Lot 318. A magnificent and extremely rare blue and white barbed dish, Yongle period. Sold for HK$ 2,280,000 (€262,195). Photo Bonhams.

Notes: Large blue and white porcelain dishes of the Yongle period can be found in various museum and private collections. Drawing on the traditions of the Yuan court, in the early Ming dynasty large scale dishes continued to be commissioned for the Imperial court. The select group of large barbed dishes produced in the Yongle period represents the pinnacle of porcelain production in the early Ming period. To fire such a large, complex dish was a technical accomplishment; to paint it so finely with such delicate depiction of floral motifs was an improvement of an earlier innovation. 

The present dish belongs to a group of barbed rim dishes all of similar size (around 38cm diameter) and painted in the same manner with a central composite floral scroll surrounded by individual blooms. For examples from the Qing court collection, see a dish in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Vol.1, Hong Kong, 1963, pl. 22; and a dish in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Mingchu Qinghuaci, Beijing, 2002, pl. 134.

For other examples that have been preserved outside of the former Imperial collection, see two very similar dishes illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Vol.I, Tokyo, 1976, p.252, fig.762, and another given to the British Museum by Mrs Walter Sedgwick, illustrated by J.Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p.116, fig.3:35, where it is noted that a large dish of this shape was excavated at the Yongle stratum at Dongmentou, Zhushan, Jingdezhen in 1994. 

Eleven examples which found their way to the Middle East, where they were highly prized, were donated to the Ardebil Shrine by Shah Abbas the Great of Persia in 1611. Three of these are illustrated by J.A.Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1981, pl.35, 29.101, 106 and 109 and it is noted that nine of the dishes are inscribed with the mark of Qarachaghay. 

The barbed rim and moulded cavetto can also be seen on a larger dish in the Peabody Essex Museum, illustrated by J.C.Y.Watt and D.Patry Leidy, Defining Yongle. Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth Century China, New York, 2005, pl.1 and another illustrated by J.Carswell, Blue and White. Chinese Porcelain Around the World, London, 2000, fig.99.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS, WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 10:00 HKT - HONG KONG, JW MARRIOTT HOTEL

Dish, porcelain, decorated in underglaze blue with flowerscrolls, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Axel och Nora Lundgrens samling, ÖM-1977-75, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm ©2016 Östasiatiska Museet

Lot 3715. A fine and rare blue and white barbed 'floral scroll' dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,680,000. Photo Sotheby's.

the shallow rounded sides supported on a short tapered foot and subtly divided into twelve bracket foliations, rising to a barbed everted rim of conforming form, the interior painted to the gently sunken barbed medallion with a central lotus bloom wreathed by flowering chrysanthemum, mallow, pink, camellia and lotus blooms borne on freely meandering leafy stems, all surrounded by twelve detached floral sprays decorated on the cavetto, including morning glory, lotus and chrysanthemum blossoms, each encircled by a leafy scroll, all surrounded by a floral border between double-line bands at the everted rim, the exterior decorated with further detached floral sprays, including pink and chrysanthemum blooms, the smooth unglazed base and footring burnt orange in the firing; 33.6 cm, 13 1/4  in.

Provenance: A Japanese collection.

Notes: The present dish is an excellent example of the technical developments achieved by the early Ming dynasty. Yongle porcelains are characterised by their particularly deep blue cobalt, which fired to a dark deep-blue in some parts and pale blue in others. This silvery-black and crystal-like separation of colours is known as the ‘heaped and piled’ effect, and the intensity of tones was highlighted by the finely potted white body of the porcelain clay.

Blue and white chargers from the early Ming dynasty, despite the strong influence by Yuan prototypes, display an obvious departure in style by simplifying the dense luxurious decorations. By the Hongwu period, artisans had already abandoned many lavish schemes such as white flowers reserved on blue ground often seen on Yuan dishes, and adopted refreshing motifs exemplified by floral blooms and garden scenery, aiming not to surprise but to please the eye. One of the most important decorative innovations of early fifteenth-century wares was the use of separate floral sprays or bunches of flowers in the cavettos instead of the continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on 14th century dishes gave way to a series of delicate and more varied motifs. As seen for example in the cavetto of the present dish, twelve flower sprays consisting of two sets are repeated in order so that each flower is diametrically opposite its pair, with each flower spray encircled by a circular foliate stem, leaving much of the white space unfilled. Although a variety of designs can be found on this type of Yongle dishes, the present example, enclosed within a painterly lotus scroll, radiates an aura of tranquility and purity, which is quintessential of the period.

A closely related dish in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. II, London, 1986, pl. 602; one formerly in the Ardebil Shrine and now in the Iran Bastan Museum, Teheran, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 4, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 189; a dish in the Gotoh Art Museum, Japan, is published in Mayuyama. Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 758; and a fourth dish in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, was included in the exhibition The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 1952, cat. no. 99. See also two similar dishes sold in these rooms, 30th April 1996, lot 325, and the other, 17th May 1988, lot 25; and a third sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 7th July 2003, lot 649. There is a further example from the collections of L.A. Basmadjieff and Reach family, exhibited in Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1989, cat. no. 35, sold four times in our rooms, most recently in these rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1670.

Deep dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Porcelain with underglaze cobalt and clear glaze. Height x Diameter: 2 1/4 x 13 3/8 in. (5.7 x 34.0 cm). Founders Society Purchase, Sarah Bacon Hill Fund, 47.370. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit © 2016 Detroit Institute of Arts

An early Ming blue and white bracket-lobed dish, Yongle period (1403-1425). Price Realised  HKD 286,800 (USD 36,951) at Christie's Hong Kong, 7th July 2003, lot 649. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2003

A rare barbed 'floral scroll' blue and white dish, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Sold 3,140,000 HKD at Sotheby's, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2009, lot 1670. Photo Sotheby's

These types of blue and white chargers from the Yongle period are known in various forms and design combinations. Compare for instance another lobed charger in the current sale, lot 3630, similarly decorated, yet with an everted rim pencilled with waves, thus highlighting the differences between the sparsity of the centre and the density of the peripheral. There is also a circular Yongle blue and white charger painted with grapes, lot 3638. Kindly refer to these related lots for discussion on the production and usage of these type of large dishes.

Lot 3631. An exceptional and brilliantly painted large blue and white 'peony' bowl, mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435). Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's.

 sturdily potted with shallow rounded sides rising from a slightly tapered foot, the exterior painted in rich and strong cobalt blue with eight large herbaceous peony blooms borne on a meandering leafy scroll, between a double-line border and a band of upright lappets, the footrim encircled by an undulating floral scroll, inscribed with a horizontal six-character reign mark below the rim; 26.3 cm, 10 3/8  in.

Provenance: Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, Durham, no. L46 (on loan).
Christie's London, 9th November 2004, lot 132.

Notes: Bowls with the peony design like the present piece are very rare and belong to a most important and interesting type of blue and white porcelain from the Xuande period (1426-35). Bowls of this shape, whose deliberately sturdy construction with almost 1 cm thick walls are remarkable for their even potting and successful firing. They were made for only a short period of time in the Xuande reign and were not revived in the Qing dynasty, like most other early Ming shapes. Such bowls are almost always found with a Xuande reign mark below the rim, but can be painted with a variety of designs, such as flowering scrolls of both single and mixed species, lingzhi fungus, or double dragons.

The purpose of these shallow bowls, always undecorated on the inside, has not yet been definitely determined. It is discussed in the exhibition catalogue Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 53, where related Xuande bowls with varied designs are illustrated as pls. 25-27. It is suggested that such bowls were possibly used as dice bowls for playing dice in the palace; used by scholars as brush washers; used as fruit bowls; or for the popular game of cricket fights with the thickness of the bowls rendering them an ideal battlefield for combating crickets. Some examples indeed show an unusual amount of wear on the inside.

Peonies symbolise wealth and rank in Chinese culture, and are the subject of a latest exhibition at the Palace Museum, Beijing, held in early 2016, of objects of various materials from the imperial court collection decorated with peonies, together with actual peony flowers brought from Luoyang, Henan province, which has been famous for this plant for over a millennium. A catalogue of this exhibition is anticipated, and issue no. 6, 2016, of the magazine Forbidden City has been devoted to it. The peony appears at least as frequently in ceramic decoration as does the lotus, see Regina Krahl, ‘Plant Motifs of Chinese Porcelain, Examples from the Topkapi Saray Identified through the Bencao Gangmu, Part I’, Orientations, May 1987, pp. 52-65.

A few similar bowls are known in world-famous collections, one from the Qing Court collection and still in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 145; one in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, published in the Museum'sCatalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 48; one from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Margaret Medley, ‘Regrouping 15th Century Blue and White’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 34, 1962-63, pl. 3a; and one from the collection of the School of Archaeology and Museology, Beijing University, included in the exhibition Treasures from a Swallow Garden, Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, Beijing, 1992, cat. no. 149.

Lot 3637. A large and rare blue and white 'fruit spray' bowl, mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435). Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's.

heavily potted with low rounded sides supported on a straight foot, the exterior of the thick walls decorated in cobalt blue with six sprays of fruit comprising peach, pomegranate, loquat, grape, persimmon and longan, all above a band of radiating lotus lappets, the footrim picked out with evenly spaced detached sprays of florets, all between double-line borders encircling the rim and foot, inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character horizontal reign mark below the double-lined rim; 28 cm, 11 in.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th April 1997, lot 538.

Notes: The present bowl with sprays of auspicious fruits is very rare and belongs to an interesting type of blue and white porcelain made during the Xuande period (1426-35), which is briefly discussed in lot 3631. Similar Xuande bowls with the fruit pattern, varying in size between 26 and 30 cm, are represented in the Palace Museum, Beijing, from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 145; one in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, is published in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 47; one from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, no. 98; and a similar bowl in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., was included in the exhibition Ming Porcelains in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1953, cat. no. 10.

Bowl with flowering and fruiting branches, Ming dynasty, Six-character Xuande mark in underglaze blue written horizontally along the rim (1426-1435). Height: 10 millimetres. Diameter: 280 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF B658 © Trustees of the British Museum

A fragmentary piece from the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kilns is illustrated in Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan zangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections. A Series of Monographs: Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 3-121; and one from the Toguri collection was sold in our London rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 16, illustrated in Min Shin no bijutsu [The art of Ming and Qing], Tokyo, 1982, pl. 6, and in Encompassing Precious Beauty: The Songzhutang Collection of Imperial Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong, 2016, pl. 8. A famous bowl of this type, formerly in the collections of Wu Lai Hsi (until 1937), Major L.F. Hay (until 1939), Lord Cunliffe (1899-1963), F. Gordon Morrill and the Meiyintang Collection, included in the exhibition Chinese Blue and White Porcelain: 14th to 19th Centuries, The Oriental Ceramic Society at The Arts Council Gallery, London, 1953-4, cat. no. 79, and illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1655, was sold in our London rooms, 26th May 1937, lot 49, and 16th June 1939, lot 77, and in these rooms, 5th October 2011, lot 13.

A rare large blue and white 'fruit spray' bowl, mark and period of Xuande (1426-1435). Lot 13 sold 10,740,000 HKD at Sotheby's, The Meiyintang Collection, Part II - An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, 5th October 2011, lot 13. Photo Sotheby's.

 Lot 45 An Egyptian encaustic on wood mummy portrait of a woman, Hadrianic Period, circa 2nd century A.D., 12 1/16 in. (30.6 cm.) long. Estimate: $150,000-250,000 & Lot 46. An Egyptian encaustic on wood mummy portrait of a bearded man, Hadrianic Period, circa 2nd century A.D., 12 ¼ in. (31.1 cm.) long. Estimate: $100,000-150,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2016.

NEW YORK, NY.- On October 25, Christie’s sale of Antiquities presents two important Egyptian portraits on behalf of the heirs of Rudolf Mosse. Hauntingly lifelike, these remarkable portraits, an Egyptian encaustic on wood mummy portrait of a woman, Hadrianic period, circa 2nd century AD (estimate: $150,000-250,000) and an Egyptian encaustic on wood mummy portrait of a bearded man, circa 1st century AD (estimate: $100,000-150,000), are among the most extraordinary artistic achievements to survive from antiquity. 

Egyptian mummy portraits date from the mid-1st to the 3rd century AD, and while they have been found in many sites throughout Egypt, they were discovered most prominently in the Fayum, which provided the generic name for all such painted portraits. These mummy portraits from Roman Egypt are among the most remarkable survivors from the ancient world, providing insight into Romano-Egyptian burial customs as well as style and fashion trends from the 1st-3rd century A.D.  

These works were originally part of the extraordinary collection of Rudolf Mosse (1843 – 1920), the founder of a successful publishing and advertising company in Germany, which included the flagship newspaper Berliner Tageblatt. Mosse was a patron of the eminent Egyptologist Karl Brugsch and it seems likely that the mummy portraits were acquired from him. Following his death, the collection was inherited by his daughter Felicia Lachmann-Mosse. Within months of Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, the family was forced to flee Germany, and their publishing company, private assets and art collection were expropriated by the Nazi party. The art collection was ‘plucked’ by prominent Nazi supporters, and subsequently disbursed by auction.  

These portraits were acquired in 1934 by Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front, and bought in 1979 by the University of Zürich from his widow, the actress Paulette Goddard- Remarque. Research by the University of Zürich led to their repatriation in 2015 to the Mosse Art Restitution Project.

Lot 45 An Egyptian encaustic on wood mummy portrait of a woman, Hadrianic Period, circa 2nd century A.D., 12 1/16 in. (30.6 cm.) long.Estimate: $150,000-250,000.© Christie’s Images Limited 2016.

Provenance: Rudolf Mosse (1843-1920), Berlin; thence by descent to his daughter, Felicia Lachmann-Mosse.
Seized by the Nazi Party in 1933.
Kunstsammlung Rudolf Mosse, Berlin; Rudolph Lepke Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin, 29-30 May 1934, lot 158 (part). 
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), author of All's Quiet on the Western Front, and his wife Paulette Goddard-Remarque, Germany and Switzerland, 1934-1979.
The University of Zurich, acquired from the above, 1979.
Restituted to the Mosse Art Restitution Project, Berlin, 2015.

Property recently restitued to heirs of Rudolf Mosse

Literature: R.D. Gempeler, Werke der Antike im Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, 1976, p. 102, no. 1, fig. 30a.
B. Borg, Mumienporträts, Chronologie und kultureller Kontext, Mainz, 1996, pp. 13, 55, 171.
K. Parlasca and H.G. Frenz, Ritratti di Mummie, Serie B -Volume IV, Repertorio d'Arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano, Rome, 2003, no. 61, pl. IV.

Notes: Rudolf Mosse was a successful entrepreneur, progressive political thinker and philanthropist in the late 19th and early 20th century. He founded a publishing and advertising conglomerate that included theBerliner Tageblatt, an early and outspoken critic of the Nazi party. Mosse was a devoted patron of the arts, particularly in the field of Egyptology and sponsored digs led by Karl Brugsch, whose excavations yielded the foundation for what is now the Cairo Museum. It is likely that the Fayum portraits offered in this sale were a result of this relationship. 

Provenance: Rudolf Mosse (1843-1920), Berlin; thence by descent to his daughter, Felicia Lachmann-Mosse.
Seized by the Nazi Party in 1933.
Kunstsammlung Rudolf Mosse, Berlin; Rudolph Lepke Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin, 29-30 May 1934, lot 158 (part). 
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), author of All's Quiet on the Western Front, and his wife Paulette Goddard-Remarque, Germany and Switzerland, 1934-1979.
The University of Zurich, acquired from the above, 1979.
Restituted to the Mosse Art Restitution Project, Berlin, 2015.

Property recently restitued to heirs of Rudolf Mosse

Literature: R.D. Gempeler, Werke der Antike im Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich, 1976, p. 110, no. 4, fig. 30d.
B. Borg, Mumienporträts, Chronologie und kultureller Kontext, Mainz, 1996, p. 72.
K. Parlasca and H.G. Frenz, Ritratti di Mummie, Serie B -Volume IV, Repertorio d'Arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano, Rome, 2003, no. 379, pl. IX.

Note: The careworn expression and somewhat unkempt hair suggest that this man might have been a solider. His plain white tunic however shows no military accouterments, which may be a result of the damage to his left shoulder. Like the female portrait also from the Mosse collection, this piece can be dated to the Hadrianic period based on the hairstyle and facial hair.

 LONDON.- Bonhams is offering an exceptional selection of Chinese ceramics and works of art in its Fine Chinese Art sale to be held on Thursday 10 November at Bonhams New Bond St, during London’s Asian Art Week. 

Leading the early ceramic section of the sale is an exceptionally rare Ding tripod incense burner, dating to the Northern Song/Jin dynasty, 12th century, estimated at £80,000-120,000. Modelled after a Han dynasty bronze container, lian, and counted amongst ‘the five classic wares’, the Ding vessel is an elegant embodiment of the values of harmony, regulation and simplicity of the ancient Chinese past, highly regarded by the Emperors of the Northern Song and subsequent dynasties. The remarkable vessel has been preserved in a European private collection for decades. 

Lot 6. An exceptionally rare Ding Yao tripod cylindrical incense burner, zun, Northern Song- Jin Dynasty, 12th century. Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 (€91,000 - 140,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Finely potted, the exterior of the cylindrical vessel decorated with three bands of horizontally-moulded ribs, supported on three short cabriole legs, covered overall with an exquisite glaze of attractive ivory-white tone, wood stand. 12.8cm (5in) diam. (2). 

Provenance: John Sparks Ltd., London, by repute
A distinguished European private collection, and thence by descent.

Notes: The European private collection to which this exceptional Ding incense burner belongs, was formed by a highly discerning collector, mostly between the 1930s and the 1960s. 

The pieces forming the collection were acquired from some of the foremost dealers of their generation, including in London John Sparks, Bluett's and William Clayton, in Paris L.Wannieck and Pierre Saqué and in New York Frank Caro (as successor to C.T. Loo). In a correspondence between John Sparks and the owner in 1930, the former was informed that a recently acquired piece has arrived safely despite the hard landing of the aeroplane...

The collection included a superb selection of Imperial yellow-glazed dishes ranging from the Kangxi to the Yongzheng period (which will be offered in our forthcoming Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale in Hong Kong), and stands as a testament to the connoisseur's eye of the collector. 

The collection moved with the owner and her family across three continents, always beautifully displayed around the home to be enjoyed and admired daily.

The shape of the present lot was inspired by archaic bronze containers, lian, which were among the ritual implements aimed to present food and drink offerings to the ancestors during the Han dynasty. This archaistic shape was also produced in the Duyao glaze during the Northern Song period as exemplified in a related Ruyao tripod incense burner from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p.2, no.1. 

The distinctive shape appears to have survived in spite of the demise of the Northern Song dynasty. Examples were made at the Guan kiln, re-established by the exile Court in the suburb of the Southern Song capital Hangzhou. For a Guanyao tripod incense burner, Southern Song dynasty, in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, seeDynastic Renaissance: Art and Culture of the Southern Song, Antiquities, Taipei, 2010, p.98, no.II-5. It is possible that the Ding kilns in Northern China, though fallen under Jurchen rule after AD 1127, would have continued to produce these vessels. 

Dingyao tripod incense burners are extremely rare, but can be found in the Qing court collection. Compare with a similar Dingyao tripod incense burner, Song dynasty, of identical form supported on three legs and decorated with moulded ribs, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p.40, no.34. Three more examples of Dingyao tripod incense burners, Northern Song/Jin dynasty, of various sizes are illustrated in Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou: White Ding wares from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, pp.48-49, nos.II-5-7. 

Another Dingyao tripod incense burner, Song dynasty, is illustrated by B.Gyllensvärd in Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, p.140, pl.447; later sold at Sotheby's London on 14 May 2008, lot 238.

Fine porcelain Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain from the collection of the late Dr Arthur Spriggs will also be showcased. One of the highlights in the collection is a rare large blue and white incense burner, Chongzhen (1628-1644), estimated at £30,000-50,000. The incense burner is vividly painted in underglaze blue with a continuous scene of Daoist luohan figures, set within a riverscape.  

Lot 30. A very rare blue and white 'Luohan' tripod incense burner, Tonglu, Chongzhen period (1628-1644). Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 (€34,000 - 57,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Dr Arthur Spriggs (1919-2015), acquired in 1965 in Oxford, and thence by descent.

Note: This exceptional incense burner was the subject of an exchange of letters between Dr Spriggs and P.J. Donnelley who asked in his letter of 27 April 1971 permission to include the piece as a censer in a new book he was writing at the time together with Soame Jenyns.

The Imperial opulence at the height of the Qing dynasty, reaching its peak during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795), is represented in the sale by a magnificent imposing cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze tripod ‘cranes’ incense burner and cover, estimated at £60,000-80,000. The remarkable incense burner would have once graced one of the Imperial throne halls, possibly in the Forbidden City. The striking vessel ingeniously combines the Emperor’s taste for antiquity with the opulent and flamboyant style of the Qing Court.  

Lot 96. A magnificent and rare cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze tripod 'cranes' incense burner and cover, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 (€68,000 - 91,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Impressively cast and supported on the shoulders of three cranes, the globular body colourfully enamelled with a continuous scene of lotus pond, depicting swimming, flying, resting and pecking egrets amongst foliate lotus leaves and upright sprays of lotus blossoms beside craggy rocks and patchy grass, all beneath a gilt band of lotus lappets to the waisted neck, flanked by a pair of finely cast handles in the form of a sinuous dragon grasping an enamelled shou character roundel, the reticulated domed cover finely decorated with three large ruyi-shaped lappets enamelled with lotus flower heads surmounted by a gilt bronze bud-shaped finial meticulously cast with a writhing dragon amidst scrolling clouds. 86.4cm (34in) high (2).

Provenance: a European private collection

Notes: The Qianlong Emperor was a keen collector of objects of the past, advocating to restore ancient ways, suggesting that craftsmen turn to antiquity for models which would enable them to imbue their designs with simplicity and honesty in order to achieve refinement and elegance. 

The present vessel is a magnificent example of the Qianlong period, combining the archaistic form derived from the Shang and Zhou dynasties ding ritual vessel, with the opulent taste of the Qing Court, utilising the vibrantly colourful cloisonné enamel embellished with the gilt bronze dragon finial and handles. The master craftsman has further elevated the vessel, both in height and in extravagance by using three long-legged cranes instead of cabriole legs as supports.

The magnificent vessel is imbued with auspicious associations as often seen on other Imperial works of art. The cranes symbolise immortality and are often shown as companions to Shoulao, the God of Longevity. Paintings of cranes had been popular in the Imperial Court since the Northern Song dynasty, when the Huizong Emperor (1082-1135) himself painted an iconic handscroll, 'Auspicious Cranes', now preserved in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang, and illustrated by J.Cahill, 3000 Years of Chinese Painting, New Haven, 1997, p.123, fig.114; Cranes were also a recurring subject in the paintings of the Jesuit Court artist Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766). Further symbolism is imbued in the lotus, as one of the Eight Buddhist Emblems, and bajixiang and its association with purity.

Compare a closely related pair of cloisonné enamel incense burners and covers with crane supports bearing similar dragon handles, Qianlong, said to have come from the Summer Palace, Beijing and sold in our Hong Kong rooms on 4 December 2008, lot 202. See also a closely related pair of cloisonné enamel incense burners and covers with crane supports but with upright cloisonné enamel handles, Qianlong, in the British Museum, London, one of which is illustrated by E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pl.304; for another similar example see H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pl.323; and compare a pair similar to the British Museum example, sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 March 2014, lot 359.

An exceptionally rare pale green jade farmer and buffalo group, 18th century, estimated at £40,000-60,000, is a superb naturalistic and graceful evocation of the scholarly longing for a recluse life in communion with nature and away from worldly obligations of the official-scholar elite. 

Lot 63. An exceptional very pale green jade farmer and buffalo group, 18th century. Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 (€45,000 - 68,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The group skilfully carved as a farmer wearing a woven wide-brimmed hat and a mid-length cape above loose trousers, his face set in a benevolent expression, holding a crop in his right arm, hidden behind the back, and a rope threaded through the nostrils of a buffalo, standing beside an elaborate group of Taihu rocks defined by jagged outcrops and protrusions, the stone of pale celadon tone suffused with white areas and light russet inclusions, carved wood stand; 9.8cm (3 7/8in) long (2).

Provenance: a distinguished English private collection, acquired from S.Marchant and Son Ltd., London, prior to 2006, and thence by descent.

Notes: The exceptionally graceful modelling of the subjects and painstaking attention to detail, visible in the interlaced straw of the farmer's hat, the gentle folds of his garments and the jagged crevices of the pitted rocks, empower this outstanding jade group with impressive naturalism.

The present lot represents the farmer, one of the Four Noble Occupations comprising the Chinese hierarchical social structure (alongside scholar, woodcutter and fisherman). The water buffalo, superbly carved with a rope tethered through its nostrils, was crucial to all wet-rice cultivation societies and to a farmer's success, as such it formed a vital part of Chinese agricultural and economic life.

Even the emperor took a keen personal interest in farming. Once every year on the 15th day of the first moon he would ceremonially plough several furrows with oxen over a field to ensure that heaven would grant a bountiful harvest. In 1696, the Kangxi Emperor even commissioned the court painter Jiao Bingzhen to make the 'Illustrations of Agriculture and Sericulture' (Yuzhi gengzhi tu 御製耕織圖) to better understand the process of farming and weaving. Later, the Yongzheng Emperor commissioned another version of the same album, depicting himself as the farmer with buffalo ploughing the fields. This album, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, is discussed and illustrated by E.Rawski and J.Rawson, in China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, London, 2005, p.242. 

To the literati, the motif of farmer and buffalo came to symbolise the ideal of a simple life far away from the scholar-official's obligations. The farmer stands next to the naturalistically carved and pierced rockwork, evoking the Taihurocks, reminiscent of mountains, abode of the Immortals, whose naturally high peaks and ability to produce water, the life-giving element, from the clouds swirling around them, were a manifestation of nature's vital energy.

Religion played a central role in China and within the Imperial Court. The Seventh Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso, born in 1708, had the patronage of the three most important Emperors of the Qing dynasty, Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1795). An extremely rare cast gilt-bronze figure of the Seventh Dalai Lama, estimated at £40,000-60,000 is arguably one of the finest examples of Buddhist portraiture of the 18th century and is importantly cast on the reverse of the dais with an inscription reading “Veneration to the Ruler Kalzang Gyatso”. This figure is among a select group of Buddhist and Daoist bronze figures in the sale.  

 Lot 113. A very rare inscribed gilt-bronze figure of the seventh Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso, 18th century. Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 (€45,000 - 68,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Seated in dhyanasana on three rectangular cushions intricately detailed with cartouches depicting sprays of blossoming lotus reserved on diaper patterns, his right hand raised in vitarkamudra and delicately pinching a lotus stem, his left hand holding a folded cloth cascading in numerous pleats, dressed in voluminous patchwork robes embroidered with lotus medallions and hems incised in floral scrolls, the face with engaged expression and steady gaze, flanked by pendulous ears, the reverse incised with an inscription in Tibetan reading 'Rgyal dbang bskal bzang rgya mtsho la na mo' which translates as 'Veneration to the ruler Kalzang Gyatso'. 21.5cm (8 1/5in) high

Provenance: a distinguished private European collection, acquired in the first half of the 20th century by repute.

Notes: This outstanding depiction of the Seventh Dalai Lama is one of the rarest and finest examples of gilt bronze portraiture in Tibetan art of the 18th century. 

According to a legend, his birth in 1708 was accompanied by marvellous events, hence his name, Kelzang Gyatso, 'The Ocean of Good Fortune', bestowed upon him by his maternal uncle. The Lama received the patronage of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors. 

When Kelzang Gyatso reached eight years of age, the Kangxi Emperor, following the precedents established by his father's relation with the Fifth Dalai Lama, sent representatives of the Court so that a combined Chinese-Tibetan-Mongol cavalry could escort the Lama to Kumbum. It was here that Kelzang Gyatso was enthroned and an Imperial proclamation was publicly read, affirming that 'this emanation is the veritable rebirth of the former Dalai Lama ... As the Omniscient One comes into the world like the sun, which cannot be blocked out with the hand, the light rays of his compassion and enlightened deeds embrace the whole world, so that the Buddha's teaching expands and increases.'

In 1720 the Kangxi Emperor sent his own fourteenth son, the prince Yinti, to accompany the Dalai Lama to Lhasa, together with leading representatives of Tibetan Buddhism at the Qing Court and Manchu, Chinese and Mongol military leaders. During the same year, Kelzang Gyatso was ordained by the foremost Gelug master of the day, the Fifth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Yeshe (1663-1737), who gave him the monastic name Lobzang Kelzang Gyatso (blo bzang skal bzang rgya mtsho). 

During the Yongzheng period, the Emperor accepted the Dalai Lama's petition to the Court ordering that monasteries previously damaged in reprisals be rebuilt with Imperial funds, thus extending the Imperial patronage. He spent several years in exile, following geopolitical struggles and the increasing Manchu attempts to formalise their rule in Tibet, but returned in 1735 to Lhasa accompanied, under the order of the Yongzheng Emperor, with a royal entourage of five hundred religious, civil and military representatives, which included Changkya Rolpai Dorje. 

Following the ascension of the Qianlong Emperor to the throne, Changkya Rolpai Dorje recommended the political assertion of the Seventh Dalai Lama in Tibet, which proved to be an unforeseen political success due to his personal reputation for learning and spiritual integrity as well as his status.

As an exponent of the Gelugpa, or Yellow Hat School, the Lama's teachings focused on the Mahayana principle of universal compassion as the fundamental spiritual orientation, and a systematic cultivation of the view of emptiness. In the field of politics, the Lama established a number of institutions, such as the Kashnak, a leadership cabinet that remained at the apex of the secular administration in Tibet until 1959. He also founded a school specialising in calligraphy, literary arts and astrology, the primary subjects required for Tibetan government service, and an archival office that regulated all aspects of Tibetan secular and monastic culture. His literary works, collected in seven volumes, include exemplary instructions for contemplation and advice for the Buddhist religious life. 

Gilt bronze images of the Kelzang Gyatso are very rare. A smaller, and less elaborate, gilt bronze figure of the Seventh Dalai Lama, 18th century, is illustrated by E.Dinwiddie, Potraits of The Masters, Chicago, 2003,p.314, fig.87. Another gilt figure of the Seventh Lama is illustrated in the Beijing Capital Museum, The Goddess of Mercy in Buddhism - Chinese Ancient Avalokiteshvara bodhisattva, Beijing, 2008, p.238, fig28. See also a thangka depicting the Dalai Lama, 18th century, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by D.Jackson, The Place of Provenance. Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting, New York, 2012, p.43, fig.3.16. For a gilt-bronze figure of Rolpay Dorje, 18th century, displaying similarly decorated cushions, in the State Hermitage, St Petersburg, see M.Rhye, The Sacred Art of Tibet, New York, 1991, p.276, fig.100.

A pair of rare and large portraits of a Nobleman and a Royal Lady, late Qing dynasty, is estimated at £40,000-60,000. The unique portraits are most probably of a princely couple from the Imperial circle of the Qing dynasty. They were previously in the collection of the late Amedeo Corio, President of the Institute of Fine Arts and the Leone Museum in Vercelli, Piedmont.  

Lot 117. A pair of rare and large portraits of a nobleman and a royal lady, Late Qing Dynasty. Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 (€45,000 - 68,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Ink and colours on silk, both seated on gilt lacquered thrones and dressed in winter ceremonial attire, the male dignitary with a powerful gaze, wearing a blue-ground pleated robe embroidered with confronted dragons, a dark surcoat emblazoned with a central front-facing five-clawed dragon roundel, a tourmaline and jadeite necklace and a court hat with a gold finial inset with pearls and a ruby stone; his Imperial consort wearing three double-gourd drop earrings, a chestnut-ground dragon robe, a sleeveless vest decorated with four five-clawed dragons, three lapis lazuli, jadeite and tourmaline necklaces, a brown fur brim-hat above a silk headband and a red floss silk crown embellished with gold, pearl, kingfisher phoenix, and a gold finial inset with pearls and a ruby stone, framed and glazed. Each 180cm (70 7/8in) long x 90cm (35 1/2inch) wide (2).

Provenance: Amedeo Corio, President of the Institute of Fine Arts, Piedmont and Leone Museum in Vercelli, Piedmont, and founder of the Modern Art Gallery, La Spirale, in Milan in 1960.

Notes: Impressive in size and imbued with realism and ritual reverence, these portraits are rare visual documents relating to two of the highest-ranking members of Qing society and very possibly of the inner circle of the Qing Imperial Court. 

The high level of social prestige suggested by the garments worn by the figures suggests that they may have been a princely couple. 

According to the dress regulations, Huangchao liqi tushi, codified in 1759, only male princes of the highest orders could wear the blue ceremonial robe, chao pao, a roundel embroidered with a front-facing five-clawed dragon, achaozhu necklace made of precious stones, and a hat-finial embellished with pearls and a ruby stone. 

By the same token, the clothes and accessories worn by the female figure are consistent with those prescribed for princely consorts; comprising the chestnut-ground robe, the dragon vest, chagua, the long kerchief, caishui, the three necklaces, the black silk headband and gold-filigree phoenixes. The three earrings worn in each ear lobe, a Manchu practice, suggest that the figure may have been among the daughters of distinguished banner families who were traditionally appointed by the Qing Court as consorts for members of the innermost Imperial circles. 

The elaborate rendering of the garments, combined with the stark formality of the iconic pose of the figures, devoid of emotional dynamism and temporal specificity, indicates that the paintings served as a central focus of ritual activities aimed at paying homage to the ancestors. 

The female portrait is closely related to a portrait of a Royal Lady, 19th century, sold in our New York rooms on 17 May 2014, lot 8136. 

The clothing of the male figure closely compares with the robes worn by the seventeenth son of the Qianlong Emperor, whose portrait is in the collection of the Sackler Gallery, Washington DC, illustrated by J.Stuart,Worshipping The Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits, Washington DC, 2001, p.196, fig.26. In style, the present male portrait closely compares with one dated to AD 1888, depicting the Daoguang Emperor's son-in law, illustrated ibid., p.198, fig.44. See also a related tourmaline and jadeite bead court necklace, chao zhu, sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 1 December 2009, lot 2031.

Chinese furniture of the late Ming to mid Qing dynasty, made of the most prized woods, zitan and huanghuali, is highly sought after. Its elegant deceptively-simple geometric lines defy age and fashion. A rare huanghuali rectangular table with humpback stretchers, Ming dynasty, 17th century, is one such rare example, offered at £20,000 - 30,000. Harking back to the Imperial Court, is a rare zitan and lacquer cabinet, mid Qing dynasty, estimated at £30,000-40,000. 

Lot 118. A rare huanghuali rectangular table with humpback stretchers, Ming Dynasty, 17th century. Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 (€23,000 - 34,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The smooth top panel set in a rectangular frame with moulded edge above a beaded shaped apron carved at the corners with foliate scrolls, raised on thick straight legs of rounded circular section joined by humpback stretchers. 140cm (55 1/8in) wide x 45cm (17 3/4in) deep x 83.2cm (32 3/4in) high 

Note: Compare with a very similar huanghuali table, Ming dynasty, carved with similar humpbacked stretchers and relief decoration of to the apron, iillustrated by Wang Shixiang in Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1986, p.148, no.94.

Lot 134. A rare zitan and lacquer cabinet, Mid Qing Dynasty. Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 (€34,000 - 45,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Set with four variously-proportioned irregular open compartments, all framed within openwork friezes and carved with archaistic scrolls, the sides with traces of lacquered floral scenes. 165cm (65in) high x 89cm (35in) wide x 42cm (16 1/2in) deep

Notes: Cabinets with multiple open compartments and shelves, such as the present lot, are intended for displaying curios and collections of the Court, as part of the furnishing for private chambers and studios in the Palace. 

The meticulous details and workmanship demonstrated in the present lot may suggest that the cabinet was produced for the Imperial Court, likely as a pair. For a related pair of gilt-lacquered zitan cabinets, 18th century, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Splendour of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 2004, p.167. 

The archaistic elements displayed by its reticulated decorations conform to the flourishing trend of archaism during the Qianlong period, when the Emperor was actively involved in promoting the restoration of ancient values, which profoundly encouraged the implementation of archaistic forms and decorative motifs in art production throughout most of the 18th century and beyond. Compare with a related gilt-decorated lacquered zitan cabinet, mid Qing dynasty, the compartments similarly set with friezes carved with reticulated archaistic scrolls, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Imperial Furniture in Ming & Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 2008, p.34, no.27.

Complementing the sale is a fine group of yellow glazed and yellow and green enamelled bowls and dishes, dating from the 17th to the 19th century. They were collected by the Palmer family, which took its inspiration for collecting Chinese porcelain from the famous collector R.H.R. Palmer (1898-1970), Chairman of Huntley and Palmer. Another historical collection represented in this sale are works of art in lacquer and ivory collected by Harry Geoffrey Beasley (1881-1939). In addition to collecting Chinese art, H.G. Beasley was a great collector of Pacific anthropological material, and objects from his collections have been acquired by the British Museum, London, Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and the National Museums, Edinburgh. Many of the pieces were collected in the first decades of the 20th century and as such represent one of earliest collecting generations.   

Asaph Hyman, International Head, Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art commented: “We are delighted to bring to light exceptional and remarkable works of art, collected over decades in many distinguished European collections, and now once more in the public domain to be admired by collectors worldwide."

Lot 3714. A rare blue and white 'immortals' warming bowl, Ming dynasty, Chenghua period (1465-1487). Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the double-walled vessel modelled with a deep rounded bowl resting on a short foot and joint on the interior with a shallow bowl, the exterior decorated with two pairs of figures in a rural landscape, the interior of the shallow bowl centred with two seated immortals surrounded by ruyi-shaped cloud scrolls with tall mountains in the background, the base pierced with a small aperture; 17 cm, 6 5/8  in.

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 25th October 1993, lot 722.

Notes: Double-walled warming bowls were made to hold medicine and food. They were made by joining together two bowls of slightly different size, the outer bowl with a circular hole at the foot to allow hot water to fill the cavities between the two bowls and keep the vessel and its contents warm.

Lot 3633. A blue and white 'crane' box and cover, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 750,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

of circular form supported on a straight foot, the domed cover boldly painted with a central medallion enclosing three cranes in flight amongst scrolling ruyi clouds, the sides of the cover and the box similarly decorated with six further flying and swooping cranes amongst clouds, all divided by double-line borders, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 20 cm, 7 7/8  in.

Provenance: Collection of Ivan Traugott (1871-1952), Stockholm. 
A private Scandinavian collection.
Christie's New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 306.

Exhibition: City of Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, no. 46 (label).
Kiinan Vanhaa Taidetta [Chinese antiques], Helsingfors Konsthall, Helsinki, 1956, cat. no. 196.

Bibliography: Leopold Reidemeister, Ming-Porzellane in Schwedischen Sammlungen, Berlin, 1935, pl. 8c.

The motif of cranes flying among ruyi clouds, a common symbol of longevity with strong Daoist associations, was especially favoured by the Jiajing Emperor who was a keen Daoist. According to Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 255, the design of a crane flying up to the sun can also express the wish for the recipient to rise to high office.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Lot 3719. A blue and white facetted 'dragon' jarlet, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

 potted with a square-section baluster body surmounted by an upright neck and galleried mouthrim, each side decorated in cobalt blue with a dragon writhing amidst lotus scrolls, all between bands of pendent ruyi petals and upright lappets encircling the shoulder and foot respectively, the neck collared with a key-fret border, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-square; h. 11.7 cm, 4 5/8  in.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 19th September 1996, lot 268.

Notes: Compare a closely related jar, from the collection of F.D. Samuel, sold in our London rooms, 13th May 1969, lot 88 and subsequently in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, illustrated in the Museum’s 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 809; another, with its matching cover, published in Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1973, pl. 50 (above); and a third, sold at Christie’s London, 12th December 1988, lot 154a. See also a larger jar of this type in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming dynasty imperial ceramics], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-55; and another from the collection of Hirano Kotoken, sold at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2007, lot 274.

Lot 3718. A rare blue and white 'dragon' jarlet, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the compressed ovoid body with tapered sides rising from a recessed base to a broad shoulder and surmounted by a short neck, the exterior painted with two scaly five-clawed dragons soaring sinuously amidst leafy lingzhi scrolls, all between double-line borders encircling the neck and foot, the base with a six-character reign mark inscribed in a circular fashion in a clockwise direction, wood cover; 11.6 cm, 4 1/2  in.

Provenance: Hirano Kotoken.

Note: The inscription of the reign mark in a circular fashion is rare. See a blue and white jar rendered with a 'phoenix and crane' design and a similar circular reign mark, published in, Minji meihin zuroku [Illustrated catalogue of important Ming porcelains], vol. 3, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 9. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Lot 3720. A pair of blue and white 'dragon and phoenix' dishes, marks and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 437,500 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

each with the interior decorated with a medallion enclosing a sinuous dragon and a phoenix with billowing tails, the exterior similarly decorated with a further dragon and phoenix, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 15.3 cm, 6 in.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 19th September 1996, lot 272.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Lot 3722. A large blue and white 'figures, dragon and phoenix' bowl, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the exterior decorated in cobalt blue with a continuous scene of four scholars in a setting detailed with jagged rockwork, verdant vegetation and a pavilion, each figure depicted with an attendant standing nearby, the interior with a medallion enclosing a dragon and a phoenix, the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 29.9 cm, 11 3/4  in. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Lot 3713. A blue and white 'dragon' jar, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566). Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's.

the exterior decorated with a pair of five-clawed dragons, each rendered in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', all between stylised bands of pendent and upright petal lappets encircling the shoulder and foot, all below a 'classic' scroll band collaring the neck, the slightly countersunk unglazed base centred with a sunken glazed medallion inscribed with an underglaze-blue six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 23.2 cm, 9 1/8  in.

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 18th September 2007, lot 248. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Caspar Netscher, A Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Page, 1666. Oil on panel. National Gallery of Art, Washington. The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

WASHINGTON, DC.- At the September meeting of the board of trustees, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, acquired its first work by Caspar (or Gaspar) Netscher, A Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Page (1666). This captivating painting makes its US debut in the exhibition Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt (October 4, 2016–January 2, 2017) as one of fewer than 10 works by the artist on public view in the country. In addition, the painting is shown for the first time alongside a drawing from the British Museum that Netscher made after the painting. 

"We are delighted to add a work by Caspar Netscher to the Gallery's outstanding collection of 17th-century Dutch high-life genre scenes," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art, Washington. "We are very grateful to Lee and Juliet Folger for helping us acquire this superb work in another extraordinary demonstration of their generosity and commitment to the National Gallery of Art." 

A Young Woman Feeding a Parrot, with a Page 
Considered Netscher's finest work, this exceptional painting displays the full range of the Dutch master's technique, his talent as a portraitist, and his ability to depict interactions among the social elite. In the panel, a fashionable young woman wearing a gold-colored dress stands in a stone niche, gazing provocatively out at the viewer while she feeds an African grey parrot that has been removed from its cage. Netscher convincingly renders illusionistic space as well as a rich array of materials, with a bronze curtain pulled across the arch and a luxurious oriental carpet spilling over the ledge. 

Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt provides an unprecedented opportunity to view the painting with Netscher's pen and wash drawing made as a "ricordo," or record of the painting after it was sold. The British Museum graciously expedited the loan of this drawing to facilitate the presentation. 

Provenance 
In 1939 the Belgian owners of the painting deposited the work for safekeeping at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Confiscated during the German occupation of Belgium in 1942, the panel became part of Hermann Goering's collection. For sale at the Galerie Abels in Cologne following the war, it was purchased by a private collector, then donated in 1952 to the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal, Germany where it remained until it was restituted to the heirs of the pre-war owners in 2014. Sold the same year at Christie's, New York, the work was purchased by the London art dealer Richard Green, from whom the Gallery is acquiring it from with a generous gift from the Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.

Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt 
With their vivid details and realistic nature, 17th-century Dutch landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes seem to have been painted from life. In fact, most artists based their paintings on preliminary drawings. Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt, on view in the West Building from October 4, 2016, through January 2, 2017, sheds light on the varied ways in which renowned artists of the Dutch Golden Age—including Rembrandt van Rijn, Aelbert Cuyp, Jacob van Ruisdael, and Pieter Jansz Saenredam—used drawings as part of the painting process. 

The exhibition features nearly 100 such drawings, many of them paired with related paintings. Among the drawings are sheets from sketchbooks, rapidly executed compositional designs, detailed figure studies, and carefully rendered construction drawings made with the aid of a ruler and compass. The exhibition includes artists from throughout the 17th century and explores a wide variety of subjects, including depictions of everyday life, landscapes, architectural studies, portraits, still lifes, and history scenes. Underdrawings that artists made on their panels prior to painting are examined with the aid of infrared reflectography. 

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris, where it will be on view from February 3 to May 7, 2017.

Michiel van Musscher, An Artist in His Studio with His Drawings, mid-1660s, oil on panel, Liechtenstein, The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

This work beautifully illustrates how Dutch artists referred to their drawings when composing their paintings. Here, an artist mixes paints with a palette knife while holding his brushes as he makes a preliminary oil sketch on his canvas based on the drawings spread out near his feet.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Old Man Seated, 1631, chalk on prepared paper, Private Collection. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Rembrandt’s command of red chalk is exquisitely demonstrated in this sketch, with a range of tones capturing the light and shadow that fall on the man. Rembrandt used the figure to represent the Old Testament patriarch Jacob in Joseph Telling His Dreams, the oil sketch seen in the following slide.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Joseph Telling His Dreams, 1633, grisaille, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt and the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Jan Lievens, Forest Interior with a Draftsman, 1660s, pen and ink with wash, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Aelbert Cuyp, Calcar with Monterberg in the Distance, early 1640s, chalk, wash, watercolor, partly brushed with gum arabic, Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, From the Collection of Rita and Frits Markus, Bequest of Rita Markus, 2005. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

This drawing was originally part of a large sketchbook that Cuyp took with him on his travels along the Rhine River in the early 1640s.

Balthasar van der Ast, Study of a Tulip and a Fly, 1620 – 1630, gouache, watercolor, and tempera, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Meticulous studies of the natural world allowed Van der Ast to paint bouquets composed of flowers that actually bloomed at different times of the year. This tulip appears in the following still life, albeit slightly more closed than in the drawing.

Balthasar van der Ast, Flower Still Life, c. 1630, oil on panel, Rose-Marie and Eijk Van Otterloo Collection. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Hendrick Avercamp, A Standing Girl with Her Hands under Her Apron, c. 1620, chalk, Lent by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Avercamp sketched both outdoors and in the studio, where he posed models in costumes appropriate for his paintings. This girl is shown standing on skates in the center left foreground of the painting on the following slide, watching elegant people in a horse-drawn sled.

Hendrick Avercamp, A Scene on the Ice, c. 1625, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Gerrit Berckheyde, Standing Woman, chalk, Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

This woman, wearing a peasant dress and holding a glass, also appears in the next drawing by Cornelis Bega. The two figures correspond so closely that it seems clear both artists sketched the model during the same session at a drawing academy, but from slightly different angles.

Cornelis Bega, Peasant Woman, Turned Three-Quarters to the Left, Holding a Glass, chalk, The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Gerrit Berckheyde, View of the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam, graphite, pen, and ink, Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap, Amsterdam. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Berckheyde’s detailed, highly accurate drawing of the rear of Amsterdam’s town hall (the canal has since been filled in) served as inspiration for five paintings, including the one in the following slide.

Gerrit Berckheyde, The Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal with the Flower and Tree Market in Amsterdam, c. 1675, oil on wood, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Edward W. Carter, 2009. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Abraham Bloemaert, Studies of Legs, Feet, and a Young Man Leaning, chalk, some pen and ink Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Salomon de Bray, The Twins Clara and Albert de Bray, August 12, 1646, chalk, The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, Purchased in 1909. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

When De Bray used this drawing for his painting of the twins (next slide), he made a number of adjustments: here the children are asleep, but there they are wide awake; he also transformed their simple wicker basket into an ornate crib.

Salomon de Bray, The Twins Clara and Albert de Bray, 1646 or after, oil on canvas, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Long loan in 1995. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Dirck Hals, Sitting Pipe Smoker, 1622 – 1627, brush and ink with oil paint, heightened with white, over a sketch in chalk, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

To satisfy the high demand for his scenes of merry companies enjoying food and drink, Hals turned to his portfolio of figure studies, combining them in various arrangements and adapting them to suit his painterly needs. In this drawing the artist provided himself with more design options by giving the man two extra legs.

Jacob van Ruisdael, View over Amsterdam and the IJ, c. 1665, chalk and wash, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Despite its tiny size, this drawing captures the sense of a bustling city densely packed with houses, and it served as the basis for the evocative painting in the following slide. Ruisdael apparently sketched the scene from scaffolding erected for the construction of the cupola on Amsterdam’s new town hall.

Jacob van Ruisdael, Panoramic View of Amsterdam, Its Harbor, and the IJ, c. 1665 – 1670, oil on canvas, Private Collection. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Pieter Jansz Saenredam, Saint Bavo, Haarlem, Part of the Nave, 1635, pen and chalk on blue paper, Noord-Hollands Archief, Kennemer Atlas, Haarlem. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

After drawing this freehand sketch of the church, Saenredam perfected his design and perspective system with a ruler and compass in a large construction drawing, which enabled him to transfer the scene to a wood panel before painting it.

Pieter Jansz Saenredam, Interior of Saint Bavo’s Church, Haarlem, 1635, pen and ink with wash and touches of chalk over graphite, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Dian Woodner. © 2016 National Gallery of Art

Lot 3647. A Dehuafigure of Guanyin, signed He Chaozong, late Ming dynasty. Estimation 1,000,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's.

skillfully modelled as Guanyin, seated on a rajalilasana on a base with a striated border, the poised figure depicted clad in a loose robe opening at the chest and cascading in voluminous folds around the base with the right foot partially exposed, the figure elegantly rendered with a benevolent and peaceful expression flanked by long pendulous earlobes and surmounted by neatly drawn-up hair secured with a ruyi-shaped pin beneath a draped cowl, the reverse impressed with a He Chaozong yin seal mark within a square, covered overall save for the base with a translucent warm glaze of creamy-white tone; 30.2 cm, 11 7/8  in.

Provenance: Collection of Karl Frithiof Dahl (1869-1952).

Notes: Sensitively modelled with a serene smile and half-closed eyes, which capture the deity’s deep state of contemplation, this figure bears the mark of He Chaozhong. Although his dates were unknown until recently and he was believed to have been active during the Kangxi period, recent scholarship has indicated that He lived during the late 16th century through to the first half of the 17th century. His name is mentioned in the 1763 Quanzhou Fuzhi gazetteer, in a section entitled ‘Ming Specialists’ (yishu), as a noted sculptor of porcelain figures. Furthermore, two figures of Guanyin with He Chaozong marks also bear cyclical dates that indicate that he was active in the late Ming dynasty: the first, attributed to 1618, is illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine. The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 165, in the collection of the author; and the second, attributed to 1619, included in the exhibition Blanc-de-Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute, New York, 2002, cat. no. 25, was sold in our New York rooms, 19th March 2007, lot 770.

A figure of Guanyin seated with one leg raised and the hands concealed by the heavy folds of the robe, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Guanyin in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2014, pl. 176, together with one without a veil, pl. 177; another is illustrated in Robert H. Blumenfield, op. cit., p. 132; a third from the collection of C.A. Wiessing, was included in Blanc de Chine, S. Marchant & Son, London, 2006, pl. 3; and a fourth was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 9th June 1986, lot 154.

Other related figures of the bodhisattva Guanyin signed He Chaozong include one seated cross-legged on a similar pedestal, in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, 1981, vol. 7, col. pl. 31; and another included in the exhibition Blanc-de Chine. Divine Images in Porcelain, op. cit., cat. no. 34.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Lot 3683. A rare carved cinnabar lacquer circular 'peony' box and cover, mark and period of Yongle (1403-1425). Estimation 800,000 — 1,000,000 HKD. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's.

of circular form, the cover well carved through the thick cinnabar lacquer to the yellow-ochre ground with three large flowering peony blooms detailed with frilly petals, all wreathed by budding blossoms and dense foliage, the sides of the box and cover similarly carved with further floral blooms interrupted by floral buds and leaves, the interior and recessed base lacquered dark brown, the base incised with a six-character reign mark; 12.1 cm, 4 3/4  in.

Provenance: A private French collection, by repute..

Notes: Boxes were among the most popular items made in carved lacquer for the imperial court during the Yongle and Xuande reigns, but boxes of this size and design are very rare. Skilfully decorated on the cover with three blooming peonies among dense foliage against the yellow ochre ground, this box is notable for its deep carving which adds a greater sense of three-dimensionality.

A Yongle box similarly carved with three peony blooms in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, but much larger in size, is included in the exhibition Heguang ticai. Gugong zang qi/Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors. Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, cat. no. 011, together with a Xuande example of large size and comparable design, cat. no. 012. See two other large boxes of similar design, dated to the early Ming dynasty, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, pls. 71 and 73.

Compare Yongle boxes of similar size and form, but carved on the cover with five peony blooms, such as one from the collection of H.M. King of Sweden, illustrated in Jan Wirgin, ‘Some Chinese Carved Lacquer of the Yuan and Ming Periods’, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 44, 1972, pl. 11, no. 14; and another from the Edward T. Chow Collection, included in the exhibition One Man’s Taste. Treasures from the Lakeside Pavilion, Galleries of the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1988, cat. no. L11, and sold in these rooms, 3rd May 1994, lot 278.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 02:30 PM

Chinese lacquer box and cover, Ming dynasty, mark and period of Yongle (1403-1425), early 15th century. Carved red lacquer. Straight sides, flat cover and sunk base. On cover large tree-peony, with smaller flowers and bud. Round the sides: chrysantemum, pomegranate, tree-peony and camellia. Interior and base black lacquered. On base a six-character Yongle mark. D. 120mm H. 40mm. Bequest of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf. No 2384. Dossier: J. Wirgin: BMFEA 44/1972, pl. 11. ©2016 Östasiatiska Museet