots 301 and 302; another from the Morgenroth collection was sold in these rooms, 17th March 2009, lot 117. This Kangxi design became popular again in the Guangxu period, when it was recreated on even larger dishes with chu xiu gongmark, see the dish from the Weishaupt collection sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1621.

The present design appears to have been devised in the Yongzheng reign. It is remarkable not only for the different tones of aubergine to brown judiciously employed in the decoration, but also for the use of these colors to reproduce the variegated skin of Chinese peaches, that can be seen on the outside. While only one other dish of this design, of Yongzheng mark and period, appears to be recorded, at least four dishes of Qianlong mark and period have been published. Although the Qianlong design follows the Yongzheng model very closely, details of the incised pattern have been simplified overall.

The design is also replete with auspicious meanings. The shou character which appears in the center was a frequently used motif expressing the desire for longevity. Dishes with shou characters as the main decoration were made for the emperor’s birthday and special occasions where the theme was longevity, such as the 'Greybeard's Banquet' qiansou yan.  Bats were also used as symbols for ‘good fortune’ and five bats were especially auspicious, representing the five blessings of long life, riches, good health, love of virtue and natural death. In the present lot, the five bats encircle the shou character in a popular motif known as 'Five Bats Present Longevity' wu fu peng shou. The 'Eight Buddhist Auspicious Emblems', bajixiang , were originally used in ancient India in religious ceremonies and at occasions such as the enthronement of kings. They represent the offerings presented to Shakyamuni by the gods upon his enlightenment, and entered China around the time of the Yuan dynasty, where they became symbols of good fortune. 

Compare the Qianlong dish of this design in the Baur Collection, Geneva, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection Geneva: Chinese Ceramics, vol. 4, Geneva, 1968-74, no. A 545; and three other Qianlong dishes sold at auction, one in these rooms 28th September 1979, lot 313; another, reputedly from the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, sold in these rooms, 6th December 1989, lot 217, at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th April 2001, lot 543, and in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April, 2013, lot 3043; and a third sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot 824, and in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 209. A similar Yongzheng dish was sold at Bonhams London, 8th June 2004, lot 119.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 307, Five yellow-ground green and aubergine-enamel 'dragon' dishes, Qianlong seal marks and period. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

each finely incised on the interior with a green and an aubergine dragon contesting a 'flaming pearl', their sinuous scaly bodies writhing among flames within a double-line border, the exterior incised with four flying cranes and clouds enameled in green, all reserved against a rich egg-yolk yellow ground, the bases inscribed in aubergine enamel with six-character seal marks, fitted box (6). Diameters 5 1/2  in., 14 cm

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH MEAD MERCK

Provenance: Nathan Bentz, Santa Barbara, California, acquired prior to 1940.
Collection of Edward H. Bennett (1874-1954), and thence by descent.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 423, A carved yellowish-green and brown jade snuff bottle, Master of the Rocks School, 1740-1850. Estimate $8,000 – $10,000. Photo Christie's Iùage Ltd 2016.

The bottle is carved on one side with a lush foliate scene of aged pine trees, centered by a waterfall emerging from between two mountains and passing by a crane that stands atop a precipice above lingzhi fungus growing below. The scene is thoughtfully carved using the brown skin of the stone for the landscape and yellow stone for the sky. 2 ¼ in. (5.7 cm.) high, jadeite and metal stopper

Provenance: Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2004.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 4067.

Notes: The Master of the Rocks School seems to have specialized in carvings from this distinctive material. The School's main output was bottles carved with landscape designs, but many other subjects are recorded, including a few with chidragon designs, which may have been partly produced for the Court. The quality of carving and the use of material of the present bottle are typical of this School. 

A comparable example of the same size and similar use of a large area of dark skin from the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection Part I, was sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2015, lot 204, and another from the Blanche B. Exstein Collection was sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, lot 158. For other examples of snuff bottles from the Master of the Rocks School, see Moss, Graham, Tsang, A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, the Mary and George Bloch Collection, Vol. 1, pp. 350-369, nos. 136-141.

Christie's. THE RUTH AND CARL BARRON COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES: PART II, 16 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 443, A carved root amber snuff bottle, 1750-1860. Estimate $8,000 – $10,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The bottle is carved with a dense design of squirrels on rocks and amidst leafy grape vines, and with a mask-and-ring handle on each narrow side. 2 ½ in. (6.3 cm.) high, jadeite stopper

Provenance: Robert Hall, London, 2012.
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2012.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 5413.

Notes: One of the exotic materials used for snuff bottles, amber is the translucent fossilized resin of ancient coniferous trees from the Tertiary period. Three main varieties of amber were used: a range of transparent brown, golden-brown and reddish amber; a yellow, cloudy amber associated with the Baltic; and 'root amber', such as this bottle, where the range of material has inclusions of opaque yellow-ochre and brown colors. 'Root' amber, is so called because it was believed that the resin combines with clay at the root of the tree to obtain its color. However, it is more likely that the color is the result of a chemical process.

Amber was valued long before the snuff-bottle era and was considered to be a symbol of longevity, since it was known to have lain in the ground being transformed over a long period of time. It would have become a popular material for snuff bottles from very early in the development of the art-form.

As squirrels have large litters, the depiction of a squirrel with trailing vines on this bottle may be a visual rebus for a wish for many sons and the continuation of the family line, the winding vines representing the family lineage. It has also been suggested that the squirrel and grape-vine motif conveys a wish for promotion to a higher rank.

Christie's. THE RUTH AND CARL BARRON COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES: PART II, 16 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 471, A rare five-color overlay clear glass snuff bottle, 1760-1820. Estimate $8,000 – $10,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The bottle is carved with a continuous design of lotus, begonia, peony and chrysanthemum blossoms in red, pink, yellow and turquoise-blue overlay, all growing from a single leafy branch carved in the dark-green overlay, all against the bubble-suffused ground. 2 ½ in. (6.4 cm.) high, glass stopper

Provenance: A private American collection.
The Meriem Collection; Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 305.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 4782.

Notes: The unusual combination of colors on this bottle is enhanced by the impeccable carving and well-composed design. It belongs to a group of overlay bottles that exhibit a variety of colors of overlay spread around the bottle, linked by a common color, as seen here in the green overlay stems and foliage. Another rare bottle from this group from the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection Part I, decorated with a green basket containing four-color blooms on a pink glass ground, was sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2015, lot 248. Two others from this group are illustrated by M. Hughes inThe Blair Bequest, Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Princeton University Art Museum, Baltimore, 2002, pp. 151-152, nos. 189-91. 

Christie's. THE RUTH AND CARL BARRON COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES: PART II, 16 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 563, A rare green-overlay blue glass snuff bottle, 1770-1850. Estimate $8,000 – $10,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The opaque green overlay is carved through to the opaque blue ground with a continuous landscape scene showing a sage on a bridge on one side and two boy attendants preparing a dwelling for his arrival on the other. 2 1/8 in. (5.3 cm.) high, stone stopper

Provenance: Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd., Hong Kong, 2012.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 5418.

Notes: The color combination seen here, with the opaque green overlay on the blue ground, is extremely rare. The tone of the green glass is also unusual. Paler and more jade-like than the usual bright-green tone, the more pastel hue was presumably intentional to create greater contrast with the deep blue ground.

Christie's. THE RUTH AND CARL BARRON COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE SNUFF BOTTLES: PART II, 16 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 937, An unusual altered olive-green jade openwork fitting, early 6th century AD. Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

 Possibly a hilt, the fitting is drilled at one end with two circular sockets, and is carved in openwork with a scaly dragon with prominent nostrils and a long mane that flows backwards to join the upswept tail shown striding forward within the openwork curve of the fitting. The olive-green stone has extensive ivory-colored, opaque alteration. 3 ¼ in. (8.3 cm.) long, box

Provenance: B. K. Wong, Hong Kong, 6 October 1990.

Literature: Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 71, no. 37.
Filippo Salviati, "The Dongxi Collection of Chinese Jades", Orientations, November 1995, p. 50, fig. 12.

Exhibited: Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery, Brussels, 25 October - 17 December 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, no. 37.

Notes: As Nicole De Bisscop notes in Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 74, the powerfully rendered winged dragon on this extremely rare fitting radiates strength which is accentuated by the openwork C-shaped curl suggestive of a surging wave. In both design and dynamism, the dragon recalls striding gilt-bronze figures of dragons dating to the Northern Wei period, such as the two included in the exhibition Art of the Six Dynasties, Centuries of Change and Innovation, China House Gallery/China Institute in America, New York, 29 October 1975 – 1 February 1976, nos. 37 (collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd) and 38 (The Art Museum, Princeton University). 

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 951, A yellow and 'russet-brown' jade brush washer, Late Ming-Early Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century. Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The water vessel is carved in the irregular shape of a large lingzhi head with incurved rim, and is well carved in high relief on the base and the sides with smaller lingzhi heads borne on a gnarled, branching stem. The semi-translucent stone of yellowish tone has opaque areas of dark russet color. 5 ¾ in. (14.6 cm.) wide, wood stand, box

Provenance: Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco, 24 July 1987.

Literature: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1990, p. 120, no. 124.
Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 100, no. 56.

Exhibited: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, California, 1990, no. 124.
Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery, Brussels, 25 October - 17 April 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, no. 56.

Note: The combination of yellow and russet-brown colored stone are particularly attractive. The artist utilized the natural stone to enhance the carving of the brush pot and to pick out the gnarled, stem and lingzhi heads. 

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 954, A large well-carved pale greenish-white jade carving of quince, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The group is finely carved in the form of a large quince and a smaller quince, both borne on a leafy, flowering branch carved in openwork at one end and in high relief on both sides. The well-polished stone of even tone has some added russet color. 5 7/8 in. (15.5 cm.) long, wood stand, box

Provenance: Bernstein & Co., San Francisco, 1998.

Notes: The superb quality of the carving, which captures the irregular shape of the fruit, exemplifies the high level of craftsmanship achieved by the jade carvers working under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. 

According to Terese Tse Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 270, no. 10.2.7, the quince (tiegang haitang) is a pun for "sea" (hai) and "hall" (tang), which refers to a family's house.

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 911, A very rare and superb pale greenish-yellow jade figural pendant, Western Zhou dynasty, 9th-8th century BC. Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The thin, flat plaque of curved outline is finely carved as a crouching humanoid figure shown in profile, the legs drawn up beneath the coiled dragon which forms the arms and trunk of the body, and the head with a distinctive profile and long, upswept hair that forms a backward-facing, S-shaped dragon beneath a small tab pierced with a suspension hole drilled from one side. Another small hole is drilled from one side through the legs. The translucent stone of off-white color has some tiny areas of opaque buff alteration, and some tiny surface accretions, including cinnabar. Together with Chinese Jade: Selected articles from Orientations 1983-1996, Hong Kong 1997. 3 in. (7.6 cm.) high, box

Provenance: B. K. Wong, Hong Kong, 26 September 1989.

Literature: Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 46, no. 15. 
Filippo Salviati, "The Dongxi Collection of Chinese Jades", Orientations, November 1995, p. 47, fig. 5.

Exhibited: Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery Brussels, 25 October - 17 December 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, no. 15.

Notes: Western Zhou pendants of this type, with their transformational humanoid and dragon motifs, evolved from Shang prototypes which depict a crouching human with bent arms framing the torso above the sharply bent legs, and wearing a headdress. Two such insignia/pendants of curved outline from the Shang dynasty tomb of Lady Fu Hao at Anyang are illustrated in The Jades from Yinxu, Beijing, 1982, pls. 109 and 113. During the Western Zhou dynasty the curved arms and torso were transformed into the coiled body of a dragon and the headdress usually into a dragon that either surmounted the head or arched back behind the head. 

Western Zhou pendants were made either in an upright profile or a more unusual curved profile like that of the present pendant and one in the Qing Court Collection, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 40 - Jadeware (I), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 122, pl. 102. On this pendant, the dragon rather than being on top of the head is behind the head. This is also true of two similar pendants illustrated by Yang Boda inChinese Archaic Jades from the Kwan Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994, nos. 132 and 133. Also illustrated is a rubbing of a late Western Zhou pendant carved with similar iconography, but an upright rather than curved body, from Tanghu, Xinzheng county, Henan province. Another similar pendant, formerly in the Eumorphopoulos Collection, is illustrated by S. Jenyns in Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum, London, 1951, pl. XXXVIII B, which has a small suspension loop formed by the upswept hair in place of the dragon on top of the head. The pendant appears to be equally thin, and is also beveled along the front edge of the face, which has the same distinctive concave profile as that of the present pendant, as do the other aforementioned pendants. A pair of related pendants, but not of curved outline, dated 9th century BC, is illustrated by J. F. So in Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015, p. 95-96, no. 14b. The author also illustrates, p. 97, figs. 14.1 and 14.2, two other pendants of this type, each of curved outline, the first from Jin state cemetery M63 at Tianma-Qucun, the second a rubbing of a pendant from Rui state cemetery M27 at Liangdaicun, Hancheng.

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 922, A very rare set of white jade sword fittings, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8). Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The set is comprised of a sword guard well carved on each side with a median ridge that centers a taotie mask flanked by C-scrolls, which is still attached to a section of the original iron sword, and a similarly well-carved slide with formalized scroll decoration and a taotie mask at one end, still attached to the sheath and sword. The third fitting is a pommel carved on top in high relief with two chilong circling the domed center which is incised with scrolls, while the underside is pierced with three small attachment holes. Guard 2 5/8 in. (5.8 cm.) long; slide 3 3/8 in. (8.7 cm.) long; pommel 2 ¼ in. (5.7 cm.) diam.

Provenance: B.K. Wong, Hong Kong, 15 February 1995.

Literature: Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 69, no. 34.

Exhibited: Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery, Brussels, 25 October - 17 December 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, no. 34.

Notes: The dragons depicted on the pommel radiate exceptional strength, accentuated by their spherical bulging eyes and their well-delineated backs, which are superbly carved giving a sense of being highly extended and taut. The decoration on the pommel is a classic example of the great skill of the Han artists exemplified by the high quality of the relief carving which creates the impression is of the dragons having jumped onto the pommel in order to provide the warrior with strength and render the warrior invincible. A jade sword pommel, also decorated with two chilong similarly carved in high relief circling a central boss inscribed with similar scrolls, from the tomb of Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan, Mancheng, Hebei province, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 1, Beijing, 2005, p. 189. 
The decoration on the scabbard slide is similar to that seen on a Han dynasty example illustrated by J. Rawson inChinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 300, no. 21:12. The author notes that the quality of this slide may be compared to others found in the "high-ranking tombs of the Han aristocracy at Ding Xian in Hebei province." Also illustrated, p. 300, fig. 1, is a group of smaller slides that date from the Eastern Zhou and Han periods, 3rd to 1st century BC, which the author notes illustrates "the basic vocabulary of shape and decoration" of slides of this type. Another similar slide in the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection is illustrated by M. Loehr in Ancient Chinese Jades, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1975, p. 312, no. 458. See, also, five similar slides of varying lengths illustrated by Bo Zhongmo in Guyu Jingying, Taiwan, 1989-90, pp. 166-68, pls. 84 and 85. 
The sword guard may be compared to one of the same shape with similar decoration of a central mask flanked by C-scrolls illustrated by Yang Boda in Chinese Archaic Jades from the Kwan Collection, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994, no. 212. See, also, the similar guard illustrated in Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, Hong Kong, 1991, pl. 190.

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 928, A very rare white jade openwork scabbard slide, Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 8). Estimate $80,000 – $120,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The slide of unusual, irregular outline curves under at the ends, and is finely carved in rounded relief and in openwork in the center with a large chilong between two smaller chilong clambering at each end, one with the beak of a bird, the other crawling under the twisted tail of the larger chilong as it pushes against its rear leg. A rectangular loop (slide) is on the reverse. The semi-translucent stone is of even white tone, and there are traces of iron encrustation on the reverse. 3 ½ in. (8.9 cm.) long, wood box

Provenance: B.K. Wong, Hong Kong, 13 May 1988.

Literature: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1990, p. 141, no. 148.
Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 70, no. 35.

Exhibited: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, California, 1990, no. 148.
Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery, Brussels, 25 October - 17 December 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, p. 70, no. 35.

Notes: This scabbard slide has been carved from beautiful and extremely rare white jade material.  The piece of jade probably had an irregular shape that the artist, given the quality of the material, wanted to use to best their best advantage.  Consequently, the top of the slide has an unusual shape in that one side is broader than the other.  By executing the broad side with a bevelled edge and a sharp corner that ends in a scroll motif, the artist has overcome the difficulty of the irregular shape in masterly fashion and, by combining this with openwork decoration, has created a masterpiece of jade carving. No other scabbard slide with similar openwork decoration appears to have been published, and based on the flawless white color and quality of the jade it is likely that the stone came from Xinjiang province.

The intricacy of the openwork design is similar to that seen on a white jade trapezoidal ornament dated Western Han dynasty from the mausoleum of the Prince of Chu at Shizishan, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 7, Beijing, 2005, p. 125. Like the present scabbard slide, the main decoration is of a chilong, its undulating body mostly confined within a plain border while the neck and head project beyond the upper border beside further openwork scrolls. Openwork carving within a plain outer border can be seen, also, on two Han dynasty white jade sword chapes in the Qing Court Collection illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 40 - Jadeware (I), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 222-25, pls. 185 and 186. On the first, the head and body of the dragon are carved in openwork and the end of the dragon's tail is also in openwork where it extends beyond the border. See, also, the white jade chape carved in openwork with a dragon included in AnIllustrated Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jadewares: Jadewares of the Han Dynasty, 2001, pl. 104, where the dragon is flat, while the chilong carved in openwork on another sword chape, pl. 94, is carved in a high-relief manner similar to those of the present slide. Similar chilong of this type can be seen on the front of a scabbard slide of solid form from Yandaishan, Yizheng, Jiangsu province, illustrated ibid., The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 7, p. 89. On this slide the bodies of the chilong extend in openwork beyond the edges. A scabbard slide where two similarchilong carved in high relief crawl across the surface of the slide is illustrated by J. Rawson in Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum, 1995, p. 302, no. 21:15. Other stylistically similar chilong with long, twisted tails are carved in high relief on various jade sword fittings, including pommels, chapes and guards, found in the Western Han tomb of the King of Nanyue, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and illustrated in Jades from the Tomb of the King of Nanyue, Hong Kong, 1991, nos. 193-195, 197, 198, 200, and 203.

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Anish Kapoor (Bombay, 1954), Untitled, 2013. Alabaster, 102 x 120 x 37 cm. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016

Otto Piene (Laasphe 1928-2014 Berlin), Lichtsirene, 1959-60. Acrylic paint on canvas, 110 x 110 cm. Signed, titled and dated on the overlap 'Piene 59-60 Lichtsirene'. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016

Heinz Mack (Lollar, 1931), Untitled, 1959-60. Oil on canvas, 106 x 75 cm. Signed and dated 'Mack 59/60'. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016

Jiro Yoshihara (Osaka 1905-1972 Ashiya), Work, 1971. Acrylic on canvas, framed, 45.60 x 53 cm. Signed in English and dated on reverse '71'. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016

Fragment of an over-life-size head of a woman or goddess, Greek, 4th century BC. White marble, 28 x 23 x 18 cm. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016

Provenance: Private collection M. K., France, acquired circa 1960.

Head of Eros, Roman, 1st century B.C.- 1st century AD. White marble. Height 23.5 cm. 

Provenance: Collection Guérin, Paris, ca. 2000; Private collection René Withofs, Brussels, circa 1970-80

Monumental fragment from a standing male statue, Leg and Feet on base, 2nd Century AD. Marble. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016.

Provenance: Private collection T. Sarmas, London, early 1960s-2003; Private collection, Europe, prior to 1960 

Kazuo Shiraga (Amagasaki 1924-2008), Choryo, 1990. Oil paint on canvas, 227 x 182 cm. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016.

Provenance: Collection Fujino Tadatoshi, Gendaikko Center, Miyazaki, Kyushu, Japan

Literature: A new perspective GUTAI through the eyes of Fujino Tadatoshi, Japan, 2011, illustrated p. 134 

Bastet sarcophagus, Egypt, Late Period, 26th-30th Dynasty, 664-332 BC. Bronze, 20 x 39 cm. Axel Vervoordt © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016.

Provenance: Private collection, Europe, by descent to present owner; Acquired from N. Koutoulakis in the 1970s; Collection N. Koutoulakis, Geneva 

Axel Vervoordt (stand 424) at TEFAF Maastricht 2016, 11-20 march.

Directors: Axel Vervoordt, Boris Vervoordt, Robert Lauwers, Philip Feyfer 

Axel Vervoordt is the president of the Vervoordt Foundation and the founder of the eponymous company which over the past four decades has created a nonpareil approach to living with art. His first project in the early 1970s, the revitalization of an entire medieval street in the heart of Antwerp which emphasized not only the beauty of the buildings but also the beauty of the passing of time and its effect on them, led him to occupy a singular position in the arts world. Axel Vervoordt conducts his taste-broking from his own home, the castle of ‘s-Gravenwezel outside Antwerp, where a taste for the authentic results in a harmonious environment. In ‘Kanaal’, an industrial malt complex dating to the 1860s, antique objects dialogue with contemporary works of art in a minimalist context. 
Since a few years, his son, Boris, assumed the management responsibilities of the Axel Vervoordt Company and he will further profile the business along its core values : quality, durability and harmony. In January 2011 he opened the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in the Vlaeykensgang, back to the roots, focusing on Gutai and ZERO and contemporary works in the same vein, it reflects Vervoordt’s early interest in and commitment to these artists. 
All objects, regardless of their origin and value, are infused with a timeless, universal beauty and an intrinsic purity that keep their contemporary relevance. 

Contact: Kanaal, Stokerijstraat, 15-19, 2110 Wijnegem, Belgium. T  +32 (0)3 355 33 00 - F  +32 (0)3 355 33 01 - www.axel-vervoordt.com - info@axel-vervoordt.com

Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Vlaeykensgang, Oude Koornmarkt 16, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium. T  +32 477 88 80 60 - Wed- Sat 2-6 p.m. www.axelvervoordtgallery.com - info@axelvervoordtgallery.com

Lot 16, Jarre, Vietnam, Dynastie des Lý, 11°-12° siècle. Estimation : 80 € / 100 €. Photo Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Grès, H. 17 cm 
Jarre cylindrique à couverte blanc verdâtre

CORNETTE DE SAINT CYR PARIS, Arts d’Asie – Art Tribal Documentation, le 23 Mars 2016 à 14h30. Expert : Cabinet Daffos-Estournel. Tel. : +33 6 09 22 55 13 – http://www.aaoarts.com – Consultant pour le Vietnam : Monsieur Philippe Truong. Tel. : +33 6 31 34 40 59

Lot 18, Jarre, Vietnam, Dynastie des Lý, 11°-12° siècle. Estimation : 80 € / 100 €. Photo Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Grès à couverte céladon, H. 17 cm 

CORNETTE DE SAINT CYR PARIS, Arts d’Asie – Art Tribal Documentation, le 23 Mars 2016 à 14h30. Expert : Cabinet Daffos-Estournel. Tel. : +33 6 09 22 55 13 – http://www.aaoarts.com – Consultant pour le Vietnam : Monsieur Philippe Truong. Tel. : +33 6 31 34 40 59

Lot 25, Jarre couverte, Vietnam, Dynastie des Lý, 12°-13° siècle. Estimation : 150 € / 250 €. Photo Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Lot 910, An exceptionally rare pale grey jade huang, Western Zhou dynasty, 9th-8th century BC. Estimate USD 60,000 ~ 80,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The thick pendant is well carved as a composite animal, with the head of a horned dragon, its long mane finely incised with hair markings below the upper edge above the wings and talons of a bird. It is pierced for suspension at each end with a small bi-conical hole. The stone is semi-translucent and of pale grey color with some dark brown markings or areas of alteration. 4 in. (10.2 cm.) long, box

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 13 June 1989, lot 40.

Literature: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1990, p. 67, no. 59. 
Nicole De Bisscop, Chinese Jade and Scroll Painting from the Dongxi Collection, Brussels, 1995, p. 45, no. 14.
Filippo Salviati, "The Dongxi Collection of Chinese Jades", Orientations, November 1995, p. 47, fig. 4.

Exhibited: Magic, Art and Order: Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, California, no. 59.
Chinese Jade and Scroll Paintings from the Dongxi Collection, Kredietbank Gallery, Brussels, 25 October - 17 December 1995; Kredietbank Luxembourg, 1 February - 13 April 1996, no. 14.

Notes: The present huang is characterized by the exceptional artistic and technical quality of the carving as well as the unusual and very rare composition of the decoration. Huang were a component of burial pectorals or necklaces which were composed of a varying number of pendants hung on strands of beads. A reconstruction of one of these late Western Zhou period pectorals comprised of many huang of various types excavated from Tomb M 63, Fianma-Wucun (Beizhao Quwo), Shanxi province, is illustrated by Xiaoneng Yang (ed.), in the exhibition catalogue, The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 1999, no. 86. A smaller pectoral which includes three huang is illustrated p. 253, no. 85. 

This well-carved huang is similar to one excavated in 1986 from Western Zhou tomb no. 273 at Zhangjiapo, Chang'an Xian, Shaanxi province, and illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji - 2 - Shang/Western Zhou, Hebei, 1994, p. 208, no. 290. Like the present example, this huang has a dragon head at one end and a taloned foot below a wing at mid-body, while the remainder of the decoration dissolves into abstract patterns. This representation of a single dragon on ahuang has its antecedents in Shang dynasty huang, such as the example from the tomb of Lady Fu Hao, illustrated inThe Jades from Yinxu, Beijing, 1982, pl. 41 (upper right), and another in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated by W. Watson in The Arts of China to AD 900, New Haven/London, 1995, p. 54, pl. 101, where it is dated 10th-9th century BC. Other Western Zhou huang of this type more usually have a symmetrical design with either dragon or human heads at each end, and shared or entwined decoration in between. Two such examples are illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi Quanji - 2 - Shang/Western Zhou, ibid., p. 209, nos. 291 and 292. Another of this latter type that has a dragon head with similar rolled snout and open jaws at each end is illustrated by J. F. So in Chinese Jades from the Cissy and Robert Tang Collection, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015, p. 85, no. 12e. The style of carving is similar and also incorporates a taloned foot as well as what appear to be sections of hair beside each head.

Christie's. DONGXI STUDIO- IMPORTANT CHINESE JADE AND HARDSTONE CARVINGS FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION, 17 March 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza