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Rembrandt (1606 - 1669), Self Portrait at the Age of 34, 1640

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Rembrandt (1606 - 1669), Self Portrait at the Age of 34, 1640. Oil on canvas, 102 x 80 cm. Signed; Dated and inscribed. Bought, 1861, (NG672) © 2016 The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

At this time, aged 34, Rembrandt was already the most successful history and portrait painter in Amsterdam. Here he gives no visual clues to his profession, but he indicates his wealthy status by wearing an elaborate costume of furs and velvets, a gold chain around his neck, and jewels in his hat.
 
Rembrandt drew inspiration from portraits by the Renaissance masters Raphael and Titian for this painting. Much of the costume comes from Raphael’s portrait of the writer Baldassare Castiglione (Paris, Louvre). However, the way he leans over the stone parapet, almost intruding into our space, is indebted to Titian’s Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo.
 
At the time it was painted, this portrait was thought to represent the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto. By dressing in Renaissance costume and posing as Ariosto, Rembrandt was likening himself to a poet, suggesting that poetry and painting are on a par, at a time when painters were commonly regarded as craftsmen who were morally, intellectually, and creatively inferior to poets.
 
Rembrandt’s emulation of Raphael and Titian even extends to his painting technique, which is here smooth and meticulous, unlike his usual expressive style in which he plays with the contrast between thick and thin paint, and shows every movement of his brush. In fact, the only brushstroke typical of Rembrandt in this painting is on the back of the artist’s neck, where some of the hairs are scratched into the wet paint with the pointed end of the brush handle.

A large Longquan celadon dish, 15th century

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A large Longquan celadon dish, 15th century

Lot 19. A large Longquan celadon dish, 15th century. Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 (€2,600 - 3,800). Photo Bonhams.

The charger with a subtly carved flower to the well, and scrolled border at the flat rim, all covered in a thick pea-green glaze, with a typical unglazed ring oxidised to an orange hue. 40.6cm (16in) diam.

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

A Longquan celadon fluted dish, 15th century

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A Longquan celadon fluted dish, 15th century

Lot 20. A Longquan celadon fluted dish, 15th century. Estimate £800 - 1,200 (€1,000 - 1,500). Photo Bonhams.

The interior with fluted lines, surrounding a subtly carved floral motif, the dish rising to a scooped mouth rim. 34.2cm (13 1/2in) diam.

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

A Longquan celadon dish, 15th century

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A Longquan celadon dish, 15th century

Lot 21. A Longquan celadon dish, 15th century. Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 (€2,600 - 3,800). Photo Bonhams.

The interior carved with a bold lotus design, with a key fret border at the channeled rim, all covered with a typical unctuous olive hued glaze. 35.5cm (14in) diam.

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

A 55.35 carats cushion-shaped Colombia emerald pendant

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Lot 99. A 55.35 carats cushion-shaped Colombia emerald pendant. Estimate CHF750,000 – CHF850,000 ($777,758 - $881,459). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

Set with a cushion-shaped emerald, weighing approximately 55.35 carats, to the plain polished mount, 2.9 cm, mounted in platinum

Accompanied by report no. 83880 dated 2 February 2016 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the origin of the emerald is Colombia, with minor amount of oil.
Report no. CS51974 dated 12 January 2016 from the AGL American Gemological Laboratories stating that the origin of the emerald is Colombia, with minor amount of oil, and a 'Jewel Folio'.

Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 18 May 2016, Geneva

An important 30.05 carats Colombia octagonal step-cut emerald and diamond ring, by Van Cleef & Arpels

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Lot 168. An important 30.05 carats Colombia octagonal step-cut emerald and diamond ring, by Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate CHF600,000 – CHF800,000 ($622,206 - $829,609). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

Set with an octagonal step-cut emerald, weighing approximately 30.05 carats, between rectangular-cut diamond shoulders, ring size 5, with French assay mark for gold, in grey suede Van Cleef & Arpels case. Signed Van Cleef & Arpels, no. M37935

Accompanied by report no. 84068 dated 9 February 2016 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the origin of the emerald is Colombia, with minor amount of oil.

Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 18 May 2016, Geneva

A pair of Colombia emerald and diamond earrings, by Cartier

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Lot 344. Collection of H.S.H. Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen. A pair of Colombia emerald and diamond earrings, by Cartier. Estimate CHF600,000 – CHF800,000 ($622,206 - $829,609). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The two cushion-shaped emerald pendants, weighing approximately 10.40 and 10.14 carat, each suspended from octagonal step-cut diamonds and an octagonal step-cut emerald, weighing approximately 0.85 and 0.81 carat, to the detachable surmount set with an octagonal step-cut emerald, weighing approximately 5.19 and 5.04 carats, within a baguette-cut diamond cluster, 2002, 5.5 cm, mounted in platinum and gold. Signed Cartier, no. 977677 

Accompanied by report no. 84908 dated 14 March 2016 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the origin of the emeralds is Colombia, with 2 emeralds showing no indications of clarity modification, 3 emeralds with minor amount of oil and 1 emerald with moderate amount oil.

Further accompanied by copy of an invoice dated 30 May 2002 from Cartier. 

Superb Jewels from the Collection of H.S.H. Gabriela Princess zu Leiningen 

Christie's. GENEVA MAGNIFICENT JEWELS, 18 May 2016, Geneva

Francesco Righetti I, Italie, début du XIXe siècle, d'après un modèle d'Antonio Canova, Napoléon désarmé et pacificateur

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Lot 144. Francesco Righetti I (1738 - 1819) Italie, début du XIXe siècle, d'après un modèle d'Antonio Canova (1757-1822), Napoléon désarmé et pacificateur. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 EUR. Photo Sotheby's.

en bronze à patine brune; sur une colonne en marbre violet veiné; signé FR.RIGHETTI ET-ALOYS-FIL-FEC-ROM, le plateau pivotant sur un mécanisme. Haut. (bronze) 67 cm, haut. (colonne) 119 cm ; height (bronze) 26 1/3 in., height (column) 47 in.

AN ITALIAN 19TH CENTURY BRONZE FIGURE OF NAPOLEON, BY FRANCESCO RIGHETTI, AFTER ANTONIO CANOVA 

ProvenanceCollection Gianni Versace, Villa Fontanelli, Moltrasio; sa vente Sotheby's à Londres, le 18 mars 2009, lot 101 (vendu 58 850 £).

REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE: G. Pavanello, L'opera completa del Canova, Milan, 1976, n°143, p. 109.

Note: Le modèle d'Antonio Canova a été réalisé vers 1802-1806, à l'apogée de l'Empire de Napoléon. Canova réalise le buste à Paris et achève le modèle à Rome. La composition est basée sur le modèle antique d'Auguste, dit de Prima Porta, conservé au musées du Vatican. Vivan Denon, visitant l'atelier romain de Canova, reporte enthousiaste à l'empereur que cette effigie trouvera sa place "parmi les empereurs, dans la niche où le Laocoon est, de telle manière qu'il serait le premier objet que l'on voit en entrant." Napolon ne la voit achevée qu'en 1811 et la refuse, la jugeant "trop athlétique". Après la défaite de Waterloo, en 1814, des tractations commencèrent entre Canova et le gouvernement anglais qui aboutirent en 1816. Le Régent le proposa alors au Duc de Wellington, grand collectionneur de Canova, qui l'installa dans sa résidence à londonienne de Apsley House, où le marbrese trouve toujours de nos jours.

Sotheby's. Voyage à Rome, Collection particulière italienne, IIème partie - Paris, 04 May 2016, 10:30 AM


Francesco Righetti I (1738 - 1819) Rome, vers 1790, d'après l'Antique, Ajax et Patrocle; Paetus et Arria

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Lot 142. Francesco Righetti I (1738 - 1819) Rome, vers 1790, d'après l'Antique, Ajax et Patrocle; Paetus et ArriaEstimate 40,000 — 60,000 EUR. Photo Sotheby's.

en bronze à patine brun vert; sur des bases en marbre rouge, signé F.RIGHETTI.F. ROMAE.1790, porte un monogramme PK sur la terrasse. Haut. 33,5 et 36 cm ; height 13 and 14 in.

A PAIR OF ROMAN, CIRCA 1790, BRONZE GROUPS OF AJAX AND PATROCLUS ; PAETUS AND ARRIA, BY FRANCESCO RIGHETTI, SIGNED AND DATED, AFTER THE ANTIQUE 

ProvenanceVente Sotheby's à New York, le 10 octobre 1981, lots 116 et 117; Colnaghi & Co Ltd, Londres; collection privée; vente Sotheby's à Londres, le 15 décembre 1999, lot 200 (vendu 38 900£); Fabrizio Apolloni, Rome, 2003.

ExpositionP & D Colnaghi & Co Ltd, Londres, 1983.

LittératureA. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Tempio del gusto. Le arti decorative in Italia fra classicismi e barocco. Roma e il Regno delle Due Sicilie, Milan, 1984, p. 136, n°300-301.

REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES: F. Haskell, N. Penny, Pour l'amour de l'Antique. La statuaire gréco-romaine et le goût européen (1500-1900), Londres, 1981, pp. 313-318 et 304-306.

NotesCette paire de bronzes fut réalisée d'après deux modèles antiques conservés à Rome, au Museo Nazionale Romano et à la Piazza des Pasquino. 

Le groupe de Paetus et Arria apparaît pour la première fois dans l'inventaire de la Collection Ludovisi à Rome, réalisé en 1623 et découvert avant la construction de la villa Ludovisi.  

L'autre groupe du Pasquino fût rapporté pour la première fois par Prospetivo Milanese vers 1500. 

Les deux marbres étaient connus pour avoir été copiés et reproduits en réductions pour répondre aux demandes des européens effectuant le Grand Tour aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles.

Sotheby's. Voyage à Rome, Collection particulière italienne, IIème partie - Paris, 04 May 2016, 10:30 AM

Francesco Righetti I (1738 - 1819), Italie, Rome, fin du XVIIIe siècle, d'après l'Antique, Castor et Pollux

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Lot 56. Francesco Righetti I (1738 - 1819), Italie, Rome, fin du XVIIIe siècle, d'après l'Antique, Castor et Pollux. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 EUR. Photo Sotheby's.

paire de bustes en bronze à patine brune; sur des bases en marbre jaune de Sienne; sur des demi-colonnes en marbre blanc et bronze doré. Haut. (totale) 48,2 cm; height (overall) 19 in.

A PAIR OF ROMAN LATE 18TH CENTURY BRONZE BUSTS OF CASTOR AND POLLUX, BY FRANCESCO RIGHETTI, AFTER THE ANTIQUE 

ProvenanceTomasso Brothers Fine Art, New-York, 2009.

ExpositionScultura II, Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, New York, 2008, n° 40. 

LittératureA. Gonzales-Palacios, Il gusto dei principi. Arte di corte del XVII e del XVIII secolo, Milan, 1993, I, p. 252, fig. 507; Scultura, cat. exp., Tomasso Brothers Fine Art, New York, 2008, p. 140, n° 40.

NoteDans son catalogue de 1794, Righetti décrit deux exemplaires de ces bronzes comme "Bustes avec leurs bases dorées". Elève de Luigi Valadier (1726-1785) à Rome, Righetti devint également l'un des grands représentant de l'esprit du Grand Tour à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Les jumeaux Castor et Pollux, dit Dioscures, sont les fils de Léda et Jupiter et les frères d'Hélène de Troie.

Sotheby's. Voyage à Rome, Collection particulière italienne, IIème partie - Paris, 04 May 2016, 10:30 AM

Un palais Art Déco dans la campagne anglaise.

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Mêlant architecture Tudor et style Art Déco, Eltham Palace est un palais incroyable, méconnu de tous, à seulement 30 min de Londres.

Quand Stephen et Virginia Courtauld rachètent Eltham Palace en 1933, ils y trouvent les vestiges d’un palais royal : des contreforts du XVIe siècle, des appartements royaux du XVe et un hall Tudor destiné aux 800 convives de la cour d’Edward IV. 

Un ensemble suffisant pour donner la note à leur projet global, puis dérouler la partition nécessaire.
À cette époque, le cœur de la création, tout comme celui des Courtauld, battait pour le style Art déco, d’où les travaux colossaux engagés pour accueillir le quotidien du couple. Portes en bois laqué, motifs animaliers dessinés d’après les modèles du zoo de Londres, plafonds en feuilles d’aluminium, mobilier encastré façon navire transatlantique, mosaïques dorées... À ce luxe, le couple ajoutera tout le confort possible. Ainsi, extraordinaires pour l’époque, la salle de bains comportait une douche et la cuisine, un réfrigérateur. Et il y avait aussi un système audio encastré, un aspirateur centralisé, un téléphone interne… Rien ne sera laissé au hasard, ni dans la décoration ni dans l’agencement… ni non plus dans la très étonnante collection d’art, couvrant des siècles de création, de la Renaissance italienne à Turner. 
Aujourd’hui, Eltham Palace demeure, grâce aux soins et à l’exigence d’English Heritage, une association qui préserve le patrimoine architectural national. Alors, si vous avez envie de vous évader quelques heures de Londres…

Eltham Palace, ouvert du dimanche à jeudi de 10h a 18h, Court Yard, Eltham, Greenwich, London, SE9 5QE, www.english-heritage.org.uk

Par Eva Abott (source AD Magazine)

Exquisite objects from private hands lead Chinese Art Sale in London on 11 May

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Lot 65. A Rare Gilt-Bronze Figure of Kapaladhara Hevajra, Ming Dynasty, 15th Century, 23cm. Estimate: £150,000-200,000 / HK$1,680,000-2,240,000. Photo Sotheby's

LONDON.- On 11 May in London, Sotheby’s will bring to the market an exquisite selection of Chinese objects previously held in private hands. Featuring fine jades from an English private collection, early ceramics from Japanese collections, Chinese furniture from a European private collection, jades from the Fleischer collection, ceramics from the Joseph M. Morpurgo collection, among others, the auction of Important Chinese Art presents an exceptional array of material to appeal to scholars and collectors. 

Robert Bradlow, Senior Director, Chinese Works of Art, Sotheby’s London, commented: “This promises to be one of our most eclectic London sales, dominated by fresh-to-the-market material imbued with a refined and elegant aesthetic.” 

A delightful carving is one of a group of fine jades from an English private collection featuring animal subjects. It is a masterfully rendered representation of three dogs, playfully wrestling with one another. Though jade carvings of hounds, generally portrayed in resting poses, were popular from the Tang dynasty onwards, they are rarely found in groups of three. The skill of the craftsman is evident from the carefully studied and naturalistic depiction of the dynamically intertwined bodies. Furthermore, this particular piece was cleverly fashioned in accordance with the shape of the jade pebble, in order to minimise wastage of the precious material.

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Lot 7. A Rare and Superbly Carved White Jade ‘Three Dogs’ Group, Qing Dynasty, Early 18th Century, 8.2cm. Estimate: £20,000-30,000 / HK$224,000-335,000. Photo Sotheby's

finely and skilfully worked in the form of two dogs playfully wrestling with each other and a younger cub beside, the larger dog clambering atop the other dog with its front paws perched on the hind legs of the dog beneath, endearingly nuzzling the front paw of its sprawling companion, the younger cub lying beside, each beast superbly rendered with an elongated snout and well-defined nasal bones, furled ears and almond-shaped eyes, the smoothly polished stone of an even white tone, wood stand. Quantity: 2 - 8.2 cm, 3 1/4  in.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 17th December 1996, lot 261.
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1998.

Notes: Skilfully fashioned in the round, this charming carving is notable for the sensitive modelling of the three dogs, which have been rendered with gentle features that pleasantly contrast with their playful poses. The skill of the carver has been displayed to full effect in the carefully studied and naturalistically captured interlocking bodies. Furthermore, this piece has been fashioned according to the shape of the pebble to prevent unnecessary wastage of the precious material and carved with the same level of care overall so that it can be appreciated from every angle. 

Jade carvings of hounds, generally depicted in resting poses, were made from the Tang dynasty onwards and are seldom found in groups of three.  Compare two jade carvings of a pair of dogs sold in our Hong Kong rooms, the first, 20th November 1984, lot 541, and the second, 30th October 1995, lot 932; and another, from the collection of Walter Stein, sold in our New York rooms, 26th February 1982, lot 518. See also a similarly playful carving of three cats, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, 164; and another of three lions, in the Tianjin Museum, illustrated in Tianjin bowuguan cang yu / Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 174.

Following Sotheby’s successful sale in May 2015 of The Soul of Japanese Aesthetics: The Tsuneichi Inoue Collection, which encapsulated the refined collecting taste in Japan in the early to mid-20th century, this year’s auction features a group of early Chinese ceramics from Japanese collections. This large and rare basin is an outstanding example of the elegant and austere aesthetic, characteristic of Song dynasty ceramic work, which has appealed to Japanese sensibilities for centuries. The interior of the bowl depicts a large carp swimming amongst water weeds, while the exterior is intricately carved and moulded with three rows of overlapping upright leaves, applied with an even ivory-coloured glaze. Song ceramics have been admired and appreciated in Japan since the Kamakura period, when Buddhist monks travelled to China and returned with tenmoku and celadon ware, along with the Chinese practice of drinking tea. As Song ceramics began to play an increasingly important role in the ritual of the Japanese tea ceremony, they became an integral part of Japanese culture.

A Large and Rare ‘Ding’ ‘Fish’ Basin, Song-Jin Dynasty

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Lot 32. A Large and Rare ‘Ding’ ‘Fish’ Basin, Song-Jin Dynasty, 32cm. Estimate: £100,000-120,000 / HK$1,120,000-1,340,000 

with deep rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot, freely carved and combed to the interior with a large carp swimming amidst water weeds, the exterior carved and moulded with three rows of overlapping upright leaves, applied overall with an even ivory-coloured glaze, the rim bound with metal, Japanese lacquered wood cover, Japanese lacquer box. Quantity: 3 - 32 cm, 12 5/8  in.

Provenance: Hirano Kotoken.

ExhibitedHakutsuru Shunki Tokubetsuten - Chugoku Kotoji [Haktutsuru Spring Exhibition - Chinese Ceramics],Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, 1972.

Notes: This monumental basin is among the largest pieces of Ding ware recorded, and it is very rare to find a piece with such bold large-scale carving. The decoration on the present bowl is particularly successful, since the carp is very confidently drawn and prominently placed. No Ding ware of similar size and design seems to be recorded in any museum worldwide. The basin also features lotus petals carved on the outside, one of the most representative patterns of Ding ware vessels of various shapes. Ding white ware made in Quyang, Hebei province ranks among the Five Great Wares of the Song dynasty (960-1279) and is one of the most famous types of Chinese ceramics. Because of their fame and excellent quality, Ding wares were not only highly favoured by the royal court and upper classes, but also found their way to other countries such as Koryo (918-1392) at the time of their manufacture. Compare a basin with a carved fish inside and plain outside, of smaller size and with no foot, and a covered jar and a deep rounded bowl with lotus petals carved outside, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 2007, pls 68, 30-31. 

In the Palace Museum, Beijing is a basin of similar size, but with the large carp replaced by a pair of much smaller fish; see the exhibition Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace Museum's Collection and Archaeological Excavations, Beijing, 2012, cat. no. 53. Only one piece similar in size and design to the present basin seems to have been sold at auction, in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1995, lot 343, again in our New York rooms, 31st March 2005, lot 32, and illustrated in Sotheby's: Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 103. A fragment of a similar basin, found at the Ding kilns during excavations carried out jointly by the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, and Hebei archaeologists, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Ding Kiln of China, Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, 2012, cat. no. 162.

Smaller basins carved with a single fish are known in a few world-famous collections; see two examples now in the British Museum, London, one from the Sir Percival David Collection, published in Mary Tregear, Song Ceramics, London, 1982, col. pl. 29, the other from the Eumorfopoulos collection, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World’s Great Collections, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 56. Another basin in a private collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch’ien Lung, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1952, cat. no. 143, is discussed in Henry Trubner, ‘A Ting-yao Bowl of the Sung Dynasty’, Far Eastern Ceramic Bulletin, vol. III, no. 4, 1951, pp 21-3 and illustrated pls I and II. 

Large Ding basins are more often decorated on the inside with lotus scrolls only, like three pieces in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Sung Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum: Ting Ware and Ting-type Ware, Taipei, 1973, cat. no. 34; in the exhibition catalogue Song ci tezhan [Special Exhibition of Sung Wares], Taipei, 1978, cat. no. 27; and the Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ting Ware White Porcelain, Taipei, 1987, cat. no. 32, the latter together with a basin of single-fish motif, of smaller size and plain outside, cat. no. 31. 

Lotus petal decoration similar to the present basin features prominently among Ding vessels of various shapes recovered from the foundations of two Northern Song pagodas in Dingzhou, Hebei province, close to the Ding kilns, one belonging to the Jingzhi Temple, built in AD 977, the other to the Jingzhongyuan Temple, built in AD 995; see the exhibition catalogueTreasures from the Underground Palaces, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1997, passim

According to Ts’ai Mei-fen of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 'metal-banded rim [for ceramics] was the popular taste of the time', see Ts’ai Mei-fen, ‘A Discussion of Ting Ware with Unglazed Rims and Related Twelfth-Century Official Porcelain’,Arts of the Sung and Yüan, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1996, pp. 109-31. Compare a famous Ding ware lobed basin with metal bound rim, incised with a peony in the centre and lotuses around the well, formerly in the collections of Alfred and Ivy Clark, and Sakamoto Goro, sold in these rooms, 2nd March 1971, lot 135; and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2014, lot 11.

rare vase ranks among the largest – and most innovative – Cizhous wares, its delicate design contrasting the freely painted black decoration on the surface against the white background. 

A Large ‘Cizhou’ Painted Vase, Jin Dynasty

Lot 33. A Large ‘Cizhou’ Painted Vase, Jin Dynasty, 46cm. Estimate: £30,000-40,000 / HK$335,000-447,000. Photo Sotheby's

the rounded body supported on a high spreading foot and surmounted by a tall neck with a boldly flared scalloped rim, applied overall with a white slip stopping neatly at the foot, freely painted around the body in iron-brown with leafy sprays between further registers similarly painted around the neck and foot, covered overall in a transparent glaze, Japanese wood box. Quantity: 2 - 46 cm, 18 1/8  in.

Provenance: Hirano Kotoken.

ExhibitedChugoku Meito Hyakuten / Chinese Ceramics, A Loan Exhibition of One Hundred Selected Masterpieces, Takashimaya, Osaka, 1961, cat. no. 28.
To So Meito Ten / Masterpieces of Tang and Song Ceramics, Shirokiya, Tokyo, 1964, cat. no. 177.
Jishuyou Meihin Ten / Masterpieces of Cizhou Wares, Osaka Bijutsu Club, Osaka, 1969, cat. no. 9.

Notes: This vase ranks among the largest Cizhou wares and is most impressive for its innovative form and the strong contrast of its black painting against the white-slip ground. Vases of similar form and black-painted decoration are very rare, although they are represented in a few famous collections worldwide, with variations in size, proportion and designs. Compare a smaller vase included in exhibition catalogue by Yutaka Mino, Freedom of Clay and Brush Through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz'u-chou Type Wares 960 - 1600 A.D, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1980, pl. 78. Mino also illustrates four other small Cizhou vases of this form, one excavated in Pacun near Yuxian county, Henan, one in the Royal Ontario Museum, one in the Shanghai Museum, and one in a private Japanese collection, ibid., figs. 206-209.

Also related is a black-painted vase of similar form found at the Guantai kiln site in Cixian, Hebei, during excavations carried out jointly by the Department of Archaeology, Peking University, and Hebei archaeologists, illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln Site at Guantai, Beijing, 1997, cover and pl. 10. Compare also two vases of similar form, but respectively with black glaze and low-fired green glaze, illustrated in Haku to koku no kyōen/Charm of Black and White Ware. Transition of Cizhou type wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 2002, cat. no. 142, and included in the exhibition Freedom of Clay and Brush Through Seven Centuries of Northern Chinaop. cit., cat. no. 96.

Gilt-bronze Buddhist figures produced during the Ming dynasty in the 15th century are highly distinguished, admired for their exquisite refinement and craftsmanship. This rare and intricately carved figure depicts Kapaladhara Hevajra, locked in union with his consort Nairatmya. 

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Lot 65. A Rare Gilt-Bronze Figure of Kapaladhara Hevajra, Ming Dynasty, 15th Century, 23cm. Estimate: £150,000-200,000 / HK$1,680,000-2,240,000. Photo Sotheby's

the figure locked in union with his consort, Nairatmya, his head with eight faces and body with eight pairs of arms and two pairs of legs, the principal hands crossed behind his consort in pajnalinganabhinayamudraholding kapalas containing an elephant and a seated figure in prayer, the remaining hands holding kapalascontaining effigies of animals and seated monks in prayer, with Nairatmya holding a kartrika and kapala, both standing on two Maras on a double-lotus base; 23 cm, 9 1/8  in.

Notes: The contents of the skull cups held in each of Hevajra’s sixteen hands symbolise the Yidam’s universal dominion. Animals resting in the kapalas in his right hands, a vyala, cat, deity in prayer, dromedary, horse, ox and ass, represent the Guardians of the Eight Directions. The kapalas in the left hands contain kneeling figures depicting Yama, Vaishravana, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, the Sun and the Moon, all with hands in anjali mudra and unusually wearing caps resembling the distinctive black hat of the Karmapas; possibly suggesting an affiliation of the bronze with the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism that was influential at court in the early Ming dynasty. The Hevajra is cast in a style that closely follows imperial Yongle prototypes such as the Speelman Kapaladhara Hevajra, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 814. The format remains the same while aprons have become heavier and more pronounced, the deities more sturdy, and the lotus petals of the pedestal have widened slightly from the slim Yongle prototype. A double lotus base becomes common throughout the corpus of post-Yongle bronzes representing Hevajra after the style of other Yongle works such as the Speelman Vajrabhairava, ibid, lot 812. Compare the thickset figure and lotus petal style of a gilt bronze depicting Vajradhara in the Beijing Capitol Museum that is dated by inscription to 1436, see Selected Works on Ancient Buddhist Statues, Beijing, 2005, fig. 58, and Michael Henss, Buddhist Art in Tibet, Ulm, 2008, p. 214, fig. 36. 

The fan of Hevajra’s arms forms a perfect arc around the deeply engaged couple as they lunge to the right in alidha posture. Both deities are naked save for their crowns, human bone jewellery and aprons. Faces are imbued with intensity while the parted lips are said to be emitting the reverberating cosmic sound HUM. Nairatmya, “Without Self”, folds her left arm around the neck of her consort and thrusts out her right hand holding the vajrakartrika flaying knife. Kapaladhara Hevajra is described in the medieval eastern Indian treatise Hevajra Tantra, masterfully interpreted in this rare early Ming gilt bronze: “… black am I and terrible … but my inner nature is tranquil, and holding Nairatmya in loving embrace, I am possessed of tranquil bliss …”, see Rob Linrothe, Ruthless Compassion, London, 1999, pp 268-9 for a full discussion of the iconography and Indian origin of Hevajra.

An  exceptional pair of ‘official hat-shaped chairs’ was acquired in the 1950s by Dr J. H. Zeeman, the Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Beijing. Strikingly modern in their simplicity of form and linear design, these high chairs retained a connotation of status and authority associated with the elite gentry in Chinese society. Their name derives from the winged hat that was part of the formal attire of Ming officials. The origin of this type of chair is uncertain, though it has been suggested that the design was imported from outside China.  

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Lot 39. A Pair Of Huanghuali‘Official’s Hat’ Yokeback Armchairs, Guanmaoyi, Qing Dynasty, 17th-18th Century. Estimate: £80,000-120,000 / HK$ 895,000-1,340,000. Photo Sotheby's

each with a scrolled crest rail above a gently curved backsplat, with out-scrolled arms supported by S-form stiles mortise and tenoned to the seat frame, the legs joined by footrail and stretchers. Quantity: 2 - 58 by 48 by 104 cm, 22 7/8  by 18 7/8  by 41 in.

Provenance: Collection of Dr J.H. Zeeman, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the Netherlands, Beijing 1954-1957.
Thence by descent.

NotesHuanghuali yoke-back armchairs of this type give an impression of striking modernity through their simplicity of form and linear design. Called guanmaoyi or ‘official hat-shaped chairs’, the name derives from its resemblance to the winged hat that was part of the formal attire of Ming officials. They were regarded as high chairs and retained a connotation of status and authority associated with the elite gentry in Chinese society. The classical text Lu Ban jing (Manuscript of Lu Ban), a 15th century carpenter’s manual, gives specifications for these chairs and describes the joinery as the fine embodiment of Chinese furniture. This pair is particularly notable for their humpback stretchers and the ‘goose-neck’ posts which retreat back from the front corners negating the visual confusion of side-posts. They also reflect the trend in Chinese furniture manufacture, from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century, when the technical expedients in holding a piece together became less evident.

huanghuali chair of this type, but carved with an apron under the seat, from the collection of Chen Mengjia, is illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Classical Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1986, pl. 45; and another is published in George N. Kates, Chinese Household Furniture, New York, 1948, pl. 79. Compare also similar chairs lacking the ‘goose-neck’ posts under the arm rests, such as one made from rosewood and attributed to the Ming dynasty, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 27; and a hardwood example in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, included in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture. Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, pl. A71.

The origin of this type of chair is much debated by scholars and connoisseurs of Chinese art, with some suggesting this design was imported from outside China. Indeed, early depictions of chairs with protruding posts and yoke-backs most commonly appear in Buddhist contexts associated with the ancient Silk Road, such as a wall painting in cave 196 in Dunhuang, attributed to the Tang dynasty and illustrated in Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pl. 4.2. By the Ming dynasty, two different types of official hat-shaped chairs developed: those with the front posts and legs fashioned from a single piece of wood, and those with the arm posts recessed curving inwards, such as the present lot, which are less strong and durable. As such, it is all the more impressive that this pair has survived in such relatively good structural condition.

Craig Clunas in Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p. 20, describes armchairs of this type being made in pairs, suggesting a symmetry that was aimed for in the Chinese room arrangement. Ming and Qing period paintings and woodblock illustrations characteristically show them used at dinner tables, in reception halls for guests and at the writing table in the scholar’s studio. For example see a woodblock print of the 1616 edition of Jing ping mei (The plum in the golden vase), reproducedibid., pl. 8, showing the main male character and his principal wife seated on a guanmaoyi while dining with his secondary wives and concubines sit on stools. For a general discussion on the basic model and decorative vocabulary of these armchairs see Curtis Evarts, ‘From Ornate to Unadorned’, Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp 24-33.

The Fleischer Collection of Jades was formed by Wilfred Fleischer, whose interest in Asian art grew during the time he spent in Japan working as Editor-in-Chief of the country’s first English-language newspaper, established by his father. He amassed a substantial collection of Japanese and Chinese works of art during the 1920s and early 1930s, impressive not only for its diversity but also for the attention paid to the quality and rarity of the works. This figure of a fisherman is a magnificent piece of carved jade. The carver has skillfully retained the natural russet skin of the stone for the fisherman’s hat and shawl, and the carp, highlighting the minimal wastage of the precious material.  

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Lot 154. A Finely Carved Celadon and Russet Jade Figure of a Fisherman, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century, 10.5cm. Estimate: £40,000-60,000 / HK$447,000-670,000. Photo Sotheby's

finely and skilfully carved through the outer russet skin, the old fisherman seated cross legged holding a wicker basket and pair of fish, wearing a finely incised cape which wraps around his body, his smiling face with long beard and bushy eyebrows all topped by a straw hat, wood stand - Quantity: 2 - 10.5 cm, 4 1/8  in.

Notes: Jade carvings of fisherman are rare and examples of such large size and fine detailing are even rarer. The skill of the carver with its medium is evidenced in his ability to combine delicately incised details, as seen on the fisherman’s hat and shawl, with the bold lines that depict the folds his clothes and the naturalistic pose, with legs carved in the round. Furthermore, the skilful use of the natural russet skin of the stone draws attention to the carps and the shawl, highlighting the carver’s ability to minimise wastage of the precious stone. 

A similar carving of a seated fisherman, in the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, is illustrated in Jade Wares Collection by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 202; another of smaller size, from the collection of Roger Chow, was included in the exhibitionExquisite Jade Carving, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 40; and two carvings of standing fisherman were sold these rooms, the first, 11th November 1990, lot 64, and the second, 9th November 2005, lot 587. 

Fishermen represent one of the Four Basic Occupations, and have long been associated in Chinese folklore with the scholarly ideals of isolation and a simple life. The most famous scholar in Chinese mythology is Jiang Ziya (ca. 11th century BC), a military adviser to King Wen and King Wu of Zhou, who became a fisherman during his exile. Moreover, depictions of fisherman (yuweng) and carps (liyou) is homophonous with yuwen deli, a pun on the phrase ‘the fisherman received profit’. 

A group of Chinese ceramics from the Joseph M. Morpurgo Collection is testament to the quality of the works acquired by four successive generations of the Amsterdam Morpurgo dynasty, whose name is inextricably linked to the history of the Dutch art market. This square-form jar is one of the finest examples of the Jiajing period. Such jars required the utmost precision when potting and firing as they were made from a mould. The bajixiang and lotus motif continued to be popular in the succeeding Wanli reign, when it was used on jars of globular shape.  

A Rare Wucai Square Jar, Jiajing Mark And Period

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Lot 171. A Rare Wucai Square Jar, Jiajing Mark And Period, 12.5cm. Estimate: £20,000-30,000 / HK$ 224,000-335,000. Photo Sotheby's

the square baluster body rising from a recessed base to a short neck with everted rim, brightly painted and enamelled around the exterior with the bajixiang and lotus strapwork, all between a lotus lappet band at the base and a ruyi collar, the neck with a classic scroll band, wood stand. Quantity: 2 - 12.5 cm, 4 7/8  in.

Notes: Jars of this square form were an innovation of the Jiajing period, which required the utmost precision when potting and firing as they were made from a mould. A closely related jar, included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 72, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th November 1986, lot 213; two were sold in these rooms, the first, from the collection of Stephen D. Winkworth, 25th April 1933, lot 347, and the second, with its matching cover, from the collection of Lord Hollenden, 27th November 1973, lot 297; and a further two jars were sold at Christie’s London, 21st April 1986, lot 412 and 413, the former sold again in these rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 309. 

This motif continued to be popular in the succeeding Wanli reign, when it was used on jars of globular shape; see for example a Wanli mark and period jar, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 4-23; and another, from the collection of Kwong Yee Che Tong, included in the exhibition The Fame of Flame. Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2009, cat. no. 107.

An ewer is one of the finest pieces among a group of Tang and Song ceramics from a Dutch private collection, notable for their elegant forms and simple glazes. Ewers of this type, known as kundika after the Sanskrit term for a ‘pure-water bottle’, were used in Buddhist ceremonies during the Tang dynasty and derived their shapes from metal prototypes. 

A White-Glazed Kundika, Tang Dynasty

Lot 215. A White-Glazed Kundika, Tang Dynasty, 21.8 cm, 8½ in. Estimate: £20,000-30,000 / HK$224,000-335,000. Photo Sotheby's

the globular body supported on a spreading foot, rising to a tall waisted neck collared by a flange and surmounted by a tapering tubular mouth, set with a bulbous spout to the shoulder, covered overall in a thin opaque glaze stopping above the foot revealing the granular white body; 21.8 cm, 8½ in.

Provenance: Lam & Co. Antiquities, Hong Kong.
Ben Janssens, London.

Notes: Ewers of this type, known as kundika after the Sanskrit term for a ‘pure-water bottle’, were used in Buddhist ceremonies during the Tang dynasty and derived their shapes from metal prototypes; see a bronze example illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 328.

A slightly larger white-glazed kundika of similar form, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Ceramics, vol. 4, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Beijing, 2013, pl. 183, together with a much smaller example, pl. 184; one in the Niigata Art Museum, Niigata, is published in Sekai toji zenshu/ Ceramic Art of the World, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 11, pl. 110; and a third example is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Yuegutang. Eine Berliner Sammlung Chinesischer Keramik, Berlin, 2000, pl. 85. Similar examples were also sold at auction: one in the Carl Kempe collection, was sold in these rooms, 14th May 2008, lot 206; two were sold in our New York rooms, the first, 20th November 1973, lot 151, and the second, from the collection of J. Spaulding, 23rd/24th May 1974, lot 259; and a further kundika was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28th November 1978, lot 8. 

Please note the dating of this lot is consistent with its Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test result (C112e24)

superbly decorated box of the Kangxi Period is part of a European Private Collection acquired in the 1940s in China by the late Sir Anthony Hastings George. The precise and delicate motifs illustrate in detail three men riding horses and hunting geese, a falconer on horseback and one standing attendant. Among the precious materials used are mother of pearl and lapis lazuli.  

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Lot 302. An Inlaid Zitan Box And Cover, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period, 25.4 by 15 by 9cm. Estimate: £6,000-8,000 / HK$67,000-89,500. Photo Sotheby's

the rectangular top inlaid with mother of pearl, lapis lazuli, malachite and soapstone depicting three figures on horseback hunting geese, a falconer on horseback and one standing attendant, above a thin band of silver-inlaid scrolling foliage to the rim and repeated to the rim of the box, the interior with an inset tray, with inlaidWu men Zhou Zhu mark to the base. Quantity: 3 - 25.4 by 15 by 9 cm, 10 by 5 7/8  by 3 1/2  in.

ProvenanceSir Anthony Hastings George, KCMG.

NoteA box decorated with a similar motif, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Shanghai, 2001, pl. 230.

very rare and ornate teapot marries Yixing clay with cinnabar lacquer, resulting in a highly original vessel that is both decorative and functional. A similar cinnabar and Yixing teapot is currently held in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Tea wares were produced in a variety of media during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, including jade, cloisonné and painted enamel, and porcelain. 

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Lot 78. A Very Rare Cinnabar Lacquered Yixing Teapot, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, 19.5cm. Estimate: £30,000-50,000 / HK$335,000-560,000. Photo Sotheby's

of compressed globular form, set with a short curved spout opposite a round loop handle, the exterior covered in layers of cinnabar lacquer except for the interior and base exposing the Yixing body, finely carved through the red lacquer layers with the bajixiang amidst scrolling lotus, reserved on a green diaper ground, all below a band of lappets around the rim, the cover similarly carved and set with a circular finial carved with ashou character. Quantity: 2 - 19.5 cm, 7 5/8  in. 

Notes: This teapot combines two mediums to create a highly original and luxurious vessel that is equally functional. A related cinnabar lacquer and Yixing teapot, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in K.S. Lo, The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day, London, 1986, pl. VII, where the author suggests that lacquered Yixing wares were the product of experiments that followed the somewhat unsuccessful attempts to use famille-rose enamels on Yixing clay, p. 215.

See also a teapot of this type, from the collection of K.S. Lo, included in the exhibition Yixing. Purple Clay Wares, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 35; one, bearing the mark of Shi Dabin, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Gongyi meishu. Qiqi [Anthology of Chinese art. Decorative arts. Lacquer], vol. 8, Beijing, 1989, pl. 136; and two, with Qianlong marks and of the period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, the first, 29th April 2002, lot 534, and the second, 1st December 2010, lot 3097. Compare also a lacquered Yixing teapot, decorated with kui dragons in the qianjin-and-tianqi technique, illustrated in K.S. Lo, op. cit., pl. XXXIX; and another Qianlong mark and period example painted in gilt with chrysanthemum flowers, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 114.

Tea wares were produced in a myriad of media during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, including jade, cloisonné and painted enamel, and porcelain. See for example a jade teapot, of slightly compressed globular form, from the collection of R.L. Liu, included in the exhibition Virtuous Treasures. Chinese Jades for the Scholar’s Table, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 75; and a painted enamel example decorated with plum blossoms over a cracked-ice ground, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Enamel Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl. 48.

vibrant and rare bowl from the Jiajing period depicts iron red dragons chasing flaming pearls above tempestuous waves of cobalt blue. The dynamic motif of red five-clawed dragons above blue waves can be traced back to the early 15th century, as seen on a Xuande mark and period bowl, now located in the Palace Museum, Beijing. 

A Rare and Large Iron-Red and Blue ‘Dragon’ Bowl, Jiajing Mark and Period

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Lot 59. A Rare and Large Iron-Red and Blue ‘Dragon’ Bowl, Jiajing Mark and Period, 36.5cm. Estimate: £30,000-50,000 / HK$ 335,000-560,000. Photo Sotheby's

the deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an everted rim, painted to the interior with a medallion enclosing an iron-red dragon chasing a flaming pearl above rich cobalt-blue foaming waves, the exterior with eight similar dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst ruyi clouds and fire scrolls and above foaming waves, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with the six-character mark within a double circle - 36.5 cm, 14 3/8  in.

Notes: The dynamic motif of scaly five-clawed dragons in iron red above turbulent cobalt waves can be traced back to the early 15th century, as seen on a Xuande mark and period bowl, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 230.

A closely related bowl, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 228; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is published in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum. Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1966, pl. 8; another in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-61; and a fourth bowl is published in J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 80. Further similar bowls have been sold at auction; two were sold in these rooms, the first, 14th April 1970, lot 91, and the second, 8th June 1993, lot 57; and another from the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, was sold at Christie’s New York, 30th March 2005, lot 336.

piece embodies the brilliant creativity of Qing craftsman, who were able to create vessels that successfully combined contemporary developments together with elements stemming from antiquity: the fine porcelain body and smooth tactile glaze, typical of the Qianlong period, and lotus bouquet motif that was inspired by the celebrated wares of the early Ming dynasty. Dishes painted with lotus bouquet were first revived under the Yongzheng emperor, who was keen to see historical masterpieces replicated as a reminder of the nation’s glorious past. By the Qianlong reign, the style of painting of this motif was slightly altered, and applied on dishes of various shapes and sizes, of which this piece is the largest known type. 

A Large Blue And White ‘Lotus Bouquet’ Dish, Qianlong Seal Mark And Period

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Lot 121. A Large Blue And White ‘Lotus Bouquet’ Dish, Qianlong Seal Mark And Period, 41 cm. Estimate: £60,000-80,000 / HK$ 670,000-895,000. Photo Sotheby's

the rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a wide everted rim, the interior boldly painted to the central medallion with a ribboned bouquet of lotus flowers, pods and arrowheads encircled by three concentric rings, encircled by a composite floral scroll below a stylised foliate meander, the exterior similarly painted with a composite floral scroll, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark; 41 cm, 16 1/8  in.

ProvenanceChristie’s Amsterdam, 4th November 1992, lot 231.

NotesThis piece embodies the brilliant creativity of Qing craftsman, who were able to create vessels that successfully combined contemporary developments together with elements stemming from antiquity: the fine porcelain body and smooth tactile glaze, typical of the Qianlong period, and lotus bouquet motif that was inspired by the celebrated wares of the early Ming dynasty. The craftsman has also attempted to imitate the mottled ‘heaping and piling’ effect of early Ming wares, through a deliberate application of small darker spots to the design. This painting technique also served to heighten the three-dimensional quality of the design.

Dishes painted with lotus bouquet were first revived under the Yongzheng emperor, who was keen to see historical masterpieces replicated as a reminder of the nation’s glorious past. Antiques from the Palace collection were sent to the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, where craftsmen were instructed to use them as standards for quality, models for designs and as inspiration for innovation. By the Qianlong reign, the style of painting of this motif was slightly altered, becoming more formalised, and was applied on dishes of various shapes and sizes, the present piece being the largest type. 

A closely related dish was sold in our New York rooms, 16th/17th September 2014, lot 185; and another, but painted on the cavetto with the sanduo motif, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26th April 1999, lot 546. Compare also a smaller Qianlong mark and period dish of this design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Gugong bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pl. 203; one from the R.I.C. Herridge collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 26th November 1980, lot 274, and again, 21st May 1984, lot 105; another sold in our New York rooms, 8th May 1980, lot 283; and a third sold at Christie’s London, 14th July 1980, lot 271. 

For a Yongzheng precursor to this dish, see one, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., op. cit., pl. 195. Five Yongle prototypes of this lotus bouquet design, in the Ardabil Shrine in Iran, are illustrated in John Alexander Pope,Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pls 30 and 31.

Coupe et son couvercle en vermeil et argent, par Lorenz Kabes & Plat de présentation en argent, par Lorenz I & Albrecht Biller

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Lot 556. Coupe et son couvercle en vermeil et argent, par Lorenz Kabes, Nuremberg, 1643-1646. Estimation €8,000 – €12,000 ($9,022 - $13,533)Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Sur piédouche circulaire repoussé de cupules, le fût formé d'un ange portant une plume et une couronne, la coupe évasée à décor similaire au piédouche gravée de rinceaux, le couvercle avec prise en bouquet de fleurs dans un vase,poinçons sur le piédouche: ville et maître-orfèvre; sur le bord de la coupe: ville, maître-orfèvre et striche; sous le pied: striche. Hauteur: 48,5 cm. (19 in.), 543 gr. (14.45 oz.)

A GERMAN PARCEL-GILT CUP AND COVER, 1643-1646

Lot 557. Plat de présentation en argent, par Lorenz I Biller, Augsbourg, 1679-1683Estimation 10,000 – €15,000 ($11,277 - $16,916). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Ovale, à bordure mouvementée, repoussé de fruits et légumes sur un tapis de feuilles, au centre une allégorie de l'ouïe,poinçons sur le bord: ville et maître-orfèvre; au revers: striche. Longueur: 46 cm. (18 in.), 704 gr. (22.60 oz.)

A GERMAN SILVER PRESENTATION DISH, 1679-1683

Lot 558. Plat de présentation en argent, par Albrecht Biller, Augsbourg, 1681-1683Estimation €10,000 – €15,000 ($11,277 - $16,916). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Ovale, à bordure mouvementée, le marli repoussé de légumes et de fruits sur fond feuillagé, au centre une allégorie du goût, poinçons sur le bord: ville et maître-orfèvre; au revers: striche. Longueur: 46,5 cm. (18 ¼ in.), 704 gr. (22.60 oz.)

A GERMAN SILVER PRESENTATION DISH, 1681-1683

NotesLes Biller sont l'une des plus importantes dynasties d'orfèvres d'Augsbourg, à commencer par Lorenz (1644-1685) qui crée pour l'empereur Léopold I, entre autre, une sculpture figurant un cavalier offerte au Tsar Feodor III. Ses fils Johann Ludwig I (1656-1732), Albrecht (1653-1720) et Lorenz II (1678-1726) ainsi que ses petits-fils Johann Ludwig II (1696-1746) et Johannes (1692-1746) seront tous aussi de grands orfèvres. 
Albrecht, maître en 1681, est également un ornemaniste reconnu qui publie dès 1703 des gravures d'ornements tout en se faisant remarquer pour la qualité de sa ciselure. Il va ainsi créer des guéridons, des tables mais aussi des vases et des miroirs pour les plus grands mécènes de l'époque, dont Auguste le Fort, et qui sont aujourd'hui encore conservés à la Résidence de Munich ou encore au musée de la Voûte Verte de Dresde. Christie's a ainsi vendu le 17 mars 1999, lot 144, un grand miroir qui est retourné au palais de Charlottenberg à Berlin.
Ces deux plats, qui appartenaient sans doute à une série, prouvent donc non seulement le fonctionnement familial de l'atelier, mais illustrent également le talent de cette famille qui aura fourni toutes les grandes maisons princières et royales d'Europe.

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris

Coupe et son couvercle en argent et vermeil, par Peter Wibers, Nuremberg, 1609-1629

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Lot 559. Coupe et son couvercle en argent et vermeil, par Peter Wibers, Nuremberg, 1609-1629Estimation 15,000 – €20,000 ($16,916 - $22,555). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Sur piédouche polylobé repoussé de cupules, le fût tors agrémenté d'une cage ajourée d'enroulements et fleurs, le corps à décor de cupules torses et appliqué d'une frise de ronces, le bord gravé de rinceaux et animaux, le couvercle à décor similaire avec prise en bouquet de fleurs, poinçons sur les bords: ville et maître-orfèvre. Hauteur: 55,5 cm. (21 7/8 in.), 1553 gr. (49.90 oz.)

A GERMAN PARCEL-GILT CUP AND COVER, 1609-1629

NoteCette coupe et son couvercle, probablement à l’origine une double coupe, était une spécialité de Peter Wibers. Actif entre 1603 et 1641, il est réputé pour son travail d'embossage et tout particulièrement pour ses coupes doubles appeléesakeleipokale en référence à l'ancolie ou encore scheuerpokale où il continue à utiliser des motifs gothiques tardifs tout en alternant de façon équilibrée les surfaces polies et décorées. On lui connaît ainsi plusieurs de ces coupes dont une très similaire, à celle présentée et de la même période illustrée dans Nürnberger Goldschmiedekinst, Band I, Teil 2, 2007, n°277, p. 807 aujourd'hui dans une collection privée.

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris

Coupe zoomorphe en vermeil, apparemment sans poinçon, Allemagne du sud, XVIIème siècle

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Lot 569. Coupe zoomorphe en vermeil, apparemment sans poinçon, Allemagne du sud, XVIIème siècleEstimation €15,000 – €20,000 ($16,916 - $22,555). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

En forme d'ours au naturel, debout, les pattes avant tenant un objet (disparu), sur le ventre: striche. Hauteur: 15 cm. (6 in.), 329 gr. (10.55 oz.)

A SOUTH GERMAN SILVER-GILT CUP SHAPED AS A BEAR, 17TH CENTURY

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris


Paire de salières en vermeil, par Hans I Arnold, Augsbourg, 1590-1594

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Lot 570. Paire de salières en vermeil, par Hans I Arnold, Augsbourg, 1590-1594. Estimation 25,000 – €35,000 ($28,193 - $39,470). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Hexagonale, la base filetée, estampée et ciselée de scènes cynégétiques, poinçons sous le fond : ville, maître-orfèvre et striche. Longueur : 7 cm. (2 ¼ in.). Poids : 268gr. (8.60oz.)

ProvenanceBaron Meyer de Rothschild (1818-1874)
Répertoriée dans l'inventaire de 1876, n°1376 et 1377.
Répertoriée dans l'inventaire de 1884, vol. II, p. 90, n° 72 et 73, 'Salt, silver-gilt, hexagonal, decorated in repoussé with animals. Mark: Augsburg, period about 1580. Companion salt' (Amber Room, cabinet XI, Shelf III)
Vente Sotheby’s Londres, 11 février 1999, lot 79.

LittératureLa paire de salières est répertoriée dans H. Seling, Die Augsburger Gold- und Silberschmiede 1529-1868, Münich, 2007, p.103

A PAIR OF GERMAN SILVER-GILT SALT CELLARS, 1590-1594

NoteUne chope du même maître-orfèvre, à décor similaire, a été vendue chez Christie’s New York, 22 octobre 2006, lot 52.
Le décor de ces salières rappellent les modèles du graveur Jost Amman (1539-1591). Originaire de Zurich, Amman excellait à toutes formes de gravures, sur bois, taille-douce, pointe-sèche et eau-forte ce qui lui valut d'obtenir la citoyenneté de la ville de Nuremberg désireuse d'accueillir des graveurs de talent. Amman allait ainsi non seulement reproduire les modèles de ses prédécesseurs dont Wenzel Jamnitzer mais également créer bon nombres de gravures qui seront utilisées par les orfèvres de Nuremberg et d'Augsbourg mais aussi par les bronziers et les armuriers. Beaucoup de ses planches seront ainsi posthumément publiées en 1592 et 1599 et continueront d'inspirer les orfèvres (pour un exemple de gravure, voir Vier Ornamenttafeln: Kindertanz, Hirsch- und Bärenjagd, collections du château de Veste Cobourg).

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris

Tazza en argent, par Guilliam Van Der Mont, Anvers, vers 1598

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Lot 568. Tazza en argent, par Guilliam Van Der Mont, Anvers, vers 1598. Estimation €15,000 – €25,000 ($16,916 - $28,193). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Sur piédouche repoussé de godrons, le fût en forme de vase à décor de trophées de fruits et appliqué de quatre masques de lions avec anneau fileté, la coupe dévissable gravée de trophées enrubannés et de deux bordures d'enroulements, au centre ornée d'une couronne de laurier, poinçons sous la coupe: ville, lettre-date (N), maître-orfèvre et striche. Hauteur: 13 cm. (5 in.), 324 gr. (10.40 oz.)

NoteAnvers a connu une grande période de prospérité dans le troisième quart du XVIème siècle pendant laquelle ses orfèvres ont défini les modes adoptées par le reste de la Flandre. Plusieurs ornemanistes tels que Cornelis Bos, Cornelis Floris ou encore Adriaen Collaert vont populariser le maniérisme italien. Cet âge d'or prend fin en 1576 avec la mise à sac de la ville par la garnison espagnole qui marque la fin de l'allégeance à la couronne d'Espagne et entame dix ans de guerres qui culminent avec la chute d'Anvers en 1585. Dès lors les bourgeois mais surtout les artisans protestants fuient la ville et l'Inquisition espagnole entamant une période de sobriété artistique. On assiste dès lors à un changement stylistique vers une simplification des ornements et un retour aux décors gravés plutôt que ciselés dans le goût des pièces des Pays-Bas.

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris

Miroir en argent, vers 1580-1600, apparemment sans poinçon

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Lot 567. Miroir en argent, vers 1580-1600, apparemment sans poinçonEstimation €4,000 – €6,000 ($4,511 - $6,766). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Ovale, le cadre à bordure d'oves avec un bouton en fleur, l'attache en volute et anneau de préhension, l'endroit avec miroir et le revers repoussé et ciselé d'une scène de ville portuaire avec au premier plan une chasse au lièvre devant un pavillon de chasse où festoient trois couples; Hauteur: 15 cm. (5 ¾ in.)

AN UNMARKED SILVER MIRROR, CIRCA 1580-1600

NotesLa scène délicatement ciselée et riche en détails dont le thème central n'a pu être identifié mais qui rappelle une vue de ville telle que Gènes, Naples ou encore Lépante, est à rapprocher des tazze Aldobrandini aujourd'hui dispersées dans plusieurs collections publiques et privées (voir Christie's Londres, the Wernher Collection, 5 juillet 2000, lot 18 et Christie's New York, the Morgan Collection, 26 octobre 1982, lot 68). Certaines similarités sont à relever: la disposition des divers éléments en perspective, le traitement du sol, la chasse au premier plan très comparable au décor de la tazza du Victoria and Albert museum à Londres (voir J. Hayward, Virtuoso Goldsmiths, Londres, 1976, pp. 164-65, pl. 364), de même que la forme de nuages identique à ceux de la tazza dans la collection Schroder (voir T. Schroder et D. Lambert, Renaissance Silver from the Schroder Collection (Wallace Collection), Londres, 2007, No 55, p. 168). 
Pourtant l'ensemble manque de 'souplesse' et les personnages semblent plus raides que sur les tazze. L'absence de poinçonnage n'aide pas, bien que cela soit assez commun pour des pièces Renaissance, rendant une attribution difficile. Mais ceci fut aussi le cas pour les pièces Aldobrandini, longtemps attribuées à des orfèvres augsbourgeois avant qu'une étude approfondie et comparative permette de suggérer une fabrication italienne. Bien sûr il a également été dit que le ciseleur était peut-être un des ces orfèvres itinérants d'origine flamande ou allemande, qui sillonnaient l'Europe, important avec eux leur sources iconographiques et ornemanistes. 
Cette difficultéà donner une nationalitéà l'auteur nous oblige ainsi à la comparer aussi à d'autres plaques, tout particulièrement les scènes de chasse réalisées par l'orfèvre zurichois Abraham Gessner vers 1600 (voir Sotheby's on the premises, the Mentmore sale, 21-27 mai 1977, lot 685, Sotheby's Londres, the Rothschild and Rosebery collection, Mentmore, 11 février 1999, lot 77, revendu chez Sotheby's New York, Masterworks, 1 février 2013, lot 10), ou encore avec le travail de ciselage exécuté par Gregor Bair vers 1585 sur un bassin d'Augsbourg illustré dans H. Seling, Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede 1529-1868, Munich, 1989, vol. II, pl.93.

Enfin le cadre du miroir rappelle celui d'un autre vendu chez Christie's Paris, Le Cabinet de Jacques et Galila Hollander,16 octobre 2013, lot 396, du moins dans la forme et l'attache de préhension, mais dont la plaque centrale repoussée d'une scène représentant Vénus et Cupidon observant Vulcain forgeant l'armure d'Enée, porte le poinçon d'Ulrich Boas, Augsbourg, vers 1590. 

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Miroir par Ulrich Boas, Augsbourg, vers 1590. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013.

Christie's. LE GOÛT FRANÇAIS, 3 - 4 May 2016, Paris

A pair of famille verte quatre-lobed vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

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A pair of famille verte quatre-lobed vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Lot 49. A pair of famille verte quatre-lobed vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate £2,500 - 3,000 (€3,200 - 3,800). Photo Bonhams.

The bodies painted with panels of striding mythical beasts on rocky riverbanks, ducks and birds beneath overhanging flowering branches, the necks flanked by ruyi form handles and painted with peony stems issuing from rockwork and scattered flowerheads, the feet with single lotus stems. 29.2cm (11.1/2in) high. (2).

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

An associated pair of famille verte bottle vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

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An associated pair of famille verte bottle vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Lot 50. An associated pair of famille verte bottle vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate £1,500 - 1,800 (€1,900 - 2,300). Photo Bonhams.

Decorated with panels of precious objects, and flowering plants issuing from pierced rockwork, the flaring necks with bulbous mid-sections, decorated with floral panels, within geometric and ruyi pattern borders. 25.5cm (10in) and 24.7cm (9.3/4in) high. (2).

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

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