Lot 1708. Sapphire and diamond bracelet. Estimate: € 20000-25000. Photo Hampel

Length: 19 cm. Width: approx 3 cm. eight: approx 85.7 g. 18-ct white gold. 

Smooth geometric bracelet with diagonal stripe decoration with fine rectangular step cut sapphires , total ling approximately 68.8 ct, and brilliant-cut diamonds, total ling approximately 10.3 ct. Snap fastener with two figure-of-eight clasps.

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 109 : An Elsa Schiaparelli couture embroidered midnight-blue velvet evening jacket, Autumn-Winter, 1937-38. Estimate: £10000 - £15000. © Kerry Taylor Auctions

An Elsa Schiaparelli couture embroidered midnight-blue velvet evening jacket, Autumn-Winter, 1937-38. Paris label with date, richly embroidered by Lesage with gilt strip, gilt cord and sequins, blue and pink rhinestones, with three turquoise tinted metal star-burst 'buttons' with brass closure hooks, discreet pocket vents inserted at the hips, small shoulder pads, lined in blue silk, bust 86cm, 34in

Provenance: Stella, Lady Eaton.

See 'Shocking' Schiaparelli by Dilys Blum pp166-7 for a full-page photograph of Lady Clark of Saltwood wearing a similar jacket in burgundy velvet in 1939 at the opening of the Modern Art Museum in New York.

Kerry Taylor Auctions. Monday December 12th at 2pm

Lot 113 : A midnight-blue velvet evening jacket, probably Schiaparelli London, Autumn-Winter, 1938. Estimate: £1500 - £2500. © Kerry Taylor Auctions

A midnight-blue velvet evening jacket, probably Schiaparelli London, Autumn-Winter, 1938. unlabelled, embroidered in gilt strip and wire, with deep pink and clear beads, with gold and blue sequin detailing, fastened by simple concealed hooks and eyes, lined in blue silk crêpe de chine, bust 92cm, 36in

The velvet on this jacket was embroidered to shape but, unlike the Paris version with scalloped front edges, the closure line does not follow the embroidery but is straight. It is fastened by a series of small hooks and eyes - the loops bear the remains of blue silk buttonhole stitched covers (something Schiap often did). The embroidery on this jacket is similar but not identical to the Paris haute couture version, lot 109. On the Paris version the metal strip is horizontal and regular but on this version the strip follows the shape of the leaf forms.

A Schiaparelli London burgundy velvet ensemble in the Victoria & Albert Museum, acc.no T398&A-1974, of identical design has a more free style of embroidery like this one. Schiaparelli London often adapted the Paris models for a perhaps more conservative British clientele. It is possible that the client did not want the eye-catching star shaped medallions down the front, or the bulk of small pockets or shoulder pads that the Paris example has.

Evening ensemble consisting of embroidered silk velvet jacket and skirt, designed by Schiaparelli, Paris, 1938. Victoria & Albert Museum, acc.no T398&A-1974© Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2016.

Kerry Taylor Auctions. Monday December 12th at 2pm

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (about 1830-1832). Woodblock color print, 25,9 x 38,5 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

MILAN.- Men and animals, the humble witnesses of daily existence, legend and history, mundane rituals and work, landscapes of every kind, the sea, the mountains, the forest, the storms, the warm rains of solitary springtime, a lively breeze whipping around street corners, the north wind in the open countryside and the delicate visages of women. All these things, along with the world of dreams and the world of the marvellous, are the favourite subjects of the three artists par excellence of the "Floating World" (the ukiyo-e): Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro. 

And it is the three artists par excellence of the ukiyo-e who are the focus of the exhibition on view through 29 January 2017 at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. The exhibition is a journey — through 200 polychrome woodcuts and illustrated books from the Honolulu Museum of Art's prestigious collection — into the artistic and human world of the three masters, who have influenced schools and artists in Japan as well as in Europe for centuries, and who still do today, who contrast the ethics of the samurai with the enjoyment of each moment, pleasure in all its forms. 

The exhibition is organized by the City of Milan, Palazzo Reale and MondoMostre Skira and curated by Rossella Menegazzo, Professor of Eastern Asian Art History at the University of Milan. The catalogue is published by Skira.  

Visitors to the exhibition will enjoy a dual experience: first, feeling the same wonder viewers feel before the freshness and simplicity of the shapes and colours of artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, which contributed to changing and revolutionizing the pictorial language of Paris of the late nineteenth century; and second, discovering the unusual technical elements, the skill and the eccentricity of each of the three artists. 

Utagawa Hiroshige, 28. Fukuroi. Famous Kites of Tôtômi Province, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô (about 1848-1849). Woodblock color print, 24,6 x 37,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art. 

Through the 5 sections into which it is organized (Landscapes and famous places: Hokusai and Hiroshige; literary tradition and famous views: Hokusai; Rivals by "nature": Hokusai and Hiroshige; Utamaro: beauty and sensuality; Manga: Hokusai teaches) the exhibition shines light on the market of the time period, which demanded treating specific subjects, places and faces well-known to the audience, and the themes and characters that were in vogue. The demand inevitably led to rivalry, even before the rivalry between the artists themselves — rivalries among the publishers who produced the artworks. The best painters, engravers and printers vied to create ever different prints — vertical, horizontal, in the form of fans and as books, to satisfy an increasingly demanding and extensive publishing market. 

The course of the exhibition, therefore, through the woodcuts of the three masters, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) and Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), shows how the same subjects appeared again and again and how publishers were obliged to come up with new devices, such as different sizes and frames. But it also shows how each of the artists distinguished himself with a series on a specific theme, until it became fashionable, and others were forced to attempt the same subject in order to carve out a space in the market for themselves. 

This is clear because Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (about 1830-32) were followed, nearly twenty years later, by Hiroshige's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (1852-58), which include similar views that in some way recall the master Hokusai (for example the "Great Wave" with a similar composition, though less violent and dramatic). 

In the same way, it can be understood why Hiroshige's most popular series, the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, initially published in 1833-34, was repeatedly presented by the same author through different publishers and in different formats or even in collaboration with other artists, and how the subject was also treated by Hokusai in a series of surimono (greeting cards) and woodcuts between 1804 and 1811. 

Kitagawa Utamaro, “Bust Portrait of a Beautiful Woman” (about 1795). Woodblock color print, 36,9 x 24,6 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Perspectives of bridges, waterfalls, districts in Edo, in Kyoto and in the most distant provinces, alongside faces, the elegance of kimonos and the sensuality of the most beautiful women of the time, paint a picture of the society, and guide the viewer, then as now, into the places and locations frequented by the three masters and their contemporaries; they testify that man is always an active and integrated part of nature, even when the subjects harken back to the literary, poetic and theatrical tradition. In technical terms, they show the growing confidence of the ukiyo-e masters with methods of depiction that actually originated in the West and were integrated gradually into the pictures of the Floating World, but moreover, in social and political terms, they mark the creation of a new, more homogenous national cultural identity.  

And of course, it was these images, especially Hiroshige's views of Japan, Hokusai's fifteen volumes of Manga and the faces of Utamaro's beauties, that would become an aesthetic point of reference for all later artists: the Japanese and Western photographers who established themselves in Japan in the second half of the nineteenth century took inspiration from the colours, compositions and subjects of ukiyo-e for the pictures they offered to foreigners, so that such images became affirmed as "the Image of Japan" overseas, which shook up and won over the European world of art, especially in Paris of the late nineteenth century, transforming and revolutionizing the Impressionists' methods of depiction. 

The fascination continues to this day; this floating art has given rise to other visual art forms, from manga to anime, from tattoos to more commercial gadgets, but is also seen in the way the works of Japanese and foreign contemporary artists continue to recall the themes and features of ukiyo-e prints.

Katsushika Hokusai, Mount Fuji in Clear Weather [or Red Fuji], from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (about 1830-1832). Woodblock color print, 25,5 x 36,8 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Honganji Temple at Asakusa in Edo, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (about 1830-1832). Woodblock color print, 24,7 x 36,5 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, The Cushion Pine at Aoyama in Edo, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (about 1830-1832). Woodblock color print, 26,2 x 38,8 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, The Tama River in Musashi Province, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (about 1830-1832). Woodblock color print, 24,4 x 37,5 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Yoshino Waterfall in Yamato Province where Yoshitsune Washed His Horse, from the series A Tour of Japanese Waterfalls (about 1832-1833). Woodblock color print, 37,9 x 25,9 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Amida Waterfall at the end of the Kiso Road, from the series A Tour of Japanese Waterfalls (about 1832-1833). Woodblock color print, 38,7 x 25,9 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Utagawa Hiroshige, The Rôben Waterfall at Ôyama in Sagami Province, from the series Pictures of Famous Places of Kantô (1843). Woodblock color print, 25 x 36,6 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Utagawa Hiroshige, 3. Kawasaki. The Rokugô Ferry, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô (about 1848-1849). Woodblock color print, 25 x 37,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Utagawa Hiroshige, 41. Narumi. Shops Selling the Famous Tie-dyed Fabric, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô (about 1848-1849). Woodblock color print, 24,6 x 37,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Crowds at the Height of Cherry Blossoms at Yatsuyama, from the series Newly Published Perspective Prints (about 1809-1813). Woodblock color print, 25,8 x 38,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Abe no Nakamaro, from the series A True Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poetry (about 1833-1834). Woodblock color print, 52,1 x 22,6 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Education of Beginners through the Spirit of Things. Random Sketches by Hokusai (Denshin kaishu. Hokusai manga). Woodblock color print: black ink, light black ink and light vermilion on paper - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Education of Beginners through the Spirit of Things. Random Sketches by Hokusai (Denshin kaishu. Hokusai manga). Woodblock color print: black ink, light black ink and light vermilion on paper - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, “Japanese Bellflower and Dragonfly”, from the series “Large Flowers” (about 1833-1835). Woodblock color print, 23,9 x 37,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Utagawa Hiroshige, “Dragonfly and Chrysanthemums”, (about 1837-1838). Woodblock color print, 11 x 16,4 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Katsushika Hokusai, Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry, from the series “Small Flowers” (about 1832). Woodblock color print, 25,1 x 18,2 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Utagawa Hiroshige, “Aronia and Bullfinch” (about 1832). Woodblock color print, 36,3 x 17 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Koharu and Jihei, from the series Fashionable Patterns in Utamaro Style (1798-1799). Woodblock color print, 35,5 x 23,8 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Makiginu, from the series Illustration of Courtesans and Eight Views of the Temporary Lodgings (about 1790). Woodblock color print, 31,8 x 22,6 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, “Walking through the Snow at Night” (about 1797-1798). Woodblock color print, 38 x 26 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Yoyogiku and Yoyotsuru of Matsubaya, from the series Complete Illustrations of Yoshiwara Parodies of Kabuki (1798). Woodblock color print, 38,6 x 25,1 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, The Precociuos Girl (Ochappii), from the seris Variegations of Blooms According to their Speech (1802). Woodblock color print, 39,4 x 26 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, “Chinese Beauties at a Banquet” (about 1788-1790). Woodblock color print, 38,2 x 75,8 cm - Honolulu Museum of Art.

Cristóbal Balenciaga Evening Gown, 1954. Photo By Phillippe Pottier

Balenciaga, Evening Gown, 1954

Lot 529. Cabinet, Netherlands, 17th century. Estimate: € 28,000 - 40,000. Photo Hampel

Height:. 166 cm - Width: 112 cm. Depth:. 50 cm 

Oak structure with walnut, rosewood and other fruit and fine woods, Partially stained in green and with pyrography. Gilt-bronze fittings. With key. Restored, damaged and signs of aging. 

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 527. Important wedding cabinet, Antwerp, 17th century. Estimate: € 20000-30000. Photo Hampel 

Height: 185 cm. Width: 143 cm. Depth: 56.5 cm. 

Oak structure with ebonised wood veneer and tortoiseshell with red underlay. Gilt-bronze and bone fittings. With key. Restored, with minimal damage and signs of aging. 

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 166. Aiguière safavide, Iran, 18e siècle à l'imitation des productions de Jingdezhen, Chine. Estimation : 5 000 € / 8 000 €. Photo Millon et Associés.

En céramique à glaçure bleue sombre à décor géométrique lustré à reflets métalliques. La panse en forme de poire repose sur une base circulaire. Le col est en forme de croissant couvert par un bouchon d’argent relié au corps par une chaînette. Le bec verseur est lui aussi recouvert d’une monture d’argent. Tugra, sah et chechne modernes. Présenté dans un coffret moderne en velours rouge. Hauteur totale : 34,5 cm

Lot 165. Bougeoir pour l'Orient, Chine et Iran, 18e siècle. Estimation : 4 000 € / 6 000 €. Photo Millon et Associés.

Lot 157. Tabak, Turquie, Iznik, vers 1580. Estimation : 4 000 € / 6 000 €. Photo Millon et Associés.

En céramique siliceuse à décor floral cobalt turquoise et rouge cerné de manganèse sur fond bien blanc. Le marli aux vagues écumantes. L’envers est orné de quatre bateaux en manganèse, ainsi que de fleurettes. (Trous de suspension, trois fêlures, une restauration au marli, éclat au talon.). Diamètre : 25 cm

Provenance : Collection française 

An Iznik tabak with floral pattern and four boats on the reverse, circa 1580

Art d'Orient & Orientalisme chez Millon et Associés Paris, 75009 Paris, le 28 Novembre 2016 à 14h

Lot 140. Coupe Ilkhanide, Iran, Kashan, 13e siècle. Estimation : 3 200 € / 3 600 €. Photo Millon et Associés.

En céramique lustré à reflets métalliques sur engobe blanc à décor épigraphique et figuratif. Au centre, deux personnages se font face autour d’un arbre de vie, cernés par une frise de vœux en cursive arabe. Sur la paroi interne, cinq médaillons figurant un personnage alternent avec cinq bandeaux décorés de fleurs en réserve, entre deux lignes de vœux persans. Sur la paroi externe, treize registres sont ornés de volutes. (Cassé-collé). Diamètre : 22 cm - Hauteur : 11 cm

Le décor de personnages et d’inscriptions, ainsi que le décor en partie en réserve donnent à cet objet une certaine rareté. 

Provenance : Collection française 

An Ilkhanide pottery bowl, with arabic inscriptions, 13th century.

Art d'Orient & Orientalisme chez Millon et Associés Paris, 75009 Paris, le 28 Novembre 2016 à 14h

Lot 160. Deux aspergeoirs chinois pour l'Orient, Chine, 18e siècle. Estimation : 3 200 € / 3 600 €. Photo Millon et Associés.

En porcelaine de Chine, à décor floral blanc-bleu. Le long col est couvert d’argent à décor au repoussé. Hauteur : 27 et 23 cm 

Two chinese blue and white Poslane, Rose water sprinklers silver mounted for Eastern market, 18th century.

Art d'Orient & Orientalisme chez Millon et Associés Paris, 75009 Paris, le 28 Novembre 2016 à 14h

Roy Lichtenstein, Landscape With Grass, 1996. Estimate: HK$25,000,000 - 35,000,000. Sold for: HK$35,480,000 / US$4,573,372. Image: Phillips.

HONG KONG.- Jonathan Crockett, Head of 20th Century and Contemporary Art & Deputy Chairman for Phillips Asia, said: “The outstanding results of Phillips’ first sale of 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design in Asia demonstrate the ever increasing global demand for works by blue chip international artists, with world records achieved for Nick Knight and Yoshitomo Nara for a work on paper. Participation from six continents reflected the globalised nature of the current market, as we saw confident bidding from across the region including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore and more, confirming the pulse of the rapidly changing buying habits of Asian collectors. We saw fierce competition for works by both younger generation artists as well as established masters, with Adrian Ghenie’s Elvis igniting a 10 minute bidding war. The result is a testimony that Phillips’ innovative approach of offering high quality art from around the world, alongside exceptional works of design, resonates with today’s auction market. Following the strength of this result, we look forward to continuing our growth and expanding our presence in the region.” 

In a packed saleroom, collectors from across the globe competed for works of the highest quality. The sale was led by Roy Lichtenstein’s Landscape with Grass, which sold for HK$35,480,000, exceeding the high estimate. Painted in 1996, the present work is an important example from the ‘Landscapes in the Chinese Style’ series, and was first exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1998. Standing at almost three meters tall, the painting leads the viewer into a monumental and highly stylised landscape. 

Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild 776-1 sold for HK$19,880,000, the highest price achieved for the artist at auction in Hong Kong. The work is an important example from one of Richter’s most celebrated abstract cycles. 

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild 776-1, 1992. Estimate: HK$18,000,000 - 25,000,000. Sold for: HK$19,880,000 / US$2,562,532. Image: Phillips.

Daydreamer by Yoshitomo Nara realised HK$12,080,000, establishing a new world auction record for a work on paper by the artist. An exceptional example of Nara’s iconic style, Daydreamer was the largest work on paper to come to auction in a decade. The sale saw 100% sell through rates for works by Japanese artists, with Yayoi Kusama also igniting strong international bidding.  

Yoshitomo Nara, Daydreamer, 2003. Estimate: HK$5,000,000 - 7,000,000. Sold for: HK$12,080,000. Image: Phillips. 

The response to Nick Knight’s Tatjana Patitz for Jil Sander captivated the saleroom, and resulted in 10 minutes of competitive bidding, eventually selling for HK$2,360,000 and achieving a new world record for the renowned photographer at auction. 

Nick Knight, Tatjana Patitz for Jil Sander, 1992. Estimate: HK$420,000 - 620,000. Sold for: HK$2,360,000. Image: Phillips. 

Select pieces of Decorative Art and Design were well received and the category was led by a superlative example of the ‘Chieftain’ armchair, designed by the famous Danish architect Finn Juhl in 1949, realising HK$1,937,500.  

Finn Juhl, Early and rare 'Chieftain' armchair, model no. FJ 49 A, circa 1950. Estimate: HK$1,500,000 - 2,000,000. Sold for: HK$1,937,500. Image: Phillips.

Romanian painter Adrian Ghenie represented the younger generation of artists who are gaining immense popularity. Following 10 minutes of bidding, Elvis sold for HK$5,480,000, over four times the estimate.

Adrian Ghenie, Elvis, 2009. Estimate: HK$1,200,000 - 1,500,000. Sold for: HK$5,480,000. Image: Phillips.

Lot 802. Plate, Meissen, probably 18th century. Estimate: € 2500-3500. Photo Hampel. 

Diameter: 24.2 cm. Ground-sided underglaze blue crossed swords mark and Roman "II", and press number "27".

Unglazed floor base with suspension and ausgeschliffenem probably production-related chip. Outer wall with yellow ground. Mirror and banner with chinoiserie scenes divided by baroque goldradierten Bandelwerk cartridges and Indian scattering flowers. Warped under fire, otherwise no other visible under UV light damage. 

Note: Similar plate was in the Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection. 

Hampel. Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Lot 147. A late 16th - early 17th century Japan Momoyama period lacquer cabinet with a George I style base. Estimation : 25 000 € / 35 000 €. Photo Tajan.

noir et or avec des incrustations de nacre, à décor de branchages, de feuilles et fleurs, sur toutes les faces et le dessus. Il ouvre par deux vantaux décorés d’un tigre parmi des branchages fleuris sur la face et de lianes feuillagées à l'intérieur. Les vantaux découvrent dix-huit tiroirs dont cinq avec des arcatures. Le dessus orné d’un coq et d’une poule, de feuillages et de fleurs encadrés d’un bandeau de motifs losangés avec des quartefeuilles. Un côtéà décor d’ombellifères, l’autre de marguerites et chrysanthèmes. Le dos de brindilles feuillagées entrelacées. Poignées de portage en bronze doré. Entrée de serrure, charnières et écoinçons de forme découpée en cuivre gravé. Il repose sur un piétement cambréà décor or et noir de feuillages.  

Pour le cabinet date de la période Momoyama, fin XVIe - début XVIIe, Japon. Pour le piétement travail moderne de style George I. (Éclats et usures, fentes, petits manques, élément de serrure détaché). HAUT. 116 cm - LARG. 88 cm - PROF. 55 cm - 45 5/8 X 34 5/8 X 21 5/8 IN. 

Mobilier et Objets d'Art chez Tajan, 75008 Paris, le 29 Novembre 2016 à 18h

 Lot 133. An important Spanish Bargueno, 17th century. Estimation : 25 000 € / 35 000 €. Photo Tajan.

Il se compose d'un cabinet reposant sur une partie basse constituée de deux niveaux, celui du haut ouvrant par deux tiroirs et celui du bas par deux portes. Le corps du haut présente trois niveaux dégageant quatorze tiroirs de grandeurs différentes (plus trois tiroirs dissimulés) et une porte centrale dégageant trois petits tiroirs plaqués d'ébène. L'ensemble est orné de colonnettes, frontons et plaquettes en ivoire rehaussés de dorure ou de motifs géométriques en noir. Les côtés du meuble portent des poignées et pentures en métal doré. (Restaurations). 

Corps supérieur: HAUT. 68 CM - LARG. 105,5 CM - PROF 43 CM - 26 3/4 X 41 5/16 X 16 7/8 IN. 
Corps inférieur : HAUT. 81 CM - LARG. 107 CM - PROF. 41 CM - 31 7/8 X 42 1/8 X 16 1/8 IN

Le cabinet de type bargueno tient son nom du bourg de Vargas (ou Bargas) près de Tolède, spécialisé dans la fabrication de ces meubles ornés : au départ, dès le début du XVIe siècle, c'est un meuble de voyage qualifié d'"escritorio", la façade est fermée à clef par un abattant qui forme écritoire lorsqu'il est ouvert et les côtés sont équipés de poignées de portage.Au cours du XVIIe siècle le bargueno devient progressivement un meuble d'apparat qui est parfois, comme ici, construit sans l'abattant, à l'imitation des cabinets allemands et italiens de la même période ; Il est alors qualifié dans les documents d'époque de "papelero". La façade s'orne de plus en plus d'ornements inspirés de l'architecture baroque : niches, colonnes torses et frontons cintrés ou triangulaires. 

Mobilier et Objets d'Art chez Tajan, 75008 Paris, le 29 Novembre 2016 à 18h

Fluorite - Minerva Mine, Hardin Co., Illinois, USA.

Fluorite, Shangbao Mine Hunan Province, China.