Lot 515. A Fine 10.49 carats Burmese Sapphire and Diamond Ring. Estimate HK$ 1,500,000 - 1,800,000 (€160,000 - 200,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 520. A Highly Translucent Intense Emerald Green Jadeite and Diamond Pendant. Estimate HK$ 550,000 - 650,000 (€60,000 - 71,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 531. A Cultured Pearl and Diamond Choker and Earclip Suite, by Van Cleef and Arpels, Circa 1990. Estimate HK$ 700,000 - 900,000 (€76,000 - 98,000). Photo: Bonhams.

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announces the first highlights from the collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller to be unveiled in Hong Kong on November 24, which marks the start of a global tour of collection highlights presented by private aviation company VistaJet. The collection will be offered for sale at Christie’s Rockefeller Center Galleries in New York in the Spring of 2018. The collection sale will be the most significant philanthropic auction ever presented, with all the Estate sale proceeds destined to benefit selected charities. The first highlights include masterpieces of Impressionist and Modern Art, including a Rose Period Picasso selected by Peggy and David Rockefeller from Gertrude Stein’s collection (estimate in the region of $70 million), Claude Monet’s Nymphéas en fleur, painted circa 1914-1917 (estimate in the region of $35 million), and a sumptuous 1923 reclining nude by Matisse that is poised to reset the artist’s record high price at auction (estimate in the region of $50 million). 

The Hong Kong exhibition (November 24-27) will be followed by global tours to Christie’s flagship locations in London, Los Angeles and New York, revealing new facets of this multi-category collection with each stop.  A robust program of client events including art forums and lecture series will coincide with public exhibitions at each location.

For the first Hong Kong highlights exhibition, Christie’s has selected paintings, furniture and works of art that reflect the Rockefeller family’s wide ranging interests and intellectual pursuits. Gathered over a lifetime and inherited from previous generations, the Collection reflects the Rockefeller family’s deep, life-long passion for Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modern works of art, American paintings, English and European furniture, Asian works of art, European ceramics and Chinese export porcelain, silver, and American decorative arts and furniture, among other categories. The Hong Kong exhibition features significant works by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Juan Gris, Paul Signac, Edouard Manet, Paul Gauguin, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Edward Hopper, among others.

Marc Porter, Christie’s Chairman, Americas, remarks: “We are delighted to share this first exhibition which is designed to re-introduce these masterpieces to the world after generations of care and stewardship by the Rockefeller family. Our decision to begin the tour in Asia is in keeping with the Rockefeller family’s long commitment and philanthropic ties to the region, dating to John D. Rockefeller, Sr.’s first charitable gift to China in 1863. We look forward to sharing additional highlights of the collection as we proceed with the tour, leading to sales in New York next spring on behalf of the selected charities.”

The spring sales series in New York includes live and online sales. The online sales, which will run concurrently with the live auctions, will offer a selection of accessibly priced objects with estimates starting at $200. Reflecting motifs that run throughout the collection, the online sales will be themed to include Dining; Birds; Bugs and Beasts; Japan; Porcelain: Figurines and Serviceware; At Home: Town; At Home: Country and Jewels.

The sales will be conducted in keeping with David Rockefeller’s pledge to direct the majority of his wealth to philanthropy and provide for the cultural, educational, medical, and environmental causes long supported by both David and Peggy Rockefeller. All the Estate proceeds will be donated to Peggy and David Rockefeller’s charities of choice, directly benefiting the philanthropic missions that have been maintained by the family for decades.

Impressionist & Modern Art Highlights

A Rose Period masterpiece, executed in 1905, Fillette à la corbeille fleurie is a highlight of the collection (estimate in the region of $70 million). Rich in pathos in its depiction of bohemian life at the turn of the 20th century, this rare work is a technical tour de force of draftsmanship and atmosphere. The painting maintains a storied provenance; it was acquired in 1905 by brother and sister, Leo and Gertrude Stein, and passed to Alice B. Toklas upon Gertrude’s death in 1946, where it remained throughout Alice’s lifetime for another 21 years. In 1968, David Rockefeller formed a group of important art collectors to acquire the renowned collection of Gertrude Stein. Drawing slips of numbered paper from a felt hat, David Rockefeller drew the first pick in the syndicate, and he and Peggy were able to acquire their first choice of the Young Girl with a Flower Basket, and placed it in the library of their 65th Street New York townhouse.

Pablo Picasso, Fillette à la corbeille fleurie, oil on canvas, 60.7/8 x 26 in. (154.8 x 66.1 cm). Painted in 1905. Estimate in the region of $70 million. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

The most important work by Henri Matisse to be offered on the market in a generation is Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, painted in Nice in 1923 (estimate in the region of $50 million). The subject of the odalisque, the reclining female figure, held special significance for Matisse as it presented the opportunity to measure his art against past masters. Odalisque couchée aux magnolias, with its symphonic synthesis of pattern and form, has long been counted among the greatest of Matisse’s paintings in private hands. This sumptuous painting resided in the living room of Peggy and David’s Hudson Pines home. Odalisque couchée aux magnolias is also the highest estimated work by Matisse to ever be offered at auction.

Henri Matisse, Odalisque couchée aux magnolias. Signed ‘Henri - Matisse’ (lower right). Oil on canvas, 23.3/4 x 31.7/8 in. (60.5 x 81.1 cm.). Painted in Nice, 1923. Estimate in the region of $50 million. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

Asian Art Highlights

Leading the Chinese works of art from the collection is a magnificent gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus made in the Imperial workshops by order of the Kangxi Emperor (reigned 1662-1722) (estimate: $400,000-600,000). In Chinese Buddhism, Amitayus is revered as the god of long-life, and it is likely this bronze was commissioned as a birthday gift for a member of the Imperial family. The Kangxi Emperor was a devout Buddhist, especially later in his life, and lavished patronage on Buddhist institutions. The substantial size and weight of this sculpture, and the fact that it was one of a celebrated group of such figures, means that a significant amount of material, both bronze and gold, was used in its creation.

An Imperial gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus, China, Kangxi Period (1662-1722). 16½ in (41.9 cm) high. Estimate $400,000-600,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

Another important Chinese work is an Imperial blue and white ‘dragon’ bowl, Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1426-1435) (estimate: $100,000-150,000). Two exuberantly painted five-clawed dragons, symbols of Imperial authority, writhe around the sides of the bowl in pursuit of flaming pearls, while a third dragon appears within a circular medallion on the interior. Close inspection of the interior sides of the bowl reveals additional dragons rendered in a special technique known as anhua (‘hidden decoration’). Combining superb painting and well-balanced composition, the blue and white porcelains produced during the reign of the Xuande Emperor are considered amongst the finest porcelains ever produced. An almost identical bowl, but with a cloud motif on the interior rather than a dragon, resides in the National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Decorative Art Highlights

The selection of pieces from the Sèvres porcelain ‘Marly Rouge’ dessert service made for Emperor Napoleon I of France are among the works in the collection with important provenance (estimate: $150,000-250,000). Described in the factory’s records as à fond rouge, papillons et fleurs (red ground with butterflies and flowers), this dessert service was originally ordered by Napoleon for the palace in Compiègne.  However, records show its delivery on 7, 8 and 18 October 1809 to the palace of Fontainbleau. It was to Fontainbleau that Napoleon retreated for a respite after the grueling negotiations of the Treaty of Vienna, the signing of which at Schönbrunn Palace on 14 October 1809 ended hostilities between France and Austria.  During this month-long stay outside Paris at his favorite country retreat, Napoleon broke the news to his empress, Josephine de Beauharnais, that he was divorcing her, as she had been unable to give him a son. Despite or perhaps because of its association with Josephine, the ‘Marly Rouge’ service, was part of the household effects Napoleon brought with him into exile on the island of Elba only five years later. Today, only one dolphin-footed compote and six plates remain at Fontainbleau, all recent acquisitions.  Although plates have appeared on the art market in recent years, the portion of the service to be offered in the Rockefeller collection includes important pieces of form from the original delivery not seen on the art market since Abby Aldrich Rockefeller acquired the part-service over seventy-five years ago.

Several generations of the Rockefeller family collected Chinese export porcelain with this richly enameled decoration, which came to be known as ‘Rockefeller pattern’. Each piece in the pattern is carefully painted with a beautifully detailed and completely unique Chinese scene contained within sepia and gilt patterned borders.  It was the most elaborate pattern made in the last great era of the China Trade, produced as just a few enormous dinner services for the most important China Traders of the day.  John D. Rockefeller, Jr (1874-1960) and his wife Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller (1874-1948), were great lovers of Chinese porcelain and owned a large service in the pattern. Their sons Nelson and David both continued to enjoy the ‘Rockefeller’ porcelain; David and Peggy Rockefeller acquired additional pieces to add to it, and used it for large dinner parties in their Manhattan townhouse.

Selections from a Chinese export dinner service in The ‘Rockefeller pattern’, circa 1805. A pair of fruit coolers, covers and liners (6 pieces). 11½ inches (29.2 cm) high. Estimate $100,000-150,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2017.

 Lot 8010. An exceptional and rare red and yellow-enamelled ‘Dragon’ jar , Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566). 5 3/4 in. (13.7 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 4,000,000 - HKD 6,000,000 (USD 514,314 - USD 771,470). © Christies Images Ltd 2017

The jar is decorated with a pair of five-clawed dragons striding amidlingzhi sprays above a band of waves crashing against rocks, all brightly enamelled in iron red on a yellow ground with the outlines and details picked out in black, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: The Manno Art Museum, no. 388
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, One Man’s Vision, Important Chinese
Art from The Manno Art Museum, 28 October 2002, lot 540

Literature: Selected Masterpieces of the Manno Collection, Japan, 1988, no. 117

Note: The red and yellow combination is a distinctive colour scheme of the Jiajing period. The result required three firings: first at around 1300 °C for clear-glazed porcelain, then at a lower temperature for the yellow overglaze enamel, and finally at a still lower temperature for the black outlines and the iron-red background. The process was laborious and required meticulous attention to details, contributing to the high failure rate and thus the rarity of these jars.

Jars with the same design and comparable size, ranging from 12.7 cm. to 15.2 cm. high, are found in museums and private collections worldwide, see, for example, a jar in the Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara, illustrated in Mayuyama: Seventy Years no. 834; another in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society Exhibition, Iron in the Fire, 1988, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 64; a covered jar in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by D. Lion-Goldschmidt, Ming Porcelain, Fribourg, 1978, no. 144; one formerly from the Avery Brundage Collection now in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Study, New York, 1996, p. 239, no. 483; one from the British Rail Road Pension Fund, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, no. 28; and one from the Meiyintang Collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 66.

Jar with dragons amid clouds, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with overglaze multicolor decoration. H. 5 1/2 in x Diam. 5 1/4 in, H. 14 cm x Diam. 13.3 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P1523 © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

A yellow and red 'Dragon' jar, mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566), from the Meiyintang Collection. 13.5 cm., 5 3/8 in. Sold for 2,420,000 HKD at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 66. Photo Sotheby's.

Compare also to two similar jars of smaller size with a more globular proportion, one is illustrated in Mayuyama: Seventy Years, no. 833, which has a serrated design on the neck, and another in the National Museum of China, illustrated in Zhongguo Guojia Bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu congshu: ciqi juan (Mingdai), Shanghai, 2007, p. 159, no. 85, together with a larger example (13.5 cm.) of the same colour scheme but with lotus scrolls and emblems, no. 86.

Lot 539. A highly translucent intense emerald green jadeite and diamond bracelet. Estimate HK$ 280,000 - 360,000 (€31,000 - 39,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The bracelet composed of numerous highly translucent jadeite 'huaigu' of intense emerald green colour, accented by rose and brilliant-cut diamonds, length 17.0cm

Accompanied by a Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory report stating that the natural colour fei cui (jadeite jade) has no resin detected. Report number SJ 158417, dated 13 October 2017.

Bonhams. RARE JEWELS & JADEITE, 26 Nov 2017, 14:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY 

Lot 540. A highly translucent intense emerald green Jadeite and diamond bracelet. Estimate HK$ 600,000 - 700,000 (€65,000 - 76,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The five highly translucent jadeite cabochons of intense emerald green colour, accented by brilliant-cut diamonds, spaced by similarly cut diamonds of yellow tint, diamonds approximately 2.60 carats total, the selected jadeite measuring 12.1 x 8.8 x 4.2mm, length 16.7cm

Accompanied by a Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory report stating that the selected natural colour fei cui (jadeite jade) has no resin detected. Report number SJ 156660, dated 6 September 2017.

Bonhams. RARE JEWELS & JADEITE, 26 Nov 2017, 14:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY 

Lot 545. An Extremely Rare 9.15 carats Ceylon Blue Spinel and Diamond Ring, Circa 1950. Estimate HK$ 200,000 - 300,000 (€22,000 - 33,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The cushion-shaped blue spinel, weighing 9.15 carats, accented by old brilliant and baguette-cut diamonds, ring size 7¼, cased by Garrard & Co Ltd.

Accompanied by a SSEF report stating that the natural spinel has no indications of treatment and originates from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Report number 94742, dated 4 September 2017.

Also accompanied by a premium appendix stating that the natural spinel exhibits a remarkable size, combined with an attractive and saturated blue colour and a fine purity. Its blue colour is due to a combination of well-balanced trace elements, notably iron and traces of cobalt, typical and characteristic for the finest blue spinels of Ceylon. A natural spinel from Ceylon of this size, quality and attractive blue colour is rare and exceptional.  

Note: Until 1783, red and pink spinels were mistaken for rubies because they are chemically similar. Even after fine pink gems were known to be spinels they were still referred to as "balas" or "balais" rubies. The term "balas" derives from an ancient word for Badakhshan, a province north of Afghanistan on the border with Tajikistan, where important spinel specimens were anciently mined. These Kuh-i-Lal ('red mountain') mines were the world's main source of large spinels from the 1st century AD. Marco Polo (c1254–1324) described how "fine and valuable balas rubies" were dug only for the King, who owned the entire supply, which he sent to other kings as tributes or as "friendly presents". 

Mughal emperors and their ancestors, the Timurids, valued large Kuh-i-Lal spinels for their beauty and as protective talismans. The gems were polished rather than cut and were often inscribed with the names of rulers and monarchs as a way of commemoration. The Carew Spinel, in the collection of the V&A in London, is inscribed with the names of Emperors Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Spectacular Mughal spinels which entered Persian, Russian and European royal treasuries include the "Black Prince's Ruby": a large uncut red spinel, it was given to the Black Prince by Pedro the Cruel in 1367, worn by Henry V in his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt and is now set in the Imperial State Crown in the British crown jewels. The 361-carat "Timur Ruby", also in the British crown jewels, was owned by Sultan Sahib Qiran and Ranjit Singh, the "Lion of the Punjab". A huge polished spinel decorates the Imperial Crown of Russia, made for the coronation of Catherine the Great in 1762.  

Rare and exceptional, blue spinel is also known as cobalt spinel, gahnospinel, or sapphire spinel. The prized colour is a combination of well-balanced trace element in the gems crystal structure, typically cobalt and iron. Vivid blue spinel, without steely grey overtones are the most sought after and examples over 5 carats are even considered extremely rare. The best gem-quality blue spinels are discovered in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), also known as the 'Island of Gems' since historic times.  

Lot 545, is a fine example of a rare blue spinel from Sri Lanka. 

Lot 518. A Pair of Translucent  Intense Emerald Green Jadeite and Diamond Pendent Earrings. Estimate HK$ 110,000 - 180,000 (€12,000 - 20,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Each set with a translucent jadeite hoop of intense emerald green hue, suffused with darker green streaks, measuring 16.1 x 11.0 x 8.1mm, suspended from a pear and brilliant-cut diamond surmount, diamonds approximately 2.80 carats total, earring length 4.2cm

Accompanied by a Hong Kong Jade & Stone Laboratory report stating that the selected natural colour fei cui (jadeite jade) has no resin detected. Report number SJ 156446, dated 1 September 2017. 

Bonhams. RARE JEWELS & JADEITE, 26 Nov 2017, 14:00 HKT, HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY 

Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Un Homard, des fruits et fleurs, huile sur toile, 40 x 52,5 cm. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. Photo (C) BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image SKD

Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Feston orné de fruits et de fleurs, huile sur toile, 58 x 52,2 cm. Staatliches Museum, Kunstsammlungen, Schlösser und Gärten, Schwerin. Photo (C) BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Gabriele Bröcker

Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Grappe de fruits (titre moderne), huile sur toile, 34 x 24 cm. Rouen, musée des Beaux-Arts, Inv.931.6.4. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais / Agence Bulloz

Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Bouquet, huile sur toile, 58,8 x 48,8 cm. Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe. Photo (C) BPK, Berlin, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Annette Fischer/ Heike Kohler

Cornelis de Heem (1631-1695), Nature morte, huile sur toile, 40 x 60 cm. Valenciennes, musée des Beaux-Arts (P46-1-119). Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais / René-Gabriel Ojéda / Thierry Le Mage

 Amedeo Modigliani, Nude, 1917. Oil paint on canvas, 890 x 1460 mm. Private Collection.

LONDON.- This autumn, Tate Modern stages the most comprehensive Modigliani exhibition ever held in the UK, bringing together a dazzling range of his iconic portraits, sculptures and the largest ever group of nudes to be shown in this country. Although he died tragically young, Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) was a ground-breaking artist who pushed the boundaries of the art of his time. Including 100 works – many of them rarely exhibited and nearly 40 of which have never before been shown in the UK – the exhibition re-evaluates this familiar figure, looking afresh at the experimentation that shaped his career and made Modigliani one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. 

A section devoted to Modigliani’s nudes, perhaps the best-known and most provocative of the artist’s works, are a major highlight. In these striking canvases Modigliani invented shocking new compositions that modernised figurative painting. His explicit depictions also proved controversial and led to the police censoring his only solo exhibition in his lifetime, at Berthe Weill’s gallery in 1917, on grounds of indecency. This group of 12 nudes is the largest group ever seen in the UK, with paintings including Nude 1917 (Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart) and Reclining Nude c.1919 (Museum of Modern Art, New York). 

Amedeo Modigliani, Seated Nude, 1917. Oil paint on canvas, 1140 x 740 mm, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Lukasart in Flanders. Photo credit: Hugo Maertens

Amedeo Modigliani, Reclining Nude, 1919. Oil on canvas, 724 x 1165 mm, Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Born in Livorno, Italy and working in Paris from 1906, Modigliani’s career was one of continual evolution. The exhibition begins with the artist’s arrival in Paris, exploring the creative environments and elements of popular culture that were central to his life and work. Inspired by the art of Paul Cézanne, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso, Modigliani began to experiment and develop his own distinctive visual language, seen in early canvases such as Bust of a Young Woman 1908 (Lille Métropole Musée d'Art Moderne, Villeneuve-d'Ascq) and The Beggar of Livorno 1909 (Private Collection). His circle included poets, dealers, writers and musicians, many of whom posed for his portraits including Diego Rivera 1914 (Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf), Juan Gris 1915 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) and Jean Cocteau 1916 (The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, Princeton University Art Museum). The exhibition will also reconsider the role of women in Modigliani’s work, including editor and writer Beatrice Hastings, who was not simply the artist’s lover but an important figure in the cultural landscape of the time. 

 Amedeo Modigliani, Juan Gris, 1915. Oil paint on canvas, 549 x 381 mm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Amedeo Modigliani, Beatrice Hastings, 1915. Oil on paper, 400 x 285 mm, Private Collection.

Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota, 1915. Oil paint on card mounted on cradled plywood, 1235 x 925 x 100 mm, Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris. Collection Jean Walter et Paul Guillaume.

Amedeo Modigliani, Self-Portrait as Pierrot, 1915. Oil paint on cardboard, 430 x 270 mm, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen.

Amedeo Modigliani, Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz, 1916. Oil on canvas, 813 x 543 mm, The Art Institute of Chicago.

Modigliani features exceptional examples of the artist’s lesser-known sculpture, bringing together a substantial group of his Heads made before the First World War. Although his interests would soon move on, he spent a short but intense period focusing on carving, influenced by contemporaries and friends including Constantin Brâncuși and Jacob Epstein. Suffering from poor health, Modigliani left Paris in 1918 for an extended period in the South of France. Here he adopted a more Mediterranean colour palette and, instead of his usual metropolitan sitters, he began painting local people, including shopkeepers and children, such as Young Woman of the People 1918 (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Boy with a Blue Jacket 1919 (Indianapolis Museum of Art). 

Amedeo Modigliani, Head, c.1911. Medium Stone, 394 x 311 x 187 mm, Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Lois Orswell© President and Fellows of Harvard College

Amedeo Modigliani, Woman's Head (With Chignon), 1911-12. Sandstone, 572 x 219 x 235 mm, Merzbacher Kunststiftung.

Amedeo Modigliani, Boy in Short Pants, c.1918. Oil paint on canvas, 997 x 648 mm, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Leland Fikes Foundation, Inc. 1977.

Amedeo Modigliani, Marie (Marie, fille du peuple), 1918. Oil paint on canvas, 612 x 498 mm, Kunstmuseum Basel, Bequest Dr. Walther Hanhart, Riehen, 1975.

Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of a Young Woman, 1918. Oil paint on canvas, 457 x 280 mm, Yale University Art Gallery.

Amedeo Modigliani, The Little Peasant, c.1918. Medium Oil paint on canvas, 1000 x 645 mm, Tate, presented by Miss Jenny Blaker in memory of Hugh Blaker 1941.

Amedeo Modigliani, Cagnes Landscape, 1919. Oil paint on canvas, 460 x 290 mm, Private Collection.

The exhibition concludes with some of Modigliani’s best-known depictions of his closest circle. Friends and lovers provided him with much-needed financial and emotional support during his turbulent last years while also serving as models. These included his dealer and close friend Léopold Zborowski and his companion Hanka, as well as Jeanne Hébuterne, the mother of Modigliani’s child and one of the most important women in his life. When Modigliani died in 1920 from tubercular meningitis, Jeanne tragically committed suicide. Tate Modern brings together several searching portraits of her from Modgliani’s final years, on loan from international collections such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, which depict her in a range of guises from young girl to mother. 

Amedeo Modigliani, Jeanne Hébuterne, 1919. Medium Oil paint on canvas, 914 x 730 mm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Amedeo Modigliani, Léopold Zborowski, Anders Osterlind and Nanic Osterlind, Haut-de-Cagnes 1919. Association Anders Osterlind

 Modigliani in his studio, photograph by Paul Guillaume, c.1915©RMN-Grand Palais (musée de l’Orangerie) I Archives Alain Bouret, image Dominique Couto.

Modigliani is curated by Nancy Ireson, Curator of International Art, Tate Modern and Simonetta Fraquelli, Independent Curator, with Emma Lewis, Assistant Curator. Visitors can also enjoy a new integrated virtual reality experience in the heart of the exhibition. The Ochre Atelier: Modigliani VR Experience invites visitors to step into the studio where the artist lived and worked in the final months of his life. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue from Tate Publishing and a series of events in the gallery.

3 November 2017 – 2 April 2018

Lot 306. A carved Ding-type pillow, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234). 24.2 cm, 9 1/2  in. Estimate 80,000 — 100,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of kidney shape, the slightly concave top carved with a fish swimming amongst waterweeds within a double-line border, covered overall in a creamy ivory glaze mottled in brown.

Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family.

Lot 307. A 'Ganzhou''rice mesure' jar, Southern Song-Yuan dynasty. w. 10 cm, 3 7/8  in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

with rounded sides rising from a flat base to a constricted neck and rolled rim, the interior of the vessel and outer rim glazed russet, the unglazed exterior fired to a rich reddish-brown colour and decorated with a meticulous combed design in the form of concentric arcs, all below a band of thick pearly glazed studs encircling the neck.

Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family.