Lot 14. A pair of turquoise-glazed vases, Kangxi period (1662-1722), 8⅜ in. (21.5 cm.) high. Estimate: USD 1,500 - 2,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Lot 41. A molded Qingbai bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), 7⅜ in. (18.7 cm.) diam. Estimate: USD 4,000 - 6,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Lot 42. A small green, yellow and cream-glazed pottery dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234), 5 in. (12.7 cm.) diam. Estimate: USD 2,000 - 4,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Lot 52. A small wucai jar and an enameled and underglaze-blue-decorated molded bowl, Ming-Early Qing dynasty, 16th-17th century. Estimate: USD 500 - 800 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Lot 39. A small Longquan celadon 'Twin Fish' dish, Song dynasty (960-1279), 5¼ in. (13.4 cm.) diam. Estimate: USD 2,000 - 3,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Lot 1862. Spectacular Colombian Emerald and Diamond Parure, Van Cleef & Arpels. Estimate 16,000,000 — 24,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Comprising: a necklace, the front suspending an oval emerald weighing approximately 24.32 carats, to the necklace set with oval and step-cut emeralds weighing approximately 30.56 carats in total, embellished with circular-cut, pear and marquise-shaped diamonds; pair of similarly set pendent earrings, each set with three step-cut emeralds weighing approximately 18.93 carats in total; and a ring, set with a step-cut emerald weighing approximately 10.31 carats, flanked by two trilliant-cut diamonds; the diamonds weighing approximately 133.96 carats in total, mounted in platinum, white and yellow gold, pendant, earrings and ring signed Van Cleef & Arpels, necklace signed VCA and numbered, necklace and earrings with Van Cleef & Arpels maker's marks, pendant detachable and can be worn as clip brooch, necklace can be detached into three sections to shorten and worn as a bracelet, earrings detachable, necklace lengths approximately 440mm and 390mm, bracelet length approximately 180mm, earrings with post and hinged back fittings. Ring size: 7   (3)

Lot 1696. Fine Pair of 12.30 and 11.68 carats Colombian Emerald and Diamond Pendent Earrings. Estimate 15,000,000 — 20,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Each set with a hexagonal-shaped emerald weighing 12.30 and 11.68 carats respectively, flanked by two half-moon-shaped diamonds, to the marquise-shaped diamond top and circular-cut diamond details, the diamonds stated to weigh approximately 5.87 carats in total, mounted in 18 karat white gold, post and butterfly fittings.

Accompanied by SSEF, Gübelin and AGL reports numbered 87406, 17087046 / 1 and 2 and 8086577 dated 29 August 2016, 23 August, 2017 and 14 August 2017 respectively, stating that the 12.30 and 11.68 carat emeralds are natural, of Colombian origin, with no indications of treatment, further accompanied by AGL Gem Folio stating that the emeralds are Classic™ Colombian; also accompanied by an SSEF appendix letter stating that 'the combination of their attractive green colour and fine purity make them an outstandingly matching pair of emeralds' and that 'assembling such a matching pair of Colombian emeralds of this quality is very rare and exceptional'.

urther accompanied by two GIA dossiers stating that the 0.82 and 0.80 carat diamonds are D and F Colour respectively, both VVS1 Clarity. Also accompanied by a gemmological report.

Lot 1750. Exquisite 8.49 carats Burmese  Ruby and Diamond Ring, JAR. Estimate 13,000,000 — 15,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with an oval ruby weighing 8.49 carats, to the single-cut diamond gallery and hoop, mounted in platinum, signed JAR Paris, with French assay and maker's marks. Ring size: 5¾, case stamped JAR Paris.

Lot 1845. Important 29.87 carats Burmese  Sapphire and Diamond Ring, Bulgari. Estimate 10,500,000 — 15,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with an oval sapphire weighing 29.87 carats, flanked by two shield-shaped diamonds weighing approximately 1.20 carats in total, mounted in platinum, signed Bulgari. Ring size: 5¼.

Lot 1860. Very Rare and Exquisite Art Deco Gem Set and Diamond Bracelet, 'Tutti-Frutti', Cartier. Estimate 10,500,000 — 14,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Designed as a row of articulated branches set with circular- and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 3.00 carats in total, decorated with cabochon and carved ruby, sapphire and emerald leaves and fruits, mounted in white gold and platinum, signed Cartier and numbered, circa 1928, length approximately 170mm, case stamped Cartier.

Lot 1682. Rare 12.67 carats Brazilian Paraíba Tourmaline and Diamond Ring. Estimate 8,750,000 — 11,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Set with a cushion-shaped Paraíba tourmaline weighing 12.67 carats, flanked to each side by a pear-shaped and circular-cut diamond butterfly motif embellished with a pear-shaped Paraíba tourmaline, the diamonds weighing approximately 2.00 carats in total, mounted in platinum. Ring size: 6½.

Accompanied by AGL report numbered 1084968, dated 19 June 2017, stating that the Paraíba tourmaline is natural, of Classic™ Brazilian origin, with no clarity enhancement; also accompanied by Gübelin report stating that the Paraíba tourmaline is natural, of Brazilian origin. Further accompanied by a Jewel Folio by AGL, and a gemmological report from GIA. 

Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite, Hong Kong, 03 oct. 2017, 01:30 PM

Lot 1686. Fine Pair of Unmounted 6.26 and 6.19 carats Type IIa Diamonds. Estimate 8,000,000 — 10,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 1631. Important Jadeite and Diamond Ring. Estimate 8,000,000 — 10,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 1697. Impressive Pair of 10.92 and 10.07 carats Diamond Earrings. Estimate 7,000,000 — 9,000,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 in Paris, shows the treasure of Huê, colonial warfare of French troops to the expenses of the empire Annam, which gathers 62 gold bullion, 86 gold medals and 4 silver bars inside the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint)  ahead of the re-opening of the museum. 

PARIS.- After 6 years of work, the transformation works at the Parisian site of Monnaie de Paris concluded to give birth to 11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris. Completely renovated, Monnaie de Paris reveals its ambitious project and invites visitors to discover a museum dedicated to the theme of minting, artisan crafts, but also dedicate to exceptional heritage collections. 

Since 1775, the Parisian site of Monnaie de Paris site has been established at 11 Quai de Conti in the heart of the 6th arrondissement. Taking the name of its historic location, the Monnaie de Paris opens 11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris. 

The site thus becomes a new and welcoming living space that is open to the city, offering new cultural options. 

A new circuit: the 11 Conti Museum allows visitors to discover the artisan workshops where nearly 150 craftsmen work, as well as the heritage collections, the hidden treasures of Monnaie de Paris. This permanent circuit echoes the temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, which are held several times a year. 

A new commercial offer also showcases the artistic productions and the excellence of our craftsmanship with a new shop for metal arts under the Monnaie de Paris banner. Renowned brands representing the excellence of French know-how, art of living and culture, find their place at the heart of the site. 

11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris also provides an exceptional dining offer by hosting a Guy Savoy’s three-star restaurant since 2015, elected in 2017 as the «best table in the world» by La Liste. This nomination serves to recall the strong history that links Monnaie de Paris with the French tradition. A new café has also been put in place in Cour de la Méridienne to round-off the gastronomic offer. 

11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris is accessible, free of charge, via several streets and offers the public the opportunity to discover this masterpiece of architecture in the heart of Paris. This new circuit allows visitors to wander the site and linger in the inner courtyards that form urban squares. Therefore, 11 Conti - Monnaie de Paris becomes a logical place to cross from one bank of the Seine to the other.

Cour d'honneur© Monnaie de Paris.

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint), shows blank medals before engraving, ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 in Paris, shows a steel stamp representing "la réintegration de l'évêque" ("The reintegration of the bishop") at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint), shows ancient coins representing French King Henri III (R) and "Anne de Bretagne and the Dauphin birth" (C), ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 in Paris, shows a steel stamp representing French King Henry III inside the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 in Paris, shows a silver coin on a gold bracelet inside the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 in Paris, shows a press inside the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint), shows a part of the Slot Ter Hooge treasure, coming from a Dutch vessel that drowned in 1724 off Madeira island, ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A picture taken on September 21, 2017 at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint), shows a clay preparation of an iconic design by French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier (L) and a Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, and its plaster mould, ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

A craftman engraves a platinum used as a mould for a medal at the Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) on September 21, 2017 in Paris, ahead of the re-opening of the museum. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP

Three prospectors in Australia uncovered this “rock star” treasure in 2010 using a metal detector.

DALLAS, TX.- It’s back!! One of the world’s most famous gold nuggets has returned to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. The Ausrox Gold Nugget, a true rock star in the gem and mineral world, was on loan as part of the original collection that debuted in the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall when the Museum opened to the public in December 2012. In 2015, the precious mineral headed south to the Houston Museum of Natural Science but is now back in all its glittering glory. 

Incredibly, this treasure, found in the Eastern Goldfield of Australia, was discovered by three prospectors using a hand-held metal detector. 

“This is the remarkable story of three miners who, back in 2010, were in the wilderness of Australia armed with just a metal detector and a small tractor. Imagine their shock coming upon a piece of gold about the size of a basketball and weighing over 50 pounds – and then later learning that it was among the largest in the world,” said a spokesperson for The Pinnacle Collection, which owns the nugget. “This discovery is a terrific illustration of the important scientific contributions made by amateur collectors and every day citizens. We are thrilled to share this remarkable specimen with guests at the Perot Museum.” 

Tipping the scales at 23.27 kilos or 51.29 pounds, the Ausrox Nugget is regarded as the third-largest gold nugget still in existence. While the bullion value of the nugget is already substantial, the size and rarity of the Ausrox Nugget combine to make its worth invaluable in the collector market. 

“From the days of the ancient Egyptians and the California gold rush, to our modern-day financial markets, gold has retained its value, power, beauty and mystique,” said Dr. Linda Abraham-Silver, the Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum. “We’re delighted to welcome the Ausrox back to Dallas and encourage everyone to experience this rare and priceless specimen".

Lot 3301. An extremely fine and rare blue and white 'Bajixiang' bowl and cover, Marks and period of Xuande (1426-1435); overall h. 10.7 cm, 4 1/4  in.; d. 17.8 cm, 7 in. Estimate 35,000,000 — 55,000,000 HKD (3,791,711 - 5,958,403 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

superbly potted with deep angled sides moulded with two raised fillets towards the lower body, rising from a short tapering foot to a flared rim, the exterior finely painted with the bajixiang emblems resting on stylised lotus blooms wreathed by curling stems issuing leaves, above a garland of trefoil foliate motifs, all divided by line borders, the domed cover similarly decorated with the bajixiang enclosed within lotus wreath, below radiating lappets encircling a raised circular finial, covered overall in an unctuous transparent glaze, the underside of the cover and interior of the bowl inscribed with a six-character mark within a double circle.

Provenance: Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th November 1980, lot 5.
Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999). 
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1987, lot 231.

Literature: Sotheby's Hong Kong – Twenty Years 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 79.
Sotheby’s: Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 231.

Preparing Wine for the Xuande Emperor
Regina Krahl

With its distinct form, Buddhist design and impeccable quality, this covered bowl is a model piece of Xuande (1426-1435) imperial porcelain and appears to have no companion piece besides examples from the Qing imperial collection, now held in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Outside the palace collections in Taipei and Beijing, only four other bowls of this form appear to be preserved worldwide complete with their covers, only one of them remaining in a private collection, none of the present pattern.

Bowls of this form, which is in every way exceptional, occupy an important place in the repertoire of early Ming (1368-1644) porcelains. Bowls with matching covers were rare throughout China’s history and were clearly conceived for a distinct purpose. What is particularly remarkable about this model is that both bowl and cover bear reign marks, and that the marks are prominently placed in the centre of the otherwise plain insides, thus immediately catching the eye, when the cover is lifted. A similar placement is otherwise known only from stem bowls and cups, and one may wonder whether use in a ritual context may be the reason for this.

The Buddhist connotation of the lotus-and-emblem design on this bowl would support such usage. The Xuande Emperor, although himself a diligent Confucian ruler, at the same time continued the patronage of Buddhist causes that had been a strong feature of his grandfather’s reign, the Yongle period (1403-1424), when Tibetan clerics played an important role at the court and Tibetan Buddhist imagery found entry into various areas of the material culture. Buddhist monasteries and temples were constructed or renovated to imperial order, including the Da Baoensi in Nanjing with its porcelain pagoda, begun by the Yongle and completed for the Xuande Emperor under supervision of the eunuch admiral Zheng He, who had undertaken gigantic sea voyages for both rulers. Gilt-bronze Buddhist sculptures were cast in the imperial workshops, inscribed with the mark of the current reign, noting imperial bestowal; Buddhist sutras were imperially commissioned, lavishly written in gold on indigo paper or printed with complex woodblock illustrations; and items for use in Buddhist ceremonies were specially crafted by imperial textile, porcelain and other workshops, to provide imperial donations to Buddhist monasteries or for use in the places of worship inside the Forbidden City.

Formal lotus scrolls with blooms supporting the Eight Buddhist Emblems were one of the classic patterns decorating objects with Buddhist connotations since the Yongle period, when the motif can be seen, for example, on cloisonné mandala bases, gold-engraved lacquer sutra covers, embroidered silk streamers, etc. (Defining Yongle. Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005, catalogue pls 9, 22 and 34). On porcelains it appeared only in the Xuande period, when blue-and-white began to be used in a Buddhist context and largely replaced the monochrome white Buddhist ritual vessels of the Yongle reign; besides these covered bowls we find it, for example, on thick-walled bowls, bowls on a tall foot, stem cups, large dishes and jars (Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. nos 44, 93, 116, and 184; and The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 1, pl. 107).

The elegant profile of the present model, with the rims of both parts meeting in a harmonious outward flaring curve, is superbly calibrated, and a precise fit of bowl and cover required expert craftsmanship. With its angular edge above the foot and the double raised ribs just above that, the shape would seem to be based on a metal prototype. The reason that metal prototypes are difficult to find, may be that they were made of gold or silver and have long been melted down. In China this shape is known as he wan, variously written with two different he characters to signify either a closed bowl or a bowl for preparing food or drink.

A covered bowl of similar outline, probably made of gold, can be seen on a table laid with wine vessels in the handscroll Emperor Xuanzong at Leisure from the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, which depicts the Xuande Emperor watching performances of various games and taking part in some of them himself (fig. 1); see Classics of the Forbidden City: Splendors from the Yongle and Xuande Reigns of China's Ming Dynasty, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 92, and the exhibition catalogue Ming. Fifty Years that Changed China, The British Museum, London, 2014, fig. 127, pp. 144-7; the table itself is also reproduced in a line drawing in Jingdezhen chutu Ming Xuande guanyao ciqi/Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1998, p. 160, together with another table from that painting laid with food vessels. Jessica Harrison-Hall states that such bowls are believed to have been used for mixing alcohol (Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 131). The table in the painting shows besides the covered bowl one large and two somewhat smaller golden wine jars and covers on red lacquer stands, a gold wine ewer, gold bottle, and a gold cup and cup stand, all placed in front of a table screen depicting a misty landscape.

Emperor Xuanzong at Leisure, Ming dynasty, handscroll, ink and colours on silk (detail)© Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

According to the inventory of porcelains in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Gugong ciqi lu [Record of porcelains from the Old Palace], Taipei, 1961-6, vol. 2, part 1, pp. 119-22, the museum possesses twenty-seven blue-and-white covered bowls of this form, thirteen of them of the present design with lotus scrolls and Buddhist emblems, with minor variations in their measurements; one of these companion bowls was included in the Museum’s Xuande exhibition, op.cit., 1998, cat. no. 52 (fig. 2), together with other blue-and-white covered bowls of this form decorated with lotus scrolls only, with ‘Indian lotus’ (or stylized pomegranate) scrolls, and with detached flower sprays, cat. nos 50, 51 and 53, as well as a blue-and-white bowl without cover painted with dragons, cat. no. 54, and two covered dragon-decorated bowls painted in underglaze blue and overglaze or underglaze red, respectively, cat. nos 55 and 56. While none of these featured in the Museum’s earlier Xuande exhibition, Ming Xuande ciqi tezhan mulu/Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Hsuan-te Period Porcelain, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1980, a later non-imperial copy based on this design, with spurious Xuande mark, was included, cat. no. 50.

Only one bowl and cover of this form, decorated with lotus scrolls but lacking the emblems, appears to be remaining in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, from the Qing (1644-1911) court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures, op.cit. pl. 157 (fig. 3), together with two such bowls without cover, with dragons and with flower sprays, pls 155 and 156; the latter two illustrated again, together with a third bowl without cover, decorated with ‘Indian lotus’, in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue-and-white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pls 151-3.

Blue and white ‘lotus’ bowl and cover, marks and period of Xuande, Qing court collection, © Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.  

Apart from these bowls from the two palace collections, only four examples with cover appear to be preserved worldwide: one decorated with dragons, from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, is illustrated in Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Chinese Ceramics. Highlights from the Sir Percival David Collection, London, 2009, pl. 30, together with two bowls of this form without covers, one with underglaze-red, the other with overglaze-red dragons; another covered bowl in the British Museum is painted with lotus scrolls only, the bowl having been purchased without a cover, and a matching cover later donated by Oscar Raphael, see Jessica Harrison-Hall, op.cit., 2001, no. 4:19; another lotus-decorated example, apparently unpublished, is in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, acquisition number B69P18L.a-b; and one other dragon-decorated bowl from the collection of Mr and Mrs R.H.R. Palmer, now in the Au Bak Ling collection, included in several exhibitions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, e.g. The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, cat. no. 123, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 568 (fig. 4).

Box-bowl and cover, Ming dynasty, Xuande marks and period, AD1426–35. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height: 103 millimetres, Diameter: 175 millimetres. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.684 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain bowl with domed cover. There are two five-clawed dragons among clouds in underglaze cobalt blue on the sides and on the lid. There are marks inside the lid and the bowl. 

The shape of this bowl with its angular profile and slightly domed cover was invented in the Xuande era and is called a 盒碗 (hewan ‘box bowl’). Porcelain decorators painted it with a dragon on both sides chasing a flaming pearl among clouds using underglaze cobalt-blue. The bowl is marked inside with a six-character Xuande reign mark in a double ring which is repeated inside the cover. 

Box-bowl with iron-red dragons, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD1426–35. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue with overglaze iron-red, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height: 75 millimetres, Diameter: 173 millimetres.  Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.A778 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain bowl. Decorated with underglaze blue and overglaze iron red enamel. Two five-clawed dragons in red enamel around sides, among blue clouds. Band of turbulent blue waves around base. There is a mark on the base.

The shape of this bowl with its angular profile was invented in the Xuande era and is called a 盒碗 (hewan ‘box bowl’). Porcelain decorators painted it with a dragon on both sides chasing a flaming pearl among clouds using overglaze iron-red. Potters in the early fifteenth century very rarely used iron-red which required a second firing. Originally the bowl would have had a matching shallow slightly domed cover and looked like a box. The bowl is marked inside with a six-character Xuande reign mark in a double ring.

Box-bowl with iron-red dragons, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD1426–35. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue with overglaze iron-red, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Height: 75 millimetres, Diameter: 173 millimetres.  Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.A678 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain covered bowl with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD1426–35. Diameter: 17.5 centimetres (at rim), Height: 10.3 centimetres (with cover). 1930,0421.2. © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum.

This covered bowl has a slightly angular profile with an everted rim, and a sharply cut-away bottom to the broad foot ring. Two raised ridges encircle the lower half of the body. Outside the bowl is decorated with a formalized lotus scroll with lappets around the bowl above the foot ring. Both cover (BM 1939.0516.1) and bowl are marked inside with six-character underglaze blue Xuande reign marks in a double ring.

The bowl is married to a a cover (BM 1939.0516.1) and, although acquired at different times, are quite well matched. Porcelain covered bowls are an innovation of the Xuande period. At the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen they were made with varied decoration. Examples with underglaze red, underglaze blue with underglaze red, underglaze blue with overglaze iron-red and red glazed examples have been excavated to date. A covered bowl identical to the present example is in the collections of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Another covered bowl of this type is in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Such bowls are believed to have been used for mixing alcohol.

Blue and white ‘dragon’ bowl and cover, marks and period of Xuande, Collection of Au Bak Ling, formerly collection of Mr and Mrs R.H.R. Palmer, Christie’s Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 568.

A bowl of the same form and design as the present example but lacking a cover was also reconstructed from sherds discovered at the Ming imperial kiln site at Jingdezhen, and included in the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming Xuande guanyao ciqi/Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 18. Two further bowls of this design without cover are preserved in China, in the National Museum of China, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu/Studies on the Collections of the National Museum of China. Ciqi juan: Mingdai [Porcelain section: Ming dynasty], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 41; and in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan zangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections: A Series of Monographs. Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 4-19.

Besides the present and the Palmer bowl, only two bowls of this form were ever offered at auction, both without covers: a bowl of the same design as the present piece, in our New York rooms, 4th December 1985, lot 233; and one with detached flower scrolls in these rooms, 24th November 1981, lot 84.

Like all remarkable designs of the Song (960-1279) and Ming periods, these bowls found their echo in the Yongzheng era (1723-1735), when the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen revived the shape, albeit with a more prominent knob in the form of a chicken, see Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, figs 414 and 429.

This bowl belonged to two of the most important Asian collectors of Chinese art in the twentieth century, Edward T. Chow (fig. 5) and T.Y. Chao (fig. 6), and figured in two of the most memorable sales in Hong Kong, which have made auction history. Edward T. Chow (1910-1980), one of the most renowned dealers and collectors of Chinese art, began at an early age to work in this field and to assemble his collection, first in Shanghai, later in Hong Kong, and eventually in Switzerland. His expert knowledge of Chinese art, his high aesthetic standards and his relentless demand for quality made him one of the favourite addresses for the major collectors of the time, such as Sir Percival David, King Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Eiichi Ataka, J.M. Hu, or Barbara Hutton, many of whom he managed to advise and as such to play an important role in the formation of collections, as for example, the Meiyintang collection. The sale of his own collection in three parts at Sotheby’s Hong Kong and London in 1980 and 1981 created a splash in the art world and heralded an explosion of prices in this field. The Edward T. Chow collection remains one of the most coveted provenances for a piece of Chinese art.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (workshop) (1606-1669): Willem Burchgraeff (detail) , 1633 , picture gallery of the Old Masters, Dresden State Art Collections, photo © bpk, Dresden State Art Collections, photo: Hans-Peter Klut.

HAMBURG.- The Bucerius Kunst Forum presents from 23 September 2017 to 7 January 2018 the first large-scale exhibition devoted to the birth of the art market in the Golden Age of the Netherlands. Tracing the careers of artists such as Rembrandt, Ruisdael, van Goyen and many others, the exhibition explores how the transformation of Dutch society during the seventeenth century brought forth a new art market, with artworks tailored to its demands. Artists, art dealers and their workshops had to keep pace with the evolving market situation, leading to art prices ranging from just a few Dutch guilders to astronomical sums. The Birth of the Art Market: Rembrandt, Ruisdael, van Goyen and the Artists of the Dutch Golden Age is the first exhibition curated by Prof. Dr. Franz Wilhelm Kaiser in his new role as artistic director of the Bucerius Kunst Forum. 

Trading in art is a way of engaging in the debate about art’s status in society and is thus an essential prerequisite for its existence. Discussions about art took place on the art market long before the first museums were founded. And the birthplace of this market was the Netherlands during what is known as its Golden Age. Although art was already bought and sold on the open market in the sixteenth century, for example at Antwerp’s market for luxury goods, no distinction was usually made between fine art and crafts. The special status attributed to painting as opposed to craftsmanship is characteristic of the modern concept of art, whose origins reach back to the Renaissance but which only really took hold in the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, this distinction already played a central role in the Dutch Golden Age, even though most painters were still attributed the same status as their artisan colleagues. Many were even organized into guilds, which did not differentiate in any way between fine-arts painters and house painters, as both worked with a brush. 

Lot 1225. A glazed wine cup with cut-out decoration, yuyan shuwu four-character hallmark in underglaze blue within a double square, Yongzheng-Qianlong period (1723-1795), 2 ¾ in. (7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. Price realised USD 81,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The finely potted cup is decorated with a delicate cut-out band of flower sprays and covered inside and out with a clear glaze that fills in the cut-out design and ends in a neat line above the foot. 

Property from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, New York.

Note: A larger bowl with closely related decoration, but with a Qianlong mark, is in the Palace Museum Collection and illustrated in Selected Porcelains of the Flourishing Qing Dynasty at the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1994, p. 362, pl. 99. Compare, also, a similarly decorated bowl and cover, previously in the Mary Clark Thompson (1835-1923) Collection, sold at Collected in America: Chinese Ceramics from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Christie's New York, 15 September 2016, lot 966.

A rare glazed bowl and cover with cut-out decoration, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), previously in the Mary Clark Thompson (1835-1923) Collection, sold for USD 197,000 at Collected in America: Chinese Ceramics from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Christie's New York, 15 September 2016, lot 966. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Cf. my post: A rare glazed bowl and cover with cut-out decoration, Qianlong six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period

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

Lot 1227. A rare incised green-glazed bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735), 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 25,000. Price realised USD 81,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The exterior is finely incised with a dense, continuous flower meander and covered with a lustrous, bright green glaze that also covers interior.  

Property from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, New York.

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