Pair of fancy intense yellow diamond earrings. Sold 553,000 CHF at Sotheby'sGeneva, 14 november 2007, lot 324.

Each set with a fancy intense yellow cut-cornered modified brilliant-cut diamond weighing 11.81 and 12.05 carats respectively, to a border and hook embellished with brilliant-cut stones, mounted in white and yellow gold.

Lot 3513. A blue and white ovoid jar and cover, Shunzhi period, circa 1640-1650. Estimate $40,000 – $60,000. Price realised USD 106,250. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The jar, of ovoid form with short neck, is decorated in vibrant tones of cobalt blue with a continuous scene of a lotus pond in which various acquatic birds gather, including a heron nestled within lotus blossoms, two geese in flight above and a third perched on a rock, and an alert kingfisher perched on a long blade of millet with curling leaves. The scene is set beneath a carved scroll band around the shoulders and a band of lappets on the neck. The domed cover is decorated with a fourth goose perched on a rock beside lotus plants. 11 ¼ in. (28.4 cm.) high

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd., London, 2000.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis, and Stephen Little, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644- 1661,Alexandria, VA, 2002, p. 47, fig. 7

Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 2 May – 8 September 2002.
The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 3 October 2002 – 5 January 2003.
University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 25 January – 23 March 2003.

Notes: In her comments on this jar and cover in Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661,Alexandria, VA, 2002, Dr. Julia Curtis compares this piece with a vase from the collection of Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, pointing out the shared qualities of the two that are typical of Shunzhi-period porcelains. Besides the violet tones of the cobalt blue, the green-tinted glaze, and the similar incised borders and bands of pointed leaves, she notes that “The spatial composition of the two vessels is also typical of the Shunzhi era; the decoration makes copious use of negative space on the unpainted surfaces of the vessels. »

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3532. A rare blue and white sleeve vase, Chongzhen period, circa 1640. Estimate $40,000 – $60,000. Price realised USD 81,250. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

 The vase is of elongated cylindrical form and decorated in rich tones of cobalt blue with a dynamic, continuous hunting scene depicting four equestrian huntsman, one possibly the Tang dynasty Emperor Ming Huang (Xuanzong), having already shot the crane pierced with an arrow above, as two others attempt to catch the prey and the fourth equestrian gallops along with a fifth huntsmen on foot in pursuit of an elusive deer, all beneath leafy floral scroll bands at the shoulders and waisted neck, and above a lappet band at the foot. 16 in. (40.6 cm.) high

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd., London, 1987.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Julia B. Curtis, “La porcelaine chinoise de Transition,” La porcelaine chinoise de Transition: et ses influences sur la céramique japonaise, proche-orientale et européenne, Geneva, 1993, no. 5.

Notes: This extremely handsome vase represents the apogee of narrative painting on porcelain at the end of the Ming period. The vessel itself is strongly potted and the continuous scene that encircles the main body of the vase is well painted in deep, rich, underglaze cobalt blue. The narrative scene shows four huntsmen mounted on galloping horses. One huntsman swings a flail, a handle to which a ball on a chain is attached, while another fires a bow and arrow in the ‘Parthian shot’ position – facing backwards and firing over his horse’s rump. This shot, which takes its name from Parthian cavalry, who used it to great effect when in retreat, required great skill from the rider who had to twist his body around, control his horse with his knees alone, and keep both hands steady to fire his arrows, while the horse galloped at full speed. This huntsman appears to have shot a crane, which is depicted with wings outstretched and its body pierced with an arrow. Another of the mounted huntsmen reaches up with arms outstretched towards the bird, while a fourth holds out a circular tray on which he obviously hopes to catch the falling bird. There is a further archer on foot aiming his arrow at the deer which is being chased by the mounted huntsman brandishing the flail.

It is almost certain that this scene represents a story about the Tang dynasty Emperor Xuanzong (AD 685-762), who is often referred to by his posthumous name, Ming Huang. It is believed that Emperor Xuanzong went hunting in Shayuan on the day known as the ‘double ninth’ – the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This day usually falls in October by the Gregorian calendar, and is thus in autumn. It is significant that the elegant trees shown on one side of the vase are depicted almost completely stripped of their leaves, suggesting that the scene takes place in the latter part of the year. While hunting on the ‘double ninth’ Emperor Xuanzong reportedly shot a lone crane flying in the mountains. However, despite being pierced by the arrow, the crane continued on its flight towards the southwest with the arrow still lodged in its body. Many years later the Emperor visited a Daoist monastery near Yizhou – present day Chengdu in Sichuan province. While he was there he found his arrow, and realised that he had in fact shot a Daoist immortal.

This theme would have appealed to 17th century literati as it has been suggested that the story of Emperor Xuanzong and the crane may have inspired one of the best-known works of one of China’s most esteemed literary figures, Su Shi (AD 1037-1101). Su Shi wrote two prose poems on the Red Cliff. It was believed that at the Red Cliff, some 900 years prior to Su Shi’s visit, that Cao Cao (AD 155-220) a powerful military and political figure in the latter part of the Eastern Han period and during the Three Kingdoms period was defeated by the armies of Liu Bei and and Sun Quan. Cao Cao is believed to have written the poem known as Short Song Style in the winter of AD 208 shortly before the Battle of the Red Cliff. In the first of Su Shi’s prose poems one of his companions on the convivial moonlight boat trip to visit the Red Cliff plays melancholy flute music reflecting his sadness at recalling Cao Cao’s defeat, but is cheered by Su Shi’s philosophical discourse on the inevitability of change. It is, however, in the second of the Red Cliff prose poems that the possible influence of the story of Xuanzong and the crane can be seen. This second work recounts another visit to the Red Cliff, three months after the first – and nearer to the time of year when Xuanzong shot the crane. There is a heavy frost and the landscape appears rather bleak. Su Shi leaves his guests in order to climb to the top of the cliff and sits, increasingly melancholic, until forced to return to the boat by the intense cold. Shortly before midnight a lone crane flies in from the east and swoops over the boat before heading towards the west. That night Su Shi dreams of a Daoist immortal in feathered robes, who asks him about his visit to the Red Cliff. Su Shi enquires as to the Daoist’s name, but he does not answer, and when Su Shi awakes there is no sign of him. Su Shi realizes that the crane he had seen at the Red Cliff had in fact been the immortal.

Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director, Asian Art

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3569. A blue and white ‘Washing the elephant’ vase, early Kangxi period, circa 1670. Estimate $40,000 – $60,000. Price Realized $137,000. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The pear-shaped vase is decorated with a finely drawn scene of an elephant being washed by four Chinese grooms, one of whom is standing on top of the elephant with a large brush, as two dignitaries and a monk in a patchwork robe look on. 10 in. (25.2 cm.) high

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd., London, 1987.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: The decoration on this early Kangxi-period vase depicts a scene known as ‘Washing the Elephant’ (saoxiang , literally ‘sweeping the elephant’). A white elephant is depicted being washed by four servants – one standing on top with a broom, one holding the elephant, and two filling a large jar from a water-filled wooden tub. They are watched by a Buddhist monk and a military officer. An initial link between the white elephant and Buddhism was revealed in connection with the birth of the Buddha. According to legend his mother, Queen Maya, was childless for many years after her marriage, but one night had a very vivid dream in which she was transported by four devas (spirits) to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. She was then visited by a white elephant holding a white lotus in its trunk, which walked around her three times before entering her womb through her right side. Tradition has it that the Buddha took the form of a white elephant in order to be reborn for the last time on Earth. In the Buddhist pantheon, a white elephant is also associated with the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who is often depicted riding the elephant.

The origin of this scene of washing or sweeping a white elephant is not clear. In his Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes (Yunyan guoyan lu) – a volume on art collecting in the early Yuan dynasty – Zhou Mi (c. 1232-1309) mentions paintings of Sweeping the Elephant by the Tang dynasty artists Yan Liben (c. 600-674) and his brother Yan Lide (died AD 656). The Yan Liben painting is also mentioned in the Xuanhe huapu – imperial painting catalogue of the Northern Song completed in around AD 1120, along with several others also with the theme ‘Washing the Elephant’. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a hanging scroll (accession number 1976.191) of this subject by Chen Zi (1632-1711). This painting bears an inscription suggesting that Ming dynasty scholars saw this subject as a pun for ‘sweeping away illusions’. The interpretation of sweeping away illusions is also given in the colophon to the illustration of ‘Washing the Elephant’, designed by Ding Yunpeng (fl. 1584-1618), in Fang Yulu’s (fl. 1570-1619) Fangshi mopu (A Manual of Mr. Fang’s Ink [Cake Designs]) published around AD 1588. (fig. 1) 

Fig. 1: Woodblock illustration to Fang Shi Mopu (Catalogue of Fang’s Ink Cake Designs), by Fang Yulu, active 1570-1619. 

This interpretation comes from the fact that the word for elephant is pronounced xiang – the same as the word for illusion. Showing the elephant being washed using a broom, suggests sweeping, and indeed the Chinese name for this subject is saoxiang , literally ‘sweeping the elephant’ – thus ‘sweeping away illusions’. Comparing the Ding Yunpeng illustration in the Fangshi mopu, which interestingly refers to the Tang dynasty Yan Liben painting, with the image on the porcelain vase shows how confusion may arise in transference between media. The elephant in the woodblock illustration is standing with each foot on an open lotus blossom. This has been misinterpreted on the vase to suggest that the elephant has numerous extended toes.

Illustrations of this scene were popular on late Ming and early Qing dynasty porcelains. For two small brush pots decorated with versions of this scene see Julia B. Curtis, ‘Decorative Schemes for New Markets: The Origins and Use of Narrative Themes on 17th-Century Chinese Porcelain’, International Ceramics Fair & Seminar, London, 1997, p.18, fig. 1, and S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Chongzhen-Shunzhi Transitional Porcelain From A Private American Collection, London, 2007, p. 5, no. 1.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3508. An inscribed and dated blue and white jar and cover, Chongzhen period, dated 1644. Estimate $18,000 – $25,000. Price realised USD 93,750. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The compressed jar, with short neck, is decorated on one side with a panel containing a scene from the ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ in which the fisherman speaks to a sage and his servant. The other side is decorated with a panel containing a long inscription from a poem entitled ‘Peach Blossoms at the Qingquan Temple’ written by the Song-dynasty poet Xie Fangde (1226-1289), followed by a cyclical date, jiashen, corresponding to 1644, and a seal that reads Koujiao Shanren (‘The Mountain Man who Knocks the Buffalo’s Horn’). The jar is pierced with two holes on either side between the panels for attachment of metal handles. The domed cover is decorated with peony and prunus branches surrounding the metal knob which is secured through a hole in the center. The flat base is unglazed. 7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) diam. Lot 3508

Provenance: Anita Gray, London, 1996.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Rosemary Scott, « Blue-and-White Porcelains of the Late Ming-Early Qing, » in A Catalogue of Oriental Ceramics and Works of Art, ed. Anita Gray, London, n.d., pp. 23-24, no. 2.
Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis and Stephen Little, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661,Alexandria, VA, 2002, pp. 184-185, no.54.

Exhibited: Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 2 May – 8 September 2002.
The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 3 October 2002 – 5 January 2003.
University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, 25 January – 23 March 2003.

Notes: The theme of the decoration on this lidded jar is one which would have greatly appealed to the literati – poetry and patriotic loyalty. The image on the jar refers to Peach Blossom Spring (Taohua yuanji) the famous poem by Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427). The story goes that in the Taiyuan period (AD 376-396) of the Jin dynasty there was a fisherman from Wuling in Hunan province who one day followed the stream in his boat for so long that he forgot how far he had gone. Suddenly he came to a place where blossoming peach trees were crowded along both banks of the stream. The fisherman followed the stream to its source at the foot of a mountain, where both the stream and the peach trees came to an end. He left his boat and walked through a hole in the rocks and into a beautiful, verdant land with plentiful food and happy people. When he eventually left to return home, the people told him not to tell anyone about their land. The fisherman eventually managed to find his way home, and did tell the people of his village about the beautiful land he had seen, but, try though they might, they never found the way back to the Peach Blossom Spring. On one side of this jar the fisherman is shown meeting one of the residents of Peach Blossom Spring.

On the other side of the jar is an inscription from a poem entitled Peach Blossoms at Qingquan Temple by the Song dynasty patriot and poet Xie Fangde (1226-1289), in which the poet compares his own life with that of the characters in Peach Blossom Spring. Xie Fangde served the Southern Song well, but failed to successfully defend Xinzhou against the Mongol armies. Afterwards he refused to serve the Mongols and in 1286 was sent north to Dadu (modern Beijing). He was imprisoned in a temple where he starved himself to death. This temple was originally built in AD 645, and when rebuilt in the 15th century was called Chongfusi (Temple of Exalted Happiness), but it has also been known as the Minzhongsi (Temple in Memory of the Loyal) and was renamed Fayuansi ( Temple of the Origin of the Dharma) in 1743. [This temple may also be the Qingquan Temple [Clear Spring Temple] named in the poem.] Xie Fangde’s story would have resonated with Ming loyalists as the dynasty fell to the Manchus in the year this jar was made.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3535. A blue and white double gourd-form vase, Transitional period, circa 1640-1650. Estimate $20,000 – $30,000. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The lower compressed section is decorated with a scene from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicting consort Dong being led away to her execution, beneath the upper pear-form section which is decorated with a scholar and attendants seated in a garden below the slender neck with tulip motifs. Both scenes continue on the opposite side of the vase and depict clouds and rocky outcrops. 13 ½ in. (34.1 cm.) high

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1984.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: The scene on this vase, from, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, depicts Consort Dong being led away by Cao Cao’s men to her execution. Consort Dong was the daughter of Dong Cheng – the loyal supporter of Emperor Xian, who is shown on the brush pot, lot 3533 in this catalogue. Her father’s conspiracy against the warlord Cao Cao was discovered in AD 200 and he, along with his co-conspirators Zhong Ji and Wang Fu, were condemned to death, together with their families. In spite of the fact that Consort Dong was an imperial consort, who was expecting the emperor’s child, and despite Emperor Xian’s strenuous efforts to intercede to save her, Cao Cao nevertheless ordered her execution.

For examples of similar size and registers of decoration, with lower narrative scenes, in the British Museum, London and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, see Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 386, no. 12:83, and Christiaan J.A. Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: The Ming and Qing Dynasties, London, 1997, p. 76, no. 62, respectively.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Nam Phuong, la dernière impératrice d’Annam et du Vietnam, 1936-1939.

Une impératrice qui fascinait tant par sa beauté et son élégance que par sa culture. Le destin à la fois extraordinaire et tragique d’une femme moderne devenue reine avant d’être exilée…

Indochine : Mythes ou Réalités II chez Art Valorem,75009 Paris, le 24 Janvier 2017 à 11h et 13h45 

Attractive Ruby and diamond ring, Bulgari. Sold 457,000 CHF at Sotheby'sGeneva, 14 november 2007, lot 379. Photo: Sotheby's.

The cushion-shaped ruby weighing 10.07 carats, set within a double border of brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in platinum, signed Bulgari. size 52

Accompanied by SSEF report no 49553 stating that the ruby is of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating.

Ruby and diamond ring. Sold 385,000 CHF at Sotheby'sGeneva, 14 november 2007, lot 320. Photo: Sotheby's.

The oval ruby weighing 6.14 carats, set between similarly-cut diamond shoulders weighing 1.01 and 1.13 carats respectively, mounted in yellow gold and platinum, size 51.

Accompanied by Gübelin report no. 0706535 stating that the ruby is of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating; and by two GIA reports no. 15766930 stating that the 1.01 carat diamond is E Colour, VS1 Clarity, and no. 15766940 stating that the 1.13 carat diamond is E Colour, VS2 Clarity

An important ruby and diamond bracelet, probably Van Cleef & Arpels, circa 1935. Sold 349,000 CHF at Sotheby'sGeneva, 14 november 2007, lot 375A. Photo: Sotheby's. 

The supple bracelet composed of three rows of cushion-shaped and oval rubies, interspersed with geometric plaques set with circular-cut and baguette diamonds, to an openwork clasp designed as a stylised buckle and similarly-set with diamonds, length approximately 180mm, unsigned.

The popularity of this type of bracelet amongst the fashionable set of the 1930s is confirmed by the presence of similar examples by Van Cleef & Arpels in the jewellery collections of The Duchess of Windsor and Mme. Hélène Beaumont.  Both of these bracelets and a third were sold at Sotheby's Geneva, respectively on 2nd April 1987, lot 87, 18th May 1994, lot 522 and 17th November 1998, lot 68. 

Lot 3565. A rare blue and white dated gu-form vase, early Kangxi period, dated 1664. Estimate $25,000 – $35,000. Price Realized $118,750. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The tall cylindrical vase flares toward the mouth and is decorated on the upper register in a penciled style with a scene of a lone scholar on horseback in a winter landscape, followed by an attendant carrying his books with a long inscription above. The scene is set between a border of dots at the rim and wide bands of lotus scroll and flames in the lower registers. The rim is dressed in brown and the flat base is unglazed. 15 ¾ in. (40 cm.) high

Provenance: Anita Gray, London, 1998.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis, and Stephen Little, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, Alexandria, VA, 2002, pp. 64-65, figures 14-15.

Notes: The poetic inscription on this vase can be translated as:

‘My life’s greatest enterprises rely on the five carts of books I have read. I do not mind traveling ten-thousand miles of frosty road to my destination, the capital city, where the red sun rises, and where, by the Phoenix Pond, my prose will match that of Sima Ziangru´.

Qianshen Bai discusses this vase in his article ‘Inscriptions, Calligraphy, and Seals on Jingdezhen Porcelains from the Shunzhi Era’ in Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis and Stephen Little, Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, Alexandria, VA, 2002, pp. 56-67, where he notes the difficulty of transferring calligraphy from a poem onto porcelain. He explains that the physical difficulty of writing on a curving surface was compounded by most porcelain painters’ lack of knowledge of literature and writing. While the poem on this vase is beautifully conceived in the overall decorative scheme of the scene, the inscription does in fact include a few mistakes. Qianshen Bai notes, “…This poem is about a scholar on his way to the capital to take the metropolitan civil service examination. If he passed, he would then take the palace examination held by the emperor. The ‘Phoenix Pond’ refers to a pond in the imperial garden. The poet’s use of the first person tells us that he was confident of his success, believing that his writing would win him a jinshi, the highest, degree and a government post. Ironically, although the poem concerns a scholar’s confidence in succeeding in the imperial examinations because of his fine writing, its transcription includes several mistakes.” (p. 66) These minor mistakes in the transfer of the calligraphy to porcelain, however, can easily be forgiven, as the porcelain painter was so clearly skilled in the painting of the beautiful, idyllic landscape scene.

This type of scene, with a solitary figure traversing a rolling landscape, was probably inspired by generic scenes published in illustrated novels such as the Romance of the Western Chamber. (fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Woodblock illustration to Xi Xiang Ji (Romance of the Western Chamber). From an edition published by Wang Jide, ed., 1614, from Wang Shifu, The Moon and the Zither: The Story of the Western Wing, Berkeley, 1991, fg. 17.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3550. A large blue and white sleeve vase, Transitional period, circa 1640-1650. Estimate $25,000 – $35,000. Price Realized $43,750. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The tapering, cylindrical vase is decorated with two leaf-shaped panels that contain a moonlit scene of birds or geese with blossoming branches, with scattered floral branches around the panels and on the waisted neck. The flat base is unglazed. 17 ½ in. (44.1 cm.) high

Provenance: Jan van Beers, London, 1984.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: While vases of this shape are known in the West as the rolwagen, the shape in fact is originally Chinese (see Stephen Little, Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, New York, 1984, p. 68). Examples of the shape were included in the Hatcher Cargo, a Chinese junk that sank in the South China Sea, circa 1643-1646, and include the vase sold at Christie’s New York, 20-21 March 2014, lot 2137.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3578. A rare blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi period, 17th century. Estimate $12,000 – $18,000. Price Realized $43,750. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The vase is painted in muted tones of cobalt blue in the style of Mi Fu, the Northern Song Master, with a continuous mountainous landscape beneath bamboo sprays on the neck. The base bears a chrysanthemum spray within a double circle. 17 ¼ in. (43.8 cm.) high

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd., London, 1985.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Julia B. Curtis, “Markets, Motifs and Seventeenth-Century Porcelain from Jingdezhen, The Porcelains of Jingdezhen, Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 16, London, 1992, p. 139, pl. 15.
Julia B. Curtis, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, pp.78-79, no. 23.

Exhibited: China Institute Gallery, New York, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, 22 April – 5 August 1995.

Notes: In her comments on this vase in the exhibition catalogue Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, p. 78, Dr. Julia Curtis notes that it is one of a small group of porcelains from the early Kangxi period decorated in the style of the painter Mi Fu. A large vase from this group, from the Collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 43.

Mi Fu’s paintings were admired and emulated by 17th century Chinese painters such as Dong Qiching (1555-1636). The style of the mountains on the present vase can be compared to those in a painting attributed to Dong Qiching,Landscape in the Style of Mi Fu, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Landscape in the Style of Mi Fu, Attributed to Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Dated AD 1611 and 1612. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

 Lot 3516. Eight small blue and white dishes, Chongzhen period, circa 1643. Estimate $12,000 – $18,000. Price realised USD 30,000. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

Each small dish has a foliate rim and is delicately decorated with a different narrative scene from The Romance of the Western Chamber and other literary sources. The reverse of each is decorated with a continuous river landscape and is inscribed with an apocryphal Jiajing mark on the base. 3 ½ in. (8.9 cm.) diam.

Provenance: The Property of Captain Michael Hatcher; Christie’s Amsterdam, 14 March 1984, lot 200 (part), lot 201 (part).
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Julia B. Curtis, “Transitionware Made Plain: A Wreck in the South China Sea,” Oriental Art, Volume XXXI, No. 2, Summer, 1985, pp. 169-170, figs. 13, 16,17, 18 a,b.
Colin Sheaf and Richard Kilburn, The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes, The Complete Record, London, 1988, p. 66, pl. 97 (four).
Julia B. Curtis, “La porcelaine chinoise de Transition,” La porcelaine chinoise de Transition: et ses influences sur la céramique japonaise, proche-orientale et européenne, Geneva, 1993, no. 7.

Notes: This interesting group of dishes is decorated with a variety of scenes that most likely derive from popular novels, as well as one generic scene with a scholar and attendant, and one showing four immortals. Two scenes can be directly compared to woodblock illustrations from The Romance of the Western Chamber. The small dish with two ladies in a garden depicts the heroine Yinying offering incense in honor of her deceased uncle. (fig. 1)

Fig. 1: Woodblock illustration to Xi Xiang Ji (Romance of the Western Chamber). From an edition published at Wuxing in the Tianqi period (1621-1627), from Craig Clunas, “The West Chamber: A Literary Theme in Chinese Porcelain Decoration,” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1981-82, p. 76, pl. 9.

Another direct comparison can be drawn between the small dish decorated with a lady seated on a garden rock beneath a tree and a woodblock illustration with the scene known as ‘Repudiation of the billet-doux’. (fig. 2) 

Fig. 2: Woodblock illustration to Chongjiao Bei Xixiang Ji (The Collated Story of the Western Wing), commentary attributed to Li Zhuowu, 1598.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3559. A large blue and white ‘Immortals’ bowl, Shunzhi period, circa 1650. Estimate $12,000 – $18,000. Price Realized $12,500. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The shallow bowl is decorated on the exterior with a mountainous river landscape scene including the Eight Daoist Immortals with their attributes beneath swirling clouds, and the Star God Shoulao seated beside a deer and a smoldering censer with an attendant nearby. The interior is decorated with a small landscape medallion. The base bears a large four-character mark reading yu tang jia qi (‘fine vessel for the jade hall’) within a double circle. 14 in. (35.3 cm.) diam. 

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd., London, 1987.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: A wucai bowl, decorated with the same subject and of similar proportions, also bearing the yu tang jia qi mark, is in the Butler Family Collection and is illustrated by Michael Butler, Julia B. Curtis and Stephen Little in Shunzhi Porcelain: Treasures from an Unknown Reign, 1644-1661, Alexandria, VA, 2002, pp. 222-223, no. 74.

This theme also appears on two other pieces in the Curtis Collection, a large dish (lot 3560), and a small vase (lot 3564).

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

John Singleton Copley, The Fountaine Family, 1776. Tate.

LONDON.- John Singleton Copley’s The Fountaine Family 1776 has been accepted for the nation through Arts Council England’s Cultural Gift Scheme and allocated to Tate. Copley was considered to be the leading painter of his day, and this is the only conversation piece by the artist to enter a public collection in the UK. The group portrait, donated by David Posnett OBE, is a rare example of work from the beginning of the artist’s career in England. It is now on public display for the first time and is accompanied at Tate Britain by two preparatory drawings which feature the young boy in the painting, Andrew Fountaine. 

Copley was the greatest American artist of the eighteenth century. He was active as a portrait painter in Boston from 1753 to 1774, establishing himself in London in 1775 where he was elected a Royal Academician. The Fountaine Family shows how Copley adapted his style to the British market, emulating the work of Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), whose renewal of the conversation piece format in the 1760s greatly influenced British art. The painting depicts Brigg Price Fountaine, a wealthy member of the Norfolk gentry, standing in the centre of an elegant drawing room at Narford Hall, the Fountaine ancestral home. To the left is his wife Mary and to the right are their two children, Andrew and Elizabeth, with a spaniel playing at their feet. Andrew is also depicted in the two preparatory drawings by Copley hung next to the painting. 

The painting remained with the Fountaine family for many years, before being offered at auction in the late 1980s, described simply as English School, circa 1780. Art historical research and technical examination since then demonstrated the attribution to Copley. The two preparatory drawings discovered at The Courtauld Institute of Art in 1988 provided decisive evidence of Copley’s authorship. These drawings will be hung alongside the The Fountaine Family for the first time as part of Tate Britain’s new display. 

The Fountaine Family sheds light on a new dimension of Copley’s career and adds substantially to Tate’s representation of this leading eighteenth-century painter. The work is uniquely important in showing an American painter making the transition into the British art world, at precisely the moment of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States. Copley, a loyalist, would never return to America. 

Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain, said: ‘We are delighted to have received this generous gift from David Posnett OBE through the Cultural Gifts Scheme. Examples of Copley’s early British portraiture are rare, and this work adds great depth to our understanding of his career in London’. 

The Cultural Gifts Scheme was introduced by the Government in 2013 as an initiative to encourage life-time giving to UK public collections. The addition of The Fountaine Family not only improves Tate’s existing collection of eighteenth-century conversation pieces, but it also illuminates how an ambitious American artist adapted to a distinctly British format and style. The work complements the three Copley works already in Tate’s collection – Portrait of Mrs Gill c1770-1 painted in America; and two major subject paintings painted in Britain, The Death of Major Peirson 1781 and The Collapse of the Earl of Chatham 1779-80.

Domenico Cresti, called Passignano (Passignano 1559 - 1638 Florence), Bathers at San Niccolo, signed and dated lower center: OPs. DOMCI. PASSIGNANI / FLO MDC, oil on canvas, 56  by 71  in.; 142.2 by 180.3 cm. Estimate 700,000 — 900,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Provenance: Possibly Marchese Filippo Niccolini (1655-1738), Florence;
With Reid and Lefevre, London, by 1959;
Private collection, London;
From whom acquired by the present collector.

Bibliography: Possibly F. Baldinucci, Notizie de' professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua, Florence 1728, p. 72, and in revised edition, F. Ranalli (ed.), Florence 1974, vol. IV, p. 307 (as in the collection of Marchese Filippo Niccolini);
A. Martini, “Un singolare dipinto del Passignano”, in Paragone, 109, January 1959, pp. 55-58, reproduced fig. 34 (as with Reid and Lefevre);
D. Heikamp, “Federico Zuccari a Firenze”, in Paragone, 205, March 1967, pp. 56, 66-67, note 62;
R. Contini, Bilivert, Florence 1985, p. 63, note 174;
J.L. Nissman in Il Seicento Fiorentino, Arte a Firenze da Ferdinando I a Cosimo III: Pittura, G. Guidi and D. Marcucci (ed.), Florence 1986, p. 119, reproduced p. 118;
M. Rocke, Forbidden friendships: homosexuality and male culture in Renaissance Florence, New York 1986, reproduced on the cover;
F. Baldassari, La Pittura del Seicento a Firenze, Indice degli artisti e delle loro opere, Turin 2009, p. 229;
S. Bellesi, Catalogo dei Pittori Fiorentini del ‘600 e ‘700, Florence 2009, vol. I, p. 115, reproduced vol. II, p. 176, fig. 363;
E. Bugerolles and D. Guillet in Raphael to Renoir: drawings from the collection of Jean Bonna, exhibition catalogue, New York 2009, p. 124, under cat. no. 56, reproduced fig. 59.

Notes: This painting, with the direct and frank approach to its subject matter, should be considered perhaps the most important artistic example of homoerotic art of the late Mannerist period.  A deep appreciation for the beauty of the male body is woven throughout this large and inventive composition.  In the foreground, densely arranged groups of nude figures bathe and relax in the cool waters of the Arno River in Florence.  A few remnants of their discarded clothing are strewn about, and their smooth, soft skin glistens in the midday sun.  The curving musculature and the varied forms of their interwoven bodies provide a pleasing contrast to the lines and crenellation of San Niccolò’s architecture in the background, including the old grain mill and the Porta that was erected in 1324 and remains standing today. Although it has some historical precedent, this painting is a near unique visual document that provides a modern audience with a sympathetic insight into an otherwise largely ignored aspect of Italian society at the very opening of the seventeenth century.

The renowned Tuscan painter Domenico Cresti, called Passignano, completed this impressive painting in Florence in 1600 during a very prosperous period of his career. The steady supply of commissions that Passignano received throughout his lifetime were almost all religious, mythological, and historical in subject. Thus, as a genre scene, The Bathers at San Niccolò remains a unique example within Passignano’s corpus, yet passages within the painting still echo elements from earlier in the artist’s career.  For example, in the late 1570s Passignano assisted his teacher, Federico Zuccari (1542-1609), in completing the ceiling of the Duomo in Florence.  One section of the ceiling he is thought to have worked on was the Inferno scene, which includes a number male nude figures in various acrobatic poses, similar to the athletic postures of the men in the present work.  Furthermore, the two male figures that dominate the immediate foreground of the present work recall Passignano’s semi-nude and muscular males that serve as repoussoir elements—details placed in the immediate foreground to increase the sense of depth in the image—for the frescoes in the Salviati Chapel in San Marco (c. 1589).  Rather than augment the sense of depth, however, the two figures in The Bathers at San Niccolò envelop the foreground and serve as anchors for the inventive perspective that Passignano has employed. 

The historical precedence for this subject matter and setting can be found in works of the masters that preceded Passignano as well in the works of Zuccari, with whom the artist began working in the 1570s.  Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were known to have explored the tradition of executing figure studies at public baths, and this practice of drawing directly from life and nature was perhaps one of Federico Zuccari’s most lasting influences on Passignano. Indeed, the spontaneity of the groupings of the figures in the painting, as well as the individuality of their appearances and poses seem to suggest that Passignano was making studies and observations directly from the Florentine life around him.  In fact, a number of red chalk nude studies that mirror many of the poses found within The Bathers at San Niccolò can be found in a number of collections, including the Uffizi and the Musée du Louvre (fig. 1).  Finally, one would be remiss to not mention that Zuccari himself completed a drawing of bathers on the banks of at San Niccolò in the 1570s (fig. 2), and even if Passignano was familiar with this work of his teacher’s, he transformed the scene into a grand composition of his own accord. 

Domenico Cresti, called Passignano, Nude, Naked, Kneeling, Shoulders to the Ground, recto, Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv. No. 1103.

Federico Zuccari, Vue de l'Arno, prise des berges, en amont du Ponte delle Grazie, recto, Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv. No. 4625.

The sensual theme portrayed may seem unusual, but some have suggested that a point of reference for this subject matter be the Battle of Càscina, a clash between the Florentine and the Pisan armies. In his chronicle of the battle, Filippo Villani notes that as the Florentine army advanced to Cascina, just outside of Pisa, on an unbearably hot day, they decided to remove their burning armor and recover from the heat by bathing in the waters of the Arno.  With their guard down and defenses relaxed, Pisan spies reported the situation to their commander who then set out to launch a surprise attack on the Florentines.  The Florentines, however, were warned of this surprise attack through a distant trumpet and quickly armed themselves to meet the Pisans back on the road.  Refreshed and revitalized, the Florentines quickly returned to the battlefield, ultimately defeating the worn and tired Pisan forces.  In 1504, Michelangelo was commissioned to create a fresco for the Florentine Room of the Great Council depicting the Battle of Cascinà.  While he never completed the fresco, he did complete a number of studies and a full sized cartoon for the work.  The cartoon no longer remains intact, but its original format is known through numerous engravings of the work, including that of Michelangelo’s pupil Aristotele da Sangallo (fig. 3).  This engraving demonstrates Michelangelo’s intention of capturing the pivotal moment of the nude Florentine army leaping out of the Arno river to re-arm themselves.  The dynamism and vitality of the figures woven throughout the engraving have counterparts within The Bathers at San Niccolò.

Luigi Schiavonetti, after Aristotele da Sangallo, Engraving, British Museum, inv. No. 1849,0512.30.

Sotheby's. Master Paintings & Sculpture Evening Sale, New York, 25 janv. 2017, 06:00 PM

Lot 3572. A small blue and white baluster vase, Early Kangxi period, circa 1670. Estimate $15,000 – $18,000. Price Realized $21,250. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The small high-shouldered vase, with slender neck and flaring mouth, is decorated with a scene from The Water Margin, depicting Huyan Zhuo and Wu Song combating each other with a sword and a whip. Each figure is accompanied by an identifying inscription, all between decorative bands and small flowers on the neck. The base bears an apocryphal Chenghua mark. 8 1/8 in. (20.5 cm.) high

Provenance: Anita Gray, London, 1996.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes: Huyan Zhou, supposedly a descendant of general Huyan Zan, also served as a general in the imperial army of the Song and was renowned for his bravery and fighting skills. His favored weapons were a pair of metal clubs, and his nickname was ‘double clubs’. The other protagonist on this vase is Wu Song, who is described as handsome and had various nicknames including ‘the pilgrim’ and ‘tiger fighting hero’. He was believed to have been a student of archer Zhou Tong, and was also a master of several other martial arts, being particularly skilled in the use of the staff. For four small Shunzhi-period dishes in the Curtis collection that are decorated with characters from The Water Margin see lot 3556.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Lot 3506. A rare blue and white bowl, Wanli period, late 16th century. Estimate $15,000 – $25,000. Price realised USD 52,500. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is raised on a narrow, circular foot and the flaring rim is concealed by a metal band. The exterior is decorated with a continuous river landscape including mountains and clouds, fishermen and farmers, with small birds flying above. The interior is decorated with a central medallion enclosing another river scene. The base bears a square seal reading tai ge jia qi (‘Precious vessel for the Lofty Pavilion´). 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) diam.

Provenance: R. F. A. Riesco Collection, no. 219.
Bluett & Sons, Ltd., London.
Sotheby’s London, 11 December 1984, lot 335.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Edgar E. Bluett, The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1951, fig. 17.
‘Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, 14th to 19th Centuries’, Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1954, plate 13, no. 193b.
Harry M. Garner and Margaret Medley, Chinese Art in Three-Dimensional Colour, Vol. IV, New York, 1969, reel 6, no. 7.
Harry M. Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1973, color plate C.
Julia B. Curtis, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, pp. 44-45, no. 1.

Exhibited: Oriental Ceramic Society, London, Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, 14th to 19th Centuries, 16 December 1953 – 23 January 1954.
China Institute Gallery, New York, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars’ Motifs and Narratives, 22 April – 5 August 1995.

Notes: The intensity of the cobalt blue used on this bowl is particularly noteworthy. When describing such blue tones on pieces in the Riesco Collection, Edgar E. Bluett noted, “Seen at its best there is a pulsating loveliness in this colour very difficult to describe in words and only possible to be fully appreciated by the actual beholder.” (The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1951, p. 14)

A similar bowl in the Percival David Foundation, London, is illustrated by Margaret Medley in Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1976, plate VIII, no. A661, listed p. 45. Other examples in important museum collections include one from the Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated by Suzanne Valenstein in the China Institute exhibition catalogue, Ming Porcelain, New York, 1970, p. 73. no. 45; also one in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt in Ming Porcelain, p. 146, pl. 126. The fact that other surviving bowls of the type have similar narrow metal bands on their rims suggests that these were decorative rather than added to conceal damage.

CHRISTIE’S. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015,New York, Rockefeller Plaza