Lot 36. A carved cinnabar lacquer stembowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle-Xuande period, 16 cm., 6 1/4  in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 937,500 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

the bowl with deep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, all supported on a splayed stem with a sealed flat base, deftly and deeply carved through thick layers of rich red lacquer to the ochre ground below with four large lotus blooms wreathed in dense curling foliage, between a border of ‘classic’ scroll collaring the rim and a band of radiating petal panels encircling the base, the stem decorated with interlocked floral scrolls centred with a floret, the interior and the base lacquered black.

Exhibited: 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer. Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 49.
Layered Beauty: The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 39. 

Note: This stembowl is a rare example of early Ming lacquerware, attributable to the Yongle or Xuande reign periods for its shape and floral decoration that is reminiscent of blue and white stembowls of the early Ming dynasty. For example, see a blue and white Xuande mark and period stembowl painted with a peony scroll motif included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty,National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 102, together with another similar stembowl bearing a hibiscus scroll motif, cat. no. 103.

For lacquer comparisons, see a slightly larger stembowl of related form carved with a dragon design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Zhongguo qiqi quanji, vol. 5, Fuzhou, 1995, pl. 72; another carved with a figural scene, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pp. 123-128, col. pl. C and pls. 60-63, and in Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, pl. 65, and later sold at Christie’s London, 16th November 1998, lot 13. A further pair of lacquer stembowls, decorated with a continuous landscape scene, was included in the exhibition From Innovation to Conformity. Chinese Lacquer from the 13th to 16th Centuries, Bluett and Sons, London, 1989, cat. no. 24.

Sotheby's. The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Part 1, Hong Kong | 08 Apr 2014 

Lot 4228. A deeply carved polychrome lacquer rectangular tray, Jiajing period (1522-1566), 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 175,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The interior of the tray is deeply carved with a rectangular panel depicting an aged gentleman and a boy in a field detailed with wutongtrees, shrubs, rocks and flying goose, a majority of which lacquered red, some lacquered green, all on a yellow diaper-ground. The sides are adorned with lingzhi scrolls, the pattern repeated on the exterior. The base with four L-shaped feet is covered with black lacquer, box. 

Note: The distinctive style of this current stembowl, with its dark reddish-brown colour, deep sharp cuts and unpolished corners, conforms to the style of a group of lacquer typified by scholars on the subject as Yunnan work in Southeast China, generally dated to the mid-Ming dynasty. See, for example, a lacquer dish attributed as Yunnan work by J. Watt and B. Ford in East Asian Lacquer - The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, p. 91, pl. 31. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 4223. A carved cinnabar lacquer square tray, Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century, 7 7/16 in. (18.9 cm.) square. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 125,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The square tray with flaring sides is carved in the centre depicting a seated aged scholar in voluminous robes resting on the river bank under a willow tree, accompanied by a boy attendant making herbal medicine, and another boy catching fish, a crane with outspread wings flying in the sky. The sides are adorned with peony, chrysanthemum and pomegranate sprays. The base is lacquered black, Japanese wood box. 

Note: The depiction of an aged gentleman relaxing in a riverscape has long been a popular motif on carved lacquer as early as the Yuan dynasty, such as a foliate oval dish similarly decorated with an old man resting on a boat in a river under the shade of willow trees, dated to the Yuan dynasty, illustrated in 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 84, pl. 37. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 4225. A carved black and red tixi lacquer box and cover, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 120,000. Price realised HKD 81,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The cover is well carved through the layers of black and red lacquer with three registers of 'pommel scrolls' surrounding a floral motif. The sides of the box are carved with similar scrolls surrounding the foot, Japanese wood box. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 4188. A carved cinnabar lacquer brush and cover, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 9 in. (22.8 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 60,000 - HKD 80,000. Price realised HKD 62,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The cylindrical shaft is carved with four quatrefoil panels enclosing figures including Shoulao relaxing in landscapes, below a band comprising four of the Babao, Eight Treasures, and below a register of upright lappets. The cover is similarly decorated with two landscape panels and a band of four of the Eight Treasures. The ends of the cover and shaft are adorned with floral diaper-ground, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: A prominent Japanese collection formed in the 1930s 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3876. A finely carved Ming cinnabar lacquer brush and cover, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 10 1/8 in. (25.8 cm.) overall. Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000. Price realised HKD 175,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The cylindrical shaft well-carved in high relief with leafy prunus branches bearing blossoms and buds, the cover similarly carved with the addition of a cricket on a stalk of millet, all reserved on intricate diaper framed by keyfret bands, the ends of the cover and shaft with crane medallions, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: A Japanese private collection.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall

Lot 3216. A carved cinnabar lacquer brush, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 22 cm., 8 5/8  in.. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 225,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby’s.

the slender tubular handle deftly carved in varying levels of relief with a figural scene of scholars and attendants on rocky shores against a ground of waves and floral diapers, one carrying a qin (zither) and another resting next to a plant, their attendants standing nearby, one making tea and another holding a scroll, all above delicately carved sprigs of lychee and two birds resting on prunus branches, the cover similarly carved with two conversing scholars next to a large willow tree, an assistant standing nearby while holding a tray, the tips and rims of the cover and the handle carved with a chrysanthemum medallion and a key-fret border respectively.

Exhibited: 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 71.
Layered Beauty: The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 46.

Sotheby’s. The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Part 2. Hong Kong, 08 oct. 2014

A  gold and silver snake ring, Late Hellensitic, 1st century BC. © Symbolic & Chase

Designed as a spiralling snake body, embellished with a looping tail flourish and realistically carved head accented with silver eyes.

£23,000. Please enquire here.

Provenance: French private collection, acquired circa 1970.

Mirror, 918-1392, Korea, Goryeo period (936-1392), bronze, Diameter: w. 20.6 cm (8 1/8 in.). Gift of N. M. Heeramaneck, 1932.12© The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Mirror, 918-1392, Korea, Goryeo period (936-1392), bronze, Diameter: w. 13.4 cm (5 1/4 in.). Gift of John L. Severance, 1921.660 © The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Mirror, 918-1392, Korea, Goryeo period (936-1392), bronze, Diameter: w. 13.7 cm (5 3/8 in.). Gift of John L. Severance, 1921.659 © The Cleveland Museum of Art. 

Mirror, 918-1392, Korea, Goryeo period (936-1392), bronze, Diameter: w. 9.6 cm (3 3/4 in.). Gift of John L. Severance, 1921.658 © The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Lot 68. Edwaert Collier (Breda 1642 - 1708 London(?), Vanitas still life with a candlestick, musical instruments, dutch books, a writing set, an astrological and a terrestial globe and an hourglass, all on a draped table, signed and dated lower center:  Edwaerdt/Collier/1662, oil on canvas, 38 1/2  by 51 1/8  in.; 98 by 129.7 cm. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot sold 506,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Provenance: Count Edward Raczynski, Warsaw and London;
Mr. and Mrs. Fielding Lewis Marshall;
Their sale, London, Bonham's, 28 March 1974, lot 28;
Anonymous sale ("Property of a Gentleman"), London, Sotheby's, 17 December 1998, lot 39;
There purchased by the present collector.

Exhibited: On loan to the William Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, no. L-61.4.7 (according to a label on the reverse);
London, Sotheby's, The Marshall Collection, 31 December 1973 - 8 January 1974, cat. no. 19, reproduced.

Literature: E. Zarnowska, La Nature morte hollandaise, Brussels/Maastricht 1929, p. 11 (as dated 1665).

Note: This is an early work by Collier, painted when he was only twenty years old, and during a period when he produced some of his finest work.  He was probably still in Haarlem where he is thought to have trained and is first recorded in a list of guild members.1  His residence in Leiden is fully documented from 1667 to 1693, after which he left for London where he worked until returning to Leiden from circa 1702 to 1706.  He apparently returned to England as his last known work is dated 1707 and inscribed fecit London.

Collier produced vanitas still lifes throughout his career.  Here he has included many of the standard elements that would have been readily recognizable to his audience:  the burning candle, pocket watch and hourglass (denoting the passage of time and brevity of life); the violin with a broken string (the transient pleasure of music); the money bag (worldly riches); the scholarly books and globes (the vanity of learning); and the military flag (worldly power).  Wealth, knowledge and power are all earthly, temporary and ultimately meaningless.  Should anyone somehow miss the point, Collier has included the archetypal text of all vanitas still lifes on a piece of paper at far right: Vanitas/Vanitatu(m)/Et Omnia/Vanitas [Vanity of Vanities, All is Vanity], (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

Two other similar vanitas still lifes by Collier dated 1662 can be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Inv.no. 71.19) and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Inv. no. SK-A-3471).  

 Edwaert Collier (Dutch, Breda ca. 1640?–after 1707 London or Leiden), Vanitas Still Life, 1662. Oil on wood, 37 x 44 1/8 in. (94 x 112.1 cm). Purchase, 1871, 71.19 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Edwaert Collier, Vanitas Still Life, 1662. Oil on canvas,h 102.5 cm × w 132 cm. G.H. Kroon Bequest, Amsterdam, 1945, SK-A-3471 ©Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

1.  See A. v.d. Willigen and F.G. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils, 1525-1725, Leiden 2003, p. 64. 

Sotheby's. Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture, New York, 31 Jan 2013

Edward Collier (active 1662–1708), Still Life, 1699. Oil paint on canvas, 762 x 635 mm, Tate. Purchased 1948, N05856© Tate

Still-life painting never became as common in Britain as it was on the Continent. The examples that were bought in Britain in the seventeenth century, particularly by the middle classes, were generally supplied from the Netherlands, where such works were extremely popular. The objects depicted here are of high status and would have been owned by the educated and wealthy.

Collier was a Dutch artist who specialised in still lifes and produced works for both the Dutch and the English markets. This picture is clearly intended for a British customer, since it includes manuscripts and texts written in English. The letter propped up above the tray of writing equipment is inscribed 'Mr E. Collier ¦ Painter at ¦ London' which confirms that the artist was active there during the late 1690s.

This is one of several still lifes by Collier to include a globe, a circular box of seals, other writing equipment and books, although the arrangement of the objects varies slightly in each composition, and differing documents - in some cases, in Dutch - are shown.

A folded vellum document on the velvet-covered table bears a wax seal that hangs down. A stick of partly used sealing wax projects over the edge of the cloth, near a slip of paper protruding from a closed book and bearing the Latin text 'VITA / BREVIS / ARS / LONGA.' ('Life is short but art lasts long'). This text is a reminder of the transience of human life. This is a very common theme of still-life paintings, which appear to fix a single moment in time. The partially consumed wax-stick and candle are also symbols of the impermanence of the material world and of human endeavours. The globe, turned to the Pacific Ocean which was an area of active colonial expansion, and the raised open atlas, whose title-page bears the words ' A Description of the World' can probably be read as allusions to the necessarily limited nature of humankind's attempts to understand God's world. Works of this type are known as 'vanitas' still lifes.

A date is carefully written on another letter, inscribed 'E. Collier, 1698' and tucked under the atlas. The date shown on the printed transcript of a speech delivered by William III (reigned 1689-1702) to the British Houses of Parliament is also clearly visible: Wednesday 1st February 1698. At this period, in England, the year officially ran from 25 March to 24 March. So, in reality, this speech was given on 1 February 1699; it concerned the disbanding of the army, at the end of a near-decade of an unpopular war. The painting, therefore, must date also from before 24 March 1699.

Edward Collier, or Colyer, is thought to have been born in Breda in about 1640, and was probably trained in Haarlem. He was first recorded in Leiden in 1667, a city with a strong still-life tradition, and he continued to work in this genre for the rest of his life. His English works span the years 1693 and 1707, which is also the date of his latest known work. Collier was last recorded in Leiden on 15 January 1706 and it is not certain whether he was the 'Evert Coleyn' who was buried in Leiden in 1710.

Further reading: H. Hilberry, 'Painting Illusions by Edwaert Colyer', Indianapolis Art Association Bulletin, vol. 49, February 1963, pp.12-17
Maarten Wurfbain, 'Edwart Collier', in Jane Shoaf Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, London and New York 1996, vol. 7, pp.568-9

Karen Hearn
March 2001

Edward Collier (active 1662–1708), Still Life with a Volume of Wither’s ‘Emblemes’, 1696. Oil paint on canvas, 838 x 1079 mm, Tate. Purchased 1949, N05916© Tate

Gallery label, February 2016

Lot 149. Edwaert Collier (Breda c. 1640-1708 London), A globe, a casket of jewels and medallions, books, a hurdy-gurdy, a bagpipe, a lute, a violin, an upturned silver tazza and roemer, a nautilus shell, a recorder, a shawm, a print with a self-portrait of the artist and a musical score on a draped table, a curtain above, signed and dated '1662 / EDVWAERDVS. / KOLLIER' (on the print, lower right), oil on canvas, 65 3/8 x 54 in. (166.1 x 137.2 cm.). Estimate GBP 80,000 - GBP 120,000. Price realised GBP 170,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2015

Provenance: John de Vries van Doesburgh, Leeuwarden and The Hague, by 1909, and by descent to the following,
H.E. Jan-Willem Semeijns de Vries van Doesburgh, the former Dutch Ambassador to Denmark; Christie’s, New York, 25 May 1999, lot 10 ($442,500).
Anonymous sale; Christie’s, London, 7 December 2006, lot 28, when acquired by the present owner. 

Literature: U. Thieme and H. Becker, Allegmeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler, Munich, 1992, VII, p. 263.
E. Legène, in the catalogue of the exhibition, Music and Painting in the Golden Age, The Hague, 1994, pp. 103 and 104, fig. 18.
E. Legène, ‘The Early Baroque Recorder: “Whose lovely, magically sweet, soulful sound can move hearts of stone”’, The recorder in the 17th Century: Proceedings of the International Recorder Symposium, Utrecht 1993, Utrecht, 1995, p. 107.
L.P. Grijp, ‘Klanken op Kunst’, Kunstschrift, 1998, p. 38, no. 6, illustrated (detail).
R. Griscom and D. Lasocki, The Recorder: A Research and Information Guide, III, Abingdon, 2012, p. 90.

Unknown artist: ​Surajamala-ji, Son of Rao Nirandasa, 1820; ink, gouache, and gold on paper; 21 1/4 x 8 5/16 in.; BAMPFA, gift of Jean and Francis Marshall.

BERKELEY, CA.- This summer, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive presents a new exhibition of paintings that encompasses five hundred years of Indian art-making traditions. ​Divine Visions, Earthly Pleasures: Five Hundred Years of Indian Painting draws on the institution’s extensive holdings of Asian art, in particular a renowned collection of more than three hundred works donated to BAMPFA in 1998. Guest curated by the distinguished Indian art scholar Robert J. Del Bontà, the exhibition is on view from June 28 through September 10, 2017. 

Divine Visions, Earthly Pleasures comprises more than sixty paintings from BAMPFA’s collection, representing a vast range of Indian art and cultural history from the early fifteenth through twentieth centuries. Reflecting the distinctive collecting interests of Jean and Francis Marshall—whose gift forms the core of BAMPFA’s Indian art holdings—the works display a diverse array of subject matter, ranging from early religious traditions and aristocratic portraiture to romantic narratives and musical performances. By presenting some early extant examples of Indian painting alongside more recent works, the exhibition illuminates common aesthetic conventions—in particular a subtle interplay between realistic and abstract forms that emerges as a persistent theme across centuries of artistic practice. 

“Since Jean and Francis Marshall’s transformative gift in 1998, BAMPFA’s Asian art holdings have grown to be one of the defining strengths of our encyclopedic collection—and we’re thrilled to highlight that strength with a show that brings some of most exceptional of these works together for the first time in years,” said Lawrence Rinder, director and chief curator of BAMPFA. “We are especially grateful to our friend and colleague Robert J. Del Bontà for providing a fresh scholarly perspective on these paintings that will allow our visitors to rediscover them in a new and illuminating context.” 

“For more than five hundred years, the Indian subcontinent has nurtured some of the world’s most vibrant and distinctive painting traditions, which are richly encapsulated in BAMFPA’s remarkable collection,” said ​Del Bontà, who previously served as research associate and guest curator at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. “The works in this exhibition present subtle interplays between representational and abstract aesthetics and between sacred and secular subject matter—often in a single painting. It’s a pleasure to partner with BAMPFA in sharing these breathtaking works with the public.”

Vivian Maier, VM1955W02739 – New York, NY, 1955 Man Sleeping in Car, Printed 2017. Modern gelatin silver print, 12 × 12 in., 30.5 × 30.5 cm.

LOS ANGELES, CA.- KP Projects is presenting Vivian Maier: Photographs from the Maloof Collection. The story of Vivian Maier and her extraordinary body of photographic works is both compelling for its personal viewpoints as much as her innate ability to capture nostalgic moments of bygone eras. Unearthed by John Maloof in 2007 at a local auction house in Chicago, Vivian Maier continues to cultivate notoriety as one of the most iconic street photographers of the 20th century. Maier’s body of work spans not only the US, but the globe, shooting more than 100,000 negatives depicting the street life of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the American Southwest, as well as destinations as far off as Manila, Bangkok, Beijing, Egypt, and Italy. 

Invested in her bird’s eye view of the people who made industrious cities thrive and pulse for decades, Maier captures the poignant moments of individuals and their urban cultural existence. The signage and details within Maier’s purposefully framed stills reveal a country on the verge of social and political upheaval, and serve as records of historic landmarks, and their demolition, as developments were built to replace them. 

Vivian Maier, New York, NY, n.d., Self-Portrait Vintage Mirror (VM19XXW03450), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

With an uncanny ability to capture the right frame at exactly the right moment, with elements of lighting, movement and composition all in harmonious balance, Maier’s perceptive instinct is made even more remarkable by the fact that she seldom shot more than one picture of the same image. Featured for the first time, is a selection of the photographer’s contact sheets revealing Maier’s successive process of capturing extraordinary photographs using analog, pre-digital technique. It’s been said that the contact sheet ‘is a repository that can reveal a photographer’s fallibility and greatness. In the case of Vivian Maier, we will be witnesses to the latter. 

Having worked as a nanny for most of her adult life, Maier was described as an intensely private person who kept most of her work hidden under lock and key. Maier also indulged her passion for documenting the world around her through homemade films, recordings, and collections. At the end of her life, Maier became impoverished, but several children she had cared for pooled their money together and paid for an apartment and other necessities in her later years. Maier died in 2009 at the age of 83, before the extent of her legacy had been fully understood or revealed. 

Vivian Maier, New York, NY, 1956, Woman in Street (VM1956W03427), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

The Maloof collection is comprised of roughly 90% of Vivian Maier’s work, which has been meticulously reconstructed, archived and catalogued. The collection consists of 100,000+ negatives, vintage 'lifetime' prints, hundreds of rolls of film, home movies, audio-tape interviews, cameras, documents and various other items. This exhibition showcases a selection of 65 modern gelatin silver prints limited to an edition of 15, including twenty new, never before seen images, modern color prints, and 6 gelatin silver contact sheets available to collectors for the first time. The exhibition also showcases an exclusive selection of personal ephemera including cameras and personal belongings of the artist for viewing on the second floor of the building at Launch LA gallery. 

Finding Vivian Maier, the critically acclaimed 2014 documentary film directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel was officially selected for numerous international film festivals including Palm Springs, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Toronto, and ultimately garnered an Academy Award nomination for best documentary. Monographs of Maier’s work include Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, published in 2011, and Vivian Maier: Self Portraits, published in 2014, both by Powerhouse Books. Most recently, Vivian Maier: A Photographer Found, is the largest and most in-depth collection of Maier’s work to date.

Vivian Maier, Self Portrait, Chicago, n.d., Self-Portrait Shadow with Hat (VM19XXW03655), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, New York, NY, 1955 Vista Vision, Man Holding Cables (VM1955W02752), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, Self Portrait, n.d., Self-Portrait Ice Box (VM19XXW03519), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, Untitled, 1956, Woman with Stroller and Ship (VM1956W03023), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, VM19XXW04076, Self Portrait, n.d., Self-Portrait Door Reflection (VM19XXW04076), Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, Chicago, n.d., Mary Mary (VM19XXZ06766), Chromogenic print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches

Vivian Maier, 0131512, Chicago, n.d., Self-Portrait Coat and Camera, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, 0131539, Untitled, n.d., Woman with Child in Lap, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches

Vivian Maier, 0131532, Self Portrait, n.d., Self-Portrait Woman with Hat in Mirror, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, 0131508, Chicago, IL, June 16, 1956, Woman with Baby, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches

Vivian Maier, 0129824, Chicago area, 1966, Self-Portrait Shadow in Yard, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Vivian Maier, 0131536, Untitled, 1971, Girl Reading, Modern gelatin silver print, Edition of 15, Image size: 12 x 12 inches, Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.

Lot 4116. A rare imperial opaque yellow glass vase, Qianlong incised four-character mark within double-squares and of the period (1736-1795), 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000. Price realised HKD 162,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Of slender 'olive' shape. The sides flaring slightly at the mouth and tapering downwards to the foot ring. The material of lemon-yellow tone, box.

Note: Two related Qianlong-marked turquoise vases of this form, without the slightly flared mouth, are published. The first is illustrated in Elegance and Radiance, Grandeur in Qing Glass: The Andrew K. F. Lee Collection, The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 170-1, no. 48; and the other is in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, illustrated by Zhang Rong, Lustre of Autumn Water, Glass of the Qing Imperial Workshop, Forbidden City Publishing House, 2005, p. 155, no. 24, it is noted that the shape resembles that of a weaving spindle. This elegant form was inspired by ceramics of the earlier Yongzheng period. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall