Lot 21. A rare small famille rose 'butterflies' saucer-dish, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate HK$ 800,000 - 1,200,000 (€96,000 - 140,000). © Bonhams 2001-2016

With steep flaring sides rising from a tapered foot, exquisitely enamelled to the interior with four butterflies with widespread wings, decorated in rich and various brilliant tones of famille rose, surrounded by dense vine scrolls framed within a medallion, the exterior and base left plain with a six-character kaishu mark, box. 9cm (3 1/2in) diam. (2).

Provenance: A French private Collection, by repute
Artus Enchères, Paris, 20 April 2011, lot 198.

Notes: The present saucer-dish is a refined and more complex 'butterflies and floral blossom' design following directly from the Kangxi period. See a Beijing enamel barbed-rim dish, Kangxi, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 5. Painted Enamels in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pl.29. 

A very similar design can be seen on a falangcai-enamelled teapot and cover, Yongzheng blue enamel four-character mark and of the period, which was originally in the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Dian), and is now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Porcelain with painted enamels of Qing Yongzheng period (1723-1735), Taipei, 2013, pp.246-247 and 330, no.85.

The Yongzheng emperor made the 'Hall of Mental Cultivation' (Yangxin Dian), his primary residence in the Forbidden City, instead of the 'Palace of Heavenly Purity' Qianqinggong, which was used by previous emperors. Given the similarity of design, it is very possible that the present saucer-dish was also originally placed in the 'Hall of Mental Cultivation'. The design combining a pair of adult butterflies and a pair of young encircling a peony blossom, represents conjugal fidelity and the wish for descendants, and therefore would have been particularly suitable for the emperor's residence.

See also a related Beijing enamel lobed dish, Yongzheng mark and of the period, decorated with a pair of butterflies amongst peony and chrysanthemum, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by Chen Hsia-Sheng, Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl.99.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-11-29, 14:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 22. A rare underglaze-blue and copper-red 'dragon' baluster bottle vase, Yongzheng-Qianlong period (1723-1795). Estimate HK$ 250,000 - 400,000 (€30,000 - 48,000). © Bonhams 2001-2016

Vividly painted in a powerful tone of copper-red with a five-clawed scaly dragon writhing sinuously and ferociously in pursuit of the flaming pearl of wisdom amidst fire scrolls and turbulent crashing waves in underglaze-blue. 35.2cm (13 7/8in) high.

Provenance: A European private collection
Sotheby's London, 15 December 1970, lot 105
An English private collection, and thence by descent.

Notes: The present vase displays precise control of the underglaze copper-red during the firing resulting in a highly successful example, superbly contrasted against the underglaze-blue.

The design is inspired by early Ming dynasty blue and white tianqiuping painted with a single three-clawed dragon amidst fire and cloud scrolls; for a Xuande mark and period example, see Bai Wenyuan, ed., Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, 2012, no.209. The early Ming dynasty example was emulated during the Yongzheng reign in copper-red and underglaze-blue, with a similarly painted three-clawed kui dragon; see an example, Yongzheng seal mark and of the period, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Shanghai, 2010, pl.197. The Yongzheng design was in turn further transformed during the Qianlong reign, with a more ferocious dragon amidst ruyi shaped clouds above crashing waves, as can be seen in a Qianlong seal mark and of the period example, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in ibid., pl.210. The present vase combines in a smaller tianqiuping form the earlier style, painted with an overall design of crashing waves, with the Qianlong style dragon.

Compare a related copper-red and underglaze-blue 'nine-dragon' vase, meiping, Yongzheng/Qianlong, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong on 11 April 2008, lot 2923. 

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 2016-11-29, 14:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 24. A rare pair of Imperial yellow and green-enamelled 'boys at play' bowls, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period (1723-1735). Estimate HK$ 700,000 - 1,000,000 (€84,000 - 120,000). © Bonhams 2001-2016

Set with an oval diamond weighing 8.01 carats, flanked by two half-moon-shaped diamonds, mounted in platinum. Ring size: 6

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 1162665920, dated 15 October 2014, stating that the 8.01 carat diamond is G Colour, VVS1 Clarity.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM 

Lot 1724. 4.36 carats D Colour, Internally Flawless Emerald-cut Diamond Ring, Harry Winston. Estimate 1,600,000 — 1,900,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with an emerald-cut diamond weighing 4.36 carats, flanked on each side by a tapered baguette diamond, mounted in platinum, signed Winston. Ring size: 6¾

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 5171767164, dated 28 July 2016, stating that the 4.36 carat diamond is D Colour, Internally Flawless.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM 

Lot 3108. A Yue celadon carved and moulded ‘peony’ circular box and cover, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 800,000 (USD 64,780 - USD 103,648). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The shallow domed cover is moulded in relief with a scrolling peony spray, the veining of the petals incised. The box is supported on a splayed foot. Both the box and the cover are applied overall with an olive-green glaze. 5 3/4 in. (14.7 cm.) diam., box

Note: The box may have been used as a cosmetic box. The soft and greyishgreen glaze is comparable to that seen on the finest Yue wares of the 10th century known as mise or ‘secret colour’. Compare to a box with a countersunk base and carved with a very similar decoration, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji: Yueyao, vol. 4, Shanghai, 1981, pl. 183; another with a foot ring and slightly varying decoration illustrated ibid., pl. 200; and a third example also with a foot ring but carved with three peony blossoms in the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, Tokyo; New York; San Francisco, 1981, no. 9.

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 1777. 5.33 carats Emerald and Diamond Ring, Boucheron, Paris. Estimate 1,500,000 — 1,900,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a step-cut emerald weighing 5.33 carats, flanked by two baguette diamonds, mounted in platinum, signed Boucheron Paris with French assay mark. Ring size: 8

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM

Lot 645. A Fine 7.92 carats Colombian Emerald and Diamond Ring. Estimate HK$ 1,560,000 - 1,800,000 (€190,000 - 220,000). Photo: Bonhams.

he step-cut emerald, weighing 7.92 carats, to a single-cut diamond set basket, the hoop partially set with old brilliant-cut diamonds, ring size 5

Accompanied by a SSEF report stating that the natural emerald has minor indications of clarity enhancement and originates from Colombia. Report number 80451, dated 1 June 2015. 

Bonhams. RARE JEWELS & JADEITE, 30 Nov 2016, 15:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Lot 638. A 7.16 carats Colombian Emerald and Diamond Ring, by Van Cleef and Arpels. Estimate HK$ 800,000 - 1,200,000 (€97,000 - 150,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 3109. A Ding carved lotus bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Estimate HKD 160,000 - HKD 260,000 (USD 20,730 - USD 33,686). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The bowl is carved around the exterior with two rows of overlapping lotus petals. The domed cover with a broad rim is similarly carved with lotus petals and surmounted by a stalk-form finial. Both the cover and bowl are applied to the exterior with a transparent glaze of ivory tone. 3 1/2 in. (9 cm.) overall height, box

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3110. A small Ding moulded 'Twin-Fish' dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HKD 260,000 - HKD 350,000 (USD 33,686 - USD 45,346). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The interior is finely and crisply moulded with a pair of fish swimming amidst waves, all below a band of overlapping petals. It is covered inside and out with a translucent glaze pooling in areas to a deep ivory tone. The mouth is bound with a metal band. 5 3/4 in. (14.5 cm.) diam., box

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3111. A rare small Ding moulded ‘Mandarin Ducks’ dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 400,000 (USD 38,868 - USD 51,824). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

The shallow dish is delicately moulded on the interior with a pair of mandarin ducks, one standing on an embankment and the other is swimming amidst lotus and other aquatic plants. The cavetto is decorated with a band of dense foliate scroll below an everted rim. The dish is covered in an even glaze of ivory tone. The rim is bound with a metal band. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm.) diam., box

Notes: Compare with five closely related examples. The first previously in the collection of Edward T. Chow, illustrated in The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities Bulletin: Sung Ceramic Designs, no. 42, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 97b; the second from the Art Institute of Chicago, Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection, 1925. 1009; the third, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World’s Great Collections, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 17; the fourth, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, illustrated in Orientations, June 2000, p. 78, fig. 9; the last example of similar size was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November, 2014, lot 3224.

Dish with Mandarin Ducks in a Lotus Pond, Jin dynasty (1115–1234), 12th century. Ding ware; porcelain with underglaze molded decoration; metal rim. H. 1.8 cm (11/16 in.); diam. 14.2 cm (5 9/16 in.). Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection, 1925.1009 © 2016 The Art Institute of Chicago.

Dish (Pan) with a Pair of Mandarin Ducks, China, Hebei Province, Quyang County, Jin dynasty, 1127-1234. Ding ware, molded stoneware with impressed decoration, transparent glaze, and banded metal rim. Height: 1/2 in. (1.27 cm); Diameter: 5 1/2 in. (13.97 cm). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan V. Hammer (54.37.4), Los Angeles County Museum of Art © Museum Associates 2016.

 Lot 3224. A rare small moulded 'mandarin ducks'Ding dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000 (USD 64,752 - USD 90,653). Price Realised HKD 1,000,000 (USD 129,556). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2014.

The shallow dish is delicately moulded on the interior with a pair of mandarin ducks, one standing on an embankment and the other is swimming amidst lotus and other aquatic plants. The cavetto is designed with a band of dense foliate scroll below a broad mouth rim. All covered in an even glaze of ivory tone pooling to pale olive in the recesses. 5 5/8 in. (14.2 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box.

Property from the Yiqingge Collection

Literature: Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. one, Mayuyama & Co., Tokyo, 1976, no. 389 

Notes: Compare with four closely related examples. The first previously in the collection of Edward T. Chow, illustrated in Sung Ceramic Designs, no. 42, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 97b; the second from the Art Institute of Chicago; the third, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 17. The last example is from the collection in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, illustrated in Orientations, June 2000, p. 78, fig. 9. 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3112. A white-glazed moulded ‘boys’ bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000 (USD 15,547 - USD 23,321). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2014.

The bowl has shallow rounded sides and is covered overall with a creamy-white glaze. The centre is moulded with peonies below the cavetto which is crisply moulded with a broad band of floral sprays interspersed with boys at play and a band of clouds to the mouth rim. 7 1/4 in. (18.3 cm.) diam., box.

Notes: The moulded design on the current bowl is particularly crisp and elegant. Compare to a related bowl of slightly deeper form and moulded with similar motifs in the same level of refinement, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, p. 451, pl. 1451, where it is dated to the Jin dynasty and described as possibly from the Jiexiu kilns, Shanxi province. For further discussion on the Jiexiu kilns, see the exhibition catalogue Sanjin yaohuo: Zhongguo gudai Shanxi taoci tezhan, Beijing, 2013. 

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 1756. Jadeite Bead and Diamond Necklace. Estimate 350,000 — 550,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Composed of fifty-five graduated translucent jadeite beads of medium green colour suffused with bright emerald green streaks, completed by a diamond-set clasp, mounted in 18 karat white gold, length approximately 570mm. Jadeite beads approximately 11.36 to 9.25mm..

Accompanied by Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory certificate numbered KJ 93966(1-3), dated 11 October 2016, stating that the jadeites tested are natural, known in the trade as "A Jade"..

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite, Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM

Bamboo brush-holder depicting a letter-reading scene from the Romance of the West Chamber. With signature of Ju Sansong. Mid-17th century. h. 13.5 cm, diam. of mouth 8.5 cm, diam. of foot 8.7 cm © National Palace Museum

Zhu Zhizheng, born around 1559 (year died unknown), active from 1573 to 1619, was Zhu Ying's third son. Among the many works which have come down to today carrying his sobriquet signature of "Sansong" (Third Pine), this holder is the most famous one. The high-relief scene shows a lady, her hair in tall topknots, her back to a screen, poring over a letter diffidently. A lush wutong (phoenix tree) is lightly engraved on the screen and a bird stands on a bough. The carver's name "San Song" in Kai (regular) script is inscribed at the right lower corner of the screen, appearing to serve the double functions of being the signature for the painting on the screen, as well as for the brush-holder itself. The lady in love is Ms. Cui Yingying from the Romance of the West Chamber. Peeking out at her from behind the screen, yet the whole person almost fully in view, is her naughty maid Hongniang. The latter seems to be hushing herself down with her index finger at the mouth. Farther back to the left of the screen is a wood table in relief, on which are arranged a crazed vase of lotus flowers, a potted miniature landscape with Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum), a qin (string instrument) in its protective wraps, and other sundry implements typical in a scholar's study: an incense burner, a brush, an ink stone, a water dish, and so on. All together, the foreground, the background, and the placement of various elements form a coherently streamlined composition around the tubular surface.

The overall layout of the image resembles that of one particular woodcut print by Chen Hongshou, active from late-Ming to early-Qing (1598-1652), for an illustrated editioni of the same famed love story. The two images are different in that in Chen's print, the screen is of four panels, and the room has no other furniture and displays, part of which however appear in the background of another illustration titled "Melancholy of Love" in a very similar manner. The illustrated edition was prefaced by Ma Chuanqi (1639), suggesting a close connection between this particular woodblock print of Chen's and the present brush-holder.

Text and images are provided by National Palace Museum

Bamboo brush-holder depicting a scene of horse herding, by Wu Zhi-fan, Late 17th to early 18th century. h. 15.5 cm, diam. of mouth 7.4 cm. © National Palace Museum 

The three-footed brush-holder is made of a stem section, with one joint kept for the base which curves a little inward. The surface is slightly scraped off using the jiandi technique (thinning the ground) along the top and bottom rims so both look somewhat flared. In low relief is carved a horse lying on the back rolling and kicking. A stableman wearing a puto (bandanna-like headgear), both hands grasping the reins, is trying to subdue the angry horse: its mane all flaring, the front legs bending along with upper body twisting toward the left, and the rear hooves thrusting up high into the air. The artist captures a split-second moment of the taming attempt. The images of the pair are both raised above the surface only slightly. The fine lines of the engraved mane, tail, and hairs around the hooves, go gradually flush with the ground. All this speaks vividly of the carver's superb mastery of the buodi (thin ground) technique. Further, against the slightly raised figures, in negative engraving are the features, the folds, the muscles and texture. The folds of sleeves are represented as in portrait painting: dintou shuwei, literally translated, "nail head and mouse tail", a style of line drawing which starts deep and hard, then finishes off lightly. The man's facial muscles are done in low relief; even the eyelids are there. So are the body muscles of the rolling horse. Each of the four hooves is carved with varying degrees of depths against the surface, achieving an impressive three-dimension effect. The exposed horse teeth are carved one by one, with every single detail carefully tended. Some semi-translucent pigment of dark brown dots the horse eyes, fully serving the purpose of the final touch, "Marking the Pupils", so to animate the figures or the animals being depicted. The man and the horse form the only images on the brush-holder; all other space is left bare without decoration. The one exception is that behind the stableman, engraved are four characters in elegant yet forceful Xing (running) script "by Wu Zhifan". Here the carving knife goes either harder or lighter traversing through each character, as if it had been a calligraphic brush's movements. The exact precision in execution shows that the maker of the piece must have been a fine practicing calligrapher himself.

Wu Zhifan (byname: Luzheng; self-epithet: an East Sea Taoist) was born around early-Qin, died in either the late Kangxi reign or the first few years of Yongzheng reign and was active mainly during the mid to late-Kangxi. A resident of Nanxiang Township Jiading County, Jiangsu Province, later he moved north to Tianjin, Hebei Province and enjoyed the hospitality of an official there, surnamed Ma. Wu never returned south to his hometown and little was known about his final years. He was a fine painter and calligrapher, specialized in the genres of flower-and-bird and portrait painting; his calligraphy in Cao (cursive) script was very charming yet strong. He inherited the "Three Zhu's of Jiading" heritage shared by many bamboo carving artists in the region, that more than mere artisanship, a decent carver ought to be well-versed in painting and calligraphy. And he was one of the best in this tradition. A pity that he didn't get to achieve any fame and success back at home during his lifetime. Lack of any renowned literary figures among his acquaintances did not help either. As a result his life and doings have remained obscure as a whole.

Wu's carving was in Jiading's style, combining high relief, in the round, and openwork. This sophistication had been the hallmark of Jiading bamboo carving. He was expert in all these techniques and capable of another signature line of Jiading bamboo ware: the tube-shaped container made of a bamboo stem between joints. Composition on such an elaborately designed yet convex surface posed a major challenge for the carver. How to seamlessly flow from one element to the next, beginning to the end, had been the number one issue that had to be dealt with ever since the Three Zhu's time. Wu had to, too. Using the cliff wall surfaces in the image to connect it all was his usual solution.

His much-admired buodi yangwen, also known as buodi yangke, namely low relief, required a very thin layer of the outer skin to be scrapped off the bamboo stem, thus leaving the image very slightly raised above the ground. The similar jiandi technique of thinning the ground around the image had been used way back in the Han dynasty's portrait-carving on stone, such as the ones at a family temple in Jiaxiang County, Shantong Province. Wu took full of advantage of the firmness of bamboo texture to apply his buodi yangwen technique. The low relief design thus formed also leaves out much "white space" undecorated for the viewer to indulge his own imagination. The present brush-holder fully characterizes Wu's famous style.

Low relief in essence, buodi yangwen carves its raised images almost level with the skinned surface around. The fine grain and firm fiber of bamboo make this unique treating possible, which otherwise would have easily broken.

Lot 1726. Pair of Diamond Pendent Ear Clips, Harry Winston. Estimate 640,000 — 800,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Of cluster design, set with oval, pear- and marquise-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 22.00 carats in total, mounted in platinum, signed Winston, earring tops detachable.

Sotheby's. Important Jewels and Jadeite, Hong Kong, 28 Nov 2016, 01:00 PM

Lot 3120. A rare marbled-glazed dish, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234). Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000 (USD 12,955 - USD 19,433). Photo Christie's Images Ltd 2014.

The dish is finely potted with a flat base rising to shallow flaring sides terminating in an everted lipped rim, covered overall. It is covered overall with a cream and brick marble glaze. 6 9/16 in. (16.8 cm.) diam., box.

Christie's. Chinese Ceramics From The Yangdetang Collection, 30 November 2016, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 120. A 21.33 carats VVS2 clarity Fancy Pink-Brown diamond ring. Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 (€700,000 - 930,000). Photo: Bonhams.