An Egyptian pottery Jar, circa 2600-2500 B.C., 23 cm. 9 in. Forge and Lynch Ltd. © 2017 London Art Week

Provenance: J.H.H.Claessen (1926-2006), Netherlands.

A Coptic textile fragment depicting a dancer, 4th-5th century A.D, 75 cm. by 25 cm. 29 1⁄2 in by 10 in. Forge and Lynch Ltd. © 2017 London Art Week

Provenance: Rose Choron (1916-2014) Switzerland, acquired between 1950s-80

Lot 536. A coral, diamond, 18k yellow gold and platinum necklace and a bracelet, by Van Cleef & Arpels, circa 1970. Est: €25,000 - €30,000 © Artcurial

En or jaune 18k (750) et platine (950), articulés de cabochons festonnés de corail blanc, réunis par des agrafes rayonnantes et perlées serties de diamants taillés en brillant, le premier retient en pampille une briolette - Signés VCA B4031J10 et B2033J1 - Dans leur pochette - Tour de cou : 35 cm, Long. du bracelet : 18 cm, Poids total brut : 179,77 g 

ine Jewellery by Artcurial, July 18, 2017 6:00 PM CET - Monte-Carlo, Monaco, MC

Lot 13. An impressive large archaistic rhinoceros horn 'Nine Dragons' libation cup, 17th century, 7¼ in. (18.5 cm.) long. Estimate GBP 250,000 - GBP 350,000. Price realised GBP 481,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Raised on a tall foot and carved around the exterior with a taotieband interrupted by notched flanges and reserved on a leiwenground, the openwork S-scroll handle flanked by two largechilong to the top, three smaller ones at the base and a further four around the exterior, the rim with key-fret bands and a stylised dragon in shallow relief to the interior, the horn of a warm dark brown tone.

Note: This impressive libation cup is a fine example of the level of skill and attention to detail carvers possesed. Compare with a Ming dynasty 'nine dragons' rhinoceros horn libation cup sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31 May 2010, lot 1804 and another in the collection of the late Dr. Ip Yee illustrated in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.130, no. 135. See also a cup with very similar carved monster-masks and flanges in the Durham University Oriental Museum, illustrated in ibid, p. 154, no. 188.

The depiction of nine dragons is particularly auspicious as the number nine was regarded as a perfect number by the Chinese and emblematic of heaven and the ruling emperor.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 6. A very rare rhinoceros horn archaistic tripod vessel, jue, 17th century; 5½ in. (14 cm.) wide. Estimate GBP 100,000 - GBP 150,000. Price realised GBP 217,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

he well-hollowed vessel finely carved around the exterior with a wide band enclosing two taotie masks reserved on a diaper ground, the flaring rim carved with a thin leiwen band repeated to the exterior and applied with two loop handles emanating from monster masks, all supported on three gently splayed legs.

Provenance: Acquired by the current owner in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. 

Note: This cup, made in the form of an archaic bronze ritual wine vessel jue, reflects the incredibly high level of artistry and skill possessed by the carver. In addition to the cup's tribute to antiquity as an archaic bronze form, the incorporation of more contemporaneous details, such as the monster-mask ring handles, makes the present lot particularly interesting.

It joins a small and rare group of similarly carved and extremely high quality rhinoceros horn libation cups that includes an example from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 154-5, no.205. Compare also with another jue-form cup illustrated in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no.8.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 7. An archaistic rhinoceros horn libation cup, 17th century; 6 3/8 in. (16 cm.) long. Estimate GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000. Price realised GBP 133,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Raised on a spreading foot and carved around the exterior with a taotie band reserved on a leiwen ground with four chilong, the openwork handle formed by five further chilong clambering up the side towards the rim, with three peering over into the interior, carved with a continuous band of key fret to the rim, the horn of a dark brown tone. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 8. A rare well-carved rhinoceros horn 'Lotus' libation cup, 17th century, 6½ in. (16.4 cm.) wide. Estimate GBP 100,000 - GBP 150,000. Price realised GBP 121,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Thickly carved within the natural shape of the horn inside and out as a lotus leaf, with stems of gently curled leaves tied with a ribbon to form the handle, one side with a lotus blossom in full bloom, the other with a lotus pod above a small snail, surrounded by flaring petals, the horn of a warm caramel tone. 

Note: It is rare to find rhinoceros horn cups carved with a small water snail to the side, such as in the current lot. For another cup also incorporating water snails into the decoration, from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, see Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 188, pl. 258. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 2. A carved rhinoceros horn libation cup, 17th-18th century, 5¾ in. (14.5 cm.) wide. Estimate GBP 8,000 - GBP 12,000. Price realised GBP 115,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Carved to the exterior with five clambering chilongs, all above a diaper ground band and below a slim key-fret border, the handle formed by a larger chilong climbing up one side and crawling over the rim, grasping its young by the tail in its mouth, the horn of a dark amber tone. 

Provenance: Hélène Lelianoff Collection, acquired in the 1940s. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 15. A small rhinoceros horn libation cup, 17th century, 5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) long. Estimate GBP 10,000 - GBP 15,000. Price realised GBP 115,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Carved in the naturalistic form, the base with stylised rockwork design below an elongated tapering tip, the horn of a warm brown tone. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 11. A rhinoceros horn libation cup, 17th century, 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm.) wide, carved wood stand. Estimate GBP 100,000 - GBP 150,000. Price realised GBP 109,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Lot 1. A large rhinoceros horn full-tip cup, 19th century, 25 in. (63.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000. Price realised GBP 63,650. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Lot 4. A small rhinoceros horn libation cup, 17th century, 2¾ in. (7 cm.) wide. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000. Price realised GBP 25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Alvar Aalto in his studio, 1945.© Alvar Aalto Foundation. Photo: Eino Mäkinen / Alvar Aalto Museum

HELSINKI.- Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) is the most internationally famous Finnish architect and designer. Alvar Aalto – Art and the Modern Form opens up new perspectives into Aalto's life and work. The comprehensive exhibition illustrates how Aalto's thinking and design idiom developed in interaction with contemporary visual artists. In addition to presenting Aalto's extensive oeuvre, works are also being featured from his close friends and modernist masters, such as the American Alexander Calder and the Frenchman Fernand Léger. The exhibition also highlights the role of the Artek furniture and design company, established in 1935, as a contributor to the Finnish art scene. The exhibition is produced by the Vitra Design Museum, in cooperation with the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Ateneum Art Museum. 

Alvar Aalto was one of the most influential figures in international modernism 
"Alvar Aalto's work showed a broad understanding of the arts. His circle of acquaintances included a large number of people who were agents of change in their time and who sought new forms of expression. We want to highlight these connections. The Ateneum is a house for all artistic disciplines: the facade of the museum building features caryatides, carved in 1887, symbolising architecture, geometry, painting and sculpture", says the museum director, Susanna Pettersson. 

Aalto was a fully-fledged cosmopolitan with a global network of contacts: he and his wife, the architect Aino Marsio-Aalto (1894–1949), were internationally active, starting in the 1920s. The idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art, was important to Aalto: he worked across multiple disciplines, including architecture, urban planning, design, and art. 

Assembled by the chief curator of the Vitra Design Museum, Jochen Eisenbrand, the retrospective exhibition presents Aalto's life and work from the 1920s to the 1970s. The exhibition features a wealth of iconic objects and pieces of furniture, as well as architectural drawings and scale models. Interdisciplinarity in art, and Aalto's multi-disciplinarity, is being highlighted through archive materials, works of art, photographs and short films. The exhibition also features new photographs of Aalto's architecture, taken by the German photographic artist Armin Linke. Before arriving in Helsinki, the exhibition was shown at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany; in Madrid and Barcelona in Spain; and in Aalborg in Denmark. 

Paimio sanatorium, Paimio, Finland, Alvar Aalto, 1928-1933. © Alvar Aalto Foundation. Photo: Gustaf Welin / Alvar Aalto Museum

Armin Linke: Viipuri (Vyborg) City Library, Vyborg, Karelia (today Russia), Alvar Aalto, 1927-1935. © Armin Linke, 2014

Alvar Aalto: Armchair 41 "Paimio", 1932. Vitra Design Museum. Photo: Jürgen Hans

Aino Aalto in Paimio chair, photo montage, 1930s. © Alvar Aalto Foundation, Artek Collection

Alvar Aalto: Savoy vase, 1936. © Vitra Design Museum. Photo: Vitra Design Museum / Alexander von Vegesack, 2014

Aino Aalto: Bölgeblickseries, 1936.© Vitra Design Museum. Photo: Vitra Design Museum / Alexander von Vegesack, 2014 / Andreas Sütterlin

Armin Linke: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland, Alvar Aalto, 1938. © Armin Linke, 2014

Finnish pavilion, World’s Fair, New York, 1939. © Esto Photographics. Photo: Ezra Stoller / Esto Photographics Inc.

Alvar Aalto: Pendant Lamp A 331, ”Beehive”, 1953. © Vitra Design Museum, 2014. Photo: Vitra Design Museum / Andreas Jung

Armin Linke: Maison Louis Carré, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France, Alvar Aalto, 1956–1959, 1961–1963. © Armin Linke, 2014

Alvar Aalto in his boat, Nemo Propheta in Patria, 1960s.© Christine and Göran Schildt Foundation. Photo: Göran Schildt.

The Ateneum exhibition features four halls of visual art by Aalto's artist friends 
The Ateneum brings another perspective to the exhibition with the inclusion of works by artists closest to Aalto, including the German-French Hans Arp (1886–1966), the American Alexander Calder (1898–1976), the Frenchman Fernand Léger (1881–1955), and the Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy (1895–1946). The exhibition features a large number of works from Villa Mairea, a private residence in Noormarkku that Aalto designed for Maire Gullichsen and her husband. Most of the works being shown at the exhibition were originally introduced to Finland through art exhibitions organised by Artek, and through people in Aalto's inner circle. Artek's exhibitions left a permanent imprint on the Finnish art world and on the Ateneum Art Museum's collection. 

Produced by the Ateneum, the publication Alvar Aalto – Art and the Modern Form discusses Artek's exhibition activities and highlights the life's work of Aino Marsio-Aalto in the arenas of art, design and architecture. Edited by the chief curator, Sointu Fritze, the publication features articles by Jochen Eisenbrand, Susanna Pettersson, and Renja Suominen-Kokkonen. The publication is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.

László Moholy-Nagy: Kestnermappe, no. 6, 1923. Private collection. Photo: Finnish National Gallery/ Jenni Nurminen

Fernand Léger: Musical Instruments, 1926. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Jouko Könönen

László Moholy-Nagy: Untitled, Berlin, 1929. Museum Folkwang, Essen. Photo: Museum Folkwang, Essen

Alexander Calder: Mobile, 1930s. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Fernand Léger: Composition aux contrastes (Contrasting Composition), 1932. Mairea Foundation. Photo: Mairea Foundation / Rauno Träskelin

Pablo Picasso: Model and Surrealist Sculpture, 1933. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Pablo Picasso: Two Catalan Drinkers, 1934. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Fernand Léger: Etoile jaune (Yellow Star), 1937. Mairea Foundation. Photo: Mairea Foundation / Rauno Träskelin

Fernand Léger: Untitled, 1937. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Tapio Tapiovaara: Fernand Léger Lecturing in Helsinki, 1937. Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Alexander Calder: Tache Rouge (Red Spot), 1940s. Mairea Foundation. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Alexander Calder: Jeu abstrait (Abstract Play), 1945. Mairea Foundation. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Kirsi Halkola

Hans Arp: Family of Stars, 1955. Artek Collection

Hans Arp: Torso (Feuille / Leaf), 1959 (based on a collage from 1941). Portfolio of silk-screen prints 75/75, Éditions Denise René, Paris. Mairea Foundation. Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Aaltonen

Lot 288. A doucai bottle vase, Qianlong underglaze blue six-character seal mark and possibly of the period (1736-1795), 8 1/8 in. (20.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 20,000 - GBP 30,000. Price realised GBP 668,450. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The compressed globular body with a short straight foot and elongated neck rising to a slightly everted rim, finely painted and enamelled with bats in flight amongst cloud scrolls, above a key-fret band to the foot.

Lot 276. A fine and rare underglaze blue and copper-red-decorated vase meiping,  Qianlong underglaze blue seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 350,000 - GBP 450,000. Price realised GBP 601,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The finely potted vase decorated around the broad shoulders and tapering body with a composite lotus scroll, the undulating stems and feathery leaves in underglaze blue and the flower-heads in bright copper-red, all between upright leaves encircling the foot and lotus panels enclosing copper-red florets around the shoulder, the base of the short neck with a band of classic scroll and a further band of short upright leaves.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 16 June, 1999, lot 801.

Note: This example, made for the court of the Qianlong Emperor, has the characteristic strong but elegant form associated with his reign period. The shoulders are broad, but the vessel tapers quite sharply towards the foot, giving it an elegant, well-balanced, profile. The decoration on this vase takes its inspiration from the decoration on meiping of the early 15th century, and it is interesting to note that when the Qianlong Emperor wished to compliment a piece of contemporary porcelain he often compared it to the porcelains of the Xuande (1426-35) or Chenghua (1465-87) reigns. The works of art from these Ming dynasty reigns were the most admired by Qing dynasty connoisseurs.

In this case the Qianlong Emperor has required that the ceramic decorators at the imperial kilns should exceed their Ming predecessors in demonstrating their skills. The 15th century vases with similar decoration were only painted in underglaze blue, while this 18th century vessel is painted in both blue and underglaze copper-red. This makes for most effective decoration, but underglaze copper-red was notoriously difficult to fire successfully. It is to the credit of the ceramicists who made it that this vase has fired so perfectly with rich, raspberry red flowers, but no doubt many failures were suffered in order to produce it. Although there are rare examples of underglaze blue and red on the same vessel in the early 15th century, these usually depicted waves and dragons or sea creatures.

Another very similar Qianlong vase with the very similar underglaze blue and underglaze copper red decoration from the imperial collection is preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 36 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III),Hong Kong, 2000, p. 227, no. 207). A slightly smaller Qianlong meiping vase of similar shape and the same decorative scheme was sold in our Hong Kong rooms 30 April 2000, lot 527. This vase had previously been in the Collection of the famous French collector and former Vice President of the Committee of National Museums, Edouard Aynard. A similar vase is also illustrated in Qing dai taoci daquan, Taipei, 1989, p. 234. A vase decorated with slightly different floral scrolls, but of overall similar design is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. II, Taipei, 1981, no. 20).

Lot 1907. A fine large blue and white hu-form vase, Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795), 20 in. (50.8 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 3,800,000 - HKD 4,500,000. Price realised HKD 10,180,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Well painted in Ming style with 'heaped and piled' effect, around the lower body with a broad band of foliate scroll bearing eight large blossoms, between waves around the base and a ruyi collar at the angled shoulders, the upper body with similar bands of waves, floral bands and pendant trefoils, the wave pattern repeated on the tubular handles and mouth rim.

Provenance: Collection of Sir Ralph Endersby Harwood, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.B.E.
Previously sold at Sotheby's London, 7 June 1994, lot 358

Note: Sir Ralph Endersby Harwood (1883-1952), served as Deputy Treasurer to His Majesty, King George V from 1922 until the King's death in 1936. Sir Ralph continued as Deputy Treasurer to King Edward VIII and briefly served King George VI. He was also Controller of the Royal Household. This vase is believed to have been presented to Sir Ralph by Queen Mary and to have come from the Royal Collections at Windsor Castle.

An identical vase was included in the exhibition, The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1984, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 63. Another hu-shaped vase of this design but potted with an upright rather than flared mouth rim, is illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book 1, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1968, pl. 3. See also the very similar vase sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2005, lot 1480. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2010, Hong Kong

Lot 269. A magnificent pair of large blue and white vases, hu, Qianlong seal marks and of the period (1736-95), 20½ in. (51 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 500,000 - GBP 800,000. Price realised GBP 499,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Each robustly potted vessel finely painted around the bulbous lower section with large peony blooms borne on leafy meandering scrolls with smaller blooms and set between a band of pendant ruyi heads at the shoulder and turbulent waves at the base, the broad shoulders luted to the body with a subtle indentation sweeping up to the flaring neck flanked by a pair of tubular lug handles, the wave band further repeated around the shoulders, mouth and handles, with two registers of lotus flowers filling out the decoration around the neck, each containing scrolling foliate vines punctuated by large blooms.

Provenance: The property of a lady.

This superb and rare pair of large vases typifies the finest quality of construction and underglaze blue decoration in the reign of one of the Qing dynasty's greatest patrons of the art, the Qianlong Emperor. It is interesting to note, however, that the shape of these vases originates in earlier metal proto-types, while the direct inspiration for both shape and decoration came to the Qing court through imperial porcelains of the Ming dynasty Xuande reign (1426-35).

In the case of the shape, this inspiration is confirmed by archives for the third year of the Qianlong reign (1738), which record an instruction sent to the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen requesting 'vases like those of the Xuan(de) period with straight necks and cylindrical handles, but make them larger.' In the Qianlong reign vases of this form and size were made with straight necks, such as the two which are preserved in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 36 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red III, Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 144-5, nos. 130-1), and with flared necks, like the current example; another, reputedly from the British Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, sold in our Hong Kong rooms on 31 May 2010, lot 1907; a third sold in our Hong Kong rooms on 30 May 2005, lot 1480; and a fourth included in the exhibition The Wonders of the Potter's Palette: Qing Ceramics from the Collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, no. 63. It has been suggested that the everted mouths of this latter group provided a pleasing balance to the vessels' strong, angular, shoulders.

A fine large blue and white hu-form vase, Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795), 20 in. (50.8 cm.) high. Sold for HKD 10,180,000 at Christie's Hong Kong, 31 May 2010, lot 1907. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

(Cf. my post A fine large blue and white hu-form vase, Qianlong six-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795)

Interestingly, from the previous Yongzheng reign (1723-35) comes a version of this form with a mouth that falls between the two Qianlong versions. These Yongzheng vases, such as the example in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (illustrated in Harmony and Integrity - The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, Taipei, 2009, p. 221, no. II-47), and another in the Nanjing Museum (illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 43), stand on a flat base, and, more importantly, have mouths that flare only very slightly. It may be assumed that the Qianlong Emperor felt that the mouth should either be generously flared or remain straight. Certainly the form with flared mouth appears to have found particular favour with the Qianlong Emperor, as this form is also found amongst monochrome porcelains of his reign. Interestingly, these monochromes display additional archaistic interest, since they imitate Song dynasty glazes. An example with Ge-type glaze is illustrated by Qian Zhengzong in Qingdai ciqi shangjian, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 145, no. 182, while a further example with Ru-type glaze was sold in our Hong Kong rooms 31 May 2010, lot 2010.

The floral decoration on both the Yongzheng vases and the Qianlong examples with flared mouth, like the current example, is clearly inspired by the floral scrolls on early Ming porcelains with underglaze blue decoration. Not only are the forms of the floral scrolls similar, but the 18th century potters at the imperial kilns were at pains to try and imitate the 'heaped and piled' effect of the cobalt seen on early 15th century porcelains. Such 'heaped and piled' effects were natural when using the type of cobalt available in the early 15th century. Hewever cobalt from a different source and enhanced preparation methods in the 18th century meant that if this effect was to be achieved on imperial porcelain of the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, it had to be painted on deliberately by the ceramic decorator. While the Yongzheng vases have an 'Indian lotus' scroll on the neck and handles, and a mixed floral scroll around the body, the Qianlong examples have three different floral scrolls around the neck, upper shoulders, and body, with each band depicting a single flower type.

The Yongzheng vases have only a very narrow wave band around the lower part of the shoulder. This band is composed of alternating spray and whirlpools. The wave bands on the Qianlong vases are much wider and more important in the overall decorative scheme. Indeed bands of turbulent waves have been used to great effect on the current vase and others of this group. The wave bands encircle the lower part of the body of the vessel, the shoulders, the mouth, just below the rim, and even the tubular handles. The form of these turbulent waves, like the floral scrolls, have their origins in the early 15th century, when, in a change from the 14th century style, the depiction of the sea consisted of rolling waves interspersed with dramatic plumes of spray. Although the Qianlong version of this decoration is more formal and controlled, it retains the essential form of the early 15th century. In the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande reigns of the 15th century such waves usually provided a background for either a five-clawed imperial dragon or a group of mythological sea creatures. The dragon was associated with waves because at the spring equinox it was believed to rise from winter hibernation amongst the waves in order to bring rain to water the crops and provide a bountiful harvest. By the 18th century the waves alone would have conveyed this message of bounty. 

Although important vases of this type would generally have been supplied by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen to the emperor in pairs, it is extremely rare that a pair of these magnificent vessels has survived into the present day. Indeed no other pair of vases of this type appears to have been published.

Lot 238. A superb pair of famille rose vases, Jiaqing iron-red six-character seal marks and of the period (1796-1820), 12¾ in. (32.4 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 200,000 - GBP 300,000. Price realised GBP 289,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Of bottle form with stylised dragon handles to the cylindrical necks, supported on a short foot, delicately decorated around the body with large peony flowers and leafy stems issuing from rockwork, all between bands of lappets and ruyi, the interiors and bases enamelled turquoise.

Note: This rare pair of Jiaqing famille rose vases represent a very successful melding of features from the imperial porcelains of the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. The archaistic kui dragon handles enamelled in vermilion and gold to imitate lacquer are of a type particularly associated with the Qianlong reign, and can be seen on vases preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, such as the turquoise ground vase in cloisonné style illustrated in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum 39 Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 136, no. 119. Handles of this type were also adopted in the Jiaqing reign, and indeed on some examples the colour was changed to either pastel pink or pastel blue with darker details. The lacquer red with gold details however, as seen on the current vases, remained the most popular variant.

While the handles on these vases may have been inspired by porcelains of the Qianlong reign, the painted decoration on the body of the vase was inspired by fine famille rose, porcelains of the Yongzheng reign. The shape too is based on the tianqiupingof the Yongzheng reign, but it is the naturalistically painted blossoming branches that demonstrate an especially close link with Yongzheng enamelled wares. Inspiration was undoubtedly taken from imperial Yongzheng vases like those still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing which are published in Qingdai yuyao ciqi, vol. 1, part 2, Beijing, 2005, pp. 178-9, no. 76, pp. 182-3, no. 78, and pp. 184-5, no. 79. The inclusion of branches bearing different flowers particularly recalls the famous vase illustrated ibid, p.185, and the exquisite dish, also in the Palace Museum, illustrated ibid, pp. 190-1, no. 82.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 10 May 2011, London, King Street

Lot 1882. An extremely rare Ming-style doucai vase, Yongzheng six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1723-1735), 9 3/4 in. (25 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 5,000,000 - HKD 7,000,000. Price realised HKD 10,740,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The compressed globular body with a tall splayed foot and elongated neck rising to an everted rim, finely pencilled in Chenghua-style with an Indian lotus meander issuing full formal blooms and curled leaves, the foot encircled by a formal scroll, the translucent enamels in tones of iron-red, yellow, aubergine and green, box.

Provenance: Previously sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Imperial Sale, 26 April 2004, lot 957 

Exhibited: Osaka Municiple Museum, Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 1980, Catalogue, no. 163 

Note: The present vase appears to be unique in its shape and pattern. The shape of this vase is derived from Chenghua prototypes although the pronounced lip and spreading base are Qing variations. A Ming dynasty example in the Shanghai Museum is illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Daquan, Ceramics, 1994, p. 386, fig. 741.

The solid lotus in profile on a foliate ground in the Chenghua style appears most frequently on cups and bowls of the period. A doucai cup is illustrated in A Legacy of Chenghua, The Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology and the Tsui Museum of Art, 1993, p. 279, no. C95. Blue and white bowls are illustrated ibid., p. 231, no. C71, and p. 245, no. C78. The style, though less defined, can be traced back to the earlier 15th century as exemplified by a vase from the Xuande period formerly in the Palmer Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 17 January 1989, lot 572. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2010, Hong Kong

Lot 1910. An extremely rare and important carved cinnabar lacquer embellished famille rose vase, Jiaqing six-character sealmark and of the period (1796-1820), 10 in. (25.3 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 5,000,000 - HKD 7,000,000. Price realised HKD 9,620,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The globular body decorated with the large gnarled branches of a flowing pomegranate tree heavily laden with fruit, above aruyi-form band enclosing classic lotus scroll against a yellow ground, the foot with a scrolling floral band, and below a band of pendent ruyi heads enclosing florets against a yellow ground at the shoulder, the neck covered in red lacquer and similarly carved with ruyi and classic lotus scroll and flanked by a pair of openwork C-shaped handles in gilt, the interior of the neck and the base surrounding the iron-red reign mark in turquoise enamel.

Provenance: Previously sold at Christie's Paris, 7 December 2007, lot 175 

Exhibited: Osaka Municiple Museum, Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 1980, Catalogue, no. 163 

This exceptional vase combines well-painted overglaze enamel decoration with skilfully carved red lacquer. The body of the vase is richly painted with blossoming and fruiting pomegranate trees and blossoming peonies, whose white blooms contrast very effectively with the red flowers of the pomegranate. These plants combine to offer wishes for riches and honours and many sons to the recipient of the vase. The enamelled ruyi bands around the shoulder and base of the vase also suggest a hope for 'everything as you wish'. The alternating large and small ruyiin the painted enamel bands are mirrored in the band around the lower part of the lacquer, just above the finely carved squared-spiral band. The lacquer carver has even gone so far as to mirror the interior decoration of each ruyi head. The colour of the vermillion lacquer also complements the enamels, especially the red used for the pomegranate flowers. The use of lacquer on porcelain has traditionally been much admired, but is very rare, since the application of the lacquer to the surface of the porcelain requires great skill and would have added considerably not only to the original cost of the item so adorned, but also to the time required to make it. As lacquer can only be applied in very thin layers, it would have taken a considerable amount of time to build up sufficient thickness to allow the multi-layered carving on the current vase. It is also rather fragile, and it is likely that of the few examples of this type made, even fewer have survived into the present day.

As early as the Tang dynasty lacquer was applied to valuable ceramics. When the so-called 'underground palace' beneath the pagoda of the Famen Temple near Xi'an in Shaanxi province was opened, archaeologists were delighted to discover both fine examples of the much prized Yue type known as mise yao, or secret-coloured celadon wares, and an inventory, dated to AD 874, identifying them. This pagoda was patronized by two of the Tang emperors - Yizong (860-873) and Xizong (874-888). The mise Yue wares found in the crypt were part of imperial gifts to the Buddhas's sacred relics in the Famen Temple and are recorded on a stone stele. What is also remarkable is that two of these precious mise yao bowls were embellished on the exterior with black lacquer inlaid with decoration in gold and silver foil (illustrated Report of the Archaeological Excavation at Famen Temple, vol. II, Beijing, 2007, plate CXCVII: 1-2). This, therefore, may have marked the beginning of the use of black lacquer with gold decoration applied to fine ceramics.

One of the earliest extant examples of lacquer applied to white porcelain is the beautiful Yuan dynasty seated figure of the Buddha Amitabha in the collection of the Beijing Art Museum, which was displayed as exhibit no. 7 in Treasures from Ancient Beijing, held at Christie's New York in 2000, and which also appeared on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The robe of the figure is lacquered, and gilded decoration has been applied to the surface of the lacquer, producing an elegant and opulent effect. Such pieces with surviving lacquer are extremely rare, and it appears that only in the Qing dynasty were serious attempts made to revive the technique.

It was under the aegis of the Kangxi emperor (1662-1722) that there was renewed interest in the lacquering of porcelain, but very few of these have survived. A small number of porcelains with black lacquer coating inlaid with mother-of-pearl are extant. One such Kangxi piece is a brush pot formerly sold in our London rooms on 8 June 2004, lot 465, which was recently among the items from the Robert H, Blumenfield Collection sold by Christie's New York on 25 March 2010, lot 953. Even more rare are porcelains, like the current vase, on which lacquer had been applied in sufficient depth to allow carving. One such vessel is a large Kangxi beaker vase in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, which has alternating layers of red and black lacquer which have been carved with designs of ruyi and shou characters in the style of tixi lacquer more usually made with wooden or cloth bases (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 46 Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 3. A porcelain bottle vase covered with carved red lacquer, dated to the Qianlong reign (1736-95), is illustrated by Edward F. Strange in Chinese Lacquer, London, 1926, pl. XXI. An enamelled porcelain vase, from the Daoguang reign (1821-50), the neck of which had been covered with carved red lacquer, was recently sold at Christie's New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1449.

The Qing dynasty also saw experimentation with other material used as a base for lacquer decoration. Some pewter vessels were lacquered, as in the case of the Kangxi pewter teapot covered with lacquer and inlaid mother-of-pearl, which was formerly in the collection of Mrs. Walter Sedgwick (illustrated by R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson in Chinese Art - Gold, Silver, Later Bronze, Cloisonné, Cantonese Enamel, Lacquer, Furniture, Wood, Oxford, Revised Edition, 1980, pl. 49). A very rare example of a lacquered jade vessel of the Qianlong reign is included in the current sale, lot 1913. Nevertheless the lacquering of porcelain, especially the application of sufficient layers to allow the kind of fine carving seen on the current handsome vessel, must have been the most challenging of all.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2010, Hong Kong

Lot 1868. An exceedingly rare green and yellow enamelled incised dragon vase, Kangxi six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1662-1722), 10 in. (25.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 7,000,000 - HKD 9,000,000. Price realised HKD 8,420,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010