Lot 1145. A large Jun bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234), 8 ½ in. (21.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

The bowl is of deep, rounded conical form, and is covered inside and out with a glaze of pale milky blue color thinning to mushroom on the rim and falling in an irregular line onto the foot.

Provenance: Gisele Cröes, Brussels, 26 March 1999.
Peter Scheinman (1932-2017) Collection, New York. 

Note: A bowl of similar shape and size is illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. III, London, 2006, p. 460, no. 1461.

Christie’s. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 1153. A rare Jun blue-glazed ewer, Jin-Yuan dynasty (1115-1368), 3 ¾ in. (9.6 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

The vessel is covered overall with a thick pale blue glaze thinning to a mushroom color towards the mouth rim and edges. The interior below the mouth, the foot ring and parts of the underside are unglazed.

Provenance: Alexander Gallery, New York, circa 2000.

Christie’s. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 1170. A Jun shallow-dish, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (AD 960-1234), 6 ¾ in. (17.1 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

The dish is covered overall with a milky sky-blue glaze thinning to a mushroom tone on the rim and edges. The foot ring is unglazed.

Christie’s. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Wim Delvoye, Maserati, 2012. Embossed aluminium, 80 x 450 x 180 cm / 31 1/2 x 177 3/16 x 70 7/8 inches© Wim Delvoye / ADAGP, Paris 2017. Courtesy Perrotin.

NEW YORK, NY.- Perrotin New York is presenting an exhibition of metal sculptures created over the past five years by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. The exhibition is the artist’s eleventh solo in the city, the sixth one-person show with the gallery and his first singular presentation at Perrotin New York. 

Wim Delvoye has developed an art that offers a reinterpretation of artworks of the past, while laying down a lucid and amused glance at contemporary society. He explores art history, Gothic cathedrals and sculptures of the 19th century—from Bosch and Brueghel to Warhol, simultaneously revealing the beauty of daily objects. With a Baroque gesture between homage and irreverence, he appropriates and deforms the motifs that inspire him. 

“Art is a game we play with serious matter.” Kurt Schwitters 

Celebrated for his scandalous Cloaca machines, which scientifically transform the cuisine of the world’s best chefs into manufactured poo, and tattooed live pigs that aesthetically flaunt drawings of Disney princesses and fashion logos, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye creates art to fascinate people. 

Wim Delvoye, Gloria Victis Rorschach, 2012. Bronze patiné (Patinated bronze), 75 x 45 x 26 cm; 29 1/2 x 17 11/16 x 10 1/4 in / 1/3 + 2AP© Wim Delvoye / ADAGP, Paris 2017. Courtesy Perrotin.

A neo-conceptual artist, Delvoye is widely known for contemporary art that cleverly combines philosophical ideas, a fresh use of materials and a love for craftsmanship. Blurring the boundary between the art of the past and the digital realm of current art practice, he makes aerodynamic, mathematically perfect, intricate sculptures that take both art and design to new levels of invention. 

Continually confronting what already exists with what can exist, Delvoye takes audiences on a virtual journey with his sublime suitcases, car parts, cement trucks and motorcycle tires, while bringing us deeper into his church of thought with a stunning array of twisted Christian crucifixes and digitally deformed Neoclassical sculptures. 

The centerpiece of Delvoye’s solo show at Perrotin New York is the sculpture Maserati, which was recently exhibited in his surveys at Montreal’s DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Acquiring the body of a late-1950s’ Maserati 450S racing car, Delvoye had Iranian artisans emboss the aluminum carapace with elaborate Middle Eastern designs, thus creating—as the artist ironically implied in a recent interview in The Art Newspaper—“a new flying carpet.” 

Wim Delvoye, Maserati, 2012. Aluminium repoussé (Embossed aluminium), 80 x 450 x 180 cm; 31 1/2 x 177 3/16 x 70 7/8 in., Unique © Wim Delvoye / ADAGP, Paris 2017.Courtesy Perrotin.

Similarly, Delvoye purchased a selection of luxurious Rimowa-brand luggage and had the Iranian craftsmen embellish the aluminum suitcases with traditional patterns and iconic imagery culled from his existing body of work. He recently added a new object to this assortment of assisted ready-mades: an embossed automobile tailpipe, which—within the context of this show—comically seems as though it might have fallen off the car. 

Referencing another mode of travel, Delvoye’s Twisted Tires series features a Dunlop Geomax 100/90-19 57M motorcycle tire that’s been scanned and warped into a variety of digitally derived Möbius-rings. Completely cast in stainless steel, each superbly sculpted tire is patinated black, while the wheel is brightly polished to smartly lend the artist’s simulations a form of reality. 

Wim Delvoye, Twisted Jesus Clockwise, 2012. Bronze patiné (Patinated bronze); 150 x 50 x 35 cm; 59 1/16 x 19 11/16 x 13 3/4 in., Unique© Wim Delvoye / ADAGP, Paris 2017. Courtesy Perrotin.

Taking the concept of twisting objects in a different direction, Delvoye’s Foundry Works include a number of Rorschach sculptures that use sensuous Neoclassical figurines as the point of departure for a series of bizarre bronzes that playfully distort the originals, while his Dual Möbius Quad Corpus sculpture and Twisted Jesus pieces elevate the idea of idolatry to a new, and beautifully perverse, end. 

Finally, the newest work in the show beckons back to the core of Delvoye’s conceptually complex oeuvre, the Gothic Works. Stretching to nearly 12-feet high, his sculpture Twisted Cement Truck presents a torqued Mercedes cement truck dynamically coming and going as it visually spirals in space. Designed and fabricated by a team of workers over the course of a year, the powerful piece consists of hundreds of lacy sections of laser-cut stainless steel that have been bolted and welded together to construct a fascinating work of art.

Wim Delvoye, Extincteur (Fire extinguisher), 2016. Aluminium repoussé (Embossed aluminium), 58 x 29 cm, Ø 16 cm;  22 13/16 x 11 7/16 in, Ø 6 5/16 in., Unique. © Wim Delvoye / ADAGP, Paris 2017. Courtesy Perrotin.

Lot 945. A Dali marble and zitan table screen, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. © Christie's Images Limited 2017.

The attractive, variegated marble panel is suggestive of a mountainous landscape and is set within a zitan frame with finely beaded edge. The screen is supported on a stand finely carved with stylized archaistic scroll in the lower panel and raised on shaped feet and openwork standing spandrels. 23 ¼ in. (59 cm.) high, 14 ½ in. (36.8 cm.) wide, 7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) deep

Provenance: Nicholas Grindley, London, February 2006.

The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art.

Literature: Grindley, N., March 2006, London, no. 20.
V. Bower, S. Handler and J. Burris, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati,2008, pp. 60-61, fig. 30.

Exhibited: Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, 7 November 2008 - 11 January 2009.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 975. A Massive Taihu Scholar's Rock. Estimate USD 25,000 - USD 35,000. © Christie's Images Limited 2017.

The towering pale whitish-grey stone of elongated ovoid form has numerous interconnected perforations and jagged outcrops. 48 in. (121.1 cm.) high, hongmu stand

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Lot 974. A Small Yellow Wax Stone Scholar's Rock. Estimate USD 4,000 - USD 6,000. © Christie's Images Limited 2017.

The golden caramel-toned stone is suggestive of a large rounded overhanging cliff, with open pitted cavities and web-textured surface. 5 ¾ in. (14.7 cm.) high, zitan stand.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 - 15 September 2017, New York

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Lightness of Being, 60x77 cm, edition of 8 + 2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Our Kingdom, 58x83 cm, edition of 8 + 2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - You are here, 75x95 cm, edition of 8 + 2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits-Child words, 75x95 cm, edition of 8 + 2 AP © Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits-Intuition, 75x95 cm, edition of 8 + 2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Home, photo on hahnemühlepapier, 95x112 cm, edition of 8 +2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Understanding, photo on Hahnemühlepapier, 112x95 cm, edition of 8 +2 AP (sold out)© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Sensibility. Photo on Hahnemühlepapier, 60x75 cm, edition of 8 +2 AP (sold out)© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Childhood, photo on hahnemühle, paper 60x75 cm, edition of 8 +2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Suzanne Jongmans, Kindred Spirits - Understanding, photo on Hahnemühlepapier, 112x95 cm, edition of 8 +2 AP© Gallery Wilms

Julie Decubber, Collier Scène de ménage fleur #6 #7, bleu et blanc, Ø int. 10 cm / Ø int. 12 cm, assiette en porcelaine, fil polyester, cordon coton, métal© Julie Decubber

J'ai découvert le travail de Julie Decubber lors du dernier Salon de la Céramique place Saint Sulpice. J'avais pensé que c'était un excellent moyen de recycler des tessons. Pourquoi pas un collier bleu et blanc de la dynastie Ming? 

Julie Decubber, Sautoir Réjouissances, bleu et blanc, 40 cm, assiette en porcelaine, fil polyester, cordon coton, métal © Julie Decubber

Julie Decubber, Bagues Tesson émaillé, bleu et blanc, non émaillé, Ø 50 > 58, assiette en porcelaine © Julie Decubber

Julie Decubber, Sautoir bleu, recto verso, 40 cm, assiette en faïence, fil polyester, cordon coton, métal © Julie Decubber

Julie Decubber, Broche double pastille, bleu et blanc, 8,5cm x 4cm, assiette en porcelaine, argent 925 © Julie Decubber

Julie Decubber, Bracelet anneau # 1 #2 #3, bleu et blanc, Ø int. 7 cm, assiette en porcelaine © Julie Decubber

Julie Decubber, Collier Scène de ménage Copenhague, bleu et blanc, Ø int. 12 cm, assiette en porcelaine, fil polyester, cordon coton, métal © Julie Decubber

Le site de Julie Decubber

Lot 474. Gilles Jonemann, 2017, Collier “Trace du Vietnam”. Faïence et fil d’acier. Pièce unique signée. Dimensions : 40 x 3,6 cm. Adjugéà 4 550 €. © Tajan

Le collier est accompagné de sa boîte d’origine, création de l’artiste. 

Importants Bijoux chez Tajan, 75008 Paris, le 21 Juin 2017

Master of Frankfurt, Portrait of the painter and his wife, 1496, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, photo: Hugo Maertens.

THE HAGUE.- Better a good neighbour than a distant friend, so the saying goes. During the autumn of 2017, the Mauritshuis tells the story of Flemish portraiture using a selection of the best Flemish portraits from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp. 

In the Southern Netherlands (now Belgium), the art of portrait painting came into full bloom during the period from 1400 to 1700. During these three centuries, noblemen and wealthy citizens had themselves immortalised by the best Flemish artists of their time. These portraits remain very impressive due to the outstanding way in which the sitters’ facial features and the character were memorialised in paint. 

The exhibition includes major works by Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling, Pieter Pourbus, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck. Remarkably, almost all the sitters can be identified. This is why the exhibition will not only highlight what makes Flemish portraits so special, but also who appears in the pictures and how they wanted to be viewed. 

The striking portrait of Abraham Grapheus by the Antwerp-based portrait painter Cornelis de Vos has been restored specially for this exhibition. 

Allow Us to Introduce 
Who were these neighbours now visiting the Mauritshuis? Please allow us to introduce a few of our interesting guests. 

Rogier van der Weyden, Portrait of Philippe de Croy, c.1460, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, photo: Hugo Maertens

Portrait of Philippe de Croy by Rogier van der Weyden 
The nobleman Philippe de Croy (1434–1482) was bright, articulate and diplomatic, according to a contemporary chronicler. These qualities enabled him to obtain a prominent position at the court of the duke of Burgundy at a young age. In the course of his career, he proved to be a born opportunist, who unscrupulously sided with his adversaries if he thought it would serve his ends. 

Around 1460 he had himself portrayed by Rogier van der Weyden, whose portraits were highly valued at the Burgundian court because their subjects looked both lifelike and distinguished. So it is hardly surprising that the young and ambitious Philippe – here we see him in his mid-twenties – chose Rogier, who portrayed his angular face, long nose and pronounced Adam’s apple in a way at once recognisable and stylised. Philippe is praying: his hands, with their long, thin fingers, feature prominently in the picture. Originally Philippe addressed his prayer to Mary and the Christ Child, who were portrayed on the left wing of the diptych to which this panel once belonged.  

Peter Paul Rubens, Epitaph of Nicolaas Rockox and his wife Adriana Perez, 1613-1615, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, foto: Rik Klein Gotink

Epitaph of Nicolaas Rockox and His Wife Adriana Perez by Peter Paul Rubens 
Not all sitters were keen to flaunt their status. The extremely wealthy Nicolaas Rockox (1560–1640) was one of the most powerful men in Antwerp in his day. Even so, he had himself and his wife, Adriana Perez (1568–1619), portrayed in a remarkably sober way. 

Peter Paul Rubens painted their portraits on the side wings of a triptych. Nicolaas looks up from his prayer book, his finger still between its pages, while Adriana holds a bead of her rosary. 

The central panel, on which Christ shows the wounds on his crucified body to three disciples, evokes the couple’s spiritual experience during prayer. Here their piety is paramount, because the triptych served as an epitaph – a memorial to the deceased that was placed near the grave. Rubens painted these likenesses in 1613–1615, when the childless couple were still in their prime. Adriana died rather suddenly in 1619, and even though Nicolaas lived two decades longer, he never remarried. After his death, he was buried in the same grave as his wife. The triptych hung nearby, so that the couple’s prayers seemed to continue everlastingly.  

Cornelis de Vos, Portrait of Abraham Grapheus, 1620, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, foto: Rik Klein Gotink

Portrait of Abraham Grapheus by Cornelis de Vos 
Portraits were usually commissioned by the sitter or his family. In the case of Abraham Grapheus, however, it was the portraitist Cornelis de Vos who had the idea to paint his likeness. In 1620, De Vos gave Grapheus’s portrait to the guildhall of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke when he became its dean. Old Grapheus’s distinctive face was a familiar sight in Antwerp painters’ circles. As the ‘knaep’ (a kind of custodian or caretaker), he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the guild. Among his many tasks was the organisation of guild festivities. 

De Vos portrayed Grapheus as he must often have appeared at such celebrations. With an apron tied around his waist and a jug in his hand, he casts a stern glance at something taking place outside the picture, ready to intervene at any moment. The decorations on his chest are so-called breuken: shield-shaped silver insignias that belonged to the guild. 

This exceptional portrait was restored especially for this exhibition. After the removal of the discoloured varnish, the original paint layer emerged almost intact. We can now see the virtuoso skill with which the artist alternated passages of great precision with areas of broad brushwork.

Hans Memling, Portrait of Bernardo Bembo, c.1471-1474, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp© KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, photo: Hugo Maertens.

Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Marten Pepijn, 1632, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, photo: Hugo Maertens.

Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Cesare Allessandro Scaglia di Veerua, c. 1634, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, foto: d/arch.

Erasmus Quellinus II en Jan Fijt, Portrait of a boy as a hunter, c. 1630-1661, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp © KMSKA/Lukas – Art in Flanders VZW, photo: Hugo Maertens.

Installation view of ‘Neighbours - Portraits from Flanders 1400-1700’. Photos Exhibition: Mauritshuis, The Hague. Photographer: Ivo Hoekstra

NEW YORK, NY.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that it has acquired an ancient Egyptian gilded cartonnage coffin from the first century B.C. The highly ornamented lid of the coffin is displayed prominently in the Museum's Lila Acheson Wallace Galleries for Egyptian Art (gallery 138), where it will be seen and enjoyed by millions of visitors. 

"This beautiful and unusual coffin is extremely rare, and we are honored to welcome it to the Museum's collection," said Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Met. "It is an extraordinary work of art that will give our visitors the opportunity to appreciate a fascinating period of Egyptian history." 

The mummiform coffin was inscribed for Nedjemankh, a high-ranking priest of the ram-headed god Heryshef of Herakleopolis. The elaborately decorated surface includes scenes and texts in thick gesso relief that were intended to protect and guide Nedjemankh on his journey from death to eternal life as a transfigured spirit. The coffin's exterior is sheathed in gold, which ----- because of its permanent nature ----- was associated in ancient Egypt with the gods and the divinized dead. According to ancient texts, the use of gold in the coffin would have assisted the deceased being reborn in the next life. 

Unique to this coffin are the thin sheets of silver foil on the interior of the lid, intended to protect Nedjemankh's face. To the ancient Egyptians, the precious metals gold and silver symbolized several things. On a general level, they could represent the flesh and bones of the gods, or the sun and the moon; on a more specific level, they were identified with the eyes of the cosmic deity Heryshef, whom Nedjemankh served. 

Even more remarkably, the long inscription on the front of the coffin's lid explicitly connects gold and "fine gold" (electrum) to the flesh of the gods, the sun, and the rebirth of the deceased. The association of the inscription with the actual use of metals on the coffin is a rare ----- possibly unique ----- occurrence. 

Officially exported from Egypt in 1971, the coffin has since resided in a private collection. At The Met, it joins the Museum's renowned ancient Egyptian collection, one of the finest and most comprehensive in the world.

Lot 1065. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Painting (679-2), 1988, oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm. Estimate: HK$32 million–48 million US$4,100,000–6,200,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Art Autumn Sales 2017 will take place from 30 September to 1 October, offering works by renowned artists from Asia and the West. Apart from a series of works by Yayoi Kusama and a dedicated section for Chinese Contemporary artists born in the 1970s, there will also be a special themed sale for the important Japanese post-war artist, Morita Shiryu, as well as a selection of Western Contemporary art in the evening sale. 

Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s Head of Contemporary Art, said, “The tremendous results achieved for our April 2017 Contemporary Art Spring Sales - a combined total of nearly HK$500 million with a 93% sell-through rate and two white-glove sales - caused great excitement amongst collectors and demonstrated market stability. As the market continues to grow and diversify, this season we will focus on bringing exceptional works hailing from Japan, China and the West, whilst offering works by Contemporary artists with potential but are under-recognised by the market.” 

The Artistic Journey of Yayoi Kusama 
An internationally renowned name, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama enjoys a worldwide prominence demonstrated by a profusion of institutional exhibitions in recent years and ever growing prices realised at auction. This season, Sotheby’s will offer a series of works examining her various stylistic tendencies which have been evolving since the early 1970s. 

Among them are two exceptionally rare early works hailing from the 1970s. Created in 1972, the pink ‘infinity net’ Untitled is a poignant example of the conclusion of Kusama’s ‘New York’ period. In the year the piece was conceived, Kusama’s close friend Joseph Cornell passed away. The work executed in cherry blossom hues not only conveys an overwhelming sense of grief towards her departed friend, it also foretells the artist’s imminent return to Japan, documenting an important transition of her career. 

The 1970 portrait of Hollywood grand dame Shirley MacLaine is one of the artist’s only three multi coloured ‘caged paintings’, with the others executed only in dual-colours. It is extremely rare for Kusama to paint portraits of other women than herself, and Shirley MacLaine represents also the first portrait from her ‘New York’ period. The work is framed with a layer of wire netting constructed over the canvas, which creates shadows that intertwine with the painted net patterns and echoes the artist’s iconic infinity net motif. 

Lot 1067. Yayoi Kusama, Untitled, 1972. Oil on canvas, 106.7 x 91.8 cm. Estimate: HK$32 million–45 million/ US$4,100,000–5,800,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

Western Contemporary Art 
In April this year, Sotheby’s Hong Kong offered Western Contemporary art in its Evening Sale for the first time. Andy Warhol’s Mao was sold for HK$98.5 million to an Asian collector, setting the auction record of Western contemporary art in Asia and attesting to Hong Kong’s status in the international contemporary art market. This autumn, Sotheby’s will once again introduce to Asia a fine selection of Western Contemporary pieces, including German artist Gerhard Richter’s Abstract Painting (679-2) and French Open I by Jonas Wood, a favourite among Asian collectors.  

Lot 1061. Jonas Wood, French Open I, 2011. Oil and acrylic on linen, 223 by 163 cm. Estimate: HK$3,800,000 — 4,800,000 / US$485,716 - 613,536. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

The New Face of Chinese Contemporary Art 
The Evening Sale continues to bring forth important pieces by pivotal Chinese contemporary artists including Liu Ye, one of the artists selected for 'Viva Arte Viva' at the 57th Venice Biennale. Inspired by the works of Piet Mondrian, Liu Ye’s early creations contain direct references to the Dutchman’s iconic style, while his post-2000 works highlight the distribution and arrangement of space and structure. By appropriating Mondrian’s stringent geometric abstractions, Liu Ye discovered his most important subject matter by far: the bamboo. Composition with Bamboo and Tree is the first of Liu Ye’s bamboo series that established a shift in the artist’s rendering of composition. Not only does the painting represent a new chapter in Liu Ye’s artistic career, it also came to be his most widely exhibited piece of the series.  

Lot 1062. Liu Ye, Composition with Bamboo and Tree, 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 300 by 220 cm. Estimate: HK$13,000,000 — 20,000,000 / US$1,661,660 - 2,556,400. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

In addition to established names, Sotheby’s, for the very first time, curates a series of works by emerging Chinese artists born in the 1970s, including Liang Yuanwei, who recently exhibited at a satellite show at the Venice Biennale 2017, and rising stars Wang Guangle and Duan Jianyu. Raised and educated after the Cultural Revolution, these young artists are found to be more invested in the exploration of visual languages and the attainment of exhibition opportunities that would allow them artistic breakthroughs, than in expressing sentiment towards their own ethnic history as their predecessors did. 

Morita Shiryu: Bokujin 
Sotheby’s is committed to introducing the works of artists who are undervalued by the market. Following the successful white glove sale of Yamaguchi Takeo – Composing Monochrome earlier this year, Sotheby’s will present the world’s first dedicated Morita Shiryu auction in honour of the pioneering postwar Japanese artist. 

Morita Shiryu (1912 – 1998) completely revolutionised traditional Eastern calligraphy into a global avant-garde aesthetic. In 1952, two years before the Gutai movement gained traction, Morita Shiryu co-founded the highly influential Bokujin-Kai (‘Ink Human Society’) with Inoue Yuichi and other calligraphers. 

Morita’s ground-breaking works feature massive, captivating abstract single characters that place equal importance on physical movement, inner force and visual aesthetics. On the one hand, Morita ignited the extraordinary pictorial potential of kanji (‘Han characters’), liberating calligraphy from its deeply rooted conventions; on the other hand, his philosophically and spiritually rigorous works preserve the soul in abstraction and are imbued with vital life forces or qi (‘energy’) amiss from the works of Western Abstract Expressionists.

Lot 805. Morita Shiryu (1912-1998), So - Wilderness, 1954. ink on paper laid on wooden board, 172.5 by 95.5 cm. Estimate: HK$1,200,000 — 2,200,000 / US$153,504 - 281,424. Courtesy Sotheby’s.

 Lot 32. A fine and rare silver and jade ewer for the Mongolian market, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Late 19th Century; height 30 cm. Estimate 4 000 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Pear-shaped and inlaid, a jade medallion applied on each side, representing a qilong; ewer's mouth appears from the mouth of makara; a handle shaped as monster on the opposite side; the cover, tied to the ewer with a chain, ends in an elegant jade, carved in a shape of a duck; the item is decorated with corals and turquoises. 

Lot 71. A rare porcelain cong vase, Guangxu mark and period (1875-1908), height 27,5 cm. Estimate 6 000 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Of rectangular, archaic shape, with a characteristic ring-foot and circular mouth, with two elephant-shaped handles holding a ring; covered with a polished enamel of the dark, blue-violet color; each facet is well painted with an archaic bronze and its name: 'hanwang zhangzi jiaozun', 'mengjiang zun', 'zhou zisun you' and 'zhou wenwang ding'; stylized floral decorations at the base of the neck. Minor wear and firing defects on the foot and bottom edges. 

Lot 55. A fine and rare flambé hu shaped porcelain vase, Qing dynasty (1644-1911); height 32 cm. Estimate 4 000 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Finely modeled in globular shape, with convex and flared neck, placed on a short, cylindrical foot; finely covered with a beautiful enamel which from the ivory border blends in a vibrant red color sprinkled with blue-purple shades; two, tubular, bamboo-shaped handles under the neck; inside the vase, from the opening until the neck the flambé red enamel flames and ends in the rest of the body with a craquelé ivory enamel; the center of the base featuring the seal, six-character, blue, underglaze mark of the Emperor Qianlong. Star-shaped headlines can be seen inside, in the body center there are two, small enamel parts missing in correspondence with the headlines. 

Lot 39. A fine sang-de-boeuf porcelain vase, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), 19th Century; height 37 cm. Estimate 2 000 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Nicely shaped as a bottle, with globular body and long and narrow neck, covered with red enamel that blends in an ivory color at the end of the external neck (langyao); the base is covered with craquelé enamel. 

Lot 76. A beautiful blue and white rouleau vase, Qing dynasty (1644-1911); height 45 cm. Estimate 1 800 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Powder blue background, two frames on the body, magnificently painted with two kirin; two frames on the sides, portraying flowers and antique items; two cartouches on the neck, decorated with a landscape; an underglaze, double circle on the base, with the Luigi Laura Collection label inside. 

Lot 104. A famille verte rouleau vase, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), 19th century; height 46 cm. Estimate 1 200 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Depicting a scene at the inside of a court hall; depicting three women in a garden at the neck; featuring the apocryphal, six-character, underglaze, blue mark at the inside of a double circle of the Emperor Kangxi. 

Lot 150. A big famille verte rouleau vase, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), late 19th century; height 62 cm. Estimate 800 €. Courtesy Czerny's

 Shaped as rouleau, painted in the tones of famille verte with a scene of persons in a landscae; a hive-band at the base of the neck; the neck is decorated with persons in a landscape. Two, repaired, breaks on the opening.

Lot 145. A large and rare famille verte porcelain cache-pot, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), 19th century; height 33 cm. Estimate 1 200 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Convex and flared neck, concave and curved body and foot bent toward the outside; finely decorated in famille verte tones with a continuous scene: from the inside of a court hall to the garden outside; two, fine handles depicting monsters and painted with polychrome enamels under the border. The external border with a perfectly-restored breakage (5x3 cm). 

Lot 194. A big yellow ground bajixiang porcelain moon flask, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), late 19th century; height 49 cm. Estimate 800 €. Courtesy Czerny's

The convex sides are painted in blue on a yellow ground, in the style of Ming of 15th Century, with eight petals containing the bajixiang released from a small band of other petals, surrounding a central protuberance decorated with a flower; the sides are covered with lingzhi mushrooms; foot and neck en suite; the two handles are moulded as symmetrical, curved leaves; on the yellow base is painted in blue the apocryphal, six-character seal mark of the Emperor Yongzheng. A firing defect at the central protuberance and a small chip on the foot. 

Lot 68. A fine pair of Pekin glass cups and covers, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), 18th-19th century. Estimate 500 €. Courtesy Czerny's

Nicely shaped, with high, ring-shaped foot and flared border, intense blue color. Very small chipping on the borders. height 8,5 cm.

Lot 70. A beautiful pair of Pekin glass cups and saucers, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), 18th-19th century. Estimate 800 €. Courtesy Czerny's

The cups nicely shaped, with flare border; the saucers (diameter 18,5 cm) with lobed border, shaped as chrysanthemum. Small chipping on the borders. height 6,5 cm.

Céramiques et Objets d'Art de la Chine chez Czerny's, Sarzana, Italy, le 29 Septembre 2017 à 14h00 

Lot 253. A lacquer plate, Vietnam, 19th century. Estimate 300 €.Courtesy Czerny’s

Black ground finely decorated with mother of pearl inlays. diameter 34 cm.

Céramiques et Objets d’Art de la Chine chez Czerny’s, Sarzana, Italy, le 29 Septembre 2017 à 14h00 

Lot 35. A silver mounted and mother of pearl decorated dagger, Vietnam, circa 1900. Estimate 600 €. Courtesy Czerny’s

Straight, double-edged blade; the grip covered with silver foil finely decorated with a dragon in high relief on both sides; wooden scabbard finely decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays portraying a pen, scrolls, a mandolin, a shell and floral decorations, silver mounts embossed with floral motifs. length 48.5 cm. 

Belles et Rares Armes Antiques & Armures chez Czerny's, Sarzana, Italy, le 16 Septembre 2017 à 10h

Lot 1027. Lê Phổ (1907-2001), La famille (The Family), signed in Vietnamese and Chinese, stamped with the seal of the artist; titled on the reverse; ink and gouache on silk laid on paper; 63 by 46 cm; 24 3/4 by 18 1/4 in.; executed circa 1938-40. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,500,000 HKD.© Sotheby’s.

Provenance: Acquired from Galerie Romanet by the previous owner, thence by descent
Private Asian Collection

Note: This season, Sotheby’s is proud to offer an exceptional and elaborate silk painting by the Vietnamese master Lê Phổ. La Famille epitomises the astounding beauty and elegance of Le Pho’s works, which often feature romanticised illustrations of 19^th century Vietnamese life. The present lot depicts a family of four comprising of a father, mother, and their two sons. In a rare move for Lê Phổ, who mostly painted women and children, the artist  includes a male subject in this composition—his stolid presence balances the playful and affectionate interactions of his wife and children. Charming and refined, this tender family portrait paints an image of domestic bliss undisturbed by worldly concerns.

Born to the Viceroy of Tonkin in 1907, Lê Phổ’s privileged early life formed the basis of inspiration for many of his later works. He was one of the first graduates of the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine in Hanoi, the art academy founded by the French artist Victor Tardieu. Together with fellow graduates like Mai Trung Thu and Vu Cao Dam, Le Pho defined the pioneering wave of modern  artists who helped establish a new canon of Vietnamese art. As a result of his training, Lê Phổ’s artistic style was a synthesis of French and Vietnamese approaches--a distinctive aesthetic that made him highly popular both in his home country and abroad, especially in Paris, where he lived and worked for the latter part of his life. Through exhibitions in Algiers (1941), Paris (1945), Brussels (1948), San Francisco (1962), and New York (1963), Lê Phổ garnered acclaim as one of the greatest Vietnamese artists of his time.

La Famille is a charmingly exquisite example of the Lê Phổ’s celebrated silk works. One of his early achievements as a young artist was the  perfection of silk painting as a technique. Lê Phổ favoured painting on Japanese pongee silk glued on a board, using gouache and ink to render his subjects. His light touch and finely-executed brushwork imbue his works with a subtle brilliance in texture and colour; the works’ gentle elegance embodies the new heights of sophistication and artistry Lê Phổ reached in the medium. 

Much of the beauty found in Lê Phổ’s oeuvre stems from his poetic, serene vignettes of domestic life set in lush interior spaces and gardens. La Famille offers a glimpse into the private moment shared by the family in the painting—a window into their idyllic lifestyles. The mother embraces one of her children with her left arm, tilting her face towards him as he kisses her on the cheek. The child’s seemingly spontaneous action highlights the strength of the mother-son bond; her serene countenance exudes a sense of quiet pleasure at his sweetly affectionate gesture. With her right hand, the mother grasps the piece of fabric the other mischievous child is playing with. This boy seems to have stolen the fabric from the bowl of sewing materials lying forgotten by her lap. The father looks on indulgently at his family with a countenance of peaceful contentment. The unstudied, almost casual arrangement of the family’s positions in the present work highlights the intimacy of the tableau captured by Lê Phổ.

Lê Phổ’s consummate mastery of silk painting is evident in this sublime work. He uses a subtle, diaphanous colour palette that complements the delicate nature of silk, lending the painting an ethereal feeling. Lê Phổs delicate brushstrokes, the lack of harsh lines, and the use of solid colours all recall the look of traditional Chinese ink paintings. In contrast to the understated shades of black and lilac worn by the adults, the children are garbed in hues of yellow, emerald, and vermilion, underscoring the lively energy they bring to the work. Lê Phổ also conveys the flowing elegance of their outfits by illustrating how the fabric drapes softly around their forms. The graceful harmony of the painting complements Lê Phổ’s penchant for painting idealised images of domestic life defined by kinship and familial love.

The key relationship illustrated in this beautiful work—that of the mother and children—highlights Lê Phổ’s unparalleled ability to adapt Western visual motifs to a Vietnamese context. His visits to Europe as a young artist, where he marvelled at the religious works of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Memling, inspired him to start painting his own versions of the Madonna and child theme. At the same time, he was also strongly influenced by the subject matter and aesthetics of French Impressionism. He incorporated a lighter palette into his later works à la Matisse and Bonnard while nonetheless retaining some of the calligraphic sensibilities of traditional Chinese ink painting. Thus, Lê Phổ’s painterly style is an alluring mélange of French, Vietnamese, and Chinese influences that he amalgamated into his unique artistic vocabulary.

Besides paying visual homage to French impressionist art, La Famille also illustrates the paramount importance of the family as a social unit in Vietnam. It emphasises Confucian norms with regards to the family as the basis of harmony and order in the nation, highlighting Lê Phổ’s strong connection to traditional Vietnamese culture. The duality of French and Vietnamese cultural influences in Le Pho’s art defines his enduring appeal; the ease with which he navigates both artistic traditions is a testament to his rightly-earned position as a maestro of modern Vietnamese art.

Lê Phổ’s works give us a window into the idyllic existence of the Vietnamese elite and the rich history of Vietnam’s treasured past. Even as the country was reshaped by the forces of colonialism and communism over the course of his life, the eternal, self-contained worlds of Lê Phổs paintings remain unchanged; elegant interiors and luxuriant gardens inhabited by demure ladies and rosy-cheeked children dominate his prolific oeuvre. In that vein, La Famille is a work of timeless beauty, underscored by a rich sense of nostalgia for halcyon days.

Last records at Sotheby's: 

Lê Phổ, Family Life, circa 1937-1939. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2017, Lot 1022, 9,100,000 HKD (1,171,005 USD)© Sotheby’s

Lê Phổ, La Petite Famille (The Small Family), circa 1940-1949. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2012, Lot 269, for 740,000 HKD (95,455 USD)© Sotheby’s

Sotheby's. Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Hong Kong, 30 Sep 2017, 05:00 PM

Lot 1028. Phạm Hầu (1903-1995), A family of deer in a forest, signed and stamped with a seal of the artist, lacquer on wood panel, in 3 parts; each: 100 by 93 cm; 39 1/4  by 36 1/2  in. (3); overall: 100 by 279 cm; 39 1/4  by 109 3/4. Estimate 800,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. © Sotheby’s

Provenance: Private Collection, U.S.A. 

Note: Lacquer painting is one of the most significant legacies of 20^th-century Vietnamese art. Although natural lacquer or s’on ta, was used by the Vietnamese in their traditional decorative craft for centuries, it evolved into a modern painting medium in the late 1920s to early 1930s. Its modern-day beginnings can be traced to the founding of the Fine Arts College of Indochina (L’École des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine), where young Vietnamese artists developed and pushed the boundaries of the lacquer under the tutelage of Joseph Inguimberty and Victor Tardieu, elevating it into an unique art form in itself.

Following the establishment of a standalone lacquer department in the Fine Arts College in 1928, the years spanning 1930-1945 are collectively known as the Golden Age of Vietnamese Paintings. During these years, masters such as Phạm Hầu, Nguyen Gia Tri, and Tran Van Can created poetic landscapes and tableaus rendered in brilliant palettes of gold, amber, auburn, vermillion, silver, and ochre. Their ability to manipulate the material properties of lacquer according to their artistic desires belies the sheer difficulty of working with such an inherently demanding medium.

Creating a lacquer work from scratch requires a high level of technical proficiency. The process involves visualizing multiple layers and working accordingly from the base of the vóc, a flat wooden board treated to receive the lacquer. The artist begins with the inlays of eggshell or mother of pearl, followed by the application of layers upon layers of coloured lacquer which are individually dried and sanded. Sanding the lacquer down is a highly crucial step that accounts for the material’s brilliance and compositional complexity. The layers form the artist’s painting surface, and the process repeats until the composition is complete. At this final point the artist polishes the surface to give the painting its finishing sheen. However, while the process of lacquer painting is highly timed and labour-intensive, in the hands of a master, the medium can be coaxed into creating some of the most sublime and beautiful works of art ever produced.

This artistic process was further developed and refined through  the explorations of various artists at the Fine Arts College, who embraced both Western-style classical training and traditional artistic techniques to reflect contemporary Vietnamese aesthetic sensibilities. The specific properties of lacquer, such as the variations of transparency, opacity, surface and depth, offered endless possibilities for experimentation. Indeed, through the meticulous application of layers of lacquer, one could create surfaces which were more radiant and eye-catching than the veneers of oil painting. While lacquer painting was traditionally flat and two-dimensional, modern Vietnamese artists incorporated three-dimensional aspects into lacquer compositions by playing with spatial differentiation and vanishing-point perspective.

As an important part of Vietnamese artistic history, lacquer painting also offers us treasured glimpses into Vietnam’s rich past. Often depicting representations of nature, people, and landscapes, together with the life and customs of the country, the lacquer works from this era gift us with the opportunity to look at moments lost to the currents of history, time, and memory. They also pay homage to the natural beauty found in Vietnam’s surrounding environs, ranging from majestic mountains to delicate leaves. Hence, its importance as a Vietnamese fine art form is inextricably tied with its culture and history, and remains a significant part of Vietnam’s artistic legacy even today.

The present lot A Family of Deer in a Forest  is an exquisitely detailed triptych originating from the renowned lacquer master Phạm Hầu. It offers a glimpse into the natural beauty of the Vietnamese landscape inhabited only by native flora and fauna, its serenity undisturbed by human activity. The work’s understated elegance is evident in the skillful juxtaposition of light and shadow elements, expressive brushstrokes and delicate etchings. As one of the greatest lacquer artists in Vietnamese history, Phạm Hầu had a fine grasp of both Western and Eastern aesthetic principles. In this work, he combines the evocative essence of the natural landscape with precise silhouettes and three-dimensional perspective to create a subtle yet refined masterpiece.

The leftmost panel of the triptych is almost entirely obscured by a dense clump of banana leaves. Upon closer inspection, one can see details such as the fine, wavy lines Phạm Hầu scored across the leaves to give them texture. In between the gaps of the leaves are glimpses of a hill in the distance, whose gentle slope continues down across the other two panels of the triptych, lending a sense of continuity to the natural landscape in the background. The height of the slope recedes just as the viewer’s eye alights on the middle and rightmost panels, which are inhabited by the titular family of deer who make up the focal point of the painting.

Painted in gold, the deer graze and rest in contentment amidst the lush foliage. Considering the spatial positions of the deer, their difference in sizes offers the viewer the opportunity to appreciate Phạm Hầu’s skill in suggesting a depth of field within the composition. At the same time, one can witness the mutual influences of French naturalism and Chinese wildlife painting exhibited in this work. The subtle shading on the bodies of the deer gives them a corporeality which is a contrast to the flatness of the vegetation surrounding them. Phạm Hầu employed the visual motif of deer in several of his lacquer works as a metaphor for harmony, compassion, peace, and longevity. Hence, the inclusion of deer in this painting suggests a realm of peace and serenity.

Phạm Hầu’s penchant for detail is also illustrated in the sheer variety of flora he includes into the texture of the landscape. From the slim silhouettes of the palm trees in the background, to the abundance of wildflowers beneath the deer’s hooves, the myriad shapes and lines forming the foliage adds visual richness and complexity to the painting.  The tiny specks of white-purple colour from the eggshell inlays that form the wildflowers contribute an understated contrast to the black, brown, and gold palette that dominates the painting.

The present work is an exceptional example of Phạm Hầu’s skillful composition and ability for exquisite detailing. As an eloquent visual metaphor for the harmony found within the rhythms of nature, its juxtaposition of simplicity and luxury, and of flora and fauna, highlights its quiet elegance. Phạm Hầu’s mastery of the medium marks him as one of his generation’s best, and this particular work epitomises the beauty that can be found in his repertoire of lacquer works.

Last record at Sotheby's:

Phạm Hầu, A Family in a Forest Scenery. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2015, Lot 1031, for 875,000 HKD (112,871 USD)© Sotheby’s

Sotheby's. Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Hong Kong, 30 Sep 2017, 05:00 PM

Lot 601. A life-size stucco head of Buddha, Gandhara, 3rd-4th century, 16 ½ in. (45 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 52,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Provenance: Acquired by the present owner from the New York Art Market on 9 April 1996.

Note: Exceptionally finely rendered with deeply carved features, including heavily-lidded downcast eyes and a plump rosebud mouth. Compare the sensitive modeling with a stucco head of Buddha in the Tokyo National Museum (I. Kurita, Gandharan Art II, The World of the Buddha, Tokyo, 2003, p.121, cat.no.326). 

Christie's. Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 13 September 2017, New York

Lot 602. A gray schist figure of a Seated Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, 37 ½ in. (95 cm.) high. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. Price realised USD 87,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Provenance: Acquired by the present owner from the New York Art Market on 13 January 1995.

Note: The Buddha depicted seated in meditation on a throne showing Buddha at center flanked by devotees and with a plush cushion of kusha grass draped over the edges. Sacred throughout India and associated with amrita, the nectar of immortality, kusha grass is used in traditional Indian medicine. The blades of the kusha grass are sharp, a deterrent for insects and snakes, making it a favorable seat for meditation. According to textual evidence, Buddha remained in a state of meditation and fasting for seven weeks after reaching enlightenment, seated under the Bodhi tree on a bed of grass: 

I would grab a bundle of grass for myself, spread it on the vajrasana under the Bodhi tree and sit cross-legged with the body upright. I would practice the asphanaka meditation and stop the inhaling and exhaling of breath and would awake from the meditation once a day: having awoke, I would eat a half grain of sesame and give away another half. I would practice austerities in this form until all devas up to the Akanistha heaven and those of Saha Buddha field would approach, paying homage to me and would be witness to my austerities. 

-I. Yamada ed., Karunapundarika, 1968, vol. I, p. 242