Lot 2906. A large carved Longquan celadon ‘phoenix-tail’ vase, Ming dynasty, early 15th century; 25 3/4 in. (65.4 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 875,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The vase is heavily potted and deeply carved on the shoulder with a wide band of chrysanthemum scroll bearing three large blossoms above a narrow band of foliate scroll and upright petals on the lower body. The flaring mouth rim is carved with horizontal fluted bands and the neck incised with a band of upright plantain leaves. The whole raised on a foot moulded in imitation of a stand, covered with a thick glaze of olive-green tone, with the exception of the unglazed foot ring.
Provenance: The T.T. Tsui Collection
Sold at Christie’s New York, 26 May 2003, lot 240
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 March 2008, lot 1842
Exhibited: The Empress Place Museum, Gems of Chinese Art: Selections of Chinese Ceramics and Bronzes from the Tsui Art Foundations, Singapore, 1992, no. 68
Note: A celadon vase of similar proportions with similar decoration on the neck and lower body, but with a peony scroll rather than a chrysanthemum scroll at the shoulder, is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu: Ming, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 14, no. 231. Similar example of similar height can also be found in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, which is illustrated in Tsai Mei-fen, Green: Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 2009, p. 158, pl. 81. Compare, also, the well-known celadon vase in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, now on long-term loan to the British Museum, with an incised inscription at the base of its slender, tapering neck dating the vase to 1454, see Stacey Pierson, Illustrated Catalogue of Celadon Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997, p. 35, no. 238.
Large dated temple vase, Ming dynasty, dated around AD1454. Stoneware, porcelain-type, incised, carved and with celadon glaze, Longquan ware, Longquan region, Zhejiang province, 69 cm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 238 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum
A vase of shorter height yet of similar shape, incised with foliate scroll on the shoulder, but dated to Yuan dynasty, is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, no. 577.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 2995. A very rare carved Longquan celadon yuhuchunping, Ming dynasty, early 15th century; 13 1/4 in. (33.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 437,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The pear-shaped body of the vase is carved with a continuous scene of leafy plantain and rocks in a fenced garden, all above a lappet band by the foot. The shoulder is decorated with a carved ruyi-head band below a trellis band and a keyfret band, followed by a band of stiff leaves to the neck rising to the lipped rim; Japanese Meiji-period (1868-1912) paulownia wood box.
Provenance: A Japanese private collector, actively collecting prior to the 1980s
Note: The Yuhuchunping form was produced during the Yuan and early Ming period, but the plantain decorative pattern was only used during the early Ming period. Compare with a similar plantain-decorated blue and white Yuhuchunping vase, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, no.33. See also the bodies of two longquan ewers with near identical decorations of the leafy plantain and lappet band, illustrated in Green: Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 2009, no. 61 and Longquan Ware: Chinese Celadon Beloved of the Japanese, Japan, 2012, no. 86.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 2997. A large Longquan moulded ‘floral’ deep bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 500,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The bowl is heavily potted with deep rounded sides rising from a narrow foot, decorated to the centre of the interior with a moulded flower-head, encircled by carved floral scrolls on the well. The exterior is left plain. The bowl is covered overall with a glaze of sea-green tone, with the exception of the foot; box.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 2998. A rare large white-glazed jar and cover, Ming dynasty, early 15th century; 13 3/16 in. (33.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 1,250,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The jar and cover are applied inside and out with an unctuous white glaze with a slight bluish tinge. The base of the jar and inner rim of the cover are left unglazed, exposing the fine body fired to an orange colour with brown specks.
Note: Jars of this form with a compressed globular body and short straight neck gained popularity during the Yuan dynasty, when they appeared on celadon wares from the Longquan kilns, as well as on blue and white porcelain from the Jingdezhen kilns, and were often accompanied by covers in the shape of a large lotus leaf. The design continued into the early Ming period, as can be seen on a white-glazed jar (40.5 cm. high) from the Hongwu period in the Nanjng Museum, illustrated in Yomigaeru Nansen bunbutsu: Chugoku Nankin Hakubutsuin shozo ten, Tokyo, 1998, pp. 30-31, no. 4. During the Yongle period, the covers adopted a simpler design with a wide and flat rim under a bud-form finial, such as the blue and white jar painted with dragons (31.5 cm. high) excavated from the Yongle stratum, illustrated in Yuan’s and Ming’s Imperial Porcelains Unearthed from Jingdezhen, Beijing, 1999, p. 106, no.48. The current jar is especially similar in size and proportion to a Xuande-marked blue and white jar with flower and fruits (34.3 cm. high) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 114, no. 108 (fig. 1). Compare to two other jars and covers excavated from the Xuande stratum, one in white glaze, the other in blue and white painted with a long sinuous dragon, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site at Jingdezhen and the Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2015, nos. 65 (fig. 2) and 93, both have a narrower lower body like the Yongle example and a more pronounced finial.
fig. 1 A blue and white jar with flower and fruits, Xuande mark and period; 34.3 cm. high. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.
fig. 2 A white glaze jar excavated from the Xuande stratum. Collection of The Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 2999. A rare large blue and white 'palace' bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 1,250,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The bowl is decorated to the exterior in vibrant cobalt tones with a scrolling leafy vine bearing upward-facing morningglories, all above a petal band to the foot. The rim is decorated with a scrolling lotus band. The interior is decorated with a lanca character within a double circle; Japanese paulownia wood box.
Provenance: The Seikido family collection, Nagoya, believed to be acquired in the 19th century
Note: Although this particular bowl is decorated in the style of its Chenghua predecessors, palace bowls with a scrolling morningglory design are especially rare, with the majority of bowls decorated with scrolls of lilies, mallow, gardenia, hibiscus, and so on. Morningglory is less commonly featured in Ming period bowls, particularly on its own rather than in combination other flowers. However, scrolling morning glory is found in Xuande-period faceted vases, which came to inspire Kangxi and Yongzheng-period versions. For a Xuande period vase, see Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum Series, Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, vol. 34, 2001, p. 99, pl. 93.
Several Wanli-marked palace bowls have been sold, including one decorated with hibiscus from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 19 January 1981, lot 424. A further Wanli-period hibiscus-decorated bowl can be found in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Special Exhibition of Chenghua Porcelain, 1976, Catalogue, no. 79.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 3000. A very rare blue and white ‘bird and flower’ bottle vase, Wanli period (1573-1619); 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 250,000. Price realised HKD 400,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The vase is painted around the body with birds and flowers, between a band of plantain leaves above and a band of upright stylised petals below. The neck is further painted with a lotus scroll below a band of key frets on the lipped rim. The splayed foot is encircled by a floral scroll; Japanese wood box.
Provenance: A Japanese private collection, Shikoku, acquired in the Edo period (1603-1868)
Note: An identical vase, dated to the Wanli period, is in the Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, no. 168 (fig. 1), where it is stated that the unusual shape of the vase can be seen as a prototype of mallet vases made during the Qing dynasty.
A blue and white ‘bird and flower’ bottle vase, Wanli period (1573-1619), Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 3001. A rare blue and white 'Hoopoe and Peach' dish, Jiajing six-character mark within a double circle and of the period (1522-1566); 8 3/4 in. (22.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 437,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The dish is delicately decorated in cobalt blue with a ‘flower-and-bird’ composition with a peach tree rising from one edge of the central panel with its branches extended upon which perch two hoopoe birds, one swinging downwards and the other upright. The exterior is decorated with two sinuous five-clawed dragons emitting lotus scrolls from their opened mouths. The details on each side are finely depicted in various shades of cobalt blue; Japanese paulownia wood box.
Provenance: Hirano Kotoken, Tokyo.
A Japanese private collection, acquired in 1979
Literature: Hirano Kotoken, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tamaya Department Store, Kyushu, October 1979, Catalogue, cover and no. 57
Exhibited: Hirano Kotoken, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tamaya
Department Store, Kyushu, October 1979, cover illustration and no. 57 (fig. 1).
fig. 1 Hirano Kotoken, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tamaya Department Store, Kyushu, October 1979.
Note: The hoopoe, daisheng, is recognised by its crown of feathers, and it is named in English for its distinctive call. Peaches are a well-known symbol for long life, and hence it can be posited that this dish may have been produced to commemorate a birthday.
The source of the imagery and composition of the current lot was inspired by the ‘bird and flower’ chargers popular in the Yongle period, which in turn was inspired by the court paintings of the 10th century. The Yongle dishes feature either a single or a pair of birds perched on a fruiting branch which often extends beyond the central panel. For example, a charger with a pair of crested birds perched on a flowering plant is illustrated in The Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Masterpiece of Ming and Qing Ceramics, Osaka, 2011, p. 19, pl. 15, and a further charger with two birds on a tea plant is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, no. 595.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 3001. An unusal blue and white ‘Immortals’ rectangular plaque, Ming dynasty, circa 1500. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 350,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
The plaque is painted in ‘wind swept’ style in various shades of underglaze blue with four of the Eight Immortals, seated at leisure beneath a gnarled pine tree amongst plants and rocks, all before a mountain range partially obscured by thick rolling clouds. The porcelain plaque, 7 1/8 x 8 in. (18.2 x 20.3 cm.), fruitwood frame and stand, Japanese wood box.
Provenance: A Japanese private collection, actively collecting over the last 20 years
Note: The underside of the cover of the box is inscribed by Kushi Takushin (1898-1979), a renowned Japanese Sinologist, describing the plaque as rare and dating it to the early Ming dynasty.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Lot 3004. A wucai ‘dragon’ octagonal box and a cover, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 5 3/4 in. (14.5 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 1,750,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
Each rectangular vertical panel of this box is boldly decorated in various enamels with a striding dragon chasing the flaming pearl amongst ruyi-shaped cloud scrolls. The flat cover is surmounted by a finial shaped as a crouching squirrel and the surface is decorated with two confronting dragons amongst further ruyi-shaped clouds all enclosed within a keyfret border, Japanese paulownia wood box.
Provenance: Hirano Kotoken, circa 1970s
A Japanese private collection
Note: Wucai octagonal jars of this design appear to be rather rare, with the exception of an almost identical jar and cover in the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Dr. Francis W. Lewis Collection, accession no. 1905-202,a, the only difference being that the finial of the current lot remains intact.
Several examples of Wanli mark and period square, hexagonal, and fan-shaped boxes have been published, as well as those with lobed rather than flat facets. For a hexagonal example, see the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book III, Hong Kong, 1989, pls. 6-6c (fig. 1), and one sold at Christie’s New York, 18-19 September 2014, lot 821 (fig. 2). A lobed hexagonal box attributed as a cricket box is found in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 35, no. 32; and in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated in Ming-Ch’ing, Chicago, 1964. A pair of blue and white fan-shaped ‘dragon’ box and covers from the Edward T. Chow Collection were sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 25 November 1980, lot 14. A lobed pentafoil box without a finial on the cover also decorated with dragons is found in the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: The Chinaware Volume - The First Part, Shenyang, 2008, pp. 154-155.
fig. 1 A wucai ‘dragon’ hexagonal box and a cover, Wanli mark and period, Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
fig. 2 A wucai hexagonal ‘dragon’ box and a cover, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619). Sold for USD 87,500 at Christie’s New York, 18-19 September 2014, lot 821. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017
Cf. my post: A wucai hexagonal'dragon' box, Wanli six-character mark within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619)
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (1578–1635), The Sacrifice of Abraham, 17th century, oil on canvas, 208.4 x 154 cm, gift from John Robertson, 1886, 45-1912, Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council). Photo credit: Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council).
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist, 1607-10. Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 106.7 cm. Bought, 1970, NG6389, The National Gallery, London. Photo credit: The National Gallery, London.
Lot 311. Diamond Ring, Harry Winston weighing 19.54 carats, D color, VVS2 clarity, internally flawless. Estimate $1,000,000 — 1,500,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
Featuring an emerald-cut diamond weighing 19.54 carats, highlighted with baguette and tapered baguette diamonds, size 7½, signed Winston.
Accompanied by GIA report no. 2183746736 dated September 20, 2017 stating that the diamond is D color, VVS2 clarity. Together with the original working diagram stating that the diamond may be potentially Improvable.
Accompanied by a photocopy of GIA report no. 5192367 dated February 29, 1988 stating that the diamond is D color, Internally Flawless.
Accompanied by a photocopy of the Harry Winston invoice dated March 6, 1992.
Crowned the “King of Diamonds,” Harry Winston defines modern glamour with diamonds that are the epitome of perfection. Channeling the zeitgeist of the Roaring ‘20s, Harry Winston began his career in Los Angeles before installing himself on Fifth Avenue in New York. As fashion became more freewheeling, Winston pioneered the bold, geometric chic of the emerald-cut as exemplified by this remarkable diamond ring. Of all the shapes of diamonds, the emerald-cut is Winston’s calling card: the company’s iconic logo bears his initials inscribed in the crisp outline of an emerald-cut. His record-breaking emerald-cut treasures include the 125.35 carat Jonker diamond, the 45.95 carat Anastasia, and the unique Vargas necklace, which boasts seven emerald-cut diamonds totaling a whopping 176 carats.
Heeding Marilyn Monroe’s advice that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” the most glamorous It-girls of the 20th century donned Winston jewels, from Elizabeth Taylor—whose husband Richard Burton famously gifted her the 69.42 carat Winston “Taylor-Burton” diamond—to Princess Caroline of Monaco, the international style sensation. This 19.54 carat, D-color, VVS2 emerald-cut diamond, cherished in the same family since its purchase directly from the firm in 1992, encapsulates the epitome of a legendary Winston emerald-cut diamond: unparalleled provenance, exceptional craftsmanship, and stunning visual appeal. As the generations of elegant Winston acolytes reveal, on or off screen, it is impossible to wear a Winston diamond and not be seen as a star.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels New York, 05 déc. 2017, 10:30 AM
Set with a pear-shaped Fancy Intense Blue diamond weighing 2.05 carats, framed by round and marquise-shaped diamonds, size 6.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels New York, 05 déc. 2017, 10:30 AM
Lot 187. Important Pair of 10.13 and 10.10 carats Diamond Earrings. Estimate $1,000,000 — 1,500,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
Composed of a line of round diamonds suspending square emerald-cut diamonds weighing 10.13 and 10.10 carats.
No. 2181469647 stating that the diamond weighing 10.13 carats is H color, VS1 clarity.
No. 2181469636 stating that the diamond weighing 10.10 carats is H color, VS1 clarity.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels New York, 05 déc. 2017, 10:30 AM
Lot 141. Important Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring, the sapphire weighing 8.82 carats. Estimate $500,000 — 700,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
Featuring a cushion-cut sapphire weighing 8.82 carats, accented by shield-shaped diamonds, size 4¾.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels New York, 05 déc. 2017, 10:30 AM
Centering an emerald-cut emerald measuring 16.06 x 12.00 x 6.95 mm, accented by single-cut diamonds, size 5¼, signed Tiffany & Co.; circa 1920, with one small diamond missing.
Sotheby's. Magnificent Jewels New York, 05 déc. 2017, 10:30 AM
