The Portland Art Museum is pleased to present an exhibition that brings together eight dispersed 14th-century paintings, and a recreated missing panel, so that the altarpiece can be seen and appreciated as one magnificent work of art. This reunion offers visitors a special opportunity to see the Museum’s Resurrection of Drusiana in its original context in the upper left corner. Donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1961, the painting is one of the finest Early Italian narrative scenes in the Pacific Northwest.

Ghissi worked in the Marche, the mountainous Italian region between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea. The St. John Altarpiece is most extensive ensemble of his work to have survived, but its original location remains a mystery. It was made in the 1370s following a typical format for chapels and small churches, in which a large central image of the Crucifixion is flanked by smaller narrative scenes. In this case, eight episodes are devoted to the life of John the Evangelist, who was most likely the patron saint of the church. True to the spirit of the burgeoning Renaissance, each scene is depicted with great clarity, drama, and humanity, and the ensemble demonstrates that Ghissi was consistently a masterful storyteller.

During the 19th or early 20th century, the altarpiece was dismantled and sawed apart because individual panels could be sold more lucratively to art dealers and collectors. In time, all of the known elements entered U.S. museums. Portland’s painting and three panels in the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) were the gifts of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Three additional panels are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the central Crucifixion is in the Art Institute of Chicago. After more than a century of separation, the paintings are now reunited in this exhibition, first displayed at NCMA last fall, that retells the story of this Early Renaissance masterwork. 

Francescuccio Ghissi (Italian, active 1359–1374), St. John Altarpiece, 1370s, tempera and gold leaf on wood, including paintings from the Portland Art Museum, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Lot 688. Two famille-verte triple gourd vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 7,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.  

each larger lower bulb brightly enameled with two flower-filled baskets, one inscribed fu lu shou, interspersed with butterflies and foliate motifs, rising to the smaller mid-section encircled by the 'Hundred Antiques' and an iron-red-ground leafing peony scroll to the upper bulb, all below a band of overlapping upright leaves enclosing floral scrollwork to the tall narrow neck with flared rim (2). Height 9 3/4  in., 24.8 cm

Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York, 1980s.  

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art New York, 15 Mar 2017

Lot 689. Two famille-verte and blue and white double gourd vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 9,375 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.  

each with a globular body supported by a short tapered foot, rising to a ribbed waist and lobed center below the cylindrical neck and flaring mouth, the body painted in bright enamels with figural scenes of ladies and children, the center and neck with alternating blue and white floral patterns (2). Heights 10 5/8  in., 27 cm 

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.  

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art New York, 15 Mar 2017

Lot 690. A powder-blue and copper-red 'Dragon' dish,  Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Lot sold 11,250 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.  

the shallow rounded sides continuing to a broad flat rim, the interior with a four-clawed dragon striding in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl' painted in a grayish tone of copper-red, all on a finely mottled cobalt blue ground, the base with an apocryphal Chenghua mark. Diameter 10 3/4  in., 27.3 cm 

Provenance: Berwald Oriental Art, London, circa 2000.

Note: Among the many technical achievements of the Kangxi period was the reintroduction of underglaze copper-red. Due to the difficulty firing the color, red had not been successfully produced since the early Ming period. The combined palette of powder-blue and copper-red was produced in the later years of the Kangxi period from about 1700-1720. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam holds many examples of this type including a covered box decorated with copper-red dragons similar to the present example and illustrated in Christiaan J.A. Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, London, 1997, pl. 129. Another similar dish, but painted with a lady in the center, from the Collection of John and Julia Curtis, was sold at Christie's New York, 16th March 2015, lot 3585.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art New York, 15 Mar 2017

Lot 354. An Art Deco diamond clip brooch by Lacloche Frères. Estimate GBP 4,000 - GBP 6,000 (USD 6,268 - USD 9,402). Price realised GBP 5,625 (USD 8,837)  © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

The pierced shield shaped panel, entirely set with old brilliant-cut diamonds, to a plain gallery, circa 1925, 2.9cm long, original maker's case.  Signed Lacloche Freres

Christie's. Important Jewels, 26 November 2014, London, King Street

Lot 340. An art deco diamond and ruby bangle, by Lacloche. Estimate CHF 42,000 - CHF 52,000 (USD 46,000 - USD 56,000). Price realised CHF 183,000 (USD 193,106)© Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The tapered bangle with openwork diamond-set scale patterns, enhanced by calibré-cut ruby lines, to the stylized acorn swiveling terminals, 1920s, inner diameter 6.5 cm, with French assay mark for platinum. Signed Lacloche

Christie's. Magnificent Jewels & The Archduke Joseph Diamond, 13 November 2012, Geneva

A Gemset Diamond Pendant Watch by La Cloche, c. 1930, France. Price Upon Request. Offered by BENTLEY & SKINNER

A fine La Cloche diamond and gemset pendent watch, the rectangular watch back set with brilliant-cut diamonds, suspended by a run of wedge-shaped and brilliant-cut diamonds, the top and base embellished with carved ruby, sapphire and emerald, brooch pin fitting, circa 1930.

LaCloche Paris, Art Deco Amethyst Buddha Pin, 1920 to 1929, France. Price Upon Request. Offered by BENTLEY & SKINNER

A LaCloche Art Deco amethyst buddha pin, the pin comprising a carved amethyst buddha, embellished with rose-cut diamond-set halo, centre and fleur-de-lis base, all set to a platinum mount and pin, signed LaCloche Freres, gross weight 6.6 grams, circa 1920

Art Deco LaCloche Paris Conch Pearl Ear Pendants, circa 1920s. Price Upon Request. Offered by BENTLEY & SKINNER

Lot 315. An Art Deco hardstone and diamond clock, by Lacloche Frères. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 25,000 (USD 22,800 - USD 38,000). Price realised GBP 50,000 (USD 76,650)© Christie's Images Ltd 2015

The rectangular amber case with inset carved lapis lazuli dial, rose-cut diamond Arabic numerals and similarly-set arrow hands, flanked to either side by a fluted aventurine quartz, lapis lazuli and rose-cut diamond column, with similarly composed stepped surmount, raised on spherical aventurine quartz feet and further amber and lapis lazuli plinth base, circa 1920, French marks for platinum and gold, 10.7 x 7.6cm, original fitted maker's case. Signed Lacloche Frères Paris, no.71714

Christie's. Important Jewels, 3 June 2015, London, King Street

Lot 1155. An Art Deco coral, lapis lazuli, enamel and diamond "Poiret rose" vanity case, by Lacloche Frères. Estimate USD 60,000 - USD 80,000. Price realised USD 74,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2009

The rectangular black enamel and 18k gold case framed by rose-cut diamonds, the lid set with carved red coral roses each with a rose-cut diamond pistil, extending lapis lazuli leaves with rose-cut diamond veining, the pearl pushpiece opening to reveal a fitted mirror, a covered lipstick holder and a covered compact compartment, to the multi-gem geometric link chain and lapis lazuli and diamond ring, circa 1925, 3½ x 2 ins., with Swiss assay marks and English hallmarks. With maker's mark for Lacloche Frères, no. 3760

Christie's. Rare Jewels and Objets d'Art: A Superb Collection, 21 October 2009, New York, Rockefeller Center

Long-necked ewer. China, probably Henan Province. Gongxian kilns. Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Glazed stoneware with copper-green splashes over white slip. H. 40 1/2 x W. 9 x D. 10 1/4 in. (102 x 23 x 26 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00900 1/2 to 2/2. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Tang Shipwreck Collection

NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Society Museum in New York presents a selection of 76 artifacts from a thousand-year-old shipwreck discovered in 1998 in Southeast Asian waters. On view for the first time in the United States, the objects are evidence of the robust exchange of goods, ideas, and culture between far-flung kingdoms in Asia during the ninth century. Secrets of the Sea: A Tang Shipwreck and Early Trade in Asia is on view from March 7 through June 4, 2017. 

"The contents of the Belitung shipwreck testify to the scale and sophistication of contact between ancient Islamic and Buddhist peoples more than a thousand years ago. Secrets of the Sea presents some of the most important archeological revelations of the twentieth century,” said Boon Hui Tan, Asia Society Vice President for Global Arts & Cultural Programs and Director of Asia Society Museum. “By shining a light on the rich cultural and commercial links among Asia’s disparate ancient empires hundreds of years before the arrival of the Europeans to the region, this exhibition challenges widely held Eurocentric conceptions of globalization, migration, and trade in the region. It is proof that globalization is a very old concept in Asia.” 

Four-lobed bowl with dragon medallion. China, probably Henan Province, Gongxian kilns. Tang dynasty, ca. 825–850. Stoneware with pale copper-green glaze over white slip. H. 5 x D. 14.5 in. (12.7 x 36.8 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00396. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell

Secrets of the Sea: A Tang Shipwreck and Early Trade in Asia features precious cargo—bound for the Abbasid Caliphate, an empire that included present-day Iran and Iraq, and produced in China during the Tang dynasty (618–907)—including ceramics, gold and silver vessels, bronze mirrors, and other artifacts. Discovered in 1998 off of Belitung Island, Indonesia, the ship’s contents were miraculously protected from erosion and breakage by tight and ingenious packing as well as the conditions of the silty floor of the Java Sea. Until the discovery of this ship, it was believed that the Tang traded primarily through Central Asian land routes, mainly on the Silk Road. The discovery of the ship’s cargo confirmed the significant maritime trade route. Most of the works in the exhibition have never traveled outside Asia. 

Highlights in the exhibition include a magnificent ewer and other glazed stoneware objects with copper green splashes over white slip, which were highly desirable in the Middle East, also known as West Asia, from the largest cache of this type of ware recorded to date. A Chinese blue-and-white stoneware dish, with a lozenge motif that was common in West Asia, is one of three from the shipwreck. Created around 830, they are some of the earliest known complete examples of Chinese blue-and-white ceramics. The cobalt-blue pigments used, imported from the Abbasid Caliphate, had previously been found only in that part of the world and had not yet appeared in China. The exhibition also boasts rare and imperial-quality silver boxes and gold vessels, which are thought to have been used in trade negotiations and as diplomatic gifts. 

Dish with floral lozenge decoration. China, Henan Province, Gongxian kilns. Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Glazed stoneware with cobalt-blue pigment over white slip. Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00473. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell

"The artifacts exhibited will expose American audiences to the rich narratives of the two great trading powers of the ninth century—Tang China and the Abbasid Caliphate—and highlight ancient Asia’s early advances into industrial production for the export market,” noted Kennie Ting, Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore. 

The exhibition begins with an exploration of the shipwreck’s 1998 discovery—by fishermen in shallow waters—that includes color photography of the wreck and documentary video footage. The show goes on to consider the rise of early global trade in Chinese goods, particularly blue-and-white ceramics, and advances in mass production, as well as the appetite in Southeast Asia and West Asia for luxury exports from China.

Changsha ewers trapped in a coral concretion on the top of the wreck mound. Photography by Michael Flecker

Stacks of Changsha bowls deep within the wreck mound. Photography by Michael Flecker, 1999.

Changsha bowls from the wreck tightly packed inside a storage jar. Photography by Michael Flecker, 1999

Bowl with decorative inscription in cursive script. China, Hunan Province. Changsha kilns. Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Glazed stoneware with underglaze iron-brown. H. 2 x W. 6 in. (5.1 x 15.2 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00580. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Courtesy of John Tsantes and Robert Harrell.

A round, silver box containing a set of small, lobed, silver-gilt boxes recovered from the wreck. Photography by Michael Flecker, 1999

Square-lobed dish with insects, flowers, knotted ribbons, and swastika (wan, “10,000”). China, Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Gold. H. 1 1/4 x W. 6 x D. 4 in. (3.5 x 15.5 x 10 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00922. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Tang Shipwreck Collection

Four-lobed oval box with deer and lion decoration. China, Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Silver, parcel-gilt. H. 1 x W. 3 1/2 x D. 2 1/2 in. (2.5 x 8.9 x 6.4 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00865 1/2 to 2/2. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Tang Shipwreck Collection.

Fan-shaped box with parrot and duck decoration. China, Tang dynasty, ca. 825–50. Silver, parcel-gilt. H. 1 x W. 3 1/2 x D. 2 1/2 in. (2.5 x 8.9 x 6.4 cm). Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 2005.1.00868 1/2 to 2/2. Photography by Asian Civilisations Museum, Tang Shipwreck Collection.

The ship was carrying a small amount of cash in the form of Chinese bronze coins (seen here) and large silver ingots. The presence of the coins on the ship suggests some of the earliest evidence of their acceptability in Southeast Asian markets. Photography by Michael Flecker, 1999

The Jewel of Muscat, a ship constructed based on the Belitung wreck and evidence of early West Asian shipbuilding, during sea trials off Oman. Photography by Michael Flecker.

Forefoot of Jewel of Muscat showing sewn planks. Photography by Alessandro Ghidoni, 2009

Sewing the stem to the forward end of the keel on Jewel of Muscat. Photography by Alessandro Ghidoni, 2008

Fitting Jewel of Muscat frames inside the shell of the hull. Photography by Alessandro Ghidoni, 2009

Jewel of Muscat just before launching in the Gulf of Oman. Photography by Alessandro Ghidoni, 2009

Henri Fantin-Latour, Capucines doubles, 1880. Huile sur toile. 62,8 x 42,5 cm, Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres © Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres

GRENOBLE - Au musée du Luxembourg jusqu’au 12 février 2017, l’exposition FantinLatour. À fleur de peau sera présentée au musée de Grenoble à partir du 18 mars 2017. Cette rétrospective, qui rend hommage au plus célèbre peintre d’origine grenobloise du XIXe siècle, met en lumière, ce qui par-delà l’évidence de ses admirables bouquets de fleurs et de ses fascinants portraits, fait de Fantin-Latour un artiste résolument singulier en même temps qu’en parfaite résonnance avec son époque. La présentation à Grenoble intègre une évocation de l’atelier parisien et dévoile une sélection du corpus photographique légué par son épouse Victoria Dubourg au musée de Grenoble.

Suivant un plan chronologique, l’exposition commence par les œuvres de jeunesse de l’artiste, en particulier les troublants autoportraits qu’il réalise dans les années 1850-1860. Confiné dans l’atelier, Fantin-Latour trouve alors ses sources d’inspiration au cœur de son intimité : modèles captifs, ses deux soeurs sont mises en scène en liseuses ou en brodeuses, tandis que les natures mortes savamment composées des années 1860 révèlent, déjà, les qualités d’observation exceptionnelles du jeune artiste. 

Henri Fantin-Latour, Autoportrait, 1859. Musée de Grenoble © Musée de Grenoble

Henri Fantin-Latour, Autoportrait, la tête légèrement baissée,1861. Huile sur toile. 25,1 x 21,4 cm. Washington, National Gallery of Art. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Suit la décennie 1864-1874, période charnière dans le travail de Fantin-Latour. C’est durant ces années qu’il réalise ses plus fameux portraits de groupe, Coin de table, immortalisant le couple Verlaine-Rimbaud et Un atelier aux Batignolles, un hommage à Manet et à la jeune génération d’artistes dont il fait partie. Il déploie par ailleurs son talent de peintre de fleurs, un sujet qui tend à occuper l’essentiel de son activité. 

Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904), Hommage à Delacroix, 1864. Huile sur toile, 160 x 250 cm © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Henri Fantin-Latour, Un atelier aux Batignolles, 1870. Huile sur toile, 204 x 273.5 cm. Musée d'Orsay© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Henri Fantin-Latour, Coin de table, 1872. Huile sur toile. 161 x 223 cm. de gauche à droite : Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Elzéar Bonnier, Léon Valade, Emile Blémont, Jean Aicart, Ernest d’Hervilly, Camille Pelletan. Paris, musée d’Orsay © Rmn-Grand Palais (musée d’Orsay) / Photo Hervé Lewandowski

La troisième partie de l’exposition présente les séries de natures mortes et de portraits que l’artiste réalise jusqu’en 1890. À l’exception des portraits de commande, qui se raréfient peu à peu dans son œuvre, il qualifie lui-même la plupart de ces toiles d’«études d’après nature ». Les somptueuses natures mortes de fleurs qu’il brosse alors par dizaines témoignent d’un talent rare dans la composition des bouquets autant que d’une exceptionnelle virtuosité dans le rendu des matières. Ses portraits, qu’ils soient posés ou plus intimistes, illustrent eux aussi un sens aigu de l’observation. 

Henri Fantin-Latour, Fleurs d’été et fruits, 1866. Huile sur toile. 73 x 59,7 cm. Toledo (Etats-Unis), The Toledo Museum of Art© The Toledo Museum of Art

Henri Fantin-Latour, Nature morte dite « de fiançailles », 1869. Huile sur toile. 32,8 x 30,4 cm. Grenoble, musée de Grenoble © Musée de Grenoble

Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses dans une coupe, 1882. Huile sur toile. 36,5 x 46 cm. Paris, musée d’Orsay© RMN-Grand Palais (musée d’Orsay) / Photo René-Gabriel Ojéda

Henri Fantin-Latour, Fleurs (The Rosy Wealth of June), 1886. Huile sur toile. 70,5 x 61,6 cm, Londres, National Gallery. Photo © The National Gallery, Londres, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / National Gallery Photographic Department

Henri Fantin-Latour, Portrait de Charlotte Dubourg, 1882. Huile sur toile. 118 x 92,5 cm. Paris, musée d’Orsay © Musée d’Orsay, Dist Rmn-Grand Palais / Photo Patrice Schmidt

Henri Fantin-Latour, L’Etude (portrait de Sara Elizabeth Budgett), 1883. Huile sur toile. 114 x 87 cm. Belgique, musée des beaux-arts de Tournai © collection du musée des beaux-arts de Tournai, legs Van Cutsem

Henri Fantin-Latour, La Lecture, 1877. Huile sur toile. 97,2 x 130,3 cm. Lyon, musée des Beaux-Arts © musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon / Photo Alain Basset

Henri Fantin-Latour, L’Anniversaire, 1876. Huile sur toile. 220 x 170 cm, Grenoble, musée de Grenoble © Musée de Grenoble

Peu à peu, l’artiste se lasse cependant des portraits et des natures mortes et se tourne vers les œuvres dites « d’imagination » qui occupent une part croissante dans son œuvre au fil des années et marquent la fin du parcours de l’exposition. Inspirées par des sujets mythologiques ou odes à la beauté du corps féminin sous couvert de chastes allégories, ces œuvres révèlent un visage moins connu de l’artiste. 

Henri Fantin-Latour, La Nuit, 1897. Huile sur toile. 61 x 75 cm, Paris, musée d’Orsay © Rmn-Grand Palais (musée d’Orsay) / Photo Hervé Lewandowski

Henri Fantin-Latour, Ariane abandonnée, 1899. Huile sur toile, 56,3 x 45,8 cm. Lyon, musée des Beaux-Arts © musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon / Photo Alain Basset

Entre l’austérité des portraits familiaux, la richesse des natures mortes et la féerie des tableaux d’imagination se dessine ainsi un personnage tout en nuances et à la personnalité complexe.

L’exposition grenobloise présente aussi une évocation de l’atelier parisien de Fantin-Latour, à partir des objets lui ayant appartenu et des œuvres de Victoria Dubourg, son épouse, et offre, ce faisant, une plongée dans l’univers créatif de l’artiste. 

Cette rétrospective est enfin l’occasion de dévoiler au public un corpus de photographies inédit, véritable répertoire de formes pour Fantin-Latour, et de mettre en lumière le rôle de ce nouveau médium dans l’élaboration de ses compositions d’imagination. Collectionneur de milliers d’images, essentiellement des nus féminins, une sélection de ce fonds sera présentée en parallèle dans la Tour de l’Isle. 

Musée de Grenoble. 18 mars - 18 juin 2017

Auteur non identifié, Sans titre, 9,2 x 14 cm, Grenoble, musée de Grenoble © Musée de Grenoble

A man looks at a painting titled " Un atelier aux Batignolles" (A Studio at Les Batignolles) painted in 1870 by French painter Henri Fantin-Latour and displayed during the retrospective exhibition "Fantin-Latour, A fleur de peau" at the Musee de Grenoble, on March 17, 2017. The exhibition will run from March 18 to 18 June 18 2017. JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT / AFP

CHICAGO, IL.- Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will conduct two sales of curated couture and luxury accessories for the upcoming spring season. The April 5 Luxury Accessories and Couture auction will include over 150 lots spanning from the 1920s onward by iconic designers. Starting March 27 and running through April 7 is a timed online only sale, Spring Staples, which will feature everyday couture from Hermes scarves to costume jewelry. 

The April 5 auction includes numerous Hermes handbags in bright colors such as a gold Birkin handbag with an estimate of $9,000 ­ 11,000 and an orange Kelly estimated at $7,000 ­ 8,000. Additional handbags by Chanel, Judith Leiber, Bottega Veneta and others will be offered in the sale. 

Lot 134. An Hermès Gold Togo 30cm Birkin Handbag, 2008,  with palladium hardware, dual rolled handles, a front flap turn lock closure, a clochette with lock and keys, an interior zip pocket and an interior slip pocket. Together with a dustbag and box. Square L blindstamp.  Stamped: Hermes. 12" x 8.5" x 6" . Estimate $ 9,000-11,000 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Two Fortuny gowns will be featured including an aqua ³Delphos² gown from the 1920s with Venetian glass bead embellishment and of the designer¹s signature hand pleated silk. It has a presale estimate of $1,000 ­ 2,000. 

Lot 59. A Mariano Fortuny Aqua "Delphos" Gown, 1920's,  with Venetian glass bead embellishment at the sides and a silk patterned belt. Labeled: Mariano Fortuny.  No Size. Estimate $ 1,000-2,000 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Slight yellowing to silk cord at sleeve, slight yellowing and soiling to back collar, yellowing around collar, very slight staining to front right side, staining front middle, slight thread pull to front middle, slight staining to front middle, slight discoloration in lower front, very slight stain to back hem. Approximate Flat Measurements: Bust, Waist and Hips: Stretchable. Length (from underarm): 34"

Lot 60. A Mariano Fortuny Deep Orange "Delphos" Gown, 1920's,  with Venetian glass bead embellishment at the sides. Labeled: Mariano Fortuny. No Size. Estimate $ 700-900 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Soiling around interior neckline, missing panel of fabric in interior collar, rip under left and right arm, small slight tears to front, 3" tear to left waist, slight stain to front lower left, soiling to back hem, slight tears throughout back, slight stain to back left shoulder. Approximate Flat Measurements: Bust, Waist, and Hips: Stretchable. Length (from underarm): 49.5"

A 1965 paper dress after Andy Warhol, known as the Souper Dress, will be offered with a presale estimate of $1,500 ­ 2,500. Clad in Warhol¹s Campbell¹s soup print, the dress was once owned by any employee of Campbell¹s that worked at the original soup factory. From another ³pop² era is a John Galliano newsprint dress that will be offered at $500 ­ 600 and several Paco Rabanne chainmail designs such as a purse, bracelet and belt. 

Lot 10. An After Andy Warhol (American, 1927-1987) Souper Dress, 1965, color screenprint on cotton paper A-line dress. 36.5" x 21.5". Estimate $ 1,500-2,500 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Property of Mr. Terry Beavers, Omaha, Nebraska

Lot 12. A John Galliano Newsprint Slip Dress, with adjustable mesh straps, a built-in bra, rhinestone strap embellishment, and black lace trim. Labeled: Galliano. Size 30. Estimate $ 500-600 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Slight pilling, staining on front bustier and neckline, pink stain on front facing panel near hips. Approximate Flat Measurements:  Bust: 10" Waist: 12" Hip: 15" Length: 35" (underarm to hem)

Additional highlights include an Issey Miyake pleated jacket circa 1980s, similar to one housed at the MET ($500 ­ 700), a Norman Norell mermaid gown, one of the designer¹s most iconic designs, in green sequins ($2,000 ­ 3,000) and a Chanel pink and orange python suit ($600 ­ 800). 

Lot 107; An Issey Miyake Multicolor Pleated Jacket, circa 1980s,  with green, tangerine, and mustard colorblocking and an asymmetrical button closure.  Labeled: Issey Miyake. No Size. Estimate $ 500-700 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Lot 63. A Norman Norell Green Mermaid Gown, ith bow waist and attached belt detail, low back, and back zip closure. Labeled: Norman Norell. No Size. Estimate $ 2,000-3,000 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Property from the Collection of Ms. Mary Soleiman, Glenview, Illinois

Loose and missing sequins on back collar, slight wear and discoloration under arms, loose thream at hem. Approximate Flat Measurements: Bust: 17" Waist: 13.5" Hips: 17" Length (from underarm):

Lot 36. A Chanel Pink and Orange Python Suit Ensemble, 2000 Transitional, consisting of a python jacket with multicolor silk floral lining, two slip pockets, together with a matching skirt with two patch pockets, a silvertone logo embellishment, and a back zip and hook and eye closure. Both Labeled: Chanel. Size 40. Estimate $ 600-800 © 2016 LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, INC.

Thread pull on right seam of skirt, slight wear along seam of armhole. Approximate Flat Measurements: Jacket: Bust: 20" Waist: 18.5" Length (from underarm): Skirt: Waist: 14" Hips: 17" Length (from underarm)

The separate, timed online only sale, running from March 27 ­ April 7, will also feature colorful property curated for its spring appeal. Singular items at accessible price points will include clothing, accessories, handbags and costume jewelry. The timed sale will be conducted on Bidsquare at bidsquare.com. 

Previews for both sales will open Saturday, April 1 in Leslie Hindman Auctioneers¹ Chicago saleroom. The April 5 live auction will be conducted in the saleroom and online at LHLive and Bidsquare, and the catalogue is currently available online at lesliehindman.com

Estiméà plus de 60 millions de dollars. Pesant 59,60 carats, le «Pink Star» est le plus grand diamant « Fancy Vivid Pink »« Internally Flawless » jamais certifié par le Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Photo: Sotheby's.

Hong Kong - Sotheby’s a l'honneur d'annoncer que le Pink Star - un sublime trésor de la nature - sera mis en vente le 4 avril prochain, dans le cadre de la vente de Haute Joaillerie (Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite) de Sotheby's à Hong Kong. Estiméà plus de 60 millions de dollars, ce diamant rose ovale (« oval mixed cut ») de 59,60 carats est le plus grand diamant "Fancy Vivid Pink" et "Internally Flawless" jamais certifié par le Gemological Institute of America (GIA). 2 S'exprimant à propos de la prochaine vente du Pink Star, David Bennett, Président du Département de Haute Joaillerie en Europe et au Moyen-Orient et Président de Sotheby's Suisse, a déclaré: « L’engouement pour les diamants de couleur ne cesse de croître et je suis ravi de pouvoir présenter ce diamant aux enchères à Hong Kong. La taille de cette pierre – plus de 59 carats - ainsi que l’intensité de sa couleur dépassent tous les autres diamants connus de l’histoire. »

«Le Pink Star est un vrai chef-d’œuvre de la nature, indescriptible». Monographe de la GIA décrivant le «Pink Star», 2013. Photo: Sotheby's.

Une valeur inédite pour un diamant taillé mis aux enchères

Le Pink Star possède non seulement le plus haut degré de couleur1 et de pureté pour un diamant rose d’après la classification du GIA, mais il s’avère également être un diamant de type IIa, une catégorie très recherchée ne comprenant que 2 % des diamants répertoriés dans le monde. Le diamant brut de 132,5 carats dont est extrait le Pink Star a été découvert par De Beers en Afrique en 1999, puis taillé avec le plus grand soin : il a fallu près de deux ans pour révéler ce diamant magnifique. Selon une lettre envoyée en avril 2016, les archives du GIA montrent que le « Pink Star » reste le plus grand diamant « Fancy Vivid Pink » d’une clarté« Flawless » ou « Internally Flawless » jamais certifié par le prestigieux laboratoire.

Pesant 59,60 carats, le « Pink Star » fait deux fois la taille du Graff Pink - un magnifique diamant rose « Fancy Intense Pink » de 24,78 carats adjugé 45,4 millions de francs ($46,2 millions) chez Sotheby’s à Genève en 2010 – une enchère record à l’époque pour tout diamant et bijou jamais vendus aux enchères.

La vente du Pink Star perpétue la tradition de Sotheby’s de présenter au marché des objets d’une exceptionnelle rareté. Sotheby’s Genève a dispersé quelques-uns des diamants les plus importants jamais mis aux enchères, établissant le prix record par carat pour un diamant lors de la vente du « Blue Moon of Josephine », un diamant bleu « Fancy Vivid Blue »« Internally Flawless » de taille coussin pesant 12,03 carats qui s’est vendu pour US$ 48,5 millions chez Sotheby’s à Genève en 2015. 

Photo: Sotheby's. 

Photo: Sotheby's.

Giovanni Boldini, Self-Portrait at sixty-nine years, 1911. Oil on canvas, 105x97 cm, Ferrara, Museo Giovanni Boldini© Ferrara, Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art

ROME.- The exhibition devoted to Giovanni Boldini (Ferrara, 1842 – Paris, 1931), from 4 March to 16 July at the Complesso del Vittoriano – Ala Brasini in Rome, is one of the most comprehensive and spectacular retrospectives of last decades, comprising over 150 works by Boldini and the most important artists of his time. 

Feminine charms, elegant rustling gowns, the Belle Époque, salons and the fleeting moment make up the fascinating world of Giovanni Boldini, the brilliant painter who captures better than any other the rarefied atmosphere of an extraordinary era. 

The works – including the famous Red Curtain (1904), A Lady Reading (1875), Portrait of a Lady in White (1889), Dark-Haired Lady in an Evening Gown (c. 1892), Portrait of Madame G. Blumenthal (1896) – are on loan from major international museums including the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille, the Uffizi, Florence, the Museo Giovanni Boldini, Ferrara and prestigious private collections rarely open to the public.  

During the four years it has taken to prepare the exhibition, sixty different lenders were coordinated by Tiziano Panconi – author of the 2002 Boldini catalogue raisonné– in collaboration with Sergio Gaddi. 

The show also comprises 30 works by Boldini's contemporaries, Cristiano Banti, Vittorio Matteo Corcos, Giuseppe De Nittis, Antonio de La Gandara, Paul-César Helleu, Telemaco Signorini, James Tissot, Ettore Tito and Federigo Zandomeneghi. 

Giovanni Boldini, The cap blue, 1912 ca. Oil on canvas, 55x46 cm. Museum MAGI '900 - Pieve di Cento, Bologna.

Pride of place at the Vittoriano is given to the masterpiece that has become the symbol of the Belle Époque: the large portrait of Donna Franca Florio, executed between 1901 and 1924. 

In 1901 Ignazio Florio, the heir of one of Sicily’s leading entrepreneurial families, asked Boldini to paint a portrait of his wife Franca. An extremely alluring and beautiful woman, she was known as “Donna Franca, the Queen of Sicily” and described by D’Annunzio as “A unique woman. A creature whose every movement possesses a divine rhythm.” 

Boldini went to Palermo and painted the portrait, but Ignazio Florio did not like it. He considered it too sensual and provocative and the neckline too plunging, and decided not to pay the painter for the work. 

Then Boldini executed a second version of the painting, which met with Don Ignazio’s approval. The portrait was displayed at the Venice Biennale in 1903, but then all trace of it was lost. 

Years later, on the request of Donna Franca herself, Boldini resumed work on the first portrait, which he had always kept in his studio, and completed it as we see it today. 

Between 1927 and 1928, the Florio family fell into financial ruin and the painting was bought by Baron Maurice de Rothschild. It has been on display at the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea in Palermo since 2006. 

Destined always to be in the news, the work will be auctioned as a result of legal proceedings concerning the Gruppo Acqua Marcia (owned by Francesco Bellavista Caltagirone), but exceptionally it has been loaned for the exhibition at the Vittoriano. Its being auctioned means that it will probably be bought privately, so this may be the last chance to admire the portrait of Donna Franca!  

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of Donna Franca Florio, 1901-1924. Oil on canvas, 221x119 cm, AMT Real Estate SPA cpo

THE EXHIBITION 
Giovanni Boldini's works crystallize the fleeting moment in colours – oils, pastels or rapid lines in pencil – and it remains down through the centuries like a Proustian madeleine that miraculously takes us back to those enchanted days of the Belle Époque. 

Boldini was not only one of the protagonists of that unique period and the brilliant precursor of 20th-century modernity, but also the artist who exquisitely rendered and exalted female beauty, and revealed the mysterious, innermost soul of the aristocratic ladies of the period, whom he saw as "fragile icons". 

The elegant and refined, erotic sensuality of the women he portrays also communicates to the viewer a melancholy impression of finiteness, of an instant that cannot be repeated, whether it be coming home from a ball, a horseback ride or two soldiers in a café.  

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi sitting, 1886. Oil on canvas, 122x87 cm. House for Musicians-Foundation Giuseppe Verdi Rest

Boldini's portrait of Giuseppe Verdi is the only version of his face that is remembered by posterity. He has rendered a perfect atmosphere, which is historical yet immortalized. Perhaps this is why Gertrude Stein said that Boldini was the best painter of the 19th century. 

The rooms of the Vittoriano display not only Giovanni Boldini's famous masterpieces like the portrait of Verdi from the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti – Fondazione Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, the iconic portraits of Emiliana Concha de Ossa, Gabrielle de Rasty, Alice Regnault on horseback and Mademoiselle de Nemidoff, to mention only a few, but also his landscapes, city scenes, nudes and ladies at their toilette. And each of these paintings communicates his iconic energy and unmistakable expressive power. 

The exhibition reconstructs step by step the brilliant trajectory of this great Italian artist who made his home in Paris. It is divided into 4 sections: The New Light of the Macchia (1864–1870); The Maison Goupil, Midway between Fashion and Impressionism (1871−1878); The Pursuit of the Fleeting Moment (1879–1891) and The Portrait of The Belle Époque (1892–1924).  

Giovanni Boldini, Couple in Spanish dress with two parrots, 1873 ca. Oil on canvas, 25x35 cm. Art collection Banca Carige

The New Light of the Macchia (1864–1870) 
During his long stay in Florence in 1864, Boldini began to participate in the ideological and artistic innovations of the Macchiaioli movement. Indeed, Florence was the Italian capital of art and the leading European masters, especially the French, flocked there. 

In this period of extraordinary creativity, the artist laid the solid luministic foundations for his subsequent French style. This section highlights the profitable exchanges, cross fertilizations and collaborations with Macchiaioli colleagues like Telemaco Signorini, Vito D’Ancona and especially Cristiano Banti (on display, Alaide Banti on a Bench 1870–1875 and The Banti Family c. 1866); Boldini and Giovanni Fattori influenced each other and he began to be inspired by Michele Gordigiani, the most renowned portraitist in grand ducal Florence. 

Cristiano Banti, Alaide Banti on the bench, 1870-75. Oil on canvas, 30x42 cm. Private collection

Telemaco Signorini, Rendez-vous in the woods, 1873. Oil on canvas, 32x23 cm. Collection Palazzo Foresti, Carpi

Boldini's love for France began in Florence; in 1867 he made his first trip to Paris and settled there for good in 1871. From 1856 on, the Macchiaioli had been working towards a modernization of painting based on the first-hand observation of nature, which was rendered through an extensive and powerful phrasing of light and shade, creating a special visual force that made the subject true to life and vivid. 

Castiglioncello (a seascape is on display in the exhibition), and particularly the estate of Diego Martelli (his portrait of Boldini, 1865, is also on display) where Boldini stayed with his painter friends, and above all the Scuola di Piagentina were the places that influenced his style during his years in Tuscany. In Florence he established contacts with the local aristocracy which brought him lucrative commissions and with the English noblewoman Isabella Falconer, who became his patroness for some years.  

His aristocratic ways, a tendency to worldliness and to frequent high society, as well as the possibility of great career prospects, led Boldini to leave Florence for London in 1871, where he spent some months before moving to Paris. 

Vittorio Matteo Corcos, Castiglioncello, 1910. Oil on canvas, 133X72 cm. Private collection.

The Maison Goupil, Midway between Fashion and Impressionism (1871–1878) 

These were the years of Impressionism to which Boldini did not adhere, or at least not formally, though already in the early 1870s his painting reflected the innovations that were being introduced, and reached a peak of avant-garde excellence. During the 1870s he was one of the Maison Goupil artists, in the pay of the powerful international art dealer Adolphe Goupil, while also continuing his research en plein air, which produced extraordinary, vibrant, extremely modern and vivid realistic works (the exhibition includes Young Marquis at Versailles 1876, Place Clichy 1874 and Newspaper Seller c. 1878). He soon adapted his output to the lively Goupil model by executing small scenes, mostly in 18th-century or Empire settings, which he rendered very light and airy, by creating hazy effects, perhaps learnt from studying Turner during his stay in London.

Giovanni Boldini, Dance dress (lady who sews; interior with young intent on sewing), 1904 ca. Oil on wood, 27x35 cm. Collection of Fine Arts Cariparma Foundation, donation Renato Bruson

The Pursuit of the Fleeting Moment (1879–1890) 

For Boldini Paris was the true Mecca of art and life, to which he was introduced through Countess Gabrielle de Rasty, who became his mistress (on display, Countess de Rasty in Bed c. 1880, Countess de Rasty in Bed c. 1880, Countess de Rasty in an Evening Gown c. 1880 Seated Portrait of an Elegant Lady c. 1880). He moved in the most exclusive upper-middle-class and aristocratic circles and achieved the wealthy position he had sought. Boldini lived in Montmartre, the artists' quarter, where among others he met Degas (his portrait of Boldini is on display), with whom he made a pivotal journey to Spain where he studied and worked. After 1878 he updated his expressive register by seeking modernity and engaging in original and innovative aesthetic research. He captured alternations of perspective and volume in the gestures and attitudes of the subjects he depicted and through his spontaneous "pictorial gesturality", he fixed the fleeting moment on canvas. During the 1880s he increased his production of pastel portraits. On the fortyyear-old painter's easel urban scenes and views of streets with horses (on display, Parisian Square at Night c. 1883, and Lovers in a Café c. 1887) alternated with portraits of beautiful and sensual women, sometimes semi-nude, such as Portrait of Cecilia de Madrazo Fortuny (c. 1882), Portrait of Emiliana Concha de Ossa (or Lady in Gloves 1889–1901), Reclining Girl with Dog (c. 1890), Reclining Girl in Tartan Dress (c. 1891), Provocation (c.1885) and The Toilette (c. 1880). Boldini was also aware of a certain moral inconsistency and so those portraits that were to celebrate the intellectual and ethical qualities of the sitters, sometimes have a vein of melancholy or caricature. His personality and unconventional way of approaching reality, appealed to the public and especially the ladies. The portraits of this period communicate a dynamic relationship with reality, where the rapid, palpitating rhythm of the artist's brushstrokes creates a pictorial composition charged with vibrant emotional tensions, as in After the Ball (c. 1884), The Bar of the Folies Bergère (c. 1885) and Women in Venice (c. 1887). 

Giovanni Boldini, Blonde lady in evening dress, 1889 ca. Pastel on paper pasted on canvas, 220x150cm. Art Collections Cariparma Foundation, donation Renato Bruson

The Portrait of the Belle Époque (1892–1924) 
From the 1890s onwards the silhouettes and original attitudes of the aristocratic ladies who paraded in front of his easel were moulded by his brushstrokes. The sinuous poses of the female figures often remove Baldini's art from the conventions of official portraiture, as in Lady in a Yellow Dress (c. 1893), Portrait of the Actress Reichenberg (c. 1895.) and Portrait of Madame G. Blumenthal (1896). 

The Paris salons were everything he had expected, given his enthusiasm for high society. This was the period of his life-size portraits, paintings that followed an aesthetic trajectory that reflected the fashions and lifestyle of a society that was becoming less and less traditionally 19th century and increasingly open to progress. Among the "divine"– as he described the hundreds of muses who passed through his studio – there figured some of the most famous names in high society including Consuelo Vanderbildt, Duchess of Malborough, the Chilean de Ossa, the wife of Jules Louis Veil-Picard, brother of the banker Arthur Veil-Picard, Countess de Leusse, the actress Alice Regnault, the baroness Donna Franca Florio and the composer Giuseppe Verdi, to mention only a few of the illustrious personages whose portraits feature in this exhibition. 

With Mephistophelian avidity, Boldini seated the most seductive women of French high society in his Empire style and Luigi XV chairs, and they remained motionless and intimidated by the penetrating, rapacious gaze of the genius.  

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of a Lady, 1880. Pastel on paper mounted on canvas, 96,4x64,3 cm. Gallery of Modern Art Ricci Oddi, Piacenza

THE UNPUBLISHED LETTERS 
An important chapter of the catalogue published by Skira is devoted to forty letters from Boldini made public here for the first time. They were brought to light by Loredana Angiolino and Tiziano Panconi, curator and president of the Scientific Committtee, which also included Angiolino, Beatrice Avanzi (curator of the Musée d’Orsay), Sergio Gaddi, Leonardo Ghiglia and Marina Mattei (curator of the Musei Capitolini). 

This is nearly the whole group of letters that Boldini, in his capacity as president of the Art Commission for the Italian pavilion at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, wrote to Telemaco Signorini in Florence. Boldini requests the latter to perform the delicate task of choosing and sending to Paris the works by the Tuscan artists participating in the event. The letters are dated between February and April 1889 and concern the preparations for the exhibition that is to open on 6 May 1889. They evince the two friends' constant commitment to the exhibition's success and deal with the choice of works, the practicalities of their transportation from Italy to France, their arrangement in the rooms and solving the many problems that arise. They also contain private and professional comments, such as remarks about their fellow artists, diatribes in artistic circles and – especially in Boldini's case – have a vein of irony and sagacity. 

The catalogue also contains reproductions of 4 sketches by Boldini published for the first time and executed between 1906 and 1921.

Antonio de La Gandara, Portrait of Madame Remy Salvator. Oil on canvas, 196x140 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille Marseille, Musée des Beaux-Arts© J.Bernard

Giovanni Boldini, The Amazon (Alice Regnault on horseback), 1878. Oil on canvas, 69x59 cm. Gallery of Modern Art, Milan

Giovanni Boldini, The faithful friend, 1872 ca. Oil on canvas, 26x14 cm. Private collection.

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of father Antonio Boldini, 1867. Oil on canvas, 65x53 cm. Private collection, Ferrara.

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of the Spanish dancer Anita De La Feria, 1901. Oil on canvas, 54,5x42 cm. Private collection.

Giovanni Boldini, Lady with umbrella (or parasol), 1876 ca. Oil on board, 35,4x23,5 cm. Collection Palazzo Foresti, Carpi.

Joaquin Arujo Ruano, Scene in the courtyard, 1878. Oil on canvas, 80x150 cm. Arcuti Fine Art, Rome.

Francesco Vinea, Blast, 1882 ca. Oil on canvas, 70,5x46 cm. Collection Palazzo Foresti, Carpi.

Giovanni Boldini, Two Sailors, 1880 ca. Oil on canvas, 24x14 cm. Collection free.

Giovanni Boldini, Portrait of Josefina Alvear de Errazuriz, 1892. Oil on canvas, 80x60 cm. Collection Valter and Paola Mainetti.

Lacloche Frères, Vanity case, Paris, ca. 1926. Gold, with black-stained jadeite and black-backed chalcedony; the lid set with rose- and brilliant-cut diamonds, lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, rhodonite, mother-of-pearl and pearl. Bequeathed by Miss J.H.G. Gollan, M.24-1976 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017.

Jewelled vanity cases were popular accessories during the 1920s, an indication of the wider acceptability of women wearing make-up in the years after the First World War (and of their even applying it in public). This case contains two compartments for powder and rouge, a central detachable lip-stick holder, and a mirror inside the lid.

Lacloche Frères, Pin, Paris, about 1927-1930. White gold, platinum, emeralds, brilliant-cut diamonds and stained chalcedony. Bequeathed by Miss J.H.G. Gollan, M.25-1976© Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. 

This brooch is in the shape of a stylised cypress tree. It shows many of the characteristics of Art Deco jewellery, which was fashionable between the First and Second World Wars. The diamonds are set against stained chalcedony to form areas of contrasting pattern and reflection.

Black onyx was often used in Art Deco jewellery. It is rare in nature, but a substitute can be created by soaking paler chalcedony in a boiling sugar solution and then heating it in sulphuric acid.

1920s Lacloche Frères Paris Amber Enamel Diamond Gold Lady's Compact©Trafalgar Jewellers

The 18 carat yellow gold rectangular case decorated to the front and back with a red and black enamel chinoiserie scene, framing a central amber panel accented with a shou character set with rose-cut diamonds. Framed with rose-cut diamond borders and seed pearl thumbpiece. Opens to reveal a vanity mirror, two powder compartments with 18-cart gold lids and a spring mounted 18 carat yellow gold lipstick dispenser. French assay and makers mark, British import marks; 0.69 in.Hx1.77 in.Wx3.15 in.L (1.75 cmHx4.5 cmWx8 cm L). €55.245,44

Lacloche Frères, Art Deco Brooch, circa 1925. Platinum, Emerald, Onyx, Ruby, White Diamond © BRUNO PEPIN

Nice geometrical design brooch in platinum set with old-cut diamonds, calibrated rubies and emeralds and one round ball of onyx. Signed Lacloche Freres. 2.24 in.L (5.7 cmL). €8.500