Lot 38. Claude Gellée, called Claude Lorrain (Champagne 1600-1682 Rome), A pastoral landscape with a shepherd and shepherdess beside their livestock in an Arcadian landscape with drovers on a bridge beyond, oil on canvas, 97.7 x 134.9cm (38 7/16 x 53 1/8in). Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 (€780,000 - 1 million). Photo: Bonhams.

LONDON.- Pastoral Landscape by the French Baroque painter Claude Lorrain is the leading picture in Bonhams Old Master Paintings Sale in London on July 6. It is estimated at £600,000-800,000. 

The work has only been widely known since 1972 after intensive research confirmed it to be an original work by the master. It has not been seen at auction since 1973. 

Claude Lorrain painted Pastoral Landscape between 1635 and 1637 in Rome. It is not known who commissioned the painting, but around this time Claude Lorrain 's work had begun to attract important patrons, including Pope Urban VIII, the future Pope Clement IX and, perhaps most prestigious of all, King Philip IV of Spain. His reputation had grown to such an extent that other landscape painters were copying his work. To guard against this Claude Lorrain began keeping a visual record of his paintings before they left his studio. A sketch of Pastoral Landscape in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence was probably made for this purpose. 

Claude Lorrain is regarded as the greatest painter of 'Ideal Landscape' - an image of landscape that is more beautiful and ordered than nature itself and often features shepherds and shepherdesses watching their flocks and herds. 

Bonhams Director of Old Master Paintings, Andrew McKenzie, said:” What marked Claude Lorrain out was his unparalleled skilful handling of light - almost all of his works depict sunrise or sunset - and Pastoral Landscape is a particularly fine example of the artist’s mastery of the atmospheric effects of light and shade. He perfected the naturalism that characterised his output of the 1620s and 30s through his direct studies in the countryside. He spent whole days in the field observing the light effects in the sky and on the ground, noting the appropriate colours on his palette and then going home to record those effects on his canvas. Claude Lorrain 's poetic magic, so apparent in the Pastoral Landscape, is timeless which is why it continues to be highly prized today.” 

The refined and cultivated values that suffuse Claude's works appealed greatly to European nobility and the higher clergy, a section of society that continued to collect his work in the centuries to come. By 1830 about two-thirds of Claude Lorrain 's pictures and drawings, including Pastoral Landscape, were in British collections where they had a far-reaching impact on British culture. His idealised scenes influenced landscape garden design, the poetry of the 'Augustan Age' and particularly painting – as seen in the works of Constable and, particularly, JMW Turner, whose Dido building Carthage and Sun rising through vapour hang between Claude Lorrain 's The Seaport and The Mill in The National Gallery in London, as stipulated in the artist's will. 

Claude Gelée was born in the French Duchy of Lorraine (and is consequently also known as Claude Lorrain). The details of his early life are disputed - one version has him apprenticed to a party cook - but by the late 1620s he was settled in Rome where he established his reputation as an artist and where he lived until his death. He is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest artists of the Baroque and his works hang in all the world’s major galleries.

Zao Wou-ki avec sa collection d’antiques© Photo Petit

PARIS - L’entrée dans la collection du musée Cernuschi de la donation de Madame Françoise Marquet-Zao est historique.

Tout d’abord, elle rappelle que, dès 1946, les œuvres de Zao Wou-ki avaient été présentées pour la première fois en France au Musée Cernuschi. Vadime Elisseeff, alors conservateur au musée, avait eu le discernement et l’audace de présenter au public parisien cet artiste à la fois jeune et inconnu ! La presse de l’époque avait tout de suite reconnu le talent de Zao Wou-ki. Deux ans plus tard, le jeune peintre chinois arrivait à Paris, une ville qui allait demeurer l’espace privilégié de sa création.

Zao Wou-ki, Sans titre, vers 1948. Sanguine, 20,5 x 13,5 cm. Photo Naomi Wenger

Les œuvres de la donation évoquent justement cette période clé au cours de laquelle Zao Wou-ki multiplie les expériences techniques et chemine de la figuration vers l’abstraction. Ainsi pour le seul travail sur papier, l’artiste pratique le fusain, l’aquarelle, la gouache et bien sûr l’encre. Il réalise quelques portraits d’un trait sûr aux accents matissiens, s’inspire aussi bien de modèles vivants nus que de gravures et d’estampages chinois antiques. Après quelques années de rupture, il retrouvera la voie de l’encre à partir des années 1970 et ne la quittera plus. La série de compositions abstraites datées des décennies 1970 à 2000, illustre avec précision les multiples facettes de cette recherche. 

Zao Wou-ki, Sans-titre, 1949. Aquarelle, 45 x 36 cm. Photo Naomi Wenger

Il faut également souligner l’extrême importance des objets antiques collectionnés par Zao Wou-ki pour les collections patrimoniales du musée Cernuschi. Il commence à les rassembler à partir de la fin des années 1960, mais c’est surtout à partir des années 1990 et 2000 que les acquisitions se font plus nombreuses, au gré des achats, des cadeaux d’amis à l’occasion d’anniversaire ou de visites à l’atelier. Ces pièces datées des Shang aux Qing, témoignent de plusieurs millénaires d’histoire de l’art de la Chine. Ces vases rituels, brûle-parfums aux patines vertes et bleutées, ces céladons aux formes simples sont aussi des sources irremplaçables pour tous ceux qui souhaitent connaître le goût et l’intérêt pour l’antiquité chinoise de Zao Wou-ki. 

Zao Wou-ki, Sans titre, 1948. Encre, 23,5 x 31,5 cm; Photo Naomi Wenger

La donation compte également des œuvres des artistes chinois amis de Zao Wou-ki, en particulier Wallace Ting. Alors même que le musée Cernuschi prépare un hommage à cet artiste pour l’automne 2016, ces œuvres viennent enrichir les collections à point nommé. Auparavant, le public pourra découvrir les œuvres de la donation de Françoise Marquet-Zao à partir du 24 juin et pendant tout l’été 2016.

Zao Wou-ki, Sans titre, 1970. Encre, 28 x 27,5 cm. Photo Antoine Mercier

Zao Wou-ki, Sans titre, 1989. Encre, 103 x 106 cm. Photo Naomi Wenger

Zao Wou-ki, Vase 5, 2006. Création originale pour Bernardaud. Photo Dennis Bouchard

Zao Wou-ki, Vase 4, 2006. Création originale pour Bernardaud. Photo Dennis Bouchard

Brûle-parfum ajouré (couvercle). Bronze. Période des Royaumes combattants (Vème -IIIème siècle avant J.-C.). Photo Antoine Mercier

Brûle-parfum canard. Bronze. Dynastie des Han de l’Ouest (IIème - Ier siècle avant J.-C.). Photo Antoine Mercier

Vase couvert. Bronze. Période des Printemps et Automnes (VIIIème – Vème siècle avant J.-C.). Photo Antoine Mercier

Plat en grès céladon de Longquan, Dynastie Yuan (XIIIème – XIVème siècle). Photo Antoine Mercier

Lot 7074. A green and russet jade snuff bottle, 1780-1880, 2 7/16in (6.2cm) high. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,800 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 7001. A carved white jade 'chrysanthemum' snuff bottle, 1760-1880, 2 1/4in (5.7cm) high. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,700 - 4,400). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 7006. Three carved coral snuff bottles, Late 19th to 20th century, 2 to 2 3/8in (5.1 to 6cm) high. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,700 - 4,400). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 7010. An inside-painted rock crystal 'fictional figures' snuff bottle, Ye Family Studio, dated jiazi (1924), 2 1/2in (6.4cm) high. Estimate US$ 3,000 - 5,000 (€2,700 - 4,400). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 90. Rare grand disque en jade vert épinard, bi, Dynastie des Han Occidentaux (206 av. J.-C. - 9). Estimation 30,000 — 50,000 €. Photo Sotheby's.

le jade sculpté en forme de disque avec une petite ouverture circulaire centrale bordée d'un motif de cordelette, les larges bords rythmés de cercles concentriques délimitant les registres de décoration, les deux faces sculptées en bas-relief d'une bande de picots soulignés de spirales, les bords extérieurs soulignés d'une bande de masques d'animaux archaïsants aux cornes entremêlées, la pierre d'une teinte vert foncé avec des taches brunes; 23,6 cm; 9 3/8  in.

An archaic mottled spinach green jade disc, bi, Western Han dynasty.

Lot 66. Rare carpe en jade céladon pâle et rouille, Dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimation 30,000 — 50,000 €. Photo Sotheby's.

 finement sculptée, son corps replet ondoyant sur des vagues agitées tourbillonnant sous la base, la tête aux lèvres plissées agrémentée de fines moustaches retroussées, les écailles délicatement détaillées jusqu'à la queue ouverte en éventail, la pierre au doux poli avec des taches rouilles; 19,2 cm; 7 1/2  in.

A rare large pale celadon and russet jade carp, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

Provenance: Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922. 
Thence in the family by descent.

Lot 70. Bol en jade céladon pâle Dynastie Qing, XVIIIe siècle. Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 €. Photo Sotheby's.

 les côtés profonds arrondis se prolongeant vers un bord ourlé, reposant sur un pied légèrement évasé, la pierre à la patine polie d'une couleur céladon pâle; Diam. 19 cm; 7 1/2  in.

A large pale celadon jade bowl, Qing dynasty, 18th century

Provenance: Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922. 
Thence in the family by descent.

Lot 97. Plaquette inscrite en jade céladon Dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 €. Photo Sotheby's.

de forme rectangulaire, la pierre finement incisée et dorée sur les deux faces d’une longue inscription tirée des poèmes de l’empereur Qianlong 'En émulation avec les poèmes du Nouveau Bureau de la Musique par Bai Juyi', le jade avec un fini mat et quelques inclusions brunes, socle en bois (2); 21 x 8 cm; 8 1/4  x 3 1/8  in. 

A rare celadon jade plaque inscribed with poems by the Qianlong emperor 'In emulation of New Music Bureau poems by Bai Juyi', Qing dynasty, Qianlong period.

Lot 67. Rare bol de style Moghol en jade céladon, Marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795).  Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 €. Photo Sotheby's.

 de forme circulaire, reposant sur un pied légèrement évasé, les côtés arrondis délicatement sculptés imitant de fins pétales de chrysanthème, la base et les bords soulignés d’une frise de feuilles stylisées, flanqué de chaque côté d’une petite feuille d’acanthe repliée en bourgeon formant poignées, la pierre translucide d’une couleur céladon pâle avec quelques inclusions, la base incisée d’une marque à quatre caractères Qianlong yu shang (Présent Impérial de Qianlong); 18,7 cm; 7 3/8  in.

A rare imperial mughal-style celadon jade bowl, Incised four-character Qianlong yu shang mark and period

Provenance: Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922. 
Thence in the family by descent. 

Note: After the Qianlong Emperor married the daughter of a Uighur chieftain in 1760, diplomatic and trade relations between the Qing empire and the regions beyond its Western borders flourished. Jades from Xinjiang were sent as tribute to the court where the emperor had them carved into a variety of objects. Known for his appreciation for jade, many Islamic and Indian jades vessels and ornaments reached the court as gifts and tributes, and thus entered the Imperial collections. The present bowl with its thinly cut and carved sides and details strongly resembles an Islamic or Indian jade bowl, compare several examples illustrated in Exquisite Beauty: Islamic Jades, Taipei, 2012, cat. nos. 48-50, 57, 58, 60, 66. Several of these Mughal-style vessels bear inscriptions of Qianlong poems dedicated to the beauty of Mughal jades. Few bear an Imperial mark on the base such as the present bowl, ibid., cat. no. 48.

Lot 68. Paire de bols en jade céladon pâle, Marques et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimation 15,000 — 25,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

les côtés profonds arrondis se prolongeant vers un bord ourlé, reposant sur un pied légèrement évasé, la pierre à la patine mate, marque à six caractères sigillaires incisée à la base (2). Diam. 9,8 cm; 3 7/8  in.

A pair of pale celadon jade bowls, Qianlong seal marks and period

Provenance: Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922. 
Thence in the family by descent. 

Lot 71. Bol en jade céladon de style Moghol, Marque et époque Qianlong (1736-1795). Estimation 15,000 — 25,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

la panse profonde supportée par un pied court, les côtés s’épanouissant en un bord légèrement évasé, l’extérieur finement sculpté d’une frise continue de fleurs de camélia, la partie inférieure cerclée d’une bande de feuilles de lotus, la base incisée d’une marque à quatre caractères Qianlong nian zhi, la pierre de couleur céladon pâle; Diam. 16,3 cm; 6 3/8  in.

A celadon jade bowl with a scrolling camelia design, Incised four-character Qianlong nian zhi mark to the base and period 

Provenance: Acquired in China between 1894 and 1922. 
Thence in the family by descent. 

Lot 99. Bouddha en jade céladon-gris Dynastie Qing, XIXe siècle. Estimation 15,000 — 25,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana, les mains en dhyana mudra, vêtu d'une longue robe monastique plissée, reposant sur un double socle lotiforme en cuivre repoussé devant une mandorle incisée de chauves-souris entourées d'une frise de fleurs, incrustations de pierres et verre coloré (3); 15,8 cm, avec le socle 24 cm; 6 1/4  in., with the base 9 1/2  in.

A greyish-green jade Buddha on a gilt-copper double lotus base and mandorla, Qing dynasty, 19th century

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris,  23 juin 2016, 10:30 AM

Lot 280. A rare large cloisonné enamel fish basin, China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate €100,000 – €150,000 ($113,436 - $170,154). Unsold. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The basin with slightly flaring sides is decorated on the exterior with a herd of deer and a flock of cranes in a continuous mountainous riverscape with a waterfall, incorporating peach fruiting branches, finger citron, pomegranate, prunus, pine and magnolia. The interior features a large central iron-red carp encircled by four further carps on the well amidst smaller fish, crustaceans and aquatic plants. The base has the design of plum blossoms on a cracked-ice ground. 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm.) diam., 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm.) high

Provenance: Property of an American collector.
Sotheby's New York, 1-2 December 1992, lot 167.
Dr Samuel and Annette Mandel collection, Palm Spring, Florida, United States of America. 
Christie's Hong Kong, Masterpieces of the Enameller's Art from the Mandel collection, 30 May 2012, lot 3910. 

Exhibited: High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, exhibited on loan 1973-1992
On loan to the Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, Florida, 2007-2012

Notes: This basin is a particularly attractive example of this form decorated in cloisonne enamels, which has been attributed to the Imperial workshops. Two fish basins, of similar size and with similar decoration of deer on the exterior and fish on the interior, in the Pierre Uldry Collection and the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, are illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonne: The Pierre Uldry Collection, Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 322 (the Uldry basin) and p. 141, fig. 72 (the Brundage basin). The authors noted that the Uldry basin and an incense burner from the same collection originated in the second half of the eighteenth century and were produced from the same imperial workshop, ibid, p. 14. The authors also mentioned in regard to the Uldry and Brundage basins that "these two pieces represent the final climax to date in the history of Chinese cloisonne art". The same can undoubtedly be claimed for the current vessel. Brinker and Lutz suggested the probability that the Uldry and Brundage basins were a pair.

The choice of motif on these basins is highly auspicious. On the interior boldly coloured fish and other creatures swim amongst aquatic plants. Fish have remained a popular theme in the Chinese decorative arts and can convey a range of auspicious messages, most of them based upon the sound of the word. The word for fish itself (yu) sounds like the word for abundance or surplus. Thus two or more fish represent multiplied abundance and gold fish (jinyu) suggest an abundance of gold. Fish in water provided a rebus for yushui hexie, 'may you be as harmonious as fish and water'. Two of the fish in the basin appear to be carp, and the word for carp is pronounced li, which sounds like the word for profit, and thus two carp would represent doubled profit. On the exterior a number of different motifs suggesting longevity have been combined to create a pleasing landscape scene. The elements suggesting long life include deer, cranes and pine trees. 

Lot 16. A pale green jade vase, 20th century. Estimation : 600 € / 900 €. Adjugéà 28 000 €. Photo Osenat

Vase en jade vert clair sculpté de forme balustre quadrangulaire, les anses ajourées en forme de qilins , à motifs sur chaque face de masques de taoti, et de ruyis. 20ème siècle 

Provenance : Collection particulière, Seine-et-Marne 

Lot 44. Bronze circular incense burner, Western Zhou Dynasty, (1066 BC - 771 BC). Estimation : 8 000 € / 12 000 €. Adjugéà 26 000 €. Photo Osenat

Brûle-parfum circulaire en bronze à patine verte rouge et brune, les anges figurant des chimères décoré en léger relief sur la parois extérieure de masques de Taoti. Zhou Occidentaux. Haut : 14,5 cm Larg : 29 cm. 

Un certificat de la Galerie «Soleil Noir» qui avait vendu cet objet sera remis à l’acquéreur. 

Provenance : Collection de Monsieur H., Martinique 

Lot 107bis. A large pair of porcelain baluster shape vases and covers, Qianlong period (1736 – 1795). Estimation : 20 000 € / 30 000 €. Adjugéà 24 000 €. Photo Osenat

Importante paire de vases couverts de forme balustre à panse aplatie en porcelaine. Les anses en forme de rinceaux ajourés rouge et or. Il sont décorés en émaux de la " Famille Rose" de scènes animées de personnages orientaux sur chaque face : d’un côté, femmes et enfants sur des embarcations accostent au bord de l’eau, dans une rade, où on aperçoit deux navires trois mâts européens , l’autre côté représente une scène de palais avec aéropage près d’un dignitaire dans un parc. Ces scènes sont encadrées de rinceaux à fond de feuillages dorés. Au col, deux réserves de chaque côté représentant des personnages européens. Oiseaux et paysages lacustres sur les côtés des vases et sur le couvercle. Les prises des couvercles en forme de chiens de Fô en rouge de fer et or. Période Qianlong (1736 – 1795) Piédouche d’un vase recollé, un fêle à la base de l’autre. A la base belle monture européenne ancienne en bronze ciselé et doré. Haut. : 69,5 cm 

Provenance : Collection particulière, Paris

Lot 72. An hexagonal baluster porcelain vase decorated with phoenix and cranes, Wanli period (1573 – 1619). Estimation 15 000 € - 18 000 €. Adjugéà 18 000 €. Photo Osenat

Vase en porcelaine de forme balustre hexagonal, décoré en bleu sous couverte de phénalternés de grues sur fond de nuages dans des réserves lotiformes, encadrées de rinceaux fleuris traités en enroulement. A la base et sur la panse, fruits sur des branchages , au col, rinceaux. Dynastie des Ming. Période Wanli (1573 – 1619) Haut : 29 cm 

Provenance : Collection de Monsieur H., Martinique

Lot 67. A doucai saucer dish, Chenghua six-character mark, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimation 5 000 € - 7 000 €. Adjugéà 5 500 €. Photo Osenat

Coupe circulaire décorée en émaux Douçaï au centre, d’une jardinière fleurie, d’où s’échappent des champignons linghzi. Elle repose sur un socle formé de racines dans un large médaillon central. Sur l’aile cinq dragons stylisés en vert, violet et jaune, encadrés de champignons. Au revers marque Chenghua à six caractères en bleu sous couverte dans un double cercle encadrée de quatre Linghzi. Période Kangxi (1662 – 1722) Diamètre : 20,5 cm 

Provenance : Collection de Monsieur H., Martinique 

Lot 75. A large and fine Wucai enamelled baluster jar, Shunzhi period (1644 - 1661). Estimation 2 000 € - 3 000 €. Adjugéà 4 500 €. Photo Osenat

Grande et belle potiche de forme balustre en porcelaine décorée en émaux Wucai de femmes de qualité et leurs servantes sur la terrasse d’un jardin observant un homme avec son buffle les saluant, rochers et oiseaux en vol autour deux pins parasols. Période Shunzhi (1644 - 1661) dite de « la Transition » (Un cheveu et un léger éclat au col) Cerclé d’une bague en métal au col au col, au 17ème siècle 
Haut : 42 cm 

Provenance : Collection du Comte de B., Paris 

Lot 81. A « Famille Verte » baluster shape ewer and cover, Kangxi period (1662 – 1722). Silver french parisian mount with hallmarks dating 1736. Estimation 4 000 € - 5 000 €. Adjugéà 4 500 €. Photo Osenat

Verseuse couverte de forme balustre en porcelaine décorée en émaux de la « Famille Verte » d’oiseaux perchés sur des branches de prunus en fleurs, un oiseau en vol et deux papillons. Période Kangxi (1662 – 1722) Adapté d’une monture en argent à la base, au col et au couvercle, aux poinçons du Fermier Général Antoine Leschaudel PARIS 1744-1750 . Haut : 24 cm 

Provenance : Collection du Comte de B., Paris 

Lot 51. A gilt-bronze figure of Buddha, Jiaqing period (1796 – 1820). Estimation 2 500 € - 3 000 €. Adjugéà 2 500 €. Photo Osenat

 Bouddha souriant assis sur une rocaille en bronze doré tenant d’une main une tortue et son drapé de l’autre. Porte à l’arrière et au revers des inscriptions. Période JIAQING (1796 – 1820) Haut. : 10 cm Long. : 15 cm 

Lot 73. A large blue and white baluster Jar, End of Ming dynasty, First quarter of the 17th century. Estimation 2 000 € - 3 000 €. Adjugéà 2 500 €. Photo Osenat

Grande jarre en porcelaine de forme balustre à quatre passants à l’épaulement en forme de têtes de chien de Fô. Décor en bleu sous couverte de paysages lacustres et montagneux avec pagodes et personnages Fin de la dynastie des Ming, 1er quart du 17ème siècle. Haut : 41 cm 

Provenance : Collection du Comte de B., Paris

Lot 74. A large blue and white baluster jar, Kangxi period (1662 – 1722). Estimation 2 000 € - 3 000 €. Adjugéà 2 500 €. Photo Osenat

Grande potiche de forme balustre en porcelaine décorée en bleu sous couverte de prunus en fleurs dans des cartouches et fleurs de lotus au col. Période Kangxi (1662 – 1722) Haut : 50 cm (Un cheveu et éclat au col) 

Provenance : Collection du Comte de B., Paris.

Arts d'Asie, le 18 Juin 2016 à 14h. OSENAT, 77300 FONTAINEBLEAU. Expert : Vincent l’HERROU, +33 (0)6 07 11 42 82 - galerietheoreme@club-internet.fr

Régine Flory dans une robe de Mariano Fortuny (1910)

Clarisse Coudert, wife of Condé Nast, in a Fortuny Delphos and long mantle, c. 1919.

Robe 'Delphos' portée par Mrs.William Wetmore, posant devant un Tissu Fortuny, 1935

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), Arkwright's Mills & A View of Cromford Bridge, c. 1795-6 © Derby Museums Trust.

DERBY.- The paintings, which are believed to be among the last in Wright's career, depict the iconic Arkwright's Mills and Willersley Castle, which were founded by Sir Richard Arkwright at Cromford, Derbyshire. Arkwright is thought to have commissioned both of the works, but they had both disappeared into the art market by the 1950s. Several owners later, they ended up in the possession a healthcare foundation in the United States. They were finally offered at auction at Christie’s in New York, on 13 April. 

Tony Butler, the executive director at Derby Museums, said: 'We first got wind of the sale nine days before the auction via a tip-off from our patron, the Duke of Devonshire. Our team quickly went into action to raise the money for the purchase – a tremendous achievement that went down to the wire. These scenes are of a landscape so familiar to Derbyshire people and we are so pleased to be bringing the paintings home.' 

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), Arkwright's Mills, c. 1795-6© Derby Museums Trust.

Lucy Bamford, senior curator of art at Derby Museums, added: 'We were thrilled at the opportunity to acquire the pictures. Bizarrely, while Derby Museums holds the world’s largest collection of Wright’s work, it does not contain any examples of his pure depictions of Derbyshire landscape, a subject he came to favour increasingly as he got older. These two paintings nicely fill that gap. We were also drawn to their historical significance, [as] depictions of a key area within the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, and the link to the Arkwright family, Wright’s portraits of whom, along with associated objects, are in the Derby Museums collection.' 

Jonathan Wallis, head of museums at Derby Museums, said: 'The chance to enrich this story of world-changing history further left us in little doubt that we wanted to go for them. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Art Fund, the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Friends of Derby Museums, we had the funds, but we still needed to secure them. On the evening, there was one other bidder, but in the end we managed to [buy the paintings for] well below their lower estimate of $300,000. We’re absolutely thrilled.' 

The paintings are on display in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

Joseph Wright of Derby(1734–1797), A View of Cromford Bridge, c. 1795-96© Derby Museums Trust.

LONDON.- Spanning over five hundred years of art history, Painters’ Paintings presents more than eighty works, which were once in the possession of great painters: pictures that artists were given or chose to acquire, works they lived with and were inspired by. This is an exceptional opportunity to glimpse inside the private world of these painters and to understand the motivations of artists as collectors of paintings. 

The inspiration for this exhibition is a painter’s painting: Corot’s Italian Woman, left to the nation by Lucian Freud following his death in 2011. Freud had bought the 'Italian Woman' 10 years earlier, no doubt drawn to its solid brushwork and intense physical presence. A major work in its own right, the painting demands to be considered in the light of Freud’s achievements, as a painter who tackled the representation of the human figure with vigour comparable to Corot’s. 

In his will, Freud stated that he wanted to leave the painting to the nation as a thank you for welcoming his family so warmly when they arrived in the UK as refugees fleeing the Nazis. He also stipulated that the painting’s new home should be the National Gallery, where it could be enjoyed by future generations. 

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'Italian Woman, or Woman with Yellow Sleeve (L'Italienne)', about 1870. Oil on canvas, 73 x 59 cm © The National Gallery, London

Anne Robbins, Curator of 'Painters’ Paintings' says: “Since its acquisition the painting’s notable provenance has attracted considerable attention – in fact the picture is often appraised in the light of Freud’s own achievements, almost eclipsing the intrinsic merits of Corot’s canvas. It made us start considering questions such as which paintings do artists choose to hang on their own walls? How do the works of art they have in their homes and studios influence their personal creative journeys? What can we learn about painters from their collection of paintings?'Painters’ Paintings: From Freud to Van Dyck'is the result.” 

The National Gallery holds a number of important paintings which, like the Corot, once belonged to celebrated painters: Van Dyck’s Titian; Reynolds’s Rembrandt, and Matisse’s Degas among many others. 'Painters’ Paintings' is organised as a series of case studies each devoted to a particular painter-collector: Freud, Matisse, Degas, Leighton, Watts, Lawrence, Reynolds, and Van Dyck.  

Paul Cézanne, 'L’Après-Midi à Naples', 1876-1877. Oil on canvas, 30 × 40 cm. Private collection. © Photo courtesy of the owner

'Painters’ Paintings'explores the motivations of these artists – as patrons, rivals, speculators - to collect paintings. The exhibition looks at the significance of these works of art for the painters who owned them - as tokens of friendship, status symbols, models to emulate, cherished possessions, financial investments or sources of inspiration.  

Works from these artists’ collections are juxtaposed with a number of their own paintings, highlighting the connections between their own creative production and the art they lived with. These pairings and confrontations shed new light on both the paintings and the creative process of the painters who owned them, creating a dynamic and original dialogue between possession and painterly creation.  

Frank Auerbach, 'Birthday card from Frank Auerbach to Lucian Freud', 2002. The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge. © Frank Auerbach, courtesy Marlborough Fine Art. Photo Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Half the works in the exhibition are loans from public and private collections, from New York and Philadelphia to Copenhagen and Paris. A number of them have not been seen in public for several decades. 

Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery says: “Artists by definition live with their own pictures, but what motivates them to possess works by other painters, be they contemporaries – friends or rivals – or older masters? The exhibition looks for the answers in the collecting of Freud, Matisse, Degas, Leighton, Watts, Lawrence, Reynolds, and Van Dyck'.

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Portrait of a Woman: Head Resting on One Hand', after 1918. Bronze. Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery). © Leeds Museums and Galleries / Bridgeman Images

John Constable, 'Portrait of Laura Moubray', 1808. Oil on canvas, 44.5 × 35.5 cm. Scottish National Gallery. © National Galleries of Scotland

Henri Matisse, 'Self Portrait', 1918. Oil on canvas, 65 × 54 cm. Paris, musée d'Orsay, dépôt au musée départemental Henri Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, donation de Mme Jean Matisse, 1979. © Succession H. Matisse / DACS 2016; photo Philip Bernard

Henri Matisse, 'La Liseuse Distraite (The Inattentive Reader)', 1919. Oil on canvas, 73 × 92.4 cm. Tate, London. © Succession H. Matisse / DACS 2016; photo Tate 2016

Pablo Picasso, 'Portrait of a Woman: Dora Maar', 20 January 1942. Gouache on paper, 40.5 × 30.3 cm. Private collection, United Kingdom. © Photo courtesy of the owner/Christie's, London © Succession Picasso/DACS London 2016

Pablo Picasso, 'Portrait of Dora Maar', 1942. Oil on canvas, 61.6 × 50.5 cm. Courtesy The Elkon Gallery, New York City. © Photo courtesy of the owner. © Succession Picasso/DACS 2016.

Paul Cézanne, 'Madame Cézanne', 1886-1887. Oil on canvas, 46.8 × 38.9 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White Collection, 1967. © Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Paul Gauguin, 'Young Man with a Flower behind his Ear', 1891. Oil on canvas, 45.7 × 33.3 cm. Property from a distinguished Private Collection, courtesy of Christie's. © Photo © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

Paul Signac , 'La Maison verte, Venise', 1905. Oil on canvas, 46 × 55.2 cm. Private collection. © Photo © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images

Alfred Sisley, 'The Flood. Banks of the Seine, Bougival', 1873. Oil on canvas, 50 x 65.5 cm. Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen. © Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen / Photo: Anders Sune Berg

Camille Pissarro, 'Landscape at Pontoise', 1872. Oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cm. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the Contemporary Art Society, 1940. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

Edouard Manet, 'Woman with a Cat', about 1880-2. Oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm. Tate: Purchased 1918. © Tate, London. Photo The National Gallery, London.

Edouard Manet, 'The Execution of Maximilian', about 1867-8. Oil on canvas, 193 x 284 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Self Portrait', 1855. Oil on paper laid on canvas, 81.3 × 64.5 cm. Musée d'Orsay, Paris (RF 2649). © Musée d'Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Self Portrait', 1857-1858. Oil on paper, 47 x 32 cm. The Tia Collection. © James Hart

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, 'Study of a Sky', about 1869. Pastel on grey-blue paper, 29 × 48 cm. Musée d'Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski.

Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas, 'Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')', about 1896. Oil on canvas, 114.3 x 146.7 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Paul Cézanne, 'Bather with Outstretched Arm (study)', 1883-1885. Oil on canvas 33 x 24 cm. Collection Jasper Johns. © Photograph by Dorothy Zeidman

Paul Cézanne, 'Three Bathers', 1879-1882. Oil on canvas, 55 × 52 cm. Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris © Petit Palais / Roger-Viollet 

Paul Cézanne, 'L’Après-Midi à Naples', 1876-1877. Oil on canvas, 30 × 40 cm. Private collection © Photo courtesy of the owner

Paul Gauguin, 'A Vase of Flowers', 1896. Oil on canvas, 64 x 74 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Eugène Delacroix, 'Study of the sky at sunset', 1849-1850. Pastel and coloured chalk on blue paper, 22.8 × 26.8 cm. The British Museum, London. © The Trustees of The British Museum

Eugène Delacroix, 'Hercules rescuing Hesione, study for the lunette in the Salon de la Paix, Hôtel de Ville', 1852. Oil on canvas, 24.5 × 47.5 cm. Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen. © Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen / photo: Pernille Klemp

Eugène Delacroix, 'The Muse of Orpheus', 1845-1847. Pen and ink heightened with oil on paper laid down on canvas, 21.3 × 25.5 cm. The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge © Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Jacques-Emile Blanche, 'Francis Poictevin', 1887. Oil on canvas, 26.7 x 16.5 cm. Tate: Presented by Miss Hilda Trevelyan 1939. © Tate, London. Photo The National Gallery, London.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 'Monsieur de Norvins', 1811-12. Oil on canvas, laid down on panel, 97.2 x 78.7 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 'Angelica saved by Ruggiero', 1819-39. Oil on canvas, 47.6 x 39.4 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 'Dante offering his Works to Homer (study for the Apotheosis of Homer)', about 1827 and about 1864-5. Oil on canvas on panel, 38 × 35.5 cm, Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen © Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen / photo: Pernille Klemp

George Frederic Watts, Self Portrait in a Red Robe, about 1853. Oil on canvas, 154.9 × 74.9 cm. Frame: 179 × 100.5 × 9.5 cm © Watts Gallery (COMWG2014.10)

George Frederic Watts, Autumn, 1901-1903. Oil on canvas, 134.6 × 73.7 cm © Watts Gallery (COMWG.78)

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 'The Four Times of Day: Noon', about 1858. Oil on wood, 142.2 x 62.2 cm. Bought with the assistance of the Art Fund (with a contribution from The Wolfson Foundation), 2014 © The National Gallery, London.

Frederic, Lord Leighton, 'Self Portrait', 1882. Oil on canvas, 34.5 × 29.7 cm © Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums Collections

Frederic, Lord Leighton, Aynhoe Park, 1860s. Oil on canvas, 34.3 × 40.6 cm. Lent from a private collection, courtesy of The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. © Photo courtesy of the owner

Sir Thomas Lawrence, 'Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, John Baring, and Charles Wall', 1806-1807. Oil on canvas, 156 × 226 cm. Private collection © Photo courtesy of the owner. 

Sir Joshua Reynolds, 'Self Portrait', about 1780. Oil on panel, 127 × 101.6 cm. Lent by the Royal Academy of Arts, London (03/1394) © Royal Academy of Arts, London; Photographer: John Hammond.

Anthony van Dyck, 'Self Portrait', about 1629. Oil on canvas, 80 × 61 cm. Lent Anonymously. © Photo courtesy of the owner.

Anthony van Dyck, 'Thomas Killigrew and William, Lord Crofts (?)', 1638. Oil on canvas, 132.9 × 144.1 cm. The Royal Collection Trust /HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II (RCIN 407426). Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016  

Style of Anthony van Dyck, 'The Horses of Achilles', 1635-45. Oil on canvas, 105.5 x 91.5 cm © The National Gallery, London

Guido Reni, 'The Coronation of the Virgin', About 1607. Oil on copper, 66.6 x 48.8 cm © The National Gallery, London

Rembrandt, 'Lamentation over the Dead Christ', about 1634-1635. Pen and brown ink and brown wash, with red and perhaps some black chalk, reworked in oils ‘en grisaille’; framing lines in thin black oil paint; on paper, 21.6 × 25.4 cm. © The British Museum, London (Oo,9.103)

Jacopo Tinteretto, 'Jupiter and Semele', about 1545. Oil on spruce, 22.7 x 65.4 cm © The National Gallery, London.

Titian, 'The Vendramin Family, venerating a Relic of the True Cross', Begun about 1540-3, completed about 1550-60. Oil on canvas, 206.1 x 288.5 cm© The National Gallery, London.

Titian, 'Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo', about 1510. Oil on canvas, 81.2 x 66.3 cm© The National Gallery, London. 

Raphael, 'An Allegory (‘Vision of a Knight’)', about 1504. Oil on poplar, 17.1 x 17.3 cm. © The National Gallery, London.

Giovanni Bellini, 'The Agony in the Garden', about 1465. Egg on wood, 81.3 x 127 cm © The National Gallery, London.

Lot 137. Statuette de Bhaisajyaguru en alliage de cuivre doré, Népal oriental-Tibet, dynastie Khasa Malla, vers le XIVe siècle. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 €. Lot sold 183,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana sur une double base lotiforme, la main gauche portant un bol, la main droite tenant une noix d'arura, vêtu d'une robe monastique aux plis finement plissés découvrant l'épaule droite et retombant en éventail sur la base, le corps rond et charnu, le visage plein aux sourcils arqués encadrant l'urna, le nez aquilin, la bouche souriante, les lobes d'oreilles pendants, les cheveux coiffés en petites boucles, l'ushnishasurmontée d'un bouton de lotus, belle patine dorée, des traces de pigment rouge sur la base, scellée - 19,8 cm; 7 3/4  in.

Lot 141. Statuette d'un lama en allliage de cuivre incrusté, Tibet, XIIIe-XIVe siècle. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 €. Lot sold 81,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana sur une double base lotiforme reposant sur un trône ouvragé incrusté de pierres dures, la main droite en bhumisparsha mudra, la main gauche reposant sur la jambe la paume vers le ciel, vêtu d'une robe monastique rehaussée de d'incrustations d'argent et de cuivre, le chevelure coupée ras, le visage aux mâchoires saillantes, l'expression bienveillante, la base scellée incisée d'un double vajra - 13,3 cm; 5 1/4  in..

Lot 154. Statuette de Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara en alliage de cuivre doré, Mongolie, XVIIIe-XIXe siècle. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 €. Lot sold 81,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana sur une double base lotiforme, les deux mains principales en anjali mudra, un rosaire dans la main droite, un lotus dans la main gauche, vêtu d’un fin dhoti finement incisé et d’écharpes retombant sur les bras, paré de nombreux bijoux, la tête ceinte d’une couronne à cinq fleurons, les cheveux relevés en un double chignon surmonté d’un bijou, traces de pigment bleu dans la chevelure, la base scellée incisée d'un double vajra entrecroisé - 19,5 cm; 7 5/8  in.

Lot 142. Portrait du Précepteur Impérial Künga Gyaltsen en alliage de cuivre incrusté, Tibet, XVe-XVIe siècle. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 €. Lot sold 81,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana sur une double base lotiforme perlée, flanqué de tiges de lotus s'épanouissant près des épaules présentant à droite une épée et à gauche un livre, les mains en dharmachakra mudra, vêtu de la longue robe monastique traditionnelle rehaussée de rinceaux floraux ciselés, le visage rond encadré par une barbe incrustee d'argent, coiffé d'un haut bonnet, les yeux mi-clos, l'expression sereine, une inscription en tibétain sur la partie inférieure de la base avec une dédicace du commanditaire, la base scellée incisée d'un double vajra - 14,4 cm; 5 5/8  in.

Lot 160. Statuette de Manjusri en bronze doré, Dynastie Qing, XVIIIe siècle. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 €. Lot sold 52,500 €. Photo: Sotheby's.

assis en vajrasana sur un double socle lotiforme, la main gauche en vitarka mudra tenant une tige de lotus s'épanouissant près de l'épaule, la main droite brandissant une épée au-dessus de la tête, richement paré de bijoux et d'une tiare incrustée de turquoise et corail, les cheveux retenus en un double chignon, le visage charnu au nez aquilin en méditation, scellée - 13,6 cm; 5 3/8  in.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Landing Place, 1788, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Richard T. Crane.

Washington, DC—Celebrated for the fundamental role he played in promoting the architectural capriccio, Hubert Robert combined famous monuments of antiquity and modernity in unexpected ways to create strikingly new and imaginative city scenes and landscapes. On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, from June 26 through October 2, 2016, Hubert Robert, 1733–1808 is the first monographic exhibition in the United States on the artist as well as the first exhibition to survey his achievements as both a painter and a draftsman.

More than 100 paintings and works on paper showcase his talents: he was a masterly landscape painter, a gifted and prolific draftsman, an engaging printmaker, and an acute chronicler of some of the major events of the day. The recipient of important royal and aristocratic commissions, including many from Russia, Robert was also the first Keeper of Paintings at the Musée du Louvre.

Dubbed "Robert des ruines" by the great critic and encyclopedist Denis Diderot, Robert was renowned during his era as one of France's most prominent artists. 

 Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Architectural Capriccio with the Port of Ripetta and the Pantheon, 1760, pen and ink with wash and watercolor over chalk on paper that appears to be partially prepared. Collection of Jean Bonna, Geneva. photographer Patrick Goetelen, Geneva

"Because of Robert's longevity and enormous public popularity, he is mentioned in all standard reference texts on the 18th century. However, no catalogue raisonné of either his paintings or his drawings has been written. Robert's overall production was far richer and more varied than has generally been recognized on this side of the Atlantic and we are delighted that this project will bring new recognition to an artist whose importance in his own time was considerable and whose artistic range and accomplishments deserve to be better known," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. 

Prior to this exhibition, the last monographic exhibition on Hubert Robert in France was in 1933 on the 200th anniversary of his birth. 

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), A Hermit Praying in the Ruins of a Roman Temple, c. 1760, oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Musée du Louvre, Paris, where it was on view from March 9 through May 30, 2016.

The exhibition is made possible through the leadership support of the Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation. Additional funding is provided by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Architectural Fantasy with a Triumphal Bridge, c. 1760, chalk. National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Armand Hammer Collection, 1987.

Hubert Robert, 1733–1808 is installed in chronological sections that correspond to key periods in his life: Robert's 11 years in Rome; his official successes and major commissions after his return to Paris in 1765, including his work as a garden designer; new themes inspired by his personal experience of Paris, including scenes of urban construction and destruction; the French Revolution and his own imprisonment; and his post-revolutionary involvement with the creation of the new museum of art in the Louvre. 

Hubert Robert was one of the 18th century's most successful artists, and his career is paradigmatic of the pleasures and vicissitudes of his era. Born in Paris, he studied painting in Italy (1754–1765) as a protégé of the duc de Choiseul, who helped him obtain a special entrée to the French Academy in Rome, normally reserved only for winners of the prestigious Prix de Rome. There, Robert refined his artistic practice through direct study of Rome's architectural wonders, parks, and gardens. The content and style of his Roman output largely reflect an emulation of contemporary artistic models and peers (Piranesi and Panini), but Robert also perfected works for which he is best known: depictions of ruins and monuments in which the past and present mingle in striking and unexpected ways.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Water Theater of the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, 1762, pen and ink with wash and watercolor and touches of white gouache, over graphite on two joined sheets. Albertina, Vienna.

Upon his return to Paris—where his scenes of ruins shown in the Salons inspired Diderot's lavish praise—Robert established himself as one of the most sought after artists of his day, producing large-scale painted decors and designing garden landscapes and decorative objects for the royal family and its entourage. Robert also enjoyed access to prominent intellectual and artistic circles: he was a close friend of the painter Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and a favorite of Madame Geoffrin—one of the leading female intellectuals of the French Enlightenment. 

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Archaeologists at the Temple of Vespasian, 1762, chalk. Private collection. 

His work later addresses the demise of this glittering and decadent society, first in ominous scenes of conflagration and disaster of the late 1780s, then in accurate, unblinking representations of vandalism of royalist monuments and his own imprisonment during the Revolution. Upon his release, Robert spent the rest of his life reworking his favorite theme—the conflation of contemporary life and the distant past—through a series of meditative variations on the Grande Galerie of the new Musée du Louvre, where he served as curator until his death in 1808.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Oval Fountain in the Gardens of the Villa d’Este, Tivoli, c. 1763, chalk over graphite. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Neil Phillips and Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Phillips, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1990.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Fountain in a Park, 1763/1765, chalk. The Art Institute of Chicago, Restricted gift of Margaret Day Blake.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Discoverers of Antiquities, c. 1765, oil on canvas. Musée de Valence, Art et Archéologie. © Musée de Valence, photo: Musée de Valence

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Pantheon with the Port of Ripetta, 1766, oil on canvas. École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, on deposit from the Département des Peintures du Musée du Louvre. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. 

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Architectural Capriccio with Ancient Monuments, 1766/1767, two shades of red chalk. Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts Graphiques, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Stair and Fountain in the Park of a Roman Villa, c. 1770, oil on canvas. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of the Ahmanson Foundation.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), An Ancient Circular Temple in a Wooded Landscape, c. 1770, chalk. Private collection, U. K.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Ponte Salario, c. 1775, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), View of the Tapis Vert at Versailles, 1777, oil on canvas. Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Studio of an Antiquities Restorer in Rome, c. 1783, oil on canvas. Lent by the Toledo Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), The Monuments of Paris, 1788, oil on canvas. Collection Power Corporation of Canada, Montreal.

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Landscape with Arcadian Shepherds, 1789, oil on canvas. Musée de Valence, Art et Archéologie. © Musée de Valence, photo Éric Caillet

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), An Inmate of Saint-Lazare Prison, 1794, pen and ink and watercolor. Collection Andrea Woodner. 

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), View of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre in Ruins, 1796, oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Département des Peintures, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Demolition of the Château de Meudon, 1806, oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased in part with funds realized from the sale of paintings donated by Peter and Iselin Moller, Dr. Walter S. Udin, and Howard Young.  

Lot 365. Wedgwood Numbered First Edition Copy of the Portland Vase, England, 18th century. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Photo Skinner

MARLBOROUGH, MASS.- Skinner, Inc. will present a summer auction of European Furniture & Decorative Arts in its Marlborough Gallery on Friday, July 15 at 10AM. With over 750 lots on offer, the auction will feature Part II of the Troy Dawson Chappell Collection of 17th and 18th century English Pottery and Part I of the Paul Lauer Collection of Wedgwood, as well as an expansive selection of fine silver and European fine and decorative arts of the 16th through early 20th centuries.  

First Edition Portland Vase 
The standout lot of the auction is a Wedgwood numbered first edition copy of the Portland Vase from the Paul Lauer Collection (Lot 365, $40,000-$60,000). Wedgwood’s oven book records list forty-three of these “first edition” vases fired between 1791 and 1796. Eleven were broken during the process, and the numbers of additional faulty vases are not known. It’s generally believed that somewhere around thirty of these black jasper vases were of first quality. Most, if not all, of these remaining vases bear a number inside the rim inscribed with manganese pencil. Paul Lauer purchased the number 22 first edition Portland vase at Sotheby & Co., London as Lot 112 of the Oster Collection catalog, November 30, 1971. 

Lot 365. Wedgwood Numbered First Edition Copy of the Portland Vase, England, 18th century. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Photo Skinner

solid black body with applied white classical figures in relief enhanced with a gray wash, a man wearing a Phrygian cap beneath the base, numbered in pencil "22" to the inside rim, unmarked, ht. 9 7/8; together with an oval solid black trial medallion with applied white foliage, impressed3, lg. 2 3/8 in. One applied cherub with loss to toes. Otherwise in very good condition throughout with no evidence of any cracks, chips or restorations. 

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer. Purchased at Sotheby & Co., London as Lot 112 of the Oster Collection catalog, November 30, 1971. As noted in that catalog: exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Canada, 1951-53. This is the Beaufort-Codrington copy. The Dowager Duchess of Beaufort is mentioned in Byerley's pocket book among those who has subscribed for a copy of the Portland Vase, but there is a note 'Copy not received up to 1799'. It must therefore have been delivered between then and her death in 1831. The vase probably entered the Codrington family of Dodington Park, Gloucestershire when the Dowager Duchess of Beaufort's great grand-daughter, Lady Georgina Somerset, married Sir Christopher Codrington in 1836. It was bought by a dealer at the death of Lt. Gen. Alfred Codrington, G.C.V.O., K.C.B., in 1945. It was sold to Mr. Oster in 1953." 

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer. 

Literature: Wedgwood, by Robin Reilly, volume 1, illus. 1036, shows a copy from Tom Byerley's notebook from 1789 with list of subscribers clearly showing an entree for Dowager Duchess of Beaufort.

Fine Silver 
The day opens with over 200 lots of fine silver, featuring numerous lots from the Estate of Hugh Trumbull Adams to benefit The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Highlights from the Estate are exemplified by a magnificent pair of George III sauce tureens by Benjamin Smith II & Benjamin Smith III modeled after the Warwick Vase (Lot 34, estimated between $8,000 and $12,000), as well as a pair of French silver-gilt chargers bearing the coat of arms of Prince Camillo Borghese and Pauline Bonaparte (Lot 58, $1,000-$1,500).  

Lot 43. Pair of George III Sterling Silver Sauce Tureens, London, 1817-18, Benjamin Smith II & Benjamin Smith III, maker. Estimate:$8,000 - $12,000. Photo Skinner

one liner and tureen numbered "4," lid numbered "4" and "3(8)"; the other cover and liner numbered "2," tureen numbered "3(8)," each modeled after the Warwick Vase, cover topped with a lion-form finial and with engraved armorial to either side, the tureens also with the engraved armorial to either side of foot, lg. handle to handle 8 3/4, approx. 155.5 troy oz., with later ebonized plinth, total ht. 13 3/4 in. 

Provenance: The Estate of Hugh Trumbull Adams to benefit the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Collections Acquisitions Fund. 

N.B. The coat of arms is that of the Peel family. Two sauce tureens from the same service sold at Sotheby's New York, Sale N09208, Lot 459. 

Lot 58. Two French Empire .950 Silver-gilt Chargers, Paris, 1809-19, Martin-Guillaume Biennais, maker. Estimate:$1,000 - $1,500. Photo Skinner

circular, with anthemion border and engraved coat of arms, dia. 12 in., approx. 66.7 troy oz. 

Provenance: The Estate of Hugh Trumbull Adams to benefit the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Collections Acquisitions Fund. 

N.B. The plates appear to be part of the Borghese service, bearing the coat of arms of Prince Camillo Borghese (1775-1832) and Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825). The original service comprising around 500 pieces was primarily supplied by Martin-Guillaume Biennais (1764-1843), who was the goldsmith to the Imperial Court and official supplier to the Garde-meuble under Napoleon. 

Other silver highlights consist of several early British tankards, including a Charles II example from 1667-68 (Lot 1, $3,000-$5,000). Russian silver is also well-represented and led by an impressive kovsh by the 11th Artel (Lot 93, $10,000-$15,000). 

Lot 1. Charles II Sterling Silver Tankard, London, 1667-68. Estimate:$3,000 - $5,000. Photo Skinner

maker's mark conjoined "WG" in a heart-form cartouche with lower pellet, marked to lid, handle, and foot, cylindrical, with slight tapering to stepped lid, a double-scroll thumbpiece and the scroll handle with engraved monogram to top, also with engraved "F" to lid and monogram to underside, ht. 6 3/8 in., approx. 23.8 troy oz.  

Lot 93. Russian .875 Silver and Cloisonné Enamel Kovsh, Moscow, 1908-17, 11th Artel, maker. Estimate:$10,000 - $15,000. Photo Skinner

second Kokoshnik standard, decorated throughout in various colored and shaded enamels, the scrolled prowl offset by hardstone cabochons along the rim, engraved to three sides of base with a dated Cyrillic inscription, ht. 5 7/8, lg. 12 in., approx. 29.8 troy oz. 

Offerings of American silver are particularly numerous with pieces from makers such as Gorham, Tiffany, Kirk, Allan Adler, and Reed & Barton; highlights include a pair of Ball, Black & Co. tureens most likely by John Wendt (Lot 106, $3,000-$5,000) and a Gorham Martelé Tray (Lot 135, $7,000-$9,000).  

Lot 106. Pair of Ball, Black & Co. Sterling Silver Covered Tureens, New York, c. 1860, probably by John Wendt. Estimate:$3,000 - $5,000. Photo Skinner

each with a domed lid topped with a bull-form finial and elaborately chased with floral and foliate sprays centering a cartouche with a star within a shield to each side, the dish with an inset silver-plate liner and two handles cast as a cow's head encircled by a floral garland, ht. 9, lg. handle to handle 14 in., approx. 145.8 troy oz. (not including liners). 

Lot 135. Gorham Martelé .9584 Silver Tray, Providence, c. 1909. Estimate:$7,000 - $9,000. Photo Skinner

date mark "S/AB," with an undulating rim adorned with various floral sprays including roses and morning glories, lg. handle to handle 31 in., approx. 159.6 troy oz. 

Fine Ceramics 
The auction features two collections of English ceramics: Part II of the Troy Chappell Collection of 17th and 18th century English pottery, and Part I of the Paul Lauer Collection of Wedgwood. 

The Chappell Collection is comprised of an extensive selection of tin-glazed earthenwares, white salt-glazed stonewares and lead glazed wares highlighted by a number of dated examples. Highlights include, a tin-glazed wine bottle dated 1649 (Lot 216, $7,000-$9,000), a tin-glazed punch bowl with central inscription “Success to the British Arms” (Lot 246, $2,500-$3,500), a white salt-glazed stoneware King of Prussia teapot in polychrome enamels (Lot 308, $3,000-$5,000), and a diamond-shaped solid agate teapot (Lot 337, $5,000-$7,000). 

Lot 216. Dated Tin-glazed Earthenware Wine Bottle, England, c. 1649, probably Southwark. Estimate:$7,000 - $9,000. Photo Skinner

globular shape with narrow neck and loop handle, allover white glazed inscribed in blue "WHIT 1649," ht. 5 in. 

Provenance: From the Troy Chappell Collection; Ex collection Hodgkin; Scholes; Curtis. 

Literature: Illustrated in Dated English Delftware, by Lipski and Archer, illus. 1384.

Lot 246. Tin-glazed Earthenware Punch Bowl, England, c. 1756-63, probably London. Estimate:$2,500 - $3,500. Photo Skinner

the exterior with blue and manganese decoration of a chinoiserie landscape with central pagoda, the interior walls with bianco-sopra-bianco-style flowers and scrolled foliage surrounding a deep blue inscription "sUcCeS tO tHe bRiTiSh ArMs," dia. 10 3/8 in. 

Provenance: From the Troy Chappell Collection; Ginsburg & Levy. 

Literature: Similar illustrated in British Delft at Williamsburg, by Austin, illus. 52.

Lot 308. White Salt-glazed Stoneware King of Prussia Teapot and Cover, England, c. 1756-63, probably Staffordshire. Estimate:$3,000 - $5,000. Photo Skinner

globular shape with molded crabstock handle and spout, black ermine ground with polychrome enameled central reserves, one side with titled portrait depiction of "Fred III Prufsiae Rex," the reverse with Prussian eagle bearing a ribbon inscribed "Semper Sublimis," ht. 4 1/4 in. 

Provenance: From the Troy Chappell Collection; Jonathan Horne. 

Literature: Identical illustrated in British Teapots & Tea Drinking, by Emmerson, illus. 14. 

Lot 337. Agate Diamond-shaped Teapot and Cover, England, c. 1745-50, probably Staffordshire. Estimate:$5,000 - $7,000. Photo Skinner

foo lion finial, deep cream ground with rust-brown clay, ht. 5 3/4 in. Covr: Rim chips professionally restored. Pot: Slight nicks to top rim and spout

Provenance: From the Troy Chappell Collection; Jonathan Horne. 

Literature: Illustrated in Ceramics in America-2003, The Chipstone Foundation, p. 108, figs. 63-64. 

In addition to the first edition Portland Vase, highlights of the Paul Lauer Collection include, a black jasper dip Apotheosis of Virgil vase and cover (Lot 392, $5,000-$7,000), and a monumental Adams dark blue jasper dip vase with cover and pedestal (Lot 418, $3,000-$5,000.) Several other Portland vases in a variety of colors and bodies are also included, as are a number of large plaques in both jasper and black basalt. 

Lot 392. Wedgwood Black Jasper Dip Apotheosis of Virgil Vase and Cover, England, 19th century. Estimate:$5,000 - $7,000. Photo Skinner

Medusa masks, the bulbous body with classical figures, the cylindrical drum base with fruiting grapevine festoons terminating at lion masks with ribbons and trophy drops, impressed mark, ht. 28 in. 1/2" chip to inner collar of cover. Socle restored; footrim of drum base with small chip. 

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer. 

Lot 418. Monumental Adams Dark Blue Jasper Dip Vase, Cover, and Pedestal Base, England, 19th century. Estimate:$3,000 - $5,000. Photo Skinner

acorn finial to a domed cover, heavily decorated in high white relief with oak leaf and acorn borders and festoons, goat head handles, overall ht. 50 1/2 in. Scattered chips to leaves and acorns.

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer.

Works by Emile Lessore were a favorite of Mr. Lauer, and his collection includes several plaques, oil paintings and watercolors executed by the 19th century artist, as well as a grouping of table wares. The collection is diverse and includes several black basalt portrait busts, a nice assortment of majolica in Wedgwood and Minton, as well as carrara and Minton parian groups. Also offered will be a fine selection of Mettlach pottery including table wares and several large plaques; a pair of phanolith plaques with mythological figures in relief (Lot 478, $1,200-$1,800); as well as a nice selection of Sarreguemines majolica including a “Coupe Sandier”(Lot 484, $3,000-$5,000), and Lot 489, a pair of covered floor vases on pedestal bases ($4,000-$6,000). Part II of the Lauer Collection will be offered as part of our European Furniture & Decorative Arts auction on October 7. 

Lot 478. Pair of Mettlach Circular Phanolith Plaques, Germany, early 20th century. Estimate:$1,200 - $1,800. Photo Skinner

each pale green ground with white mythological figures in relief, the central figures riding a dolphin, numbered "7040," signed "Stahl," and "7043," impressed marks, dia. 21 in.; set in modern frames. Light scuff marks; no evidence of any cracks, chips or restoration.

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer.

Lot 484. Sarreguemines Majolica Coupe Sandier, France, late 19th century. Estimate:$3,000 - $5,000. Photo Skinner

designed by Alexandre Sandier, allover aegean blue ground with gilding, the large bowl molded with classical children amongst chain festoons terminating at ribbon ties, the complimenting pedestal similarly decorated and with a central urn framed within three caryatid supports set on a radiating circular base, inscribed "ALEX. SANDIER," impressed factory mark, bowl dia. 29, overall ht. 47 1/2 in. The bowl has been heavily restored throughout. 

Note: For an identical vase see Christie's London, The Opulent Eye, Sale 1554, Lot 14, September 18, 2014. 

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer.

Lot 489. Pair of Sarreguemines Majolica Covered Floor Urns, France, 19th century. Estimate:$4,000 - $6,000. Photo Skinner

each deep blue ground with ribbed body, each panel with a string of foliage and with stiff leaves surrounding foot rim, set atop a complimenting raised pedestal with matching cover, overall ht. 74 in. Cover: One with rim chips professionally restored. One cover in good condition. Urns: One with old 1 1/2" chip repair at shoulder; spotty glaze loss surounding shoulder. One urn in good overall condition. Pedestals: each with surface abrasions to glaze; one with a repair to a top corner. 

Provenance: From the Estate of Paul Lauer.

Rounding out the offerings of English ceramics are select additions which include three Doulton Lambeth George Tinworth decorated terra cotta plaques (Lots 504-506, $2,000-4,000), a pearlware bear-form teapot (Lot 493, $1,000-2,000), a variety of Wedgwood including two tri-color jasper prunus vases (Lot 498 and 499, each $1,000-$1,500), a pair of Worcester porcelain fan pattern fruit coolers (Lot 494, $800-$1,200), and a Nottinghamshire brown salt-glazed stoneware loving cup dated 1756 (Lot 490, $1,000-$2,000). 

Lot 504. Doulton Lambeth George Tinworth Decorated Terra-cotta Plaque, England, c. 1878. Estimate:$2,000 - $4,000. Photo Skinner

rectangular, modeled in high relief with depiction of "THE FINDING OF MOSES," inscribed above "AND PHAROAH DAUGHTER SAID UNTO HER, TAKE THIS CHILD AWAY AND NURSE IT FOR ME AND I WILL GIVE THE THEY WAGES," and below "H. DOULTON & CO LAMBETH" and "G. TINWORTH" and monogram, 6 x 13 in.; set in an ebonized wood frame. By sight, 3/8" edge flake to right side. Not examined out of frame.

Provenance: The Fine Art Society, London.

Lot 506. Doulton Lambeth George Tinworth Decorated Terra-cotta Plaque, England, c. 1878. Estimate:$2,000 - $4,000. Photo Skinner

rectangular, modeled in high relief with depiction of "PETER PAYING THE TRIBUTE MONEY" inscribed above, with "A PRUDENT MAN FORSEETH THE EVIL AND HIDETH HIMSELF" below "EGYPTIANS ASSAYING TO DO THE WORLD WERE DROWNED" and "H. DOULTON & CO LAMBETH AND G. TINWORTH" and monogram, 6 x 13 in.; set in an ebonized wood frame. No evidence of any cracks, chips or restoration. Not examined out of frame.

Provenance: The Fine Art Society, London

Lot 493. Staffordshire Pearlware Bear Teapot and Cover, England, c. 1810. Estimate:$1,000 - $2,000. Photo Skinner

enamel decorated in brown and green, the seated figure modeled holding a hound-form spout, the head modeled as the cover, ht. 8 in. Cover: restoration to rim; 2" hairline to snout (noticeable from the inside only). Slight scattered edge flakes. Pot: In overall very good condition.

Lot 494. Pair of Worcester Porcelain Fan Pattern Fruit Coolers, England, c. 1800. Estimate:$800 - $1,200. Photo Skinner

twig-form handle to cover, foliate decorated handles to pot, gilded and polychrome enamel decorated fan designs in alternating colors with a variety of gilded patterns bordering central orbs gilded with stars, inscribed "B" mark, ht. 11 1/4 in. Missing insert liners. One in very good condition wiyth but a slight rim chip along the inner edge of the top rim of the cooler. One with staple repair to an extensive hairline along one side of the body running roughly 4 1/2" down from top rim and 6" across lower body.

Lot 490. Nottinghamshire Brown Salt-glazed Stoneware Loving Cup, England, 1756. Estimate:$1,000 - $2,000. Photo Skinner

reeded ear-form handles to a bell shape with rouletted band to waist, inscribed on one side "Sarah Cufsens 1756," the reverse with flowers, ht. 5 3/4 in. Top rim with four rim chips, each roughly 1/4" and a small rim flake.

European Furniture & Decorative Arts 
Offerings featured in the general section of the auction include numerous deaccessioned items from Colonial Williamsburg from which the proceeds will be used by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, exclusively for the acquisition of art and antiques to be exhibited in its art museums and historic buildings. Highlights from this collection include a rare brass Flintlock Alarm Candle Clock, with movement signed “Vincent Des Combes, Schleswig,” c. 1745, (Lot 547, $20,000-$40,000), and a selection of over ten lots of English pewter.  

Lot 547. Flintlock Alarm Candle Clock, c. 1745. Estimate:$20,000 - $40,000. Photo Skinner

brass, crown wheel and verge escapement, chain drive fusee movement with alarm signed "V Des Combes Schleswig," with pierced balance bridge and silvered regulator dial, watch with roman numeral champleve dial with arcaded chapter ring, blued steel beetle and poker hands, encased in a rectangular box incscribed "Vincent Des Combes," with sides and top engraved with foliate leaf and scroll motifs, top with three divided sections, one of which contains a flintlock mechanism; the right side of the box contains a compartment covered by a hinged lid with decorated cartouche, a folding brass candle socket, and an additional lidded compartment to contain the watch key and a small pair of steel tongs; left side of the case composed of a square compartment with hinged lid, the corners of cast gilt fretwork, ht. 1 3/8, wd. 5 3/8, dp. 3 in. 

Provenance: Proceeds from the sale of the collections will be used by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, exclusively for the acquisition of art and antiques to be exhibited in its art museums and historic buildings. 

N.B. This rare clock has only a small number of other known comparable counterparts; one is part of the collection of Snowshill Manor and Garden in Gloucestershire, dated c. 1740-1745, made of brass and inscribed "Pierre Morier London." 

Other highlights include a fantastic Art Nouveau bronze lamp by François-Raoul Larche of Loïe Fuller, the celebrated dancer, bearing Soit Decauville foundry mark, numbered "S771" and signed "RAOUL LARCHE," (Lot 651, $25,000-$35,000); an elegant Pair of Victorian Elkington & Co. Champlevé and silver-gilt tazza, mid to late 19th century, attributed to Auguste-Adolphe Willms, (Lot 597, $3,000-$5,000); Two Aubusson Verdure Tapestries, 19th century (Lot 699, $4,000-$6,000); a Bronze Huntsman on Horseback After Pierre Jules Mêne (Lot 741, $5,000-$7,000) and a selection of English and Continental porcelains. 

Lot 651. François-Raoul Larche (French, 1860-1912), Loïe Fuller. Estimate:$25,000 - $35,000. Photo Skinner.

the art nouveau bronze lamp cast as the celebrated dancer within swirling drapery, electrified, bearing Soit Decauville foundry mark, numbered "S771" and signed "RAOUL LARCHE," ht. 18 1/4 in.  

Furniture highlights include a Pair of Marble Female Nude Figures with Putti, signed “Prof. Chiurazzi,” (Lot 687, $12,000-$18,000), a stunning Late Victorian Steinway Marquetry Model B Piano, signed “Cottier & Co. Designers/New York/Steinway & Sons Makers”, c. 1890 (Lot 512, $10,000-$20,000); a group of handsome Dutch marquetry cabinets (Lots 543, 705, 714, $1,000-$6,000); and a selection of Biedermeier and Biedermeier-style pieces.

Lot 8138. An embroidered blue silk ground dragon robe, 19th century. Estimate US$ 5,000 - 8,000 (€4,500 - 7,200). Photo Bonhams.

Property from a Southern California Museum

Bonhams. CHINESE, INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART AND PAINTINGS, 12:00 PDT, SAN FRANCISCO

Lot 8139. A blue ground kesi-woven silk dragon robe, 19th century. Estimate US$ 6,000 - 8,000 (€5,400 - 7,200). Photo Bonhams.

Lot 8140. A Manchu nobleman's chestnut ground brocade-woven court robe, jifu, Qianlong-Jiajing period (1736-1820). Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€9,000 - 14,000). Photo Bonhams.

Property from a Southern California Museum

Note: The brown background of the robe, known atqiuxiangse (tawny incense), was reserved for princes and other members of the imperial clan: see, for example, John Vollmer, Ruling from the Dragon Throne,2002, pp. 83-84 and fig. 4.3, an embroidered example from the Daoguang period

Bonhams. CHINESE, INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART AND PAINTINGS, 12:00 PDT, SAN FRANCISCO

Lot 8218. A sky blue glazed vase, Yongzheng mark, late Qing-Republic period. Estimate US$ 2,000 - 4,000 (€1,800 - 3,600). Photo Bonhams.