Lot 98. A moulded Ding 'lion' dish, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234). Estimate HKD 350,000 - HKD 600,000 (USD 12,948 - USD 19,423). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The dish is moulded on the centre of the interior with a galloping lion pursuing a tasselled brocade ball amidst scrolling vines, the well with two chilong divided by cloud scrolls, between two bands of keyfret, covered overall with a dark ivory-toned glaze. The rim is mounted with metal. 7 in. (17.7 cm.) diam., box.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 1691. Exquisite Fancy Red Diamond, Pink Diamond and Diamond Brooch. Estimate 3,500,000 — 4,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

Designed as three flowers, each set with a cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut fancy red diamond weighing 0.40, 0.39 and 0.31 carat respectively, to a pink diamond surround, the petals and stem set with brilliant-cut and baguette diamonds weighing approximately 8.55 carats in total, mounted in platinum and 18 karat pink gold.

Accompanied by three GIA reports numbered 2115668509, 2125587178 and 2125449552, dated 9 February 2010, 24 September 2010 and 17 August 2010 respectively, stating that the 0.40, 0.39 and 0.31 carat diamonds are natural, Fancy Red Colour, SI1, VS2 and VS1 Clarity respectively. The pink diamonds have not been tested for natural colour origin.

RED SCARLET TRIO

Though gem connoisseurs would agree that all natural fancy coloured diamonds are prodigiously rare, none could remotely challenge red diamonds as the rarest occurrence in nature. The cause of scarlet hue in diamonds still remains a mystery to gemologists and scientists.

Many suggest that it is due to an uncommon deformation in its atomic structure, same as that of its pink counterparts. Indeed, natural diamonds of reddish hue are graded as ‘Fancy Red’ by GIA only if they have achieved the highest level of colour with their vibrancy. Red diamonds do not fall into the usual diamond colour grading scale, as the words ‘vivid’ and ‘intense’ are considered superfluous.

Modern sources for red diamonds are Brazil and Australia, yet their discovery are such rare occasions that for the past twenty years, between 1985 to 2014, only thirteen diamonds of the pure red hue were found from the famous Australia Argyle mine which is the world’s largest supplier of natural pink diamonds. Some people even claimed that there are only approximately thirty red diamonds known to exist to date, with the majority of them less than half a carat in size.

This brooch, where three of such exquisite red treasures are mounted, represents a singular occasion in which the description ‘rarer than rare’ is an understatement. The possibility of owning one red diamond is seemingly unimaginable for many collectors, and to own three of them is truly an opportunity of a lifetime.

Sotheby’s. Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite, Hong Kong, 04 Oct 2016, 02:00 PM

Lot 1658. 70.00 carats Diamond Necklace, 1950s. Estimate 3,500,000 — 4,500,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

Designed as a graduated fringe of step- and circular-cut diamonds, embellished with diamond-set scroll motifs, the diamonds weighing approximately 70.00 carats in total, mounted in platinum, 1950s, length approximately 370mm. 

Sotheby’s. Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite, Hong Kong, 04 Oct 2016, 02:00 PM

The Borghese- Windsor Cabinet, Rome, about 1620. Cabinet: 178 cm high (including statuette) x 126 cm wide x 54 cm deep, Stand: 84 cm high x 153.5 cm wide x 65.5 cm deep. Ebony; statuettes in gilded bronze and silver; hard stones include lapis lazuli, jaspers, agates, carnelians, amethyst; ebony and ivory (removed) for the central niche. Sold for  2,499,000 €. Photo Courtesy of Sotheby’s Paris.

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today the acquisition at auction of the Borghese-Windsor cabinet, a magnificent work of furniture, sculpture and stone inlay (pietre dure) made in Rome about 1620 for Pope Paul V and later acquired by King George IV of England. 

“The Borghese-Windsor cabinet is one of the finest examples of Italian pietre dure cabinets known. Works of this quality, craftsmanship, and historical significance are almost all in museums and princely private collections, so the opportunity to acquire one of the most renowned examples for the Getty is too good to pass up,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The Getty Museum’s strong collection of Roman Baroque paintings and sculpture is now greatly enhanced by the addition of a major piece of furniture from the period. This unique and imposing piece will stand out even among our renowned collection of French furniture.” 

The ornate cabinet is one of the most significant pietre dure pieces of furniture produced in Rome in the early 17th century. At about six feet tall, the cabinet is architectural in appearance, evoking a church façade. Brilliantly colored and technically superb, it was intended as a prominent display cabinet, as was often found in the finest palaces and castles in Europe at the time. In excellent condition, the cabinet is made of ebony decorated with gilded bronze and silver statuettes and inlaid pietre dure (hard stones), including lapis lazuli, jaspers, agates, camelians, and amethyst. It features an intriguing array of compartments and secret drawers for housing prized family possessions. In addition, the cabinet still sits on the elegant Neoclassical ébénisterie stand created for it in the 1820s and attributed to cabinet maker Alexandre Louis Bellangé (French, 1759-1827). With its shape following that of the cabinet, a mirrored backdrop, and its twenty-four fluted columns with gilt bronze foliated scrolls, this veneered ebony stand beautifully complements the cabinet it supports. 

“This spectacular Roman cabinet is a masterpiece,” said Anne-Lise Desmas, head of sculpture and decorative arts at the Getty Museum. “It reflects the highest standards of craftsmanship and material of its time. Its imposing size and noble proportions, the refinement of its decoration, with the sumptuous chromatic pattern of the pietre dure stonework and the elegant classical-style statuettes are rarely matched in contemporaneous furniture.” 

That the inlaid stones in the Borghese-Windsor Cabinet are exclusively of the hardest siliceous types is an indication of the extraordinary craftsmanship of the work. Particularly expensive and difficult to cut, such hard stones define the quality and rareness of the cabinets they decorate, and consequently echo the high rank of its patron, in this case an eminent pope. 

Made for Pope Paul V Borghese, whose coat-of-arms in gilded bronze adorns the central pediment, it was acquired from Prince Camillo Borghese by the famous London art dealer Edward Holmes Baldock in the early 1820s, who most likely commissioned the pedestal on which it still stands. Baldock sold the cabinet to King George IV in 1827. It remained in the Royal collection (Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Malborough House) until 1959, when it was sold at auction with the collection of Queen Mary, and acquired by the father of businessman-collector Robert de Balkany, who kept it in his Hôtel Feuquières at rue de Varenne in Paris. 

At the Getty, it will join the Museum’s highly significant Italian Baroque paintings and sculpture, including the marble bust of Pope Paul V commissioned from the great Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598-1680). 

The Borghese-Windsor cabinet will go on view at the Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles after a period of study and analysis.

L'Œil de Baudelaire : Affiche.

PARIS - Imaginer une exposition qui renoue le dialogue entre les textes du jeune poète et les œuvres d’art qu’ils commentent, c’est offrir au visiteur l’occasion de pénétrer dans les grandes pages des écrits esthétiques de Baudelaire qui font date dans l’histoire de la critique d’art. En présence d’une centaine de peintures, sculptures et estampes évoquées par Baudelaire, le spectateur se voit invitéà confronter son propre regard à la sensibilité artistique de l’auteur des Fleurs du mal et à comprendre comment s’est forgée la définition de la beauté moderne, qu’il n’a jamais reniée.

PARIS.- To mark the 150th anniversary of the poet's death, the Musée de la Vie Romantique is holding an exhibition of Charles Baudelaire's aesthetic curiosities. Imagine an exhibition that resumes the dialogue between a young poet's texts and the works of art they describe. Visitors will be given an opportunity to step into the pages of Baudelaire's aesthetic writings, landmark works in the history of art criticism. Surrounded by some one hundred paintings, sculptures and prints evoked by Baudelaire, viewers are invited to compare their own way of seeing with the author’s of Les Fleurs du Mal artistic sensibility, and to understand how the definition of modern beauty was forged, a definition he would never abandon. 

Charles Baudelaire, Autoportrait et croquis, entre 1844 et 1847, Fonds Geoffroy – Dechaume, Cité de l’Architecture et du patrimoine - Musée des Monuments français. © CAPA/MMF-Fonds Geoffroy-Dechaume

Comment se laisser séduire par le « mérite de l’inattendu », préférer toujours un tableau « fait »à un tableau « fini », reconnaître le caractère essentiellement romantique de la couleur, sans désavouer la nature « idéale » de la ligne, réclamer chez les artistes cette part de « naïveté» qui mène à l’audace et à la crudité des tons, attendre d’une œuvre, fût-ce un portrait ou une page de religion, qu’elle « respire l’amour », reconnaître enfin « l’héroïsme de la vie moderne » et « la beauté de l’habit noir » ?

What does it mean to fall in love with the "virtue of the unexpected", to prefer a painting which is "made" to a painting which is "finished", to recognise the essentially romantic character of colour, without denying the "ideal" nature of line, to insist upon a certain "naivety" in artists that leads to boldness and harsh tones, to expect all works, whether portraits or religious pages, to "breathe love", and ultimately to acknowledge the "heroism of modern life" and the "beauty of the black suit"?  

Étienne Carjat, Baudelaire avec estampe, 1863, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France. © Bibliothèque nationale de France

Aux côtés de Baudelaire, cette exposition explorera les mutations qui s’opèrent entre romantisme et impressionnisme en présentant, autour des artistes phares de l’époque - Delacroix, Ingres, Camille Corot, Rousseau ou Chassériau -, les peintres qui ont su lui plaire ou l’irriter. Elle permettra de découvrir la modernité que forge le poète face au nouveau Paris et aux langages artistiques en formation, incarnée par la génération montante et la figure de Manet.

Elle montrera enfin, l’attachement indéfectible de Baudelaire au romantisme et à Delacroix.

Alongside Baudelaire, this exhibition will explore transformations that came about between Romanticism and Impressionism by presenting leading artists of the time - Delacroix, Ingres, Camille Corot, Rousseau or Chassériau - painters who succeeded in delighting or irritating him. It will explore the notion of modernity, as shaped by the poet, in response to a changing Paris and emerging artistic languages, personified by the younger generation and the figure of Manet.  

Finally, the exhibition will demonstrate Baudelaire's unfailing attachment to Romanticism and to Delacroix.

Antoine Chazal, Le Yucca gloriosa fleuri en 1844 dans le parc de Neuilly, 1845, Paris, Musée du Louvre. © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Gérard Blot

Gustave Courbet, Portrait de Baudelaire, 1848, Montpellier, Musée Fabre. © RMN-Grand Palais / Agence Bulloz

Honoré Daumier, Le palais de justice, 1850., Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Petit Palais. © Petit Palais / Roger-Viollet

Eugène Delacroix, La Madeleine dans le désert, 1845, Paris, Musée Eugène Delacroix. © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Droits réservés

Alphonse Legros, Ex-Voto, 1860, Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts. © RMN- Grand Palais / Agence Bulloz

Édouard Manet, Lola de Valence, 1863, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Petit Palais. © Petit Palais / Roger-Viollet

Octave Penguilly L'Haridon, Les Petites mouettes, 1858, Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts. © RMN - Grand Palais / Adelaïde Beaudoin

Yuki Hayama, Bowl with Fish and Aquatic Plants Motif, 2016. H5 3/4 W11 1/4 in - H14.6 W28.5 cm © 2013 ippodo Gallery

Yuki Hayama, Bowl with 'Ten Thousand Flowers' Motif, 2016. H5 3/4 W11 1/4 in - H14.4 W28.4 cm © 2013 ippodo Gallery

Hayama was just 15 when he began working at a pottery studio in his home area of Arita, Saga Prefecture, the leading producer of porcelain in Japan. Born in 1961 with his birth overshadowed by tragedy, he channeled his circumstances into a determination to love others and art, using ceramic craftsmanship as a vehicle to spread peace. More than an artist, Hayama is also a historian and a writer who integrates these aspects into his work. Throughout his process, he contemplates humanity's existence. He researches extensively to determine the artwork’s theme, then researches the theme in-depth. Conceptualizing, he writes a story, crafting a narrative on which the work is based. By writing, the image is formed in his mind. He has even published his own picture books and novels. His stories often tell of mankind’s hopes, joys and sorrows, of tomorrow and the distant past. After a thorough exploration, the craftsmanship begins. These innovative works express a contemporary vision, employing the traditional technique of ‘God Hand’ often used in Arita, and Hayama pours a special quality of humanity into his creations. And while humanity may be ephemeral, but one appeal of ceramics is its permanence. 

After years of hard work, Hayama’s single-minded and harmonic approach to art eventually led to great acclaim. Ever the modest, humble craftsman, Hayama continues to work diligently to honor his art. He first set up his own kiln at age 23 in Yamauchi-cho in Saga Prefecture, holding his first solo show five years later in Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, in 1990. Since then, his work has shown all around Japan, with international exposure in Helsinki, Finland as well. More recently, Hayama’s works were shown in New York alongside other ceramic artists at the Museum of Arts and Design, in the exhibition, Japanese Kogei | Future Forward. It is an undeniable truth that the world created by Yuki Hayama embodies the diversity of the rich cultures of the world.  

Yuki Hayama, Bowl with Shinrabansho ( All Nature, All Life) Motif, 2016. H6 W11 2/4 in  - H14.7 W29 cm © 2013 ippodo Gallery

There are no preliminary drafts nor preemptive paintings for Hayama’s etsuke, or porcelain painting. Instead, as is the case in the work Ten Thousand Flowers, the artist works from memory of 128 exactingly practiced patterns. The etsuke art form is also strongly rooted in colors — with just five colors of hand-ground traditional glaze, 72 can be achieved through layering. The glaze is fired 12 times to achieve its beautiful sheen. The final product seeks to tell tales of the mystical, natural world, referencing the distant past to create future joy. Failure is not tolerated. 

These themes are illuminating, providing a compass for life and for future hopes. But do vessels capture life? “Among the records of mankind’s strength, bravery, weakness and fragility, I discovered the permanence of ceramics,” Hayama writes, “Even when broken, fragments of ceramics remain, never to be totally destroyed but serving as a bridge between the past and the people of the future.”  

Yuki Hayama, Vase with Chrysanthemum and Miru Seaweed Motif with Gold Glaze, 2016. H9 W9 in - H22.5 W22.7 cm © 2013 ippodo Gallery

Paul Jacoulet : un artiste français au Japon (1896-1960) - Affiche.

PARIS - Paul Jacoulet, rare Occidental ayant passé toute sa vie au Japon, a renouvelé l’art de l’estampe ukiyo-e par l’audace des couleurs et l’originalité des sujets traités. Artiste-voyageur, il a réalisé d’étonnantes séries de portraits et de scènes de la vie quotidienne du Japon, mais aussi de Corée, de Chine, de Mongolie, de Micronésie. La centaine de gravures sur bois réunies dans cette exposition ont été réalisées entre 1934 et 1960. 

Entre témoignage ethnographique et Asie rêvée, elles nous entraînent dans un monde aujourd’hui disparu.

Paul Jacoulet, Le phare de Mikimoto, Shimoda, 1954© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Néà Paris en 1896, Paul Jacoulet a trois ans lorsque ses parents s’installent au Japon. Il y restera jusqu’à sa mort en 1960. Dès l’adolescence, il suit l’enseignement de maîtres qui l’initient à la peinture classique de style ukiyo-e.

Jacoulet voyage intensément dans les îles du Pacifique, en Corée puis en Mandchourie, territoires alors sous contrôle nippon. D’abord aquarelliste, il choisit à partir de 1934 la technique de la gravure sur bois comme moyen d’expression principal. Très tôt, ses estampes sont exposées à Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe et Séoul. Cependant, affecté par le chaos né de l’entrée en guerre du Japon, il cesse de peindre pendant toute la durée du conflit. Fin 1946, encouragé par quelques Américains membres des troupes d’occupation, il reprend la production d’estampes et son succès dépasse dès lors le Japon et la Corée pour s’étendre aux Etats-Unis et en Australie.

Paul Jacoulet, Les bons piments rouges !, Johokuri, 1954© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Ses œuvres, série flamboyante de portraits d’hommes et de femmes des pays d’Extrême-Orient et des archipels du Pacifique, y font l’objet de nombreuses expositions. On y découvre une sensibilité aiguisée, une démarche quasi ethnographique, une sensualité audacieuse couronnée d’une parfaite maîtrise technique. Mais derrière la beauté d’un monde coloré et souriant se perçoit la certitude de sa prochaine disparition.

Paul Jacoulet est resté longtemps inconnu en France. Ce n’est qu’en 2011 qu’une première exposition lui est consacrée à la Bibliothèque nationale de France, suivie, en 2013, d’une autre au Musée du quai Branly. À son tour, la MCJP met à l’honneur cet artiste singulier, ouvert sur le monde, qui fit la synthèse des univers occidentaux et orientaux.

Les œuvres de l’exposition ont été aimablement prêtées par Jacques Dumasy, ancien diplomate ayant résidé de nombreuses années en Extrême-Orient.

Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris. Exposition - 9 sep. > 15 oct. 2016 - de 12h à 20h. 

Paul Jacoulet, Les Jades, 1940© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Paul Jacoulet, Fleurs d'hiver, Oshima, 1955© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Paul Jacoulet, Calme, Truck, 1941© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Paul Jacoulet, Pêcheur de Sawara, 1936© ADAGP, Paris 2016

Andrea della Robbia (Florence 1435–1525), The Annunciate Virgin, circa 1505-1510. Photo: Sotheby's.

This rare and elegant figure by Andrea represents the Virgin just before the Archangel Gabriel tells her that she will give birth to Jesus. Here, she gently presses the book to her abdomen as a prefiguring of the announcement. 

Marco (Fra Mattia) della Robbia (Florence 1468–Montecassiano after 1532?), Coat of Arms of the Bonsi della Ruota family, in a garland of fruit and flowers, circa 1510. Photo: Sotheby's.

Surrounded by a vividly glazed and lavish wreath of flowers and fruit, this armorial represents the Bonsi della Ruota, the noble family of Florence who were wool and silk traders as well as prosperous bankers. 

Giovanni della Robbia (Florence 1469–1529/1530), Decorative amphora vase with dolphin handles, decorated with garlands and lion’s heads, circa 1520-1525, with a contemporaneous lid shaped as an assortment of fruit and flowers, with a frog. Photo: Sotheby's.

This vase is a rare example of Giovanni Della Robbia’s ability to imitate precious hardstones; in this case, he brilliantly replicates the rich colour of ancient porphyry. Inspired by the Antique, this sculpture would have appealed to the Renaissance passion for both classicism and nature.

lot 102. A small Jun blue-glazed conical bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 120,000 (USD 10,363 - USD 15,544). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The bowl is covered overall with a thick, broadly crackled glaze of even, pale blue tone, with the exception of the foot exposing the brownish-grey body. 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm.) diam., box. 

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 103. A small Jun mallow-shaped 'narcissus' dish, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Estimate HKD 30,000 - HKD 40,000 (USD 3,886 - USD 5,181). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The dish is supported on three ruyi-shaped feet, covered overall with a thick opaque glaze of greyish-blue tone, the unglazed feet exposing the purplish-brown body.
4 1/8 in. (10.4 cm.) wide. 

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 104. A small Jun purple-splashed 'bubble' bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HKD 30,000 - HKD 40,000 (USD 3,886 - USD 5,181). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016. 

The bowl is covered overall with a blue glaze with the exception of the brown-dressed foot, adorned with a small purplish splash on the exterior underneath the mouth rim. 2 3/4 in. (6.9 cm.) diam. 

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 110. A small Northern 'oil spot' black-glazed bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty, 12th century. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000 (USD 12,957 - USD 19,436). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The bowl is covered inside and out in a lustrous black glaze suffused with a dense pattern of silver 'oil spots', which ends neatly above the neatly cut brown-dressed foot, all below a wide band of white glaze around the rim. 3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm) diam., box

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 111. A Cizhou white-rimmed black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 40,000 - HKD 60,000 (USD 5,183 - USD 7,774). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The foot and base are unglazed exposing the grey body. 4 5/8 in. (12 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

The Property of a Japanese Private Collector 

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 261. Lê Quốc Lộc (1918-1987), Harvesting, signed and dated 1958, lacquer on wood, 73.5 by 119.5 cm; 28 3/4  by 47 in. Estimate 150,000 — 250,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's. 

Provenance: Private Collection, Canada 

Sotheby’s. Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Hong Kong, 03 Oct 2016, 10:00 AM

NDB: Lê Quốc Lộc was a Vietnamese visual artist who was born in 1918. Several works by the artist have been sold at auction, including 'A Vietnamese River Scene' sold at Christie's Hong Kong 'Asian 20th Century Art (Day Sale)' in 2014 for $56,426. The artist died in 1987.

 Lê Quốc Lộc (1918-1987), A Vietnamese River Scene, lacquer on board, 90.55 X 87.6 in (230 X 222.5 cm). Sold at Christie's Hong Kong 'Asian 20th Century Art (Day Sale)' in 2014 for $56,426. © Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others.

Lot 112. A Henan russet-spot black-glazed bowl, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234). Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000 (USD 12,957 - USD 19,436). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The bowl is covered with a thick black glaze applied with a dense network of russet splashes, stopping on the exterior above another layer of thin brown glaze, the unglazed base and foot revealing the buff body. 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) diam.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 112. A persimmon-glazed conical bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 40,000 - HKD 60,000 (USD 5,183 - USD 7,774). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The base and foot are unglazed exposing the fine-grained grey body. 5 1/4 in. (13.2 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 274. Lê Thị Lựu (1911-1988), Girl with Flower, signed, oil on silk, 22.5 by 17.5 cm; 8 3/4  by 6 3/4  in. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's. 

Sotheby’s. Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Hong Kong, 03 Oct 2016, 10:00 AM 

Lot 275. Lê Thị Lựu (1911-1988), Portrait of a young girl holding a doll, signed and dated 58, oil on silk, 22.5 by 17.5 cm; 8 3/4  by 6 3/4  in. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's. 

Sotheby’s. Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Hong Kong, 03 Oct 2016, 10:00 AM

Lot 114. A dangyangyu sgraffiato'peony' bean-shaped pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 240,000 - HKD 500,000 (USD 31,097 - USD 64,785). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The pillow is carved through the white slip and filled with black pigment, covered overall in a clear glaze, fired on the base partially applied with white slip, with a ventilation hole on one side. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm.) wide, Japanese wood box.

The property of Mark Lam

Literature: Dream Quest: The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 28

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong

Lot 115. A Henan incised and painted polychrome 'butterfly' ruyi-shaped pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 60,000 - HKD 100,000 (USD 7,774 - USD 12,957). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The pillow is applied with a white slip, incised and painted above in brown, the flower petals picked out in pink slip and yellow enamel, all covered with a clear glaze, with a ventilation hold on one side. It is fired on the unglazed base, revealing the pale greyish-white body. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm.) long, box.

The property of Mark Lam

Literature: Dream Quest: The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 43

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 4 October 2016, Hong Kong