Lot 1873. A fine and extremely rare famille rose bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1723-1735), 3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 1,500,000 - HKD 2,000,000. Price realised HKD 4,580,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Lot 1892. A fine and very rare famille rose 'Boy and Chicken' cup, Qianlong six-character fanggu sealmark, with an inscription dated to bingshen year, corresponding to 1776, and of the period; 3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 1,500,000 - HKD 2,000,000. Price realised HKD 3,860,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

La Pierre sacrée des Maori : Affiche

PARIS - L’or vert de Nouvelle-Zélande, pounamu en langue māori, est mis à l’honneur au musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac du 23 mai au 1er octobre 2017. Conçue par le musée de Nouvelle-Zélande Te Papa Tongarewa et l’iwi Ngāi Tahu, l’exposition LA PIERRE SACRÉE DES MĀORI met en lumière les très riches collections du musée néo-zélandais.

La pierre verte se trouve essentiellement au sud-ouest de l’archipel, dans un territoire protégé, bordé de glaciers et de fjords. L’or vert de Nouvelle-Zélande, le pounamu, repose dans les rivières du Te Wai Pounamu, littéralement « les eaux de la pierre verte », région à laquelle il a donné son nom. Matière noble, symbole de force et objet de fascination, cette pierre prestigieuse, érigée au rang de trésor sacré, est au cœur de nombreuses croyances, histoires et légendes du peuple māori. 

L’exposition présente, à travers un parcours en 5 séquences couvrant plusieurs siècles, plus de 200 taonga (trésors) rares, taillés dans le précieux minéral, dont une collection de 96 hei tiki (pendentifs de forme humaine), de 20 mere (massues courtes), et de 4 « pierres à toucher ». Tous sont vecteurs du mana de leur possesseur, puissance sacrée héritée des dieux et incarnée par les personnages de haut rang. 

Une immersion dans la culture riche et vivante des Māori qui permet de comprendre l’origine du pounamu (composantes, variétés, histoires, mythes, …) ainsi que ses multiples usages, sa solidité remarquable, la beauté de ses ornements, sa préciosité ou encore ses diverses symboliques. L’exposition s’achève sur la présentation d’œuvres en pounamu plus contemporaines, preuve à la fois de la persistance des techniques māori, et de la fascination symbolique exercée par la pierre verte. 

Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Du 23 mai au 1er octobre 2017

Kākā pōria (bague d’oiseau). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Hei matau (pendentif en forme de crochet), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa/ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Kapeu (pendentif d’oreille). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Mere (arme de poing). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Mere (arme de poing). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Détail de toki poutangata (adze cérémonial). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Broche, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa/ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Pekapeka (pendentif). Gift of Robert Coddington, 2007, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa

Hei tiki (pendentif anthropomorphe), 2008, réalisé par Lewis Tamihana Gardiner des iwi Ngāi Tahu, Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, et Te Whānau-a-Apanui, New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa/ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Détail du pounamo kohatu (roche), variétékawakawa, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Détail du pounamo kohatu (roche), variététahutahi (flocon de neige), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa 

Détail du pounamu kohatu (roche), variététahutahi (flocon de neige). © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, courtesy de Te Runanga O Makaawhio

Te Rangi Topeora, années 1860. © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa / Photographie de E.S. Richards

James McDonald, Pinohi Tūtakangahau, 1901–09, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa

Jan Nauta, Rivière Arahura, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa © Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa

Milford Sound, Fiordland, 1960. Don de M. Raymond Wai-man Lau, 2001© Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Photographe : Brian Brak

Rivière Cascade, South Westland© Kura Pounamu marketing images Te Papa / Courtesy de Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu. Photographe : Andris Apse

Vues de l'exposition "La Pierre sacrée des Maori" © musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Gautier Deblonde

Lot 1983. A Longquan celadon relief-decorated tripod censer, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century, 5 3/4 in. (14.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 860,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010 

Lot 1982. A fine Longquan celadon petal-lobed bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 70,000. Price realised HKD 81,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010 

Lot 1979. A very rare guanyao mallow-form bowl, Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century; 5 3/4 in. (14.6cm.) diam. Estimate HK$5,000,000 - HK$6,000,000. Price Realized HK$11,412,000 ($1,476,979) © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

 The thinly potted body flaring widely from the narrow ring foot before rising to the very slightly everted rim cut with six notches, covered overall with a thick opaque glaze of greyish blue-green tone suffused with dark crackle ending neatly at the foot exposing the biscuit burnt reddish brown in the firing, the interior of the foot also glazed, box.

Provenance: King Sho Tai (1843-1901), Ryukyu Kingdom, Japan (by repute)
A Japanese private collection, Ryukyu Islands

Exhibited: Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, The Colours and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Tokyo, 2004 and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 26

Note: The present bowl is accompanied by a letter signed by Sekiko stating that the bowl was originally in the collection of King Sho Tai (1843-1901), the last King of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Southern Japan. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the King was overcome by health problems and was treated by Dr.Yamada in Minato, Kagoshima Prefecture. The King recovered and was so grateful to Dr. Yamada that he gave him the current Guanyao bowl as a gift in recognition of his services. Dr. Yamada sold this bowl to an antique dealer in Kagoshima prefecture when he returned to his native country (Iyo Koku) in 1883.

It is interesting to note that the Ryukyu Kingdom had close ties with China, and its independence from the rest of Japan meant that these ties were maintained throughout the period that China had ceased its trade relations with the rest of Japan.

This classic bowl, with its dark stoneware body and delicately crackled glaze, exemplifies the sophisticated elegance of wares made at southern Chinese kilns for the refined Southern Song court. The Five Great Song Dynasty Wares are traditionally Guan, Ge, Ding, Jun and Ru. Each of these wares has its own characteristics, and in the case of Guan and Ge wares the simple forms combined with a rich blue-grey crackled glaze produce ceramics of deceptively simple beauty. The simplicity is deceptive because these wares were unusually difficult to make. The variations in colour and translucency of these glazes, as well as the density of their crackle are greatly dependent on the application of the glaze and the control of the atmosphere and temperature in the kilns in which they were fired.

The subtlety of form of the current bowl shows the restrained use of a flower form often seen in fine cups, bowls and dishes from the Ding kilns of Hebei province during the Northern Song period, and latterly the imperial wares of the Southern Song period. In this instance, the bowl is in the shape of a mallow, perhaps the most popular of all the flower forms adopted at that time. However, rather than carrying the petal form down the sides of the bowl, the potter has merely everted the rim slightly and then gently indented it to indicate the six mallow petals.

A bowl of very similar shape and size in the National Palace Museum collection, Taipei, is illustrated in the Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Sung Dynasty Kuan Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1989, no. 114. Other examples of slightly different form and size are also illustrated ibid., nos. 113, 115 and 116.

As can be seen from the illustrations, the glaze on these pieces has 'crawled' in the same manner as that on the current bowl. Such glaze crawling is a common occurrence on these wares.

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

Bowl with dragons, Stoneware with carved decoration, transparent glaze and copper rim mount, Ding ware, Quyang county, Hebei province, Northern Song dynasty, about AD 1086–1127. Height: 47 millimetres, Diameter: 170 millimetres, Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 114 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

This rare bowl is carved with a design of dragons inside with flowering plants outside. Ding potters pioneered the technique of fushao (firing a vessel upside down on its rim). Kiln managers saved on fuel by firing a greater number of pots at one time, stacking them in stepped saggars. The disadvantage was the unglazed mouth rim, cleaned free of glaze to avoid the vessel sticking to the saggar. Craftsmen used sheet copper and occasionally gold or silver, cut to size and heated to fit the rims to hide this flaw. Historical accounts suggest that dressing the rim with metal actually enhanced the status of the clay vessel.

Dish with dragon amongst clouds, Stoneware with carved and incised decoration, transparent glaze and copper rim mount, Ding ware, Quyang county, Hebei province, Northern Song or Jin dynasty, about AD 1050–1234. Height: 25 millimetres, Diameter: 212 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 116 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

The base and foot of both are glazed. Between AD 1086 and AD 1127, Ding potters pioneered the technique of fushao (firing a vessel upside down on its rim). Kiln managers saved on fuel by firing a greater number of pots at one time, stacking them in stepped saggars. The disadvantage was the unglazed mouth rim, cleaned free of glaze to avoid the vessel sticking to the saggar. Craftsmen used sheet copper and occasionally gold or silver, cut to size and heated to fit the rims to hide this flaw. Historical accounts suggest that dressing the rim with metal actually enhanced the status of the clay vessel. The incised inscription on base reads奉華 (feng hua). Fenghua is the name of a city in northern Zhejiang province.

Lot 233. An important large Dingyao carved 'dragon' dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 200,000 - GBP 300,000. Price Realized GBP 505,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The interior freely carved across the centre with a writhing dragon, the scales naturalistically defined and the head and claws finely outlined, all under an even ivory glaze pooling slightly on the exterior, the rim left unglazed with a copper mount, fitted box.

Provenance: Cunliffe Collection, no. TT28
Sotheby's London, 15 April 1980, Lot 155

Note: This magnificent Ding ware dish is rare and important both for its size and for its carved decoration of a powerful writhing longdragon. Long dragons (as opposed to chi dragons) are rare on all Northern Song dynasty ceramics, even those destined for the court. However, it is significant that amongst the excavated Ru wares, which were made for the court at the first truly imperial kiln, a small number of pieces have been found with carved decoration of dragons. Two bowls have been published - one with a dragon in the interior and another with a dragon on the exterior (illustrated by Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Research Institute in Ruyao de xin faxian, Beijing, 1991, pls. 21-24). There are strong similarities between the carved long dragons on these Ru vessels and the dragon on the current large Ding ware dish. This dish was made at a time when the Ding kilns were at their height in terms of the quality of their products and also their popularity at court. It seems very likely that this dish was one of those fine Ding wares destined for the court of the Northern Song emperor.

Although a limited number of Ding ware dishes are known with moulded designs of dragons amongst clouds, such as the dish in the collection of the Shanghai Museum (illustrated in Shanghai Bowuguan suocang - Zhongguo taoci mingpin zhan, 1995, p. 37, no. 22), Ding wares with carved long dragons are even more rare. Fragments of Ding ware dishes with carved designs of dragons have been found at the kilns site of Jiancicun, Quyangxian, Hebei province. One of these fragments was published in Wenwu, 1965, vol. 6, pl. 1:9, while another is illustrated in Kiln Sites of Ancient China - Recent Finds of Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1980, p. 149, pl. 329. A Ding ware cup with carved dragon decoration on the exterior was excavated in 1981 in the southern part of the Quyang xian kiln site (illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan- Taoci juan, Taipei, 1993, 266, 318).

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

FRANKLIN, MASS.- A tempera on paper painting attributed to Claude Monet (1840-1926), titled Study for Gare Saint-Lazare, and a tempera and gouache on paper attributed to Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), titled Morning, Going to Work, are expected star lots in Woodshed Art Auctions’ next Prestige Collection sale, a 65-lot internet-only fine art auction ending July 26th. 

With a pre-sale estimate of $100,000-$160,000, the Monet is the auction’s expected top lot. It is signed verso and marked “Gallery Simon, Paris,” stamped and with a pencil-written reference number. The painting is possibly a study made on location, for one of the paintings in his famous 1877 series of the Gare Saint-Lazare train station. The work is 14 ½ inches by 18 inches, framed.  

Lot 7178. Claude Monet (1840-1926)(Attributed): Study For Gare St. Lazare, tempera on paper, signed, verso marked Gallery Simon, Paris stamp and pencil-written reference number, 7.25x10.5 in. image, 14.5x18 in. frame. Estimate: $100,000 - $160,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Provenance: Private Collection, Boston

Note: Claude Monet's 1877 series of the Gare Saint-Lazare train station was one of his most famous series in his lifetime. This modest painting is possibly a study, made on location, for the finished paintings. NOTE: From The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, website: After Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler returned to Paris from his Swiss exile during World War I, he opened the Galerie Simon, which was named after his partner and financial backer André Cahen, known as André Simon. The business existed from September 1920 until 1940, when it was closed due to World War II. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler ran the Galerie Kahnweiler until World War I. After the war, his stock was seized by the French state and liquidated at a series of four sequestration sales held at the Hôtel Drouot between 1921 and 1923. Kahnweiler was prohibited by French law from purchasing any works of his former collection in the four sales, so he formed what is known as the “Kahnweiler syndicate,” with the German dealer Alfred Flechtheim, Swiss collector Hermann Rupf, his brother Gustav Kahnweiler, Louise Leiris, and Hans Forchheimer. The syndicate bid under the pseudonym “Grassat”and the works it purchased were for Kahnweiler's new gallery. Among their purchases was Braque’s Still Life with Clarinet (Bottle and Clarinet), which they acquired at the second sale for 380 francs. In contrast to his modest prewar gallery, Kahnweiler’s Galerie Simon, located at 29 bis, rue d’Astorg, was comprised of four light-filled large exhibition halls. The location had been secured with the help of the artist Amédée Ozenfant, with whom Kahnweiler had become acquainted in Switzerland during the war, and Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, the painter and architect who would change his name to Le Corbusier that year, who rented a neighboring space from the same landlord. This painting is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity/attribution by painting conservator/art historian Bruce Wood, MFA.

The Van Gogh, one of five works in the auction attributed to the Dutch master, is signed by the artist and is possibly a study for the 1890 finished painting of the same title named above, the original of which is in the collection of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The painting in the auction is unframed, about 7 ¾ inches by 9 ¾ inches, and is estimated at $40,000-$50,000. 

Lot 934. Vincent van Gogh (attributed)) (1853-1890): Morning, Going To Work, tempera and gouache on paper, signed, verso marked with the stamp of Collection Simopn,29 Rue d'Astorg, Paris, France with reference number, 7.88x9.62 inches. Estimate: $40,000 - $50,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Provenance: Collection of Tomas Horvath, Slovakia, Gallerie Simon, Paris.

Note: Unframed. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from van Hassel Galeri, Rotterdam, Holland. Possibly a study for the 1890 finished painting of the same name, which is in the collection of the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia. NOTE: From The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, website: After Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler returned to Paris from his Swiss exile during World War I, he opened the Galerie Simon, which was named after his partner and financial backer André Cahen, known as André Simon. The business existed from September 1920 until 1940, when it was closed due to World War II. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler ran the Galerie Kahnweiler until World War I. After the war, his stock was seized by the French state and liquidated at a series of four sequestration sales held at the Hôtel Drouot between 1921 and 1923. Kahnweiler was prohibited by French law from purchasing any works of his former collection in the four sales, so he formed what is known as the “Kahnweiler syndicate,” with the German dealer Alfred Flechtheim, Swiss collector Hermann Rupf, his brother Gustav Kahnweiler, Louise Leiris, and Hans Forchheimer. The syndicate bid under the pseudonym “Grassat”and the works it purchased were for Kahnweiler's new gallery. Among their purchases was Braque’s Still Life with Clarinet (Bottle and Clarinet), which they acquired at the second sale for 380 francs. In contrast to his modest prewar gallery, Kahnweiler’s Galerie Simon, located at 29 bis, rue d’Astorg, was comprised of four light-filled large exhibition halls. The location had been secured with the help of the artist Amédée Ozenfant, with whom Kahnweiler had become acquainted in Switzerland during the war, and Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, the painter and architect who would change his name to Le Corbusier that year, who rented a neighboring space from the same landlord.

Woodshed Art Auctions’ Prestige Collection sales are so-named because they are smaller events focused on modestly priced works by big-name artists. This sale features Impressionist, Modern and Pop artworks by artists such as James McNeil Whistler, Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Fernand Leger, Man Ray and Tom Wesselmann, as well as Monet and Van Gogh.  

The auction is already up and online. All lots may be viewed at www.woodshedartauctions.com, and internet bidding is available through Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. The auction will begin at 12 o’clock noon Eastern time. Previews will be held online, at the Woodshed Art Auctions website, or by appointment in the firm’s gallery, at 1243 Pond Street in Franklin, Mass.  

“While researching pieces for this Prestige Collection, the theme of artists’ working studies came about,” said Bruce Wood of Woodshed Art Auctions. “I found corresponding finished artworks for several drawings and paintings that at first appeared to be fine examples of each artist’s work. As a painting conservator and historian, these correlations were both satisfying and gratifying.” 

Another major Van Gogh attribution is a lithographer’s crayon on heavily textured wove paper, titled The Wounded Veteran, possibly a study for the finished drawing of the same name in the collection of the Harvard Art Museum (est. $40,000-$60,000). Also, a gouache, watercolor and black ink drawing attributed to Marc Chagall (1887-1985), drawn on the half-title page of The World of Marc Chagall (1968), should hit $60,000-$80,000.  

Lot 908A. Vincent Van Gogh (attributed) (1853-1890): The Wounded Veteran, signed Vincent. Lithographer's crayon on heavily textured wove paper. Marked verso with the circular stamp of Collection Simon, Paris (Galerie Simon), 8x11 inches. Estimate: $40,000 - $50,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Provenance: Private collection; Gallery Simon, Paris

Note: Possibly a study for the finished drawing of the same name, which is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums. A photo of the Harvard drawing is shown in this catalog listing for reference, but it is not included with the lot. The drawing has been removed from its frame for inspection and shipping. It is hinged along the top edge to a passe partout. Unframed. NOTE: From The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art, website: After Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler returned to Paris from his Swiss exile during World War I, he opened the Galerie Simon, which was named after his partner and financial backer André Cahen, known as André Simon. The business existed from September 1920 until 1940, when it was closed due to World War II. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler ran the Galerie Kahnweiler until World War I. After the war, his stock was seized by the French state and liquidated at a series of four sequestration sales held at the Hôtel Drouot between 1921 and 1923. Kahnweiler was prohibited by French law from purchasing any works of his former collection in the four sales, so he formed what is known as the “Kahnweiler syndicate,” with the German dealer Alfred Flechtheim, Swiss collector Hermann Rupf, his brother Gustav Kahnweiler, Louise Leiris, and Hans Forchheimer. The syndicate bid under the pseudonym “Grassat”and the works it purchased were for Kahnweiler's new gallery. Among their purchases was Braque’s Still Life with Clarinet (Bottle and Clarinet), which they acquired at the second sale for 380 francs. In contrast to his modest prewar gallery, Kahnweiler’s Galerie Simon, located at 29 bis, rue d’Astorg, was comprised of four light-filled large exhibition halls. The location had been secured with the help of the artist Amédée Ozenfant, with whom Kahnweiler had become acquainted in Switzerland during the war, and Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, the painter and architect who would change his name to Le Corbusier that year, who rented a neighboring space from the same landlord. This drawing is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity/attribution by painting conservator/art historian Bruce Wood, MFA.

An oil on canvas portrait of a woman attributed to James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), signed with Whistler’s monogram, done in the dark colors and limited value-range of his major portraits, should reach $80,000-$120,000. Also sold will be a mixed media on paper attributed to Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), titled Woman and 8 inches by 10 inches ($20,000-$40,000). 

Lot 908D. James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)(Attributed): Portrait of a woman, signed with the artist's monogram. Oil on canvas, 17.75x10.38 in. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Provenance: Private collection, South Carolina

Note: Backing board bears the label of Kulicke Frames, Inc., New York City. The painting is done in the dark colors and limited value-range of Whistler's masterpiece portraits. Along with the model's partially hidden face, it relates well to Arrangement in Black: La Dame au brodequin-jaune-Portrait of Lady Archibald Campbell (also known as The Yellow Buskin) by Whistler, c. 1883. The painting is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity/attribution by painting conservator/art historian Bruce Wood, MFA.

Lot 7141. Willem de Kooning (1904-1997)(Attributed): Woman, signed, mixed media on paper, 8x10 in. image. Estimate: $20,000 - $40,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Fans of Andy Warhol (1928-1987) will have a field day, starting with an unframed mixed media drawing of a silver shoe on a printed page, titled With All My Shoes, done in watercolor, silver paint and black ink (est. $60,000-$80,000); and moving to a gouache painting titled Blue Pistol, artist-signed both front and back and measuring 8 inches by 10 ½ inches (est. $20,000-$40,000). 

Lot 263. Andy Warhol (1928-1987)(Attributed): With All My Shoes, drawing of silver shoe on a printed page, signed. Mixed media drawing, watercolor, silver paint, and black ink, 12x10 in. paper. Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 7144. Andy Warhol (1928-1987)(Attributed): Blue Pistol, gouache painting, signed front and back, verso stamped indistinctly (?-1972 BA…), 8x10.6 in. paper. Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Additional Warhol attributions include a mixed media on paper titled Electric Chair (Orange), signed front and back and possibly a study for a larger painting, unframed and 8 inches by 11 inches (est. $20,000-$30,000); and a whimsical drawing in pencil and watercolor on buff, medium-weight drawing paper, titled Angel with Birds, pencil-signed (est. $10,000-$15,000).  

Lot 7095. Andy Warhol (1928-1987)(Attributed): Electric Chair (Orange), signed front and back. Mixed media on paper. Marked verso with the stamp of Arthur Tooth Gallery, London, England, and reference numbers, 8x11 inches. Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 632.  Andy Warhol: Angel with Birds, pencil-signed. Drawing in pencil and watercolor, on buff, medium-weight drawing paper, 8x10.75 in. Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

A signed ink drawing on white paper attributed to Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), titled Smiling Woman, verso pencil signed with a reference number and collector’s stamp, is expected to rise to $60,000-$80,000; while a drawing in ink and crayon on white, card-weight bond paper by Peter Max (b. 1937), titled Running Man, showing stars and a rainbow, should bring $8,000-$12,000. 

Lot 7168. Roy Lichtenstein: (1923-1997)(Attributed): Smiling Woman, signed ink drawing on white paper, verso pencil signed with reference number and collector's stamp, London, England, 7.8x11.6 in. image, with certificate of authenticity from Bonnier Art Services, Toulouse, France. Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 621. Peter Max (1937-)(Attributed): Running Man with stars and rainbow, signed Max, dated 91 (1991). Drawing in ink and crayon on white, card-weight bond paper, 6x4 in. Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

A mixed media on paper by Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004), titled Nude with Cigarette, signed front and back and verso marked “Contemporary Masters Exhibition,” is estimated at $30,000-$50,000; while a charcoal on heavy white textured art paper attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), titled Skull, signed on the front and dated 1981, should sell for $5,000-$10,000. 

Lot 7158. Tom Wesselmann: Nude with Cigarette, mixed media on paper, signed front and back, verso marked Contemporary Masters Exhibition, pencil signature and reference number, 7.5x10.75 in. image, accompanied by certificate of authenticity from Bonnier Art Services, Toulouse, France. Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 7177. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988)(Attributed): Skull, charcoal on heavy white textured art paper, front is signed with initials and date JMB81, verso marks with initials, date, rubber stamp impression in brown ink, dated Mar. 19. soiled, handling marks, mild bend in top ¼ of paper, 9x12 in. image. Estimate: $5,000 - $10,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

A pair of last-minute additions to the sale are drawings attributed to Salvador Dali (1904-1989), each one carrying an estimate of $30,000-$50,000. One, titled Surreal Figure, is signed with the words “Dali” and “Gala” formed as a monogram, with as crown ring and cross above (“Gala” was Dali’s wife and muse). The other drawing is titled Surreal Figure Standing on an Elephant. 

Lot 935J. Salvador Dali (1904-1989)(Attributed): Surreal Figure, signed with the stylized words Dali and Gala formed as a monogram, with crown ring and cross above. Black-ink drawing on buff-tone medium-weight bond paper, 13x9 in. Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 935K. Salvador Dali (1904-1989)(Attributed): Surreal Figure Standing on an Elephant, signed Dali with crown and cross above. Black-ink drawing on buff-tone medium-weight bond paper, 9.19x13 in. Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

An untitled (Woman with Flowers) ink and tempera on paper laid to backing board by Fernand Leger (1881-1955), with a verso ID label from the Condotti Street Gallery in Rome Italy, signed, should garner $20,000-$30,000; and a drawing in green ink on buff bond paper attributed to Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), a rare self-portrait by the artist-poet-filmmaker, should hit $4,000-$6,000. 

Lot 7179. Fernand Léger: Untitled (Woman with Flowers), ink and tempera on paper laid to backing board, verso ID label from Condotti Street Gallery, Rome, signed F.L., 9.6x7 in. image, 8.5x11 in. Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 624. Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)(Attributed): Self-Portrait, signed. Drawing in green ink on buff bond paper. Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

A 17-inch-tall (including marble base) bronze sculpture attributed to Francisco Zuniga (1913-1998), titled Muter de Pie, signed by the artist, has a pre-sale estimate of $15,000-$25,000; while an untitled composition, watercolor on paper attributed to Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), signed front and back with the artist’s monogram, is expected to hammer for $10,000-$15,000.

Lot 908J. Francisco Zuniga (1913-1998)(Attributed): Muter de Pie, bronze, approx. 17” high including marble base, signed Zuniga (1912-1998). Approx. 17” high. Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 7147. Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)(Attributed): Untitled composition, watercolor on paper, signed front and back with artist's monogram, 7.75x10.7 in. paper. Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000. © Woodshed Art Auctions

Lot 1985. A finely painted blue and white baluster jar,guan, Yuan dynasty, mid-14th century; 11 1/4 in. (28.6 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 2,800,000 - HKD 3,500,000. Price Realized HKD 6,500,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Boldly painted in a deep, rich cobalt blue with extensive heaping and piling with a wide band of foliate scroll, the undulating stems bearing spiky leaves and six large peony blossoms alternately shown in profile and turned forward, with a band of petal lappets below and a composite foliate scroll above, the slightly tapering neck encircled by a delicate band of 'blackberry lily' scroll below the moulded mouth rim, all within double-line borders.

Provenance: The Jingguantang Collection, Part II, sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 1997, lot 69 

Exhibited: Gems of Chinese Art, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1992, Catalogue no. 73
Art Treasures from Shanghai and Hong Kong, The University of Hong Kong, 9 November 1996 - 25 January 1997, Catalogue no. 43

Note: A few Yuan dynasty jars decorated with this peony design are published. The present jar is among a group that is considered to be successfully fired resulting in its bright sapphire-blue colour and well rendered in its painting style. This same decorative pattern, also with the 'blackberry lily' band encircling the short neck, is found on a slightly smaller jar (27.2 cm.) in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, the World's Great Collections, Kodansha Series, vol. 1, 1982, no. 111. Compare with three other jars of similar size but all with a band of 'breaking waves' design encircling the short neck instead. The first jar is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shogakukan Series, vol. 13, fig. 123; the second, in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, 1987, p. 38, no. 22; and the third was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 24 October 1993, lot 716.

Another group of peony jars decorated with a band of classic scrolls below the main band of peony scroll are published. Cf. a jar found in 1979 at Yenjialing, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, included in the exhibition, The Silk Road, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1991, p. 139; and another was included in the Exhibition of Oriental Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, 1978, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 61.

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

Lot 1856. A rare early Ming blue and white hexafoil bowl, Xuande six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1426-1435), 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm.) diam.Estimate HKD 3,500,000 - HKD 4,500,000. Price Realized HKD 9,020,000© Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The interior of the shallow widely-flaring conical bowl painted in rich blue tones with a medallion enclosing a fruiting and flowering peach below individual sprays of lotus, camellia, chrysanthemum and other flowers around the lobed rim, the exterior with fruiting sprays of grapes, pomegranate, longyan, peach, persimmon and lychee above individual floral sprays and a classic scroll around the foot, the cobalt with areas of 'heaping and piling', Japanese wood box.

Provenance: The Manno Museum, Osaka, Japan
Previously sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 24 April 2004, lot 952 

Literature: Selected Masterpieces of the Manno Collection, The Manno Art Museum, 1988, fig. 113

Note: A small number of similar examples from important public collections are published, including one in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 159, no. 151; one from the Percival David Foundation, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha Series, vol. 6, pl. 88; one in the Freer Gallery of Art, included in op. cit., vol. 9, pl. 102; one in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, A New Comprehensive Survey, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1996, fig. 403; one in the Shanghai Museum of Art, illustrated in Shanghai Bowuguan, pl. 105; and another included in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Minji Meihin Zoroku (vol. I), 1977, pl. 65.

Two other bowls from private collections were exhibited in the Marco Polo Seventh Centenary Exhibition, Venice, 1954, illustrated in the Catalogue, one from the Woodthrope Collection, no. 642, the other from the Garner Collection, no. 643; an example from the Woodthrope and Mayer Collections was included in the O.C.S. Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain, London, 1954, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 76; another is published in the Asia Society Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, pl. 73; a last example from the Ataka Collection was included in the Oriental Ceramic Exhibition, 1979, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 102.

Compare also with three bowls of this pattern sold at auction: the first from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. R.H.R. Palmer and the Jingguangtang collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 17 January 1989, lot 567 and 3 November 1996, lot 546; from the Ira and Nancy Koger collection, sold Sotheby's New York, 27 November 1990, lot 6; and the bowl from the Su Lin An collection sold Sotheby's Hong Kong, 10 October 1995, lot 315.

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

Blue-and-white bowl with flowers and fruits, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD1426–35. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height: 80 millimetres, Diameter: 228 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF,B.682 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Although in the previous Yongle period (AD 1403–24) a four-character reign mark was sometimes used, the development of what became the standardised six-character reign mark began in the Xuande era as the result of direct official supervision and control of the imperial kilns by the court. Horizontal marks are read from right to left with the name of the dynasty, emperor’s reign name and the characters for ‘made in the years of’. Vertical marks are generally read from top to bottom and right to left. This bowl painted with fruits and flowers has a six-character Xuande reign mark on the base in a double ring. 

Porcelain serving dish with a bracketed rim and underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Height: 7.6 centimetres, Diameter: 38 centimetres, Weight: 2.4 kilograms. Donated by Mrs Walter Sedgwick, 1937,1012.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

This dish has rounded bracket-lobed sides and a flat rising rim with a thick bracketed edge; it is supported by a low wedge-shaped foot ring. It is painted in underglaze blue in the centre with a composite floral scroll comprising a peony surrounded by other individual blooms of various other plants. These are (clockwise): azalea (with the multiple prominent stamens), rose, lotus and camellia, framed by a double-lined bracket-edged circle. There are twelve flowers in the well depicted in diametrically opposed pairs. These are (clockwise from the top): lotus, morning glory, hibiscus, pomegranate, chrysanthemum and peony. The rim is adorned with lingzhi fungus scroll. The exterior is decorated with the same flowers as the well, edged below and above with close parallel outlines. The base is slightly concave and unglazed and bears a Near Eastern or Indian drilled owner's mark. 

A large dish of this shape but with different decoration was excavated in the Yongle stratum at Dongmentou, Zhushan, Jingdezhen, in 1994.

An identical dish from Professor E. T Hall's collection was sold in 1994. Others are in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen, the National Palace Museum, Taipei, the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, and the private Meiyintang Collection.

Eleven similar dishes are in the Ardebil shrine.

Later in the sixteenth century potters in Iznik, Turkey, copied this type of dish, adding coloured enamels; an example is in the British Museum. See Regina Krahl and John Ayers Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum vol 1. Nurdan Erbahar, ‘Non-Chinese Marks and Inscriptions’ , pp. 125-138. On the drilled marks - it is likely these non verbal marks were marks of ownership or to “categorise the piece before it was sold or transported from one place to another”. The marks were made by drilling into the porcelain. The same mark appears in the Topkapi Saray on 11 pieces.

Lot 1852. A magnificent early Ming blue and white barbed-rim dish, Yongle period (1403-1425), 14 7/8 in. (38 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 3,000,000 - HKD 4,000,000. Price Realized HKD 6,020,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

The central medallion well-painted in soft violet-blue tones with composite floral blooms to include peony, lotus, camellia, pomegranate and mallow, borne on slender interlaced vines within a shaped panel of double-lines conforming to the gently fluted cavetto, designed with twelve detached floral sprays repeated on the exterior, the broad everted mouth rim with a band of lingzhi scroll within double-line borders, the base unglazed, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Mayuyama Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan 

Exhibited: Fukuyama Castle Museum, 1989, 70 Selected Masterpieces of Chinese Porcelain, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no 45

Note: A number of dishes of this pattern have been published. Compare a very similar foliate-rim dish illustrated by J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1956, pl. 35, nos. 29.101, 29.106, and 29.109; one illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, 1994, no. 662; from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue and White Ware of The Ming Dynasty, Book I, Hong Kong, 1963, pls. 22 and 22a; and the dish formerly from the collection of Mrs Walter Sedgwick, illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 116, fig. 3:35. For a discussion of the evolution of the design on Ottoman wares of the early 16th century with illustrated reference to examples of the Chinese prototype and the Iznik equivalent in the British Museum, see J. Rawson, Chinese Ornament: the Lotus and the Dragon, London, 1990, p. 185, fig. 163. 

Porcelain serving dish with a bracketed rim and underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425). Height: 7.6 centimetres, Diameter: 38 centimetres, Weight: 2.4 kilograms. Donated by Mrs Walter Sedgwick, 1937,1012.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Dish, Iznik, Ottoman dynasty, circa 1535-1545. Black, green, manganese, cobalt painted and glazed ceramic, pottery. Height: 7.6 centimetres, Diameter: 38.9 centimetres (rim), Diameter: 20.5 centimetres (base). Bequeathed by Miss Edith Godman, 1983, G.33 © The Trustees of the British Museum

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

Lot 1853. A fine early Ming blue and white dish, Yongle period (1403-1425), 11 in. (28 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price Realized HKD 2,660,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Well painted in inky-blue tones with pronounced 'heaping and piling', with a central lotus blossom encircled by five others radiating from the centre of the interior borne on scrolling stems, the design repeated as a continuous frieze on the cavetto below a classic scroll border at the mouth rim, the exterior with a chrysanthemum scroll between another classic scroll and a keyfret band at the mouth, the base unglazed.

Provenance: Acquired in the 1960's in New York by a collector and thence by descent to the present owner 

Note: Compare dishes of this unusual small size and pattern illustrated by Pope, Chinese Ceramics from the Ardebil Shrine, 1956, pl. 36; by Adrian Joseph, Ming Porcelain, London, 1971, pl. 20 and in Sekai Toji Zenshu, 1961, vol. II, fig. 83; illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, vol. 2, no. 662 and another formerly in the Gustav VI Collection and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, Kodansha, 1982, vol. 8, no. 215. A Xuande-marked example in the Victoria and Albert Museum is illustrated by H. Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1954, no. 16.

Dish, Ming dynasty,  Xuande period (1426-35). Porcelain, painted in underglaze blue, Jingdezhen. Diameter: 28 cm. 1633-1876. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. 

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

Lot 1854. An early Ming blue and white 'Grapes' dish, Yongle period (1403-1425), 14 7/8 in. (37.7 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 2,500,000 - HKD 3,500,000. Price Realized HKD 3,020,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Sturdily potted with shallow, gently rounded sides rising to an angled everted rim, painted in vivid graduated tones of underglaze-blue with three clusters of grapes suspended from slender branches bearing coiling tendrils and broad leaves, all enclosed within a double-circle, the cavetto encircled by a continuous composite floral scroll, repeated with slight variations to the exterior, with twelve blooms including lotus, camellia, lily, aster, chrysanthemum, gardenia, morning glory and lingzhi on an undulating leafy stem, the flattened rim with a border of crested waves, the smooth unglazed base burnt slightly orange, the purplish blue cobalt with characteristic 'heaping and piling' effect and the glaze with an even soft blue tinge, box.

Provenance: A New England collection. 

Note: Compare with similar examples in well-known collections including one from the Robert Chang collection sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1313; an example illustrated in Exhibition of Blue and White Wares, Shanghai Museum, Catalogue, no. 24; a dish formerly in the Gustav VI Adolf collection, and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha series, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 216; an example in the Percival David Foundation, London, illustrated in op. cit., Kodansha series, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 74; one from the T. Y. Chao and R. E. R. Luff collections exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Ming and Ching Porcelain in the Collection of the T. Y. Chao Family Foundation, illustrated in the Catalogue, 1978, no. 3; another from the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, vol. 2, London, 1986, no. 606; and five examples in the Ardebil Shrine collection, one of which is illustrated by John Alexander Pope, Chinese Ceramics from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1956, pl. 38 29.52. An example originally in the possession of Empress Dowager Cixi and Sir Robert Hart was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2245.

 Large serving dish with flowers and grapes, Ming dynasty, Yongle reign, AD1403–1424, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.685 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

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

Large serving dish with flowers and grapes, Ming dynasty, Yongle reign, AD1403–1424, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.685 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish with flat mouth rim. There is a band of waves in underglaze cobalt blue on the rim, scrolling flowers and leaves in the cavetto and three bunches of grapes, vines and leaves in the centre. 

Potters working at Jingdezhen used a blue-generating cobalt pigment imported from the Middle East or Central Asia at this time. It diffuses in patches through the transparent glaze and after cooling appears black where it has burnt through the glaze and pale blue where it is thin. Serving dishes of this type were exported to Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East. These dishes were more suited to foreign dining than Chinese cuisine, which requires a variety of smaller bowls and containers. This example is decorated with a grapevine design in the centre.