Lot 3009. A fine blue and white 'Double vajra' dish, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1736-1795); 6 7/8 in. (17.4 cm.). Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 875,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The dish is painted in the interior with a double-vajra symbol tied with ribbons and on the exterior with three registers of Sanskrit characters, all within double line borders, box.

Note: Yongzheng dishes of this design were made in two sizes. Compare a pair of smaller dishes (11.1 cm.) sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3919. Larger versions, similer size to the current dish, include one in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, 1996, pl. 591; and another pair from the Falk Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001, lot 156.

A fine pair of blue and white saucer dishes, Yongzheng six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1723-1735); 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm.) diam. Sold for HKD 1,040,000  at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3919. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Shallow bowl, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Reign of the Yongzheng emperor (1723-1735), China, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze-blue decoration, qinghua ware. H. 1 5/8 in x Diam. 6 7/8 in, H. 4.2 cm x Diam. 17.5 cm. Gift of Arthur Leeper in memory of Hiroshi Sonami, B87P12 © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

A Fine Pair of Blue and White Dishes, Yongzheng six-character marks in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735), Falk Collection no. 288; 6 7/8in. (17.5cm.) diam. Sold for USD 11,750 at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001, lot 156. © Christie's Images Ltd 2001

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong

Lot 3011. A fine blue-glazed dish, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1736-1795); 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 260,000. Price realised HKD 275,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The dish is applied to the exterior with a sapphire-blue glaze. The interior and base are covered with a clear glaze, box.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong

Lot 3025. A rare pair of coral-ground 'melon' jars and covers, Qianlong gilt six-character seal marks and of the period (1736-1795); 5 in. (12.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 350,000 - HKD 400,000. Price realised HKD 437,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each jar is delicately modelled in the form of a melon with six evenly spaced lobes, the domed covers are decorated with two realistically executed insect-eaten leaves and trailing vines connected by a gnarled stem which forms the finial. The boxes are covered in a vibrant coral red enamel.

Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York (according to labels)

Note: Fruit-form ceramic vessels have a long history in China dating back to the Tang Period, and remain popular in the Qing Dynasty. The form of a melon naturally lends itself very well to its transference into a porcelain jar, with its stem forming the finial of the cover. An interesting stylistic parallel can be drawn with the lifelike pyramid of trompe l’oeil persimmons on an offering stand offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2016, lot 105.

Detail of a magnificent and extremely rare pair of large famille-rose stands and trompe l'oeil persimmons and pomegranates, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795) 

Cf. my post: A magnificent and extremely rare pair of large famille-rose stands and trompe l'oeil persimmons and pomegranates, Qianlong period

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 November 2017, Hong Kong

Lot 2910. A rare pair of coral-red ground famille rose vases, Jiaqing six-character seal mark in iron-red and of the period (1796-1820); 13 1/4 in. (33.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 3,000,000 - HKD 5,000,000. Price realised HKD 6,700,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each vase is finely enamelled and gilt to the body with tasselled lanterns above large lotus blooms and colourful scrolling flowers, all above a lappet band by the foot and below a ruyi-head band. The shoulder is decorated with a keyfret band below a band of stiff leaves, and the neck is decorated with further scrolling lotus supporting a vase filled with millet, all below a further ruyi-head band at the gilt rim. The interior and base are enamelled turquoise, box.

Note: It is rare to find Jiaqing famille rose vases in pairs. The elaborate decorative scheme seen on the current vases follows closely the designs of the Qianlong period, such as a pair of Qianlong-marked ruby-ground famille rose vases from the Y. C. Chen Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 1922. Compare also to a pair of Jiaqing-marked famille rose vases of similar shape and design, but with handles on the necks, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 3076; and a single Jiaqing-marked yellow-ground vase of pear-shaped form, decorated in famille rose with lotus blooms and other auspicious symbols, from the Fonthill Collection and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 2981.

Lot 3027. A fine and rare famille rose Millefleurs bowl, Jiaqing six-character sealmark in iron-red and of the period (1796-1820); 4 1/4 in. (11 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 375,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl is thinly potted and finely enamelled in a rich famille rosepalette on the exterior with a dense design of a multitude of various flowers. The interior and base are enamelled turquoise, box.

Note: The dense arrangement of various flowers that decorates this bowl is known as wanhuajin (myriad flower brocade), as well as baihuadi (ground of one hundred flowers), and, according to T. T. Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 146, during the Qing dynasty the design conveyed the hope that the Qing dynasty "would last as long as flowers continue to bloom."

The design, in a somewhat paler famille rose palette, and in a slightly more open format where white background is visible between the flowers and leaves, and without iron-red, first appears during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), as represented by a small bowl in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 18, no. 15. During the Qianlong period a variation of this design appeared, with the design becoming more dense, allowing no visible white space between the flowers and leaves. The famille rose palette also became richer and with more realistic shading of the enamels, as well as with the addition of iron red. This version of the pattern is well represented by a large Qianlong-marked vase in the Musee Guimet, illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, ibid., pp. 118-19, pls. 164 and 165.

Jarre "Mille fleurs", 1709, règne de Qianlong (1736-1795). Hauteur : 48 cm. Diamètre : 36 cm. Ancienne collection Ernest Grandidier, G3344. Paris, musée Guimet - musée national des Arts asiatiques. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (MNAAG, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier

Lot 3025. A rare blue and white 'Bajixiang and lotus' tripod censer, Jiaqing six-character sealmark in underglaze blue and of the period (1796-1820); 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 750,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The censer is of compressed globular shape and painted in underglaze blue of rich inky-blue tones in imitation of Mingstyle ‘heaping and piling’ effect. The Bajixiang, Eight Buddhist Emblems, are evenly spaced around the exterior of the rounded body dividing lotus sprays above the three small globular feet and a band of ruyi lappets around the mouth rim. 

Lot 3047. A brown lacquer circular bowl stand, zhantuo, Song dynasty (960-1279); 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000. Price realised HKD 275,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The cup stand is raised on a hollow splayed circular foot, supporting a circular flange with gently upturned edges bound with metal, encircling the plain globular receptacle rising to an incurved rim, covered entirely with lacquer of rich brownish black tone, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November 2014, lot 2903

Lot 3048. A pale celadon and russet jade ‘lotus’ bowl, Song dynasty or later; 4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 1,750,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The stone of pale green tones with russet veins. The interior with a high relief lotus pod encircled by radiating petals. All is supported on a spreading lotus petal foot carved in low relief, box. 

Lot 2968. A carved huanghuali 'faux burl' brush pot, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 7 in. (18 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 120,000. Price realised HKD 100,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The brush pot with thick sides is carved in imitation of burl wood, with large gnarls and knobs, and has a separately carved base plug. The brush pot is of dark honey tones complementing the beautiful rich patination of the wood. 

Lot 2971. A large carved aloeswood brush pot, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 280,000 - HKD 450,000. Price realised HKD 812,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

The brush pot is carved from a large segment of aloeswood, in high and low relief to produce the effect of depth and perspective, with scholars and their attendants, gathered in groups and depicted in various pursuits to include scenery appreciation, tea drinking and scholarly discussion, well-detailed in a continuous landscape with craggy mountains and pine trees and bamboo grove. The base is of hardwood.  

Lot 2972. An inscribed zitan brush pot, signed Wang Duo (1592-1652) dated to dingchou cyclical year corresponding to 1637 and of the period; 5 in. (12.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000. Price realised HKD 350,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017 

The cylindrical brush pot is carved with a short prose dedicated to Luo Yue and dated to dingchou cyclical year, followed by a signature of Wang Duo. It is raised on three low feet and fitted with a circular plug on the base, box.  

Note: Wang Duo (1592-1652) was an scholar-official, and artist active during the late Ming to the early Qing dynasties. Although he began his career as a Minister of Rites for the Ming court, he is best known for his ‘one line brush’ calligraphy, paintings, and poems.

Lot 3028. A rare chestnut embroidered gauze dragon robe for an imperial prince, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 650,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017  

The reddish-brown gauze ground is finely worked in couched gold threads and counted stitch with nine five-clawed dragons on the front and back panels, and one on the underflap, the dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst a ground of multi-coloured clouds interspersed with bats and precious objects, above a hem of cresting waves tossed with further auspicious objects, and the lishui stripe, with midnight-blue borders at the collar and cuffs further embellished with striding dragons and related motifs, and midnight-blue ribbed sleeve extensions. 42 3/4 in. (108.5 cm.) long, 66 1/2 in. (169 cm.) wide.  

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1995

Note: In summer, the Manchu rulers and nobility exchanged their heavy satin robes for lighter garments made of silk gauze to allow for better ventilation. The gossamer quality of the material, coupled with the rich chestnut colour on this robe, provide a perfect foundation for gold couching and embroidery carried out in multi-coloured thread, creating a strong visual contrast and three-dimensional effect.

Lot 3032. A gilt-metal pearl and precious stone-inset necklace, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 250,000. Price realised HKD 500,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017  

The crescent-shaped front section is inset with two registers of coral, lapis lazuli, malachite separated by gilt ruyi pearl, turquoise, and coral beads, all attached to two dragon heads attached to a circular hinge inset with a pearl. The articulated terminals are fashioned with spiralling dragons with wire-embellished horns and whiskers. The silvered reverse is decorated with cartouches enclosing auspicious symbols. 7 5/8 in. (19.5 cm.) diam., box.  

Note: A lingyue, a necklace or a torque, was an essential part of court dress for a noblewoman. As with the majority of aspects of attire at the Imperial court, these necklaces were highly regulated, and the rank of the woman would determine the number of stones in the composition of the necklace.

Lot 2916. A very rare inscribed blue and amber-glazed pottery figure of a seated lady, Tang dynasty (618-907); 11 3/4 in. (30 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,000,000 - HKD 1,500,000. Price realised HKD 1,250,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017  

The figure is modelled seated demurely holding the trailing sash of her blue and amber-striped, high-waisted dress tied at the chest. The dress is decorated in relief with vertical rows of florets. Her face is modelled with delicate features and her hair dressed in a knotted loop above each ear. She is seated on an amber-glazed waisted seat decorated with two rows of lappets. The underside of the figure is inscribed to the base in black inkGuang jia zhi nu zi ‘, which may be translated as ‘daughter of the Guang family’, box.  

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 13 March 1998

Exhibited: Ben Janssens Oriental Art, London, 2004, Catalogue, pp. 48-51

Note: This particularly charming figure is rare in both bearing an inscription and being applied with the precious cobalt-blue glaze. The inscription indicates that the figure was intended for a female member of the Guang Family, and the application of the expensive blue glaze suggests that the Guang Family was one of wealth and privilege. The current figure combines an elaborately decorated dress with hair simply bunched on either side of the head in a style more usually associated with younger girls. This gives a rather endearing impression of a young girl in her best clothes. Margaret Medley noted in her introduction to the Exhibition of Tang Sancai Pottery Selected from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman that a similarly dressed standing figure with hair in side bunches was that of a ‘young adolescent girl’.

A nearly identical figure, seated with the same hair style and blue and amber-glazed dress, was exhibited at Sui to Tang Dynasty Art, Osaka City Museum, 1976, Catalogue no. 200. Another very similar female seated figure, with slightly different hair style but wearing an identical dress, is in the Nezu Museum of Art and illustrated in Selected Masterpieces from the Nezu Museum Collection, Japan, 2009, pl. 67 (fig. 1). Compare also to a larger sancai figure of a lady (40.6 cm.), glazed mainly in yellow and green, which is depicted seated on a rattan stool holding a flower in one hand, formerly in the A. Alfred Taubman Collection and sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16 March 2016, lot 272.

A blue and amber-glazed pottery figure of a seated lady, Tang dynasty (618-907), Collection of the Nezu Museum.

A Rare and Important Sancai-Glazed Pottery Figure Of A Court Lady, Tang Dynasty (618-906). Sold 1,270,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 16 march 2016, lot 272. Photo Sotheby's.

Lot 2917. A rare painted and gold-foiled wood figure of a court lady, Tang dynasty (618-907); 23 in. (58.4 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 3,700,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017  

The slender, elegant figure is standing with one arm pendent, the other at her waist, wearing a long-sleeved jacket with a deep V-shaped neckline, and a painted and gold-foiled belt decorated with an intricate foliate scroll pattern. Her long skirt falls to the to her feet. Her head is slightly turned to the left and her face is well carved with delicate features and red painted lips. Her hair, neatly pulled up into a high topknot, shows extensive remains of black and gilt pigments, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Sold at Christie’s New York, 2 December 1989, lot 42
Mayuyama & Co. Ltd., Tokyo
A Japanese Private Collection

Note: Wood figures of this period are extremely rare. Closely comparable depictions of female figures with similar hairstyles and costumes on the wall paintings discovered in the tomb of Princess Yongtai at Xianyang City in Qian county, Shaanxi province, dated 706. Compare, also, the sancai-glazed pottery figure of a seated lady, excavated in Xi’an in 1955, now in the National Museum of China, which is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji: Tang Sancai, vol. 7, Kyoto, 1983, plate 58.

Two wood figures of court ladies, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, are illustrated by J.J. Lally & Co., Arts of Ancient China, New York, May 31-June 23, 1990, Catalogue, nos. 14 and 16. Further examples, dated to the Sui dynasty, from the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas, were exhibited at the Portland Art Museum in 1976, and are illustrated in Donald Jenkins, Masterworks in Wood: China and Japan, Portland Art Museum, 1976, pp. 28-29, no. 8.

Standing Female Attendant, Tang dynasty (618–907), late 7th century–early 8th century. Wood with pigment. H. 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm). Gift of Enid A. Haupt, 1997, 1997.442.7.1 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Standing Female Attendant, Tang dynasty (618–907), late 7th century–early 8th century. Wood with pigment. H. 21 in. (53.3 cm). Gift of Enid A. Haupt, 1997, 1997.442.7.2 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Lot 2919. A finely painted pottery figure of a Bactrian camel and rider, Tang dynasty (618-907); 23 5/8 in. (60 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 5,000,000 - HKD 8,000,000. Price realised HKD 6,100,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The figure is modelled to show a young rider, dressed in a long sleeved tunic and boots, riding astride a camel, with his body bent slightly to the side. The camel, painted in buff, brick-red and greyish black pigments over white slip, is standing foursquare on a trapezoid base with head raised and mouth wide open as if braying, showing realistically rendered teeth, palate and tongue. It is enhanced with tufted hair on the neck, head, humps and tops of the legs, and has well-detailed eyelashes. 

Provenance: The Dexinshuwu Collection, Taipei, 1995
The Chinhuatang Collection, Taipei

Literature: Chang Foundation, Ching Wan Society Millennium Exhibition, Taipei, 2000, p. 157, pl. 62.

Note: This camel appears to belong to a group of Tang pottery that often includes travellers, musicians and camel riders. The present example reflects a world in which Tang China, one of the greatest empires in the medieval world, was marked by successful diplomatic relationships, economic expansion and a cultural efflorescence of cosmopolitan style. At the time, the Tang elites imitated the dress style of the Persians, wearing high boots and short tunics. Nothing is more representative of this cultural milieu than the figure of the Bactrian camel which, not indigenous to China, used to haul goods along the silk roads leading out of China across its Western regions and into Central Asia and beyond. It came to be one of the best known icons of Chinese ceramic art, dating from the early to the mid-Tang dynasty.

These groups of Tang pottery are remarkably realistic and each model appears to be unique, reflecting a growing interest in naturalism during the Tang period. The appearance of Chinese rider in this context is highly unusual. Figures of foreigners, perhaps a Turk or Sogdian, are generally used in such groupings of Tang pottery. A related large painted pottery group of camel and foreign rider, dressed in a fur coat and wearing a large pointed hat, excarated at Changzhi, Shaanxi province in 1954 and now in the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, was illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua dacidian: taoci juan, p.154. An example of a Central Asian rider wearing similar clothes, but without tufts of hair on the camel, is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics I, Hong Kong, 1993, plate 96. 

Tomb figurine showing a foreigner on a green glazed camel, Tang (618-907). Height of figure 41.6 cm, Height of camel 113 cm, Length 88.7 cm. Excavated in 1956 from Dugusijing tomb, Xian, Shaanxi Province.

For another related painted pottery group of camel and foreign groom, see the one sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 7-8 May 2002, lot 191.

For a discussion on Bactrian camels, see Ezekiel Schloss, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Sculpture, Stamford, 1977, vol. II, p. 220.

Lot 18. An Art Deco enamel and 18k gold lipstick case, Boucheron, circa 1920. Sold for US$ 7,500 (€6,329). Photo: Bonhams.

cylindrical, the body with Chinese riverbank landscape; signed Boucheron, Paris; accompanied by a fitted box; length: 2in.

Bonhams. FINE JEWELLERY, 4 Dec 2017, NEW YORK

Lot 19. An Art Deco enamel, diamond, cultured pearl and 18k gold lipstick case, Lacloche Frères, circa 1925. Sold for US$ 16,250 (€13,714). Photo: Bonhams.

cylindrical, capped at each end with a pearl and band of rose-cut diamonds, the body with Chinese riverbank landscape;signed Lacloche Frères, Paris, 74000; length: 2 1/2in.

Lot 21. An Art Deco enamel, 18k gold and diamond compact, LaCloche Frères, circa 1920. Sold for US$ 9,375 (€7,912). Photo: Bonhams.

he rectangular red enamel with hinged twin door secured by 'shou' diamond clasp, opening to reveal a chamlevé enameled Chinese garden scene panel, hinged to conceal a mirror; signed Lacloche Frères, Paris, with London import mark for 1926; reference 70310, 7405; length: 1 3/4in.

Lot 25. An Art Deco jadeite jade, diamond and enamel jabot pin, Cartier, circa 1925. Sold for US$ 30,000 (€25,318). Photo: Bonhams.

set with a carved jadeite jade plaque, measuring approximately 37.6 x 9.4 x 2.9mm, highlighted with single and round brilliant-cut diamonds, with red enamel accents; signed Cartier; estimated total diamond weight: 2.25 carats; mounted in platinum; length: 3 1/8in.