Lot 1875, Rare and Important 4.08 carats Fancy Vivid Orange Diamond and 5.20 carats Diamond Ring. Estimate 12,000,000 — 14,000,000 HKD (1,387,250 - 1,618,458 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 10731072, dated 25 August 1999, stating that the 4.08 carat diamond is natural, Fancy Vivid Orange Colour, SI2 Clarity.

Please note that the certificate is more than 10 years old and might require an update.

Note: The past few years marked the rise of fancy colour diamonds across the globe, with international auctions as one of the predominant platforms in which the general public, aside from collectors and connoisseurs, become acquainted with the colourful possibilities in the world of diamonds. While some colours such as yellow and brown are more commonly seen, other colours such as orange seldom appears; consequently, the vibrancy of orange colouration is especially captivating when displayed by a diamond.

It is believe that the orange colour is caused by nitrogen, which is the same element responsible for the yellow colours in diamonds. Yet these nitrogen atoms must be arranged in a specific way for an orange appearance to occur. Among the tiny percentage of diamonds that can been classified as fancy coloured, only a very minute fraction are graded as orange without modifying hue terms. These treasures radiating warm and energetic light rarely come by even at the most prestigious auctions. GIA also stated that they rarely saw orange diamonds exceeding 4 carats when polished.

Perhaps one of the most famous orange diamonds that appeared in auction is the 5.54 carat Fancy Vivid Orange ‘Pumpkin Diamond’ sold by Sotheby’s and purchased by The House of Harry Winston in 1997. Discovered in the Central African Republic in the 1990s, the ‘Pumpkin Diamond’ was featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History 2003 exhibit the Splendour of Diamonds. This spectacular exhibit, curated with the assistance of GIA, brought together a group of diamonds representing the very finest exampled in colour, size and quality. This important show provided a glimpse into the exotic world of coloured diamonds, opening its door briefly to the broad and eager audience. In 2011, Sotheby’s had the honour to offer ‘The Mandarin Orange’, a 4.19 carat cushion-shaped fancy vivid orange diamond, which set the world record price per carat and highest price for any fancy vivid orange diamond at auction. The current per carat record price for an orange diamond was set by a 14.82 carat fancy vivid orange diamond which sold for US$2,398,151 per carat in 2013.

This 4.08 carat fancy vivid orange diamond is a remarkable example of one of the rarest and most prized colour sensations observed in the world of diamonds. Its elegant shape is echoed by the similarly-cut adjoining white diamond, accented by a soft curve that continues their subtle outlines, freeing the two dazzling diamonds from any kind of enclosure, thus allowing this one-of-a-kind orange diamond to display its true marvelous colour.

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

Lot 11, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri dit le Guerchin (Cento 1591 – Bologne 1666), Saint Jean Baptiste assis au pied d’un arbre. Plume et encre brune, 27 x 17 cm. Estimation : 25 000 € / 30 000 €. Photo Millon et associés.

Lot 10, Attribuéà Agostino Carrache (Bologne 1557- Parme 1602), Feuille d’étude avec des caricatures. Plume et encre brune, 21,8 x 18,2 cm. Estimation : 5 000 € / 6 000 €. Photo Millon et associés.

Lot 20, Sigismondo Caula (Modène 1637 – 1724), Etude pour un saint Sébastien. Plume et encre brune, lavis brun et rehauts de gouache blanche sur papier préparé. Annoté au verso dans le haut « S.Caula », et paraphé en haut à droite, 43,8 x 29 cm. Estimation : 5 000 € / 6 000 €. Photo Millon et associés.

Importants manques restaurés sur les bords, petites taches et petites pliures.

MILLON ET ASSOCIÉS PARIS, Dessins Anciens et Modernes, le 01 Avril 2016 à 15h30

Lot 81, A Ding foliate dish, Five dynasties (907-960). Estimate HK$100,000 – HK$200,000 ($12,953 - $25,906). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The dish is potted with shallow rounded sides that flares to a foliate rim divided into five bracket-lobes each centred with a sharp point. It is covered inside and out with a transparent glaze of yellowish-ivory tone. 6 1/4 in. (16.4 cm.) diam., brocade box

Lot 83, A small carved Ding ‘lotus’ dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HK$60,000 – HK$80,000 ($7,772 - $10,362. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The dish is potted with a bevelled foot and flaring sides and is freely carved to the interior with a single lotus spray with combed details. It is covered overall with a warm ivory glaze with the exception of the unglazed mouth rim exposing the white biscuit body. 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm.) diam., box

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Literature: Kuro to Shiro ~Soji~, Tokyo, 2015, pl. 20

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 84, A small carved Ding ‘daylily’ dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HK$60,000 – HK$80,000 ($7,772 - $10,362. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The dish has angled sides rising from a flat base to a slightly flaring rim. The interior is skillfully carved and combed to depict a single daylily sprig, adorned with sketchily carved leaves. It is covered overall in a pale ivory glaze. 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm.) diam., brocade box

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Literature: Kuro to Shiro ~Soji~, Tokyo, 2015, pl. 19

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong

Mikimoto. Spring necklace, earrings, and ring, featuring white South Sea cultured pearls, tsavorite garnets, purple sapphires, Paraiba tourmalines, amethysts, and diamonds.

Mikimoto. Spring Ring.

Mikimoto. Summer Earrings.

Mikimoto. Summer Ring.

Mikimoto. Autumn necklace featuring yellow and orange sapphires, spessartite garnets, diamonds and a golden South Sea pearl.

Mikimoto. Autumn Ring.

Mikimoto. Winter Ring ring featuring baroque white South Sea cultured pearl with blue sapphires, Paraiba tourmalines, and diamonds.

Dress with evening bodice (detail), c. 1850, American, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of the Estate of Matta Grimm Lacey, 1976.33B,C. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum.

HARTFORD, CONN.- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Conn., is mounting the first exhibition to fully explore the Romantic era as a formative period in costume history from Mar. 5, 2016 – Jul. 10, 2016. “Gothic to Goth: Romantic Era Fashion & Its Legacy,” presents historic garments alongside literary works, paintings, prints, and decorative arts to illustrate how European fashion from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras influenced new styles created in the Romantic era between 1810 and 1860. The exhibition explores how Romantic era principles of historicism, imagination and emotion, religion and the natural world—rejections of Neoclassical order and rationality—impacted not only costume but fine and decorative art, architecture, interior design, literature and music, and reveal the Romantic roots of recent Goth and Steampunk fashions. Lynne Z. Bassett, Costume and Textile Historian and museum consultant, is organizing the exhibition.

Coat-dress and belt, Fall 2013, Designed by Sarah Burton for the House of Alexander McQueen, Bonded felt and leather, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Costume and Textile Purchase Fund, 2013.22.1-2; Boots, Fall 2013, Designed by Sarah Burton for the House of Alexander McQueen, Leather, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Costume and Textile Purchase Fund, 2013.22.3A,B. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum.

The first half of the 19th century—the Romantic era—is characterized by a societal shift away from the order and reason of the Enlightenment period, and corresponding embrace of imagination and emotion, originality and vision, and individuality and subjectivity as guiding principles. Romanticism idealized nostalgia for the bygone quiet rural life in a time of cultural stress, offering an escape from the social and economic uncertainty of the Industrial Revolution. These values gave rise in America to the Hudson River School of landscape painters, Transcendentalist philosophers including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and a fascination with revisiting historic costume designs that has endured to influence fashion in the present day. 

Wedding Dress (detail), 1838, Silk satin, Courtesy of the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut, 1950.60.0. Courtesy Connecticut Historical Society.

“Gothic to Goth” explores how 500 years of European fashions were selectively integrated into creative new styles by showcasing women’s and children’s clothing and accessories from 1810−1860, alongside literary works, paintings, furniture and decorative arts of the period. Costume pieces, drawn largely from the Wadsworth Atheneum’s own collection, were carefully chosen to delve deeply into the inspirations of the little understood Romantic era of fashion. A cotton muslin dress from c. 1820, one of the earliest works in the exhibition, is an early example of historical revival clothing, with sleeves inspired by a Renaissance “slashed” style. A cotton dress from the 1830s incorporates the large, puffed sleeves and wide collar of the 16th and 17th centuries, while the decorative tab edging of the collar recalls clothing in the 13th and 14th centuries and the crenellations of Gothic revival buildings. In another mix of styles, a dress from c. 1840 reveals an overall silhouette akin to a Gothic arch and a bodice inspired by 16th-century gowns. A veneration of nature and spirituality is also embodied in the costume, as well as in the furniture and decorative arts featured in “Gothic to Goth,” along with the Romantic interest in historical revival. Garments including wedding gowns, a nursing dress, children’s clothing and accessories commemorating friendship reflect the sentimentalization of love, marriage and motherhood in popular Romantic era art and literature. 

Parlor chair, c. 1863, American, probably Boston, Rosewood and silk damask, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Horace B. Clark and Thomas L. Cox, by exchange, 1985.2.2; Dress with evening bodice, c. 1850, American, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of the Estate of Matta Grimm Lacey, 1976.33B,C; Chantilly lace shawl, c. 1850-75, French, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Kraatz, Paris, 1984.70. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum

A look at recent Goth and Steampunk fashions concludes the exhibition, revealing their roots in the rich imagination and aesthetic of Romanticism, and featuring designs by Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nightwing Whitehead and House of Coniglio. The entire exhibition showcases approximately 40 fully-dressed mannequins, in addition to accessories, furniture, paintings and decorative arts objects.

Evening gown, 1986, Designed by Hélène Hayes, Velvet and silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Susan E. O’Connor, 2013.28.5. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum

Dress, c. 1837-40, American, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift from the Estate of Miss Laura B. Pease through Dwight Pease, 1950.401; Shawl, c. 1845, English, Wool and silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Maria D. Thompson, The Thompson Collection, 1922.246; Bonnet, 1837, American, Silk and cane, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Miss Amy L. Steiner, 1950.531; Shoes, 1841, American, Silk and leather, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Miss A. Gertrude Ensign, 1946.261-262. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum

Dress, 2007, Design by Alexander McQueen, Velvet and satin, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, Gift of Anonymous donors in London who are friends of the Peabody Essex Museum, 2011, 2011.44.1© 2012 Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, Photography by Walter Silver

Dress made from 18th-century fabric, c. 1840, American, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. T. Stewart Hamilton, 1961.109A,B. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum

Dress with evening bodice (detail), c. 1850, American, Silk, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of the Estate of Matta Grimm Lacey, 1976.33B,C. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum

Vampire suit (jacket and jeans), 1998, Cotton, lycra, and metal; Trench coat, 1998, Nylon, metal, and polyurethane; Tattoo shirt, 1994, Nylon; Belt, c. 1993, Metal; Chains, c. 1990, Metal and leather; Bag, 2000, Leather and metal; All previous objects designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Wallet, 2010, Sold at Hot Topic, Leather, thread, and metal; Boots, c. 2000, Manufactured by Dr. Martens, Leather, rubber, and cotton. Collection of Richard Patrick Anderson; Ensemble styled by Richard Patrick Anderson. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of / Handout.

Bee-Baby necklace, 2015, Designed by House of Coniglio, Found materials including watch, ceramic doll, rhinestones, and gold-filled chain, Collection of House of Coniglio.

Watch chain, 1834, Made by Sarah Dodge, Loom-woven glass beads, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Miss Mary W. Clarke, 1943.435. Courtesy Wadsworth Atheneum.

August Kopisch, The Pontine Marshes at Sunset, 1848. Oil on canvas, 62 x 111 cm, National Museums in Berlin - National Gallery | Photo: Andres Kilger

BERLIN.- In this exhibition on the work of August Kopisch (1799–1853), Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie focuses on one of the most versatile nineteenth century artists. Like nobody else, the Breslau-born artist combined painting, poetry, and the spirit of discovery and invention. He first made a name for himself as the discoverer of the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri, since then a popular tourist destination. As a painter, Kopisch created works of their very own poetic brilliance, using a magical blue or a sumptuous twilight red to depict light phenomena in an impressive way. One of his many literary achievements was a brilliant translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. But his greatest claim to fame is the poem “Die Heinzelmännchen,” still beloved today. 

August Kopisch, Etna from the ruins of the theater in Taormina at sunset, 1834. Oil on canvas, 41.5 x 82 cm. Private property. Photo: Horst Ziegenfusz

Kopisch already took instruction in drawing as a young boy. He left his hometown at age 15 to study at the art academy in Prague, continuing his studies of painting in Vienna and later in Dresden. He travelled to Italy in 1824, spending a year in Rome and arriving in Naples in the spring of 1826. The southern landscape and Neapolitan life inspired him to folkloric poetry, translations, and paintings intense with color. In 1829, Kopisch returned to Breslau, where he created a pleorama of the Gulf of Naples with Carl Ferdinand Langhans in 1831. In 1833, he moved to Berlin, where he surrounded himself with poets, scholars, and artists, consorting with the likes of Alexander von Humboldt, Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling and Crown Prince Frederick William, who named him an official art consultant after his coronation in 1840, awarding him a pension in 1841. During his Berlin years, Kopisch published important works and showed his painting regularly at academy exhibitions.

August Kopisch, The Blue Grotto in Capri, about 1834. Oil on canvas, 30 x 39 cm. Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg.Photo: Wolfgang Pfauder

n five rooms, the exhibition presents over 40 paintings and drawings and around 80 additional objects, including inventions like the so-called “fast furnace,” musical settings, letters, publications, and illustrations, are presented to testify to Kopisch’s wide variety of work. The show begins with the discovery of the Blue Grotto and numerous paintings by Kopisch and his counterparts. The exhibition continues with Kopisch’s studies, his stay in Italy, his painting, and his writing, culminating with an installation that takes the visitor on a fictional boat trip along the Gulf of Naples.

August Kopisch, The crater of Vesuvius with the outbreak of 1828, 1828. Gouache with black ink on vellum paper, 20.1 x 30.8 cm. Private Collection. Photo: Norbert Miguletz

August Kopisch, A ship on the sea of dolphins swarmed, 1826-28. Oil on canvas, 20.5 x 34 cm. Berlin State Museums, National Gallery. Photo: Andres Kilger

August Kopisch, Sicilian coast, 1852. Oil on canvas, 93 x 104 cm. Landtag of Hessen - Wiesbaden City Palace. Photo: Andres Kilger

August Kopisch, The large fountain in Sanssouci with different lighting, 1845. Oil on paper, diameter 17 cm respectively. Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. Photo: Wolfgang Pfauder

Joseph Führich, Portrait of August Kopisch, 1829. Etching a photogravure in the portrait collection "Corpus Imaginum" by Franz Hanfstaengl, size 25 x 19 cm; Blattmaß 45.1 x 33.2 cm. Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage, Manuscripts Department. Photo: Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage

August Kopisch, Musa's curse and the transformation of the young men, 1818. Watercolor on paper, 32.5 x 45.5 cm© Vienna City Library. Photo: Vienna City Library

August Kopisch, Two male heads. Pen and brown ink on paper, 4.5 x 7.4 cm. National Museums in Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett. Photo: Dietmar Katz.

Leopold Kupelwieser, August Kopisch, 1818. Pencil on paper, 20.5 x 12.7 cm. Wien Museum. Photo: Stiegler / Massard

August Kopisch, Quick-furnace cast clawfoot, c.1835. Cast iron, 42.2 x 19 cm. Make the K. u. K. Eisenguß Waaren Factory Joseph gloss, Vienna. Technisches Museum Wien. Photo: Peter Sedlaczek

Lot 85, Four small Ding foliate-rimmed dishes, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HK$100,000 – HK$200,000 ($12,953 - $25,906). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Each dish is formed with shallow flaring sides rising to a six-lobed foliate rim, supported on a slightly concave base. It is covered overall in an attractive pale glaze with a yellowish-ivory tinge. 4 in. (10.2 cm.) diam., brocade box

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Literature: Kuro to Shiro ~Soji~, Tokyo, 2015, pl. 25

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 87, A Ding petal-lobed dish, Five dynasties (907-960). Estimate HK$70,000 – HK$90,000 ($9,067 - $11,658). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The sides of the dish are moulded as eight petals flaring towards a conforming rim, all supported on a short ring foot surmounted by a broad base. It is covered inside and out with a lustrous ivory glaze. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) diam., brocade box

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Literature: Kuro to Shiro ~Soji~, Tokyo, 2015, pl. 12

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 91, A pair of Ding-type cups and cup stands, Song dynasty (960-1279). Estimate HK$120,000 – HK$200,000 ($15,544 - $25,906). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Each cup has rounded sides rising from a spreading foot to an everted rim, each cup stand is potted in the form of a dish with an everted rim raised on a broad, flared pedestal foot with pierced cloud-shaped designs and centered by a raised platform shaped like an inverted cup, all covered with a white glaze. 4 3/8 in. (10.8 cm.) high overall, box

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the 1990s

Literature: Kuro to Shiro ~Soji~, Tokyo, 2015, pl. 28

Christie's. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 5 April 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 1846, Important and Fine 10.30 carats Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond and Diamond Ring. Estimate 10,000,000 — 16,000,000 HKD (1,156,042 - 1,849,667 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

Set with an emerald-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond weighing 10.30 carats, flanked by two emerald-cut diamonds weighing 1.60 and 1.39 carats respectively, to the shoulders decorated by circular-cut diamonds, mounted in 18 karat white gold. Ring size: 5½ 

Provenance: Dimitri Mavrommatis: The Passion of Collecting, sold by Sotheby’s Geneva on 12 November 2014, lot 467

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 13097707, dated 16 January 2004, stating that the 10.30 carat diamond is natural, Fancy Vivid Yellow Colour, VS1 Clarity. Please note that the certificate is more than 10 years old and might require an update.
Further accompanied by two GIA reports numbered 2165064929 and 1102453860, dated 11 September 2014 and 18 September 2014 respectively, stating the 1.60 and 1.39 carat diamonds are both D Colour, Internally Flawless.

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

Lot 1712, Queen Amelia of Portugal's Important Colombian Emerald and Diamond Brooch, late 19th century. Estimate 9,500,000 — 12,000,000 HKD (1,098,240 - 1,387,250 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

Designed as an old-mine- and rose-cut diamond scroll cartouche, centring on a cushion modified mixed-cut emerald and two modified calf's head step-cut emeralds weighing 12.22, 3.43 and 2.95 carats respectively, the diamonds together weighing approximately 23.00 carats, mounted with silver-topped gold, late 19th century, two rose-cut diamonds deficient.

Provenance: The property of the Late Gabriele Murdock, sold by Sotheby’s New York on 7 December 1999, lot 625 
The property of HRH, The Crown Princess of Yugoslavia, sold by Sotheby’s New York on 9 to 10 December 1981, lot 430
The collection of the Princes of Orléans and Bragança 
Queen Amelia of Portugal 
The brooch was given to Queen Amelia as a gift from her godfather, the Duke of Aumale, a son of Louis Philippe, the last King of France.

Accompanied by Gübelin report numbered 0608665/1 to 3, dated 24 October 2006, stating that the 12.22, 3.43 and 2.95 carat emeralds are natural, of Colombian origin, with no indications of clarity enhancement. Also accompanied by an appendix stating that "the three Colombian emeralds featured in the antique brooch display a saturated and homogenous colour, combined with a high degree of transparency.... An antique jewellery item with such a royal history and featuring three Colombian emeralds showing no indications of clarity enhancement is rarely encountered today."

Further accompanied by three AGL reports numbered CS 38103 to CS 38101, dated 13 January 2006, stating that the 12.22, 3.43 and 2.95 carat emeralds are natural, of Colombian origin, with no indications of clarity enhancement, and a comment stating that the Total Quality Integration Rating for the 12.22 carat emerald is excellent.

Also accompanied by SSEF report, stating that the three emeralds are natural, of Colombian origin, with no indications of clarity enhancement.

Queen Amelia of Portugal 

Queen Amelia was born Princess Amélie of Orléans in 1865. Her father, Prince Louis-Philippe, Count of Paris, was the senior grandson of the last King of the French and the claimant to the French throne. Her mother, Princess Maria-Isabella was an infanta of Spain through the Spanish branch of the Bourbon-Orléans dynasty. She married Carlos of Portugal in 1886, who reigned as King Carlos I after the death of his father in 1889. Their son, Prince of Manuel became Manuel II, the last King of Portugal, who reigned until 1910 when the country was declared a Republic.

Queen Amelia was given three emerald and diamond jewels on the occasion of her marriage to Carlos of Portugal in 1886. The emerald and diamond brooch was a gift from her godfather, the Duke of Aumale, a son of Louis Philippe, the last King of France. This grandeur of this brooch lies not only in its provenance, but also in the three attractive Colombian emeralds that are natural and free of clarity treatment, in which the centre stone weighs a stunning 12.22 carats. A noble brooch with such important gemstones would definitely attract both antique jewel aficionados and gem connoisseurs.

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

Lot 36, A group of small pale brown and grey jade vessels, Western Han Dynasty. Estimate HK$ 200,000 - 300,000 (€23,000 - 35,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Comprising: a small jade ear cup with long 'ear'-handles attached with gilt metal fittings on the sides, the stone of a greyish-white tone with brown inclusions; a small jade bowl carved with a groove below the mouth rim, the pale greyish-white stone with brown areas; three small circular boxes of greyish-white tone, one with a cover; and a small rectangular greyish-white jade box and cover with rounded sides. The ear cup 9.3cm (3 3/4in) long (8).

Published and Illustrated: Art and Imitation in China, Hong Kong, 2006, p.222, no.99 (the ear cup)

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong (14 October - 17 December 2006) (the ear cup)

Note: The advances in jade-carving techniques instigated during the Warring States period and continued throughout the Han dynasty. Jade lapidaries with the assistance of metal tools were able to efficiently hollow out large pebbles to form toiletry boxes, bowls and cups.

A Han dynasty jade ear cup is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 4, Beijing, 2011, p.187, no.242. Another ear cup, Han dynasty, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., is illustrated by M.Sullivan,The Arts of China, California, 1999, p.86, fig.5.36. Compare with a similar jade bowl from the Liaoning Provincial Museum, illustrated by Gu Fang, The Pictorial Handbook of Ancient Chinese Jades, Beijing, 2007, p.278.

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

Lot 33, A grey and black jade carving of a chimera, bixie, Han Dynasty or later. Estimate HK$ 150,000 - 200,000 (€17,000 - 23,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The mythical beast in an aggressive stance ready to pounce, with its head turned left and jaws wide open, the muscular body framed by a pair of wings and with a bifurcated tail, the stone of a greyish-white tone with various gradients of dark brown inclusions and veins. 5.5cm (2 1/8in) long

Published and Illustrated: Art and Imitation in China, Hong Kong, 2006, p.119, no.14

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong (14 October - 17 December 2006)

Note: The present lot's powerful beast, with its compact body crouched down, tensed on four legs, exudes a forceful strength. Its compelling sculptural quality, a typical characteristic of Han period jades, is emphasized by the combination of bold modeling with finely incised details and the stone's high polish. Consider the thickly formed legs and wings, further detailed with incised lines suggesting fur or feathers. The careful depiction of the creature's sharp claws in relief, is also a feature common to early animal jades of the Han period. Such jade carvings from this early period, including animals and beasts, were greatly admired in the late Northern Song and Ming periods and many archaistic copies were produced. 

Compare a related pale green jade bixie, crouched as if prowling for prey, dated Han dynasty, in the Sir Joseph Hotung collection, illustrated by J.Rawson, Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.363, no.26:7. 

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

Lot 42, A yellow and brown jade slender cup, Western Han Dynasty. Estimate HK$ 50,000 - 80,000 (€5,800 - 9,200). Photo: Bonhams.

The narrow 'U'-shaped bowl, finely carved around the exterior in low relief with 'C'-shaped scrolls between wide bands of larger archaistic scrolls, the stone of varying yellow, russet and dark brown tones, the original stem missing. 9.5cm (3 3/4in) high 

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

Lot 1815, Important Jadeite Bangle. Estimate 7,000,000 — 9,000,000 HKD (809,229 - 1,040,438 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

The circular jadeite bangle of fine translucency and bright apple green colour, suffused with emerald green streaks and white patches .
Inner diameter and thickness approximately 57.32 x 11.83mm.

Accompanied by Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory certificate numbered KJ 92072, dated 6 January 2016, stating that the jadeite is natural, known in the trade as "A Jade".

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

Lot 1828, 17.49 carats Colombian Emerald and Diamond Ring, Cartier. Estimate 6,900,000 — 9,500,000 HKD (797,669 - 1,098,240 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

Set with a step-cut emerald weighing 17.49 carats, flanked on each side by a baguette diamond, mounted in platinum, signed. Ring size: 5

Accompanied by Gübelin and SSEF reports numbered 16020005 and 84246, dated 3 February 2016 and 22 February 2016 respectively, stating that the 17.49 carat emerald is natural, of Colombian origin, with no indications of clarity enhancement.

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