Lot 82. An Amethyst, Turquoise, and Diamond Ring, Cartier Paris, Circa 1950. Estimate $5,000 - 8,000. Sold for $17,500. Photo Phillips.
Centering upon a hexagonal amethyst, to the cabochon turquoise surround, and circular-cut diamond bombé shoulders and polished gold half-hoop, mounted in 18K yellow gold, size 7. Signed 'Cartier Paris', no.24731, with French assay marks.
Phillips. JEWELS NEW YORK AUCTION 17 JUNE 2016
Lot 1. Chope couverte en vermeil, par Dietrich Thor Moye, Hambourg, vers 1650. Estimation 7,000 — 10,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.
à huit pans gravés séparés par des cupules, gravée sous la base: UNSERM LIEBEN CLAUDI ZUR ERINNERUNG, MUNCHEN 1883, la prise en artichaut - Haut. 18,5 cm, 652 g ; 7 1/4 in, 20oz 19dwt
Sotheby's. Robert de Balkany, Rue de Varenne, Paris – Vente du Soir, Paris, 20 sept. 2016, 05:00 PM
Lot 6003. A fine and rare gold cast ornamental plaque, Warring States Period (481 BC-403 BC). Estimate US$ 30,000 - 50,000 (€27,000 - 44,000). Photo: Bonhams.
Intricately cast and detailed, the plaque centered with a pair of intertwined creatures with scaly bodies supported on two hollow struts rising out of further intertwined bodies issuing composite heads or groups of heads on eight other hollow struts, the reverse showing concave surfaces to the intertwined bodies and circular openings to the struts. 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 3 1/8in (2 x 7 x 8cm) 124 grams
Provenance: J. J. Lally, purchased January 1999.
On Loan and Exhibited: The Denver Art Museum, 1999 - 2016; (Loan 1999.2).
Notes: A gold plaque of similar form, size and weight was published in the Museum Rietberg exhibition, Gold und Silber: die sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1994, p. 74, cat. 13 (2 x 7.1 x 6.6cm, 134 grams). A plaque of simpler form comprising eight animal heads was exhibited at the Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies at the University of Hong Kong,Celestial Creations. Art of the Chinese Goldsmith: the Cheng Xun Tang Collection, 2007, pp. 66-67, A31.E.
Of larger size and even more elaborate animal interlace, see the cast gold openwork sword hilt from the earlier Eastern Zhou period, preserved in the British Museum and discussed by Jessica Rawson in relation to jade carving inChinese Jade: from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 60-66 and illustrated as fig. 46, p. 63 (9cm high).
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 2. Petite chope couverte en vermeil, probablement Allemagne, vers 1650. Estimation 5,000 — 8,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.
à décor de chérubins et rinceaux sur fond amati (apparemment non poinçonné) - Haut. 14 cm, 368 g ; 5 1/2 in., 11oz 16dwt
Sotheby's. Robert de Balkany, Rue de Varenne, Paris – Vente du Soir, Paris, 20 sept. 2016, 05:00 PM
Lot 6006. A rare gilt silver head ornament in the form of a phoenix, 9th-11th century. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The finely modeled crested bird with chased hollow body set off by a high crested tail and separately fashioned openwork wings attached through the body and pierced with two small holes at each tip suspending pendant chains, a further cluster of ornaments and chains falling from the slender beak, the small legs inserted through a bed of delicately fashioned layers of lotus petals. 3in (7.6cm) high
Provenance: J. J. Lally, purchased 20 December 1993.
On Loan and Exhibited: The Denver Art Museum, 1999 - 2016; (Loan 795.1993).
Notes: See a similar model exhibited in the Reitberg Museum, Zurich, 1991, from the Dali Kingdom, Yunnan, and illustrated in the catalog Der Goldschatz der Drei Pagoden, no.22.
See also a similar model founded at the Famen Temple in Precious Cultural Relics in the Crypt of Famen Temple, no. 58. The Famen temple can be dated, through a discovered stone inscription, to the Tang dynasty, and had been sealed from the fifteenth year of Wentong, during the reign of the Tang Emperor Xizong (AD 873). There are pair of similarly executed phoenix birds over the lintel of the Famen crypt entrance, illustrated as cat. no. 14. Tang pottery female figures are often shown with a phoenix-bird ornament as a centerpiece in their official court headdresses.
See a closely related silver-gilded hair ornament found in the Chifeng district and published in Asia Society exhibition,Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125),, New York, 2006, pp 156-157. Both a Chinese and a Khitan feminine symbol, it is likely that these ornaments were hair ornaments for an elite woman. The hooked beak may also be related to the Khitan passion for falconry, part of the ritual hunting calendar and conducted in the early spring. See Emma C. Bunker, Julia M. White and Jenny F. So, Adornment for the Body and Soul: Ancient Chinese ornaments from the Mengdiexuan Collection, pp. 19-22, 274 and 278.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 3. Chope couverte en vermeil, probablement Leipzig, vers 1660. Estimation 8,000 — 12,000 €. Photo: Sotheby's.
à décor de six cartouches, la prise en soldat, l'anse ornée d'une tête de dauphin stylisé, gravée à la main au-dessous N 1532 - K M M - Haut. 23,5 cm, 1 051 g ; 9 1/4 in, 33oz 15dwt
Sotheby's. Robert de Balkany, Rue de Varenne, Paris – Vente du Soir, Paris, 20 sept. 2016, 05:00 PM
Lot 6013. A chased and cast silver cup with gilt highlights, 10th-12th century. Estimate US$10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.
Of inverted bell form raised on a low foot and flat base, the interior rim chased with a narrow band of overlapping petals or waves and the exterior walls engraved with a wider band of two garden rocks that separate peony branches in bloom against a minutely ring-punched ground, the surfaces showing traces of gilt. 2 3/8in (6cm) diameter; 1 7/16in (3.6cm) high; 48 grams
Provenance: Jim Freeman, purchased 3 November 1981.
On Loan and Exhibited: The Denver Art Museum, 1999 - 2016; (Loan 119.1982).
Published: Sui-To no bijutsu, Osaka, 1996, no. 2-32, as Five Dynasties.
Notes: The tiny ring-punched background on the decorative band surrounding this cup is often encountered in Tang metalwork. However cups of similar inverted bell form are normally raised on a tall pedestal foot: see the China Institute of America exhibition, Early Chinese Gold & Silver, New York, 1971, cat. no 47, p. 41 and cat. no. 64, p. 50 (both from the collection of the Hon. Hugh Scott). Typical of their decoration is a dense filigree across the exterior surface. A similar dense background of tiny circular punches behind geese in flight amid flowering branches covers the concave sides of a cup raised on an everted foot rim, excavated in 1988 from the tomb of Wei Xun, as discussed by Carol Michaelson in Gilded Dragons: Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages, The British Museum, 1999, cat. no 61, p. 100-101. For bell-form bowls of larger size, ascribed to the late Tang period, excavated in the Xi'an area but undecorated and with a spreading ring foot, see Sun Fuxi (ed.), Xi'an wen wu jing hua: jin yin qi, Guangdong, 2012, cat. no. 42 (13.35 cm diameter, 465 grams) and cat. no. 43 (13.7cm diameter, 538 grams).
This lot was attributed to the tenth century when the cup was exhibited in Japan, possibly owing to its unusual shape with a stepped foot and a sparser band of decoration. Metalwork with similar ring-punched backgrounds continued to be made after the Tang period, as indicated by examples excavated from tenth and eleventh century tombs included in the Asia Society exhibition Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125),, New York, 2006. See, for example, the gilt silver jug with scenes of filial piety excavated in 1992 from the tomb of Yelu Yuzhi and his wife Chonggun (before 942), cat. no. 95. pp. 320-321; or the saddle ornaments from the tomb of the Princess of Chen and Xiao Shaoju (1018 or earlier) excavated in 1986, cat. no. 12a-d, pp. 122-123. Given the Japanese provenance of the tiny silver cup, and the excavation of Liao sites undertaken by the Japanese during their occupation of northern China, it is possible that the cup was made during the Liao dynasty.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
reposant sur trois pieds en grenades, le corps ciselé et repoussé de paysages et rinceaux, le couvercle de même avec appui-pouce en grenade, gravé sous la base n°11 4 66 90 sol et n°3.4 9030A - Haut. 23 cm, diam. 19 cm, 2 031 g ; 9 in. high, 7 1/2 in diam., 65oz 6dwt
Provenance: Vente Sotheby's Paris, 1er décembre 2011, lot 239
Lot 6015. A gilt copper alloy funerary mask, Liao dynasty. Estimate US$10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.
Hammered from a thin copper, tin and silver alloy sheet and realistically modeled with thin, sunken eyes, wide brows setting off a long triangular nose and small mouth accenting the broad cheeks and long crescent ears, the surface covered with earthen encrustation. 7 1/4in (18.4cm) high; 8 1/8in (20.7cm) wide
Provenance: Sloan's, September 1998, lot 620.
On Loan and Exhibited: The Denver Art Museum, 1998 - 2016; (Loan 1999.2).
Published: Sui-To no bijutsu, Osaka, 1996, no. 2-32, as Five Dynasties.
Notes: Funerary masks such as this lot began to appear in the West in the early 20th century. It was Japanese archeologists during the occupation of Manchuria who identified the group as belonging to the Khitan tribes that formed the Liao dynasty (907-1125). For a review of the archeological history of these masks, Liao burial customs, and a silver-coated bronze mask at the University Museum, Philadelphia, see Jan Fontein & Tung Wu, Unearthing China's Past, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1973, cat. no. 101, pp. 192-194. See also Asia Society exhibition, Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1125),, New York, 2006, pp. 100 - 101.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6018. A huanghuali yoke back side chair, dengguayi, 16th-17th century. Estimate US$ 20,000 - 30,000 (€18,000 - 27,000). Photo: Bonhams.
he elegantly shaped yoke toprail tenoned into the two slender stiles which run through the seat to become the back legs and is supported by the gently curved s-shaped back splat tongue-and-grooved into the top rail and into the seat frame composed of standard mitre, mortise-and-tenoned construction and enclosed with a hard seat above a finely beaded and shaped apron tongue-and-grooved into the front legs and ending at the foot rest, the side hump-back aprons supported by paired struts above stepped stretchers. 46 1/4 x 20 5/8 x 16 3/4in (117.5 x 52.3 x 42.5cm)
Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd, purchased 14 Jan 2002.
Notes: A similar yokeback side chair, with different side aprons, formerly in the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, is published in Curtis Evarts and Wang Shixiang, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture. Chicago and San Francisco: 1995, no. 21.
For a pair of closely related lamphanger side chairs, see Christie's, New York, Sale 2427, Lot 185, 24 March 2011; see also Sotheby's, New York, lot 217, 17 March 2015. See as well an example with horizontal stretchers rather than carved aprons offered as lot 4404, China Guardian, 17 May 2014.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEWYORK
Lot 6001. A small huanghuali table, kangzhuo, 17th century. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The two-board floating panel top set into a mitre, mortise-and-tenon frame with "ice-plate" edge over a separate recessed waist and elegantly carved xiangcai centered beaded apron half-lapped and tenoned to leaf-embellished cabriole legs, the top frame and legs fitted with elegant cut-out baitong brackets. 5 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 17 7/16in (14 x 67.2 x 44.2cm)
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 17 July 1997.
Notes: Surviving small kang tables with metal mounts are rare, and are used on couch and canopy beds, as well as on thekang. See a related example of similar design in Robert Ellsworth. Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, illustrated as plate 4. See as well the Kang table with metal mounts offered in China Guardian lot 2856, 13 May 2012.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6005. A huanghuali horseshoe back chair, Quanyi, 17th century. Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€8,900 - 13,000). Photo: Bonhams.
Composed of a five-section back rail joined with pressure-point scarf joints terminating in returning knop hand rests supported by beaded-edge carved spandrels and by front posts and back stiles which run through the seat to form the four legs, s-curved side braces and an elegant curved back splat carved into the richly figured wood with a ruyi-shaped medallion enclosing confronted split-tailed dragons above a bed of cloud scrolls and tenoned into the frame mitered, mortise-and-tenon frame drilled for soft cane seat with two transverse stretchers on the underside, the finely detailed apron carved on the front and sides with central geometric cloud scrolls echoed on the half-lapped brackets extending down the front posts and tenoned into the foot rest which retains the metal guard, and set above a plain, squared apron to the front legs and joined to box stretchers. (40 3/4in) 103.5cm high; the seat (24.1/2in) 62.3 wide, (19 1/8in) 48.7cm deep
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 29 November, 1995.
Published: Grace Wu Bruce. Ming Furniture 30 October - 18 November 1995, no. 17.
Notes: See a pair of chairs sold Sotheby's, New York, March 1995, lot 431, as a closely related example.
This chair is an outstanding example of elegant design and richly figured wood. See a single chair from the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold Christie's New York, Sale 11419, Lot 139, 18 March 2015; and a pair of chairs, without flanges to the back splat, sold Sotheby's Hong Kong, A Private collection of Ming furniture, sale HK0640, lot 117.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6011. A huanghuali corner leg side table, tiaozhuang, 17th century. Estimate US$ 125,000 - 200,000 (€110,000 - 180,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The single board floating panel top set into a mitre, mortise-and-tenon frame with "ice-plate" edge supported underneath by five dove-tail transverse stretchers over a one-piece recessed waist and plain apron mitered, mortise and tenoned and half lapped into square cut legs with hoof feet, the legs double-lock tenoned into the top frame and joined together by hump-back stretchers. 34 1/4 x 68 5/16 x 20 1/16in (87 x 173.5 x 51cm)
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 27th February 1996.
Notes: For comparable examples in public collections, see Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1988, no 48; Chen Zengbi. Zhongyang Gongyi Meishu Xueyuan Yuancang: Zhenpin Tulu dier ji, Mingshi Jiaju. Central Academy of Arts and Crafts: Illustrations of collections, volume 2, Ming Furniture, Beijing 1994, no. 35.
For recently sold examples of this classic design, see a slightly smaller example sold Christie's, New York, the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part II, lot 169, 18 March 2015; see also Beijing Guardian, lot 3209, 17 November 2013.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6016. A huanghuali side table, Banzhuo, 17th century. Estimate US$ 60,000 - 100,000 (€53,000 - 89,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The well-figured single board floating panel top set into a mitre, mortise-and-tenon frame over one-piece recessed waist and apron mitred, mortised, tenoned and half-lapped to the square legs which are double-lock tenoned into the top frame and tenoned into a five piece hump-back stretcher with exposed tenons and fastened to the top by two posts on the long side and one on each short side, the top supported on the underside by three dovetailed transverse stretchers, the frame, stretchers, posts and legs thumb molded and beaded. 34 1/2 x 38 5/8 x 19 3/16in (87.7 x 98.2 x 48.8cm)
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 5 July 1997.
Notes: Tables of this type were usually constructed as pairs, although few survive as such. See the possible mate to this table illustrated in Ecke, Gustav. Chinese Domestic Furniture. Peking: Henri Vetch. 1944. Reprinted by Charles E. Tuttle: Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, 1962, plate 50.
For a table of comparable apron, see Sotheby's, London, 11 November 2015, Classical Chinese Furniture from a European private Collection, lot 2.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6010. A huanghuali low table, kangzhuo, Late Ming dynasty. Estimate US$ 50,000 - 70,000 (€44,000 - 62,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The single-board well-figured floating panel top of standard mitre, mortise-and-tenon construction supported by three transverse stretchers underneath, two with exposed tenons, the frame with 'water-stopping' edge and tapering inward to a narrow flat band over a recessed waist and elegantly beaded and shaped apron made of one piece of wood and mitred, mortise, tenoned and half-lapped to the cabriole legs. 12 x 36 3/4 x 23 1/8in (30.5 x 93.5 x 58.8cm)
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 22 February 1995.
Notes: Historically used as lounging or work surfaces on a larger platform, these tables were placed in combination with small cabinets and scholar's objects on the kang. The current lot features an elegant scroll work and beaded border apron, complementing the leaf-embellished cabriole legs, and is an example of restrained elegance.
For Kang tables of this classic waisted type, see Christie's, New York, The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part II, lot 105, 18 March 2015; and Hong Kong Guardian sale, lot 676, 6 October 2013.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 6020. A rare huanghuali four-poster bed, Jiazichuang, Late Ming dynasty. Estimate US$ 250,000 - 400,000
€220,000 - 350,000). Photo: Bonhams.
The seat frame of mitre, mortise-and-tenon construction with molded edge tapering inward to a flat edge over an elegantly grooved and beaded apron and recessed waist made of one piece of wood and mitred, mortised, tenoned, into and half-lapped on to the legs which curve strongly into finely shaped feet, the removable seat drilled for a soft seat and fitted with three strong transverse stretchers set between the original wide stretchers of the frame; the frame supports four square posts rounded on the outside and mortised and tenoned into the four corners of the seat to support the laohuali top canopy frame over paired transverse braces mortise and tenoned into it and setting off the canopy and posts with mitre, mortise-and-tenoned frames enclosing three yumendong panels on the long side, and two on the short side separated by pillar-form mitred struts and double-tenoned into the vertical posts at the top, the lower railings resting on the seat and tenoned below finely composed open work mitered geometric panels setting off the back and sides of the bed. 80 5/16 x 82 5/16 x 57 1/2in (204 x 209 x 146cm)
Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, purchased 4 October 1996.
On loan and exhibited: The Denver Art Museum, 1996 - 2016, (Loan 227.1996).
Notes: Compare this to one with circle patterns in the Sackler Collection, now in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, published in William M. Drummond, "Chinese Furniture: The Sackler Collections", Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Summer, 1993, no 66, and illustrated in Ecke, op cit., no.25. See other Ming dynasty canopy beds in public collections: the Victoria and Albert Museum, published in Rose Kerr, (ed)Chinese Art & Design: the TT Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1991, no.128; the Palace Museum Beijing illustrated in Wang, op. cit., no. 188; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, illustrated in Jean Gorden Lee. "Chinese Furniture", Philadelphia Museum Bulletin, Winter 1963, no.57.
For examples of four-poster canopy beds sold at auction, see Christie's Hong Kong, Sale 2915, Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Lot 4075, 30 May 2012; Sotheby's, Hong Kong, Contemporary Literati Curiosity, Lot 2867, 5 April 2015. For a huanghuali couch-bed, Luohan-chuang, with the closely related elegant geometric mitred railings found on this lot, see Sotheby's Hong Kong, An Asian Private Collection, Lot 109, 6 April 2016. See also the early Qing versions, Hong Kong Guardian sale, lot 510, 5 April 2013 and one offered as lot 4311, China Guardian, 11 May 2013.
Bonhams. THE JOHN AND CELESTE FLEMING COLLECTION OF CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-09-12 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK
Lot 343. A pair of huanghuali yokeback armchairs, (sichutouguanmaoyi), 17th century. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's
each with an arched crestrail joined to a wide S-curved rectangular splat, the stiles similarly curved, on a hard-caned seat with elegantly outscrolled arms above beaded and shaped brackets and aprons, the legs joined to the frame by tapering dovetail housing joints surmounting long beaded moldings, joined by four typically ascending stretchers from front to back rail, the underside with a pair of transverse braces (2) - Height: 39 1/2 in. 100.3 cm; Width 23 3/4 in., 60.3 cm; Depth 18 1/2 in., 47 cm
Notes: The present pair of yokeback armchairs, predominantly plain with circular members of consistent thickness and truncated outscrolled ends, focuses the eye on the balance of the form, the negative space and subtle undulating movement within the linear form. This form is generally more comfortable than straight or C-curved examples, maximized by the S-shaped cut through the concentric growth rings of the timber. This type of large yokeback armchair is one of the core elements of the classical Chinese household and many examples are preserved in major museums and private collections.
For a general discussion on the basic model and decorative vocabulary of these chairs, see Curtis Evarts, 'From Ornate to Unadorned'. Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp. 24-33. A closely related armchair is illustrated in Beyond the Screen, Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1996, cat. no. 8. For another example see Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of History, Beijing, 1999, p. 82.
Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM
Lot 1113. A rare pair of huanghuali and spotted bamboo scholar’s cabinets, yuanjiaogui, 17th century. Estimate USD 2,800,000 - USD 3,200,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.
Each huanghuali-framed cabinet has a huanghuali single-panel top within a protruding frame with round corners raised on slightly splayed legs of rounded square section. The sides and doors, which open from the removable center stile to reveal three shelves and a dark red lacquered interior, have beadedhuanghuali frames that enclose panels composed of vertical strips of spotted bamboo (xiang fei zhu) overlaid at mid body by two huanghuali cross members, all above plain aprons and spandrels at the front and back. The back is covered with a thin coating of black lacquer. 44 ½ in. (113 cm.) high, 26 ¾ in. (68 cm.) wide, 14 ½ in. (37 cm.) deep
Provenance: Cabinet 1: Ho Cheng, Hong Kong, 1996.
MD Flacks Ltd., New York, 1996.
Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1997.
Ronald Longsdorf, 1998.
Cabinet 2: Hannah Chiang, Hong Kong, 1997.
Literature: Marcus Flacks, Classical Chinese Furniture: A Personal Point of View, London, 2011, pp. 142-51.
Zhang Jinhua, Classical Chinese Furniture from Weiyang, 2016.
Notes: The round-corner tapered cabinet, yuanjiaogui, with its simple lines, is one of the most beautiful and elegant designs in classical Chinese furniture. It was a popular and successful form, its type of construction widely used in cabinet making throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the present rare cabinets this simple but elegant form has been elevated not only by the refined molding of the huanghuali members and the carefully balanced proportions, but especially by the use of strips of spotted bamboo which form the panels of the doors and sides. Each cabinet is constructed with 114 of these strips, each uniquely figured with natural spots of varying patterns and colors which play against each other to create a fascinating visual interplay of light and dark. This combination of a simple, well-known shape and two highly prized materials, huanghuali and the finest spotted bamboo, exemplify the scholarly ideal of classical Chinese furniture of late Ming date. As such, these seemingly unique cabinets appear to be a very early example of the combining of mixed materials, a design choice for the construction of furniture and furnishings which became fashionable during the Qianlong period. Representative of this later fashion is a small 18thcentury scholar’s cabinet (78 cm. high) of yuanjiaogui shape illustrated by MD Flacks Ltd in Classical Chinese Furniture IV, New York, Spring 2001, pp. 24-27, no. 11. Made to be placed on a kang or table, this cabinet also combines huanghuali and spotted bamboo, but here the bamboo has been cut into small pieces rather than strips and applied to the softwood panels of the sides and doors to create an elaborate, dense design of hexagons on the sides and interlocking angular scrolls on the doors, both patterns within borders of angular key fret.
The dark red lacquer on the interior of each cabinet is over a clay and textile base, which was the proper application of lacquer during the Ming dynasty. Cabinet 2 also had decorated paper applied over the interior lacquer at some stage, possibly during the 18th or 19th century.
Christie's. The Flacks Family Collection: A Very Personal Selection, 16 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza
Lot 1122. A rare huanghuali square meditation stool, chandeng, 17th century. Estimate USD 200,000 - USD 300,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.
The soft cane seat is set within a square frame with ‘ice plate’ edge above a narrow waist and shaped aprons finely carved with delicate, scrolling tendrils and a beaded edge that join the square legs above humpbacked stretchers. The legs terminate in hoof feet. 20 in. (51 cm.) high, 29 7/8 in. (76 cm.) square
Provenance: Ever Arts Gallery, Hong Kong.
Private collection, London..
Notes: Square stools of this large size are often referred to as ’meditation’ stools as their size allows the user to sit on them cross-legged. These large square stools were made in various designs, such as the huanghuali example with double humpbacked stretchers and double-reeded members in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Wang Shixiang inConnoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, 1990, vol. II, p. 20, pl. A7, of slightly smaller size (70 cm. square), and another huanghualistool in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Piccus sold at Christie’s , New York, 18 September 1997, lot 57, of slightly larger size (80 cm. square), where it is called a meditation platform. This latter stool has a ‘leg-encircling’ high stretcher set with pairs of decorative ovals. The style of both of these published examples was influenced by the construction of bamboo furniture, unlike the Flacks stool which has a cusped apron finely carved with scrolling tendrils and a beaded edge, a type of apron more usually seen on kang tables, such as the example sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2016, lot 3250. On the present stool, however, this elegant apron joins legs of square section terminating in hoofed feet rather than the more usual cabriole legs of most kang tables.
Huanghuali meditation stools of this large size and quality are extremely rare.
Christie's. The Flacks Family Collection: A Very Personal Selection, 16 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza
Balzac et les artistes : entre mythe et réalité. Affiche.
PARIS - De la petite table en bois sur laquelle aura étéécrite toute La Comédie humaine, jusqu’aux tout récents portraits de l’écrivain par Eduardo Arroyo ou Olivier Blanckart, la Maison de Balzac explore, le temps d’une exposition, le regard porté sur la création artistique d’Honoré de Balzac.
On sait qu’il écrivait seul, souvent la nuit. Le cabinet de travail qui a fait l’objet d’une rénovation récente, l’une des pièces les plus émouvantes du musée, permet de l’imaginer face à son imagination, couchant sur le papier la description si précise d’un monde purement imaginaire.
Théophile Gautier, "Jeune femme nue, 1831". Huile sur toile. Paris, maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
L’exposition confronte cette vision mythique du travailleur de la nuit, avec la réalité de l’œuvre d’un grand artiste fortement marqué par la pensée contemporaine. Le foyer de l’opéra, les rédactions des journaux, les soirées littéraires offrent autant d’occasions aux artistes de se croiser. Dans le brillant salon de Delphine de Girardin, Balzac côtoie ainsi Alphonse de Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, George Sand, Alfred de Musset ou Franz Liszt. Ces liens plus ou moins amicaux exercent une influence profonde et stimulent Balzac, l’amènent à se lancer dans des entreprises parfois audacieuses, que ce soit en art ou en politique. Il n’hésite pas à solliciter des spécialistes pour mieux comprendre la musique ou la peinture, à solliciter ses amis pour l’écriture d’une pièce de théâtre ou de poèmes qu’il insère dans ses romans. Et quelques personnages de La Comédie humaine s’inspirent de ces fortes personnalités. Mais ce sont aussi leurs réalisations, des sculptures, des gravures, des pièces de théâtre, qui ont suscité des personnages, voire une nouvelle, un roman.
Honoré de Balzac, "Manuscrit corrigé du sonnet La Pâquerette dans les Illusions perdues". Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Cette complexe réalité a été occultée par la représentation d’abord caricaturale et progressivement héroïque de Balzac qu’ont très tôt donné les plus grands peintres, dessinateurs et sculpteurs. Leurs œuvres, depuis 1830 et jusqu’à aujourd’hui, suggèrent diverses facettes de l’écrivain dont elles enrichissent le mythe, et ces portraits de Balzac, seul ou en groupe, forment autant d’interrogations sur ce que peut être la création artistique.
George Sand, par Emile Lassalle d'après Charpentier. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Henri Monnier (1799-1877), "Moeurs administratives : deux heures". Paris, Maison de Balzac © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Henri Monnier (1799-1877), "Moeurs administratives : dix heures". Paris, Maison de Balzac © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard dit Grandville (1803 - 1847), "Grande course au clocher académique", 1839. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Émile Marcelin et Dumont (graveur). Les romans populaires. Gravure parue dans le "Journal pour rire", 10 septembre 1853. Gravure, 1853. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Pierre Robinet, sculpteur français. "Portrait de Delphine de Girardin (1804-1855), écrivain français". Bronze, 1856. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Henry Monnier, "Autoportrait d'Henry Monnier en Joseph Prudhomme". Peinture sur bois, juin 1858. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Henri Lehmann (1814-1882), "Portrait de Lamartine", 1847. Huile sur toile - 56 x 45 cm Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). "Lithographed Portrait of Balzac", 1957. Lithographie. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet / Succesion Picasso 2016
Eduardo Arroyo, "Portrait de Balzac". Collage sur papier, 2014. Paris, Maison de Balzac. Paris, Maison de Balzac. © Maison de Balzac / Roger-Viollet
