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Satyr playing a flute, Roman, 1st-2nd Century AD

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Satyr playing a flute, Roman, 1st-2nd Century AD. Marble. Height 53 cm. Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

The torso and the thighs of the piece are those of a naked, almost childlike, young man. The only covering he is wearing is a goatskin tied over the right shoulder using the animal’s two back legs. One hoof falls down over the chest and the other down the back. The rest of the skin, serving as a cape, half covers the left shoulder and falls down the left arm, partially covering the torso. This attire, the fact that it is a skin, allows us to assume that the figure is one of a satyr. This deduction is confirmed by the fact that a small curly tail can be seen near the tailbone.

The movement of the body is particular, not like the typical “contrapposto” pose, where the weight of the body falls over the left leg, leaving the right slightly bent. This position gives a sense of movement, a degree of dynamism, to any naturalistic piece of sculpture in contrast to a front-on pose. But with this piece we see hips slightly to the right, leaving the right leg straight, while the left leg, with greater freedom, is placed in front and so forms a diagonal cross. In this position the weight of the piece falls on the right leg, but at the same time, the artist has placed a column on the opposite side, in imitation of a tree trunk, to support part of the weight and thus maintain equilibrium.

By studying different typologies of satyrs produced in the Roman period one can observe a notable relationship between this sculpture and a Roman copy of an original Greek piece, to be found in the Louvre Museum. The piece belongs to the famous Borghese collection. There is another similar one in the National Museum in Rome. They are similar in the position of the legs and also of the arms. The forearms of this piece in question are missing, but one can see in which position they would have been: the left one flat against the goatskin, reaching upward with the elbow bent, while the right forearm would have been further forward but also reaching upward towards the face from a bent elbow. Taking these deductions and the other pieces into account, it would seem that the hands would have been holding a flute. The only difference is in the positioning of the goatskin.

So the complete composition would have been that of a satyr leaning against a column, wearing a goatskin and playing a flute.

The satyrs, along with the maenads, made up the retinue that followed the god Dionysus. They were also associated with the god Pan. Some traditions consider Silenus to be the father of the tribe of satyrs. The three major members are Maron, Leneus and Astraeus. They were just like their father and therefore were also called Sileni. According to some versions of the myth, these personages were the fathers of the satyrs (and therefore Silenus would have been the grandfather). The three were in the retinue of Dionysus when he travelled to India. Astraeus was, in fact, the one who drove the chariot.

ProvenancePrivate collection of F. U., Munich, Germany, acquired at the beginning of the 1970s.

Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art - Classical and Egyptian Antiquities. Consell de Cent 278, 08007 Barcelona, Spain


Vase with lid for the foundation ceremony of a temple of Pharaoh Thutmose III, Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII

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Vase with lid for the foundation ceremony of a temple of Pharaoh Thutmose III, Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII, reign of Thutmose III, 1473 - 1426 BC. Alabaster and Egyptian blue. Height 10.5 cm. Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

An elegant vase in the form of a truncated cone, cut with great skill and delicacy from a block of calcite. It has a ring-shaped mouth on which the lid sits and is finished with a slightly projecting circular foot. Hieroglyphic inscriptions have been engraved on both the vase and the lid, and these have been decorated with Egyptian blue pigment.

Egyptian blue is considered to be the first synthetic pigment in history. It is a product obtained from the fusion of a mixture of lime, silica, calcite, copper mineral (malachite or azurite) and natron. The most ancient Egyptian blue discovered dates from Dynasty IV and was used in the decoration of sarcophagi and limestone statues. Excavations at Tell el-Amarna found ancient workshop dedicated to the production of Egyptian blue. In these excavations, small quantities of the raw materials used to make it were found. It was not commonly used to decorate pottery, but rather to decorate stone vases, as in this case. Moreover, amulets and small figure made entirely of a paste of Egyptian blue have been found.

The shape of this vase is typical of those made at the end of the Old Kingdom, but it continued to be seen later without great changes. These ritual vases were made to hold cosmetics to be offered to the gods during ceremonies, especially during the rituals of the daily worship of the gods. 

The engraving on the vase is in three registers of hieroglyphs framed with the symbol of the heaven. The translation reads: “The perfect god, Lord of the Two Lands, Men-Kheper-re (Thutmose III), giver of eternal life, loved of Amon-re, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, Lord of the Heaven, during (the ceremony) of stretching the cord in his west temple, Men Kheper-re who offers life (in the funerary temple of Thutmose III)”.

The only register engraved on the disk-shaped lid reads: “the perfect god Men Kheper-re (Thutmose III) giver of life”.

The laying of the foundations of Egyptian temples was accompanied by a ceremony led by the king, or by one of his subjects, called “Padj-shes” ceremony. The ritual for the king consisted of ten stages to be carried out: the ground plan had to be marked; gypsum or natron had to scattered in the air above the work to purify it; the first trench had to be dug; the first four bricks had to be moulded; the sand at the bottom of the trenches had to be compressed; the construction begun; the complex purified; the temple presented to the gods and finally, offerings and sacrifices had to be made. All of these acts had to be carried out within the new temple complex and the process could go on for several years.

These ceremonies were carried out under the auspices of the goddess Sechat, goddess of writing and knowledge. During the celebrations, objects and offerings were placed under the floors and the walls, usually in the corners. These votive deposits for laying the foundations of temples were usually models in reduced size of work tools such as axes, hoes, amulets, animal skins, bricks and a variety of other objects, such as this vase. These usually bore some sort of inscription, as in this case, giving the name of the sovereign who was making the offering, the name of the building and the principal divinity associated with it.

ProvenancePrivate collection, Belgium, acquired from an Israeli collection in the 1960s.

Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art - Classical and Egyptian Antiquities. Consell de Cent 278, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

Georges Braque (1882 - 1963), Théière et Citron, 1947

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Georges Braque (1882 - 1963), Théière et Citron. Oil on panel, 22.5 x 25 cm (8 ⅞ x 9 ⅞ inches). Signed lower left, G. Braque. Executed 1947. Stern Pissarro Gallery at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

ProvenancePerls Galleries, New York
Fujikawa Galleries, Osaka, Japan
Private collection, Spain 

LiteratureCatalogue de l'oeuvre de Georges Braque: peintures 1924-1927 Mangin, Nicole S. p. 116

Stern Pissarro Gallery - Late 19th and 20th Century European Painting. 66 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1NE, United Kingdom

Gino Severini (1883 - 1966), Nature Morte aux Jolies Dentelles, 1946

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Gino Severini (1883 - 1966), Nature Morte aux Jolies Dentelles. Oil on board, 33.3 x 41 cm (13 ⅛ x 16 ⅛ inches). Signed lower right, G.Severini. Inscribed Meudon 8 on the reverse. Executed 1946. Stern Pissarro Gallery at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Madame Severini, the artist's daughter, has confirmed the authenticity of this work.

ProvenanceCollection Bourdeillette (Monsieur Bourdeillette was a French diplomat posted to Rome) 

LiteratureGino Severini Catalogue Raisonné by Daniela Ronti, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Editions Philippe Daverio, Milan, 1988, illustrated No. 30, page 622

Stern Pissarro Gallery - Late 19th and 20th Century European Painting. 66 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1NE, United Kingdom

Feminine bust, Roman, 2nd Century AD

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Feminine bust, Roman, 2nd Century AD. Marble. Height 39 cm. Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

A front-facing bust of a Roman woman. Given the gravitas of the piece and the fact that the back has not been sculpted, it is most probably a funerary bust to be placed in a tomb or on a grave stone. One could imagine that there would have been an inscription referring to the name of the deceased. 

The artistic style follows the classical canons but has received oriental influences, and so one might think that the work was produced in this zone. The woman has been sculpted with the chin slightly raised, thus breaking the solemnity associated with this type of portraits, and giving the piece a more natural appearance. The hair is styled in pronounced waves on either side of the central parting, and these are pulled back and held at the back of the head. The clothing of the woman is of note: she wears a simple tunic, but one of fine material indicated by the delicate manner in which the folds have been depicted. This tunic is characteristic of Roman attire. 

The Romans brought two important innovations to the world of sculpture: portraiture and historical reliefs, neither of which existed in the Greek world. However, they followed Greek models for a great part of their production of sculpture, which in Rome formed the base but combined with the Etruscan tradition. After the first contacts with Greek classicism through the colonies of Magna Grecia, in 212 BC the Romans conquered Syracuse, an important Greek colony in Sicily, the home of a great number of Hellenic works. The city was sacked and its artistic treasures were carried off to Rome, where the new style of these works soon took the place of the Etrusco-Roman tradition prevailing up to that time. Cato himself denounced the sacking and the decoration of Rome with the Hellenic works, as he considered this a dangerous influence on the native culture, and he deplored the fact that Romans welcomed the statues of Corinth and Athens, at the same time ridiculing the decorative tradition of the ancient Roman temples. However, this reaction in opposition was in vain. Greek art had dominated Etrusco-Roman in general, to the point where Greek statues had become one of the most prized objects of booty in war, and were put on show in the triumphal processions of the conquering generals. 

Shortly after, in 133 BC, the Empire received the heritage of the kingdom of Pergamon, where there had been an original and thriving school of Hellenistic sculpture. The enormous Pergamon Altar, the “Dying Gaul” or the dramatic “Laocoön and his Sons” were three of the key creations of this Hellenistic school. Moreover, after Greece was conquered in 146 BC the majority of Greek artists became established in Rome and many of them devoted themselves to copying Greek sculptures, very much in fashion then in the capital of the Empire. In this way many copies of Praxiteles, Lysippos and classical works of the 5th Century BC were produced, giving birth to a neo-Attic school in Rome, the first neoclassical movement in the history of art. 

However, between the end of the 2nd Century BC and the beginning of the 1st Century BC there was a change in the tendency of Greek purism which ended with the creation of a national school of sculpture in Rome. From this school emerged works like the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, introducing thus a typically Roman narrative concept, that was to become a chronicle of everyday life, and at the same time, a narrative of the success of Rome’s political model. This school was to be the precursor of the great imperial art of Augustus, during whose term of office Rome became the most influential city in the Empire and also the new centre for Hellenistic culture, as in earlier times Pergamon and Alexandria had been, and had in their turn also attracted large numbers of Greek artisans and artists. In the era of Augustus Rome contributed to the continuity and renovation of a tradition that had behind it the prestige of centuries, and had dictated the character of all the art of the zone. In this new era Greek aesthetics and techniques were to be applied to particular themes of this new Rome.

ProvenancePrivate collection of F.T., Asia. Acquired in the 1960s

Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art - Classical and Egyptian Antiquities. Consell de Cent 278, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

Panther Trapezophoros, Roman, 1st - 2nd Century AD

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Panther Trapezophoros, Roman, 1st - 2nd Century AD. Marble. Height 53 cm. Arqueología - Ancient Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

In ancient Rome owning furniture was a mark of distinction. The majority of the population would have lived with only the most basic items, predominantly fashioned from wood. For the aristocracy however furnishings were handcrafted from the most durable materials such as marble and finished with fine decorative details. Their furnishings achieved a level of sophistication and artistry. 

PARALLELS: Sotheby’s. New York. Antiquities. 11 June 2010. Lot 45. 
Sotheby’s. New York. Antiquities. 7 June 2012. Lot 52. 

ProvenancePrivate collection B.C., Barcelona, acquired in the 1960.

Bagot Arqueología - Ancient Art - Classical and Egyptian Antiquities. Consell de Cent 278, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vue prise des Collettes, Cagnes, circa 1910-1911

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919), Vue prise des Collettes, Cagnes. Oil on Canvas, 28 x 45.7 cm (11 x 18 inches). Signed lower left, Renoir. Executed circa 1910-1911. Stern Pissarro Gallery at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

ProvenanceMme Chavan, Lausanne
Sotheby's London, 2nd December 1981 
Sotheby’s London, 4th February 2004 
Richard Green, London
Private Collection, acquired from the above in August 2004  

Literature: Ambroise Vollard, Tableaux, pastels et dessins de Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paris, 1918 
Guy-Patrice Dauberville and Michel Dauberville Renoir: Catalogue raisonné des tableaux, pastels, dessins et aquarelles [4], 1903-1910 no. 2930

This work is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the Wildenstein Institute dated 23ed November 2016 confirming its inclusion in the forthcoming Pierre-Auguste Renoir catalogue raisonné from M. François Daulte, currently being prepared by the Wildenstein Institute.

Stern Pissarro Gallery - Late 19th and 20th Century European Painting. 66 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1NE, United Kingdom

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919), Bord de Rivière, Rameur dans une Barque.

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919), Bord de Rivière, Rameur dans une Barque. Oil on canvas, 32.7 x 40.6 cm (12.9 x 16 inches). Signed with Estate stamp lower right. Stern Pissarro Gallery at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

This work is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the Wildenstein Institute dated 2nd June 2012 confirming its inclusion in the forthcoming Pierre-Auguste Renoir catalogue raisonné from M. François Daulte, currently being prepared by the Wildenstein Institute.

Provenance: Estate of the artist. M.Dubourg, Paris
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the above, 1936)
J.Guerlain, Paris (acquired from the above, 1940)
Waring Hopkins, Paris
O’Hara Gallery, New York (acquired from the above)
Richard L.Feigen & Co., New York (acquired from the above, 19??
Sarina Tang Fine Arts, New York (acquired from the above)
Anon. sale, Christie’s, New York, 12 November 1997, lot 368
Private collection (acquired from the above)
Christie’s, New York, 7 December 2002, lot 205
Bought by a French gallery (acquired at the above)
Private collection, UK (acquired in 2003) 

LiteratureA.Vollard, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Tableaux, pastels et dessins, Paris, 1918, vol.1, p.165, no.653 (illustrated; titled Paysage)

Stern Pissarro Gallery - Late 19th and 20th Century European Painting. 66 St. James's Street, London SW1A 1NE, United Kingdom


Boni De Castellane & Anna Gould, La Mémoire Du Palais Rose at Christie's Paris, 7 march 2017

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Le Palais Rose.

PARIS.- Christie’s France announces the sale of the collection Boni de Castellane & Anna Gould, la mémoire du Palais Rose on the 7 March 2017, continuing Christie’s long history of offering prestigious collections. Legendary figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Boni de Castellane and his wife Anna Gould decorated their famous Palais Rose with the most exquisite works of art, including old master paintings and drawings, furniture, porcelain and jewelry. Collectors and connoisseurs will have the opportunity to enjoy the pre-sale exhibition for a week, from 28 February to 6 March 2017. 

Lionel Gosset, Head of Collection sales, Christie’s France, comments: “We are honoured to be offering this important collection at auction, and have no doubt that collectors will recognise the rarity of the Palais Rose’s provenance and pay tribute to the incredible taste of those who have assembled and enriched it”. 

M. Alexandre Pradère, expert, adds: “The contents of the home which will be offered at auction in March constitutes one of Paris’ best kept secrets. Diane de Castellane lived in this home surrounded by treasures, the majority of which she had inherited from her grandmother Anna Gould, and of which the impressive collection of Boulle furniture is the most significant of all. This auction stands as a testament to one of the most extraordinary palaces of the Belle Époque and a lasting memory of the Palais Rose”. 

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Boniface de Castellane, known as ‘Boni’ was a key figure of the Belle Époque, a celebrated dandy of the Parisian scene, who was also involved in politics. He married Anna Gould in 1895, the daughter of an American millionaire who made his fortune in the railway industry. His success allowed Anna and her husband to benefit from a generous dowry when they married. On 20 April 1896 the cornerstone of what was to become one of the last great hôtel particulier of the 19th century was laid: the Palais Rose. It was built by Paul-Ernest Sanson and René Sergent, some of the last remaining architects influenced by neoclassicism. They openly sourced their inspiration from Versaille’s Grand Trianon, and recreated a perfect copy of the celebrated “Ambassador Staircase”, decorated by Charles Le Brun and demolished in 1752 under King Louis XV. The Palais Rose was completed in 1902 and from then hosted the most prestigious parties in Paris. Over seven years, this hôtel particulier frequently welcomed celebrities: Paris’ aristocracy, the Queen of Naples, Queen Isabel II of Spain, Kapurthala’s Maharadjah, and even the Kings of Spain and Portugal in 1905. However, this opulent lifestyle was not to last. On 20 January 1906, Anna Gould filed for divorce from Boni de Castellane, mainly due to the exorbitant expenses he had generated. 

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A highlight of the sale is an Art Déco masterpiece and truly fascinating work of art. In 1926, Anna Gould commissioned Cartier to produce a nécessaire de bureau (estimate: €1,000,000-1,500,000, illustrated right) that compiled three functions: a penholder, an inkwell and a clock. It depicts a Japanese garden, or more specifically, represents the idea that Europeans had of the country, combining both Chinese and Japanese decorative elements. Coral, jade, rock crystal, pearls, lapis-lazuli, mother-of-pearl, lacquer, diamonds, enamel and aventurine, all of these precious and semi-precious materials were used to create this unique work of art. The auction will mark the first time the work has appeared on the market. 

The 1920’s, and in particular Cartier’s first appearance at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, were a fantastic opportunity for the brand to promote resolutely modern pieces. Since the previous decade, fashion had evolved in a way that clients, including those of the Café Society, took interest in functional objects. Embracing this trend, new products appeared on the market. The objects were mainly aimed at male clientele, including office and smoking accessories. Cartier introduced the taste for Asian art by including traditional oriental features in modern creations such as the jade Buddhistic lions, which cover the inkwells, or the mythical creatures decorating the hands of the clock, forming a dragon when aligned.  

From the Palais Rose are a beautiful pair of Sèvres ormolu-mounted “vases burettes”, dated 1787 and painted by Gilbert Drouet, (estimated €100,000-150,000, illustrated below right). The other pair of “ornaments” (estimated €80,000-120,000, illustrated below left) were probably created after the “côte de melon” model and features the same blue and gold fluted décor. This pair appears to be the only known model today. 

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Out of approximately twenty known views by Francesco Guardi from a similar angle of The Piazza San Marco in Venice, this painting is undoubtedly one of the most important (estimate: €4,000,000-6,000,000). Rarely exhibited in public, it has remained in private hands since 1889. The large work is incredibly well executed, and is in remarkable condition, which allows the viewer to fully admire the vibrancy of the painting. The Basilica San Marco is depicted at the centre of the work, with the Clock Tower and the Procuratie Nuove to the left and the Campanile, the Doge’s Palace and the Procuratie Vecchie on the right. The delicately rendered shadows that lay on the foreground reveal the subtle atmosphere of the afternoon, either at the end of winter or early spring. Guardi’s skill in the manipulation of light and shade is illustrated by the pink-tinted clouds, the gentle breeze in the awnings of the stalls in front of the basilica and in the costumes of the figures, echoing the surrounding buildings. 

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Francesco Guardi, La place Saint Marc. Est: €4.000.000-6.000.000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

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Among the collection is also the impressive ensemble of Boulle furniture. Since King Louis XIV’s reign, André-Charles Boulle’s furniture was popular with financers and aristocrats and his style continued to inspire a succession of both collectors and craftsmen over the centuries. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, Boni de Castellane was a key example of these aristocrats, furnishing the Palais Rose with some of the very best pieces. King Louis XIV’s reign is illustrated by a pair of coffers attributed to Boulle (estimate: €150,000-250,000). A pair of bas d’armoire from the reign of King Louis XV was directly inspired by Boulle’s models and stamped by Jean-Louis Faizelot-Delorme. Formerly in the important collection of financer Laurent Grimod de la Reynière, these bas d’armoire also furnished his hôtel on the Champs-Élysées (estimate: €600,000-1,000,000illustrated left). A pair of Louis XVI meubles à hauteur d’appui illustrates the elegant taste of major cabinet makers Adam Weisweiler and Etienne Levasseur (estimate: €600,000-800,000). 

 

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Another highlight of the sale is L’Heureux ménage (The Happy Household)byJean Honoré Fragonard(estimate: €500,000-700,000, illustrated right). The work is a beautiful study for the final version, which achieved $1.2M (€1,060,095, illustrated left) at Christie’s New York in 2016. This lively study was given in 1825 by the famous printer Marc-Antoine Didot, to Sir Thomas Lawrence. It was then kept in several private collections before appearing at auction at the Palais Galliera in December 1960, where it was acquired by the current owner. Fragonard rearranged the composition in the final painting but both works illustrate a similar dynamism, created by the diagonal form of the figures. The tender and natural portrayal of the figures portray the painter’s own joyful family. Throughout the 1770s and 1780s, Fragonard produced numerous works depicting happy households, capturing intimate and affectionate scenes with remarkable skill, disregarding the rigid conventions of the period. 

The sale will also present a selection of old master drawings including two important pastels by Jean Baptiste Perronneau (each portrait is estimated to realise €80,000-120,000, illustrated below). The portraits were acquired in 1936 by Count and Countess Georges de Castellane (1897-1944) to decorate the blue livingroom and the ground floor of the Hôtel de Castries. The drawings were published in the 2014 monograph Perronneau, written by Dominique D’Arnoult.

 

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The Fleming Museum opens new permanent collection gallery of Asian Art

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Bust of Buddha, Gandharan (Pakistan), 3rd-4th century. Schist. Gift of David and Richard Nalin ’63 2010.6.16© University of Vermont

BURLINGTON, VT.- This winter, the Fleming Museum of Art opened a new Gallery of Asian Art highlighting exemplary works from its permanent collection, focusing on China, Korea, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia. The objects on view span ancient to contemporary examples of courtly, religious, and fine arts as well as everyday objects, including bronzes, ceramics, furniture, clothing and textiles, arms and armor, masks, sculpture, paintings, ink drawings, woodblock prints, and historic photographs. The gallery, which opened on January 17, places objects in the context of the social, political, and religious systems and practices that have shaped the diverse cultures of East, South, and Southeast Asia. 

“We’re thrilled to provide a beautiful new home for the highlights of our Asian collection, where works we’ve been given in the last few decades will dialogue with objects that have been in our collection for over a century,” says Andrea Rosen, the Fleming’s curator and the organizer of the installation. 

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Man’s surcoat (detail), China, 19th century. Silk. Gift of Robert E. Lewis 1919.1.27© University of Vermont

The Fleming’s Asian holdings have grown more than any other aspect of the collection in the past twenty years, through generous gifts from donors such as David and Richard Nalin ’63, William Pickens III ’58, the Doris Duke Southeast Asian Art Collection, Henry D. Ginsburg, Anna Rosenblum Palmer G’88, Lester and Monique Anderson, and others. The legacy of early Fleming donors, such as Henry LeGrand Cannon and Katherine Wolcott, also plays an important role in the installation, demonstrating the ways that collecting and display, by both private citizens and museums, have molded the perception of Asia in the West. 

Faculty and students in UVM’s Asian Studies Program have been involved in the process of planning the installation through classes and internships. In particular, the Honors College class Visualizing History: India, taught by Professor Abigail McGowan, generated student proposals for the installation of the South Asian collection. Interns Olivia Ambo ’17, Marissa McFadden ’17, G’18, Alaina Hendrickson ’18, and Siera Carusone ’18, made significant research contributions; and Professors Erik Esselstrom, John Seyller, Kevin Trainor, and Thomas Borchert, among others, provided invaluable input and support.  

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Andō Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858), Hakone: View of the Lake from the series Fiftythree Stations of the Tôkaidô Road, 1833. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Florence Hold Collection 1934.9.11© University of Vermont

The installation is set in the Fleming’s historic Wilbur Room. The room is named after James Wilbur, who donated his collection of Vermontiana to the University of Vermont in 1928, as well as funds to help build a new museum to house it. At various points in the Museum’s history, the Wilbur Room has functioned as a library, a print-study space, and a gallery for student-curated exhibitions. The Gallery of Asian Art is the first major long-term display of permanent collection objects in this room. With refinished floors, a new layout, and a spectacular installation, the space has been transformed, while its historic essence—the walnut-paneled walls, leaded-glass bookcases, and dedications to historic Vermont figures—remain. The new Gallery of Asian Art was generously supported by Eric Hanson, with loans from Elizabeth van Merkensteijn ’79, David and Richard Nalin ’63, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art. 

Complementing the opening of this gallery is a semester-long contemporary exhibition of composited photographs created by American artist Catherine Jansen of the people, places, and animals of India in the Museum’s Wolcott Gallery, an exhibition titled Imbibe: Drinking in Culture features drinking vessels and containers from all over the world, curated from the Museum’s permanent collection.

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Installation view© University of Vermont

Exhibition seeks to analyse an important moment in the career of Lorenzo Lotto

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BERGAMO.- Getting to know Lorenzo Lotto: two previously unattributed works, the story of their discovery, national and international loans dialoguing with the extraordinary paintings in the Carrara Academy collection and an itinerary around the city of Bergamo in a project detailing an artist who continues to amaze with every new review. 

The exhibition seeks to analyse an important moment in the career of Lorenzo Lotto (Venice 1480 ca. – Loreto 1556/57), a period that coincided with last years the painter spent in Bergamo. From the Carrara Academy to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Adriano Bernareggi Museum and beyond, towards Lorenzo Lotto's works in the city, in places sometimes difficult to access that can now be visited thanks to a network of collaborations.

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Lorenzo Lotto, Ritratto di giovane, 1502 circa, olio su tavola Bergamo, Accademia Carrara, cm 34,2 x 27,9.

Starting point: an exceptional discovery linked with one of the artist's most famous achievements - the designs for the wooden inlays in the Choir of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The Luogo Pio Colleoni in Bergamo is home to an inlay depicting the Creation, until now believed to be an old copy of the one in the Basilica's choirstalls. It is now suggested that this superbly fashioned artefact, as attested to by sources, is one of the preparatory inlays made and worked by Lotto in person. 

The exhibition starts off with this rediscovered masterpiece, associated with the choir as a pinnacle in Lotto's entire career for its extraordinary narrative and symbolic universe; the inlay has been flanked by two preparatory studies in ink for other major works, one of which is a new discovery and attributed only recently.

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Lorenzo Lotto, Autoritratto (?), 1510-13 circa, olio su tavola Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza, cm 43 x 35.

The exhibition continues by highlighting dialogue between some of Lotto's paintings in the Carrara Academy collections and loans of other works completed in the same period. Authentic masterpieces: from the enigmatic and fascinating Portrait of Lucina Brembati to the Mystical Wedding of St. Catherine from Palazzo Barberini in Rome, which equally reveal that delightful narrative vein and singular aptitude for developing unconventional images that also characterises his work in the years spent in Bergamo. From the Portrait of a Young Man and the presumed Self Portrait from the Thyssen Museum in Madrid to the Assumption from Celana - after many years once again in the forefront of an exhibition dedicated to this artist - that transposes the invention contained in the Creation inlay on a monumental scale. 

Lorenzo Lotto | Across Bergamo reveals one of the Renaissance artists closest to modern sensibilities, not the least through a series of initiatives open to the general public: guided visits, educational tours for children and teenagers, a publication and a theatre project in January. 

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Lorenzo Lotto, Martirio di Santo Stefano, 1513-16, olio su tavola Bergamo, Accademia Carrara, cm 51 x 97.

Lorenzo Lotto | A New Discovery 
Realising that an inlay believed to be a copy by Lorenzo Lotto is actually a superbly made original artefact is one of the surprises that the Italian artistic heritage is still capable of holding in store. 

This significant discovery suggests new research avenues and helps exemplify Lotto's imaginative and expressive world. This was why the discovery of the inlay prompted the idea of an exhibition focusing on the years Lotto spent in Bergamo, not the least thanks to the core of paintings already in the Carrara Academy, one of the most important collections in the world summarising 30 years of work by the Venetian-born artist: from Portrait of a Young Man in the early years of the century to the Holy family with St Catherine of Alexandria dated 1533. 

The Creation was designed by Lotto and finished by him in person; it was intended for the inlaid choir of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Work began in 1522 and was so original in terms of technique and narrative inventiveness that it generated no other results. The paintings of those years reveal, in colour, the inventive tension characterising this and other inlays. The Mystical Weeding of St. Catherine, the Holy Conversation from Palazzo Barberini or the Assumption from Celana, but also the two fine paintings - albeit of uncertain attribution - with St. Peter crying and Judas returning the thirty pieces of silver never seen side by side, despite sharing a similar taste for narrative enhanced by surprising details given their quotidian nature, for images animated by irregular shadows interrupted by unpredictable lights, as well as bold foreshortening, complex and always varied layouts. Viewed side by side, they confirm Lotto's to be a stimulating narrator capable, like few others, of appealing to modern sensibilities.

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Lorenzo Lotto, San Domenico resuscita Napoleone Orsini, 1513-16, olio su tavola Bergamo, Accademia Carrara, cm 51 x 97.

Lorenzo Lotto | A profile 
Lotto was a wandering artist par excellence, although his travels took place in confined areas which he returned to on several occasions. Venice, where he was born in 1480, Treviso, the Marches Region and then Bergamo, where lived from 1513 to 1525. 

He made an exceptional trip to the Papal Court in Rome between 1508 and 1509. This was an exception because Lotto was not a high society man. His clients were humanists, cultivated religious figures and wealthy merchants. He painted memorable portraits of them, images for private devotion, constantly astonishing altarpieces and fresco cycles. Restless, stirred by a tormented religiosity, which is reflected in some aspects of the Protestant Reformation then in its early days, and incapable of handling his business properly, he died in poverty in the Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto, where he had retired.

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Lorenzo Lotto, Ritratto di Lucina Brembati, 1521-23 circa, olio su tavola Bergamo, Accademia Carrara, cm 52,6 x 44,8.

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Gianfrancesco Capoferri (da disegno di Lorenzo Lotto), La Creazione, 1523, tarsia lignea Bergamo, Luogo Pio Colleoni.

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Lorenzo Lotto, Nozze mistiche di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria e il committente Niccolò Bonghi, 1523, olio su tela Bergamo, Accademia Carrara, cm 189,3 x 134,3.

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Lorenzo Lotto, Nozze mistiche di Santa Caterina, 1524, olio su tela Roma, Gallerie Nazionali d’Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, cm 98 x 115.

Archaic Bronze Vessel Hu, China, Warring States period (475-221 BC)

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Archaic Bronze Vessel Hu, China, Warring States period (475-221 BC)

Archaic Bronze Vessel Hu, China, Warring States period (475-221 BC). H. 38 cm. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Provenanceprivate collection, USA - with R. Keverne, London (2003)

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Archaic Bronze Dagger Axe, China, Western Zhou period (1100-771 BC)

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Archaic Bronze Dagger Axe, China, Western Zhou period (1100-771 BC)

Archaic Bronze Dagger Axe, China, Western Zhou period (1100-771 BC). L. 21 cm. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Provenanceprivate collection, USA - with R. Keverne, London (2003)

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Green Glazed Vase, China, Han Dynasty (206 bc-220 ad)

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Green Glazed Vase, China, Han Dynasty (206 bc-220 ad)

Green Glazed Vase, China, Han Dynasty (206 bc-220 ad). Height: 43 cm. Price on request. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Pair of Large Brown Glazed Graneries and Covers, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

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Pair of Large Brown Glazed Graneries and Covers, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

Pair of Large Brown Glazed Graneries and Covers, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Height: 50 cm. Price on request. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands


Brown Glazed Oil Lamp, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220)

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Brown Glazed Oil Lamp, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220)

Brown Glazed Oil Lamp, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220). Height: 18 cm. Price: € 3.500,-. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Rare Terracotta Model of a Well, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

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Rare Terracotta Model of a Well, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

Rare Terracotta Model of a Well, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). Height: 23 cm. Width: 22 cm. TL-tested by Oxford Authentication Ltd. Price: € 4.500,-. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Throughout Chinese history scaled architectural models were produced to accompany the deceased in the after-life. This well is a rare example of such a model. It has a square base and a roof with a beam to support the weheel. The base is decorated with the rainmaiking god Chi You, together with another rainmaker: the dragon.

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Wine Flasks, China, Western Han dynasty (206 BC -9 AD)

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Wine Flasks, China, Western Han dynasty (206 BC -9 AD)

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Wine Flasks, China, Western Han dynasty (206 BC -9 AD). H: 34& 36 cm. TL-tested by Oxford, U.K. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

Resting on a flared, rectangular foot, each side of these wine flask has a moulded a heart-shaped panel. These flasks may have been fitted with ring handles to both shoulders. They appear to have been modelled after the Eastern Zhou bronze flasks(bian hu 扁壶), which in turn were probably following leather prototypes.

By the Han Dynasty, the greater occurrence of drink vessels in burials, suggests that wine may have played an important role in the presumed after-life of the deceased. An inscription on a wine vessel in a Han tomb (Macheng, Hebei), expressing the wishes for a prosperous and long life, seem to reinforce such an assumption. 

It is possible that Daoism - which gained greatly in popularity during the Han dynasty – and its preoccupation with the immortality of the soul, may have affected the increased importance of wine in the performance of ancestral rituals. Historical evidence records the many offerings of wine to gods, as a gesture of hospitality and supplication, in Daoist rituals from as early as 141 BC. These were performed by the first organised Daoist schools, the Celestial Masters.

There is a similar bronze examples from the Han dynasty in the Suide County Museum (TD31), Shaanxi Province. For comparable bronze examples dating to the Han dynasty, see the flask in the Suide County Museum (TD31), Shaanxi province. A pottery example was sold in the Breece collection by Christie’s in 2004.

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Pottery Model of a Chicken, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

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Pottery Model of a Chicken, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

Pottery Model of a Chicken, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). H. 18 cm. W. 20 cm. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

ProvenanceJ.J. van der Ven collection, the Netherlands

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Pottery Model of a Rooster, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

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Pottery Model of a Rooster, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD)

Pottery Model of a Rooster, China, Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). H. 22 cm. W. 20 cm. Vanderven Oriental Art at Brafa Art Fair, Brussels, 21-29 january 2017.

ProvenanceJ.J. van der Ven collection, the Netherlands

Vanderven Oriental Art. Chinese early ceramics from the Han & Tang Periods, Ming & Qing porcelains & works of art including Jades, Bronzes, hardstones and wood. Japanese porcelains, 20th century lacquer & bronzes. Nachtegaalslaantje 1, 5211 LE s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

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