Lot 3684. A rare carved yellow lacquer 'dragon' tray, Ming dynasty, Wanli period, dated to the renchen year (in accordance with 1592). Estimate 2,000,000 — 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 8,240,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

of rectangular form with sloping sides rising with cusped indented corners, all supported on a straight foot of corresponding form, meticulously carved in varied levels of relief through the ochre-yellow lacquer to the cinnabar-red layer below, the interior with two fived-clawed dragons coiling around and contesting a 'flaming pearl' in the centre, amidst ruyi-shaped clouds and above rocks battered by crashing waves, surrounded by a border of peony scrolls, interrupted by four cusped ruyi-shaped motifs carved to the corners, the exterior decorated with a floral band wreathed by large leaves, the footrim bordered with a key-fret band, the base lacquered red and incised in gilt with an eight-character reign mark dated to the renchen year (in accordance with 1592); 31.7 cm, 12 1/2  in.

The Wanli Emperor’s Auspicious Yellow Dragon Dish

This remarkable dish belongs to a small group of Wanli lacquer wares that were carved with yellow dragons on a red ground. This group is characterised by extremely fine and deep carving which has been made possible through the thickness of the lacquer wall that has been built up by numerous layers of lacquer. A closely related dish, inscribed with a partially erased Wanli yiwei mark along with an apocryphal Yongle mark, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of Lacquer Wares in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 31, together with two circular dishes, one carved with a yellow dragon and phoenix against a red ground with a Jiajing reign mark and of the period and the other with a single yellow dragon, inscribed with a Wanli mark and of the period, cat. nos. 32 and 33 respectively.

Compare wares with related designs from this yellow carved lacquer group such as two boxes of closely related form and design, but with a black-ground sea and dated to the yiwei year of Wanli (corresponding to 1595), one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 169, and the other sold in our New York rooms, 16th/17th September 2014, lot 548; and a bowl dated to the jichou year of Wanli (corresponding to 1589), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, op. cit., pl. 165. See also a circular dish depicting one dragon amongst similarly rendered clouds above mountains and crashing waves, incised with a yiwei cyclical date, from the Kaisendo Museum, Yamagata, included in the exhibition Ming and Qing Ceramics and Works of Art, Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Osaka, 1980, cat. no. 2:31, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3572; and another from the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, cat. no. 264.

An extremely rare 'imperial-yellow dragon' polychrome lacquer box and cover, Wanli mark and period, dated to the yiwei year, corresponding to 1595. Lot sold 329,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 16th/17th September 2014, lot 548. Photo Sotheby's.

An important and extremely rare yellow lacquer 'dragon' dish, Wanli incised and gilt yiwei cyclical date, corresponding to 1595 and of the period. Price Realised  HKD 2,660,000 (USD 343,523) at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3572. Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2008

Boxes of closely related rectangular form and design are known carved from various lacquer colours; for example see a polychrome example, also bearing the same eight-character inscription as the present piece, da Ming Wanli renchen nian zhi('made in the renchen year of the Wanli period of the great Ming dynasty', corresponding to 1592), from the collection of Sakamoto Goro, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 160; and two boxes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Carved Lacquer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pls. 228 and 229. 

An important three-coloured cinnabar lacquer 'dragon' box and cover, mark and period of Wanli, dated to the renchen year (in accordance with 1592) from the collection of Sakamoto Goro. Lot sold 4,840,000 HKD at 8th October 2013, lot 160. Photo Sotheby's.

The auspicious message of this dish, with the juxtaposition of the five-clawed imperial dragon is surrounded by ruyi shaped clouds, links the ruler to the wish for long life, a wish that is mirrored in the mountains that symbolise longevity and the sea which represents good fortune. The propitious message is carried through even into the colour scheme, where yellow, the imperial colour, is surrounded by red, the colour of good luck. This combination of colours appears to have been inspired by Jiajing porcelain designs, such as a mark and period red-ground jar decorated with two yellow dragons striding amongst clouds and rocks and waves below, from the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 706, and sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 66.

The constant dialogue between different workshops is evident when comparing porcelain and lacquer pieces. For example, diaper patterns originally taken from brocade designs and incorporated into the carved lacquer repertoire in the 14th century began appearing on porcelain designs in the 16th century; see a Wanli mark and period wucai rectangular box decorated with a pair of dragons in a panel which is surrounded by a diaper pattern, sold at Christie’s London, 26th October 1964, lot 96.

Located in Yamagata Prefecture, the Kaisendo Museum was established in 1951 and houses an exceptional collection of knives, swords and lacquer. Comprised of over 400 items, of which 124 are related to lacquer and 97 are carved lacquerware, the museum has become known as a ‘museum of carved lacquerware’. It includes several Japanese carved lacquers which are not found in other museums.

Lot 548. An extremely rare 'imperial-yellow dragon' polychrome lacquer box and cover, Wanli mark and period, dated to the yiwei year, corresponding to 1595. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Lot sold 329,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of rectangular form with rounded sides and cusped corners, deftly carved in varied levels of relief through the ochre-yellow lacquer to the green and red layers below, with two five-clawed dragons contesting a 'flaming pearl' among clouds and above rocks battered by crested waves, all reserved on a ground of red floral diapers and green undulating waves, the sides with composite floral scrolls of peony, the box similarly decorated with floral cartouches recessed on a lotus scroll-ground above a border of key-fret around the foot, the interior and base lacquered red, incised partially erased reign mark in gilt, Japanese wood box (4); Length 12 1/2  in., 31.7 cm

Provenance: Old Japanese Collection. 

Notes: Two closely related pieces, perhaps from the same set, one a box with almost identical design and shape (but with the fifth claw later removed) also dated to the Wanli yiwei year in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 45 - Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 212, no. 169; the other, a tray with ochre-yellow colored dragons with the same design as the cover of the present box, in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors. Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p. 112, no. 100 (fig. 1). The tray also bears a partially erased inscription of Wanli yiwei corresponding to 1595, but in addition, has a later added Yongle mark. 

An extremely rare 'imperial-yellow dragon' polychrome lacquer tray, Wanli mark and period, dated to the yiwei year, corresponding to 1595, but in addition, has a later added Yongle mark in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors. Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p. 112, no. 100

Boxes of this type with indented corners were popular in the Wanli reign and were produced both in porcelain and lacquer until the end of the Ming dynasty. A similar box but in red lacquer and with four-clawed dragons rather than five, was included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer. The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, p. 102, no. 37, where it is noted that these boxes were used principally as presentation boxes that held important documents or gifts, and might have also been made as gifts presented to lower orders of nobility. Compare, also, another box of almost identical shape and design in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Lacquerware, Taipei, 1987, p. 124, no. 121.  See also a similarly shaped and carved polychrome 'dragon' box dated to the Wanli renchen year from the Sakamoto Goro Collection sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 160. 

Square tray.  Design of dragon in polychrome lacquer carving. Ming Dynasty, dated 1595. L. 25.2, W. 25.6, H. 4.7. Tokyo National Museum, TH467 ©2004-2016 Tokyo National Museum.

An important three-coloured cinnabar lacquer 'dragon' box and cover, mark and period of Wanli, dated to the renchen year (in accordance with 1592), from the Sakamoto Goro Collection. Sold 4,840,000 HKD at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 8th October 2013, lot 160. Photo Sotheby's.

Lot 3572. An important and extremely rare yellow lacquer 'dragon' dish, Wanli incised and gilt yiwei cyclical date, corresponding to 1595 and of the period. Price Realised  HKD 2,660,000 (USD 343,523). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2008.

Superbly carved to the interior through the gold-flecked brownish yellow outer layer to the red ground below with a large central medallion depicting a powerful ascending five-clawed dragon among flame and cloud scrolls, its scales finely detailed and eyes picked out in black, in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl' to its right, above turbulent waves breaking against jagged rocks emerging from the sea, all against undulating sea diaper and geometric sky diaper, the cavetto with four shaped panels enclosing a pair of lotus flowers supporting the Eight Buddhist Emblems separated by detached flower sprigs, the exterior with a dense flowering meander above a keyfret band encircling the foot, the mark incised on the red lacquer base in a horizontal line; 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Property from the Kaisendo museum, Yamagata, Japan

THE KAISENDO MUSEUM

The Kaisendo Museum lies in Kaminoyama city in Yamagata prefecture, Japan and houses a collection of Chinese and Japanese art that was formed by Mr Kenzo Hasegawa (1886-1957), the owner of a large manufacturer of raw silk in Kaminoyama. Initially he began by collecting Japanese swords prior to World War II but under the advice of his brother (Mr Shouichi Inoue) and his nephew (Mr Shouhei Inoue) his attention soon turned to carved lacquer. His brother was a renowned collector of Chinese and Japanese ceramics who had established a museum of his own and this was almost certainly the inspiration for Mr Hasegawa to prepare for his own museum by setting up the foundation in 1951.

The majority of the lacquer pieces in his collection were acquired between 1948 and 1950. Two very important figures in the formation of the collection were Mr Takushin Kushi, a scholar of Asian art and Mr Hirota Fukkosai (1897-1973), the founder of Kochukyo. Mr Fukkosai was one of the preeminent figures in the world of Chinese art of his time and his influence can clearly be seen in the collection in the wonderful and extensive selection of important examples of carved lacquers in the museum.

The main focus of the Museum's collection, therefore, lies in both Japanese sword fittings (which include some very important examples) and important carved lacquerware. Although the initial basis of the collection were the sword fittings, the lacquer also stands out as a world class collection in terms of the rarity and quality of the pieces that the collection encompasses. It is perhaps only because of the geographical remoteness of the museum that the pieces have not been more widely known to the outside world. A number of these, including most of the lots from the Kaisendo Collection offered in the current sale, have been included in important Japanese exhibitions of Chinese lacquer; otherwise the collection have stayed in relative obscurity to the outside world since the Foundation was established in 1951.

The collection houses a total of 124 Chinese and Japanese lacquers, all of which are displayed in the galleries of the museum, making this an impressive collection, even by international standards, and certainly one of the largest of its kind in Japan. 

Literature: Bijutsu Senshu Dai Hachi Kan, Cho Shitsu (Carved Lacquer), 1974, Fuji Art Publications, Japan, no. 42

Exhibited: Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Osaka, Japan, Ming and Qing Ceramics and Works of Art, 1980, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 53, no. 2:31

Notes: The present dish belongs to an extremely rare group of dated Wanli period dishes predominantly decorated in brownish yellow lacquer. All known examples from this group display the very highest standards of workmanship of the period and for centuries have been held in extremely high regard among collectors of lacquer. Most extant examples of this group are either in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, or the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Three yellow lacquer pieces in the National Palace Museum Taipei were included in theSpecial Exhibition of Lacquer Wares in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, nos. 31-33. These include a rectangular tray with a pair of confronted dragons, a circular dish with a dragon and phoenix, and a round dragon dish bearing the same yiwei cyclical date, very similar in composition to the present example but with the dragon shown descending rather than ascending. A dish identical to the National Palace Museum example, in the Sir Harry and Lady Garner Collection, was included in the 1957 Oriental Ceramics Society Exhibition, Arts of the Ming Dynasty, and in the 1973 British Museum exhibition of Chinese and Associated Lacquer from the Garner Collection, London, illustrated in the Catalogue, pl. 32a, no. 73. A single red-ground yellow lacquer dish in the Beijing Palace Museum with the same yiwei cyclical date depicting a dragon and phoenix contesting a 'flaming pearl' is illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 211, no. 168. Yellow lacquer is also very highly prized in Japan and two examples of the same design as the present dish remain in private collections there. The first was in the Nabeshima Collection which was included in an exhibition of tea ceremony pieces at the 1989 Chado Shiyokan Museum, Kyoto, Cha no Yu no Shikki - Karamono. A second example was sold at the Osaka Bijutsu club in March 2010 for a world record price for Jiajing carved lacquer.

Lot 160. An important three-coloured cinnabar lacquer 'dragon' box and cover, mark and period of Wanli, dated to the renchen year (in accordance with 1592). Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 4,840,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

of rectangular form with slightly bombé sides and cusped corners, all supported on a rectangular foot, deftly carved in varied levels of relief through the rich cinnabar lacquer and two fine black and yellow layers to the green ground below with a green and a red five-clawed dragon in mutual pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', their sinuous scaly bodies writhing in midair among ruyi-shaped clouds above jagged rocks battered by crested waves, all reserved on a ground of red floral diapers and green undulating waves, the sides decorated with composite floral scrolls of chrysanthemum, peony and camellia with leaves highlighted in green and ochre yellow, enclosed within recessed cartouches against a ground of densely foliate lotus scrolls, the box similarly decorated with floral cartouches recessed on a lotus scroll-ground, the foot incised with key-fret, the interior and base lacquered in black, the latter dated with an incised six-character reign mark in gilt; 32.5 cm, 12 3/4  in.

Notes: This box is remarkable not only for its extremely fine carving, but in addition for its unusual colouration. The thick lacquer coating is composed of consecutive layers of green, red, orange, yellow, green and red lacquer. While the design of the box has been carved to reveal the usual colours of red and green, with yellow employed for details such as leaves and clouds, the outstandingly rare orange lacquer has been exposed, paired with yellow, only in form of a lobed line to depict the water’s choppy surface at the horizon, thus separating water from air.

Boxes of this type with indented corners were popular in the Wanli reign and were produced both in porcelain and lacquer until the end of the Ming dynasty. Although closely related boxes are known, the present piece is outstandingly fine in quality and notable for the dragons which have retained all five claws on their feet rather than having one claw removed, as is often the case on comparable pieces; for example see three boxes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Carved Lacquer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pls. 228 and 229, both bearing the same eight-character inscription inside the foot as the present piece, da Ming Wanli renchen nian zhi (corresponding to 1592), and pl. 248, similarly inscribed but dated to the yiweiyear (corresponding to 1595). A similar box without a reign mark was included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer. The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 37, where it is noted that these boxes were used principally as presentation boxes to house important documents or gifts. 

Compare also polychrome carved boxes of this form, but decorated with a single frontal dragon within a lobed panel, also dated to the yiwei year of the reign of Wanli, including one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Ancient Chinese Lacquer, Beijing, 1987, pl. 65; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1563. See also a cinnabar lacquer box depicting a phoenix and a dragon in a similar composition as on the present piece, also dated to therenchen year of the Wanli reign, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published ibid, pl. 238; and another included in Fritz Low-Beer, ‘Chinese Lacquer of the Middle and Late Ming Period’, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. Stockholm Bulletin, no. 24, 1952, p. 34, pl. 24, figs. 89-90, sold at Christie’s London, 9th June 1975, lot 121.

An very rare and important carved polychrome lacquer box and cover, Wanli incised and gilt yiwei cyclical date corresponding to 1595, and of the period. Price Realised  HKD 4,807,500 (USD 618,740) at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th May 2008, lot 1563. Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2008.

Picasso-Giacometti au Musée Picasso : Affiche.

PARIS - Du 4 octobre 2016 au 5 février 2017, le Musée Picasso présente la toute première exposition consacrée à luvre de deux des plus grands artistes du XXe siècle : Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) et Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966).

Grâce à un prêt exceptionnel de la Fondation Giacometti, cette exposition inédite, qui occupera le rez-de-chaussée et le premier étage de lhôtel Salé, réunit plus de 200 uvres des deux maîtres provenant des riches collections du Musée Picasso et de la Fondation Giacometti, ainsi que des prêts de collections françaises et étrangères. 

Un important travail de recherche, mené en commun dans les fonds d'archives du Musée Picasso et de la Fondation Giacometti, a permis de révéler des documents inédits, esquisses, carnets et annotations significatives. Ceux-ci éclairent les relations méconnues entre les deux artistes - relations à la fois amicales et formelles - et l'intérêt mutuel qu'ils se sont portéà des moments clefs de leurs carrières, en dépit de vingt ans de différence d'âge. 

Dotés de tempéraments différents, mais caractérisés tous deux par une grande liberté d'esprit et d'invention, Picasso et Giacometti partagent une fascination pour le lien entre Éros et Thanatos, comme pour le déplacement des limites de la représentation. De leur rencontre au début des années 1930 à leurs dialogues nourris dans l'après-guerre autour des querelles du retour au réalisme, les deux artistes n'ont cessé d'échanger sur leur création. Comme l'exposition le révèle, de nombreuses similitudes formelles et thématiques rapprochent leurs oeuvres de la période surréaliste. À partir de la fin des années 1930, tous deux vont transformer leur pratique et partager des questionnements sur l'art et sa relation au réel, auxquels le peintre-sculpteur et le sculpteur-peintre répondent par des solutions formelles différentes.

Organisée en 8 sections, l'exposition propose un parcours à la fois chronologique et thématique présentant les différents aspects de leur production artistique dans tous les médiums : peinture, sculpture, dessin. Après avoir évoqué le cheminement des deux artistes de leurs oeuvres de jeunesse jusqu'aux créations modernistes, elle montre les correspondances entre leurs oeuvres, de l'influence des arts extra-occidentaux ou de celle du mouvement surréaliste au renouveau du réalisme dans la période d'après-guerre.

À côté d'oeuvres emblématiques de chacun des artistes comme Paul en Arlequin (1924), Femme assise au fauteuil rouge (1932) et La Chèvre (1950) de Picasso ou Femme qui marche (1932), Cube (1933-1934) et Homme qui marche (1960) de Giacometti, sont présentés des plâtres rares et fragiles, des dessins dont certains inédits, et de nombreuses archives dévoilées pour la première fois.

Un catalogue richement illustré publié par le musée Picasso et les éditions Flammarion accompagne l'exposition. Il rassemble des essais inédits d'historiens de l'art, dont les commissaires de l'exposition, ainsi quune anthologie de textes historiques consacrés aux deux artistes.

Pablo Picasso, Portrait de Dora Maar, Paris, 1937, Huile sur toile, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016

Pablo Picasso, Paul en Arlequin, Paris, 1924, Huile sur toile, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016

Pablo Picasso, Femme lançant une pierre, Paris, 8 mars 1931, Musée national Picasso-Paris © Succession Picasso 2016

Pablo Picasso, Trois figures sous un arbre, Paris, hiver 1907-1908, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016 

Pablo Picasso, Mandoline et clarinette, Paris, Automne 1913. © Succession Picasso 2016 

Pablo Picasso, Grand nu au fauteuil rouge, Paris, 5 mai 1929, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016

Pablo Picasso, La chèvre, Vallauris, 1950, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016

Pablo Picasso, Autoportrait, Paris, fin 1901, Huile sur toile, Musée national Picasso-Paris. © Succession Picasso 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Autoportrait, 1921, Huile sur toile, Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung, Zurich. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris, 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Grande femme assise, 1958, Bronze, Fondation Giacometti, Paris. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris, 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Homme qui marche II, Paris, 1960, Plâtre, Fondation Giacometti, Paris. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris, 2016

Giacometti, Boule suspendue, 1930-1931, Fondation Giacometti, Paris © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Femme cuillère, 1927, Fondation Giacometti, Paris. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Composition dite cubiste II, vers 1927, Fondation Giacometti, Paris. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Femme égorgée, 1933, Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris 2016

Alberto Giacometti, Le Chien, 1951, Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung, Zurich. © Succession Giacometti (Fondation Giacometti + ADAGP) Paris 2016

Lot 3716. A fine and rare blue and white 'arrow' vase, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1619). Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD. Lot sold 8,240,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

modelled after a Xuande prototype, potted with a baluster body resting on a slightly splayed foot and surmounted by a gently waisted neck and lipped mouthrim, the neck flanked by a pair of tubular lug handles, the body painted in rich cobalt-blue tones with a continuous foliate scroll, between bands of plantain leaves encircling the base of the neck and the lower body of the vessel, the centre of the neck and handles bordered with a key-fret band, between two friezes of crashing waves, the countersunk base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 18.7 cm, 7 3/8  in.

Provenance: Collection of Alan Abramson, Detroit, purchased in 1960s, by repute.

Notes: It is very rare to find a Wanli mark and period vase of this form and decoration, and no other closely related example appears to have been published. The Wanli Emperor is known to have been passionately fond of porcelain wares made in the Xuande (1426-35) and Chenghua (1465-87) reigns; hence a number of copies of these wares, but inscribed with the Wanli Emperor’s reign mark, was produced at the porcelain kilns in Jingdezhen. This vase belongs to this group and closely follows Xuande prototypes; see a Xuande mark and period vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Gugong bowuyuan cang. Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 1, pl. 82; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of Hsuan-Te Wares, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1980, cat. no. 8; and a third illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu/Catalogue of World’s Ceramics, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1955, pl. 70.

Lot 3720. A pair of blue and white 'dragon and phoenix' dishes, Marks and period of Wanli (1573-1619). 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 3721. A blue and white 'wudu and dragon' bowl, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1619). Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 300,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

the interior centred with a medallion enclosing a five-clawed en face dragon coiling around a 'flaming pearl' and surrounded by ruyi-shaped clouds, the exterior with a continous rocky landscape scene depicting two Daoist immortals, one of them possibly Zhang Daoling, the figures interrupted with a tiger and a qilin, interspersed with four of the the wudu ('five poisons'), the footrim with a 'classic' scroll, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle; 16.6 cm, 6 1/2  in.

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

Dish with decoration of the three dragons in underglaze blue, China, Ming Dynasty, Longqing period (1567-72). Diameter: 14.5 cm. NM-1946-0067. The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities © 2016 Östasiatiska Museet

Blue and white bowl with inscription, Ming dynasty, Longqing mark and period, AD 1567–1572. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 622 © Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain bowl with straight sides slightly flared at the rim. There is a roundel with a woman and child on a terrace in underglaze blue in the centre of the interior. There is an inscription on the exterior.

Note: Longqing (AD1567–72) ceramics are particularly rare as the emperor only reigned for six years. Stylistically they relate closely to Jiajing and Wanli imperial wares. The inscription on this bowl is a poem and has been translated: ‘The cuckoo sings through the night unceasingly. Take heed lest the silk worms have not leaves enough. The waning moon sinks through the willows before the house. The pretty girls continue to dance and sing, and have not returned’.

Lobed box with dragon, Ming dynasty, Longqing mark and period, AD1567–72. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A656 © Trustees of the British Museum.

Small covered porcelain box. Seven rounded lobes with star-shaped top and foot. Underglaze blue with dual fruit and flower sprays. Narrow band of classic scrolls above and below central junction. Frontal five-clawed dragon amid clouds on top. There is an inscription on the base.

Note: Government kilns had access to the finest raw materials including imported cobalt. Imported cobalt is far superior to the blue pigment found locally to Jingdezhen in, for example, Leping 樂平 and Ruizhou 瑞州. After grinding for a long time, it appeared almost deep purple when fired beneath a transparent blue-tinged glaze. The form of this box is very unusual. Longqing (AD1567–72) ceramics are particularly rare as the emperor only reigned for six years. Stylistically they relate closely to Jiajing and Wanli imperial wares.

Square porcelain dish with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Longqing mark and of the period, 1567-1572. Length: 12 cm. Width: 12 cm. Height: 3.2 cm. Bequeathed by Henry J Oppenheim, 1947,0712.219. © Trustees of the British Museum.

This square dish has flared sides which are indented at the corners and sits on a square foot, similarly modelled. It is decorated in vivid cobalt blue beneath the glaze. Inside in a double square panel, two ladies, one holding an open letter, are standing on a broad path beneath a blossoming tree. They are slim and elegant, dressed in long robes, with their hair piled high up on top of their heads. Individual floral sprays are painted on each of the walls. Outside each side shows a bird perching in a fruiting peach tree. The base carries a four-character Longqing reign mark in a double square which reads 'Longqing nian zao' [Made in the Longqing reign period].

Lot 3003. A fine and rare blue and white and iron-red 'dragon' bowl, Mark and period of Longqing (1567-1572). Estimate 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 6,040,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

the deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to an everted rim, boldly painted in iron red with four pairs of confronting writhing five-clawed dragons dancing among flames above a turbulent sea, the interior similarly decorated with an iron-red dragon writhing above crested waves within a double-blue line border repeated at the rim, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character mark within double circles; 8 cm., 3 1/8  in. 

NOTE: Porcelains made at the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen bearing a Longqing reign mark are rare, possibly due to the brief six-year rule of the Longing Emperor. However, according to Jessica Harrison-Hall, in Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 268, ‘historical records show that vast orders were still placed in the Longqing reign and they actually indicate a further increase in official demands’. Therefore, vessels such as the present piece bearing a Longqing reign mark are particularly valuable for dating. A closely related bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated inEnamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, vol. III, Hong Kong, 1966, pl. 1, together with a cup decorated with dragons in iron red between underglaze-blue line borders, pl. 2.

This bowl continues in a long tradition of overglaze red decorated wares. Dragon motifs in iron red first appeared in the Hongwu reign and enjoyed a resurgence of popularity from the Zhengde to the Wanli periods and throughout the Qing dynasty. For the Hongwu prototype of this form of decoration see a dish painted with dragons and clouds, excavated at the site of the Ming palace in Nanjing, included in the exhibition Chinese Porcelain in Underglaze Blue from the Nanjing Museum Collection, Sagawa Art Museum, Moriyama, 2003, cat. no. 10.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 avr. 2013 

 Lot 3723. A blue and white lobed 'figures and lança characters' bowl, Ming dynasty, 15th century, Interregnum period (1436-1464). Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 250,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

with steep rounded sides divided into eight bracket foliations supported on short tapered foot, vividly painted in deep 'heaping and piling' cobalt tones, the interior with a scholar seated on a rocky promontory encircled by tumultuous waves, below four lança characters around the cavetto and a frieze of lança characters at the rim, the exterior with a similar scene of a seated scholar and attendant on a rocky outcrop, between a border of crested waves interspersed with cartouches of auspicious emblems and a key-fret band; 25.6 cm, 10 in.

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

NUUN Jewels - Boucles d’oreilles Johara taille briolette en or noir et diamants (3,8 carats).

NUUN Jewels - Pendentif Johara taille coussin en or noir et diamants (1.72 carat), proposé avec une chaîne collier en or jaune.

NUUN Jewels - Bague Johara taille coussin en or noir et diamants (1,85 carat).

Incense burner in shape of a typical ding-ware object porcelain, Ming dynasty, Zhentong-Jingtai period (1436-1457). Decorated in underglaze blue with a continuous lotus scroll, flowers and leaves. Diam.: 10 cm; H.: 13 cm. Holger Lauritzen collection. OM-1964-130. The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities© 2016 Östasiatiska Museet

Porcelain water sprinkler with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Zhentong-Jingtai period (1436-1457). Height: 17.5 cm. Bequeathed by Henry J Oppenheim (1947,0712.165). © Trustees of the British Museum.

Porcelain water sprinkler with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Zhentong-Jingtai period (1436-1457). Height: 15 cm. Bequeathed by Henry J Oppenheim (1436-1456). © Trustees of the British Museum.

this 'min yao' water sprinkler has a long narrow tapering neck, a squat body and an inward-tapering foot. It is painted in underglaze blue with three lotus flowers on a continuous scroll around the body and above with three scrolling motifs below a band of three inverted plantain leaves. The base is unglazed.

The treatment of the lotus scroll here is very similar to a design on the exterior of a small dish excavated in Jiangxi province at Jingdezhen in a Jingtai period (1450-6) tomb.

Horse carrying books, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century. Jade (nephrite). H. 4 9/16 in. (11.6 cm); W. 4 1/8 in. (10.4 cm); D. 2 1/16 in. (5.3 cm). Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902 (02.18.739).© 2000–2016 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.