Lot 343. A rare Ding green-glazed carved ‘Indian lotus’ ruyi-shaped pillow, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). 9½ in (24 cm) wide. Estimation : HKD 40,000 - 80,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Literature: Dream Quest: The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 80

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Lot 348. A Chengguan sancai-glazed carved ‘Wave’ bean-shaped pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 7½ in. (19 cm.) wide, box. Estimation : HKD 30,000 - 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Literature: Dream Quest: The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 66

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Lot 342. A Cizhou painted and sgraffito‘Lotus’ bean-shaped pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 11½ in. (29 cm.) wide, box. Estimation : HKD 40,000 - 80,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

The base is stamped with a mark reading Zhang jia zhen,‘Pillow of the Zhang Family’, enclosed in a rectangular cartouche below a lotus leaf and above a lotus stand.

Literature: Dream Quest: The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 42

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Lot 344. A Cizhou white-glazed sgraffito ‘Peony’ bean-shaped pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 11⅞ in. (30.2 cm.) long, box. Estimation : HKD 30,000 - 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Lot 345. A Cizhou sgraffito ‘Peony’ octagonal pillow, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), 11⅛ (28.2 cm) wide. Estimation : HKD 30,000 - 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Lot 351. A Cizhou sgraffito‘Wave’ rectangular pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 10⅝ in. (27 cm.) long. Estimation : HKD 30,000 - 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Provenance: The property of Mr. Mark Lam. 

Lot 346. A Henan painted ‘floral’ bean-shaped pillow, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), 9⅝ in (24.5 cm) long. Estimation : HKD 40,000 - 60,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Provenance: The property of Mr. Mark Lam. 

Lot 349. A rare Qingbai iron-spot decorated ‘Xuanwu’ pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 6½ in. (16.5 cm.) long, box. Estimation : HKD 30,000 - 50,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

Provenance: The property of Mr. Mark Lam. 

Lot 350. A Cizhou painted rectangular pillow, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), 11¾ in. (29.7 cm.) long. Estimation : HKD 20,000 - 30,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

The base is stamped with a partially legible mark reading ‘Made by xxx’.

Provenance: The property of Mr. Mark Lam. 

Lucio Fontana, Ambiente spaziale con neon, 1967, reddish-purple neon tube© Fondazione Lucio Fontana, Milan. Photo by Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

MILAN.- Fontana’s “Spatial Environments” are considered the most innovative outcome of the theories about space that Lucio Fontana first expressed in his Manifiesto Blanco of 1946. Here and in later manifestos, he described a new form of visual representation linked to space and time, which would move past the classic materials of sculpture and painting and employ modern technology to create “artificial forms, rainbows of wonder, words written in light” (Lucio Fontana, Spaziali, 1947 in Lucio Fontana, Manifesti scritti interviste, edited by Angela Sanna, Milan, 2015). These ideas led to the birth of Spatialism, an artistic movement that emerged in Argentina and Italia in the late ’40s. Fontana, its founder and prime representative, applied them in famous works such as his Concetti Spaziali (Spatial Concepts, like his “Holes” and “Cuts”), but above all in his environments, the body of work he considered the most innovative and experimental. 

Within a low-light setting, the exhibition presents a series Fontana’s Spatial Environments, independent rooms specifically designed by the artist. This layout, a new and unusual one for Pirelli HangarBicocca’s vast Navate space, allows the public to discover the installations one at a time. As visitors move through and linger within them, they gain a full sense of their groundbreaking significance: the amazing iconic and aesthetic power that makes these works so innovative even today. 

“Ambienti/Environments” opens with the environmental interventions Struttura al neon per la IX Triennale di Milano (Neon Structure for the 9th Milan Triennale, 1951), which Fontana conceived as a decorative element for the 9th Milan Triennale. This vast arabesque, made up by hundred-meters-long neon tubes, hangs at the entrance to the exhibition space, ushering visitors into the series of environments, displayed in chronological order. They start with the first one the artist made, Ambiente spaziale a luce nera (Spatial Environment in Black Light, 1948-1949), presented at Milan’s Galleria del Naviglio in 1949. It is a dark room lit by an ultraviolet lamp; suspended at the center is an abstract sculpture painted with fluorescent colors. This work—a model that Fontana returned to in many later environments, retaining but developing on its basic characteristics—marks a move past the very notion of painting and sculpture. The surrounding space and the presence of the viewer became key elements: “the all-black room, the black light, with the fluorescent paint giving that sense of emptiness—a feeling, a material that the public had never experienced before (Lucio Fontana in Autoritratto, Carla Lonzi, Bari, 1969). 

Lucio Fontana, Struttura al neon per la IX Triennale di Milano, 1951, installation view at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2017. Courtesy Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. ©Fondazione Lucio Fontana Photo: Agostino Osio.

Lot 301. A Yaozhou celadon carved foliate-rimmed jar, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), 4¾ in. (12 cm.) diam., box. Estimation : HKD 100,000 - 150,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Provenance: Peter Scheinman (1923-2017) Collection, New York

Note: A piece of similar form but with a carved peony design to the body and a pierced ruyi aperture to the foot, from the Linyushanren collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2803. A slightly larger Yaozhou jar also with a carved peony decoration is in collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 13.195.2.

A very rare  carved Yaozhou petal-rim jar, Northern Song dynasty, 11th century, from the Linyushanren Colletion. Sold for 1,960,000 HKD at Christie's Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 2803. © Christie's Images Ltd 2015

(Cf. my post A very rare carved Yaozhou petal-rim jar, Northern Song dynasty, 11th century)

Jar with Peony Scroll, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), 11th–12th century. Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze (Yaozhou ware). Diam. 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm), Rogers Fund, 1913, 13.195.2 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Lot 304. A Longquan celadon rounded bowl, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), 7 in. (17.9 cm.) diam., box. Estimation : HKD 60,000 - HKD 80,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Provenance: Mathias Komor, New York, no. J493

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Lot 305. A large carved and moulded Longquan celadon 'floral' barbed-rim dish, Early Ming dynasty, 15th century; 13⅝ in. (34.7 cm.) diam., box. Estimation : HKD 100,000 - 150,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The property of a Hong Kong private collector.

Christie's. Pavilion Online: Chinese Art, oct. 4 - 11, 2017

Pablo Picasso, Femme en vert, 1909. Collection Van Abbemuseum. Photo: Peter Cox.

EINDHOVEN.- To officially open its new collection displays and to launch its three-year programme of exploration and transformation, the Van Abbemuseum is holding three days of activities, workshops and celebrations from 21 to 23 September 2017. 

Together with L'Internationale, a confederation of six modern and contemporary art institutions, the Van Abbemuseum is working to demodernise the museum, rearrange its permanent collections and alter the course of the museological canon. It announced the launch of its three-year programme of exploration and transformation with the official opening of its new collection display during three days of activities, symposia and celebration. 

As one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe, the Van Abbemuseum has been looking at how the relationship of the museum with the public can invite different forms of exchange and representation that better reflect current society. How does a contemporary museum respond to globalisation? What role does a museum play within civic society? How can the notion of deviance be incorporated in a radical new approach? Is it possible to undo the modern museums' focus on exclusivity, autonomy and separation? 

Central to these questions is how we interpret the Van Abbemuseum collection. For over a decade, the Van Abbemuseum addressed this directly by actively taking part in a conversation about its role in a globalised society and by recalibrating its collection to exhibit within this context. It focused on the role of the public as a responsible constituency as active users and co-authors, and this, combined with revisiting the traditional modern canon and its embeddedness in modernity and coloniality, has resulted in several projects, including Plug In, Play Van Abbe and The Collection Now. 

Globalisation has made it apparent that there is not one universal art history, but a pluriverse of different art histories. As part of the process and the next phase in a longer trajectory of coming to terms with our globalised reality, over the next three years, the Van Abbemuseum will explore how it can engage and share its collection through presentations, research and dialogue with different constituency groups in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and internationally. 

To launch this programme, the Van Abbemuseum has transformed how its collection is displayed with two new exhibitions. The Making of Modern Art and The Way Beyond Art showcase the collections from completely different perspectives, inviting different forms of exchange and representation that better reflect a society struggling to find balance with the remnants of colonial history and current geopolitical tensions around economy and migration. 

“Transforming how we display our collections is just one step in our journey towards rethinking how an art institution like the Van Abbemuseum can engage with its community, its his-tory and its future,” notes Charles Esche, Van Abbemuseum Director. “Despite their different identities, histories and priorities, all European art museums share the responsibility to reposition themselves within the multifaceted world we live in today.” 

Concepts such as identity, history, locatedness, politics, inequality, decolonisation, demodernisation and (de)centralisation are explored in the three exhibition spaces at the Van Abbemuseum by curators Christiane Berndes, Charles Esche, Loes Janssen and Steven ten Thije, with exhibition design by Can & Asli Altay (Future Anecdotes Istanbul).  

The Making of Modern Art 
This exhibition, developed in cooperation with the Museum of American Art, Berlin, combines classic modernist works from the Van Abbe collection (Mondrian, Picasso, Sol LeWitt, Kandinsky, Leger, etc.), with copies, documents and archives that show how the dominant narrative of 20th-century modern art was established. In specially designed “atmosphere rooms,” the exhibition critically reflects on the role of art institutions, presenting the stories of remarkable museums, collectors and exhibitions and their contribution to the formation of the modern canon, a legacy that is forms the basis for the Van Abbemuseum and most other western art collections. The result is an experimental exhibition that explores how modern art has been defined as an intricate part of modern culture, as well as how it has been shaped according to the dominant ideologies of progress, development, western dominance and its aggressive colonialism.

Installation view of The Making of Modern Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox.

Installation view of The Making of Modern Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox.

Installation view of The Making of Modern Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox. 

The Way Beyond Art 
This exhibition features works by, amongst others, Chto Delat, Corneille, Dan Flavin, Nilbar Güres, Iris Kensmil, Anselm Kiefer, John Körmeling, Taus Makhacheva, Füsun Onür, Dan Peterman, Thomas Schütte and Franz Erhard Walther. Its title draws on museum director Alexander Dorner’s eponymous 1947 book, which outlined his radical vision for the museum as a social power plant. Founded on three fundamental topics: Land, Home and Work, works are grouped and activated in a new sequence of “atmosphere rooms,” rejecting the traditional model of the white cube to extend the possibilities for experiencing art in space and in relation to body and mind. The exhibition will constantly evolve as the museum incorporates feedback and suggestions from local constituencies.  

The Way Beyond Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox.

The Way Beyond Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox.

The Way Beyond Art, Van Abbemuseum, 2017. Photo: Peter Cox.

Werksalon 
The Werksalon is an experimental mediation floor dedicated to an in-depth exchange with constituencies from the Eindhoven region. Through dialogues with different groups in the city concerned with social issues such as migration, ecology, social cohesion or gender issues, the museum aspires to expand and transform its social mission. The aim is to repurpose the museum and its collections to adapt to different needs and expectations, encouraging new relations between people and artworks to emerge over time. These interrelations will be made public through commentaries, inclusions and changes made to the exhibition, The Way Beyond Art, in the coming months and years. 

Lot 83. Burmese pink spinel and diamond necklace. Estimate HK$350,000 - 550,000 (US$45,000 - 70,500). Photo Tiancheng International

The openwork filigree necklace decorated with graduated oval pink spinels together weighing 69.62 carats, embellished with brilliant-cut diamonds together weighing approximately 9.35 carats, mounted in 18 karat white gold, length approximately 420mm.

Accompanied by LOTUS premium report numbered 7559-9362, dated 6 October 2015, stating that the 69.62 carat pink spinels ranging from 3.06 to 0.84 carat are natural, Pink colour, of rich to medium saturation and medium-light to medium tone, of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating or treatment.

SPINEL
Spinels have had a long history of being incorrectly identified as rubies. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s when spinels were discovered to have different characteristics compared to rubies. Many famous “rubies” featured on some of the world’s finest crown jewels are actually spinels. Famous examples are the magnificent 170-carat Ruby of the Black Prince set on the Imperial State Crown of England, and the Timur Ruby, which weighs more than 350 carats and is part of the private collection of Queen Elizabeth II.

Gem quality spinels are actually much less common than rubies with similar characteristics. According to Geographic Origin Determination of Coloured Gemstones, a spinel is 200 times rarer than a ruby. This rarity has kept spinels relatively less recognized in the past. However, this is rapidly changing as gem collectors around the globe have already taken note of this resplendent gem, restoring its market value to its rightful glory. 

Just like corundum, spinels come in a variety of colours; the rarest and most desired colours are vivid red, followed by cobalt blue, bright pink, and bright orange. Similarly, there exist star spinels that display asterism as well as some that exhibit colour change under different light sources. 

A gemstone of such rare characteristics, Tiancheng International is delighted to have with us a collection of spinels up for auction this season.

Lot 807. A copper-red dish, Qianlong mark and period (1735-1796). Diameter 8 1/4  in., 21 cm. Estimate 3,000 — 5,000 USD. Lot sold 5,250 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from tapered foot to an everted rim, covered allover in a light red glaze of crushed strawberry color, the rim and base glazed white, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Thomas English Cody (1889-1948), grand-nephew of ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody (1846-1917).

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 16 Sep 2017

Lot 86. 7.49 carats Red spinel and diamond ring. Estimate HK$78,000 - 158,000 (US$10,000 - 20,250). Photo Tiancheng International

Centring on a cushion-shaped red spinel weighing 7.49 carats, surrounded by marquise-shaped diamonds together weighing approximately 2.55 carats, mounted in platinum. Ring size: 6½ 

Accompanied by GIA report numbered 1253482831, dated 19 April 2017, stating that the 7.49 carat spinel is natural, Red colour, with no indications of heating.

TianchengInternational. MID-SEASON AUCTION, Jewellery and Jadeite, 2 Oct 2017 · 1 pm

Lot 821. A copper-red dish, Qianlong mark and period (1735-1796). Diameter 8 1/8  in., 20.6 cm. Estimate 2,000 -- 3,000 USD. Lot sold 3,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a slightly flared rim, covered overall in a deep red glaze, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 16 Sep 2017

Lot 121. 7.10 carats Burmese "Royal Blue" sapphire and diamond ring. Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000 (US$58,000 - 83,300). Photo Tiancheng International

Centring on an oval sapphire weighing 7.10 carats, framed by brilliant-cut diamonds extending to the shoulders, highlighted by two pear-shaped diamonds, the diamonds together weighing approximately 3.10 carats, mounted in platinum. Ring size: 6. 

Accompanied by GRS report numbered GRS2013-120903, dated 17 December 2013, stating that the 7.10 carat sapphire is natural, Vivid Blue (GRS type "Royal Blue") colour, of Burmese origin, with no indication of thermal treatment;

Gübelin report numbered 13067134, dated 22 June 2013, stating that the 7.10 carat sapphire is natural, Blue colour, of Burmese origin, with no indications of heating; with condition, stating that 'Sapphires which have not been heated are scarce'.

Tiancheng International. MID-SEASON AUCTION, Jewellery and Jadeite, 2 Oct 2017 · 1 pm

Lot 822. A pair of blue-glazed bowls, Qianlong seal marks and period (1736-1795). Diameter 7 3/4  in., 19.7 cm. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 USD. Lot sold 4,375 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

each with steep rounded walls rising to a flared mouth, the exterior glazed a deep blue and the interior and base white, the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue, stands (4).

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 16 Sep 2017