WASHINGTON.- One of the most innovative Italian books of the early baroque period, the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia, published in 1612, illustrates the experiences of Saint Francis and the buildings of the Franciscan community at La Verna. Drawing from the National Gallery of Art's rich holdings of works with Franciscan imagery, Heavenly Earth: Images of Saint Francis at La Verna contextualizes this publication alongside some 30 traditional representations from the late 15th through the mid-18th century. Heavenly Earth is on view on the ground floor of the West Building from February 25 through July 8, 2018. 

"We are very fortunate to have two copies of the first edition of the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "This exhibition offers a special opportunity to share outstanding prints depicting Franciscan themes from the permanent collection as well as from the Kirk Edward Long Collection." 

German 15th Century, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, 1500/1510, woodcut, hand-colored in green, yellow, indian red, and blue, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.606.

In September 1224, in the wilderness of La Verna, a mountain in the Casentino Valley in Tuscany, Francis of Assisi began a 40-day fast and contemplation of Christ's Passion, during which he prayed to share in Christ's suffering. The legendary answer was a fiery, six-winged seraph enfolding the figure of a man on a cross. When the seraph departed, Francis's body was imprinted with the crucifixion wounds of Christ, which the friar bore for the remaining two years of his life. Francis's mystical union and unprecedented stigmatization on La Verna was a critical event in Western spirituality and proved to be the effective birth of modern monasticism. La Verna is an active monastery today and is the second most holy site for the Franciscan Order, after Assisi. 

On view in the exhibition are two first-edition copies of the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia, acquired by the Gallery in 2012 and 2013. In 1608, Brother Lino Moroni invited the head of the Florentine Accademia del Disegno and gifted draftsman and painter Jacopo Ligozzi to illustrate not just Francis's experiences on the mountain but also the area's topography and the buildings of the Franciscan community established there. The resulting work, the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia (1612), combined meticulous observation and unique vantage points in a set of 22 illustrations, which were then engraved by Raffaello Schiaminossi and Domenico Falcini. Five of the engravings include overslips—paper tabs showing the contemporary topography that, when lifted, reveal an earlier view of the landscape.  

Lucas van Leyden, Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, c. 1514, engraving, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.5690.

Other highlights in the exhibition include early works such as the refined miniature leaf Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (1470s) by Cosmè Tura as well as anonymous woodcuts, which demonstrate the variety of early artistic interpretations of the stigmatization. Later prints after paintings by Federico Barocci and Peter Paul Rubens incorporate specific visual details of the event based on accounts published in I Fioretti di San Francesco and its appended Considerazione, translated into Italian in 1477. Although the majority of works feature Saint Francis receiving the stigmata at La Verna, the exhibition also includes a range of Franciscan iconographic themes popular in the Counter-Reformation, such as the saint's rapt prayers in the wilderness, his devotion to the Madonna and child, and the Pardon of Assisi. 

The exhibition is curated by Ginger Hammer, assistant curator, department of old master prints, National Gallery of Art. 

Nicolò Boldrini, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (after Titian), c. 1530, woodcut on laid paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 2005.14.1.

Annibale Carracci, Saint Francis of Assisi, 1585, engraving, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Fund, 1977.78.1.

Pietro Faccini, Saint Francis with the Christ Child, 1590s, etching, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1972.65.20.

Jacopo Ligozzi and Domenico Falcini, The Chapel of the Cardinal [plate G], in Fra Lino Moroni, Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia (Florence, 1612), engraving with an engraved overslip of a rock revealing stairs when lifted, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Acquisition funded by a grant from The B.H. Breslauer Foundation, 2013, 2013.

Lucas Emil Vorsterman, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (after Sir Peter Paul Rubens), 1620, engraving, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Fund, 1978.29.6.

Bernardo Strozzi, Saint Francis in Prayer, c. 1620/1630, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle, 2002.78.1.

Guido Reni, Head of Saint Francis, before c. 1632, black, red, and white chalk on blue laid paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1972.5.1.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Saint Francis beneath a Tree Praying, 1657, drypoint and etching, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.7156.

Sebastiano Ricci, The Ecstacy of Saint Francis, 1706/1720, pen and brown ink and brown wash on laid paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mrs. Rudolf J. Heinemann, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1991.172.1.a.

Johan Baptist Enzensberger, The Stigmatization of Saint Francis, 1760s, pen and brown ink with gray wash over graphite on laid paper, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2007.111.75.

Inspirational Ceramics: Cizhou Wares From The Linyushanren Collection

Rosemary Scott, Senior International Academic Consultant

The term Cizhou ware 磁州窯 refers to the products of a number of kilns in north China. The name derives from the area of Cizhou in modern day Cixian 磁縣 in southern Hebei province, in which some of the major kiln sites manufacturing these wares were located. These Cizhou wares have body material that is usually fred to stoneware temperature, and is not white, but a variant of greyish-buff in colour. They also share the use of slip, which was used to cover the body material – masking its colour - and could also be used in a range of innovative decorative techniques. The majority of Cizhou wares are covered with a thin, colourless glaze, which enhances the decoration, although a small percentage have a copper-green glaze or a copper-turquoise glaze. There are also two polychrome groups – one of which derived its inspiration from Tang sancai 三彩 wares, while the other appears to provide China’s first use of overglaze enamels. Generally, Cizhou wares are distinguished by bold, simple shapes and inventive decoration, which to modern eyes often gives them a remarkably contemporary appearance. They enjoyed great popularity in China and Japan, and provided inspiration for potters not only in East Asia, but at much greater distance both geographically and temporally. 

An interesting discovery was made in 1951 by the Chinese scholar Chen Wanli 陳萬里 and published in his 1955 volume Songdai beifang minjian ciqi宋代北方民間瓷器, which concentrated on Cizhou wares and related black-glazed wares from kiln sites in Cixian and Dingxian. Chen Wanli discovered a stele at Dangyangyu 當陽峪 in Xiuwuxian 修武縣, Henan province. The stele had come from a temple built in honour of a kiln god 德應侯 Deyinghou, whose given name was Bolin 柏林. The inscription gave the date of the founding of the temple as AD 1100, and the date of the erection of the stele as AD 1105. The inscription had been copied from that on another stele, dated to AD 1084, at Yaojun 耀郡 (modern Yaozhou 耀州), in Shaanxi province, in an area in which white wares and black wares were made as early as the Tang dynasty. The Yaojun stele inscription identifed Bolin, whose family name is unknown, as a someone from the south who established the frst pottery kilns in the area. Over time Bolin was adopted as the local kiln guardian god and many years later, in the 熙寧 Xining reign (AD 1068-77), was offcially granted the title Deyinghou. Bolin is also mentioned, and a similar story
is attributed to him, on a stele at Chenjiacun 陳家村, near Hebiji 鶴壁集 in Tangyinxian 湯陰縣. Although this stele dates to the Qianlong reign it replaced a much older inscribed stele. A further inscribed stele erected to mark the rebuilding of a temple to Boling 百靈, dated to AD 1490 was found at Mengjiajing, Taiyuan 孟家井, 太原 in Shanxi province. The prefectural gazetteer Henan Yuxianzhi河南禹縣志 of AD 1747 notes that a shrine to Bolinggong百靈公 was rebuilt in AD 1322. It has been suggested that the difference in the characters for Bolin/Boling’s name may be attributable to mistakes in transcription, and that there was a spiritual connection between the Cizhou kilns as well as technological and artistic links (see Y. Mino and K. Tsiang, Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz’u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., Indianapolis, 1981, p. 12).

It is likely that Cizhou wares initially developed from Tang dynasty northern white wares, with which they share a signifcant number of
shapes, as well as aspects of their technology. Cizhou wares appear to have been produced from the mid-10th century and continued to be manufactured throughout the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties. While this may be considered the apex of Cizhou production, wares from this tradition continued to be manufactured into the Ming and Qing dynasties, and are still made up to the present day. However, it is the period 10th-14th century which saw the development of the wide variety of decorative techniques for which Cizhou wares are famed, as well as being the period of most extensive production. It is signifcant that, despite being a popular, rather than an offcial ware in the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties, Cizhou ware is mentioned in the frst edition of the Gegu yaolun格古要論 (Essential Criteria of Antiquities) by Cao Zhao 曹昭, published in Nanjing in AD 1388, where the author notes that fne pieces are similar to Ding wares, but lack ‘tear-drops’, and also notes that some pieces have incised or impressed designs. In the additions to the original text made by Wang Zuo 王佐 in the revised and annotated edition of the Gegu yaolun, called Xinceng gegu yaolun新增格古要論, completed in 1459 and published in AD 1462, the place of manufacture for Cizhou wares is noted to be Zhangdefu 彰德府, Henan province (see Sir Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship – The Ko Ku Yao Lun – The Essential Criteria of Antiquities, London, 1971, p. 142, Section X). It was also suggested that the price for some Cizhou wares was higher than that of Ding wares.

However, this may have been due to the misreading of a badly printed character in the 1388 edition. It was not until the Ming dynasty that Cizhou wares appear to have been part of offcial transactions. The 1700 edition of the Cizhou zhi磁州志 notes that in the twelfth year of Hongzhi (1498) some 11,936 wine jars were supplied in payment of tax to the government, and there were offcial storehouses in the Cizhou area, where the wine jars were kept until they were transported by water to the capital. According to the 1587 edition of the Da Ming huidian大明會典, large court orders for wine jars were sent annually to the Cizhou kilns in the Xuande reign (1426-35), and in the thirty-second year of Jiajing (1553) another large order for wine jars was sent to Cizhou.

A resurgence of academic and commercial interest in Cizhou wares was accelerated in the frst quarter of the 20th century with the discovery of the habitation site of Juluxian 鹿縣, Hebei province. Excavation and investigation began under the auspices of the Tianjin Museum 天津博物 院 in 1920 and the results published in 1923 in Julu Songqi conglu巨鹿宋 器叢錄. A signifcant quantity of ceramics with white slip and colourless glaze was found at Juluxian and these ceramics were in turn linked to the descriptions of undecorated Cizhou wares in Chinese texts. The Juluxian site was of particular interest since it was destroyed by fooding of the Zhang River in AD 1108, thus providing a terminus ante quem for the ceramics discovered there. The white wares found at Juluxian had characteristic rust-coloured staining from the iron in the soil in which they had been preserved. The white vase in the Linyushanren Collection with trumpet mouth and everted rim (lot 512) not only has this type of staining, but was made in one of the shapes associated with the Juluxian fnds. A date of Northern Song dynasty, late 11th-early 12th century is therefore probable for this vase.

In the second half of the 20th century more than twenty kiln sites producing Cizhou wares were investigated predominantly in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi provinces. From the Song to the Yuan dynasty the area around Cizhou itself contained some of the most important kiln sites – one group along the banks of the 漳河 Zhang River, and a second group along the upper reaches of the 滏 源溝 Fu River. The largest (at about 500,000 square meters) and best preserved of these is the Guantai 觀台 site on the Zhang River in Cixian, which was frst investigated in 1951 by the eminent Chinese scholar Chen Wanli, who published his findings in ‘Diaocha pingyuan Hebei ersheng gudai yaozhi baogao’, Wenwu cankao ziliao 調查平原 河北二省古代窯址報告, 文物參考資料, 1952, no.1. Further investigations were carried out by the Hebei Province Cultural Relics Bureau in 1958 and 1960-61, while in 1963 the Guantai site and others in the area were excavated by the Beijing Palace Museum scholar Li Huibing 李輝炳, who published his fndings in ‘Cizhouyao yizhi diaocha’, Wenwu, 磁州窯遺址調查, 文物 1964, no. 8, pp. 37-56. In 1987 a team comprised of members of the Department of Archaeology at Beijing University, the Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Institute, and the H ndan Regional Cultural Relics Protection Agency undertook a further excavation of the Guantai kiln site, and published an extensive report of their fndings under the title The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai 觀台磁州窯 址, Beijing, 1997. This publication provided not only a chronological study of the ceramics themselves, but also evidence of manufacturing techniques, including workshops and kiln furniture. It also made it clear that the majority of decorative techniques applied to Cizhou ceramics were in use at the Guantai kiln site, which also included monochrome black and brown wares, as well as white wares similar to those found at Juluxian. As is often the case with major kiln sites in north China, the Guantai site was located near to coal mines, and the archaeological investigations confrmed that coal was indeed used to fre the Guantai kilns.

One of the most characteristic decorative techniques seen on Cizhou wares, and used extensively at the Guantai kilns was sgraffato, in which areas of slip were removed in order to create a design of contrasting colour to the ground on which it appeared. This technique could either reveal the colour of the clay body beneath the slip or could reveal a slip of a different colour beneath the slip layer that was being partly removed. Both techniques required considerable skill on the part of the ceramic decorator, and both could produce decoration that was both bold and aesthetically pleasing.

One of the examples of this sgraffato technique in which the contrast achieved is between the white of the slip and the greyish-buff of the body material is a deep bowl in the Linyushanren collection (lot 511). This is a technique that was used at the Guantai kiln, as can be seen from sherds excavated from sector T11 (7) at the site and illustrated in black and white fgure XV, 2-5, and fgure XXI-2 of The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai觀 台磁州窯址, Beijing, 1997, as well as those illustrated in colour plate XXI-1 of the same volume. Interestingly, however, the distinctive and elegant rendering of the peony blossom on the Linyushanren bowl relates closely to similar decoration, created in similar decorative technique, found on remains from the Quhe 曲河 kiln site at Dengfengxian 登封縣, Henan, dated to the late 10th-early 11th century and published by Feng Xianming 馮先銘 in ‘Henan Mixian, Dengfengxian Tang Song guyaozhi diaocha’, Wenwu河南密縣, 登封縣 唐宋古窯址調查, 1964, no. 3, p. 53, fg. 12-4. Another interesting aspect of this bowl is the way it has been fred. On the interior base of the bowl are three small spur marks, which suggests that it was one of several bowls fred in a single saggar and kept separated by spurred setters. This type of fring at Cizhou kilns has been confrmed by fnds at the Guantai kiln. Black and white fgure CXI-1 in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., clearly shows a saggar from sector T5 (10) in which bowls have been stacked, and spur marks can be seen on the interior base of the lower bowl. Three-spurred setters have also been found at the Guantai site in a number of sectors (see The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, black and white fgure CXVIII- 1-4).

The most challenging of the sgraffato techniques employed by the ceramic decorators at the Cizhou kilns was that in which the body of the vessel was covered in white slip, and then covered in black or dark brown slip. The outline of the decoration was incised through the black slip, and then the black slip was cut away from the ground, leaving the white slip beneath intact. The result was a bold black/dark brown design against a white ground. Finally, the vessel was usually covered with a thin, colourless glaze, although a smaller number of vessels were given a green, low-fring glaze – as in the case of a trumpet-mouthed vase in the Linyushanren Collection (lot 517) which was previously registered in Japan as An Important Art Object. This vase shares a similar shape with the white Cizhou vase from the Linyushanren Collection (lot 512) discussed above, but it is worth noting that while the colourless glaze on the white vase could be fred to stoneware temperature, the lead-fuxed green glaze could not. If the potter wanted to produce a stoneware vessel, therefore, the vase had to be fred to stoneware temperature without the green glaze and then re-fred to a lower temperature after the glaze was applied. Some Cizhou green glazed vases with black on white decoration have a colourless glaze under the green glaze to prevent running of the black slip during fring (see Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz’u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., op. cit., p. 214). Vases of this form with similar decoration produced using the same decorative technique but with only colourless glazes were made at Guantai, as can be seen from colour plate IX-2 from sector T5(5) and
black and white fgure XXIII-2 from sector T10(5) in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit. Copper-green lead-fuxed glazes were used at the Guantai kiln site with a range of decorative techniques, as evidenced by the sherds illustrated in colour plates XXIX-5, XXX and XXXI in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., but this volume only appears to illustrate two sherds on which the green glaze is combined with the upper black slip cut from the lower white slip sgraffato technique (see black and white fgure LXVIII-5 in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit.). It is worth noting that the majority of green-glazed Cizhou vases of this form have decoration that is painted in black onto the lower white slip, with only details incised through the black slip.

The technique of creating decoration by applying a black slip over a white slip and then cutting areas of black slip away is one that could only be attempted by a very skilful ceramic decorator, who understood his materials and had a steady hand. It is also a technique which seems to be unique to Cizhou wares, and appears to have been prevalent at the Cizhou kilns – particularly Guantai - in the late 11th and 12th centuries. Amongst the most magnifcent of the vases with this type of decoration are meiping vases decorated with bold peony scrolls between upper and lower borders of long, slender, S-form overlapping petals – an example of which from the Linyushanren Collection is included in the current catalogue (lot 516). Decorative links with the fne white wares from the Ding kilns can be seen when these Cizhou vases are compared with Ding ware meiping vases such as the famous example from the collection of Sir
Percival David (illustrated by R. Scott in Imperial Taste - Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, Los Angeles/San Francisco, 1989, p. 25, no. 5). The Ding vase is also decorated with a bold peony scroll below a band of long, slender, S-form overlapping petals, while the lower border has a band of wider, upright, overlapping petals or leaves. It seems very likely that the Linyushanren meiping was made at the Guantai kiln site, since a number of details of the design accord well with a sherd found at Guantai and published by Li Huibing in ‘Cizhouyao yizhi diaocha’, Wenwu, op. cit, pl. 6:1. Not only do the shapes of the leaves conform,
but the peony petals have the same scalloped edge and there is the same distinctive comma-shaped detail rising from the outer edge of the inner petals. Further Guantai sherds displaying both the scrolling leaf shape and the long, slender, overlapping petals around the lower part of the vessel are illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate XXI-2. A similar decorative scheme to that on the Linyushanren meiping seems to appear on a misfred sgraffato meiping from Guantai illustrated in the same volume in black and white fgure XXIV-4. It is noted that this kiln waster meiping was unearthed from sector T5(6).

A sgraffato jar from the Linyushanren collection in the current catalogue (lot 515) also seems likely to have been made at the Guantai kilns. Like the meiping vase, the peony fowers and leaves on this jar also accord with the form of those shown on the sherd illustrated by Li Huibing, while the slender petals around the foot of the jar accord with those illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate XXI-2. The distinctive shape of this jar also accords well with those found at the Guantai kiln site. The wide shoulders, wide mouth and narrow foot of the Linyushanren jar can be seen on several jars excavated at Guantai. These include two with painted and incised peony decoration unearthed from sectors T10(5) and T10(4), illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate XI-1, and another jar with bird, fower and butterfy decoration unearthed in sector Y4(1), illustrated in the same volume, colour plate XV-3.

The third black and white sgraffato vessel in the current catalogue is a deep bowl with augmented ‘cash’ design (lot 508). The shape of this bowl with its high sides and relatively small foot is characteristic of vessels from both the Cizhou kilns and those producing Jun wares in Henan province. The shape offered a good canvas to the Cizhou ceramic decorators if they wished to use a bold design. The so-called ‘cash’ pattern – loosely resembling Chinese copper coins laid side by side in a row – was a popular and long-enduring one in the Chinese decorative arts. The ‘cash’ pattern and related ‘half cash’ pattern occurs in various forms on Cizhou wares. Another variant combined with so-called ‘pearl’ ground can be seen on several meiping vases, on which there are often multiple rows of the design. Two are illustrated by Mino and Tsiang in Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz’u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., op. cit., pp. 78-9, fg. 61 and plate 27. In the case of the vase in fg. 61, the ‘cash’ pattern is depicted against a ‘pearl’ ground, while on the vase in plate 27 the ‘cash’ pattern is depicted flled with ‘pearl’ motif, against a plain white ground. The depiction on the Linyushanren bowl is particularly interesting, on the one hand because a double circle has been incised between each ‘cash’ – almost suggesting the centre of a fower, and the sides of the ‘cash’ have a white section in each segment – suggesting a fower petal. This version of the design somewhat resembles the way in which the ‘cash’ is used on pierced lattices in traditional Chinese gardens.

Two quite different techniques using dark and white contrasts to create non-representational designs can be seen on Cizhou jars from the Linyushanren Collection in this catalogue. The frst is a jar with a dark interior, a white mouth rim and an exterior with white striations on a dark brown ground (lot 510). This type of Cizhou decoration used to be called ‘rouletted’ decoration. It was thought that a white slip was applied to the body, then a dark slip was applied over the top, and while the latter was still wet a notched cylinder, known as a roulette, was rolled around the body cutting through the dark slip to reveal the white. More recently Nigel Wood has demonstrated that instead of a roulette the ceramic decorators held a fexible blade against the vessel which was turned on a potter’s wheel. The turning movement caused the blade to fex and make intermittent contact with the surface of the vessel, cutting the striations through the damp dark slip. While requiring skill to manipulate the blade, this would be a relatively quick way of creating very effective decoration.

The second jar, which is of globular form with a small handle on either side of the shoulders, is decorated with a raised rib design (lot 518). This is a style of decoration which is most successful on shapes which have a full body, like the globular jars, which are the form most often found with this ribbed decoration. Either a dark clay was used, or the body was covered with a dark slip. Vertical lines of viscous white slip were either trailed or piped down the sides. The lines are parallel and are equidistant or grouped in two, three, four or fve together. A transparent brown glaze was applied over all of the sides, but stopping well short of the foot – so as to avoid the glaze running down and adhering to whatever the jar was standing on in the kiln. The effect was a dark glossy brown jar with pale café-au-lait coloured vertical ribs. Vessels of the same shape as the Linyushanren Collection example were made at the Guantai kilns as can be seen from the jar with paired ribs from sector T5(5), illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate XXV-1, and the jar sherd with equidistant ribs, also from T5(5), illustrated in the same volume, black and white fgure XLIII-5. Another jar sherd, from sector T3H2, with the ribs groups in fves is illustrated in black and white fgure LIV-1 right-hand image.

The last two vessels to be discussed in this introduction are decorated using a technique which allowed the ceramic artist the greatest freedom of expression and produced some of the most painterly designs on Cizhou wares. In this technique the vessel was given a white slip coating, then black or dark brown designs were painted onto the white surface, and the body covered with a thin colourless glaze. Any additional details could be incised through the dark painted areas, before glazing, to reveal the lighter surface beneath. One of the highlights of the Linyushanren Collection is a truncated meiping decorated in this technique, which was formerly in the renowned Ataka collection (lot 513). The truncated meiping form is one that is particularly associated with Cizhou and related wares, but was sometimes adopted for porcelain vessels made at Jingdezhen in later dynasties. The painterly style of decoration applied to this Cizhou example provides a perfect complement to the form. The main decoration on the Linyushanren truncated meiping depicts a very well-rendered carp swimming amongst aquatic plants. The ceramic artist has managed to achieve a most effective impression of movement through the undulation of the water weed which frames the fsh above and below. Around the shoulder of the vase, where it meets the neck of the vessel, there is a band of slender overlapping petals, similar to those seen on the sgraffato meiping and jar, discussed above. However, this band has been painted as a simple circle and the petals have been incised, so that the edge of the design is smooth. The same approach to this motif can be seen on a jar excavated from sector Y4(1) at Guantai and illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate XV-3. This jar also displays a similar disposition of elements, albethey land-based, rather than aquatic, to those seen on the truncated meiping. The combination of form and decoration on the latter has produced a vessel of distinctive elegance.

The last of the Cizhou wares from the Linyushanren Collection in this catalogue is a deep bowl with slightly constricted mouth and a small foot (lot 514). This bowl form is characteristic of Cizhou wares and a number of bowls of this shape, bearing various types of decoration, have been excavated from the Guantai kiln site - as can be seen from those illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln site at Guantai, op. cit., colour plate VI-1-3. The famous Linyushanren bowl is decorated with butterfies encircling the body. Butterfies have been found on a number of sherds recovered from the Guantai site, including those on two jar fragments from sector T5(5), illustrated ibid. black and white plate XXVIII-4. The six butterfies on the bowl have their wings outstretched and one wing-tip of each insect almost reaches the mouth rim of the bowl in a masterstroke of design. The form of the bodies and the texture of the wings are suggested by incised and combed details. This restrained, but exceedingly effective decoration has produced a vessel of great beauty, which is in perfect harmony with 21st century taste, despite having been produced some 800 years ago.

Lot 508. A rare Cizhou sgraffiato deep bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 6 in. (15.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The deep, rounded sides are carved through the brown slip to the white slip ground with a band of 'cash' pattern, the brown slip extending over the mouth rim and falling in tears on the white slip-covered interior, all under a clear glaze that stops above the foot ring to reveal the buff stoneware body, Japanese double wood box and lacquered cover.

Provenance: Mayuyama, Tokyo. 

Literature: The Japan Ceramic Society, Soji Meihinten (Exhibition of Famous Song Ceramics), Tokyo, 1955, no. 108.
Chugoku no Toji (Chinese Ceramics), Tokyo, 1955, no. 200.
Koyama Fujio, ed., Sekai Toji Zenshu (Collection of World’s Ceramics), vol. 10: China Sung and Liao Dynasties, Tokyo, 1955, no. 101. 
Hasebe Gakuji,Toki Zenshu (Ceramics Anthology), vol. 13: So no Jishuyo, Tokyo, 1958, no. 29. 
Koyama Fujio, ed., Toki Koza (Lecture of Ceramics), vol. 6: Chugoku II So (China II Song), Tokyo, 1971, no. 75.
Hasebe Gakuji, ed., Toji Taikei 39: Jishu Yo (Compendium of Ceramics 39: Cizhou Wares), Tokyo, 1974, no. 41. 
Mayuyama Junkichi, Ryusen Shuho (Mayuyama, Seventy Years), vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, no. 550. 
Yutaka Mino, Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz'u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1980, p. 110, fig. 112.
Special Exhibition, Charm of Black & White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Osaka, 2002, no. 47.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, p. 133, no. 54.

Exhibited: The Japan Ceramic Society, Soji Meihinten (Exhibition of Famous Song Ceramics), Tokyo, April to May 1955. 
The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Special Exhibition, Charm of Black & White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka, 1 October to 8 December 2002.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013.

Lot 509. A Cizhou polychrome-glazed dish, Song dynasty (960-1279); 5 ¾ in. (14.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 3,000 - USD 5,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The shallow dish is carved in the center with a yellow flower borne on a leafy green stem, surrounded by a border of yellow glaze and a further border of green glaze which extends over the rim and partially covers the exterior. Three characters, hou zhong liang, are written in ink on the base, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo.

Lot 510. A Cizhou cut-slip jar, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 3 ½ in. (9 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The rounded body is decorated with rows of oblique striations cut through a dark brown slip to reveal the white slip beneath, while the low neck, foot ring and the base are covered with a creamy white slip, all under a clear glaze, and the interior is covered with a thin brown glaze, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo.

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, p. 68, no. 89.

Exhibited: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006.

Lot 511. A Cizhou sgraffiato deep bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The bowl is potted with deep, rounded sides rising to a very slightly inverted, lobed rim. The exterior is carved through an ivory-toned slip to the pale grey ground with a leafy scroll bearing two large stylized blossoms, all under a clear glaze, and the interior is similarly covered with a creamy white slip, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Kunryudo, Tokyo.

Lot 512. A large Cizhou white-glazed baluster vase, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 12 in. (30.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 50,000 - USD 70,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The vase has a tapering, ovoid body raised on a spreading foot and is surmounted by a trumpet neck beneath an outward-curved mouth rim. The exterior is covered with a white slip under a milky transparent crackled glaze suffused with patches of pale russet, which stops above the foot to reveal the pale brownish-grey body, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: The Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo.
Sotheby's London, 9 June 2004, lot 56.

Literature: The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Chukogu bijutsu ten, Series 4: So Gen bijutsu, (Art of the Song and Yuan Dynasties), Osaka, 1978, no. 1-137.
The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, So Gen no bijutsu (Arts of the Song and Yuan Periods), Osaka, 1980, pl. 142.
The Toguri Museum of Art, Kaikai kinen meihin ten (Commemorative Exhibition for the Opening), Tokyo, 1987, no. 13.
The Toguri Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics in the Toguri Collection, Tokyo, 1988, no. 54. 
The Toguri Museum of Art, Zaidan Hojin Toguri Bijutsukan zohin zenshu: Seireki 2000 nen kinen zouruku (Selected Works from the Toguri Museum of Art Foundation: Commemorative Catalogue of the Year 2000 AD), Tokyo, 2000, pl. 17.
The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Special Exhibition, Charm of Black & White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka, 2002, no. 3.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 122-123, no. 48. 
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’, Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 23.

Exhibited: The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Chukogu bijutsu ten, Series 4: So Gen bijutsu, (Art of the Song and Yuan Dynasties) Osaka, 15 October to 12 November 1978. 
The Toguri Museum of Art, Kaikai kinen meihin ten (Commemorative Exhibition for the Opening), Tokyo, 1987. 
The Osaka Municipal Art Museum, Special Exhibition, Charm of Black & White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka, 1 October to 8 December 2002.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013.

Lot 513. A very rare and important painted Cizhou 'Fish' truncated meiping, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm.) high. Estimate USD 500,000 - USD 700,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

 The vase has a rounded, ovoid body below a slightly waisted neck that rises to a lipped rim, and is painted in brownish-black slip with fish amidst water weeds on a creamy slip ground below a band of overlapping petals on the shoulder, all under a clear glaze. The foot ring is unglazed exposing the grey body, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: The Takeji Yamada Collection, Ashiya. 
Mayuyama, Tokyo.
The Ataka Collection.

Literature: Koyama Fujio, Soji, Tokyo, 1943, no. 37.
Koyama Fujio, ed., Sekai Toji Zenshu (Collection of World’s Ceramics), vol. 10: China Sung and Liao Dynasties, Tokyo, 1955, p. 231, fig. 102. 
Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, Bi no bi ten (The Beauty of Beauty Exhibition), no. 6, Tokyo, 1967.
Koyama Fujio, ed., Toki Koza (Lecture of Ceramics), vol. 6: Chugoku II So (China II Song), Tokyo, 1971, no. 50. 
Nihon Keizai Shinbusha, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from the Ataka Collection), Tokyo, 1972, no. 23.
Hasebe Gakuji, ed., Toji Taikei (Compendium of Ceramics), vol. 39: Jishu Yo, Tokyo, 1974, no. 60.
Nihon Keizai Shinbusha, Ataka korekushohugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from the Ataka Collection), Tokyo, 1975, no. 35. 
Mayuyama Junkichi, Ryusen Shuho (Mayuyama, Seventy Years), Tokyo, 1976, vol. 1, no. 520.
Mikami Tsugio, Sekai Toji Zenshu (Ceramic Art of the World), vol. 13: Liao, Chin and Yüan Dynasties, Tokyo, 1981, no. 246.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 136-137, no. 56. 
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’, Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 1.

Exhibited: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, Bi no bi ten (The Beauty of Beauty Exhibition), no. 6, Tokyo Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Department Store, 29 August to 3 September 1967.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Osaka Mitsukoshi Department Store, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from the Ataka Collection), Osaka, November 1972.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Tokyo Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Department Store, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from the Ataka Collection), Tokyo, 15 September to 28 September 1975.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013.

Note: On the present meiping the Cizhou potters’ free and skillful painting style brilliantly conveys the convincing impression of the flow of the water. The lively painted decoration of fish amidst aquatic plants was likely inspired by contemporaneous paintings, such as the Northern Song handscroll, Luohua youyu tu, by Liu Ke, now in the Saint Louis Art Museum; a Southern Song album leaf attributed to Zhao Kexiong, now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and a 13th century handscroll, Yule tu (The Pleasures of Fishes) by Zhou Dongqing. (Fig. 1) This subject recalls a famous passage from the Daoist classic Zhuangzi, in which Zhuangzi, strolling beside a river, observed, “See how the small fish come out and dart around where they please! That’s what fish really enjoy!” His companion Huizi remarked, “You’re not a fish - how do you know what fish enjoy?” to which Zhuangzi replied, “You are not I, so how do you know I don’t know what fish enjoy?” 

Fig. 1 The Pleasures of Fishes, Zhou Dongqing, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), From the Collection of A. W. Bahr, Purchase, Fletcher Fund, 1947, photo source: metmuseum.org.

Floral Cross Pendant, 1770. Silver and diamonds. Length 8.5 cm (3.8 in.). S J Phillips Ltd © TEFAF 2018

Cartier. An Art Deco brooch, London, circa 1930. Platinum, diamonds and amethyst, 4.7 x 3.7 cm. Signed 'Cartier'. VKD Jewels © TEFAF 2018

A brooch of strong geometric design, composed of two tapering series of rectangular-shaped amethysts, embellished with circular-, baguette- and marquise-shaped diamond accents, mounted in platinum, circa 1930, signed Cartier London and numbered, maker’s mark for Cartier, stamped PT950 for platinum.

Van Cleef & Arpels. A pair of 'Tourbillons earrings, Paris, Circa 1952, 2.5 x 2.5 cm (1 x 1 in.). Signed 'Van Cleef & Arpels' and numbered, maker's mark and assay marks for the platinum. VKD Jewels © TEFAF 2018

Centring on a brilliant-cut diamond within an overlapping spiral of baguette-cut diamonds trimmed with graduated brilliant-cut diamonds, mounted in platinum.

VKD Jewels (Stand 245) at TEFAF Maastricht, March 10-18, 2018

Cartier. Bracelet with matching ring, London, 1966 and 1969. 18 ct yellow gold, amethist and turquoise. Signed 'Cartier.'. Marjan Sterk Fine Art Jewellery © TEFAF 2018

Karel Appel (Amsterdam, 1921 - Zurich, 2006), Pendant-Brooch, Amsterdam, executed by Fa. Holshuijsen Stoeltie BV, 1981. 18 ct yellow gold, enamel and diamonds. Diameter 7.3 cm. Signed and numbered on reverse 'K. Appel 3/10'. Marjan Sterk Fine Art Jewellery © TEFAF 2018

Marjan Sterk Fine Art Jewellery (Stand 178) at TEFAF Maastricht, March 10-18, 2018

"Parfums de Chine, la culture de l'encens au temps des empereurs" au musée Cernuschi

PARIS - Cette exposition aborde de manière inédite la civilisation chinoise à travers l’art de l’encens et du parfum en Chine depuis le IIIe siècle avant notre ère jusqu’au XIXe siècle. Près de 110 objets d’art et d’archéologie rassemblés pour la première fois invitent à un véritable voyage à travers la civilisation chinoise.

Céramiques, dessins, bronzes ou toiles issus des collections du Musée de Shanghai et présentés en Europe pour la première fois sont accompagnés par une vingtaine de pièces issues des collections du musée Cernuschi. La découverte de ces prêts exceptionnels va plonger le visiteur au cœur d’un parcours muséographique et sensoriel original ponctué par des expériences olfactives qui rythment les étapes du cheminement chronologique de l’exposition. 

Doté d’une symbolique qui s’enrichit au fil du temps, le parfum permet d’aborder de nombreux aspects de la culture chinoise. Depuis sa signification dans les pratiques liturgiques jusqu’à son association à l’art de vivre des lettrés, l’encens a suscité une grande diversité de productions artistiques. Des brûle-parfums aux tables à encens, l’histoire du parfum en Chine permet d’aborder les plus brillantes créations artistiques, et ce à travers une grande diversité de médiums. En effet, les œuvres présentées permettent au public de découvrir un vaste aperçu des savoir-faire des artisans de Chine, depuis les techniques des bronziers, des laqueurs, ou des sculpteurs sur bambou. Enfin, un ensemble de peintures signées de grands noms, comme Chen Hongshou ou Qiu Ying, mettent en scène belles dames, ermites et lettrés dans leur rapport à l’encens, qu’il soit associéà la toilette, à la méditation ou au rituel.

L’exposition bénéficie du soutien de la maison Dior Parfums et des créations exclusives de son parfumeur-créateur François Demachy.

Chen Hongshou, Femme parfumant ses manches sur un brûle-parfum, détail, encre et couleurs sur soie, 129 x 47 cm, Dynastie des Ming (1368-1644). © Musée de Shanghai

L’encens et les pratiques rituelles des Han aux Tang (IIIe siècle av. J.-C. – IXe s. ap. J.-C.)

Cette première partie aborde les premiers temps de la consommation de l’encens en Chine à travers des pratiques intimement liées au culte des ancêtres et à la conception de l’au-delà, ainsi qu’aux croyances taoïstes et bouddhistes.

À partir de la dynastie des Han (IIIe s. av. J.-C.-IIe s. ap. J.-C.), l’habitude de brûler des matières odoriférantes dans un contexte sacré ou profane est attestée par les nombreux brûleparfums qui occupent une place très importante dans le mobilier funéraire. L’apparition du boshan lu, un brûle-parfum dont la forme évoque une montagne mythique, témoigne de l’apparition de nouvelles pratiques et croyances. La consommation de l’encens dans le cadre des cérémonies bouddhiques, révèle ses fonctions rituelles et symboliques, et permet d’évoquer les routes de la soie et du parfum.

Le développement du bouddhisme a en effet une influence considérable sur la consommation de l’encens en Chine dès les premiers siècles de notre ère. 

Les représentations sculptées et peintes permettent d’observer comment le parfum occupe une place majeure au cœur des cérémonies aux pieds mêmes des statues du bouddha. L’arrivée du bouddhisme au sein de la cour impériale donne lieu à la création de vastes sanctuaires et à l’organisation de cérémonies où l’encens joue un rôle clef dans la représentation de la piété impériale.

Brûle-parfum avec une paire d’oiseaux, bronze, Dynastie des Han (IIIe s. av. J.-C. – IIIe s. apr. J.-C), 19,4 x 9,25 cm, musée de Shanghai© Musée de Shanghai

« Brûle-parfum canard ». Bronze. Dynastie Han de l’Ouest (202 av. J.-C. à 220 ap. J.-C.). Paris, musée Cernuschi. © musée Cernuschi

Parfum et culture lettrée sous les Song et les Yuan (Xe -XIVe siècle)

L’essor de la culture lettrée sous la dynastie Song (Xe -XIIIe siècle) enrichit considérablement la culture du parfum en promouvant l’encens au sein des pratiques lettrées. Faisant désormais l’objet d’évocations poétiques, mais également d’une véritable littérature d’experts sur ses composants et sa fabrication, l’encens est considéré par les lettrés comme un vecteur de méditation. L’intégration de l’encens dans la culture matérielle des élites est à l’origine de nombreuses créations, notamment en céramique, les célèbres fours des époques Song et Yuan rivalisant d’élégance pour réaliser des brûle-parfums, boîtes et vases à encens.

Brûloir à encens tripode, céramique céladon (Fours de Longquang), Dynastie des Song (960-1279), Musée de Shanghai © Musée de Shanghai

Peinture représentant la consumation de l’encens, éventail circulaire en soie, Anonyme, 24 x 43 cm, Dynastie des Yuan (XIIIe s. – XIVe s. apr. J.-C.), musée de Shanghai© Musée de Shanghai

L’art de vivre et les usages de l’encens sous les Ming (XIVe – XVIIe siècle)

Les usages lettrés de l’encens, apparus sous les Song, codifiés sous les Ming, ont modelé en profondeur la manière d’apprécier le parfum en Chine. Inversement, l’encens est devenu indissociable de l’image du lettré, comme le montrent les nombreuses peintures représentant les pavillons et les jardins qui servent de décor aux activités littéraires et artistiques : l’encens y est omniprésent aux côtés de la peinture, de la calligraphie, de la musique ou des échecs. 

Depuis l’époque des Han, les parfums font l’objet d’usages aussi bien sacrés que profanes et jouent en particulier un rôle dans la toilette, féminine mais aussi masculine. Ces pratiques perdurent pendant les dynasties suivantes, en particulier sous les Ming (1368-1644), dont la culture de l’encens est évoquée par des peintures, céramiques, orfèvrerie, laques et jades qui occupent trois salles respectivement consacrée à l’art de vivre, aux dévotions privées et à la toilette. 

Une peinture de Chen Hongshou résume l’esprit de cette époque : elle figure une belle dame assise sur un lit et déployant ses manches au-dessus d’un brûle parfum en forme de canard. Ce chef d’œuvre de poésie est aussi une évocation très précise de l’utilisation du parfum dans la Chine classique. 

Les dix-huit lettrés, Anonyme, encres et couleurs sur soie, 134,2 x 76,6 cm. Dynastie des Ming (XIVe s. – XVIIe s. apr. J.-C), musée de Shanghai© Musée de Shanghai

Brûle-parfum tripode ajouré, céramique aux cinq couleurs et or, four de Jingdezhen, Dynastie des Ming (XIVe s. – XVIIe s. apr. J.-C.), 8 x 15,5 cm, musée de Shanghai© Musée de Shanghai

Parfum de cour et studios lettrés sous la dernière dynastie (XIVe -XVIIIe siècle)

Depuis l’époque des Song, les anniversaires de l’empereur donnaient lieu à des présents d’encens, qui jouaient un rôle particulier dans les cérémonies associées aux vœux de longévité. À partir des Ming, les manufactures impériales jouent un rôle particulier dans l’essor de la production de porcelaine de Jingdezhen. Sous les Qing, l’encens acquiert une telle importance dans le système impérial qu’il est considéré comme bien d’état constituant une réserve de capitaux. 

Cette partie de l’exposition permet de montrer l’évolution du goût au sein de la cour à travers la diversité des décors, floraux ou animaliers, d’inspiration bouddhiste ou taoïste. Cette époque est également marquée par l’apparition de nouvelles formes d’objets destinées à recevoir l’encens en bâtons, à parfumer les coiffures et les chapeaux, tandis que le principe d’un mobilier conçu pour l’encens, forgé sous les Ming, régit désormais les pratiques de l’encens dans tous les intérieurs.

Du 9 mars au 26 août 2018.

Ensemble de cinq objets destinés à l’autel, céramique de la famille rose, fours de Jingdezhen, règne de l'(empereur Qianlong (1735-17959) et Daoguang (1820-1850), Dynastie des Qing (XVIIe s. - XXe s. après JC), musée de Shanghai. © Musée de Shanghai

Brûle parfum ajouré, cuivre et or, Dynastie des Qing, 18ème-20ème ap JC, Musée de Shanghai. © Musée de Shanghai

Brûle-parfum. Dynastie des Qing (1644-1912). Bronze. Paris, musée Cernuschi. © musée Cernuschi

NEW YORK, NY.- In Chinese tradition, when a dog enters a household, it symbolizes good fortune. Asked to present examples of dog-related works of art to celebrate The Year of the Dog, several dealers of Asia Week New York came forth with a selection of beautiful canine objects that are bound to bring prospective buyers good luck. Here are some dog-themed works of art they're offering: 

At Bardith, Ltd., a pair of intricately sculpted dogs sports a rich layer of yellow and green Sancai glaze and vivid facial expressions that lend them an irresistible sense of liveliness. They were made more than 200 years, about 1800, during the Jiaqing reign, of the Qing dynasty, and they are almost 16 inches tall. 

A pair of important Chinese lion dog statues, Jiaqing reign, circa 1800. Photo: Bardith, Ltd.

From J.J. Lally & Co. comes bounding a Ming gilt-bronze heavenly hound with a tongue of flame! He dates from the 16th-17th century and sits three inches high on a stepped pedestal. The representation of a golden dog raised on a pedestal and seated in a noble pose is very rarely seen in Chinese art.  

A Ming bronze dog, 16th – 17th Century. Height 3 1/8 inches (7.9 cm). Photo: J.J. Lally & Co.

The finely glazed figure of a recumbent dog with an incised red mark from the Qing dynasty beckons from Littleton & Hennessey Asian Art. The cute fella used to reside in a private English Collection. 

A finely glazed figure of a recumbent dog with incised red mark, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century, 7.5cm long. Photo: Littleton & Hennessey Asian Art

What could be more apt for the Year of the Dog than a porcelain sculpture titled Year of the Dog, 2018? Standing 9-and-a-half inches, it is the work of artist Tokuda Yasokichi IV and is being presented at the Onishi Gallery.  

A lovable pair of painted earthenware dogs, dating back to the 2nd century A.D. (also known as the Han dynasty), are available at Kaikodo, LLC, while at Priestley & Ferraro, a pair of seated gray ceramic dogs from the Northern Wei dynasty (386-535) beckons for a new home.  

Pair of Painted Earthenware Dogs, Han dynasty 2nd century B.B. 2nd century A. D. Lengths :15.5 and 15.2 cm. (6 1/8 and 6 in.). Photo: Kaikodo

Yamamoto Shoun, an artist whose life spanned from 1870 to 1965, created a woodblock print in 1906 called Children at Play: Lotus Flowers, which includes a dog. See this doggie treat at Scholten Japanese Art. 

Yamamoto Shoun (1870-1965), Children at Play: Lotus Flowers (Kokomo asobi: Renge), signed Shoun with artist's seal Shokoku (Matsutani), published by Heikichi Matsuki for Daikokuya; dated Meiji sanjukyunen (Meiji 39 [1906]), oban yoko-e ,9 3/8 by 13 3/4 in., 23.7 by 34.8 cm. Photo: Scholten Japanese Art

Who can resist the sight of an adorable puppy about to gobble a prized slice of dried salmon? That's the image from the woodblock-print series Sanjurokkin tsuzuki, a collection of 36 birds and animals that Totoya Hokkei executed in 1825 and is available at Joan B. Mirviss Ltd

Lot 3033. A gilt copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha by Sonam Gyaltsen (a.15th century), Central Tibet, circa 1430. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61516; 26 1/8 in. (67.7 cm) high. Estimate US$ 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 (€ 810,000 - 1,200,000). Photo: Bonhams 

NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams New York will present six carefully curated auctions during their celebration of the 10th anniversary of Asia Week New York in March. Featuring outstanding works of Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art, and Japanese and Korean Art from several notable private collections, the auctions are set to take place at the Madison Avenue galleries from March 19-21. Touring highlights from upcoming sales at Bonhams Hong Kong will also be on view, as well as a special non-selling exhibition of Japanese art. 

“This season Bonhams has once again partnered with Asia Week to present exceptional works of Asian Art. We have put together some of our best sales in recent history, filled with captivating and important pieces from across the continent," said Dessa Goddard, head of Asian Art, Bonhams North America. 

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art 
The top lot of the Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art sale on March 19 at 3:00 p.m. is a groundbreaking gilded 15th century Tibetan sculpture of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000). This radiant piece from the height of Tibetan sculpture features a previously unread inscription which was translated for the first time, revealing eye-opening information about the artist and for whom the piece was commissioned.

Lot 3033. A gilt copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha by Sonam Gyaltsen (a.15th century), Central Tibet, circa 1430. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61516; 26 1/8 in. (67.7 cm) high. Estimate US$ 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 (€ 810,000 - 1,200,000). Photo: Bonhams

Published: Apollo, London, June 1968, p.CLX.
Apollo, London, August 1977, p.167, fig.10.
Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1982, pp.452-3, no.124D.

Provenance: Oriental Antiques Ltd, London, by 1968
Sotheby's, London, 9 May 1977, lot 167
Private English Collection, 1977-2014

THE JAMCHEN AVALOKITESHVARA BY SONAM GYALTSEN

Written in collaboration with Jeff Watt, February 2018

Encapsulating the crescendo in Tibet's gilt bronze casting tradition occurring in the 15th century, this magnificent sculpture of the Lord of Compassion in his supreme form is a central masterpiece by the hand of Sonam Gyaltsen (active 15th century) made around 1430, upon the completion of Jamchen monastery in Central Tibet. 

Remarkably, all of these details are mentioned in the sculpture's lengthy inscription. With yet another named artist coming to light from the study of inscriptions, the discovery of the master craftsman Sonam Gyaltsen provided by this bronze prompts us to consider a paradigm shift in the field of Tibetan art history, away from the ever-more questionable narrative of the ubiquitous 'anonymous' Tibetan artisan.

Although previously unattributed, other pieces now clearly by Sonam Gyaltsen have long been lauded among the prized possessions of numerous international museums for reflecting the zeitgeist of classical Tibetan gilded sculpture. They draw unmistakable comparison with the present bronze, which provides the key to revealing the master sculptor's identity for the first time.

Its inscription also brings to light the phenomenal patronage of the Rinpung dynasty (15th-16th centuries), as yet little discussed in Tibetan art history's popular circles, whose seat of power was in Shigatse, Central Tibet, and who mostly patronized the Sakya order. It names a famous Sakya teacher: Zhonnu Gyalchog; two brothers: Norbu Zangpo and Palzang; and the artist: Sonam Gyaltsen. Written in Tibetan U-chen script along the top of the lotus base's circumference, it reads:

༄༄།སྭསྟི། སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་དངོས་གྲུབ་འབྱུང་གནས་འདི། རྒྱལ་སྲས་གཞོན་ནུ་རྒྱལ་མཆོག་བཀས་བསྐུལ་ནས། མི་དབང་ནོར་བཟང་དཔལ་བཟང་སྐུ་མཆེད་ཀྱིས། ལྷག་བསམ་དག་པས་འཕགས་སྡེའི་མཆོད་གནས་བཞེངས། བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་ལག་པས་རྩེ་ལས་འཁྲུངས། དགེ་བས་འགྲོ་ཀུན་ཀུན་མཁྱེན་མྱུར་ཐོབ་ཤོག།

"This source of the attainments of Lord Avalokiteshvara, requested by the bodhisattva Zhonnu Gyalchog, [fulfilled] by the ruling brothers Norzang and Palzang, with pure motivation to build a place of worship for noble beings, [then, this sculpture was made] by the hands of Sonam Gyaltsen: May the accumulation of merit lead all beings to quickly attain the omniscient stage."

At the turn of the 15th century, Shigatse in Tsang province was the second most prosperous city in Tibet. Infighting within the ruling Phagmodrupa family allowed the local Rinpung clan to seize control of the city and establish their own dynasty, lasting until 1565. Norbu Zangpo (1403-66), referred to as 'Norzang' in the sculpture's inscription, was the third and most powerful monarch of the Rinpung dynasty, and ruled between 1435 and 1466. Because of his comparative importance, Norbu Zangpo is also simply known as 'Rinpungpa'. Less is known about his brother Palzang, but the fact that the two are mentioned together in the inscription suggests that Norbu Zangpo had not ascended the throne yet, placing its date before 1435. 

The events leading to the creation of the sculpture described in the inscription also corroborate that Norbu Zangpo had yet to ascend the throne. The brothers were students of Zhonnu Gyalchog (b. 14th century; tbrc.org no.P1943), a prominent Sakya lama recognized for his treatises on mind training. He was a direct pupil of Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419). The 'place of worship' in the inscription undoubtedly refers to Jamchen Chode monastery near Shigatse, which was either founded or enlarged by Zhonnu Gyalchog and Norbu Zangpo in c.1427/1430 (cf. Czaja, Medieval rule in Tibet, Vienna, 2013, pp.481-4). The inscription records that the sculpture was created at the culmination of this project, thereby allowing us to narrowly date it to c.1430, along with similar bronzes by the artist that were possibly part of the same or adjacent iconographic programs within Jamchen monastery. The monastery was Sakya by tradition, but later fell into disrepair, being renovated, converted to Gelug, and renamed Jampa Ling by the Fifth Dalai Lama, Lobzang Gyatso (1617-82). 

Lastly, the inscription unequivocally states that this spectacular sculpture was created by Sonam Gyaltsen. No other historic record of him is broadly known to date. We can only infer that he flourished by the second quarter of the 15th century, working at that time in the region of Greater Shigatse. Moreover, it is likely that his work at Jamchen monastery would have won him considerable renown, if his fame had not already secured him this prestigious commission in the first place.

The large sculpture depicts Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha - the All Seeing, All Sided Lord with One Thousand Hands and Eleven Faces, who looks in every direction to save all creatures. Since the first Dharma King of the Yarlung Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo (604-50), Avalokiteshvara has been the primary tutelary deity of Tibet, incarnating spiritual and political rule. Here he appears in his supreme cosmic form expressing his infinite capacity with a multitude of heads and arms. The iconography follows either the Palmo or Jowo traditions of depicting the deity with benign expressions except for the penultimate wrathful head. Despite the popularity and central status of Avalokitesvara, very few examples in the form of Sahasrabhujalokeshvara Ekadasamukha are extant, and none of this scale are known to be held in private hands.

A close formal analysis of his superbly cast masterpiece reveals a few idiomatic features of Sonam Gyaltsen's sculptural style, surmised as follows. The sculpture is exquisitely gilded over a pinkish copper alloy. The lotus base is completed in the round and includes engraved patterns of foliate imagery on a band above the foot rim. Its petals are exquisitely modeled with symmetrically curling plump inner corolla terminating in curlicue tips, set within swelled outer petals with pointed tips, in turn flanked by jagged chased sepals. While surviving unsealed, a gilded edge to the foot rim underneath suggests that Sonam Gyaltsen may have gilded his consecration plates.

The physiognomy of his deity is slender and nimble, but not attenuated, and with rounded joints between the limbs. Great care is taken to portray the anatomy of every finger, always modeled in a position different from the next. Hair descends naturalistically in long tresses over the shoulders and arms, but is also more distinctively arranged into a thick fringe of rounded curls before the crown. In the case of this benign Avalokiteshvara, the deity wears silk garments that hug the legs below, but also drape on the sides to accentuate their weight and sumptuousness. These garments are also engraved with fine patterns on a broad hem or section, but otherwise left plain as a golden backdrop for the fine turquoise jewelry inlaid into each item of regalia. 

Sonam Gyaltsen treats jewelry in a particularly unique and refined manner. Each inset stone is small and precisely cut in a round or teardrop shape, except for a rectangular central belt ornament. While inset into every piece of regalia, the components of which are uniform in Tibetan art (crowns, armbands, aprons, etc.), the stones are small (especially if one were to compare them to contemporaneous work at Densatil) and twinkle, like stars peppering a brilliant golden sunset.

The designs of bracelets and armlets on the deity's primary limbs, as well as his crown leaves are a most telling indicator of Sonam Gylatsen's hand. Each shares a common denominator that becomes richer and more complex as they near the head of the deity. Starting with the bracelet, from the band's beaded edge extend three lotus petals bearing a piece of inset turquoise at the center of a pointed five-lobed leaf. At the armlets this basic element is larger and more elaborate, supplemented with an additional piece of turquoise and foliate sprays framing the three initial lotus petals, and a further lotus-borne turquoise pendant hanging from a beaded chain below. Moving to the crown, the same element appears again, but now the five-lobed leaves are more pointed and rendered in openwork, while longer sprays flank the three lotus petals, and the central crown leaf is inset with four additional pieces of turquoise. Furthermore, the lowermost swags of his bejeweled apron also terminate with this same leaf motif. The aforementioned lotus-borne turquoise pendant swinging from the armlet is another distinctive marker for Sonam Gyaltsen's oeuvre, and is repeated throughout the apron.

Lastly, to address what many would concede is a sculpture's most important feature, Sonam Gyaltsen appears to depict a perfectly composed face for his subject, with a unique and enigmatic expression that evokes the ineffable spirit of the deity – in the present case, a beautifully-featured calm, gentle face at rest, with a soothing, compassionate smile.

A number of pieces in museum and private collections have long been regarded as similar, but can now be positively attributed to Sonam Gyaltsen given their obvious conformity to the aforementioned indicators of his work, underscored by the Jamchen Avalokiteshvara's inscription.

Chief among these are: 
• A Guhyamanjuvajra and a Vajrabhairava, formerly of the Pan Asian and Berti Aschmann Collections, now in the Rietberg Museum (Figs.1 & 2; Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zurich, 1995, pp.168-71, nos.113 & 114);
• A Yamantaka in the JPHY Collection, published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.451, no.123E, which most closely matches the present sculpture's double lotus base with engraved design;
• A Ghuyasamaja in The Qing Palace Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, 60: Buddhist Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 1998 p192, no.183;
• A Purnabhadra in The Philadelphia Museum of Art (acc.#2001-44-1);
• A Chakrasamvara preserved in Tibet, published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, Vol. II, Hong Kong, 2001, p.964, no.232A;
• Another Chakrasamvara, sold by Bonhams, New York, 16 March 2015, lot 18;
• A Mahachakra Vajrapani also within this sale (lot 3034).

Fig.1. Guhyamanjuvajra, Tibet, 16th century. Height 25.5 cm. Museum Rietberg, Zurich (BA 113).

Fig.2. Vajrabhairava yab-yum, Tibet, 16th century. Height 24 cm. Museum Rietberg, Zurich (BA 114).

Whereas scholars have debated whether most of these sculptures should be dated to the 15th or 16th century, the Jamchen Avalokiteshvara is the linchpin that finally allows us to reattribute them with relative certainly to a concurrent timeframe. What is more, the group of sculptures mentioned above could well have appeared together in their original context as part of the same sculptural mandala, or as part of Jamchen monastery's broader sculptural program. The Avalokiteshvara, being more than double the size of the any comparable piece, and bearing the only dedicatory inscription known to date, very likely stood at the center of a chapel's ensemble. This would also be congruent with Avalokiteshvara's central position within the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon and cosmic form represented here.

However, our inscription only says so much, and Sonam Gyaltsen could also have been commissioned to produce sculptures for various monasteries throughout Tibet. We should also not jump to the conclusion that he was only confined to one medium. For instance, he might also have painted. His Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha represents the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms symbolically, but its actual count is forty-two, with a complete set of eight primary arms and thirty-four encircling arms. This is a rarely seen configuration and perhaps the only other known example is the subject of a mural on the second floor of Gyantse Kumbum (Fig.3), which is part of a Sakya enclave no more than 60 miles from Shigatse. Founded in 1427, Gyantse Kumbum is contemporary with Sonam Gyaltsen's sculpture for Jamchen. This overlap of timing, geography, clergy, and iconography is enough for us to at least consider that Sonam Gyaltsen might have also been responsible for some of the incredible artistic products of Gyantse Kumbum.

Fig.3. Avalokitesvara, Kumbum, Gyantse © Thomas Laird, 2018. Murals of Tibet, TASCHEN.

More information beyond this masterpiece and this initial inscription will hopefully come to light to help us better understand Sonam Gyaltsen's work and its relationship to the prevalent styles he would no doubt have been aware of and perhaps responding to, such as the Pala style murals of Shalu monastery with their foliate banded jewelry, the gilded tashi gomang stupas of Drigung and Densatil monasteries, and the imperial style of the Yongle court. Also, his relationship to other master artists, such as teachers and apprentices, or contemporaries that he might have collaborated with in catering to the great flourish in artistic patronage within Tsang Province in the 15th century. This pivotal sculpture begs us to presume these historic persons can be found the longer we look for them. The reading of its inscription promotes it to one of the most important surviving sculptures from Tibet of any period, identifying an artist we are now compelled to include among the legendary giants of Himalayan art.

The sale will also present a selection of sculptures and Indian miniatures, a rare group of early Tibetan thangkas, and one of the most significant Nepalese paintings to appear at auction. The various owner auction will also offer a rare selection of ancient Gandharan works from the Elizabeth and Willard Clark collection, including a large schist head of Buddha (estimate: $300,000-500,000). 

Lot 3078. A large schist head of Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd-4th century; 18 3/8 in. (47.3 cm) high, from the Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection. Estimate US$ 300,000 - 500,000 (€ 240,000 - 410,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: The Pan-Asian Collection, formed by Christian Humann, 1950s-70s 
Robert H. Ellsworth, by 1981
Christie's, New York, 23 June 1983, lot 445
The Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California 

Published: Pratapaditya Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, Los Angeles, 1978, p.28, no.7.

Exhibited: The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 24 October 1977 - 15 January 1978; Seattle Art Museum, 10 March - 23 April 1978; Denver Art Museum, 26 May - 30 July 1978; Nelson-Atkins Gallery, 15 September - 29 October 1978; National Gallery of Canada, 26 January - 12 March 1979; Toledo Museum of Art, 6 May - 24 June 1979.

Note: Of exceptional scale with a commanding presence, yet retaining Buddha's serene sense of introspection, this head is recognized as one of the great examples of its kind. Gandharan sculpture's Greco-Roman legacy and its evolution towards abstraction is seamlessly juxtaposed here with the naturalistic curves of his nasal sidewall, nostrils, and chin, and the crisp ridges defining his lips, philtrum, eyelids, and eyebrows. 

Buddha's locks undulate in symmetrical waves from the center point and flow over the dome of his ushnisha. Close examples are held in the British Museum (see Zwalf, Gandhara Sculpture, Vol. II, London, 1996, pp.9, 10, & 32, nos.1, 3, & 39). Also compare another renowned example sold at Christie's, New York, 19 March 2013, lot 201.

More commonly found on images of bodhisattvas, a mustache is present in a rarer group of Gandharan Buddha images, including one in the British Museum and another in the Peshawar Museum (see op. cit., pp.9 & 32, nos.2 & 39; and Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.I, Tokyo, 1988, p.81, no.206; respectively.)

The size, well-preserved condition, and beautiful variation of colors within the stone of this remarkable head places it amongst the most important examples held in private hands. With the Rockefeller head at the Asia Society, New York at 14 1/2 inches, and the British Museum head at 15 inches, the present lot is one of the largest known (cf. op cit., p.32, no.39; and Proser, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, New York, 2011, p.151, no. 59; respectively). 

A special evening sale on March 20 at 6:30 p.m. will be dedicated to The Maitri Collection, which comprises of more than 40 paintings and sculptures. The collection’s name, which means ‘friendliness’ and ‘benevolence to all,’ is a core virtue in Hinduism and Buddhism, and thematically unifies an otherwise diverse cross-section of artistic traditions from across Asia. Highlights include a cheerfully dancing Chola bronze figure of Krishna (estimate: $300,000-500,000) from the John D. Rockefeller III collection, and a rare Nepalese bronze of Manjusri Namansangiti (estimate: $250,000-350,000), of Heeramaneck provenance. 

Lot 3231. A copper alloy figure of dancing Krishna, Tamil Nadu, Chola dynasty, circa 12th century; 15 3/8 in. (39.2 cm) high. Estimate US$ 300,000 - 500,000 (€ 240,000 - 410,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd, London
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, New York
Sold to benefit Asia Society, New York, Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, 3 May 1977, lot 7
William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, 23 October 1985
Robert and Bernice Dickes Collection
Carlton Rochell Asian Art, 22 March 2010

Published: Carlton Rochell Asian Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art: Selections from the Robert and Bernice Dickes Collection, New York, 2010, no.8.

Note: This beautifully cast image depicts Krishna in his most popular form in South India - as a young dancing boy. His hair is arranged into a kesabhandha, reserved especially for juveniles and female figures, wherein rows of curls are stacked upon each other, one of the most attractive elements found in fine Chola sculpture. He is naked but for sumptuous jeweled ornaments, also betraying his status as a pampered, royal child, yet the sculpture does anything but infantilize the deity, who offers the viewer a gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra) with his right hand and darshan with his still, confident expression.

The overall effect is one of skill and dignity, further emphasized by the flawless modeling of his dancing pose, balancing each limb with effortless control above a crisply modeled lotus base. His outstretched left arm provides a graceful counterbalance to his upraised right foot, prompting the eye to trace the attractive contours of his torso and thighs, and rejoice maternally in the supple health of this divine child. For in this form, otherwise known as Balakrishna, the deity so effectively fuses feelings of affection and love with awe and reverence – an association adroitly encouraged by the present sculpture.

Following the schema outlined by Sivaramamurti, the jeweled tassels hugging Krishna's ears and descending towards makara-shaped earrings resting on his shoulders indicate the mature Chola style of the 12th century (South Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1963, pp.28-9). Being one of the best examples of the subject in private hands, it compares most favorably to 13th-century examples of Balakrishna in the Sarabhai Foundation (Nagaswamy, Timeless Delight, Ahmedabad, 2006, pp.224-7, no.24) and of Sambandar in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart (Dehejia, Chola, London, 2006, pp.98-9, no.16). Similarly, the Maitri Dancing Krishna stands taller than, and just as gracefully as the two comparable Sambandars: one formerly of the Heeramaneck and Pan Asian Collections sold at Christie's, 1 December 1982, lot 192; the other sold more recently at Christie's, New York, 16 September 2016, lot 416.

Lot 3203. A gilt copper figure of Manjusri Namansangiti, Nepal, 13th-14th century. Himalayan Art Resources item no.58573; 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm) high. Estimate US$ 250,000 - 350,000 (€ 200,000 - 280,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, New York, early 1960s
Sotheby's, New York, 2 November 1988, lot 80
Private European Collection
Carlton Rochell Asian Art, New York, 15 September 2010

Note: This masterfully sculpted figure of Manjushri Namasangiti represents a pinnacle of Newari artistic expression. He has a magnetic aura centering on a handsome Newari face, and despite his complex array of arms, the subtle flection of each finger seems to return the viewer's gaze back towards his deeply peaceful expression. 

Manjushri Namasangiti is one of the most important deities within the Newari Buddhist tradition of the Kathmandu Valley. As touched upon by the above excerpt, he is conceived as the spiritual progenitor of all Tathagathas and the entire Buddhist cosmos. As such his multi-armed form as Namansangiti here is a metaphor for his cosmic portent, providing him with six arms to represent each of the five Buddha families and Vajrasattva.

The highly contoured primary hands held in an open vyakarana mudra symbolize Vairocana's gesture of exposition. The second pair of hands gesture tarpana mudra sprinkling ambrosia into the bowl, while the fingertips touch the projecting head of Shakyamuni coming out of it in patrastha amrita kshepana mudra. The third pair in samadhi mudra supports the bowl in his lap containing amrita nectar. The fourth and fifth pair of hands, outstretched, would have held the attributes of the sword, the manuscript, and bow and arrow. The sixth pair is joined above the head in vajrachakra mudra, also referred to as Adamantine Circle, symbolizing Mount Meru (uttarabodhi mudra), in turn galvanizing the relationship with Vajrasattva. 

The sculpture bears evidence of careful yet ardent worship over the past half millennia. The worn face is now honey-colored as the gilded layer has rubbed into the dark coppery surface underneath. Its smooth patina is indicative of reverent touching. Meanwhile, the legs and limbs, where the gilding is lost, are dark and rough owing to heavy applications of vermillion, curds and unguents, applied and cleaned in a constant cycle of veneration. By contrast, the rich gilded lustrous surface preserved at the back suggests the worship of this sculpture would have been conducted while it was installed in a small, possibly private shrine, and not handled in the round.

At the turn of the 13th century, North India was transformed culturally by a series of catastrophic raids that effectively eradicated Buddhism from the region. Monks and laymen connected with monastic universities (mahaviharas) perished or fled, many finding refuge in Nepal for a while. The Kathmandu Valley Buddhist community was immeasurably enriched by this influx of talent, scriptures, and small bronzes brought over by refugees, prompting the already rich tradition of artistic exchange between India and the Newars, stretching far back into the Gupta and Licchavi periods (c.5th-8th centuries), to flourish. It is possible that the Newar artist who created this Namasangiti sculpture was inspired by Pala art. The deity is unknown in India, yet the technical dexterity of casting resembles examples of multi-arm forms of Manjushri from Northeastern Indian medieval sculpture. For a possible Pala antecedent see von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.291, no.73C.

This representation of Manjushri is extremely rare and only known in Nepal, with no more than a handful of examples known and published. Two examples, dated to the 17th century, are held by the National Museum in Kathmandu, see Huntington, Circle of Bliss, Los Angeles, 2003, p.428, no.132; and Waldschmidt, Nepal, The Hague, 1967, no.43. Another smaller and less refined example is in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.356, no.94A. An illustration from the 12th-century Paramartha Namasangiti manuscript in the Los Angeles Museum of Art depicts the deity in red color, and holding two upright staffs (acc.#M.83.7.3; Pal, Art of Nepal, Los Angeles, 1985, p.199, no.P5). A complex paubha of the deity is preserved in the British Museum (acc.#1949,1210,0.13), see Pal, The Art of Nepal, Leiden, 1977, no.92). It shows a complex retinue of deities associated with his practice.

Earrings with multi-stone insets defining the flower ornament, the crown type and armbands are common to Newari work of the early Malla period. For a close comparison in a Shadaksari, dated to the 14th century, with similar treatment of the projecting scarf elements, see von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.359, no.95C. In its superb casting, lustrous gilding, skillfully inset gems and size, the sculpture may be compared with the Yogambara sold at Bonhams, New York, 17 March 2014, lot 5. Also compare with a 13th-century group of Shiva Vinadhara and Parvati formerly in the Sporer Collection, sold at Christie's, New York, 15 September 2015, lot 2.

Chinese Art 
Part II of The Dr. Sylvan and Faith Golder Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles, featuring a fine group of yellow jade bottles, will kick off the auction series on March 19 at 10:00 a.m., followed immediately by the Chinese Works of Art and Paintings sale at 12:00 p.m. Highlights include a fine and rare Tang dynasty silver bowl (estimate: $80,000-120,000), and an archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, Gu, (estimate: $70,000-100,000), from the Collection of Sally and Decatur “Deke” Miller. Also to be offered will be a select group of Chinese porcelains deaccessioned from the Currier Museum of Art, including a celadon glazed double gourd vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (estimate $60,000-90,000), a rare blue and white basin, Jiajing mark and of the period ($30,000-50,000), and a collection of porcelain from Tang Shaoyi, the first Prime Minister of the Republic of China. 

The Chinese paintings section will be led by an iconic Horse painting (estimate: $150,000-200,000) by Xu Beihong from the collection of Dr. Gregory Dahlen, and a selection of Buddhist sculpture rounds out the top lots, including a contemplative gray limestone figure of Maitreya (estimate: $40,000-60,000) from the collection of Japanese diplomat Hidenari Terasaki.  

Japanese and Korean Art 
An extremely rare ink painting and poem of Rocks, Orchid and Bamboo (estimate: $150,000-250,000) by celebrated 15th century Japanese monk painter Ikkyu is the top lot of the Japanese and Korean Art auction at 2:00 p.m. on March 21. Ikkyu is known for his radical approach to Zen and was one of the most important religious leaders of Japan’s later middle ages. The work is a prime example of the artist’s minimal and life-like style, and feature’s Ikkyu’s signature subject of the orchid, as it symbolized the upright scholar alienated from the corruption of power. 

Lot 2083. Ikkyu Sojun一休宗純 (1394-1481), Wild Orchids, Rock, and Bamboo, with Calligraphy, Muromachi period (1333-1573), 15th century, Kakejiku (hanging scroll), ink on paper; inscribed at right: Daito Shuho Kokushi Goyo Ryuho monkyaku Tokai Ikkyu-ro no shi tomo ni ga ippitsu 大燈宗峯國師五葉龍寶門客東海一休老納詩与畫一筆 (Old Man Tokai Ikkyu, guest of Daito Shuho Kokushi Goyo Ryuho, offered this poem and painting from the same brush); Inscribed above with a Chinese poem: 屈平佩惠世傳芳　楚国詞人吟奥長　湘水不須言逆耳　汨羅江上送春香　(The fragrance of Qu's orchid passes from generation to generation / the verses chanted by this poet of Chu were wide and deep / the waters of the Xiang River ignored his words and blocked its ears to them / but they spread the scent of spring over the waters of Miluo); 33 1/4in x 15 1/4in (84.4 x 38.7cm). Estimate US$ 150,000 - 250,000 (€ 120,000 - 200,000). Photo Bonhams

With fitted lacquered-wood tomobako storage box dated Genbun gannen tatsu shichigatsu mikka 元文元年辰七月三日 (Third day of the seventh month of 1736) and inscribed to the effect that the painting has a certificate by the Daitokuji abbot Gyokushu 玉舟 (1599-1668); the documents accompanying this lot include the certificate by Gyokushu; another certificate with a label inscribed by Takuan Soho 沢庵宗彭 (1573-1645), also a Daitokuji abbot; an annotated copy of the Chinese poem, with glosses in Japanese; and a copy of the Tokyo Art Club price list of 1926 (see below) 

Provenance: Kataoka Family Collection, until 1926
Takashi Yanagi, Kyoto
The Estate of George Gund III (1937-2013), from 1992

Published: Tokyo Art Club 東京美術倶楽部, Kataoka-ke shozohin rakusatsu takane-hyo 片岡家所蔵品落札高値表 (Prices [Above 300 Yen] Realized at the Sale of the Kataoka Family Collection), auction report, October 11, 1926, no. 14 (1,050 yen) 
Michael R. Cunningham, Ink Paintings and Ash-Glazed Ceramics: Medieval Calligraphy, Painting, and Ceramic Art from Japan and Korea, exhibition catalogue, Cleveland OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, March 19-May 28, 2000, cat. no. 3, pp.25-27

Note: Famed for his radical approach to Zen and his superficially dissolute lifestyle, Ikkyu Sojun was one of the most important religious leaders of Japan's later middle ages. Although better known for his voluminous and eccentric Chinese poetry, he painted a small number of expressive, gestural scrolls executed in ink on paper that feature plant forms, usually wild orchids, and appear to have been inspired by earlier Zen priest-artists such as Gyokuen Bonpo (1349-after 1420) who produced more than 20 such compositions; see Anne Nishimura Morse and others, Arts of Japan, Boston: MFA Publications, 2008, p. 64. Like Bonpo, Ikkyu chose the orchid as his subject because it symbolized the upright Chinese scholar alienated from the corruption of power.

The present lot is closely related to the right-hand half of a pair of scrolls in the Century Cultural Foundation, Tokyo which has a similar composition and is inscribed with the same poem except for some differences in the first line; see http://www.ccf.or.jp/jp/03museum/detail.html?SelectExsID=698. Ikkyu's poem relates to the great early Chinese poet Qu Yuan from the state of Chu in southern China. Following his unjust banishment from both court and state, Qu committed suicide by throwing himself in the Miluo River, a tributuary of the Xiang River on the eastern bank of Lake Dongting. As noted by Michael Cunningham, Ikkyu here likens Qu's understated "moral character to that of the scent of the wild orchid, which goes largely unnoticed in the world."

Additional Japanese highlights include an exquisite six-panel screen (estimate: $25,000-35,000) depicting a variety of garments draped on a rack against a gold leaf background, and a highly important Meiji-era solid gold short sword, or tanto, (estimate: $12,000-18,000) decorated with the deity Fudo Myo-o and other motifs. An 80-lot collection of fine Japanese smoking articles and accessories will also be offered in the Arno Ziesnitz Collection at 10:00 a.m. 

Lot 2076. Anonymous, Interior with Kimono, Clothes Racks, and Furniture, Edo period (1615-1868), late 17th/early 18th century; 61 1/4 x 136 1/2in (155.5 x 346.7cm). Estimate US$ 25,000 - 35,000 (€ 20,000 - 28,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Six-panel folding screen, ink, colors, and gold on paper with gold leaf, with silk surround and lacquered-wood frame, depicting a variety of silk kosode and other garments, decorated in tie-dye, stencil-dye, embroidery, and other techniques, an uchiwa fan, and an inro draped on a lacquered iko (clothes rack), to its left a shodana (set of shelves), a stylized pile of folded garments, and the beginning of a set of shoji screens.

Note: Known today by the collective title Tagasode (Whose Sleeves?), screens depicting garments, usually without human figures, were first painted around the early seventeenth century. While some of the earlier examples are painted with kosode draped on racks against a plain gold background, from the mid-seventeenth century some screens began to include other domestic interior elements. The composition of the present lot shares features with a pair in the Nezu Museum, Tokyo, in particular the shoji screens at the left and the stylized pile of kosode lying in front of the shodanashelves. As noted by textile scholar Kirihata Ken in connection with another pair of screens, these piles of kosode are depicted as if viewed from above in order to show the maximum number of different designs; indeed it seems as if the artists' overall purpose in these later screens was to create a kind of large-scale fashion album designed to appeal to female members of the Kyoto military and mercantile elite. See Takeda Tsuneo and others, Nihon byobu-e shusei(Survey of Japanese Screens), 14, Fuzokuga: Yuraku, tagasode (Genre Entertainments, Kimono Screens), Tokyo, Kodansha, 1977, cat. nos. 95-96, 103.

Lot 2266. Tanaka Kiyotoshi (1804-1876), A highly important solid-gold tanto, Meiji era (1868-1912), dated 1871; 10 1/4in (26cm) long (blade only), 13 3/4in (34.9cm) long overall. Estimate US$ 12,000 - 18,000 (€ 9,700 - 15,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The solid gold blade in hirazukuri configuration and decorated with Fudo Myo-o on the omote side and his attendants Kongara and Seitaka doji on the ura side, all in copper, gold, silver, and shakudo hirazogan, and carved in ke-bori and katakiri-bori, the nakago bearing kessho file marks and one hole, signed on the mune on the right side, Meiji yonen hitsuji [] [] rokujuhachi-juso Hogen kore o saku; fitted with a one-piece gold habakicarved with the Sanskrit characters representing Fudo and his attendants, and waves and clouds; the hardwood tsuka wrapped in blue-dyed chamois and fitted with solid-gold menuki carved as tigers and decorated in shakudo stripes, signed Yasu and chika, and a copper fuchiformed as a woven basket and decorated with chrysanthemums and grasses in iro-e takazogan, signed on the tenjogane Yasuchika, the shibuichi hamidashi tsuba decorated with bamboo in gold and shakudo takazogan and signed Zai nenrokujuhachi-juo and with a kao, with two shakudo seppa.

Korean highlights include a ten-panel screen (estimate: $35,000-45,000) depicting a bird’s eye view of Pyongyang from the Joseon dynasty, as well as ceramics, lacquer, arms and armor, paintings, and a selection of Buddhist sculpture.  

Non-Selling and Touring Exhibitions 
Bonhams will also present a special non-selling exhibition of Masterpieces of Japanese Art from a private collection. Curated around the theme of "Birds and Flowers," the show will feature 30 outstanding works from the 17th century to the 20th century, including porcelain, lacquer, metalwork, and cloisonné enamel. 

Additionally, nearly 30 touring highlights from the upcoming April 3 sales at Bonhams Hong Kong will be on view, including fine classical Chinese paintings from the single-owner sale of the Zhen Shang Zhai Collection, and selected works from the Kaikodo Gallery. Highlights from the various owner sale include exquisite Chinese paintings by Fu Baoshi, Huang Binhong and a Wu Changshuo work from the legendary Rong Bao Zhai scholar’s studio supplies shop in Beijing, all from an important British private collection formed by a former diplomat stationed at the British Embassy in Beijing from 1970-72. 

The Asia Week sales and exhibitions will be on view at Bonhams New York from March 15-20, with auctions taking place from March 19-21.

Lot 519. A russet-splashed black-glazed truncated meiping, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 5 ¾ in. (14.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The vase has a domed body that rises to a narrow, waisted neck, and is covered with a lustrous russet-splashed blackish-brown glaze with russet splashes that thins to a brownish color on the raised outer and inner edges of the everted rim, and stops above the foot ring to reveal the fine-grained stoneware body, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo.

Note: Vases of this truncated meiping form covered in a blackish-brown glaze accented with splashes of russet-brown are very rare. A slightly smaller vase of this form, but with more liberally applied russet splashes, is in the Miyaoshi Kinenkan, Ashikaga, and illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, Tokyo, 1977, vol. 12, p. 244, pl. 246. A slightly taller vase of this form, with evenly spaced rounded russet markings, in the Korean National Museum, is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics, vol. 6: Temmoku, Tokyo, 1999, no. 66. Another larger example in the Meiyintang Collection, is illustrated in A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese Art World through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p. 279, pl. 261. Compare, also, a vase of similar size, but with a longer neck and angled shoulder, sold at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2001, lot 202, and again at Sotheby’s New York, 23 March 2011, lot 517.

Christie's. The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics - The Linyushanren Collection, Part III, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 520. A Henan russet-splashed black-glazed deep jar and cover, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The jar has deep rounded sides covered on the exterior with a lustrous black glaze accented with splashes of russet brown. The interior is covered with a black glaze except for a circular section revealing the biscuit body. The domed cover has a small finial and is similarly covered with a russet-splashed black glaze on the exterior, the interior is unglazed, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo.

Literature: Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, p. 89, no. 29.

Exhibited: Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013.

Note: The glaze on this vessel is a very successful example of the Song dynasty dark brown iron-rich glaze with russet splashes containing an even higher percentage of iron. A russet-splashed black-glazed bowl and cover of similar form from the Falk Collection and later sold at Christie’s New York, 20 September 2001, lot 83, is illustrated by R. D. Mowry, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Brown-and Black Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996, pp. 144-45, no. 39. A similar russet-splashed black-glazed bowl and cover in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1980, no. 161. Two related vessels in the Meiyintang Collection are illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. I, London, 1994, pp. 254-55, no. 462. The present covered bowl is distinguished from the above cited examples for having both the lower body and base fully covered with glaze.

Christie's. The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics - The Linyushanren Collection, Part III, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 521. A russet-painted black-glazed vase, yuhuchunping, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 10 5/8 in. (27.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 522. A russet-splashed 'partridge feather' conical tea bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 523. A black-glazed conical tea bowl, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 524. A large Jian 'Hare's-fur' conical tea bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279); 6 ¼ in. (15.8 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The bowl is potted with flaring sides rising to a slightly everted rim bound with a metal band. The interior and exterior are covered with a lustrous black glaze streaked with fine russet 'hare's-fur' markings which pools irregularly above the foot which has fired to a dark purplish-brown color, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo.

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, p. 63, no. 77.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 100-101, no. 37.

Exhibited: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006.
Christie's, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013.

Note: Jian tea bowls were held in high esteem by the Song scholar-official class and even the emperors. Cai Xiang (1012-1067), the famous calligrapher and high-ranking official at the Northern Song court, designated the ‘hare’s fur’ tea bowls from Jian’an the most appropriate utensil for serving tea in his two-chapter treatise entitled Cha lu (A Record of Tea). He believed the white tea looked best in black-glazed bowls and the slightly thicker wall of Jian wares help to retain the heat. By the early twelfth century, the connoisseurship of Jian tea bowls was further developed by the Emperor Huizong (1082-1135). In his twenty-chapter treatise, Daguan chalun (A Discourse on Tea in the Daguan Era) of 1107, the Huizong Emperor stated that “the desirable color of a tea bowl is bluish black and the best examples display clearly streaked hairs.” The current bowl is representative of the best tea bowls of the Song dynasty, judging by the Huizong Emperor’s criteria. 

Lot 525. A Jizhou leaf-decorated tea bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279); 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The bowl is potted with slightly rounded sides, and is decorated on the interior with the brownish-buff gossamer imprint of a curling leaf against a dark-brown glaze that thins to an amber color at the rim and ends on the exterior above the shallow ring foot exposing the buff body, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo.

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, p. 65, no. 80.

Exhibited: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art - Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006.

NEW YORK, NY.- A major international loan exhibition featuring luxury arts created in the ancient Americas will go on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning February 28. Showcasing more than 300 objects drawn from more than 50 museums in 12 countries, Golden Kingdoms: Luxury and Legacy in the Ancient Americas will trace the development of goldworking and other luxury arts from Peru in the south to Mexico in the north from around 1000 B.C. to the arrival of Europeans in the early 16th century. Emphasizing specific places and moments of extraordinary artistic achievement, as well as the exchange of materials and aesthetic ideas across time and place, the exhibition will present a new understanding of ancient American art and culture—one based on indigenous ideas of value—and cast new light on the brilliance of ancient American artists and their legacy. The exhibition will feature spectacular works of art from recent archaeological excavations—crowns, pectorals, pendants, necklaces, ear and nose ornaments, rings, labrets, masks, mantles, goblets, vases, stelas, bells, mirrors, painted books, and more—that have rarely, if ever, left their country of origin.  

Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, stated: "It is a great privilege for The Met to present this stunning assemblage of highly prized works of art from more than 50 organizations. This exhibition is the result of an intensive five-year research effort that brought together scholars from across Latin America and the United States, and we're thrilled to share their findings and these beautiful objects with our visitors." 

Mask of the Red Queen, Maya, A.D. 672, Mexico, Chiapas. Jadeite, malachite, obsidian, limestone. H. 14 7/16 × W. 9 1/16 × D. 3 1/8 in. (36.7 × 23 × 8 cm), Museo de Sitio de Palenque “Alberto Ruz L’Huillier,” Secretaría de Cultura-INAH (10-461006, 10-629739 0/39, 10-629740 5/55).

Exhibition highlights include the exquisite gold ornaments of the Lord of Sipán, the richest unlooted tomb in the ancient Americas; the malachite funerary mask of a woman known as the Red Queen, from the Maya site of Palenque; newly discovered ritual offerings from the sacred precinct of the Aztec Empire; and the "Fisherman's Treasure," a set of Mixtec gold ornaments plundered by Spanish conquistadors and destined for Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish king, but lost en route to Spain. Recovered from a shipwreck in the 1970s, these final works are poignant reminders of the brilliant traditions of ancient America's lost golden kingdoms.  

"Ideas about artistic production in the ancient Americas have traditionally been based on works in ceramic and stone—objects of durable materials," said Joanne Pillsbury, The Met's Andrall E. Pearson Curator of the Arts of the Ancient Americas. "But there were also exquisitely worked objects of rare and fragile materials—most of which were destroyed at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Countless works of gold and silver were melted down, and delicate native manuscripts were deliberately burned as part of campaigns to stamp out native religions. And time has taken a heavy toll on featherworks and textiles, which were considered more precious than gold by many indigenous societies. What we present in this show are not only spectacular artworks, but also rare and enormously important objects that escaped destruction." 

Pendant, Tolima, 1 B.C.–A.D. 700, Colombia. Gold. H. 12 5/8 × W. 6 3/8 in. (32 × 16.2 cm). Museo del Oro, Banco de la República, Bogotá (O06061).

In the ancient Americas, gold, silver, and copper were used primarily to create regalia and ritual objects—metals were only secondarily used to create weapons and tools. First exploited in the Andes around 2000 B.C., gold was closely associated with the supernatural realm, and over the course of several thousand years the practice of making prestige objects in gold for rulers and deities gradually moved northward, into Central America and Mexico. But in many areas other materials were more highly valued. Jade, rather than gold, was most esteemed by the Olmecs and the Maya, while the Incas and the Aztecs prized feathers and tapestry. In all places, artists and their patrons selected materials that could provoke a strong response—perceptually, sensually, and conceptually—and transport the wearer and beholder beyond the realm of the mundane. 

Golden Kingdoms will explore not only artistic practices but also the historical, cultural, social, and political conditions in which luxury arts were produced and circulated. The materials of ancient American luxury arts were closely associated with divine power: they were made of materials thought to have been emitted, inhabited, or consumed by gods. Luxury arts were also relatively small in scale, which meant they could be transported over vast distances as royal gifts or sacred offerings, thus serving as a primary vehicle for the exchange of ideas across regions and through time. The exhibition will present a new portrait of the ancient Americas—one unconstrained by today's national boundaries—revealing networks of artistic exchange in historical context. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.

Breastplate in the Shape of a Shirt, Lambayeque (Sicán), A.D. 900–1100, Peru. Gold. Height: 23 5/8 in. (60 cm). Width: 23 5/8 in. (60 cm). Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú, Lima, Peru, Ministerio de Cultura del Perú (M10649 a, b, c, d, e).

Octopus Frontlet, Moche, 300-600, Peru. Gold, chrysocolla, shells. H: 27.9 × W: 43.2 × D: 4.4 cm (11 × 17 × 1 3/4 in.). Museo de la Nación, Lima, Ministerio de Cultura del Perú (MN-14602).

Nose ornament, Moche, A.D. 525–550, Peru. Gold. H. 1 15/16 in. (5 cm). Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan, Huanchaco, Peru, Ministerio de Cultura del Perú (13-01-04/IV/A-1/13, 465). 

Ear Ornament Depicting a Warrior, 640–680, Moche culture; gold, turquoise, wood. Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán, Lambayeque, Peru, MNTRS-77-INC-02; S/T1-O:2. Ministerio de Cultura del Perú. Photo: Juan Pablo Murrugarra Villanueva.

Plaque Showing a Seated King and Palace Attendant, A.D. 600–800, Maya. Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, or Honduras; Mexico. Jadeite. H. 5 1/2 × W. 5 1/2 in. (14 × 14 cm). British Museum, London (AM1938, 1021.25). © Trustees of British Museum

Lucio Fontana (Rosario Santa Fè, 1899 - Varese, 1968), Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1965. Water based paint on canvas, 82 x 66.5 cm (32.3 x 26.2 in.). Signed on the reverse 'l.Fontana/Concetto spaziale, Attese/Quando ò fatto questo quadro pensavo a a Rosario S.Fè’. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Provenance: Galleria Il Mappamondo, Milan; Panza collection, Milan; Busca 'La Gaia' collection, Cuneo

Literature: Tornabuoni Art, Arte moderna e contemporanea. Antologia scelta 2015, Florence 2014, p. 131 
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana. Catalogo Ragionato di sculture, dipinti, ambientazioni, Milan 2006, vol. II, p. 761, no. 65 T 81 
Enrico Crispolti, Luca Massimo Barbero, Edward Lucie-Smith and Tornabuoni Art, Lucio Fontana, Florence 2015 
Enrico Crispolti, Fontana. Catalogo generale vol. II, Milan 1986, p. 575 
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana. Catalogue Raisonné des Peintures, sculptures et environnements spatiaux vol. II, Brussels 1974, pp. 164-165 

Exhibited: London, Tornabuoni Art, 'Lucio Fontana', October - December 2015

Basaldello Afro (Udine, 1912 - Zurich, 1976), Teatro Spagnolo, 1966. Mixed media on canvas, 65 x 81 cm (25.6 x 31.9 in.). Signed and dated lower right 'Afro 66'. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Provenance: Toninelli Arte Moderna, Milan; Merlini collection

Literature: Cesare Brandi, Maestri del XX secolo. Afro, Rome 1977, no. 258, p. 201 
Mario Graziani, Afro. Catalogo Generale Ragionato, Rome 1997, no. 607, p. 272 
Tornabuoni Arte, Arte moderna e contemporanea. Antologia scelta 2014, Florence 2013, p. 17 
Alan Serri, Emilio Vedova e l’informale veneto: Santomaso, Afro e Tancredi, Bologna 2015, p. 99 

Alberto Burri (Città di Castello, 1915 - Nice, 1995), A. 1, 1953. Oil, burlap, pumice stone on canvas, 47 x 54 cm (18.5 x 21.3 in.). Signed and dated upper right 'Burri 53'. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Literature: Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini, Burri. Contributi al Catalogo Sistematico, Città di Castello 1990, no. 63, pp. 48-49 
Angelo Baldelli, Mario Coppa, Marinella Ottolenghi, Città di Castello, nella storia , nell’economia, nel territorio. Sintesi per il Piano Regolatore Generale, Città di Castello 1960, Cover 
Cesare Brandi, Burri, Rome 1963, no. 120, p. 196 
Tornabuoni Arte, Arte moderna e contemporanea. Antologia scelta 2016, Florence 2016, pp. 52-53 
Bruno Corà, Alberto Burri. Catalogo generale. Pittura 1945-1957, Città di Castello 2015, no. 328, vol. I, p. 160.

Giorgio de Chirico (Volos, 1888 - Rome, 1978), Piazza d'Italia with empty piedestal, 1955. Oil on canvas, 55 x 35.5 cm (21.7 x 14 in.). Signed lower left 'g. de Chirico '. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Provenance: Art Gallery of the Naviglio, Milan; Galleria Tega, Milan

Literature: Katherine Robinson, Reading de Chirico , Florence 2017, pp. 78-79 
Tornabuoni Art, Modern and Contemporary Art. Selected anthology 2015 , Florence 2014, pp. 106-107 
Giorgio and Isa de Chirico Foundation, "Giorgio de Chirico. Works from 1912 to 1976 " , Milan 2014, vol. I, 2014, p. 289, no. 299  

Exhibited: London, Tornabuoni Art, "Reading de Chirico", October 2017 - January 2018.

Paolo Scheggi (Settignano, 1940 - Rome, 1971), Zone Riflesse, 1963. Acrylic on three superimposed canvases, 70 x 60 x 5 cm (25.6 x 23.6 x 2 in.). Signed, titled and dated on the reverse 'Paolo Scheggi / zone riflesse / ‘63'. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Provenance: Private collection, Florence 

Literature: Luca Massimo Barbero, Paolo Scheggi. Catalogue raisonné, Milan 2016, no. 63 T 22, p. 231 
Luca Massimo Barbero and Tornabuoni Art, Scheggi, Florence 2015, p. 68 
Tornabuoni Art, Arte moderna e contemporanea. Antologia scelta 2017, Florence 2016, p. 228  

Exhibited: Paris, Tornabuoni Art, 'Paolo Scheggi', October-December 2015

Alighiero Boetti (Turin, 1940 - Rome, 1994), Tutto, 1988-89. Embroidery on cloth, 97 x 134.5 cm (38.2 x 53 in.). Signed and dated on the border 'Alighiero e Boetti / Peshawar 88-89'. Tornabuoni Arte © TEFAF 2018

Literature: Annemarie Sauzeau, Alighiero Boetti, Milan 2010, pp. 206-207 
Luca Massimo Barbero and Tornabuoni Art, Alighiero Boetti: Minimum/Maximum, Florence 2017, pp. 180-181 
Laura Cherubini and Tornabuoni Art, Alighiero Boetti, Florence 2016, p. 299  

Exhibited: London, Ben Brown Fine Arts, 'Alighiero Boetti. Un pozzo senza fine. Ricami', 2006; Paris, Tornabuoni Art, 'Alighiero Boetti', March - June 2010; Paris, Tornabuoni Art, 'Alighiero Boetti', February - April 2017; Venice, Fondazione Cini, 'Alighiero Boetti: Minimum/Maximum', 12 May - 12 July 2017

Tornabuoni Arte (Stand 526) at TEFAF Maastricht, March 10-18, 2018

Anneau fendu, Vietnam, culture de Đông Sơn, entre - 300 et 50. Pierre. Parure, bijou. D. 4.7 x D. 2.1 cm. M.C. 8004© 2017 - Musée Cernuschi

Coupe, Vietnam, culture de Đông Sơn, entre - 300 et 50. Terre cuite. H. 7.5 x D. 10.1 cm. M.C. 10787© 2017 - Musée Cernuschi

La céramique retrouvée dans les sépultures de la culture de Đông Sơn peut sembler assez fruste par rapport aux bronzes. Les formes sont variées et la qualité de la cuisson variable. L’argile employée prend une teinte allant de l’orangé au brun rouge. La paroi des vases peut être fine mais elle est le plus souvent épaisse, comme c’est le cas pour ce bol qui fait partie, avec les jarres, des formes les plus fréquentes. On trouve également des pièces plus sophistiquées, coupes ou vases, comprenant deux ou trois parties : le haut pied, et la panse au profil caréné. La céramique de Đông Sơn était façonnée à la main, peut-être à l’aide de formes en vannerie sur lesquelles on appliquait l’argile, mais le tour de potier qui permet d’obtenir des formes élancées, régulières et au profil curviligne n’était pas utilisé. Ainsi, pour obtenir un récipient à embouchure resserrée, les potiers de Đông Sơn soudaient deux demi-sphères ou deux parties tronconiques, en marquant la jonction d’un sillon ou d’un bourrelet de pâte saillant au niveau de la ligne d’arrête. L’hypothèse de l’utilisation de la technique dite de la « poterie au panier »évoquée par Janse est induite par la présence d’un décor au peigne, à la molette, par impressions de matrices ou de tissus à grosses fibres sur la surface extérieure des céramiques.

Ce bol comporte un décor au peigne et un petit pied annulaire caractéristiques de la production de Đông Sơn. Des cercles estampés au niveau de la lèvre rappellent les motifs des bronzes. Cuit à relativement haute température, il présente une pâte dense mais rugueuse dont l’importante quantité d’impuretés a engendré des fissures de cuisson. La plupart des céramiques de Đông Sơn sont d’ailleurs parvenues jusqu’à nous à l’état de tessons en raison de leur friabilité. Il est indéniable, cependant, que l’essor de la métallurgie tout au long de la seconde moitié du premier millénaire a entraîné un progrès des techniques céramiques, par l’amélioration des fours et de la préparation des terres. À partir du Ier siècle de notre ère, la société dongsonienne s’imprègnera progressivement de culture chinoise et des transferts de technologie conduiront aux proto-grès raffinés de l’époque de Giao Chỉ.

Lame de hache, Vietnam, culture de Đông Sơn, entre - 450 et 50. Bronze. L. 13 x H. 10.3 cm. M.C. 7363© 2017 - Musée Cernuschi

La hache en forme de pied, rìu, est une arme caractéristique de la civilisation de Đông Sơn. Ce type d’objet a été retrouvé dans les tombes des personnages de haut rang, caractérisées par le riche matériel funéraire en bronze qui y fut déposé. Un manche en bois était à l’origine fiché dans la douille. Triplement efficace, elle permettait d’asséner des coups, de couper, lorsqu’elle était tenue comme une serpe, et elle pouvait aussi servir d’arme de jet, son profil curviligne lui permettant de tournoyer sur elle-même. Cependant, à la fois le décor soigné qui se déploie souvent sur ce type de pièce ainsi que le simple acte de déposer un matériau aussi précieux que le bronze dans une sépulture, invite à considérer cette hache comme un objet de prestige, destinée àêtre suspendue à la ceinture ou bien portée comme un étendard.