Lot 1, A fine ‘Ding’ foliate ‘lotus’ dish, Song dynasty. Estimate 250,000 — 350,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the shallow concave base supported on a neatly trimmed foot, rising to wide flaring sides and a hexa-lobed rim, the interior freely carved with a leafy bouquet bearing three lotus blooms, covered overall in a creamy ivory glaze, falling into characteristic teardrops to the exterior, the rim bound with copper; 20.7 cm, 8 1/8  in.

Provenance: Collection of Frederick T. Fuller, until 1965. 
Christie’s London, 28th/29th June 1965, lot 277 (1000 gns). 
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1965 (1000 gns.).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1965 (£1500). 

Notes: ‘Ding’ wares made in Quyang, Hebei province ranks among the Five Great Wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279) and are one of the most famous types of Chinese ceramics. This dish features a most representative and elegant form of ‘Ding’ wares. A dish of similar size and decoration, but with plain rim, was sold at Christie’s London, 8th December 1986, lot 232, and again in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2011, lot 513, as part of a private collection of Song ceramics. A dish of similar form without decoration, from the J.T. Tai collection, was sold in our New York rooms, 22nd March 2011, lot 294. Two other undecorated ‘Ding’ dishes of similar form excavated from the clan cemetery of the famous Northern Song connoisseur and scholar Lu Dalin (1038-1093) were exhibited at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, Peking University, 2013, see Yishi tong diao [A tone through ages, Fine relics unearthed from the cemetery of the Lu Clan in Lantian, Shaanxi province], Beijing, 2013, cat. nos. 30-31.

Sotheby's. The Pilkington Collection of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 2, A small ‘Ding’ foliate bowl, Song dynasty. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

with rounded sides supported on a gently tapered foot, rising to a flared rim divided into six foliations, the exterior encircled by two double-line borders, covered overall in a creamy ivory glaze, pooling around the footring; 10.2 cm, 4 in.

Provenance: Mathias Komor, New York, 1958. 
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1958 (£23:10).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1959 (£45).

Notes: Bowls of this small size and elegant lobed form are unusual, although two slightly larger bowls modelled with vertical ribs on the interior and exterior, from the Gustaf Lindberg collection, were sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1978, lots 125 and 126; and another was sold at Christie’s London, 11th June 1990, lot 83.

Sotheby's. The Pilkington Collection of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 4, A ‘Ding’ lobed ‘fish’ dish, Song dynasty. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the flat base rising to flaring sides divided into six lobes by raised vertical ribs, freely carved to the interior with a pair of fish swimming amongst rippled waves, applied overall with a creamy ivory glaze, the lobed rim bound with copper; 14.7 cm, 5 3/4  in.

Provenance: Collection of Martin D. Corke, until 1959. 
Sotheby's London, 17th February 1959, lot 13 (£150). 
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1959 (£150)
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1959 (£200).

Notes: Dishes of this elegant lobed form and carved with a vibrant and freely rendered design of fishes amongst waves are rare, although a similar example, but with the fishes swimming in opposite directions, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Museum’s exhibition Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou. White Ding Wares from the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, cat. no. II-88, together with another dish, but modelled with a short foot and carved with a single fish, pl. II-89.

Highly reproductive and often found swimming in pairs, fish symbolise marriage, many children and abundance, as well as being emblems of harmony and conjugal bliss; hence a pair of fish swimming in water creates the wish for a couple to be as harmonious as fish and water (yushui hexie).

Sotheby's. The Pilkington Collection of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 109, A huanghuali couch-bed, luohan chuang, Late Ming dynasty. Estimate 9,800,000 — 15,000,000 HKD (1,153,406 - 1,765,417 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

the seat frame of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction supported by four transverse braces mortised and tennoned into the long members of the frame, the edge of the frame wojiao moulded at the top, curving inward with thumb moulding to finish on the lower edge with a narrow flat band, the recessed thumb-moulded waist and the straight apron with wojiao beaded‑edged and thumb mouldings mortised and tennoned and half‑lapped to the straight square beaded-edged and wojiao and thumb moulded legs, the square legs carved inward at the base to finish on recessed square low feet pads, the removable back and arms constructed with double‑mitred and mortised small members forming the wan character pattern 78.6 by 206.5 by 90 cm, 30 7/8  by 81 1/4  by 35 3/8  in.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong.

Literature: Grace Wu Bruce, Chinese Classic Furniture: Selections from Hong Kong and London Gallery, Hong Kong, 2001, pp. 71–73.
Grace Wu Bruce, 'Twenty years' examples of Ming furniture #1 Beds', Forbidden City, issue 160, Beijing, May 2008, pp. 134–135, 141.
Grace Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture Through My Eyes, Beijing, 2015, p. 241.

Note: This huanghuali couch bed is of supremely elegant form. The railings are made of short members joining together to form the wan character pattern, a popular decorative motif in the Ming period. The railings and the seat members are thumb moulded, and there is the special feature of recessed low feet pads, an ingenious finish for square legs at the ground level, subtly almost imperceptibly elevating the whole bed.

While luohan beds of solid plank railings made demands on the supply of precious timber, those with complex joins to create beautiful patterns are testaments of the refinement of Ming carpenters’ art.

Luohan beds with back and arms made of small members mitred and mortised together dated to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties are exceedingly rare, not only because the arms and back are easily removable and prone to become dislocated from their base, but the construction with small mitred members also make the arms and back harder to preserve than the solid plank examples.

Compare an example with similar railings design but ending in hoof feet from the Tseng Riddell collection, exhibited in Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1999, pp. 108–109.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – An Asian Private Collection, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 02:00 PM

Lot 113, A huanghualipingtouan table, Late Ming dynasty. Estimate 5,500,000 — 8,000,000 HKD (647,319 - 941,556 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a single board tongue-and-grooved, floating panel supported by six dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath with exposed tenons on the short sides of the frame top, the edge of the frame moulding downward and inward from about one third way down and again to end in a narrow flat band, the splayed round legs cut to house the plain shaped mitred spandrelled apron and double tennoned into the top, each pair of legs joined on the shorter end with a pair of oval stretchers flattened on the underside; 78.8 by 205.5 by 53.3 cm, 31 by 80 7/8  by 21 in.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong. 

Note: This classic design has its origin in ancient Chinese wooden architecture. Completely plain, this simple form with pure lines is what first captured the attention of twentieth century furniture historians. The design is now considered quintessential Ming.

This piece of near perfect proportions, made in choice timber of warm orange-brown tone, with a well-figured single panel top, is an example of the best of classic Ming furniture.

Compare a similar piece in the collection of the Central Academy of Arts & Crafts, Beijing, illustrated in Chen Zengbi,Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu [Central Academy of Arts and Crafts: Illustrations of collections], vol. 2, Mingshi Jiaju [Ming Furniture], Hong Kong, 1994, p. 46. See also another similar example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988, p. 46.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – An Asian Private Collection, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 02:00 PM

Lot 104, A huanghuali sloping-stile wood-hinged cabinet, Late Ming dynasty. Estimate 3,800,000 — 5,500,000 HKD (447,239 - 647,319 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon, tongue-and-grooved floating panel construction with exposed tenons on the short sides and two dovetailed supporting transverse braces underneath, the four main stiles moulded and beaded on the three outside corners and squared on the inside, double tennoned into the top with one tenon exposed, the doors flanking the removable central stile and of standard mitred frame construction, each frame member and the central stile moulded with a raised half round centre edged by a flat narrow band, the outside stiles moulded only on the insides and finishing on extended dowels on the outsides, fitted into sockets in the underside of the frame top and the horizontal shaped stretcher mortised and tennoned into the main stiles below the doors, each beautifully figured, single-board, matching panel with four dovetailed transverse braces tennoned into the door frame, the interior with one removable shelf resting on the dovetailed transverse braces of the side panels and a permanent central section comprising a shelf and two drawers with huangtong plates and pulls, a plain mitred apron tongue-and-grooved into the legs and butt-joined to the underside of the beaded-edged shaped stretcher below the doors, the side aprons similarly modelled, the door frame members and the central stile fitted with three curved rectangular metal plates and decorated with three square lock receptacles and two beautifully shaped door pulls; 157.2 by 88.7 by 44.5 cm, 61 7/8  by 34 7/8  by 17 1/2  in.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong.  

Literature: Grace Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture, Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 54–7.

Note: This magnificent huanghuali cabinet is constructed with matching door panels cut from the same timber; the tightly grained and whirling pattern shows the huanghuali wood at its best. In addition, the side panels, as well as the other members, are cut from the same tree, all of the highest quality.

One of the most ingenious and beautiful designs of classic Chinese furniture is the sloping-stile, wood-hinged cabinet. The four main stiles are recessed from the corners of the top and slope gently outward in a subtle, almost imperceptible splay. This simple design feature gives the cabinet its refined elegance and a sense of balance and stability.

The doors, with extended dowels on both ends, fit into sockets in the cabinet frame members and act as hinges. Free from the necessity of applied hinges, the clean lines of the cabinet are not interfered with. The rectangular metal plates with their lock receptacles and door pulls not only serve a practical function, but are also judiciously placed as decoration for the otherwise completely plain piece. Sloping-stile wood-hinged cabinets are masterpiece of Chinese cabinet makers.

For a similar but smaller piece in the Musée Guimet, Paris, see Michel Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, Tokyo, 1979, p. 93. See also another example in the collection of Dr Gustav Ecke, illustrated in George N. Kates, Chinese Household Furniture, New York, 1948, reprinted 1962, pl. 10.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – An Asian Private Collection, Hong Kong, 06 Apr 2016, 02:00 PM

Lot 2767, Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983), Leisure stroll through mountains, 1946. Estimate 12,000,000 — 15,000,000 HKD (1,403,317 - 1,754,146 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

signed DAQIAN JUSHI YUAN and YUAN, dated 1946, inscribed, and with a total of seven seals of the artist. Titleslip by the artist himself, ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll; 164 by 69.2 cm 64 ½ by 27 ¼ in.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings, Oct 1991, Lot 100 

Literature: Sotheby's Hong Kong Twenty Years （1973-1993）, Sotheby’s HK Ltd. & Woods Publishing Company, 1993, no.676 

Sotheby's. Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from the Yong Li Studio, Hong Kong, 04 Apr 2016, 06:45 PM

Lot 2754, Fu Baoshi (1904-1965),Strolling in the woods, 1944. Estimate 3,500,000 — 4,500,000 HKD (409,301 - 526,244 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

signed FU BAOSHI, dated 1944, inscribed, and with three seals of the artist; ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll; 104.8 by 33.4 cm 41 ¼ by 13 1/8 in.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings, Oct 1991, Lot 77

Literature: The Chronicle of Fu Baoshi's Life, Ye Zonggao ed., Shanghai Classics Publishing House, September 2004, p.86
The Complete Works of Fu Baoshi, vol. I, Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, March 2008, p.311

Sotheby's. Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from the Yong Li Studio, Hong Kong, 04 Apr 2016, 06:45 PM

Lot 2270, Huang Binhong (1864-1955),Excursion along river Shu. Estimate 3,000,000 — 4,000,000 HKD (350,829 - 467,772 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

signed BINHONG, titled, with a dedication, and one seal of the artist; ink and colour on paper, handscroll; 28.2 by 118.5 cm 11 1/8 by 46 5/8 in.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings, Nov 1994, Lot 663

Exhibited: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Art Gallery, Modern Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, August 29 to October 4, 1987

Literature: Modern Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, July 1987, pl.27

Sotheby's. Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from the Yong Li Studio, Hong Kong, 04 Apr 2016, 06:45 PM

Lot 2865, A superbly carved wood figure of a seated bodhisattva, Song dynasty. Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD (578,976 - 810,566 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

well carved seated regally in vajrasana, the Bodhisattva rendered serene in meditation with the right hand held before the chest in shunimudra and the left avakashamudra, depicted dressed in layered robes and billowing sashes cascading in folds especially around the slender waist, the clothing falling loosely around the chest and exposing the elaborately carved necklaces echoing the partially exposed armbands, the serene facial expression detailed with half-open eyes and a gentle smile, framed by a pair of long, pendulous earlobes adorned with ornamental earrings and a neatly drawn-up topknot, traces of gilding, wood stand; 56.5 cm, 22 1/4  in.; overall 67 cm, 26 3/8  in.

Note: Intricately carved with neatly combed hair and elaborate jewellery, the traces of gilding and pigment hint at the original sumptuousness and striking visual effect it would have made on temple visitors. They would have encountered this image in an elaborate almost stage-like setting with painted murals covering the walls, along with many other sculptures and representations of deities and arhats. The finest sculptures of this period were carved of wood, covered with gesso, painted with bright pigments and sometimes inset with jewels and gilded to create elegantly animated, richly adorned figures. Many Buddhist temples from the 11th to 13th centuries survive intact, testimony to the glorious integration of architecture, painting and sculpture that characterises Buddhist temple art.

A bodhisattva is a being who has attained enlightenment but, motivated by great compassion, decides to delay personal salvation until all sentient beings are saved. In this figure, the continued engagement with the world is represented by the rich jewellery which symbolises the material world. The half-open eyes and gentle smile also represent this figure’s approachability, with the right hand raised in shunimudra, or the ‘seal of patience’. The middle finger represents aakash (infinite space) and courage to hold duty and responsibility, while the thumb represents fire and divine nature. When placed together it symbolises and encourages patience, discernment, focus and discipline.

The present sculpture belongs to a period when the bodhisattva image had not yet turned sweet and feminine, and reflects the ethereal, transcendent figure typical of early Buddhist images. A slightly larger figure of a bodhisattva, also cross legged but with hands in kartarimudra, was sold in our Paris rooms, 15th December 2011, lot 108; and another, but of much larger size and more elaborate robes, was sold in our London rooms, 15th April 1980, lot 63, and included in the exhibition The Art of Contemplation. Religious Art from Private Collections, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 91, from the Liang-sheng T’ang collection, where it is attributed to the Jin dynasty.

Sotheby's. Literati / Curiosity II, Hong Kong, 05 Apr 2016, 10:15 AM

Lot 2822, A magnificent large limestone sculpture of a tianlu, Eastern Han – Jin dynasty. Estimate 4,500,000 — 6,500,000 HKD (521,078 - 752,669 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

the mythical beast powerfully rendered, depicted striding with the left front leg forward, the head depicted held high and flanked by a pair of funnel-form ears, staring intensely through piercing and large bulging eyes above its flaring nostrils and well pronounced snout, the beast baring its teeth and sharp canines in a fierce and mighty roar, above a long tuft of beard falling to a curled tip at the chest, flanked by a pair of wings extending back and upwards from the broad front haunches, the curved contours of the wings echoing the elaborately carved low-relief scales on the taut and muscular body and the long curved tail, the tail carried low behind the haunches, wood stand; overall length 103.5 cm, 40 3/4  in.

Provenance: Yamanaka & Co. Ltd.

Exhibited: Meihin Shuuki Ten [Autumn exhibition of masterpieces], Fujita Art Museum, Osaka, 1952.

Note: The Han dynasty saw a heightened interest in the representation of powerful mythical creatures in durable materials such as stone. In distinct contrast to pottery figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts mass-produced for tombs to provide support in the afterlife, the function of these lifelike sculptures made from durable materials was to embody and pacify the elemental and supernatural forces of the living world. Large stone figures of ferocious beasts including lions and tigers, and imaginary winged figures, were all placed on the avenues of emperors and high ranking officials and military commanders, a tradition that flourished through the Han and successive dynasties, when immense fabulous beasts drawn from the spiritual world were produced on a grand scale outside the tombs near Nanjing.

In its powerful yet elegant modelling, this powerful beast occupies a significant position in the classical tradition of Chinese sculpture and provides insight into the aesthetic ideals sponsored in China between the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD). The present tianlu represents the zenith of large scale statuary. In the Yamanaka 1952 exhibition at Fujita Art Museum, the sculpture was catalogued as Eastern Jin dynasty (fig. 1), but in the light of other published examples from Luoyang and Jiankang (present day Nanjing), it can be assigned to the period covering Eastern Han / Jin dynasty. The closest comparable published example is a 2nd century stone chimera in the Luoyang Museum, illustrated in Angela Falco Howard et al., Chinese Sculpture, New Haven and London, 2006, p. 92, together with one (of a pair) dated to the 3rd to 4th century illustrated in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, A Handbook of the Collection, New York, 1993, p. 302, in addition to a pair of smaller Eastern Han stone chimeras in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, that once surmounted tall stone pillars along the 'spirit paths'. Compare also a 3rd century example in the Luoyang Museum that was included in the exhibition China: Dawn of a Golden Age 200-750 A.D., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2004, p. 104.

Fig. 1: Selection of Bokubi journals (Courtesy of a private Asian collection)

Despite the number of monumental stone chimeras that have survived in situ in China, only a few can be counted among the treasures of Western collections, including massive examples in the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Avery Brundage Collection, now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and illustrated in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1974, p. 126, pl. 53.  A related model of a chimera attributed to the 6th century is in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm and is published in Osvald Siren, 'Winged Chimeras in Early Chinese Art', Eastern Art: An Annual, vol. I, Philadelphia, 1928, p. 92, figs. 8 and 9.  See also a seated lion, in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich, illustrated in Chinese Sculptures in the von der Heydt Collection, Zurich, 1959, pl. 31, together with a head of a lion attributed to the Tang dynasty, pl. 53.

The only stone sculpture of this size and quality ever to have been offered at auction is the limestone chimera from the collection of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 512. The Albright-Knox sculpture, also acquired from Yamanaka & Co., is slightly later in date than the current example, with the unusual feature of a series of parallel ridges along the chest and at the ribs.

Sotheby's. Literati / Curiosity II, Hong Kong, 05 Apr 2016, 10:15 AM

Lot 2831, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (Siegen 1577 - 1640 Antwerp), Anatomical studies of three male figures. Pen and brown ink and wash and black chalk, 291 by 191 mm, 11 1/2  by 7 1/2  in. Estimate 4,000,000 — 6,000,000 HKD (463,181 - 694,771 EUR). Photo Sotheby's.

Provenance: Dr. Ludwig Burchard, by whose descendants sold, Christie's London, 6th July 1999, lot 223. 

Exhibited: London, National Gallery, Rubens: A Master in the Making, 2005-6, cat. no. 37

Literature: F. Scholten, Willem van Tetrode, Sculptor (c.1525-1580), exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and New York, Frick Collection, 2003, p. 72, reproduced fig. 92.
A.-M. Logan and M.C. Plomp, Peter Paul Rubens, The Drawings, exhib. cat., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005, pp. 98, 100 note 2, under no. 16.
D. Laurenza, 'Art and Anatomy in Renaissance Italy, Images from a Scientific Revolution,' The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, LXIX, no. 3 (Winter 2012), p. 44, fig. 65.

Note: Engraved:
1.  In reverse by Paulus Pontius (fig. 1).1  
2.  By Willem Panneels

Fig. 1: Paulus Pontius, Anatomical studies of three male figures after Rubens, engraving

This important, early drawing by Rubens is perhaps the most powerful and dramatic of a group of some fourteen anatomical drawings, which the artist is thought to have made with the intention of having them engraved as illustrations to an anatomy book. Roughly half of the drawings in the series are écorché studies of one or more figures in similarly tortured poses, while the remainder are studies of limbs, or other partial figure studies. The majority of the drawings is executed in pen and brown ink, sometimes also with the addition of a little brown wash, but in one or two cases Rubens has, as here, further enriched the visual effect by combining these media with chalk, either red or black.

Scholars agree that Rubens made these fascinating, powerful drawings during the first decade of the 17th century, although Michael Jaffé thought they date from the latter part of this time bracket (1605-1610), while Jeffrey Muller and Anne-Marie Logan feel they are somewhat earlier.2  Logan suggests that they were probably executed during the artist’s initial years in Mantua, 1600-1605, and that he may have been inspired to create these works by seeing a series of anatomical studies by Leonardo da Vinci, which Roger de Piles tells us greatly impressed the young Rubens. It is likely that the Leonardo anatomical drawings that Rubens saw were those in the possession of the sculptor Pompeo Leoni, in Madrid, which he would have had the opportunity to study in 1603, when he travelled to Madrid at the request of the Duke of Mantua. 

Another possible source of inspiration, particularly for the present sheet, is the work of the highly original 16th-century Dutch sculptor Willem van Tetrode (c. 1525-1580), who made an écorché bronze of a man (fig. 2)3 that is in many respects very similar in character to the dynamic, full-figure drawings from within the group of Rubens’s anatomy studies.  

Fig. 2: Willem van Tetrode, A bronze écorché figure of a man, Private Collection

Until relatively recently, the existence of a series of anatomical drawings of this type by Rubens was only known from a series of engraved and drawn copies of these works. The earliest of those seem to be the prints, in reverse, made by Paulus Pontius, and published after Rubens’s death in 1640 by Alexander Voet in Antwerp. Many of the Rubens originals are also recorded in drawings, mostly now in Copenhagen, chiefly executed by Rubens’s student Willem Panneels (c. 1600-1634), who is known to have resided in the master’s house while Rubens himself was away during 1628 and 1629. Some of these copies by Panneels bear inscriptions noting that the drawing in question was copied after originals in Rubens’s “annotomibock;” a copy after the large central figure in the present drawing is inscribed: “oockalvant cantoorvanrubbens” (“also from Rubens’s cantoor [i.e. office]”).4 Panneels also made prints after the drawings, in the same direction as the originals. Yet although the images were thus well known, the original drawings by Rubens have only themselves come to light relatively recently.  Eleven of the drawings were unknown until they appeared on the market in 1987, offered for sale by descendants of Sir Robert Newdegate, 5th Bart., who appears to have acquired them while on the Grand Tour, in 1738-40.5 The present drawing, formerly in the collection of the great Rubens scholar Ludwig Burchard, was added to the group in 1999, and others that can plausibly be associated with these twelve are at Chatsworth, in the Albertina, and formerly at the Martin Bodmer Foundation, Geneva.6

A further copy after the present drawing, this time recording the entire composition, was sold at Sotheby’s in London, 29th June 1926 (lot 115, as after Michelangelo’s Last Judgement). That drawing may possibly have been made by Pontius, who would very likely have made his own copies of the Rubens drawings that he intended to engrave, so as to avoid damaging the originals by indenting the outlines with the stylus, a necessary part of the print-making process. A copy of another drawing from the series, now in the Wellcome Library, London, has also been attributed by Logan to Pontius. The copy sold in 1926 bears the numbering of the great French collector Pierre Crozat, and this may provide the clue to a rather uncomplimentary comment made by Pierre-Jean Mariette: ‘M. Crozat a quelques uns de ces desseins de figures ecorchées, qui sont beaux, mais peu interessans.’7 If the drawings that Mariette saw in Crozat’s collection were copies of the quality of the one attributed to Pontius, it is not surprising he was so dismissive.

Though it is rather more pictorial and compositionally complete than most of the other drawings in the series,8 this fine sheet of studies certainly belongs to the group: the paper shares the same watermark found in three of the sheets sold in 19879, and the combination of pen and ink with chalk hatching is also found in at least one of the Newdegate drawings.10 Together, these extraordinary anatomical studies by Rubens illustrate an otherwise little known but highly intriguing aspect of the artist’s work, and also demonstrate his astonishing ability to transform what could have been a somewhat academic, even dry, project into an opportunity to explore the extraordinary visual potential offered by the poses, forms and surfaces of these remarkable figures. 

1 See J.M. Muller, ‘Rubens’ Anatomy Book’ in Rubens Cantoor, een verzameling tekeningen ontstaan in Rubens' atelier, exhib. cat., Antwerp, Rubenshuis, 1983, pp. 102-103, no. 18A.
2 Logan, loc.cit.
3 c. 1562-67, the Hearn Family Trust, New York; see Scholten, op.cit., p. 125, no. 31.
4 Rubens Cantoor, p. 102, no. 17.
5 Sale, London, Christie’s, 6th/7th July 1987, lots 57-67, with introduction by Michael Jaffé.
6 Respectively: Chatsworth, no. 1200, M. Jaffé, The Devonshire Collection of Northern European Drawings,Turin/London/Venice 2002, vol. I, no. 1133; idem, Van Dyck's Antwerp Sketchbook, London 1966, pp. 100-2, pl. XLIV; sale, New York, Christie's, 26th January 2002, lot 153.
7 Jaffé, op.cit., 1987, p. 58.
8 It should be noted the Dr. Anne-Marie Logan has suggested, orally, that some or all of the grey wash in the present drawing may have been added, perhaps by Pontius, in preparation for the execution of his print.
9 Sale, London, Christie’s, 6th/7th July 1987, lots 62, 64 and 67.
10 Idem, lot 58.

Sotheby's. Literati / Curiosity II, Hong Kong, 05 Apr 2016, 10:15 AM

Hans Memling, Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation, c.1485. Oil on oak panel, 22 x 15 cm (each wing), Strasbourg, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg.

Not only is this work unique in Memling's oeuvre, its theme and form also make it extremely unusual for the art of its era. Physical examination shows that we are dealing with three small panels, which were painted on both sides but subsequently separated. The little triptych is not, however, Memling's first painting on an allegorical and moralising theme, and belongs to the series that also includes the Allegory of True Love and the Allegory with a virgin. It must have been a folding meditative painting, which could be stood on a cabinet with its wings slightly open. The front of the triptych featured the naked woman in the middle flanked by Death and the Devil, each with an admonitory banderole. The only actual scene on the rear is that of heaven, which appears between emblematic subjects - the coat-of-arms and the skull - in the wings. The texts refer to the end of mankind and the way to its salvation. By making the naked woman looking in a mirror the principal scene, the work becomes an erotic Vanitas allegory, a motif that was not destined to become popular until the sixteenth century.

The purely erotic character of the nude is indeed exceptional for its time. This is the only example in which the female genitals are shown uncovered. This woman, with a diadem in her long hair, who looks in the mirror and unashamedly shows off her nakedness but for the sandals on her feet, simultaneously represents Vanity and Lust. She is the antithesis of the virgin in the little painting in the Musée Jacquemart-André. To her left there is a griffon, a breed of dog that is customarily included in paintings whose subject is marriage or physical love. The significance of the amorous greyhounds on the right is also clear. The watermill, which constantly alludes in Memling to the Incarnation and which is once again placed prominently in the landscape, might be intended here as a contrast with the sinful ways of the flesh portrayed in the foreground. The woman's genitals in the Vanity scene correspond with the toad - the demonic creature to be seen over the genitals of Death. It is not possible to determine from any physical clues whether this panel was originally located to the left or right of the central panel.

In terms of composition (poses and the positioning of the banderoles) the layout presented here - with Death and Hell to the left and right respectively - would appear most satisfactory. The glowing reflection of the flames on the bodies in the jaws of hell recalls the Gdansk Last Judgment.

Michaelina Wautier (Mond c.1617 - 1689 Brussels), Portrait of Martino Martini, Jesuit missionary in China, 1654. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated upper left: Michaelina Wautier fecit 1654. Chinese inscription upper right: Wei Kuangguo (Chinese title of the sitter). 69.5 x 59 cm. Estimate CHF 7 000 / 10 000. Sold for CHF 480 500. World auction record for the artist. Photo Koller

ZURICH.- The week of old masters and antiques auctions at Koller yielded numerous excellent results for works by artists such as Caspar David Freidrich and Osias Beert, and the nearly half a million Swiss francs realized by a portrait by Michaelina Wautier set a new world record price at auction for the artist. 

Old Master Paintings 
A mid-17th century portrait by Michaelina Wautier was one of the highlights of the Old Masters auction at Koller (lot 3057). Paintings by this Flemish artist are rare: only approximately 25 are known to exist. The last time Koller offered a painting by Wautier was in 2003, and it realized a then-record price of CHF 54 000. That record was left far behind when the portrait in this sale, depicting Jesuit missionary and mapmaker Martino Martini in Asian dress, surpassed all expectations and sold for CHF 480 500.

A floral still life by another 17th-century Flemish artist and pioneer of the genre, Osias Beert, shared the leading position in this sale, also realizing CHF 480 500 (lot 3031). 

Osias Beert (circa 1580 Antwerp 1624), A still life with flowers in a woven basket and a floral bouquet in a porcelain vase on a table top with insects. Oil on panel. 39.1 x 64.3 cm. Estimate CHF 400 000 / 500 000. Sold for CHF 480 500. Photo Koller

Certificates: - Ingvar Bergström, 9.12.1975 and 24.4.1989.
- Marie-Louise Hairs, 26.5.1977.
- Laurens J. Bol, 28.5.1977.
- Dr. Walther Bernt, July 1978.

Provenance: - Aspelin collection, Sweden.
- Count Carl von Rosen collection, Stockholm, circa 1913.
- Sale Bukowskis, Stockholm, 1920s.
- Gösta Stenman Gallery, Stockholm, 1934.
- Counsellor Wallin collection, Stockholm.
- Sale Bukowskis, Stockholm, 6.11.1975, lot 5.
- Richard Green Gallery, London, 1976-77.
- Private collection Alfred Studer, Lichtenstein, acquired from the above.
- Swiss private collection.

Literature: - Granberg, Olof: Inventaire général des trésors d'art peintures & sculptures, principalement de maîtres étrangers (non-Scandinaves) en Suède, Vol. III, Stockholm 1913, no. 97.
- Hairs, Marie-Louise: Les peintres Flamands de fleurs au XVIIe siècle, Brussels 1985, no. 115, pp. 342-343 (ill.).
- Segal, Sam: Flowers and Nature, The Hague 1990, p. 183 (mentioned in footnote 2).

This painting is archived under No. 14703 at the RKD, The Hague, as a work by the hand of Osias Beert.

Osias Beert, along with Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) and Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621), was one of the most important still life painters of the early 17th century. As one of the early pioneers working in still life painting as an independent genre, Beert played an important role in its development. Alongside paintings of richly laid-out tables and still lifes of fruit, Beert favoured floral compositions, often with a blue & white porcelain vase, as in the example offered here. The present work is masterfully executed, with an impressive motif enlivened by a wide palette of colours and several insects. The condition of the work is impeccable.

Lately rediscovered in a private collection, this is a masterwork by the artist, believed to have been painted after 1610. Only a few of Beert’s works were signed and none are dated, although two of his still lifes on copper are marked on the reverse with the date 1609.
In 1602 Beert was accepted into the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp, prior to which he trained under Andries van Baseroo. Beert most likely painted the majority of his floral still lifes during the 1610s, such as a work in a private collection (RKD Archiv Nr. 14707) which is closely related through its composition and style to the painting offered here. 

For the seventeenth-century viewer, this still life would not only have represented a beautiful depiction of flowers, but would have carried strong symbolic connotations: the brief lifespan of the cut flowers calls to mind the brevity of human life, and the caterpillar and butterfly symbolize the resurrection of Christ. 

Although the floral motifs of Jan Breughel the Elder certainly had some influence on Osias Beert’s artistic development, Beert brilliantly succeeded in developing his own formal language, and by combining a diversity of motifs in a harmonious manner, creates an atmosphere of exquisite opulence and luxurious plenitude that never ceases to fascinate and delight the senses.

Dr. Klara Alen, to whom we are grateful for her scholarly research on this painting, will include this work in her forthcoming monograph on the still lifes of Osias Beert.

 19th Century Paintings 
A series of works by Bavarian artist Eduard Grützner of figures in wine or beer cellars fetched prices significantly above their pre-sale estimates, such as the depiction of a brewmaster fully enjoying a quiet moment with a cigar and a beer (lot 3209, sold for CHF 67 700).

Eduard Grützner (Grosskarlowitz 1846 - 1925 Munich), Zigarre rauchender Braumeister, 1882. (Brew master smoking a cigar). Oil on panel. Signed and dated lower right: Ed. Grützner 1862. 46 x 37.4 cm. Estimate CHF 15 000 / 20 000. Sold for CHF 67 700. Photo Koller

Provenance: South German private collection since 1983.

Literature: Balogh, Laszlo: Eduard von Grützner. 1846 - 1925. Ein Münchner Genremaler der Gründerzeit. Monographie und kritisches Verzeichnis seiner Ölgemälde, Ölstudien und Ölskizzen, Munich 1991, p. 172, Cat. No. 80 (ill.).

A late landscape by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot which was formerly in the collection of the 19th-century Scottish railway engineer James Staats Forbes changed hands for CHF 84 500 (lot 3214), and a magnificent view of the Port of Marseille by Félix François Ziem (lot 3205) sold for CHF 59 300. 

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796 Paris 1875), Sous bois. Un tronc d'arbre abattu en travers d'un ruisseau, 1874. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left: COROT 1874. 55 x 45 cm. Estimate CHF 60 000 / 90 000. Sold for CHF 84 500. Photo Koller

Provenance: - Collection of James Staats Forbes, circa 1891. 
- Christie's, London, 14.6.1918, Lots 53 (wrong measurements). 
- Private collection: W. Robinson.
- Christie's, London, 17.6.1927, Lots 89.
- Barbizon House, London. 
- Collection of Lord Craigmyle, London. 
- Christie's, New York, 27.5.1983, Lots 37.
- Galerie Widmer, St. Gallen. 
- Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in 1986.

Literature: Robaut, Alfred: L'oeuvre de Corot. Catalogue raisonné et illustré, Vol III, Paris 1965, Cat. No. 2168, p. 303 (with wrong measurements. With ill.).

Félix François Ziem (Beaune 1821 - 1911 Paris), Le port de Marseille. Oil on panel. Signed lower left: Ziem. 73 x 57.5 cm. Estimate CHF 40 000 / 60 000. Sold for CHF 59 300. Photo Koller

 Provenance: - Sotheby's, New York, 24.10.1946, Lot 81.
- Sotheby's, New York, 29.2.1956, Lot 63.
- Weinmüller auction, Munich, 2-3.10.1963, Lot 1169.
- Swiss private collection for several generations. 

Literature: - Miquel, Pierre: Félix Ziem 1821-1911, Maurs-la-Jolie 1978, p. 198, No. 1405 (ill. entitled "Scène de Port (Marseille)").
- Burdin-Hellebranth, Anne: Félix Ziem 1821 - 1911, 1998, vol II, p. 105, No. 1280 (ill.).

Drawings 
Another “portrait”, this time of a bare-limbed oak tree by Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (lot 3457), more than doubled its estimate at CHF 65 300. Formerly in the collection of the Kunsthalle in Mannheim, this work illustrates the intense attention that Friedrich gave to natural subjects.

Caspar David Friedrich (Greifswald 1774-1840 Dresden), Study of a tree, 18 April 1803. Estimate CHF 25 000 / 35 000. Sold for CHF 65 300. Photo Koller

Pencil on wove paper with brown ground. Dated in pencil at left lower edge: den 18t April 1803. Numbered in pencil on the lower right: 6. Old inscription on the reverse: Caspar David Friedrich. Von der Kunsthalle Mannheim erworben am 24. April 1919. Heinrich Sachs. 20.5 x 13.2 cm (the upper and lower right corners cut and with old supplements). 

 Provenance: - Kunsthalle Mannheim (until April 1919) 
- Heinrich Sachs (1894-1946), acquired 24 April 1919 
- Kunstkabinett Ketterer, Stuttgart 1951 
- Swiss private collection

A wonderful depiction of Greek prime minister Alexandros Mavrokordatos (lot 3468) by Suzanne Eynard-Chatelain realized CHF 30 500, triple the pre-sale estimate. Mavrokordatos, a friend of Lord Byron and champion of Greek independence, is dressed as a freedom fighter in this lively portrait. 

Suzanne Eynard-Chatelain (1775 - 1844), Portrait of Prince Alexandre Maurocordato as Greek freedom fighter in Turkish costume. Watercolour and chalk on paper. 73.5 x 58.4 cm. Framed. Estimate CHF 10 000 / 15 000. Sold for CHF 30 500. Photo Koller

Literature: Patrick-André Guerretta. Pierre-Louis De la Rive ou la belle nature, vie et oevre peint, Genève, 2002, S. 267 (Abb.)

Porcelain & Silver 
The top lot of the Max Fahrländer collection was the very rare “Flaming Tortoise” Kakiemon-style plate with an inscribed Augustus Rex mark (lot 1737, sold for CHF 36 500), indicating that it was not only in Augustus III’s personal collection, but was among the wares produced during the Hoym-Lemaire scandal of the 1730s.

A very rare “Flaming Tortoise” plate from the collection of Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony (1733-1763), Meissen, ca. 1729-1731. Estimate CHF 10 000 / 15 000. Sold for CHF 30 500. Photo Koller

With incised AR monogram from 1734. Enamel blue swords and incised AR monogram, blackened. D 24,8 cm. 

Provenance: - Collection Dr. Max Fahrländer, Basel-Riehen.
- Private collection via inheritance, Winterthur.

The von Hoym–Lemaire Scandal
This extremely rare plate is a witness to an eighteenth-century Franco-Saxon scandal complete with deception, greed, and the downfall of a powerful minister. Behind the scandal, however, lies one of the greatest early financial successes for the Meissen porcelain manufactory.

In the second half of the 17th century, collecting porcelain from the Far East was a passionate hobby for many wealthy European merchants and nobles. Kaolin (the special clay required to make porcelain) had not yet been discovered in Europe, and these fabulous and fragile wares had to be shipped halfway around the world. The pieces that arrived intact were consequently rare and exceedingly expensive. 

All of this changed in the early years of the 18th century, when August the Strong’s royal porcelain manufactory at Meissen in Saxony discovered the secret of pure white porcelain. For the first time, a European manufactory could produce wares to rival those of China and Japan. Meissen had found the magic formula – but would wealthy collectors used to the original Asian wares purchase these European imitations?

Meissen’s products, mainly decorated with chinoiserie motifs, enjoyed a certain success throughout its first two decades of existence, but competition from other European manufactories – and especially from the Asian products themselves – was strong. The idea for Meissen’s breakthrough product was to come from an unlikely source: a French ceramics merchant, Rodolphe Lemaire. 

The son and grandson Parisian ceramics and glass dealers (but left to start from scratch after his debt-ridden father’s death), Lemaire observed the rising popularity of Japanese “Kakiemon” wares with great interest. Collectors – including August the Strong himself – were paying huge sums to have such pieces shipped from Japan. In 1728 Lemaire wrote to August the Strong, proposing a deal: Lemaire would supply models of Asian porcelain from his own collection to the Meissen workshop. In return, the Meissen craftsmen would produce reproductions of these models and sell them to Lemaire for exclusive distribution on the French market. 

In order to achieve this plan, Lemaire enlisted the aid of Count Karl Heinrich von Hoym. Ambassador to the court of Versailles for Saxony and Poland throughout the 1720s, von Hoym was also a passionate collector of porcelain, and probably a client of Lemaire. When the Count was recalled to Saxony in 1729 to become minister of Internal Affairs and director of the Meissen manufactory, he was in the perfect situation to assist Lemaire in his mercantile schemes. 

Together they managed to convince Augustus to supply Lemaire with the Meissen porcelain he needed. Some wares Lemaire ordered undecorated, which he sent to Holland to be painted in the fashionable Kakiemon style (the Dutch workshops were long accustomed to imitating Asian porcelain), then to be finished at Meissen before being shipped to France for sale. Others were apparently wholly decorated at Meissen, by the brilliant painter J.-G. Höroldt. The pair even managed to obtain Japanese pieces from the private collection of Augustus as models to be copied by Meissen’s craftsmen. 

The success of the Meissen “Kakiemon” wares was immediate and far-reaching. Collectors throughout Europe, but especially in France, avidly purchased these exquisitely decorated wares, made in a wide variety of forms and sold for a much more reasonable price than their Japanese counterparts. Lemaire and von Hoym began to wonder –what if these wares could be passed off as authentic Japanese porcelain, and sold for a much higher price? For that to be possible, they would have to somehow remove the Meissen manufactory mark: the famous blue crossed swords. Lemaire requested that the pieces in the next delivery from Meissen be marked on top of the clear glaze, and not under it as was customary, allowing the mark to be easily removed.

In the meantime, Count von Hoym’s arrogance and Francophile tendencies were making him numerous enemies in Saxony. His business relations with the Frenchman Lemaire were at the center of accusations which led to the search of his Dresden residence in 1731. Thousands of pieces of porcelain were seized, and all were confiscated by Augustus and taken to his Japanese Palace in Dresden.

The present plate was apparently a part of this confiscated porcelain. It bears the particular blue crossed swords mark corresponding to the porcelain ordered by Lemaire in 1729 for sale in Paris, as well as the AR (Augustus Rex) monogram incised to the back. This latter mark is exceedingly rare, and was added in 1734 by Augustus III, the son of Augustus the Strong, to certain pieces seized from Lemaire and von Hoym which he wished to be conserved in the royal collection. 

Count von Hoym and Lemaire were both imprisoned by Augustus III. Lemaire managed to obtain the intervention of the French government, and was released. He fled to Regensburg and his subsequent activities are lost to history. Von Hoym was less fortunate: he remained in prison, where he committed suicide in 1736. The Meissen manufactory flourished, partly because of the French trade sparked by Lemaire’s imitation Kakiemon wares, continued by Lemaire’s business partner, Jean-Charles Huet. And pieces such as the present plate have become highly collectible, rare testimonies to an affair that would mark the history of porcelain.

Among the other highlights of the auction, also from the Meissen manufactory, are a plate from the Sulkowski service, made for a Polish count who was a childhood friend of Augustus III (lot 1778, sold for CHF 30 500), and an unusually shaped Chinoiserie terrine (lot 1775) which realized CHF 22 100. 

Rare plate from the Sulkowski service, Meissen, ca. 1735-1748. Estimate CHF 10 000 / 15 000. Sold for CHF 30 500. Photo Koller

D 43 cm. The center with the Alliance coat of arms Sulkowski and Stein zu Jettingen, flanked by two lions. Underglaze blue sword mark, incised mark V, potter's mark (this type of potter's mark is found on 11 plates of the Sulkowski Service; cf. Boltz, Keramos 151/96, page 76. 

A comparable piece of identical dimensions can be found in the Hoffmeister Collection, in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (1999-2009), at Bonhams, The Hoffmeister Collection, Part I, 25 November 2009, Lot 75. 

Small Chinoiserie tureen, 'Olio' pot, Meissen, ca. 1725-1728. Estimate CHF 18 000 / 25 000. Sold for CHF 22 100. Photo Koller

(cf. my post Small chinoiserie tureen, 'olio' pot, Meissen, ca. 1725-1728)

Books & Autographs 
The Books and Autographs auction featured a number of beautifully illustrated volumes on natural history from private collections, including an early 18th century work by Louis Renard which was one of the earliest books published with illustrations of exotic fish, made on the spot by seafarers with the Dutch East India Company (lot 353). It sold for CHF 90 500, more than double its estimate.

Louis Renard, Poissons Ecrevisses et Crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires, que l'on trouve autour des Isles Moluques, et sur les côtes des Terres Australes: [...] Divisé en deux tomes, dont le premier a été copié sur les originaux de Monsr. Baltazar Coyett... Le second tome a été formé sur les recueils de Monsr. Adrien Vander Stell. 2 Teile in 1 Band. Estimate CHF 40 000 / 60 000. Sold for CHF 90 500. Photo Koller

With engraved coat of arms and 100 (1 doublepage) coloured engravings after Samuel Fallours et al. Red morroco-binding of later 18th century with gilt title to spine. Very few stains to margins, otherwise beautiful copy with luminous colouring. - Former property of Fréderic-Jules Malotau de Guerne (1855-1931), a french zoologist.

François Levaillant’s work on parrots from 1801-05 was also hotly contested in the saleroom, selling for CHF 102 500 (lot 356).

François Levaillant, Histoire naturelle des perroquets. Estimate CHF 50 000 / 70 000. Sold for CHF 102 500. Photo Koller

2 volumes. Half-titles, index leaves, 145 engraved plates after Jacques Barraband, printed in colours and finished by hand by Langlois under the direction of Bouquet. Occasional browning to a few of the text leaves, very light marginal spotting to a few plates. - Contemporary red morocco signed J. M. Jacobs Antwerp, spines gilt with title on green morocco lettering-piece (edges slightly rubbed).

A complete first edition of Diderot and D’Alembert’s Encyclopaedia, including the volumes which were banned by the Vatican, fetched CHF 90 500 (lot 328).

Diderot, [Denis] - D'Alembert, [Jean Le Rond]. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des art et des métiers... 17 Textbände, 4 Supplementbände, 12 Tafelbände und 2 Indexbände in zus. 35 Bänden. Estimate CHF 50 000 / 70 000. Sold for CHF 90 500. Photo Koller

Correspondence by artists was highly prized in the Autographs auction, including a large collection of letters between Oskar Kokoschka and the long-time director of the Zurich Kunsthaus, Wilhelm Wartmann (lot 420, sold for CHF 10 000), as well as a series of letters and postcards from Edvard Munch from the 1920s and 30s (lot 421, sold for CHF 23 300).  

Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), Collection of 16 letters, 6 cards u. Other autographs with the long-time director of the Zurich Kunsthaus, Wilhelm Wartmann, 1947-1966. Estimate CHF 3 000 / 5 000. Sold for CHF 10 000. Photo Koller

Detail, Mosaic of the Epiphany of Dionysus. Late 2nd – early 3rd century CE. Stone tesserae. H. 59 in; W. 86.6 in (H. 150 cm; W. 220 cm). From Dion. Villa of Dionysus, Symposium Hall. Archaeological Museum of Dion. Photo © Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, and Dion Excavations. Courtesy Onassis Cultural Center NY. 

NEW YORK, NY.- Presenting its first full spring season since renovating its gallery in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, theOnassis Cultural Center NY offers the public a major exhibition of ancient art, installations of contemporary art, and a variety of events and resources on site and online for people of all ages, during three months dedicated to the theme of Gods and Mortals. Mount Olympus, the peak known to the ancient world as the home of the Greek gods, provides the real and symbolic locus for the wide-ranging program. 

Slab with the Imprint of Two-Feet and Dedicatory Inscription. Late 2nd-3rd century AD, Unknown. Image courtesy of Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, and the Dion Excavations. Courtesy Onassis Cultural Center NY.

From March 24 through June 18, visitors to the Onassis Cultural Center NY will be able to 

• view an exclusive exhibition of rare ancient artifacts from Olympus—some never before displayed to the public—curated by Dr. Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the Acropolis Museum, Athens, and Director of Excavations at Dion on Mount Olympus 

• explore the sights and sounds of the landscape on Mount Olympus 

• learn about the lives of the people who have dwelled on its slopes 

• experience the responses of artists Maria Zervos and Kostas Ioannidis to this place steeped in history and myth 

• discuss the exhibition and the questions it raises for today with philosopher Simon Critchley 

• play the role of an archeologist in a specially commissioned app game designed by Culturplay, Secrets of the Past—Excavating the City of Zeus.

All exhibitions and events at the Onassis Cultural Center NY, 645 Fifth Avenue, are open to the public free of charge. 

Statue of an Eagle, 2nd Century AD, Unknown. Image courtesy of Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, and the Dion Excavations. Courtesy Onassis Cultural Center NY.

Anthony S. Papadimitriou, President of the Onassis Foundation, said, “This major exhibition marks the reopening of the gallery spaces at the Onassis Cultural Center NY after three years of renovation. We are eager to welcome American and international visitors to our new space and ready to host a new series of art exhibitions. Following in the established tradition of the Onassis Cultural Center NY, our exhibition and other academic and cultural activities will continue to explore and present the Hellenic heritage to a wider audience.” 

Commenting on the exhibition, Dimitrios Pandermalis said, “During the past forty-five years of work at the site of the city of Dion, not only have we been able to locate ancient buildings and portable finds but also to chart the lives of many individuals throughout the centuries. The exhibition Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus aims to provide visitors with a sense of Dion through the presentation of some of the most significant finds, as well as to introduce the wonder of the natural environment that inspired the ancients to develop a sacred center on the foothills of Olympus.” 

Amalia Cosmetatou, Executive Director of the Onassis Foundation (USA) and its Director of Cultural Affairs, said, “This spring we present a major exhibition of ancient art and public programs that draw inspiration from Greek mythology and bring the conversation to the present. We enter into a dialogue about ancient and contemporary art and ideas inspired by life in the ancient city of Dion and the natural environment of Mount Olympus, reflecting on the divine and the human condition, the eternal and the ephemeral. Offering programs for all ages, we provide a forum for creative, original thought about our Classical heritage and its relevance today.”

Cult Statue of Zeus Hypsistos, 2nd Century AD, Unknown. Image courtesy of Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria, and the Dion Excavations. Courtesy Onassis Cultural Center NY.

Exhibition: Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus 
Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus explores the relationship between daily life in an ancient city built on the slopes of Mount Olympus and the mythological abode of the gods at the peak. Within an immersive setting, the exhibition features more than ninety artworks and artifacts—including mosaics, sculptures, jewelry, ceramics, coins, glass, and implements—dating from the tenth century BCE to the fourth century CE. None of these objects have been seen before in the United States. Among the highlights are marble sculptures from Hellenistic and Roman times of deities including Zeus, Demeter, and Aphrodite, decorative objects and implements dating back as far as 1,000 BCE, and a visually stunning group of mosaic panels from the private Villa of Dionysus, newly restored with the support of the Onassis Foundation and exhibited to the public for the first time anywhere. 

The large central panel of the mosaics (approximately 5 feet high by 7 feet long), showing Dionysus, the god of wine and theater, in triumph, is installed with three accompanying mosaic panels depicting the theatrical masks of Silenus, King Lycurgus, and a satyr. These decorations from the late 2nd to early 3rd century CE testify to the importance of Dion as a theatrical center dating back to the reign of Archelaos, under whose patronage Euripides is said to have written The Bacchae and under whose support the play was first performed. 

Also on view from the Roman period are a group of four marble sculptures portraying philosophers (part of the furnishings in the Villa of Dionysus) and sculptures of a philosopher and two divinities associated with Asclepius, the god of medicine, that were installed in Dion’s main public baths. These works illustrate the persistence into Roman times of the Greek tradition of the gymnasium as a place of recreation and discussion. 

Statue of Aphrodite Hypolympidia and Base with Dedicatory Inscription. Statue: 150-100 BC; Base: 2nd century AD, Marble. Photo © Archaeological Excavations at Dion, Greece. Courtesy Onassis Cultural Center NY.

Other important statues, dating from the Hellenistic period, reflect the prominence of the cults of the goddesses Demeter and Aphrodite, as well as the gradual introduction of Egyptian influences into the religious life of Dion. Among these works are a head from a statue of Demeter, a statue of Aphrodite Hypolympidia excavated from the sanctuary later dedicated to Isis, and a relief stele depicting Isis as Demeter. 

lso included in the exhibition are fascinating objects that are more intimate and utilitarian in nature. Among these are a metal brooch with remnants of fabric, fashioned as a pair of spirals, that dates from the early Iron Age (1000 – 700 BCE); terracotta jars from the same period, excavated from a cemetery mound; a gold bracelet with lion’s head finials from the late 3rd century BCE; a group of nine gold impressions of coins; a copper alloy medical instrument—a speculum—from the 1st century BCE; a copper alloy oil lamp with a decorative head of a panther (1st-2nd century CE); and a miniature glass vessel with an incised inscription from the mid-2nd to 4th century CE. 

Augmenting these objects are specially commissioned videos showing the landscape of Mount Olympus and the archaeological site of Dion and the removal and conservation of the mosaics from the Villa of Dionysus.

Mosaic panel with theatrical mask of Silenus, circa late 2nd century AD–early 3rd century AD. 
Photo: © Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Spots, Archaeological Receipts Fund, courtesy the Ephorate of the Antiquities of Pierie and the Dion Excavations.

Nova Legenda Anglie, first edition, London, Wynkyn de Worde, 1516. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

NEW YORK, NY.- On Tuesday, April 12, Swann Galleries will hold an auction of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books, featuring early English books and travel texts focusing on the exploration of Central Asia. 

Standouts among the travel books include a first edition of John Biddulph’s Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, Calcutta, 1880, previously owned by the anthropologist Sir James Frazer, writer of The Golden Bough. Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh is estimated at $1,000 to $2,000.

Lot 185, John Biddulph, Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh. 6 lithographed plates; 3 folding genealogical tables; folding map in front cover pocket. [2], vi, 164; clxix pages. 8vo, 246x152 mm, original cloth, rubbed and shaken, spine ends and cover corners worn through; bookplate removed from front pastedown, contents otherwise clean. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, 1880. Estimate $1,000 - 2,000 

A first edition of Sir Alexander Cunningham’s Ladák, Physical, Statistical and Historical, London, 1854, will also be on offer ($2,000 to $3,000).

Lot 192, Sir Alexander Cunningham, Ladák, Physical, Statistical, and Historical; with Notices of the Surrounding Countries. 31 lithographed, all but 14 in color; linen-backed folding hand-colored engraved map in rear cover pocket. [iii]-xii, [2], 485, [2] pages, including last leaf with printer's imprint; lacks the half-title. 8vo, 252x155 mm, later 19th-century 1/2 leather, extremities rubbed; contents generally clean, discoloration on linen backing not visible on recto of map. London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., 1854. Estimate $2,000 - 3,000

A pioneer in the field of mountaineering and climbing companion to the famous Aleister Crowley, Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein’s The Karakorams and Kashmir, An Account of a Journey, first edition, London, 1896, is included in the auction ($800 to $1,200).

Lot 197, Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein, The Karakorams and Kashmir. An Account of a Journey. xvi, 253, [2] pages, including initial ad leaf, half-title, and final leaf with printer's imprint. 8vo, 193x127 mm, original cloth with pictorial label on front cover, spine slightly darkened with small stain; free endpapers browned, smudge in lower margin of ad leaf, contents otherwise clean. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1896. Estimate $800 - 1,200 

Completing the strong travel section is a run of works by Hungarian-British archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein, including a first edition of Serindia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, Oxford, 1921. This five-volume set is from the library of Stein’s friend and collaborator Fred H. Andrews and is estimated at $6,000 to $9,000. 

Lot 240, Sir Marc Aurel Stein, Serindia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China. 175 plates of antiquities; 345 photographic illustrations; 59 plans. xxxix, [1], 547, [1]; viii, [549]-1088; xi, [1], [1089]-1580; x pages. 4 volumes, plus case containing contents list and 96 folding maps, including general map with glassine overlays. Together, 5 volumes. Folio, 330x252 mm, original cloth, worn, with hole in Volume 1 spine and dent along edge of flap on map case; free endpapers browned, clean tear in plate facing page 634 in Volume 2, contents otherwise generally clean. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1921. Estimate $6,000 - 9,000. 

The medical books selection features a scarce first edition of Matthew Turner’s An Account of the Extraordinary Medicinal Fluid, called Aether, [Liverpool], 1761, in which Turner advocated the use of ether for a wide variety of ailments, including headaches and other pain ($5,000 to $7,000).

Lot 161, Matthew Turner, An Account of the Extraordinary Medicinal Fluid, called Aether. [4], 16 pages. 8vo, 194x124 mm, contemporary wrappers; contents faintly toned but clean. [Liverpool]: John Sadler, 1761. Estimate $5,000 - 7,000 

Another rarity is an early pharmacy manual, Lumen apothecariorum, Venice, 21 January 1512, by Quiricus de Augustus ($1,500 to $2,500).

Lot 130, Quiricus de Augustus, Lumen apothecariorum. 25, [1] leaves. Folio, 310x214 mm, 20th-century cloth-backed boards; contents clean apart from light soiling and circular stain on title, and small rust hole in blank lower margin of 2c2. (Venice: Filippo Pinci, 21 January 1512). Estimate $1,500 - 2,500 

The Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton’s extensive study of depression, is also featured. A second edition published in Oxford, 1624, The Anatomy of Melancholy is one of the most popular psychiatric texts ever published ($1,500 to $2,500). 

Lot 134, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy. [4], 64, [4], 188, [4], 189-332, [2], 333-379, 370-557, [7] pages. Folio, 269x180 mm, modern 1/2 calf; marginal soiling and dampstaining throughout with traces of mold, paper corrosion in blank lower outer corners, scattered minor marginal tears, title restored and mounted with partial loss of imprint, next leaf mounted, lower outer corner of the 2 leaves after that restored with slight text loss, hole in outer margin of h5 affecting sidenote on recto, wormtrail in middle of volume entering text. Oxford: John Lichfield and James Short for Henry Cripps, 1624. Estimate $1,500 - 2,500 

Among scientific books is Marcel Tolkowsky’s Diamond Design, first edition, London & New York, 1919, the first systematic mathematical analysis of the optics of diamonds ($1,000 to $2,000).

Lot 176, Marcel Tolkowsky, Diamond Design. A Study of the Reflection and Refraction of Light in a Diamond. Folding plate and 36 text illustrations. [2], 104 pages, including half-title. 8vo, 182x125 mm, original blue cloth, gilt lettering slightly dulled, covers spotted, spine ends slightly frayed; endpapers browned with bookplates and owner's label on front pastedown and owner's stamp on rear pastedown, contents otherwise clean. London & New York, 1919. Estimate $1,000 - 2,000

Also included is Petrus Constantius Albinius’s Magia astrologica, Paris, 1611, a commentary on a work by Petrus Arlensis de Scudalupis dealing with the astrological relations of metals and gems with planets ($1,000 to $2,000).

Lot 165, Petrus Constantius Albinius, Magia astrologica. Hoc est . . . Clavis sympathiae septem metallorum & septem selectorum lapidum ad planetas. [16], 56 leaves, including blank last 2 preliminaries. 8vo, 170x104 mm, 19th-century marbled boards, spine darkened, chipped at top, book block loose in binding; contents toned and dampstained, last 2 leaves attached to rear cover. Paris: Charles Sevestre & Jean Petit-Pas, 1611. Estimate $1,000 - 2,000

The early printed books section of the sale features a first edition of Nova legenda Anglie, (London, 27 February 1516), a compilation of English saints’ lives by 14th-century chronicler John of Tynemouth ($8,000 to $12,000);

Lot 68, John Capgrave, falsely attributed to. Nova legenda Anglie. Full-page woodcut of Saints in Glory on A1r, repeated on verso and on recto of penultimate leaf; full-page woodcut royal arms on A6v; printer's device on verso of penultimate leaf. [6], 334, [2] leaves, including final blank, with leaves 283-293 supplied from a shorter copy. Printed in black letter. Folio, 276x194 mm, early 19th-century russia, rebacked retaining original backstrip with crest and arms of Sir Richard Colt Hoare (1758-1838); occasional soiling, scattered marginal stains, small marginal repairs without text loss on A1, X5, h4, and n5, upper margin of A2 restored with top line of text partly supplied in manuscript, blank outer margin of n5 and 2c1-2d5 restored with few letters in manuscript on 2d5, small hole in t1 repaired with few letters in manuscript. Signature of the antiquary Sir Roger Twysden (1597-1672) dated 1631 on recto of first leaf, notes in his hand on blank leaves bound in front; bookplates of John Arthur Brooke and Viscount Mersey; signature of G. Boyle dated 1978. (London: Wynkyn de Worde, 27 February 1516). Estimate $8,000 - 12,000

as well as a handsome second edition three-volume set of Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles … to the Yeare 1586, (London, 1587), “the first continuous and authoritative narrative account of British history written in the vernacular,” and the principal source for Shakespeare’s history plays ($6,000 to $9,000).

Lot 74, Raphael Holinshed, The First and Second Volumes [Third Volume] of Chronicles. Now newlie augmented and continued . . . to the Yeare 1586. General and divisional titles within woodcut architectural or historiated borders. Mostly printed in black letter. 3 volumes in 4. Folio, 352x228 mm, early 19th-century gilt-panelled russia, few joints starting, few others expertly reinforced, Volume 3/1 and 3/2 spines slightly chipped at top; contents washed with some residual toning, soiling, and marginal stains, integral blanks in all 3 volumes lacking. handsome set. (London: John Harrison et al., 1587). Estimate $6,000 - 9,000

Also included is a first edition of Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft, (London), 1584, “the first English-language discourse on witchcraft and conjuring tricks” ($10,000 to $15,000).

Lot 115, Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft. 4 full-page illustrations of conjuring tricks; one text illustration; 11 astrological and occult text diagrams. [28], 352, [4], 353-560, [16] pages, with the 2 unnumbered leaves of full-page illustrations supplied and possibly in facsimile. 4to, 201x137 mm, modern blind-tooled calf in 17th-century style; intermittent soiling, scattered ink blots and dark stains, particularly in middle of volume, old inscriptions on recto and verso of title, some scrawls and marginalia elsewhere, the 2 unnumbered leaves toned and soiled with blank lower margins restored to size.tall copy. (London: William Brome), 1584. Estimate $10,000 - 15,000 

The auction will be held Tuesday, April 12, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The auction preview will be open to the public Friday, April 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, April 9 from noon to 5 p.m.; Monday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to 6p.m.; and Tuesday, April 12 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Lot 34, A rare pale brown jade seated male figure, Eastern Han Dynasty. Estimate HK$ 300,000 - 500,000 (€35,000 - 58,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Seated cross-legged, with hands held together in front of his bare chest, his face carved with a wide smile and rounded dimpled cheeks, wearing a conical hat with two floral motifs, the beard, eyebrows and chest hair depicted by finely incised lines, the stone of an opaque pale beige-brown tone with black areas. 7.5cm (3in) high

Note: Human figures are rare in Han jades and appear to follow ceramic or bronze models found in tombs. The current lot is in particular, extremely rare for the figure's cross-legged posture. Related seated jade figures from the Han dynasty include: a jade seated figure, dated mid-Western Han dynasty, excavated from tomb no.1 in Lingshan, Mancheng County, Hebei Province, currently in the Hebei Provincial Centre of Cultural Relics Protection, illustrated by Gu Fang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p.247; another jade seated figure, dated late Western Han dynasty, in the Aurora Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Tsai Ching-Liang, Jades of Han Dynasty, Taipei, 2005, pl.118; and a jade figure of a seated old man, dated Eastern Han dynasty, illustrated by R.Keverne, Jade, London, 1991, p.123, pl.28.

Bonhams. THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, 11:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 35, A rare pale green jade figure of a male dancer, Eastern Han Dynasty. Estimate HK$ 300,000 - 400,000 (€35,000 - 46,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Carved balancing on one foot with the other leg in mid-step bent at the knee, with one arm outstretched in front of the bare chest, the other arm raised to the back with an object grasped in his hand, the striking face with prominent eyes, nose and a wide mouth with large front teeth, the stone of a pale green tone with opaque straw and dark brown inclusions. 10.4cm (4 1/8in) high

Note: During the Han dynasty, entertainment for the elite typically included dances and performances, as evidenced by Han dynasty tomb reliefs and pottery figurines. Generally, the line between dance and acrobatics, which included juggling and martial arts, was blurred. See, K.Soar and C.Aamodt, 'Archaeological Approaches to Dance Performance', BAR International Series, British Archaeological Reports, Vol.2622, Oxford, 2014, p.71. Compare the similar poses of the bare-chested bodies of acrobats and jugglers depicted on a tomb relief from Chengdu, Sichuan, in the Chengdu Museum, illustrated by R.L.Thorp and R.E.Vinograd, Chinese Art and Culture, London, 2001, p.128, nos.4-9. 

Compare several related Eastern Han dynasty pottery figures of male dancers including: one excavated in 1963 in Pi County, Sichuan Province; another excavated in 1982 from Majiashan tomb no.23 in Xindu County, Sichuan Province, illustrated by S.Lee, China: 5000 Years, New York, 1998, pls.96 and 97; and two earthenware dancers with similar clothes and poses in the Charlotte C. and John C. Weber collection, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 1994.605,87a,b.

Bonhams. THE SZE YUAN TANG COLLECTION OF CHINESE JADES, 11:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 1872, Very Fine6.04 carats Burmese Ruby and Diamond Ring. Estimate 18,000,000 — 22,000,000 HKD (2,080,875 - 2,543,292 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with an oval ruby weighing 6.04 carats, flanked on each side by an oval diamonds each weighing 1.53 carats, mounted in platinum and 18 karat yellow gold. Ring size: 6

Accompanied by Gübelin report numbered 13075070, dated 24 July 2013, stating that the 6.04 carat ruby is natural, of Burmese (Myanmar) origin, with no indications of heating, the colour variety of ruby may be called ‘pigeon blood red’ in the trade. Also accompanied by a Gübelin information sheet of 'Rubies from Mogkok, Burma; and an Appendix stating that the ruby 'exhibits a remarkable size and weight of 6.04 carat combined with an attractive and beautifully saturated colour and an outstanding purity.'
Further accompanied by SSEF report numbered 84195, dated 18 February 2016, stating that the 6.04 carat ruby is natural, of Burmese (Myanmar) origin, with no indications of heating, the colour of this ruby may also be called 'pigeon blood red' based on SSEF reference standard.
Also accompanied by two GIA reports numbered 2146689357 and 6157212940, dated 27 February 2013 and 07 March 2013 respectively, stating that both 1.53 carat diamonds are D Colour, Flawless.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite, Hong Kong, 05 Apr 2016, 02:00 PM

Lot 1871, Important Pair of Natural Pearl and Diamond Pendent Earclips. Estimate 14,000,000 — 17,000,000 HKD (1,618,458 - 1,965,271 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

Each suspending a natural pearl drop measuring approximately 12.40-12.55 x 17.00mm and 12.35-12.50 x 18.50mm respectively, to a cluster surmount set with marquise- and pear-shaped diamonds altogether weighing 14.38 carats, mounted in platinum, surmount signed Harry Winston.

Accompanied by SSEF report numbered 84026, dated 28 January 2016, stating that the two pearls are natural saltwater pearls. Also accompanied by SSEF appendix letter and SSEF premium folio, stating that 'matching pair of saltwater natural pearls of this size and quality is very rare and exceptional.' 
Also accompanied by ten GIA reports, stating that the eight marquise-shaped and two pear-shaped diamonds ranging from 2.14 to 0.90 carats are D to E Colour, IF to VS2 Clarity.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite, Hong Kong, 05 Apr 2016, 02:00 PM