Hat brim (ruby set), Johann Friedrich Dinglinger (1702-1767) (jeweler). Dresden, 1736 (changed before 1817). 6 rubies and spinels, 6 doublets, 96 brilliants, gold, silver, partly gold plated; 11.4 x 5.4 cm. Green Vault, VIII 124© Dresden State Art Collections.
Hat brim (ruby set), Johann Friedrich Dinglinger, Dresden, 1736 (changed before 1817)
Hat brim (ruby set), Johann Friedrich Dinglinger, Dresden, 1736 (changed before 1817)
Hat brim (ruby set), Johann Friedrich Dinglinger (1702-1767) (jeweler). Dresden, 1736 (changed before 1817). 6 rubies and spinels, 6 doublets, 96 brilliants, gold, silver, partly gold plated; 11.4 x 5.4 cm. Green Vault, VIII 124© Dresden State Art Collections.
Ring with castle, maybe Italian, 2nd half of the 16th century
Ring with castle, maybe Italian, 2nd half of the 16th century. Gold, diamond, enamel. H 2.8 cm, W 2.3 cm. Gren Vault, VIII 102© Dresden State Art Collections.
Pendant in the form of a Palatine lion, Germany, around 1580 - 1590
Pendant in the form of a Palatine lion, Germany, around 1580 - 1590. Gold, two rubies, two diamonds, four pearls, enamel. H 7,0 cm. Green Vault, 1997/1© Dresden State Art Collections.
Pendant with David and Goliath, Germany, late 16th century
Pendant with David and Goliath, Germany, late 16th century. Gold, enamel, 47 diamonds, 18 rubies. H 9,8 cm, W 6,7 cm. Green Vault, VIII 294© Dresden State Art Collections.
Followers with the Fides, the personification of the faith, Germany, late 16th century
Followers with the Fides, the personification of the faith, Germany, late 16th century. Gold, silver, enamel, 37 diamonds, 18 rubies, 1 emerald, 2 pearls. H 9,8 cm, W 6,7 cm. Green Vault, VIII 285© Dresden State Art Collections.
Giovanni da Bologna, Antonio Susini, Adriaen de Vries, Sleeping nymph with satyr, Florence, before 1587
Giovanni da Bologna (1524 / 1529-1608), Sculptor; Antonio Susini (-1624), Bronze caster; Adriaen de Vries (ca. 1550), sculptor, Sleeping nymph with satyr, Florence, before 1587. Bronze, black lacquered wooden base. H total 31.5 cm H without base 20.7 cm, W 34.0 cm; Base 10.8 x 17.7 x 31.8 cm. Green Vault, IX 34© Dresden State Art Collections.
Giovanni da Bologna, Mercury, Florence, before 1587
Giovanni da Bologna (1524 / 1529-1608), sculptor, Mercury, Florence, before 1587. Bronze, wood post with ebony veneer and brass inlays. H 61.8 cm; H with base 72.7 cm. Green Vault, IX 94© Dresden State Art Collections.
Jumping unicorn, Hans Reisinger, Augsburg, before 1589
Jumping unicorn, Hans Reisinger, founder, Augsburg, before 1589. Brass, wooden base. H with base 47.1 cm, H base 10.4 cm, W 42.6 cm, D 18.0 cm. Green Vault, IX 51© Dresden State Art Collections.
Resting deer, Hans Reisinger, Augsburg, before 1589
Resting deer, Hans Reisinger, bronze caster, Augsburg, before 1589. Bronze (high brass content). H. 24.5 cm, W 25.6 cm, D.15.2 cm. Green Vault, IX 58© Dresden State Art Collections.
Adriaen de Vries, Nymph (from bronze group faun and nymph), around 1580-1590
Adriaen de Vries (about 1550-), sculptor, Nymph (from bronze group faun and nymph), around 1580-1590. Bronze, wooden post. H 34.6 cm. Green Vault, IX 20© Dresden State Art Collections.
Adriaen de Vries, Herding satyr, around 1581/1585
Adriaen de Vries (about 1550-), sculptor, Herding satyr. Model around 1581/1585. Bronze, wood, painted; Saxon and Bohemian gemstones. H 23,8 cm; Base 16.5 x 12.3 cm. Green Vault, IX 14© Dresden State Art Collections.
A 'famille-rose''Ladies of the Han palace' lantern-shaped vase, Jiaqing iron-red seal mark and period (1796-1820)
Lot 222. A 'famille-rose''Ladies of the Han palace' lantern-shaped vase, Jiaqing iron-red seal mark and period (1796-1820); height 12 1/2 in., 31.2 cm. Est. 250,000—350,000 USD. Lot sold 902,500 USD to an Asian Trade. Photo Sotheby's.
the tall oviform body painted with a central section featuring ladies in a pavilion garden, the lush setting providing the backdrop for a figure dancing to instrumental music performed by attending ladies, all adorned in elaborate garments picked out in green, aubergine, green and yellow enamel, the scene bordered by ruyi-head lappets at the shoulder and tapering foot, the former rising to a waisted neck decorated with stylized lotus scrolls and gilt wan symbols, the latter with smaller lotus scrolls, all reserved on a deep ruby ground, the short straight foot painted with ruby-colored chrysanthemum against a blue scroll-work pattern, the base and interior glazed turquoise.
Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 30th April - 2nd May 1995, lot 672
Note: In its shape and decoration the present vase belongs to a group of wares produced at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the early years of Jiaqing's reign. Wares of this period continued to be influenced by Qianlong designs and were possibly produced by the same potters who made wares for the Qianlong emperor and his household. This fine and meticulously painted scene of ladies is reminiscent of scroll painting, with the ruby-ground around the mouth and foot serving as mounting for the painting.
The scene depicts ladies of the Han Palace, a subject that rose in popularity in later Chinese art when the Han dynasty became a subject of nostalgia. Elegant and beautifully-dressed women occupy a romanticized world, engaged in exemplary behavior such as modesty and encouraging the transmission of culture as seen on this vase where they play music and dance. This theme also reflects the antiquarian interest characteristic of the Qing period.
A closely related vase was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd November 1998, lot 411; another example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 672, and again, 26th April 1998, lot 511; and its companion piece was also sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th September 1992, lot 601. Compare Qianlong vases of similar form and decorative scheme; such as one decorated with the Eight Immortals between a turquoise ground neck and foot, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 350, pl. 31; and a green-ground example depicting children at play, in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing published in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 320.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 16 Sep 2009
A large green and aubergine yellow-ground biscuit charger, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722)
Lot 200. A large green and aubergine yellow-ground biscuit charger, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722); diameter 16 in., 40.6 cm. Est. 70,000—90,000 USD. Lot sold 158,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
boldly decorated and incised on the interior well with a plunging aubergine dragon and a leaping green dragon, each in mutual pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', encircled by floral sprigs on the cavetto, including prunus, peony and chrysanthemum, all below six striding dragons interspersed with 'flaming pearls' on the everted rim, the exterior with four striding dragons below cranes and clouds, all reserved on a rich yellow ground.
Provenance: Collection of Gertrude Morgenroth.
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Exhibited: Akron Art Institute, Akron, Ohio (before 1981).
Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, Ohio (1981-2008).
Note: Kangxi mark and period chargers of this design are included in several museum and private collections, including the National Palace Museum, Taipei; the Palace Museum, Beijing; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. A charger of the same size, originally from the collection of Captain C. Oswald Liddell, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 18th May 1988, lot 301.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
An underglaze-blue and copper-red 'sanduo' stemcup, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735)
Lot 211. An underglaze-blue and copper-red 'sanduo' stemcup, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735); height 4 5/8 in., 11.7 cm diameter 6 1/2 in., 16.5 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 USD. Lot sold 128,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
the gently rounded sides of the bowl flaring to a slightly everted rim, supported on a tall splayed foot, painted around the exterior in copper-red of a rich ruby tone with three detached fruiting sprays including a peach, pomegranate and persimmon, each borne on a branch surrounded by gently curling leaves in rich underglaze blue, together forming the auspicious sanduo ('Three Abundances'), the six-character mark inscribed in underglaze-blue within the foot.
Note: Compare a stemcup of the same type and bearing a Yongzheng mark and of the period in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong and Shanghai, 1987, pls. 123 and 188.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
An octagonal 'ru'-type vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795)
Lot 215. An octagonal 'ru'-type vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 USD. Lot sold 110,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
of chamfered square section, the slightly tapered upright body supported on a narrow splayed foot, with angled shoulders sloping up to the waisted neck, covered overall in a slightly mottled thick glaze of attractive lavender-gray tone, continuing over the base, the neatly finished footrim dressed with a dark brown slip, the base inscribed in underglaze-blue with a six-character seal mark.
Provenance: Property of a Private Asian Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23rd October 2005, lot 321.
Note: A closely related vase was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 693; another, 19th May 1982, lot 274; and a third example was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st October 1991, lot 810. Compare also a Daoguang vase, with reign mark and of the period, of this form but covered in a guan-type glaze in the Simon Kwan collection, included in the exhibition Imperial Porcelain of Late Qing from the Kwan Collection, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 85; and another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Special Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Monochrome-Glaze Porcelain, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 98.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
A rare 'famille-rose' tazza, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795)
Lot 286. A rare 'famille-rose' tazza, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); diameter 6 3/4 in., 17.1 cm height 3 3/8 in., 8.6 cm. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 USD. Lot sold 110,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
the wide dish decorated to the interior with a central iron-red shou medallion encircled by a dense composite floral scroll comprising four large blooms interspersed with smaller flowers and curling leafy stems, picked out in two shades of green with yellow, white and pink enamels, the cavetto left plain save for the iron-red wufu ('five bats') descending upon the flowers, the underside decorated with radiating iron-red ruyi-head lappets, all supported on a splayed foot with a border of pendent green and yellow plantain leaves suspending beaded tassels, the six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue to the interior of the foot.
Provenance: The Edward T. Chow Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th November 1980, lot 172.
Note: A similar tazza in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Xu Huping, The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 294. Another was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 660.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
A pair of 'famille-rose' green-enamel ground vases, Jiaqing seal marks and period (1796-1820)
Lot 233. A pair of 'famille-rose' green-enamel ground vases, Jiaqing seal marks and period (1796-1820); height 8 1/4 in., 21 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 92,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
each of ovoid shape flaring from a tapered foot, painted around the exterior with a central band of lotus-head scrolls alternating with iron-red shuangxi ('Double Happiness') characters, below a register of iron-red descending bats alternating with pomegranate, peach and finger citron bouquets, picked out in pink, blue and white enamel, against a lime-green ground, the shoulder with a border of ruyi-head lappets, the slightly waisted neck with upright plantain lappets below an iron-red and gilt lipped rim, the interior and countersunk base glazed turquoise, seal mark in iron-red, wood stands, boxes (6).
Provenance: Collection of Takashi Hara (Japanese Prime Minister, 1918-1921).
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
A 'ge'-type vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795)
Lot 217. A 'ge'-type vase, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); height 8 1/2 in., 21.5 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 80,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
of broad-shouldered baluster form, the tall waisted neck set with a pair of ruyi handles, covered overall with a bluish-gray glaze suffused with a broad matrix of gray and gold crackles.
Provenance: Sotheby's London, 12th July 2006, lot 134.
Note: Qianlong vases of this form are rare although a very similar piece is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pp. 218-219, pl. 877, where the author notes that the light gray glaze with distinct dark-stained crackle found on the vase is generally considered to imitate 'Ge' ware of the Song dynasty although the identity of the ware is not yet resolved. Compare a similar vase sold in our London rooms, 10th June 1986, lot 291, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1987, lot 519.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.
A large molded celadon-glazed bowl, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795)
Lot 218. A large molded celadon-glazed bowl, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); diameter 13¼ in., 33.7 cm. Estimate 35,000 — 45,000 USD. Lot sold 80,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
of deep U-shape rising to a flared lip, delicately molded to the exterior with large peony sprays accompanied by an assortment of flowers and fruits, including pomegranate, prunus, finger citron, peach, and pinks, the sea-green glaze applied throughout thinning to a white color at the rim, supported on a slightly tapered foot.
Note: Celadon-glazed bowls of this molded decoration are rare although a very similar example, from the collection of the Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, and illustrated in the museum's catalogue The Tsui Art Museum, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 127, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 570. Compare another closely related bowl, also with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th April 1993, lot 86; and a third piece sold in these rooms, 23rd October 1976, lot 278.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. 16 Sep 09. New York.