Patineur hollandais, vers 1700-1705, Francfort-sur-le-Main, argent doré, émail peint, émail translucide, or, perle baroque, rubis, verre. Hauteur : 12,3 cm. Allemagne, Dresde, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Grünes Gewölbe, VI96. Photo © BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image SKD

Lot 1407. A large bronze circular 'bird' mirror, late Warring States period, 3rd century BC. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 10,000. Price realised USD 9,375 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.

With triple-fluted loop surrounded by a patterned band repeated in the main field as the ground for three birds with scrolling interlocking bodies and long angular crests extending from the back of their heads, all within the upright rim, with dark silver-grey patina - 9 3/8 in. (23.7 cm.) diam., 5/16 in. (.7 cm.) thick, box - 816.7g

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1960s. 

Notes: Mirrors of this type are illustrated in Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji - 16 - Bronze Mirrors, Beijing, 1998, p. 10, no. 10, excavated in 1952 at Changsha, Hunan province; Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, 1998, pp. 100-1, no. 15 (16.5 cm.); one from the Sumitomo Collection in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Bronze Mirrors, Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, 8 January - 6 March 2011, p. 15, no. 13 (20.3 cm.); and one illustrated by Ju-hsi Chou, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000, p. 28, no. 6. 

Christie's. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 1409. A bronze circular mirror with animals and inscription, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 20,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.

The large knob set within a square from which project four 'T' motifs positioned below a dragon, a bird, a tiger and a unicorn separated by four nipples, all encircled by an inscription, a hatchured band and a band of stylized animls, all below a band comprised of a bird, dragons and foliate scrolls issuing from a horn or cornucopia on the rim, with dark grey patina - 4 7/16 in. (11.4 cm.) diam., 1/8 in. (.4 cm.) thick, box - 311.7g

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired from Alice Boney, Japan, 1960s. 

Note: A similar mirror (18.4 cm.) excavated in 1987 from a Three Kingdoms Eastern Wu tomb in Shengzhou is illustrated by Shilun Wang in Zhejiang chutu tongjing (Bronze Mirrors Excavated in Zhejiang), Beijing, 1987, no. 18.

Christie's. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 1410. A large silvery bronze circular 'TLV' mirror with inscription, Late Western Han-Xin dynasty, 1st century BC. Estimate USD 60,000 - USD 80,000. Price realised USD 104,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.

The central knob rising from an ornate quatrefoil within a square enclosing twelve small nipples alternating with twelve characters representing the Twelve Branches, the main field with somewhat abbreviated TLV patterns as well as eight nipples separating the Guardians of the Four Directions - the Blue Dragon, Red Bird, White Tiger and the Dark Warrior - as well as other figures of animals and birds cast in thread relief, all within an inscription expressing Daoist concepts, a hatchured band, and bands of sawtooth and flowing cloud design on the rim - 12½ in. (31.7 cm.) diam., ¼ in. (.5 cm.) thick, box - 3520.6g

Provenance: Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, New York, acquired in Hong Kong, 1989. 

Note: The decoration on this elaborate TLV mirror, which is unusually large for its type, is derived from the layout of Qin and Han dynasty luibo game boards. The decoration is similar to that seen on smaller mirrors, one of which bears the same thirty-three character inscription, and is illustrated in Ancient Bronze Mirrors from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, pp. 164-5, no. 45. Another similar mirror of smaller size (21 cm.) with the same ornate quatrefoil surround for the knob is in the Sumitomo Collection and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Bronze Mirrors, Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan, 8 January - 6 March 2011, p. 25, no. 37. See, also, the smaller example in the Lagrelius Collection, Stockholm, illustrated by B. Karlgren, "The Exhibition of Early Chinese Bronzes", BMFEA, Stockholm, 1934, No. 6, pl. LII (1). One with silvery patina (18.9 cm.) is illustrated by Toru Nakano et al., Bronze Mirrors from Ancient China: Donald H. Graham Jr. Collection, 1994, pp. 140-1.

Christie's. Luminous Perfection: Fine Chinese Mirrors from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, 22 March 2012, New York, Rockefeller Center

A Stone Plaque with Scenes from the Life of Buddha, Northeastern India, Pala Period, circa 12th century, 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm) high. Estimate: US$100,000-150,000. Photo: Bonhams

NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams partners with Asia Week New York for the ninth annual celebration and affirmation of Asian art with a tightly curated selection of auctions from its three distinguished Asian art departments. Representing visual cultures across the continent, March 13-15 sales include Chinese Works of Art, Portraits of the Master: 108 Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages, and The Korean Aesthetic: The Collection of Robert W. Moore. Please join us at noon on March 9 for a private tour of Bonhams New York Asia Week preview. 

“As a leader in Asian arts Bonhams is thrilled to present museum-worthy pieces during this annual event which brings together an international community of passionate experts, dealers, and collectors,” says Dessa Goddard, Head of Asian Art, Bonhams North America. 

CHINESE SALES COMMENCE ASIA WEEK AT BONHAMS NEW YORK 
Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles at 10 am on March 13 starts off Asia Week sales at Bonhams New York. The auction includes 88 lots from the collection of Dr. Phillip S. Brachman, with many early glass bottles and an excellent selection of inside-painted snuff bottles. Highlights include an inside painted landscape bottle by one of China's leading artists of interior bottle-painting, Ding Erzhong (1897) ($25,000-35,000). In the late Qing period Ding Erzhong’s (1865-1935) scholarly status set him apart from his peers that formed the Beijing School. Also known as Ding Shangyu, he was a celebrated calligrapher and seal carver, in addition to snuff bottle artist. The snuff bottle sale also includes several lots from the collection of New York collector and author Elsa Glickman, including a white and grey jade snuff bottle ($6,000-8,000) published in Bob Stevens The Collector's Book of Snuff Bottles, number 367. 

Following the snuff bottle sale, the second auction, Chinese Works of Art and Paintings at noon on March 13 offers over 150 lots with sections focusing on classical Chinese painting and scholars’ objects, jade, porcelain, and bronzes. Among the many highlights is an ink landscape handscroll by Gong Xian (1618-1689) ($120,000-180,000), a revered Nanjing School painter and an important member of the Eight Masters of Nanjing. The horizontal painting rendered solely in ink depicts a landscape in his unique style with willow-covered mountains in soft velvety grey tones contrasted by unpainted areas of white paper. 

Gong Xian (1618-1689). Landscape (section). Handscroll, ink on paper. Estimate: $25,000-35,000. Photo: Bonhams. 

TIBETAN SCULPTURE SET TO SHINE AFTER WORLD RECORD IN HONG KONG 
Recently adding the $6,351,479 world record auction price for a Tibetan sculpture to Bonhams’ list of record-breaking sales of Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art in recent years, the auction house is poised to offer exciting artworks in this category in two sales–Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art at 3pm on 13 March, and Portraits of the Masters at 6:30 pm on March 14.  

At the Portraits of the Masters auction an exceptional gilded portrait of Drigungpa Jigten Sumgon Rinchenpel (1143-1217), estimated at $300,000-500,000, leads the star-studded single-owner collection of 108 Tibetan bronze sculptures being sold individually. The Portraits of the Masters collection is renowned for being the best private Western assemblage of sculptural portraits of Tibet’s historic and religious leaders, for which no museum or institution outside of Tibet can claim to rival. Bonhams anticipates impassioned bidding throughout the sale as portrait sculptures are heralded for their eccentric features compared to the more formulaic depictions of Tibetan Buddhism’s deities.  

A silver inlaid portrait of Tsangnyon Heruka (1452-1507), estimated at $100,000-150,000 exemplifies the charismatic quality of superior Tibetan portrait sculpture. Known as “The Mad Man of Tsang”, this spiritual master rejected the monastic conventions of his time to pursue the vagrant lifestyle of a great tantric yogin, inspired by the lore and miraculous powers of Tibetan Buddhism’s Indian ancestors.  

A 14th-century gilt copper alloy figure of Vajravarahi, estimated at $200,000-300,000, is among the fine Tibetan sculptures offered within the Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art (3 pm on March 13). Surviving from the glorious Densatil monastery lost during the Cultural Revolution, this vibrant, densely cast, and richly gilt dancing goddess survives with the original tang that would have attached it to the surmounting tier of one of Tibet’s most spectacular gilded stupas.  

A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Vajravarahi. Tibet, Densatil, 14th century. 16 in (40.7 cm) high. Estimate: $25,000-35,000. Photo: Bonhams.  

Indian miniature paintings from the collection of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), the father of Indian Art History, are for sale in tandem with the 2017 centenary celebration of his arrival to the United States as the Keeper of Indian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1917. Among the group is an illustration from a Nayika series, Kangra, circa 1800, estimated at $30,000-50,000. Allegorizing a charming love poem, a young lady is amused by coupling pigeons on her balcony, while the sprigs behind her betray her own fomenting desire while thoughts turn to her beloved.  

Also within the sale is a late-15th-century illuminated Islamic manuscript with découpé calligraphy, estimated at $60,000-80,000. With the calligraphy created by pasting delicate pieces of colored paper onto the page, the technical virtuosity entailed is extraordinary, and the manuscript from which this page stems is one of the most remarkable examples of royal book production in the late medieval Islamic world.  

Edward Wilkinson, Executive Director of Bonhams Asia and Global Head of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art adds, “Prized Islamic manuscripts are rarely offered within the US art market, so this important royal page from the Diwan of a Timurid prince, is a rare treat for domestic collectors and institutions. It joins a lineup across two sales that excels in caliber, particularly among Indian painting and Himalayan sculpture, and we expect a lot of excitement in response from the international collecting community.” 

EXCLUSIVE JAPANESE, KOREAN, AND SCHOLARLY TEA COLLECTIONS 
A fantastic conclusion to Bonhams’ Asia Week offerings is a trio of Chinese and Japanese tea ceremony objects (10 am on March 15), Japanese art (1 pm on March 15), and Korean art (2 pm on March 15). 

The Zuiun Collection sale (10 am on 15 March) offers Japanese and Chinese tea ceremony objects, including sculpted trays, implements, and Chinese Ruyi scepters all made of wood. Scholarly and important objects from several periods recall nature in carvings and fine details. An example and leader a bamboo scepter from the Meiji (1868-1912) or Taisho era (1912-1926) ($18,000-25,000) is intricately sculpted into intertwining blossoms. Such an elegant tool would have been used in Sencha ceremonies where whole tea leaves are infused in hot water to make green tea. Brought from China by Priest Ingen, founder of the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, the tradition was the most popular tea method enjoyed by high ranking intellectuals through the beginning of the Showa period.  

The only dedicated auction of Japanese art both at Asia Week and across the US, Japanese works of Art (1 pm on15 March) includes more than 250 lots of prints among other significant offerings. The first print-focused Japanese sale at Bonhams in five years compromises two large sections of, including a substantial array from the Jeffrey M. Kaplan collection. Bonhams steadfastly supports collectors of Japanese art across all media, including prints, and works on paper, both classical and modern; paintings and screens; swords, armor and Samurai-related artifacts; Buddhist art; ceramics; Meiji-period decorative arts. Bonhams is the only major auction house that holds exclusive Japanese sales in the United States.  

The sole Korean sale during the week is The Korean Aesthetic: The Collection of Robert W. Moore on 15 March at 2 pm. Up for auction 60 lots of important Buddhist art, ceramics, and screen painting highlight the esteemed American collectors eye and scholarship. Moore began his now renowned collection of Korean art in the 1950s when he served in the US Army and was stationed in Korea. Pieces from Moore are included in global art institutions, such as Asia Society, LACMA, and the National Museum of Korea.  

Highlights from the sale included a rare large porcelain reticulated flower pot stand ($60,000-80,000) emblematic of late Joseon Dynasty with its distinctive white color and open lattice work imitating a wicker basket. Dating from the overthrow of Goryeo Dynasty to the late 19th century, the Joseon Dynasty encouraged Chinese Confucian ideals and saw the refinement of classical culture and literature. 

A rare white porcelain reticulated flower pot stand, Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 18th century. Estimate US$ 60,000-80,000. Photo: Bonhams. 

ALSO ON VIEW 

• A preview of rare moonflasks from the Skinner Family Collection to be included insale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at Bonhams Hong Kong at 10 am on 10 May.  

• A non-selling exhibition of a private collection of Meiji era (1868-1912) metal work—mixed metal-inlaid bronzes and silver—represents the highest point in the development of Japanese metal art in terms of design and execution. Soon after the Meiji period, with the coming of WWII in the Pacific much of the knowledge was lost with reduced resources and interest in the genre;

Bouteille aux scènes de la vie de Noé. Dessin: Annibale Fontana (1540-1587); Taille: Atelier des Sarachi (Milan), vers 1580. Cristal de roche, émail sur ronde-bosse d'or, émeraude, or, rubis. H: 31,1 cm, L: 17,5 cm, P: 1,3 cm. Allemagne, Dresde, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Grünes Gewölbe. Photo © BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image SKD

Lot 3515. A blue and white kendi, Chongzhen period circa 1643. Estimate USD 5,000 - USD 7,000. Price realised USD 6,000. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The globular pouring vessel has a lobed body, domed spout and a tall, cylindrical neck that flares toward the top and recedes to the smaller circular mouth. The body is decorated with panels of birds and flowers, beneath a band of small fruit medallions on a diaper ground on the shoulder and tall pointed leaves encircling the neck. 9 ¼ in. (23.3 cm.) high

Literature: Julia B. Curtis, “Transitionware Made Plain: A Wreck in the South China Sea,” Oriental Art, Volume XXXI, No. 2, Summer, 1985, p.171, fig. 19 (left).

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 3518. An underglaze-blue-ground wine cup, Chongzhen period circa 1643. Estimate USD 1,500 - USD 2,500. Price realised USD 1,250. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The deep, U-shaped cup is raised on a high, spreading foot and is covered overall in pale cobalt blue under a transparent glaze. The interior is decorated with a delicate scroll band beneath the rim. 2 ¾ in. (7 cm.) diam.

Provenance: The Property of Captain Michael Hatcher; Christie's Amsterdam, 14 March 1984, lot 252 (part lot).
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: ulia B. Curtis, “Transitionware Made Plain: A Wreck in the South China Sea,” Oriental Art, Volume XXXI, No. 2, Summer, 1985, p. 164, fig. 4.

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

Hochet avec boîte à musique, Friedrich Frank, vers 1865, Hanau. Argent, corail, émail en ronde-bosse d'or, émeraude, lapis lazuli, or, perle, rubis, saphir. Hauteur: 19,5 cm. Allemagne, Dresde, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Grünes Gewölbe, 2004/2. Photo © BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image SKD

Pendentif Saint Georges terrassant le dragon, Allemagne, fin du 16e siècle. Diamant, émail en ronde-bosse d'or, émeraude, or, perle, rubis. H: 8,2 cm. Largeur: 5,1 cm. Allemagne, Dresde, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Grünes Gewölbe, VIII265. Photo © BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image SKD

Lot 3586. A rare large blue and white vase with hunting scene, Early Kangxi period, circa 1680. Estimate $25,000 – $35,000. Price Realized $35,000. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The vase is decorated on the body with an action-filled scene of a mother, Cai Wenji, holding an infant and seated within a curtained tent as two barbarians kneel before her. Outside the tent huntsmen on horseback pursue a small hare as another huntsman successfully shoots a goose with an arrow above. A four-character illegible square seal is inscribed above the scene. The neck is decorated with a further landscape scene, and all scenes are set within splashed borders. The base bears an apocryphal Xuande mark. 16 ¼ in. (41 cm.) high 

Provenance: Heirloom & Howard, Ltd., London, 1984.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Lot 3592. A rare documentary underglaze-blue and copper-red-decorated celadon-ground vase, Yongzheng period, dated 1731. Estimate $40,000 – $60,000. Price Realized $56,250. Photo Christie’s Image Ltd 2015

The tall vase, with high, sloping shoulders and a short neck with flaring mouth, is carved and painted with a continuous river landscape scene including equestrians, sages conversing on rocky promontories and crossing a bridge, and a solitary figure in a boat. The neck bears a long inscription referring to Yueguogong Li (‘Temple for worshiping Yueguogong´) located in Huanglong Kou, followed by the name Sun Daji of Qing, and the date, the ninth month of the ninth year of the Yongzheng reign, corresponding to 1731. 17 in. (43.2) high. 

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

Notes: The combination of celadon green with underglaze cobalt blue and underglaze copper red is relatively rare, no doubt because it was so difficult to fire successfully. With the coming of the Kangxi reign came renewed imperial interest in porcelain and a demand for high quality and variety. In the early years of the reign the potters revived the combination of underglaze blue and underglaze copper red on single pieces, and with the re-establishment of the imperial kiln complex court demand for innovation resulted in molded and carved surface decoration and the use of areas of celadon green being added to this already challenging palette. The current vase is a rare example from the Yongzheng period.

The favored decorative theme in this technique is landscape with trees, mountains, water and molded and carved celadon-green rocks. An example of this technique from the Kangxi period can be found on a trumpet-mouth vase in the Seikado Bunko, Tokyo, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, Tokyo, 1983, vol. 15, Qing, p. 146, no. 138.

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

Francisco de Zurbarán, Vierge à l’Enfant avec saint Jean-Baptiste - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

PARIS - Alicia Koplowitz a réuni, via le Grupo Omega Capital Ω une collection à son image, qui rassemble un nombre important d’oeuvres maîtresses des plus grands artistes. Les maîtres anciens et modernes s’y côtoient dans un passionnant dialogue à travers les siècles : les sculptures antiques et les tableaux de Zurbarán, Tiepolo, Canaletto, Guardi et Goya voisinent avec les peintures et les dessins de Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Picasso, Van Dongen, Modigliani, Schiele, de Staël, Freud, Rothko ou Barceló, mais aussi les sculptures de Giacometti, Bourgeois et Richier...

C’est au Musée Jacquemart-André que sera présentée pour la première fois une sélection des plus beaux chefs-d’oeuvre de cette collection unique, dans la demeure d’une autre collectionneuse d’exception : Nélie Jacquemart qui, avec son mari, a constitué un splendide ensemble, aussi varié que l’est aujourd’hui celui réuni par Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω.

Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Portrait de Doña Ana de Velasco et Girón - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

L’exposition de la Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω met ainsi à l'honneur l’une des plus grandes collectionneuses de notre époque. Les 52 oeuvres présentées retracent les choix de celle qui parcourt, depuis plus de trente ans, le chemin de l’art et nous invite à partager ses émotions esthétiques. Au-delà de la diversité des techniques, des époques et des styles, les oeuvres de la collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω reflètent une même sensibilité artistique. Elles témoignent d’un goût subtil, mais affirmé et audacieux, souvent tourné vers les portraits féminins. Qu’elle soit modèle ou artiste, créatrice façonnant la matière ou muse inspirante, la femme est au coeur de la plupart des oeuvres qu’a choisies Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω.

Alicia Koplowitz est une femme d’affaires espagnole, présidente du Grupo Omega Capital Ω, société d’investissement qu’elle a créée en 1998. Elle a également une fondation venant en aide aux enfants et aux personnes atteintes de la sclérose en plaques. En 2006, elle a reçu les insignes de Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur en reconnaissance de sa carrière professionnelle, de son engagement social et de ses relations privilégiées avec la France. Elle est aussi connue pour cette collection d’oeuvres d’art, considérée comme l’une des plus importantes en Europe. Pour elle, l’art est une passion depuis son plus jeune âge et les acquisitions ont jalonné les grandes étapes de son parcours professionnel et personnel. 

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Portrait de la comtesse de Haro - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Paul Gauguin, Femmes au bord de la rivière - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Liseuse - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Pablo Picasso, Demi-nu à la cruche - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Amedeo Modigliani, La Rousse au pendentif - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Kees van Dongen, Femme au grand chapeau - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Willem de Kooning, Untitled IV - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Mark Rothko,N°6 (Jaune, blanc, bleu sur jaune sur gris) - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Louise Bourgeois, Spider III - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Miquel Barceló, Lac jaune - © Collection Alicia Koplowitz - Grupo Omega Capital Ω

Lot 233. A silver-gilt mounted blue and white tankard. The porcelain: Chinese, 17th Century; The mounts: European, 17th Century. Estimate 2,500 — 3,500 GBP. Sold 25,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby’s.

the pear-shaped body rising from a straight foot to a waisted neck gently flaring at the rim, set on one side with a loop handle, the exterior brightly painted with rectangular panels enclosing birds and flowers, all divided by beribboned tassels and below a lappet band, the rim encircled by a band of floral sprays, mounted with silver-gilt cover and stand – 22.9cm., 9in.

PROVENANCE: Formerly in the collection of the Duke of Trachenberg, Prince of Hatzfeldt of the Trachenberg castle in Silesia,
Thence by descent.
THE PROPERTY OF A RHENISH PRINCELY FAMILY

Sotheby’s. Of Royal and Noble Descent, London, 24 Feb 2015, 10:30 AM

Lot 230. An underglaze-blue and green-enamelled ‘dragon’ bowl, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. Estimate 3,000 — 5,000 GBP. Sold 10,625 GBP. Photo Sotheby’s.

the deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to a flared rim, boldly painted in underglaze-blue outlines filled with green enamels, the exterior depicting two five-clawed dragons pacing amongst ruyi clouds in pursuit of flaming pearls above a lappet band, all between underglaze-blue lines at the rim and foot, the base with an apocryphal Hongzhi mark within a double-circle; 15.4cm., 6 1/8 in.

PROPERTY OF A GERMAN NOBLEMAN

Sotheby’s. Of Royal and Noble Descent, London, 24 Feb 2015, 10:30 AM