Karel Appel (Amsterdam 1921-2006 Zurich), Tigerbird, 1952. Oil on canvas, 116 x 147 cm. Signed and dated lower right: K. Appel '52. © Galerie de la Beraudière

Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery, New York; Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris; private collection, The Netherlands; private collection, Belgium.

Rembrandt Bugatti (Milan 1884-1916 Paris), Asian white elephant begging, circa 1908. Bronze with brown patina. Original trapezoidal brown marble base. Signed and numbered on the plinth ‘Bugatti 4’ with the foundry stamp ‘Cire perdue A.A. Hebrard’. © Galerie de la Beraudière

Provenance: Sacha Guitry collection; Lana Marconi collection; private collection, France; private collection

Literature: Véronique Fromanger, ‘Rembrandt Bugatti sculpteur’, monographic repertoire, Ed. L'Amateur, Paris, 2009, ill. n° 206, p. 300; Edward Horswell, ‘Rembrandt Bugatti, Life in Sculpture’, Sladmore Gallery Ed., London, 2004, ill. p. 136; Edward Horswell, Cécile Kruyfhooft, Paul Verbraeken, catalogue of the exhibition ‘Rembrandt Bugatti en de Belgische dierensculptuur, 1860-1930’, Hessenhuis, Antwerp, 11 May-29 July 1990, ill. n° 80, p. 162

Exhibition: ‘Rembrandt Bugatti en de Belgische dierensculptuur, 1860-1930’, Hessenhuis, Antwerp, 11 May-29 July 1990.

Marino Marini (Pistoia 1901-1980 Viareggio), Cavaliere, 1951. Ink, oil and soft-lead pencil on paper, 62 x 42.5 cm. Signed and dated lower right: 1951 Marino. © Galerie de la Beraudière

Provenance: private collection, France. 

Galerie de la Beraudière at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 87d. Rue Jacques Jordaens 6 BE-1000 Brussels; t +32 (0)2 646 92 15 - m +32 (0)478 82 30 13 - galerie@delaberaudiere.com - www.delaberaudiere.com

Lot 73. A finely painted blue-and-white Ming-style bowl with dragon medallions, mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 19.6 cm., 7 3/4 in. Estimate 2,000,000 — 3,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,420,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 2011.

of ten-lobed mallow shape with deep flared sides and high foot of corresponding section, the centre inside painted with a five-clawed dragon among clouds in a circular medallion, the outside with an unbordered dragon medallion in each lobe, the animals shown alternately ascending and descending, the rim and foot outlined by double-line borders, the base inscribed with the six-character reign mark in a double ring.

Provenance: Christie's London, 6th November 2007, lot 172.

Literature: Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1709 and p. 214, fig. 16b.

Note: When the production of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province was re-activated in the Kangxi period, after having been dormant for some sixty years, the potters began to accurately recreate designs of early Ming blue and white porcelain. The close relation of this exquisite design to the Xuande prototype, both in shape and decoration, is seen when comparing a piece formerly in the Alfred Clark collection, illustrated together with the present bowl in Krahl, op.cit., p. 214, although the present bowl omits a broad band of lotus petals above the foot, which appears on the early Ming prototype. To achieve this result, originals must have been sent down south from the imperial collection in Beijing. The present design must therefore have been specially commissioned to the Emperor's order by the Imperial Household Department in the Forbidden City.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection - An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, Hong Kong, 07 Apr 2011 

Lot 74. A rare large blue and yellow 'lotus bouquet' dish, mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 40 cm., 15 3/4 in. Estimate 3,000,000 - 5,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 7,820,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 2011.

with rounded sides, painted in underglaze blue in early Ming style with a large lotus bouquet with flowering stems, leaves, a pod and other water plants tied with a ribbon, the sides with a composite flower scroll incorporating chrysanthemum, lotus, hibiscus, rose, peony, camellia and other blooms with a classic-scroll rim border, the flower scroll repeated on the outside with key-fret below the rim and a classic scroll around the foot, all reserved on a bright lemon-yellow ground and the narrow borders inside and out highlighted in green enamel, the base remaining white and inscribed with the six-character reign mark in a double ring.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 2nd December 1986, lot 206.

Literature: Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 762.

Note: Both the lotus-bouquet design of this dish and the yellow and blue colour scheme are borrowed from early Ming prototypes that were developed at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns in the Yongle and Xuande periods. The combination is, however, not known from the Ming period and the addition of thin bands of pale green is also a surprising innovation of the Qing dynasty potters. In the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns this design was produced in various dimensions, the present dish being of the largest size, of which only two others appear to have been sold at auction, one in our London rooms 2nd March 1971, lot 190, the other at Christie's London, 10th July 1978, lot 47. A similar, only slightly smaller dish is illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 122.

For the blue and white Yongle prototypes compare two dishes also in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Krahl, op.cit., vol. 2, nos 665 and 666, and for a smaller yellow and blue dish of this design of Qianlong mark and period, ibid., no. 763.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection - An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, Hong Kong, 07 Apr 2011

Lot 75. A reverse-decorated powder-blue dish, mark and period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 33.5 cm., 13 1/4 in. Estimate 3,500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,380,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 2011.

with rounded sides, decorated with a central gardenia spray, four similar sprays around the inner sides and a matching continuous scroll around the outside, all reserved on an overall finely speckled cobalt-blue ground, the flowers with veins and other details painted in white slip, the base inscribed with the six-character reign mark.

Provenance: Collection of Edward G. Kennedy.
Collection of Edward Kennedy Torrington.
Christie's New York, 2nd December 1989, lot 370.

Exhibited: Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection/Evolution vers la perfection. Céramiques de Chine de la Collection Meiyintang, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 141.

Literature: Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, no. 843.

Note: With its white reserve decoration on a cobalt-blue ground this pattern would seem to be ultimately based on prototypes of the Xuande period with a single flower spray in the centre, such as a dish in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, included in the Museum's exhibition Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pl. 193. A somewhat closer design was developed in the Wanli reign, with four flowers in the centre, for example, on a dish in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 2, pl. 195.

The early Ming design was also copied more closely in the Yongzheng period, as can be seen on a dish in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 5-33. Whereas both the Xuande prototype and the Shanghai Museum Yongzheng version are covered with an even, dark cobalt-blue coloured glaze, the Wanli example has the ground painted in underglaze cobalt-blue, and on the present dish the pigment was blown onto the vessel through a tube covered with gauze, which produced this finely speckled powder-blue effect.

A similar dish in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 248. The Meiyintang collection contains also a blue and white bowl decorated in the same technique, and a similar dish with the design coloured in yellow, see Krahl, op.cit., vol. 2, nos 842 and 844.

Dish, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng mark and period (1723–35). Porcelain with reserve decoration and slight relief on "powder blue" ground. Diam. 13 in. (33 cm). Purchase by subscription, 1879; 79.2.129 © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sotheby's. The Meiyintang Collection - An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains, Hong Kong, 07 Apr 2011

Attributed to Pierre Gole (Bergen, Holland 1620-1684 Paris), French middle-table, France, Louis XIV period, circa 1680. Ebony and fruitwood marquetry, H 77 x W 117 x D 73 cm. © Galerie Berger

Pierre Gole, an important cabinetmaker who was raised to 'furniture maker-in-ordinary’ under King Louis XIV. He was the first to create marquetry in tortoiseshell and brass, a technique which became famous with André Charles Boulle (1642-1732).

Attributed to Robert Osmond (Canisy 1711-1789 Paris), Mantel clock representing 'The Rape of Europa', Louis XV period, circa 1750-1760. Gilt bronze and round white enamel dial, signed 'Fol Fils à Paris'. H 70 x W 53 x D 23 cm. © Galerie Berger

Robert Osmond, a bronze-caster famous for his clock cases.

 Bureau plat, France, Regence period. Stamped by Noël Gérard (1690-1786), active as cabinetmaker circa 1710-1736. Ormolu-mounted amaranth wood. H 77.8 x W 179.5 x D 84.5 cm. © Galerie Berger

Galerie Berger  at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 105c. 10 Place de la HalleFR-21200 Beaune. t +33 (0)3 80 22 09 79 - m +33 (0)6 08 28 05 05 - contact@galerieberger.com - www.galerieberger.blogspot.com

Théodore Rousseau, 'La mare', 1842 - 1843© Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, photography Christian Devleeschauwer.

WINTER PARK, FLA.- The Cornell Fine Arts Museum opened the exhibition, Towards Impressionism: Landscape Painting from Corot to Monet. Highlights from the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims. 

This exhibition is curated by Suzanne Greub, founder and director, Art Centre Basel, in collaboration with the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims and the City of Reims, France. 

Towards Impressionism marks the first time that an exhibition drawn exclusively from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Reims, France – home to one of the largest collections of French 19th century landscape painting – travels to the United States. The Cornell Fine Arts Museum is the first of only two venues nationwide to host this extraordinary exhibition and the only stop on the East Coast. The exhibition traces the revolutionary evolution of landscape painting in France from Romanticism to Impressionism. It tells the story of how Impressionism came to be, and of its lasting power. “We are thrilled by the opportunity to experience the brilliance, revolutionary brushwork, and nuanced tonal palette—in a word, the beauty—of these paintings first hand,” notes CFAM Director Ena Heller. “As a teaching museum, we are equally thankful for the curatorial framework that places the schools of Barbizon and Honfleur within the wider arc of French landscape painting, and traces both their debt to Romanticism and the legacy they handed on to Impressionism.”

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875), Printemps, la saulaie (Spring, Willows), Undated, Oil on canvas, 15 3/4 x 23 3/4 in. © Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, Legacy Joseph Krug. Photo: C. Devleeschauwer.

Landscape painters active in the first half of the 19th century found their major inspiration in Dutch and English landscape art. Many were active roughly from 1830 until 1855 in the village of Barbizon, on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest. These artists like Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet, Narcisse Virgile Díaz de la Peña, Charles Jacque, Constant Troyon, Jules Dupré, and others rejected urban life and burgeoning industrialization, seeking instead untouched nature in its original form. They were fascinated by the mysteries of the forest and the rural tradition later described by George Sand in her pastoral novels. Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867) was a friend of the novelist and acted as the leader of the so-called Barbizon School. Rousseau rebelled against official art teaching, adopting thickly applied paint in contrast to the smooth surfaces to be seen in academic paintings. 

Narcisse Virgile Díaz de la Peña. Landscape at Barbizon, n.d. Oil on canvas. Frye Art Museum, Founding Collection, Gift of Charles and Emma Frye, 1952.035. Photo: Spike Mafford.

One of the most significant painters and a frequent visitor to the forest of Fontainebleau was Camille Corot (1796-1875). Reims possesses the second largest collection of his work after the Louvre: twenty-seven authenticated works, seventeen of which are being displayed in this exhibition. The Medici Fountain (after 1845) will remind visitors of Corot’s first trip to Italy in 1825. On his arrival in Rome he was immediately dazzled by the southern light that was to become one of the principal subjects of his work. Corot never forgot these formative years, idealizing the landscapes he had studied in the open air as he recreated them later in his studio. Later works herald Impressionism, reminding the visitor that Corot was interested in the ever-changing flow of time and atmospheric effects, painting the same motif at different times of day.  

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875), La vasque de la villa Medici, undated, oil on canvas, 7.08” x 11.33.” Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims. Photo: C. Devleeschauwer. 

Honfleur, on the Normandy coast at the mouth of the Seine, also became a magnet for artists from about 1850 onwards. Gathering at the Ferme Saint-Siméon to exchange ideas and support each other, these painters included Eugène Isabey, Paul Huet, Eugène Boudin, Constant Troyon, Jean-François Millet, Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Frédéric Bazille, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Adolphe-Félix Cals, and Louis-Alexandre Dubourg.  

Eugène Boudin (1824-1898) was one of the first artists to paint en plein air in Honfleur, encouraging Claude Monet, sixteen years his junior, to follow suit. Boudin drew his inspiration from Normandy seascapes and coastal scenes; nobody could capture the endless horizon and the wide expanse of sky in quite the same way. His friend Camille Corot, who purchased several of Boudin’s pastels, dubbed him the “roi des ciels” [king of skies]— praise indeed from an artist who himself ascribed such importance to representing the sky and the atmosphere. Gustave Courbet also succumbed to the magic of the lightness and transparency of a Boudin sky. Eugène Boudin can thus be cast as the immediate forerunner of the Impressionists.  

Eugène Boudin (French, 1824-1898), Sur la plage de Trouville (On the Beach, Trouville), Undated, Oil on canvas, 15 x 18 1/4 in. © Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, Legacy Paul Jamot. Photo: C. Devleeschauwer.

The exhibition presented at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum displays forty-five paintings in total, by several School of Barbizon painters active after 1830 and by the artists’ circle founded by Eugène Boudin in Honfleur around 1850, as well as from the Musée des Beaux-Arts’ collection of Impressionists, including works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro. 

The full list of artists displayed in this exhibition is as follows: Antoine-Louis Barye, Jean-Victor Bertin, Eugène Boudin, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Charles-François Daubigny, Narcisse Virgile Díaz de la Peña, Jules Dupré, Henri-Joseph Harpignies, Charles Jacque, Stanislas Lépine, Georges Michel, Jean-François Millet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, François-Auguste Ravier, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Théodore Rousseau, Constant Troyon and Félix Ziem. The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly catalogue edited by Suzanne Greub and published by Hirmer Verlag, Munich.

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. Monte Cavo, ca. 1825–28. Oil on cardboard. © Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, Legacy Paul Jamot Photo: C. Devleeschauwer. 

Jean-François Millet, 'Hameau cousin à Gréville', 1855-74 © Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, photography Christian Devleeschauwer.

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Le coup de vent (The Gust of Wind), ca. 1865–70. Oil on canvas. © Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, Legacy Jules Warnier-David Photo: C. Devleeschauwer. 

Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 'Le lac effet de nuit', ca. 1869© Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, photography Christian Devleeschauwer.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919), Marine, ca. 1883, oil on canvas, 19.21” x 23.19.” © Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, photography Christian Devleeschauwer

Claude Monet, Les rochers de Belle-Île (Rocks at Belle-Île), 1886. Oil on canvas. © Musée des Beaux-Arts, Reims, Legacy Henry Vasnier. Photo: C. Devleeschauwer. 

Eugène Boudin, 'La Marée montante (baie de Saint-Valéry)', 1888© Reims, Musée des Beaux-Arts, photography Christian Devleeschauwer

Lot 135. A Blue and White 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' Brushpot, bitong, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 18.4cm., 7 1/4 in. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 GBP. Lot sold 22,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's 2013.

of cylindrical form, the exterior painted with seven scholars with attendants engaged in various literati pursuits including painting and playing the qin, all set in a fenced garden with bamboo.

Provenance: An English Private Collection.

Lot 138. A blue and white 'Floral' jar and cover, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 56.5cm., 22 1/4 in. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 GBP. Lot sold 5,250 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's 2013.

the baluster body painted with three rows of petal-shaped floral panels, all reserved on diaper grounds interspersed with small cartouches enclosing the babao (Eight Treasures), the foot and the shoulder encircled with chevron bands, the neck with flowers issuing from rocks, mounted with a metal tap, the domed cover similarly decorated. Quantity: 2.

Provenance: A Dutch Private Collection.

Lot 143. A blue and white ‘Xixiang Ji’ jar, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 22cm., 8 5/8 in. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Lot sold 8,125 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's 2013.

the compressed globular body rising from a tapered foot to a short waisted neck, painted to the exterior with two rectangular cartouches enclosing scenes from Xixiang Ji (Romance of the West Chamber), one with Yingying and Hongniang in a garden listening to Zhang Sheng playing the qin outside the walls, the other with four ladies in a fenced garden, inscribed at the base with an apocryphal Chenghua mark within a double-circle.

Provenance: An English Private Collection.

Fernand Léger (Argentan 1881-1955 Gif-sur-Yvette), ‘La femme au perroquet’, 1952. Gouache on paper, 63 x 48 cm. Monogrammed lower right. © Boon Gallery

Certificate of authenticity issued by Nadia Léger, Biot, 1972 

Provenance: private collection, France.

Pablo Atchugarry (Montevideo, 1954), White Composition, 2017. White carrara marble, 132.5 x 43 x 25.5 cm. Signed on the base. Unique work. 

Certificate of authenticity provided by Pablo Atchugarry

Provenance: acquired directly from the artist.

René Magritte (Lessines 1898-1967 Brussels), ‘L'Oracle’, circa 1931. Oil on canvas, 60 x 92 cm. Signed lower right. © Ch. Herscovici – SABAM Belgium 2018

Provenance: private collection, Belgium; Isy Brachot Gallery, Brussels.

Literature: D. Sylvester, ‘René Magritte, catalogue raisonné, oil paintings, 1916-1930’, Vol I, Antwerp, 1992, ill. n° 335; The Surrealist Art Centre, ‘Surrealist Masters 1974’, London, Acoris, 1974, ill. p. 87.

Exhibitions: Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1931, n° 50; Boétie Gallery, Brussels, 1945, n° 69; Obelisk Gallery, London, 1961, n° 12; ‘Belgians: Barbarians & Poets’, Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, Rome, 2015; ‘Masters of Art: Hommage à Magritte’, Boon Gallery, Knokke, 2017.

Boon Gallery at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 78c. Kustlaan 197BE-8300 Knokke-Zoute. m +32 (0)475 45 49 63 - boongallery@hotmail.com - www.boongallery.com

Necklace. Gold, platinum and diamond, France, circa 1950. © Bernard Bouisset

Pair of ear pendants by Chaumet, French jeweller in Paris since 1780. Sapphires, diamonds, platinum and white gold, circa 1950. Certificate stating Burma as the origin of one sapphire and Ceylon for the other. No indication of treatment. © Bernard Bouisset

Twisted necklace. Platinum, diamonds and sapphires. Articulated twist of nine ‘flamme’ design diamonds alternating with oval sapphires of the same design. France, circa 1960. Weight of diamonds: 50 carats. Weight of sapphires: 100 carats. © Bernard Bouisset

Bernard Bouisset at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 35b. 20 Rue du 4 SeptembreFR-34500 Béziers. t +33 (0)4 67 28 71 86 - m +33 (0)6 07 10 28 81 - bernardbouisset@wanadoo.fr - www.bernardbouisset.com

Lot 3116. An Aubergine and Green ‘Dragon’ Bowl, Mark and Period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 11.4 cm., 4 1/2  in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 2014.

the rounded sides rising from a straight foot to an everted rim, the exterior decorated with two scaly five-clawed dragons in mutual pursuit of a ‘flaming pearl’ above tumultuous waves, all against a green ground, the recessed base inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle.

Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, 15th September 2010, lot 243.

A new exhibition of Azzedine Alaïa's works, 'Je suis couturier', at the late designer's studio in the Marais in Paris, runs until June. © MAISON ALAÏA 

PARIS - Two months after legendary designer Azzedine Alaia's sudden death plunged the fashion world into mourning, an exhibition in homage to the "King of Cling" opened Monday in his studios in Paris. 

The Tunisian-born designer, renowned for the way his clothes hugged the body, died suddenly in November aged 82, reportedly of heart failure after falling down the stairs at his home. 

The diminutive maverick, who ignored fashion week convention by showing when and where he wanted, in July produced his first couture collection in six years to rapturous reviews. 

Now some of his most iconic dresses are going on display in the glass-roofed gallery next to his studio and home in the Marais district where he used to show his creations. 

It includes the dress worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell, his longtime friend and muse, when she led his last collection down the catwalk. 

The pair were so close Campbell called the designer "Papa", and she was inconsolable at his funeral in Tunis. 

Alaia studied to be a sculptor and used his fine art training to sculpt with needle and thread. 

Fashion historian Olivier Saillard, who has curated the show which runs until June, said Alaia's famously flattering cut was timeless. 

To hammer the point home, none of the dresses in "Azzedine Alaia: I am a Couturier" have a panel explaining when they were made. 

"I defy anyone to distinguish between a dress made in 1981, 1995 or 2017," he told AFP. 

Instead curious visitors must consult a catalogue at the door. 

French fashion historian and exhibition curator Olivier Saillard poses in front of creations at the exhibition "Je suis couturier" (I am a fashion designer) of late French-Tunisian fashion designer Azzedine Alaia on January 21, 2018, at the Azzedine Alaia Association in Paris. The exhibition runs from January 22 to June 10, 2018. ALAIN JOCARD / AFP. 

'Last of the couturiers' 
Saillard described Alaia as the "last of the couturiers", capable of doing everything himself and making his mastery invisible. 

"Like Balenciaga and all those who knew how to cut and sew, he moved further and further away from making an obvious show of his brilliant technique." 

He said his clothes "didn't shout, there was nothing bling about them", instead he went for an eternal style that never went out of fashion. 

Almost all the dresses in the show -- including ones he made for pop star and actress Grace Jones -- are in black or white. 

"Alaia used to say that you can make an idea more precise in black and not dilute it," Saillard said. 

The famous hooded dress he made for Jones and the fire brigade-red zip one he created for pop superstar Rihanna are among the 41 classic dresses on display. 

Although his private life was always a mystery, the designer kept an open house in Paris during fashion weeks as celebrities rubbed shoulders with students and waifs and strays at his large kitchen table where he cooked for all comers. 

Alaia moved to Paris at the height of the Algerian war of independence, where he soon got a job with Christian Dior, only to be let go because he did not have the right immigration papers. 

Despite the setback, he moved on to work with Guy Laroche and Thierry Mugler before going out on his own with his own wealthy clientele. 

A foundation has now been created to safeguard his work, and will also hold regular exhibitions from his vast personal collection of couture. 

A retrospective of his work, "Azzedine Alaia, The Couturier", will open at the Design Museum in London in May, when his brand will also open its first British boutique. by Anne-Laure Mondesert / Fiachra Gibbons © Agence France-Presse.

Installation view of the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA 

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

From the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: 'Je suis couturier'" © MAISON ALAÏA

Lot 3019. A Carved Rhinoceros Horn 'Plantain' Cup by You Kan, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662-1722); 15.5 cm., 6 1/8  in. Estimate 2,800,000 — 3,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,520,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the highly polished amber and dark brown coloured cup superbly carved as a cup-shaped furled plantain leaf, with veining running across the interior and exterior, wrapped on the exterior in openwork with the leaf overhanging on one side and extending across the bottom of the cup and the other side of the cup with folded furls, two insects perched on the exterior with their heads concealed by the handle, a thin gnarled branch issuing small globular fruits and leaves emerging from the base and extending along the handle with a thin twig resting on the interior bearing leaves and a small fruit, the side with an incised signature Zhisheng (studio name hao of You Kan).

Note: The present rhinoceros horn cup, which bears the name of the 17th century master carver You Kan, alternative name hao Zhisheng, is delicately carved with natural details. You's works are well known and documented – there are more pieces bearing his name than that of any other rhinoceros horn carver recorded. Jan Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pp. 139-40, mentions that he was a Palace carver active in the early Qing period. He was extremely versatile with his designs and his techniques described as careful and conscientious with an emphasis on realism especially when depicting flowers and animals. The sophistication of his work is expressed in the skilful use of the material and in the spacing of the design which frequently takes advantage of the organic form and fibrous inclusions of the material.

For a closely related rhinoceros horn signed Zhisheng in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, see Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 347. The Chester Beatty cup differs from the current cup in that it is carved in the form of a lotus leaf, but it shares the same depiction of the praying mantis to the interior. See a rhinoceros horn ‘lotus leaf’ also by You Kan, illustrated by René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Treasures from the Shanghai Museum: 6,000 Years of Chinese Art, Shanghai and San Francisco, 1983, pl. 121. 

It is believed that You Kan was the famous horn carver known as You Bei (‘Rhinoceros horn cup You’), who resided in Wuxi, Jiangsu and was summoned the Kangxi Emperor to court and work in the imperial workshop; see Li Wufang, Zhongguo yishujia zhenglue [Brief introduction of Chinese artists], Hong Kong, 1911 (reprint Beijing, 1914), n.p. A rhinoceros horn cup carved with mandarin ducks bearing the signature of You Kan (Zhisheng) is preserved in the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo. Wood. Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Shanghai, 2001, pl. 17.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2014

Lot 3020. A Rhinoceros Horn 'Pine' Libation Cup, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century; 14.5 cm., 5 5/8  in. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,360,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

the tapered horn of reddish-brown colour lightening to a caramel tone at the flared rim, naturalistically carved to resemble a section of a tree trunk with blossoming pine twigs entwining around it and extending in openwork onto the interior to form the handle on one side, the organic bark accentuated with irregular and uneven lenticels.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2014

'Collier de chien’ illustrating the perfection of the Garland style, signed ‘Cartier Paris, Londres, New York’, Paris, circa 1910. Platinum and diamond. © Epoque Fine Jewels

René Lalique (Aÿ 1860-1945 Paris), glass designer, Art Nouveau pendant, Paris, circa 1904-1905. Enamel, diamond, glass, citrine and gold. © Epoque Fine Jewels

Two engraved glass panels with an orange sheen, each depicting a nymph in a foliage surround. Frame of diamond fern leaves with reddish brown enamel stems suspending a pear shaped cognac coloured citrine drop. Mount in 18 carat gold. On a rod and link brown enamel gold chain

Literature: Sigrid Barten, ‘René Lalique, Schmuck und Objets d’art 1890-1910’, Prestel Verlag, Passau, 1977, p. 352, n° 772 ill. original design of this pendant.

Epoque Fine Jewels at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 71b. Overbekeplein 33BE-8500 Kortrijk. m +32 (0)475 61 68 31 - info@epoquefinejewels.com - www.epoquefinejewels.com

Unknown pharaonic bust, possibly of Hatshepsut, Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, circa 1479 - 1458 BC. Aswan pink granite. H 27 x W 36,5 cm. © Axel Vervoord

Provenance: private collection, Switzerland; acquired on the Paris art market, 1960s

Exhibition: Middle Gate Geel '13, curated by Jan Hoet, September 28th - December 22d, 2013.

Unknown, Tragic theatre mask of a young woman, Western Europe, Roman Empire, early 1st century AD. Marble with calcification. H 31 cm. © Axel Vervoord

Provenance: private collection, Switzerland, acquired in the 1970s

El Anatsui (Anyoko, 1944), Ghanian sculptor, Intimation, 2014. Aluminium and copper wire. Variable dimensions, circa 261 x 332 cm. © Axel Vervoord

Exhibition: ‘El Anatsui-Theory of Se’, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Hong Kong (13 May-12 August 2014) (inaugural exhibition of the new Hong Kong gallery)

Axel Vervoordt at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 73b. Stokerijstraat 19BE-2110 Wijnegem. t +32 (0)3 355 33 00 - info@axel-vervoordt.com - www.axel-vervoordt.com

Klaas Muller at BRAFA, 27 Jan - 4 Feb 2018, Stand 104c. Minimenstraat 32BE-1000 Brussels. m +32 (0)478 38 18 29 - muller.antiques@skynet.be

Lot 559. A 'Longquan' celadon-glazed 'Lotus' bowl, Song-Yuan dynasty (960-1368); 16cm., 6 1/4 in. Estimate 1,000 — 1,500 GBP. Lot sold 16,250 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's 2008.

the deep rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to an incurved mouth, carved around the exterior with over-lapping lotus petals and covered overall with a soft bluish-green glaze suffused with crackles, the rim metal bound. 

Literature: Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 121.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 05 Nov 08.