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A large brass astrolabe, Melchior Tavernier, 1632

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Lot 193. A large brass astrolabe, Melchior Tavernier, 1632. Estimate GBP 80,000 - GBP 120,000 (USD 102,640 - USD 153,960). Price realised GBP 137,000 (USD 175,771). © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

The brass mater with throne and suspension shackle above, the rim graduated with two degree scales and one for hours, the inside of the womb plain with two plates, the first with stereographic projections to each side for 45° and 51°, the second with stereographic projection for 48° and a universal projection to reverse, rule with engraved decoartion atop pin with thread and finial to revserse. The reverse of the astrolabe signed Par M. Taurnier. 1632. beneath a shadow square, a trigonometric grid and a diagram of equal hours, around these a lunar calendar, epact, solar cycle, Dominical letters for years1628-1672, monthly calendar and zodiac scales with finely engraved representations of their constellations, the decorated alidade with three folding sight vanes. The rete with graduated ecliptic, cut away for three stars. 

Stars marked on rete: 

Spica [Scorpius] 
Lucida Hydra 1 
Canis minor 1 
Canis major 1 
Dexter humerus Orionis 2 
Media ensis Orionis 2 
Sinister pes Orionis 
Oculus [Taurus] 1 
Australis Caudae Ceti 3 
Bor. Caudae Ceti 3 
Cauda Ceti 3 
Cauda [Capricornus] praecedens 3 
L:anx borealis 2 
Dexter ala Corui 3 
Cauda [Leo] 1 
Cor. [Leo] 1 
Pollux 3 
Castor 3 
Hircus 1 
Dexter latus Persei 2 
Algol 2 
Borealior pleiadum 5 
Apex [Triangulum] 4 
Cornu [Aries] prae 3 
Umbilicus Andromedae 3 
Humerus Pegasi 2 
Pectus Casiopeae 3 
1.a 3 Caudae Ursae maioris 2 
Arcturus 1 
Lucida Coromae 2 
Lucida Lyrae 1 
Cauda Cigni 2 
Caput Herculis 
Caput Ophinchi 
Lucida Vulturis 2
12in. (31cm.) high

Note: The astrolabe's origin probably dates at least as far back as the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190-120 BC). As with so much astronomy, through the traditions of medieval Islamic science it was reintroduced to the Latin West by the thirteenth century, where it became a key time-telling instrument. Their production in Europe reached its zenith in the late Renaissance when they were made for princely collections and came to be the iconic instrument of astronomical knowledge.

A brass plate, the rete, carries hooked pointers for named stars and acts as a rotating celestial map above a grid that shows the lines of altitude and azimuth in the night sky; the owner of the astrolabe would be able to change the plate carrying the grid depending on how far North or South they were -- the mapping of the night sky onto a flat disc is done via a stereographic projection. The reverse of the astrolabe carries a compendium of different projections, a sundial and grid for trigonometry calculations, a calendar and a shadow square that can be used to measure the heights of buildings. Around the back plate rotates an alidade with pinhole sights that are used to observe the height of the Sun or a given star (the taking of a star's position gives the ancient greek etymology astro-labos, 'star-taker').

Melchior Tavernier (1564-1641) is recorded as a map dealer and publisher in Paris working from L'Isle du Palais with a Royal appointment as 'Graveur et Imprimeur du Roy'. His nephew, Melchior Tavernier the Younger (1594-1665) carried on publishing at the same address after 1641, and other than a book on sundials no other instruments are known to survive by the Tavernier family. Tooley records them as cooperating with two great names of cartography - Hondius and Jansson. The style of engraving on whose later globes bears a strong resemblance to this astrolabe. Whilst stylistic similarities to the astrolabes of makers from the Louvain school such as Arsenius or Zeelst is perhaps a result of the Taverniers being born in Antwerp before moving to Paris, the reverse of the mater is reminiscent of an astrolabe attributed to Philippe Danfrie at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford (Inv. no. 35082). The pierced ecliptic on the rete to accommodate the pointers of certain stars is a particularly elegant and perhaps unique feature this important survival.

Christie's. Science & Natural History, 27 April 2017, London, South Kensington


A rare and impressive blue and white Iznik pottery dish, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1530-35

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Lot 156. A rare and impressive blue and white Iznik pottery dish, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1530-35; 14in. (35.5cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 140,000 - GBP 180,000 (USD 179,620 - USD 230,940). Price realised GBP 281,000 (USD 360,523). © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

The white ground decorated under the glaze in turquoise and cobalt-blue, the exterior with scrolling vine beneath a cusped line, underside with an old collection label, repaired breaks.

ProvenanceWith Fernand Adda

LiteratureBernard Rackham, Islamic Pottery and Italian Maiolica, London, 1959, p.26, no.61, illustration no.26 
Nurhan Atasoy and Julian Raby, Iznik, The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, no.168

NoteJulian Raby and Nurhan Atasoy who published this extraordinary dish in 1989 assigned it to the ‘Potters’ Style’, and dated it to between 1525-35 (Nurhan Atasoy, and Julian Raby, Iznik, The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, published for Istanbul University, 1989, no.168). The Potter’s style, whilst distinct for its particular palette and use of space, also provided a canvas for the craftsmen of Iznik who by the 1520s had mastered a style that was characterized by artistic independence – “simple in structure…rapid in painting [and] though mostly derivative in its constituent motifs…independent in spirit” (Atasoy and Raby, 1989, p.115). 

The ‘tree of life’ that dominates the center of our dish is extremely unusual and plays to this independence of spirit. The adoption of new representational motifs was one of the developments of this period of Iznik production. Only a handful of other dishes decorated with trees are known. Two others - also in the ‘Potter’s style’ - are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Antaki Collection, Aleppo. The V dish is decorated with a tree inhabited by a snake who winds himself around the trunk in hunt of an unsuspecting bird (dated to 1530-35, Esin Atil, The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, exhibition catalogue, Washington DC, 1987, p.254, no.176). Like ours it employs the small flowers of the free-hand Potter’s style which draw their inspiration from Golden Horn ware. On our dish these form floral tendrils associated with the tree and on the V dish they make up a simple border on the cavetto. The Antaki dish, similarly dated, has the tree motif also contained within a central roundel, as ours, but there surrounded by flowering grape vine, a lotus blossom cavetto and a scale border (Atasoy and Raby, 1989, no.171 and 316). 

 

Our dish, like the two noted above, certainly demonstrates the independent spirit of the Iznik potters of this period, whilst borrowing from well-established decorative idioms. Many of the features of our dish are indebted to the Baba Nakkas style of 1470-1520. The cloud bands of the cavetto, for instance, find parallel in the charger by the ‘Master of the Knots’ formerly in a Private Collection in Beirut and now in the Sadberk Hanim Museum, dated to circa 1510-15 (Atasoy and Raby, 1989, no.291). The palmette rim harks back to the rumi-arabseque decoration, such as that found on the central roundel of a rare blue and white Iznik bowl sold at Christie's, London, 10 April 2014, lot 188 (now in the Ömer Koç Collection and published in Hülya Bilgi, The Ömer Koç Iznik Collection, Istanbul, 2015, pp.80-85, no.1). The small grassy tufts with comma-shaped leaves that grow from the border of the central roundel, also find parallels in that bowl. The dish also includes lotus blossoms which recall the work of the ‘Mater of the Lotuses’ that decorate lamps made for Sultan Bayezid II’s tomb, commissioned by his son Selim in 1512-13 (one such lamp is in the British Museum (inv.no.G.5), formerly in the Godman Collection). Though not many examples are known, the tree motif is also found occasionally on later Iznik dishes. See, for example, the dish offered as lot 153 in this sale.  

Fernand Adda, in whose collection this dish was, was born in Alexandria to the wealthy cotton merchant and art collector Abraham Adda. He spent most of his life in France between his house in Paris and yacht in Cannes. For a long period starting in the 1920s, he amassed an impressive group of Iznik ceramics from every period, as well as early Persian and Syrian wares, Spanish lustre-ware and Italian majolica, which he displayed in his house in Paris. His ceramics collection was published anonymously in an illustrated catalogue by Bernard Rackham in 1959, in which this dish features. Rackham wrote that ‘the collection illustrates with a completeness hardly to be paralleled the ceramic art of Asia Minor in the age when the Turkish rulers were ta the height of their power on the shores of the Bosphorus’ (Bernard Rackham, Islamic Pottery and Italian Majolica, London, 1959, p.3). Fernand Adda’s collection was largely dispersed after his death at a landmark sale in Paris in 1965. This dish however remained with the family, and is offered from their collection today.  

Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2017, London, King Street

A rimless Iznik pottery dish, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1590

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Lot 155. A rimless Iznik pottery dish, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1590; 11 7/8in. (30.2cm.) diamEstimate GBP 10,000 - GBP 15,000 (USD 12,830 - USD 19,245). Price realised GBP 9,375 (USD 12,028). © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

The white ground painted under the glaze in bole-red, cobalt-blue, green and black, the exterior with alternating blue roundels and foliate motifs, old exhibition label on the underside, repaired breaks. 

ProvenanceWith Dikran Kelekian, Paris

LiteratureDie Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedanischer Kunst in München 1910, exhibition catalogue, London, 1985 reprint, no.1475

ExhibitedDie Ausstellung von Meisterwerken Muhammedanischer Kunst, Munich, 1910, no.1475

NoteDikran Garabed Kelekian (1868–1951), by whom this dish was lent to the 1910 Munich exhibition, was born to Armenian parents in Kayseri, when it was an important city of the Ottoman Empire. He opened a gallery in Istanbul in 1892 and showed "Persian" works at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He and his brother Kevork went on to establish galleries in Paris, London, Cairo, and New York where they sold Middle Eastern art and attracted the major collectors of their time. 

A dish with similar fish scale design divided between green and blue is in the Ömer M. Koç collection (Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire. Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, exhibition catalogue, Istanbul, 2009, p.295). Like ours the Koç dish combines this feature with a cavetto decorated with repeating lappets. It is dated to circa 1580-90. 

Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2017, London, King Street

An Iznik pottery tile, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1580

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Lot 141. An Iznik pottery tile, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1580; 9 5/8 x 9 ½in. (24.4 x 24.2cm)Estimate GBP 6,000 - GBP 8,000 (USD 7,698 - USD 10,264). Price realised GBP 15,000 (USD 19,245). © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

Of square form, the white ground painted under the glaze in bole-red, cobalt-blue, green and black, intact, mounted and framed.

Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2017, London, King Street

An Iznik pottery border tile, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1590

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Lot 146. An Iznik pottery border tile, Ottoman Turkey, circa 1590; 5 5/8 x 12¼in. (14.4 x 31.1cm). Estimate GBP 5,000 - GBP 7,000 (USD 6,415 - USD 8,981). Price realised GBP 9,375 (USD 12,028). © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

The white ground decorated under the glaze in bole-red, cobalt-blue, turquoise and black with repeating palmette and floral motif, minor chips to edge, intact.

ProvenanceChristie's, London, 15 October 1996, lot 228

NoteA similar Iznik border tile is in the Ömer Koç Collection (Hülya Bilgi, Iznik. Ömer Koç Collection, Istanbul, 2015, p.182, no.57).

Christie's. Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 27 April 2017, London, King Street

Important diamond ring, Harry Winston

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Lot 326. Important 32.42 carats type IIb diamond ring, Harry Winston. Estimate 1,510,000 — 2,510,000 CHF. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a pear-shaped diamond weighing 32.42 carats, between tapered baguette diamond shoulders, size 49, signed Winston, maker's mark.  

Accompanied by GIA report no. 667088, stating that the diamond is D Colour, VVS1 Clarity, together with a working diagram stating that the diamond may be internally flawless after minor repolishing, and a type IIb classification letter.

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Session 3, Geneva, 16 May 2017, 07:00 PM

A pair of inscribed iron-red-decorated bowls, Qianlong bingyin cyclical date in iron-red, corresponding to 1746 and of the perio

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A pair of inscribed iron-red-decorated bowls, Qianlong bingyin cyclical date in iron-red, corresponding to 1746 and of the period

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Lot 88. A pair of inscribed iron-red-decorated bowls, Qianlong bingyin cyclical date in iron-red, corresponding to 1746 and of the period, 4 ¼ in. (10.7 cm.) diamEstimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000 (USD 19,290 - USD 25,720) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017. 

The exterior is inscribed in iron-red with a poem written in kaishu script, followed by a cyclical date, early-Spring of thebingyin year, and two iron-red seals, Qian and Long, all between two ruyi-head bands. The interior of the bowl is decorated with a medallion of pine, plum blossoms and finger citron, below two further bands of ruyi-heads. 

ProvenanceCollection of Alfred E. Hippisley (1848-1939).

LiteratureAlfred E. Hippisley, A Sketch of the History of Ceramic Art in China. With a Catalogue of the Hippisley Collection of Chinese Porcelains, Washington D.C., 1890, no. 248 and 251.

ExhibitedThe Hippisley Collection of Chinese Porcelains, Smithsonian Institute, Washington. D.C., 1902, nos. 248 and 251.

NoteThe poem on the bowl, Sanqing cha (The Purity Tea) was one of the Qianlong Emperor's favourites. It described the tea made from prunus, finger citron, and pine nut kernels, and extols the virtues of tea making. Each New Year the emperor would hold a tea-drinking banquet and his guests would be invited to compose poetry. A bowl such as the present example would have been awarded to the best poet. 

An identical bowl is in the collection of the National Palace Museum and is illustrated in Emperor Qianlong's Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2002, no. 51, another is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Life of Emperor Qianlong, Macao Museum of Art, Macao, 2002, no. 79. Three other bowls of this design are illustrated and discussed by P. Lam in 'Tang Yin (1682-1756): The Imperial Factory Superintendent at Jingdezhen', T.O.C.S , London, vol. 63, 1998-1999, p. 69, fig. 4.  

See, also, a similar bowl sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 27 April 2003, lot 30, and compare the current lot to a pair of bowls also Qianlong period but decorated with bamboo rather than prunus in the central roundel sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 1997, lot 790.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 

A pair of famille rose caparisoned elephants, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

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A pair of famille rose caparisoned elephants, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

Lot 95. A pair of famille rose caparisoned elephants, Qianlong period (1736-1795), 10 ¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 50,000 - GBP 80,000 (USD 64,300 - USD 102,880) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017. 

Each elephant is modelled standing foursquare with its head turned to one side, with bluish-ivory coloured tusks and the hide naturalistically marked in grey. Each wears colourful and gilt trappings, the saddlecloth is decorated with foaming waves below tasselled chimes, and each saddle bears a turquoise-ground flanged gu vase decorated with flowers.

ProvenanceWith John Sparks, London, no. 3172.
From the collection of H.F.Parfitt. 

NoteThe imagery of an elephant carrying a vase represents the rebus taiping youxiang, which may be translated as 'may there be a peaceful reign'. This auspicious theme can be seen not only in porcelain like the present lot, but also in other media such as cloisonné enamels, metalwork, jades, and paintings. 

A very similar pair of elephants dated to the 18th-19th century, also bearing flanged gu vases, was sold at Christie's New York, 21-22 March 2013, lot 1563. A pair of slightly smaller caparisoned elephants belonging to the Edward T. Chow Collection, bearing unflanged gu vases dating to the 19th century, were sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 May 1981, lot 598.

Compare with an elephant in the Palace Museum, Beijing, attributed to the Qianlong period like the current lot, decorated in the same palette save for the saddle is illustrated in Yinliuzhai shuoci yizhu (Commentary on Porcelain from the Studio of Drinking Streams), Beijing, 2005, p. 450, fig. 9-43. A pair of closely related elephants can be found in the Copeland Collection, in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, is illustrated in W. Sargent, The Copeland Collection - Chinese and Japanese Ceramic Figures, Milan, 1991, pp. 196-97, no. 94.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 


A blue and white famille rose Buddhist emblem altar ornament stand, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of t

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A blue and white famille rose Buddhist emblem altar ornament stand, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

Lot 96. A blue and white famille rose Buddhist emblem altar ornament stand, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 7 ¼ in. (18.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000 (USD 19,290 - USD 25,720) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017. 

The top of the pedestal is decorated and gilt with underglaze blue and puce-enamel floral bands. It is supported by a central column flanked by colourfully-enamelled foliate scrolls rising from a beribboned vase decorated with bats and clouds. The stepped foot is decorated with further floral bands.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 

Fine sapphire and diamond ring

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Lot 340. Fine 11.64 carats Kashmir 'royal blue' sapphire and diamond ringEstimate 1,310,000 — 1,910,000 CHF. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a cushion-shaped sapphire weighing 11.64 carats, between triangular diamond shoulders, size 57, sizing band, maker's mark for Jacques Timey.  

Accompanied by SSEF report no. 90970 and Gübelin report no. 13080071, each stating that the sapphire is of Kashmir origin, with no indications of heating, 'royal blue' colour as stated in the SSEF report, together with an appendix letter.

Note"The described sapphire of 11.645 ct exhibits a well-proportioned shape and cut combined with an excellent purity and a highly attractive and saturated blue colour, poetically also referred to as 'royal blue' in the trade".

Excerpt from the SSEF appendix letter

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Session 3, Geneva, 16 May 2017, 07:00 PM

Important diamond ring, M. Gérard

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Lot 376. Important 19.53 carats type IIa diamond ring, M. Gérard. Estimate 1,310,000 — 1,910,000 CHF. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a marquise-shaped diamond weighing 19.53 carats, between pear-shaped diamond shoulders, size 511/2, sizing band, signed M. Gérard, numbered, French assay and maker's marks.  

Accompanied by GIA report no. 2183179826, stating that the diamond is D Colour, VVS2 Clarity, together with a working diagram stating that the diamond may be internally flawless after minor repolishing, and a type IIa classification letter. 

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Session 3, Geneva, 16 May 2017, 07:00 PM

Important diamond ring, Harry Winston

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Lot 325. Important 16.92 carats type IIa diamond ring, Harry Winston. Estimate 1,110,000 — 1,910,000 CHF. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a marquise-shaped diamond weighing 16.92 carats, between tapered baguette diamonds, size 49, signed Winston, maker's mark. 

Accompanied by GIA report no. 2183227935, stating that the diamond is D Colour, VVS1 Clarity, together with a working diagram stating that the diamond may be internally flawless after minor repolishing, also accompanied by a type IIa classification letter. 

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, Session 3, Geneva, 16 May 2017, 07:00 PM

A magnificent pair of famille rose 'butterfly' double-gourd vases, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of t

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 A magnificent pair of famille rose 'butterfly' double-gourd vases, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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Lot 99. A magnificent pair of famille rose 'butterfly' double-gourd vases, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 9 in. (23 cm.) high. Estimate On Request. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.  

Each vase is elaborately decorated to the bulbous lower section with butterflies of various sizes and colours flying amidst leafy floral sprays including peony, chrysanthemum, morning glory, rose and aster, above a band of pink lotus petals. The shoulder is encircled by a ruyi border and bands of floral sprays, below the upper section which is enamelled with further butterflies and flower heads. The mouth rim is decorated with an iron-red key-fret border, and the pair of handles are adorned with stylised foliate designs.

ProvenanceCollected in the 1930s in London by an English lady from a noble family and thence by descent

Doubled Splendour 
A magnificent pair of rare Qianlong double-gourd vases with auspicious designs

This magnificent and rare pair of vases belongs to a very small group of Qianlong famille rose enamelled double-gourd vessels decorated with exceptionally well-painted butterflies and flowers. Only four other single vases of this type appear to have been published. One of these was sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 1998; another was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in 1991; a third, which had previously been sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 1979, was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in 2000; and a fourth, which had previously been sold by Christie’s in 2003, was sold again by Christie’s Hong Kong in 2007. Sale of the current vases appears to represent the first time that a pair of these rare Qianlong vases has been offered at auction. The pair was recently discovered in an English country house. The vases were collected in the 1930s by an English lady from a noble family, and have passed by descent to the current owner.

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The combination of flowers and butterflies to decorate Chinese porcelain can be seen as early as the Yongle reign (1403-24) on blue and white vessels such as the pear-shaped vase in the Percival David Collection (illustrated by Rosemary Scott in Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration - Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, Percival David Foundation, London, 1992, p. 38, no. 25), and the Chenghua reign (1465-87) on polychrome doucai wares, such as the globular jar also in the Percival David Collection (illustrated ibid. p. 64, no. 61). However, the combination of butterflies and flower sprays painted in overglaze enamels on porcelain became particularly popular at the imperial court in the Yongzheng reign, following the development of the famille rose palette of enamel colours. The choice of this combination of decorative motifs can be seen on the famous 'butterfly bowls' of the Yongzheng reign, which bear butterflies and flowers in the form of roundels. An example of this Yongzheng bowl type is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, 39, Hong Kong, 1999, pp. 78-9, no. 68), and another, from the Yuen Family Collection, was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong on 30 April 2000, lot 588. Interestingly, although the current vase, like the Yongzheng bowls, has a pure white ground, the butterflies and flower sprays which decorated it display many similarities with those on the exceptional Qianlong vase with pink graviata ground from the Ping Y. Tai Foundation, which was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in December 2008. Indeed a number of the same flowers and types of butterfly appear on both vases.

The current vases and the Ping Y. Tai vase relate to a small number of Qianlong porcelain vases decorated in 琺瑯彩 falangcai enamels with designs of butterflies and flowers on coloured graviata grounds. The colours of these graviata background enamels vary. An example of deep pink enamel with lattice graviata designs forming the background for the butterflies and flowers can be seen on a Qianlong vase in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Rose Kerr in Chinese Ceramics - Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644-1911, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1986, p. 116, pl. 99). However, on the Victoria and Albert Museum vase the flowers grow from the lower part of the band, rather than appearing as small sprays - as on the current and Ping Y. Tai vases. Three very similar Qianlong vases, one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and a pair in the Baur Collection are decorated with butterflies and floral sprays on a deep pink ground with graviata scrolls (illustrated in Emperor Ch'ien-lung's Grand Cultural Enterprise, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, p. 197, no. V-34; and by John Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in The Baur Collection, volume 2, Collections Baur, Genève, 1999, pp. 128-9, no. 236 and 237, respectively). Another Qianlong vase in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing has a blue enamel ground with graviata lattice design, which forms the background for a design of butterflies, floral sprays and flower heads (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 39 Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decorationop. cit., p. 37, no. 30. 

As is usually the case with pairs of Chinese vases, the designs on the two vessels are not identical, but are complementary. The minor bands are the same on each vase and the choice of motifs is the same, but the disposition of the flowers and butterflies differs slightly. The butterflies and flowers are exquisitely painted, and most of the latter can be identified with a reasonable degree of confidence. Those painted around the main body of the vessels are shown as flower sprays, while those around the upper bulb are painted simply as flower heads. The effect is elegant and harmonious, and the choice of the flowers has been made not only on the basis of their beauty, but also for their auspicious symbolism. 

Amongst the fower which can be identifed is crab-apple (Malus spectabilis 海棠花haitang hua). The second character in the Chinese name棠 tang provides a rebus for 堂, literally a ‘hall’, but often used to represent ‘family’ or ‘family home’. Flower heads of both crab-apple and peony appear to be depicted on the upper bulbs of the current vases, suggesting the phrase 滿堂富 貴 mantang fugui ‘May the whole family achieve wealth and honour’. Tree peonies (Paeonia sufruticosa, 牡丹 mudan), which are also painted as luxuriant sprays on the main body of the vases, are often known in Chinese as 富貴花 fugui hua, the ‘fowers of wealth and honour’. The prominence accorded to peonies on the current vases also refects their position as the ‘King of Flowers’, beloved of Chinese artists and poets, and traditionally associated with the imperial family, who, as early as the Tang dynasty, grew peonies in the palace gardens. The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactifora 芍藥 shaoyao) is of ancient origin in China and is mentioned in the 9th century BC Book of Odes (詩經 Shijing). It was traditionally a token of love and was exchanged as a farewell gift. While the tree peony is the ‘King’ of fowers, the herbaceous peony is regarded as the ‘Prime Minister’.

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Painted with equal prominence on the current vases is another pink fower, which could be mistaken for a peony, were it not for the shape of its leaves. This is hibiscus, specifcally Hibiscus mutabilis, which in China is known as 木 芙 蓉 mufurong or sometimes 拒霜花 jushuanghua (literally ‘resisting frost fower’). This particular species, which is the most celebrated in China, is famous for the fact that it is white when it opens in the morning, but gradually becomes pink as it fades towards the evening. This feature gives rise to another name in Chinese 醉 酒芙 蓉 Zuijiufurong – drunken hibiscus. The combination of hibiscus and rose is auspicious, suggesting the phrase 長春 榮華 changchun ronghua – May you have wealth and glory in addition to long life. Roses are also painted in the vases to provide this wish, as well as being highly decorative. These are the Chinese Rose, Rosa chinensis 月季 yueji (monthly rose or four seasons rose). The name monthly rose derives from the plant’s long blooming season – it blooms almost every month. This quality leads to its other name 長春花 changchunhua, eternal spring fower. Since the roses on these vases also appear with peonies, they provide the suggestion of another auspicious phrase 長春 富貴 changchun fugui – May you enjoy eternal spring (longevity), wealth, and honour.

Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium, 菊花 juhua) are also prominent on the current vases. Along with lotus, orchid and bamboo, the chrysanthemum is regarded in China as one of the ‘four gentlemen of fowers’. Like peonies, chrysanthemums are also mentioned in such early classical literature as the Book of Odes, and are symbols of longevity and wealth as well as being the fowers representing autumn. The reason they are associated with longevity is because the word for chrysanthemum 菊 ju sounds similar to the word 久 jiu, meaning ‘long enduring’, and also because infusions made from chrysanthemum petals have medicinal properties, while other parts of the plant are also edible. With its profusion of similarly slender petals the blue China aster (Callistephus chinensis) painted on the vases is known in China as cuiju 翠菊 or kingfsher chrysanthemum. Some scholars have identifed China aster amongst the plants mentioned in the Book of Odes, and certainly it is a fower that has been a favourite amongst artists since at least the Song dynasty. With the advent of a vivid blue overglaze enamel in the early part of the 18th century, China asters became a popular motif on imperial porcelain. Perhaps the most vibrant fowers depicted on the current vases are camellias. While more than two hundred species of camellia are native to China, it is invariably Camellia japonica 山茶 shancha, which is depicted in Chinese art. As seen here, the blossoms of this plant have fve deep red petals with a projecting dense cluster of yellow stamens in the centre. Their red colour is associated with joy and protection, and is thus regarded as auspicious. As this species blooms around the time of Chinese New Year, its blossoms are among the fowers used to decorate homes, in order to secure prosperity in the coming year, as expressed by the phrase 花
開富貴 huakai fugui.

Jasmine is one of the fowers most highly prized for its fragrance in China, and Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac 茉莉花 moli) with its dainty white blossoms is, not surprisingly, another fower painted on the current vases. Such fragrant jasmine fowers were used in the 18th century to decorate and to perfume the emperor’s apartments. It was, and still is, highly valued for scenting tea, as well as syrups and sweetmeats. Jasmine was used to perfume clothes, and ladies were known to wear its fowers in their hair. Another fower prized for its exquisite fragrance and worn by ladies in their hair, and used to perfume their cosmetics and incense, may also be depicted on the vases. This is gardenia (gardenia augusta 梔子花 zhizihua), which some scholars have suggested was so valuable in the Han dynasty that the income from 66 hectares of gardenias would have been the equivalent of the taxes from 1000 peasant households.
Gardenias roots, as well as their leaves and fruit were used in Chinese medicine, while the fruits were also traditionally used to produce a yellow dye. Gardenia foribunda was also amongst the auspicious plants included in the special still-life paintings executed for the annual Duanwu Festival (端午畫題 Duanwu huati), held on the ffth day of the ffth month of the lunar calendar.

The only vine included amongst the fowers on the vases is convolvulus or morning glory with its striking blue trumpet-like fowers. Ipomoea convolvulacae has been known in China for generations, and appears in paintings such as the Song Hundred Flowers in the Palace Museum, Beijing. It is found on certain early 15th century blue and white vases made at the imperial kilns, but is relatively rare as decoration on Chinese porcelains. One of its names in Chinese is 牽牛花 qianniuhua – literally lead ox fower. This derives from the story of a farmer, who was cured of an illness by eating the seeds of this fower and who subsequently led his oxen into the felds in order to give thanks to the plant which had saved his life. Morning glory is also a symbol of marital bliss. All these fowers, with their auspicious references, and other such as pinks (Dianthus chinensis 石竹 shizhu), gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii - 扶郎花 fulang hua and 千日菊 qianriju are among gerbera’s Chinese names), etc., are harmoniously disposed over the main body of the vases and visually complemented by the variety of butterfies futtering above and between them.

Around the bases of the vases are vibrant bands of overlapping pink-tipped lotus petals. Similar, richly painted, bands of overlapping lotus petals can be seen on imperial porcelains of the Yongzheng reign – as in the case of those around the foot of an imperial famille rose circular box with pierced lid in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, (illustrated in Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, op. cit., pp. 90-91, no. 79). Similar bold lotus bands, highlighted by fne deep pink outlines and veining on the petals, can also be seen on a small number of especially fne Qianlong porcelains, such as the current pair of vases. The lotus is a popular theme for the Chinese decorator, since it has attractively shaped leaves as well as beautiful fowers. Lotues (Nelumbo nucifera) are associated with Buddhism and are also symbols both of feminine beauty and of purity - the latter because the blossoms rise unsullied from the mud. One word for lotus (荷 he) is a homophone for the word for harmony (和). Another word for lotus 蓮 lian sounds like the word for ‘successive’ (連), and so the motif of a boy holding a lotus – either the fower or the leaf - is a pun for continually giving birth to boy babies. However, an extension of this term for lotus is 青蓮 qinglian, which provides a rebus for 清廉 qinglian, meaning incorruptible.

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In the style of their painting, it may be that the fowers on imperial Qing porcelains of this type were infuenced by the work of artists such as 惲壽平Yun Shouping (1633-1690), an early Qing artist who is regarded as one of the ‘Six Masters’ of the Qing dynasty. Inspired by the masters of antiquity, Yun Shouping became known for his elegant fower paintings, which combined his ability to capture the essence of each fower with a willingness to use the natural, vibrant, colours sometimes eschewed by other artists. Yun Shouping’s scroll painting of A Hundred Flowers After Xu Chongsi [徐崇嗣, Northern Song dynasty], dated by inscription to AD 1666, which was sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in April 1997, demonstrates this particularly well, and includes the majority of the fowers painted on the current vases.

A wide variety of diferent butterfies are painted on these vases - executed with exceptional delicacy, which emphasises the fragile, shimmering, beauty of their wings. Butterfies are often included in Qing dynasty decoration in order to suggest duplication of an auspicious wish, since the word for butterfy in Chinese 蝶 die is homophonous with a word 疊- meaning to repeat. It also sounds like 耋 - a word meaning over seventy or eighty years of age, and thus expresses a wish for longevity. When combined with plum blossom, butterfies provides a rebus for beauty and longevity. Butterfies are also seen as symbols of happiness in marriage, as well as everlasting romantic love. The latter interpretation is due to a number of traditional Chinese stories in which butterfies play a signifcant part. The most famous of these is by the Ming dynasty writer 馮夢龍 Feng Menglong (1574-1646), in which the so-called ‘butterfy lovers’ 梁山伯
Liang Shanbo and 祝英台Zhu Yingtai are transformed after death into butterfies. Additionally, in Daoism butterfies are associated with dreamlike refection and the freedom of the soul.

These extremely rare vases are thus not only vessels of great beauty, but also bear a wealth of auspicious messages, which would have rendered them suitable for presentation on the occasion of an important birthday or similarly signifcant celebration.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 

A pair of doucai 'medallion' bowls, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795)

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A pair of doucai 'medallion' bowls, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795) 

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Lot 102. A pair of doucai'medallion' bowls, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000 (USD 19,290 - USD 25,720) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017. 

Each bowl is finely pencilled in underglaze blue and enamelled in yellow, iron-red and green with five roundels containing alternating flowering and fruiting trees divided by pomegranate sprays above a band of overlapping leaf lappets around the base. 

ProvenanceChristie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3130.

NoteThe medallion design first originated in the Kangxi period as exemplified by a similar bowl from the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p.216, pl. 197. The pattern continued in the subsequent reigns, with known examples from the Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang periods. A Daoguang-marked pair of bowls from the collection of Dr. Elizabeth Shing was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 4007.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 

A blue and white stem bowl, Qianlong underglaze blue six-character mark in a line and of the period (1736-1795)

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A blue and white stem bowl, Qianlong underglaze blue six-character mark in a line and of the period (1736-1795) 

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Lot 112. A blue and white stem bowl, Qianlong underglaze blue six-character mark in a line and of the period (1736-1795), 5 ¾ in. (14.7 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 25,000 (USD 19,290 - USD 32,150) © Christie's Images Ltd 2017. 

The bowl is decorated with lanca characters spaced between a leafy meander of stylised lotus scrolls. It is supported on a flaring base decorated with beaded tassels below ruyi and floral borders. 

Provenance: Christies Hong Kong, 31 October 1994, lot 589
From an important Asian collection of Chinese art

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works of Art, 9 May 2017, London, King Street 


A Blanc-de-Chine figure of Guandi on horseback, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

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A Blanc-de-Chine figure of Guandi on horseback, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Lot 206. A Blanc-de-Chine figure of Guandi on horseback, Kangxi period (1662-1722), 27cm (10 5/8in) high. Estimate £2,500 - 3,500 (€3,000 - 4,100). Photo: Bonhams.

The figure modelled wearing armour beneath his robe, wearing a cap with two braids falling on his shoulders, facing to one side and sitting astride a horse with full trappings.

Provenance: an Italian private collection

NoteCompare with a similar, but smaller, blanc-de-chine figure of Guandi on horseback, Kangxi, illustrated by J.Ayers in Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, New York, 2002, no.47, p.96.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 11 May 2017, 11:00 BST, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET

A fine Dehua figure of Guandi, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century

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A fine Dehua figure of figure of Guandi, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century

Lot 101. A fine Dehua figure of Guandi, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century, 25 cm, 9 7/8  in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

seated on an animal skin, wearing flowing robes concealing his armour, the right hand raising his belt to reveal the floral tunic, the face with a severe expression and wearing an official's hat 

Provenance: Collection of Vilhelm Meyer (1878-1935). 
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 10 May 2017, 02:00 PM

A fine Dehua figure of Budai, 17th century

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A fine Dehua figure of Budai, 17th century

Lot 102. A fine Dehua figure of Budai, 17th century, 25.5 cm, 10 in. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

seated in lalitasana on a pierced rockwork base and holding a pearl in the left hand, wearing flowing robes that open at the front, the face with a broad smiling expression. 

Provenance: Collection of Vilhelm Meyer (1878-1935). 
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 10 May 2017, 02:00 PM 

 

A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century

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A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century

Lot 103. A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 17th-18th century, 33 cm, 13 in. Estimate 3,000 — 4,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

seated in lalitasana on a rockwork base holding a scroll in the left hand, wearing long flowing robes, the face with a serene downcast expression and hair ornately tied and set with jewellery

Provenance: Collection of Vilhelm Meyer (1878-1935). 
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 10 May 2017, 02:00 PM  

 

A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 18th century

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A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 18th century

Lot 104. A Dehua figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty, 18th century, 32.7 cm, 12 3/4  in. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

standing on a cloud scroll base and wearing long flowing robes, the hands clasped together in front of the waist, the face with a serene expression, the hair in a high chignon and draped with a cowl

Provenance: Collection of Vilhelm Meyer (1878-1935). 
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 10 May 2017, 02:00 PM   

 

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