Lot 26. A Fine Large Blue and White 'Roses' Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period (1403-1425), 37.5 cm., 14 3/4 in. Estimate 3,000,000 — 5,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 7,220,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

the interior centred with a large medallion containing two blossoming roses and a rose bud borne on a leafy branch, encircled by a continuous peony scroll on the cavetto and a 'classic' scroll on the everted lipped rim, the exterior painted with a continuous lotus scroll on the rounded sides beneath a plain rim, the base and the footring left unglazed.

Literature: Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 660.

Note: This dish, with its graceful flower design executed in graded shades of cobalt blue exemplifies the subtie porcelain painting style that is characteristic of the Yongle reign. Five dishes 0f this otherwise rare design with a stem oftwo roses in the centre, are today in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, from the Ardabil Shrine, see John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pI. 32 bottom right, and Misugi Takatoshi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the NearEast: Topkapi and Ardebil, Hong Kong, 1981, vol. III, pI. A.33 (fig. 1); one from the collection of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, 1980-82, vol. 8, no. 214; another was included in the Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, The Art Gallery, The Chinese University 0f Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 64. And a very sirnilar dish with ten small chrysanthemum sprays replacing the scroll border on the rim is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, llustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 1, pI. 55 (fig. 2).

fig. 1. Blue-and-white dish with a stem of roses, Yongle period, Ardabil Shrine, National Museum of Iran, Tehran

fig. 2. Blue-and-white dish with a stem of roses, Yongle period, Palace Museum, Beijing

A dish painted in a very similar style but with a curled peony spray in the centre, lotus scroll around the weIl and flowering and fruiting sprigs at the rim was recovered from the Yongle stratum of the Ming imperial kiln site, see Jingdezhen Zhushan chutu Yongle guanyao ciqi [Yongle Imperial porcelain excavated at Zhushan, Jingdezhen], Capital Museum, Beijing, 2007, cat. no. 73; two dishes of this design were also among the Ardabil porcelains, now in Tehran, see Pope, op.cit., pI. 32 top.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection, Part II - An Important Selection of Chinese Porcelains. Hong Kong 5 october 2011

Dish with flowers, Ming dynasty, Yongle period, AD1403–1424, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration. Height: 29 millimetres, Diameter: 198 millimetres, Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF,B.683 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish with lobed sides and bracket-lobed rim. Underglaze blue with flower spray in each lobe outside . Similar flower sprays inside cavetto, with ogival roundel with three scrolling flowers in centre. Band of scrolling ruyi and leaves on rim. Unglazed base.

Potters at Jingdezhen made what many consider to be the finest blue-and-white porcelains ever achieved in the the Yongle emperor’s reign for the court. These have a lustrous quality never before accomplished and despite numerous attempts never successfully imitated.

Lot 11. An outstanding blue and white vase with fruit sprays, meiping, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1425), 36.5 cm., 14 3/8 in. Estimate 80,000,000-120,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 168,660,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

evenly potted of generous proportions with the full rounded shoulders rising at a gently flaring angle from the base, well painted in lively style with a wide band of ten fruit sprays arranged in an alternating double register, the upper register showing lychee, pomegranate, peach, longan, loquat, the lower one with crab apple, melon, ginkgo, cherry, and grape, all between a triple line border above and a five-line border below, the shoulders with a decorative band of twelve flower sprigs including two types of lotus, chrysanthemum, camellia, hibiscus and tea, each contained within a collar formed from interlocking upright and pendent ruyi lappets, all enclosing the white collar and small waisted mouth, the lower body with border of upright lotus lappets each enclosing a further flower sprig similar to those in the upper band, all above a narrow classic leafy scroll band above the foot, the underglaze cobalt blue of intense purplish-blue colour with pronounced 'heaping and piling' emphasising the three-dimensional quality of the design, the unglazed foot and slightly countersunk base showing the fine white ware dotted with tiny brown iron spots.

Yongle Fruit in Abundance
Regina Krahl

The Yongle reign is the time when the potters at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen made enormous efforts to refine their materials of body, glaze and pigments, to remodel popular vessel shapes, such as the meiping, by fine-tuning proportions, and to improve decoration by extending their range of motifs,adjusting the layout of their designs, and developing an assured, yet soft painting style. The present vase supplies vivid testimony to the success of these undertakings, its rich repertoire of fruit and flower motifs making it a masterpiece of Yongle porcelain art.

The present vase may originally have formed a pair with a vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, or a set of four together with two other such vases preserved in Beijing – the only companion pieces recorded – as in the early Ming dynasty meiping were often made in pairs or sets of four. It seems to be the most successfully fired piece of the group, the other three vases all showing excessive 'heaping and piling' on the fruit sprays. This feature as well as the unusually elaborate ornamentation of these vases, where the supporting patterns are rendered with equal attention to variation and detail as the main design, and the different design zones are separated by multiple rather than single or double horizontal lines, all speak for a creation early in the Yongle period, before the design became standardized and thus simplified.

Meiping decorated with fruit sprays are well known from the Yongle period, but are otherwise of a much simpler type, showing only six varieties of fruit between formal lappet and leaf borders, and are mostly of smaller size.

The cloud collar at the shoulder, the flamboyant panel band and the broad classic-scroll border around the foot are all ornaments introduced to blue-and-white porcelain in the Yuan dynasty, and particularly the petal border would seem to be based on Middle Eastern stylistic concepts. The 'cusped arches ... terminated with Iranian style three-lobed halfpalmettes bending at the top to join up' are briefly discussed in Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, 'On Some Underglaze Persian Inscriptions in Yuan Period Blue and White Porcelain', Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition: Twelve Chinese Masterworks , Eskenazi, London, 2010, pp. 27f., where they are linked to Iranian calligraphy of the 13th or 14th century. Because of their similarity to the letters 'l' (lm) and 'a' (alif) in foliated Kufic script, they have become known as lm-alifs.

These wonderfully painted supporting designs are otherwise found only on the best examples of the period. The same cloud collar, lm-alifs and scroll border can be seen, for example, on two covered meiping with a painterly garden scene of plantains, bamboo and rocks, one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuancang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue-and-white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 1, pl. 14, the other formerly in the collection of H.R.N. Norton and later the Aso collection, included in the exhibition The Ceramic Art of China, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1971, and sold in our London rooms, 26th March 1963, lot 53.

Of the three companion pieces to this vase, of the same form and design, one meiping with cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, has been published in Geng Baochang, op.cit., pl. 15 and p. 34 (fig. 1), where the author also states, p. 40, that the piece embodies the archetypal Yongle style; and a pair of covered vases has been excavated at Xiangshan Dayuan, Haidian district, Beijing (fig. 2 and 3), both today probably in the Capital Museum, Beijing, one illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999-2000, vol. 12, pl. 47; the other in Guang Lin, 'Beijing chutu de jixian Mingdai qinghua ciqi [Some Ming blue and white porcelains excavated in Beijing]', Wenwu, 1972, no. 6, pl. 6, fig. 2.

fig. 1. Meiping and cover with fruit and flower designs, Yongle period, Palace Museum, Beijing.

fig. 2. Covered meiping with fruit and flower designs, Yongle period. Excavated at Haidian district, Beijing, now Capital Museum, Beijing.

Fig.3. Covered meiping with fruit and flower designs, Yongle period. Excavated at Haidian district, Beijing, now Capital Museum, Beijing.

For examples of the more common simpler version, with only six fruit sprays (omitting longan, melon, gingko and grape), see two vases in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, included in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, ed. John Ayers, London, 1986, vol. 2, no. 624 (fig. 4), where six such vases are held.

Fig.4. Pair of meiping with fruit designs, Yongle period, Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection, Part II - An Important Selection of Chinese Porcelains. Hong Kong 5 october 2011

Meiping with fruiting branches, Ming dynasty, Yongle period, AD 1403–24, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration. Height: 285 millimetres, Diameter: 177 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A610 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain vase of meiping form. Underglaze blue with wide band of fruiting branches including peaches, cherries and pomegranate between bands of lappets and plantain leaves. All decorative bands separated by parallel blue lines. Base unglazed.

This meiping 梅瓶 is painted with sprays of peach, loquat, pomegranates, lychee, crab-apple and cherry around the body, with a border of stiff plantain leaves below and pendant petal panels above. Its base is unglazed. Imperial ceramics were relatively expensive to produce as the kilns consumed large quantities of fuel to reach the required high temperatures and the porcelains had to be fired in individual saggars (clay fire boxes). Each of these saggars could only be used once since they vitrified which precluded sufficient circulation of air in the firing.

Porcelain vase of meiping form. Underglaze blue with wide band of fruiting branches including peaches, cherries and pomegranate between bands of lappets and plantain leaves. All decorative bands separated by parallel blue lines. Base unglazed.

Collier Piaget "Azzurro Bisazza" en or blanc 18k, serti d'un saphir bleu de Ceylan taille émeraude (environ 20,14 cts), de saphirs bleus, d'opales noires et de diamants. Courtesy of Piaget

La maison Piaget présente "Sunlight Journey", sa nouvelle collection de haute joaillerie inspirée des couleurs, des richesses et de la lumière de la côte amalfitaine, joyau de l'Italie du Sud. De l'aube au coucher du soleil, la manufacture suisse déploie des créations joaillières et horlogères éclatantes, rythmées par les changements de luminosité inhérents aux différents moments de la journée.

Alors que Dior Joaillerie s'est intéressé aux jardins du château de Versailles et Chanel à l'univers marin, la maison Piaget nous offre une escapade estivale sur la côte amalfitaine. Volcans, immensité de la mer, luminosité exceptionnelle, et paysages verdoyants ont inspiré la manufacture pour sa nouvelle collection de haute joaillerie.

La collection "Sunlight Journey" se décline en trois lignes, correspondant à divers moments de la journée. En résultent des créations aux nuances changeantes, allant de l'or rose scintillant d'une matinée d'été aux nuances orangées flamboyantes qui habillent le ciel en soirée, en passant par le bleu éclatant de la mer baignée de soleil au milieu de la journée.

Pierres et couleurs rayonnantes

Ces couleurs éclatantes et changeantes se traduisent par des diamants, des tourmalines Paraïba, des tanzanites, des pétales de calcédoine bleus, des aigues-marines, ou encore des diamants jaunes dans la collection "Secrets of Dawn", consacrée aux couleurs de l'aube, et par des saphirs bleus, des diamants, des opales noires, des émeraudes, des saphirs de couleur pourpre, et des pétales lapis-lazuli pour la collection "Midday Festival", dédiée à la lumière de mi-journée.

Les couleurs flamboyantes du coucher de soleil sont à l'honneur dans la collection "Nightfall Celebration", à travers l'or rouge, l'or jaune et l'or rose, mais aussi les spinelles rouges, les diamants jaunes, les spinelles roses, les rubis, les diamants, les grenats de spessartite, les saphirs roses, ou les perles blanches.

Parmi les nombreuses pièces d'exception de la collection "Sunlight Journey", on notera le sautoir "Celestial Blue" en or blanc 18K serti d'un saphir bleu ovale de Ceylan taille cabochon (environ 45,94 carats), de saphirs bleus, de plumes et de diamants, mais aussi le collier "Sunlight Journey" en or rouge, or rose, or jaune et platine 18k, serti d'un spinelle rouge de Tanzanie taille poire (environ 10,09 carats), d'un diamant jaune taille coussin (environ 6,63 carats), d'un diamant taille brillant (environ 0,80 carat), de spinelles rouges, de diamants jaunes et de diamants.

Collier Piaget "Sunburst" en or blanc 18k, serti d'un diamant jaune taille poire (env. 11,85 carats), de diamants jaunes et de diamants évoquant le dégradé de l'aurore. Courtesy of Piaget 

Collier Piaget "Sunlight Journey"en or rouge, or rose, or jaune et platine 18k, serti d'un spinelle rouge de Tanzanie taille poire (env. 10,09 cts), d'un diamant jaune taille coussin (env. 6,63 cts), d'un diamant taille brillant (env. 0,80 cts), de spinelles rouges, de diamants jaunes et de diamants. Pièce transformable. Courtesy of Piaget

Manchette Piaget "Viva l'Arte" en or rose 18k, sertie d'un spinelle rose-pourpre taille coussin (env. 6,68 cts), de spinelles rouges, de spinelles roses, de saphirs roses, de grenats de spessartite et de diamants. Courtesy of Piaget

Bague Piaget "Viva l'Arte" en or rose 18k, sertie de spinelles rouges, de saphirs pourpre et de diamants, marqueterie de plumes. Courtesy of Piaget

Boucles d'oreilles Piaget "Faraglioni" en or rose 18k, serties d'opales noires taille fantaisie (env. 39,48 ct), de tourmalines Paraìba et de diamants. Courtesy of Piaget

A ces pièces de haute joaillerie, s'ajoutent plusieurs montres d'exception, dont des montres-manchettes où l'heure est dissimulée sous un cache secret. C'est notamment le cas du modèle "Sand Waves" en or rose 18K serti de 428 diamants taille brillant disposant d'un cache secret serti d'une opale blanche taille cabochon (environ 10,45 carats) et d'un cadran en nacre blanc.

Montre Piaget "Covazzurra" Altiplano en or blanc 18k - 36 mm, boîtier en or blanc 18k, serti de 48 diamants taille baguette (env. 1,63 ct) et de 280 diamants taille brillant (env. 1,53 ct), cadran en opale noire, Manufacture Piaget, 430P mouvement mécanique à remontage manuel extra-plat, bracelet en alligator blanc boucle ardillon en or blanc 18k, serti de 23 diamants taille brillant (env. 0,04 ct). Pièces uniques. Courtesy of Piaget

Montre Piaget "Paper Flower" Altiplano en or blanc 18k - 36 mm, boîtier en or blanc 18k, serti de 48 diamants taille baguette (env. 1,63 ct) et 280 diamants taille brillant (env. 1,53 ct), cadran en micro-mosaïque, Manufacture Piaget 430P, mouvement mécanique à remontage manuel extra-plat, bracelet en alligator blanc, boucle ardillon en or blanc 18k, serti de 23 diamants taille brillant (env. 0,04 ct). Édition limitée à 3 pièces. Courtesy of Piaget

Auguste Renoir, Two women, walking to the right, c. 1890, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (former collection Koenigs).

Lot 66. A fine archaic bronze ceremonial food vessel, gui, Late Shang dynasty, 12th century BC; 12 in. (30.5 cm.) across handles. Estimate GBP 100,000 - GBP 150,000. Price realised GBP 313,250© Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The slightly rounded body supported on a tall stepped foot, cast around the exterior with two large taotie masks divided by a central flange and surrounded by C-scrolls, the foot cast with a band of stylised birds and divided into quadrants by raised flanges, all reserved on a leiwen ground, the shoulder similarly decorated and with a small bovine mask to the front and reverse, the sides applied with loop handles emanating from intricate horned animal masks, the interior carved with a pictograph to the centre.

Bronze 'gui', decorated with dragons, monsters and 'taotie', Shang dynasty, 12th century BC. Diameter: 7.8 inches, Height: 6 inches. Donated by P T Brooke Sewell, Esq, 1957,0221.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

'Gui' is a ritual vessel for offering food. For much of the Shang, 'gui' seem to have been made without handles and these are sometimes termed 'yu'; from late Shang and throughout the Zhou most 'gui' had two handles, although a few were cast with four.

Group of bronzes found in graves demonstrate that sets, which included a large number of shapes, were used. There were as many as twenty different types, although only a much smaller number was essential. A group of vessels of the types most commonly found in Shang tombs was recovered from a single tomb of a high-ranking Shang noble, the tomb known as Tomb 18 at Anyang Xiaotun. Wine vessels, such as this one, dominated the sets, in numbers, complexity of shape and elaboration of decoration. Food containers were less complicated and only in the Western Zhou did they come to be pre-eminent in the ritual vessel set. As a group, bronze ritual vessels would have created a striking visual effect. Golden in colour when first made, they would rapidly have turned black in the humid summer climate of north-central China.

Food Serving Vessel (Gui), Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 B.C.), 12th century B.C. Bronze. H. 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm); W. (betw. handles) 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm); Diam. of rim 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); Diam. of foot 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm); Gift of Count and Countess Bernard d'Escayrac, 1962, 62.217 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Lot 74. A fine and very rare parcel-gilt silver bowl, Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century, 24.2 cm., 9 1/2 in. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 GBP. Lot sold 446,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

with shallow, petal-lobed sides, the interior chased and gilt to the centre with a roundel of exotic flowers and pomegranate-like fruits set amidst large feathery leaves, the gently flared sides divided into five lobes, each decorated with a different floral sprig composed of large veined leaves and fully opened blossoms, the exterior with the same design on each lobe, a narrow band of gilt overlapping petals chased on the notched, everted rim, all raised on a splayed circular foot ring chased with a band of overlapping petals.

Exhibited: Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 116.

Note: Bowls such as this and its companion piece with cover, lot 64, with their outstandingly fine feathery flower designs, picked out in gilding, are among the finest Tang parcel-gilt silver objects recorded. A small group of similar bowls are preserved in the West, handed down from old collections formed in the 1930s. See also the discussion of the covered bowl in this sale, lot 64

Two similar bowls in the collection of Pierre Uldry were included in the exhibition Chinesisches Gold und Silber, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1994, cat. nos 147 and 148, the former sold in these rooms, 13th June 1989, lot 59, the latter sold in our New York rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 90, from the Lauritzen collection; another from the collection of Robert C. Bruce and now in the Bristol City Art Gallery, was sold in these rooms 12th May 1953, lot 21; and another lacking its foot, from the British Rail Pension Fund collection, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Ornament. The Lotus and the Dragon, London, 1984, fig.102, was sold twice in these rooms, 12th December 1978, lot 245 and 12th December 1989, lot 36; and one from the collection of Natanael Wessen, was included in the exhibition Early Chinese Art from Tombs and Temples, Eskenazi, London, 1993, cat. no.32.

Sotheby's. London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork: Early Chinese Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008

Lot 187. A magnificent rare parcel-gilt silver lobed bowl and cover, Tang dynasty (618-907). Estimate GBP 400,000 - GBP 600,000. Price realised GBP 1,105,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The bowl divided into five lobes by raised ridges, each lobe superbly engraved and gilt with floral and fruit clusters amidst luscious foliage, the interior with a central medallion enclosing large blooms and fruit surrounded by feathery leaves, the gently everted rim engraved and gilt with a band of overlapping petals, the exterior mirroring the decoration to the interior, the gently domed cover with a central medallion enclosing flowering and fruiting clusters enveloped by feathery leaves, all encircled by five further clusters of flowering and fruiting branches, the rim finely detailed with floral scrolls. The bowl 9½ in. (24.2 cm.) diam., the cover 9 7/8 in. (24.9 cm.) diam., total weight 1206g. 

Provenance: By repute, acquired in Stockholm, Sweden, directly from Mr. Orvar Karlbeck between 1928-1930. 

Literature: Orvar Karlbeck, Karlbeck-Konsortiet, Stockholm, Sweden, 1930-1931, Vol. I, p. 27, no. 146. 

Note: Karlbeck-Konsortiet were not widely spread publications, consisting of typed or mimeographed pages with photographs that were trimmed and pasted in next to the descriptions of the items. Such publications were compiled by Mr. Orvar Karlbeck, an engineer by profession, resident in China between 1906 and 1927. Mr Karlbeck had an excellent eye for the art and antiquities of China and was trusted by museums and private collectors back in his native Sweden and across Europe to source items that would be of interest to them.

In 1927 Mr. Ovar Karlbeck returned to Sweden as political stability in China started to deteriorate. Nevertheless, between 1928 and 1934 Karlbeck conducted three 'collecting' expeditions to China in order to buy objects for museums and private collectors. His first expedition in 1928 was conducted on behalf of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm and directed by J.G. Andersson. The two subsequent trips were conducted on behalf of the Karlbeck Syndicate, a consortium of museums and prominent private collectors which included the British Museum, the Berlin State Museum, H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and George Eumorfopolous. 

See Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain, The Kempe Collection, The Asia Society, New York, 1971, p. 80, no. 56, where the author states: 'The piece (a bowl and cover virtually identical to lot 187) comes from one of three tombs found near Palin in Eastern Mongolia. From two of these, in 1930, Mr. O. Karlbeck obtained eight silver bowls, four similar to the present lot piece and four without covers'. The author also mentions that 'similar bowls are also in the M. Mansson Collection, Stockholm', which refers to the current lot. 

Such magnificent partial-gilt silver bowls and covers are amongst the finest works of art produced during the Tang Period and there are a number of extant examples in public collections. 

Two similar bowls with covers are in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, published by Paul Singer in Early Chinese Gold and Silver, China Institute, New York, 1971, no. 85. Two further bowls and covers are in the Pennsylvania University Museum, Philadelphia and published by Bo Gyllensvard, T'ang Gold Silver, B.M.F.E.A., Vol. 29, Stockholm, 1957, plate 21. 

Lidded Bowl, Tang dynasty (618-907). Silver, Gold. Purchased from Ralph Chait, 1938, 38-20-1A, 38-20-1B © Penn Museum 2017

Lidded Bowl, Tang dynasty (618-907). Silver, Gold. Purchased from Ralph Chait, 1938, 38-20-2A, 38-20-1B © Penn Museum 2017

For another bowl and cover, formerly in the Carl Kempe Collection, see Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 115; the bowl and cover was subsequently sold at Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork: Early Chinese Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 74. 

A fine and very rare parcel-gilt silver bowl, Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century, 24.2 cm., 9 1/2 in. Sold for 446,100 GBP at Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork: Early Chinese Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 74. Photo: Sotheby's.

See also a bowl but without the cover and lacking the footring, in the City Art Gallery, Bristol, formerly from the collection of Robert C. Bruce and sold at Sotheby's London, The Well-known Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, Jades and Bronzes, The Property of Robert C. Bruce, Esq., 12 May 1953, lot 21, where it was purchased by Lord Dulverton and presented to the current institution.

Lot 64. A superb and very rare parcel-gilt bowl and cover, Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century; 24.2cm., 9 1/2 in. Estimate 300,000 — 400,000 GBP. Lot sold 1,588,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 54. A very fine and rare parcel-gilt silver bowl, Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century, 24.5cm, 9 5/8in. Estimate 350,000 — 400,000 GBP. Lot sold 1,588,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lobed bowl with lotus petals, birds, animals, and floral scrolls, China, Shaanxi province, probably Xi’an, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–early 8th century. Hammered silver with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration and mercury gilding. Purchase, Freer Gallery of Art, F1931.8  © 2017 Smithsonian Institution

Lot 48. A fine and rare silver bowl, Tang dynasty, 8th century, 17.6cm., 6 7/8 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Lot sold 446,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 44. A superb silver 'Animal' bowl, Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century, 16.5cm., 6 1/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 GBP. Lot sold 446,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 40. A very fine small flower-shaped silver stem cup, Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century, 4.5cm., 1 3/4 in. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 GBP. Lot sold 144,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 178. A very rare small lobed silver stem cup, Tang dynasty (618-907), 1¾ in. (4.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 20,000 - GBP 30,000. Price realised GBP 30,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The gently rounded body divided into eight lobes and supported on a short stem with a wide fluted lobed foot, delicately chased and engraved with ducks and parrots, some in flight, others alternately facing each other, all set in a landscape amidst rocks and trees, all reserved on a ring-punched ground, the base incised with an illegible character. 

Provenance: By repute, purchased from Kusaka Shogado in Kyoto, Japan, in the 1930s. 

From the Martin Mansson Collection. 

Martin Mansson (1880-1952) was a Swedish entrepreneur with early links to Russia and Japan. From 1911-1917 he lived in St.Petersburg where he owned a company selling high-quality Swedish stainless steel. In addition to learning the Russian language, he became interested in contemporary Russian art, and became acquainted with several painters, including Ilya Repin, and his students. His painting collection, numbering several dozen, was shipped back to Stockholm well before 1917, when he was obliged to return home.

Although he first visited Japan in 1907, it was in 1920 that he returned to the country to set up a sales operation similar to that in St. Petersburg which had been halted three years earlier. He spent several years in Osaka and Kobe, when his interest in Japanese works of art commenced. Once again he realized the benefit of learning the language in order to facilitate the acquiring of works of art. The result was a fine collection of woodblock prints, netsuke, inro, porcelain (in particular Kakiemon vases), swords, lacquer and silver. 

It was in the 1930s, when back in Japan, that he extended his collection to include Chinese art. Fine porcelain, Tang silver, and Shang bronzes were his particular interests, and he studied these subjects both in books and through his discussions with his friend Kusaka Shogado, who was a leading dealer based in Kyoto, and from whom he made many purchases. Martin Mansson visited Japan for the last time in 1938, when he bought numerous items for his collection.

Note: Compare a very similar eight-lobed stemcup formerly in the Carl Kempe Collection and illustrated by Bo Gyllensvard in Chinese Gold Silver and Porcelain: The Kempe Collection, New York, 1974, p. 57, pl. 54, where the author references the current cup, from the M. Mansson collection. 

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

Lot 71. A rare petal-shaped silver stemcup, Tang dynasty, 7th century, 5.4cm., 2 1/8 in. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 46,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

Stemmed wine cup with floral scrolls, China, mid-Tang dynasty, 8th century. Cast silver with chased and ring-punched decoration. Purchase, Freer Gallery of Art, F1929.16 © 2017 Smithsonian Institution