Lot 20. Pot couvert, Vietnam, dynastie des Lê, 15°- 16° siècle. Terre cuite à décor de stries, H. 22 cm. Estimation: €200 - €350. © Cornette de Saint-Cyr Paris. 

(Bon état).

Lot 21. Lot composé de deux grands pots, Vietnam, dynastie des Lê, 15°- 16° siècle. Terre cuite à décor de fleurs de prunus en relief. H. 35 et 39 cm. Estimation: €250 - €400. © Cornette de Saint-Cyr Paris. 

(Un en bon état, un cassé et collé).

Le musée du Louvre et le musée de l’Ermitage s’associent pour une exposition exceptionnelle autour de la très riche collection du marquis Campana, constituée pour l’essentiel entre les années 1830 et les années 1850. Pour la première fois depuis sa dispersion en 1861, l’exposition permettra de donner une image complète de la plus ambitieuse collection privée du XIX^e siècle, qui se caractérise par sa diversité (collections d’antiques aussi bien que de modernes), sa richesse (plus de 12 000 pièces archéologiques, peintures, sculptures, objets d’art…) et sa qualité.

L’exposition rassemble plus de 500 œuvres, dont de nombreux chefs-d’œuvre, comme le Sarcophage des Époux ou la Bataille de San Romano de Paolo Uccello. Elle présente la figure romanesque de Giampietro Campana, sa passion de collectionneur et la manière dont il a réuni cet ensemble extraordinaire : les fouilles, le marché des antiques et de l’art, le réseau des collectionneurs entre Rome, Naples et Florence et les liens avec les institutions scientifiques. Le marquis Campana entendait donner une image du patrimoine culturel italien, aussi bien antique que moderne : à ce titre, la collection constitue un moment fondateur de l’affirmation de la culture italienne, dans le contexte du Risorgimento, l’émergence de la nation italienne au cours du XIX^e siècle.

Au terme du procès retentissant intentéà Campana en 1857, la collection fut saisie et vendue par l’État pontifical et sa dispersion à travers l’Europe a suscité une émotion qui témoigne de son importance dans la conscience culturelle italienne et européenne. Une part importante de la collection Campana a été achetée en 1861 par le tsar Alexandre II et est venue enrichir les collections du musée de l’Ermitage. Le reste de la collection – plus de 10 000 objets – a été acheté par Napoléon III et partagé entre le musée du Louvre et de nombreux musées de province. 

Enfin, la collection s’est révélé une source d’inspiration dans la culture artistique européenne et dans l’artisanat, notamment dans l’orfèvrerie.

Jean-Luc Martinez, président-directeur du musée du Louvre, précise : «l’exposition Campana ira à Saint-Pétersbourg cet été après un passage à Rome. Le Louvre et l’Ermitage inaugurent, avec cette exposition, une série de partenariats majeurs. Je salue la générosité de l’Ermitage dans ses prêts aujourd’hui, générosité renouvelée pour la future exposition« Léonard de Vinci »au Louvre à l’automne 2019 ou encore pour celle sur l’Ouzbékistan, « Les Civilisations et Cultures des Routes de la Soie », qui sera présentée au musée du Louvre d’octobre 2021 à janvier 2022 puis à l’Ermitage».

7 novembre 2018 – 18 février 2019, Hall Napoléon.

Figure féminine. Fresque, vers 100-150 ap. J.-C., et repeints modernes. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines© C2RMF

Fragment d’un doigt colossal. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Hervé Lewandowski.

Buste d’Ariane, IIIe siècle av. J.-C Falerii Novi, près de l'actuelle Civita Castellana© Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Thierry Ollivier.

Collier à pendentif en forme de tête d'Achéloos. Vers 480 avant J.-C. Etrurie. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle.

Cratère en calice à figures rouges. Athènes, signé par Euphronios, peintre, et attribuéà Euxithéos, potier. Vers 515 - 510 av. J.-C. Étrurie. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Stéphane Maréchalle.

Sarcophage, dit "Sarcophage des époux". Cerveteri (nécropole de Banditaccia, vers 520 - 510 av. J.-C. Département des Antiquités Grecques Etrusques et Romaines, musée du Louvre© Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Philippe Fuzeau.

Fragment d’un bas-relief de l'Ara Pacis. Entre 13 et 9 av. J.-C., Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Thierry Ollivier.

Plaque Campana. Ier siècle av. J.-C. – Ier siècle ap. J.-C., Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Hervé Lewandowski.

Procession au tombeau. Fin Ier siècle av. J.-C. , Rome. Musée du Louvre, département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines. © Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN - Grand Palais / Stéphane Maréchalle.

Giotto. Croix peinte. Vers 1315-1320. Musée du Louvre, département des Peintures. © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Adrien Didierjean.

Paolo Veneziano. La Vierge et l'Enfant avec saint François d'Assise et saint Jean Baptiste. Saint Jean l'Evangéliste et saint Antoine de Padoue. 1340-1345. Musée du Louvre, département des Peintures. © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Gérard Blot. 

Pietro di Domenico da Montepulciano, La Vierge de miséricorde, vers 1425-1427. Avignon, musée du Petit Palais. © L’œil et la mémoire / Fabrice Lepeltier.

Sandro Botticelli, La Vierge et l’Enfant, vers 1467-1470. Musée du Louvre, département des Peintures. © L’œil et la mémoire / Fabrice Lepeltier. 

Paolo di Dono, dit Uccello, La Bataille de San Romano : la contre-attaque de Micheletto da Cotignola, vers 1438. Musée du Louvre, département des Peintures©RMN - Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Maître des Cassoni Campana, Thésée et le Minotaure. Peintre d'origine française (?) du début du XVIe siècle, ainsi nommé d'après quatre panneaux décoratifs de la collection Campana, vers 1510-1515. Dépôt du musée du Louvre - Avignon, musée du Petit Palais. © L’œil et la mémoire / Fabrice Lepeltier. 

Coupe, portrait de profil de Virginia Bella, vers 1530-1540. Musée du Louvre, département des Objets d’art© RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Jean. 

Plat, L'Enlèvement d'Hélène, Francesco Xanto Avelli (actif entre 1524 et 1542), Urbino, 1537. Musée du Louvre, département des Objets d’art© RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Martine Beck-Coppola. 

Tympan représentant sainte Anne la Vierge et l’Enfant entre saint Antoine Abbé et saint Antoine de Padoue. Vers 1550, attribuéà Buglioni Santi, (1494-1576). Musée du Louvre, département des Sculptures © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Martine Beck-Coppola.

D'après Antonio Rossellino (1427-1479), La Vierge et l'Enfant dite « Madone aux candélabres ». Musée du Louvre, département des Sculptures © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux. 

Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), Jeune Apôtre. Vers 1490-1500. Musée du Louvre, département des Sculptures © RMN - Grand Palais (musée du Louvre) / Tony Querrec. 

Vue de la salle des terres cuites au Mont-de-Piétéà Rome,1851. © Biblioteca Universitaria di Napoli / Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.

Denis-Auguste Marie Raffet, Portrait de Giampietro Campana. 8 février 1850, Rome. Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF, Paris), département des Estampes. © BnF, Paris

Lot 31. A white marble head of Mahasthamaprapta, Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577); 34cm (13 3/8in) high. Estimate: £250,000.00 - £300,000.00 (€ 280,000 - 340,000). © Bonhams.

The face gracefully carved with ample rounded brows tapering above slender undulating eyes barely open in meditation, the nose flaring above a sensuous bud mouth, with pendulous ears and hair arranged into a tall chignon secured by a delicate, foliate headdress tied with ribbons at the sides.

Provenance: Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 2006
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Note: Delicately carved from a highly translucent marble which further emphasises its elegant proportions and ethereal grace, the present head is a remarkable example of the high standards achieved in Buddhist portraiture during the Northern Qi period. 

At this time, Buddhism flourished in China, with several shrines being constructed under the Emperor's personal auspices and eminent monks being appointed as state preceptors. Conspicuous financial resources were devoted to the construction of Buddhist caves whose marvellous sculptures combined sensuous modelling and subtlety of expression. These features were likely to have derived from the contemporary Indian style of the Gupta period, which was highly regarded by the Qi aristocracy for its exotic traits. In Buddhist faith, images of deities served as important foci of worship and also promoted significant devotional acts which contributed to the devotee's personal growth towards spiritual liberation.

According to Osvald Siren, marble figures modelled in gently rounded forms, such as the present example, were typically produced during the second half of the 6th century. See O.Siren, 'Chinese Marble Sculptures of the Transition Period', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no.12, Stockholm, 1940, pp.473-496. 

The vase featured at the centre of the crown identifies the figure as Mahasthamaprapta, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. Images of Mahasthamaprapta were typically paired with those of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, in relation to the cult of Buddha Amitabha and the Pure Land which offered the ideal conditions for attaining awakening in a single lifetime. 

Compare with a limestone head of a bodhisattva, Northern Qi dynasty, similarly modelled with arched brows and hair arranged in regular curls, coiling to each side from the centre, from the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City (acc.no.F99-1). Another stone example bearing similar features to the present example is illustrated in Shandong Boxing Longhua si yizhi diaocha jianbao (Reconnaissance of the Site of the Longhua Temple at Boxing, Shandong), Kaogu, Beijing, 1986, vol.9, pl.6, fig.2. Also compare with two related limestone heads of Mahasthamaprapta, Northern Qi, respectively from the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (acc.no.F1916.346), and the San Diego Museum of Art, (acc.no.DSC06522), the latter illustrated in K.Tsiang, Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan, Chicago, 2010, p.230, fig.32.

Head of a Bodhisattva, Chinese, Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 C.E.). Fine hard limestone, 8 1/2 x 4 x 5 inches (21.59 x 10.16 x 12.7 cm). Purchase: the Asian Art Aquisition Fund in memory of Laurence Sickman, F99-1. Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City.

Head of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi), Northern Qi dynasty, 550-577. Limestone with traces of pigment. H x W x D: 36 x 24.5 x 24 cm. China, Hebei province, Fengfeng, southern Xiangtangshan, Caves 4-6. Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1916.346, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.. © 2018 Smithsonian Institution.

Bonhams. The Ollivier Collection of Early Chinese Art, London, 8 Nov 2018

Lot 33. A large and rare archaic bronze vessel, Hu, Late Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 41cm (16 1/8in) high. Estimate: £180,000 - 220,000 (€ 200,000 - 250,000). © Bonhams.

The pear-shaped body of oval section supported on a spreading foot cast with a band displaying large taotie masks, a further band of taotie masks around the waisted neck, with large rounded eyes on each side, and separated by a narrow band, the sides applied with a pair of rams-head lug handles with long curling horns, with mottled light green patina and areas of malachite encrustation.

Provenance: Wui Po Kok Antique Co., Hong Kong, 21 October 2000
Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 2014
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Published and Illustrated: G.Croës, Ancient Chinese Treasures. The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht, 2010, pp.40-41

Note: The present lot was designed to store wine. Its function was recorded in historical texts such as the Shijing (The Classic of Poetry), as well as the Liji (Book of Rites). Originally, this type of vessel would have had a lid which might have been fastened to the body by a string from the lug-handles on the sides. 

Bronze hu vessels of this type were popular in the Anyang region during the late Shang period and there are many published examples. For bronze hu of similar shape and decoration found in Zhengzhou in Henan, Qingjian in Shaanxi and Gaocheng in Shandong, all dating from the middle to late Shang dynasty, see Hayashi Minao, Conspectus of Yin and Zhou bronzes, Tokyo, 1984, nos.25, 37 and 38. See also another similar hu, late Shang dynasty, illustrated by Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pp.82-83, no.37. Large bronze hu of similar form continued into the early Western Zhou periods, but by then the bodies were more elaborately ornamented, see Ibid., p.82. 

Compare with a related bronze hu, late Shang period, and in Anyang style, in a similar shape but with full-body decoration, which was sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 2010, lot 831.

Lot 25. A very rare archaic bronze tripod vessel, Jiao, Late Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 22cm (8 2/3in) high. Estimate: £180,000 - 220,000 (€ 200,000 - 250,000). © Bonhams.

The deep ovoid body resting on three splayed blade-like legs, finely cast in relief on each side with a taotie mask with protruding eyes, curly fangs, C-shaped horns and clawed forelegs, all on an intricate leiwen ground, divided on one side by a notched flange, and on the other by a vertical panel cast with an inscription beneath the loop handle issuing from a bovine head, the slightly waisted neck rising to two high flaring points on opposite sides, each cast on the underside with a pair of dragons with prominent circular eyes forming an inverted taotie mask, the three legs decorated with graduated concentric D-motifs within a single outline, a character inscription in the form of a cicada cast under the handle, the surface with a smooth grayish-green patina.

Provenance: Wui Po Kok Antique, Hong Kong, December 2014
Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 2015
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Published and Illustrated: G.Croës, From This Life to Eternity. Asia Week New York, March 2015, pp.22-25

Note: The inscription, cast in the shape of a cicada beneath the handle, is rare and is most likely a clan's symbol. Privileged families during the Shang dynasty usually appropriated the forms of animals or insects to include in their crests. Crests of these type are rarely seen on bronzes later than the mid-Western Zhou dynasty and few other examples of bronzes with cicada crests have survived, but a rubbing of an inscription with this design was illustrated by Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun,vol.16, Shangyu, 1936, p.47. 

There are several comparable examples of jiao in important museums and private collections around the world. Compare with a bronze jiao cup in Sen-oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, Japan, which was reportedly unearthed in Anyang and dated to the late phase of Yinxu, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol.3, Beijing, p.33; another one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, reportedly found at Doujitai, Baoji, Shaanxi Province, (acc.no.24.72.13); and a third one with very similar thread-relief decoration, is illustrated by Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, no.12.

Bronze Jiao cup, unearthed in Anyang and dated to the late phase of Yinxu, Shang Dynasty in Sen-oku Hakuko Kan, Kyoto, Japan.

Ritual Wine Vessel (Jiao), Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 B.C.), late 11th century B.C. Bronze. H. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); W. at rim 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); D. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm); Wt. 2.5 lb. (1.1 kg), Munsey Fund, 1931, 24.72.13. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Compare with a related jiao cup of similar form, but with plain motif, late Shang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 March 2014, lot 103.

The Tian Mian Fu Yi Jiao, An Important and Very Rare Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel. Late Shang Dynasty, 13th-11th Century BC. Height 9 3/8 in., 23.8 cm. Sold for $2,405,000 at Sotheby's New York, 18 March 2014, lot 103. Photo: Sotheby's.

Lot 18. A very rare archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, Gu, Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC); 31cm (12 1/4in) high. Estimate: £150,000 - 200,000 (€ 170,000 - 230,000). © Bonhams.

The slender vessel cast on the flaring trumpet neck with four blades of stylised cicada with double eyes forming dispersed taotie masks in raised relief on a fine leiwen ground, extending from a horizontal band of kui dragons, the central section cast with further taotie masks bisected by raised notched flanges, separated from the lower section by paired relief 'bowstring' lines, the flanges repeated on the flaring foot enhancing elaborate horizontal kui dragons with c-shaped horns, the surface displaying a brilliant emerald green patina with vivid malachite encrustations, the interior foot with two pictographs reading 'Yue fu geng'.

Provenance: Wui Po Kok Antique, Hong Kong, 1990
Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 2013
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Published and Illustrated: G.Croës, Matter and Memory. Asia Week New York, Brussels, 2014, pp.30-31

Note: Bronze gu vessels such as the present lot were among the most important objects used in state rituals of the late Shang dynasty. Similar archaic bronze gu vases from the late Shang dynasty can be found in a number of important museum collections. 

Compare with two similar gu illustrated in Bronzes in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1999, pp.68-69, nos.40 and 43; see another similar gu dated to the middle/late Anyang period, of similar size (31.7cm high) and archaistic decorative motifs, illustrated in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 1998, pp.280-283, no.41l; and another example in the Henan Provincial Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Fenlei Quanji: Zhongguo Qingtongqi Quanji: Shang, vol.IV, Beijing, 2006, p.67, no.69.

The blade motif at the neck of these slender vessels is an Anyang innovation. See R.Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M.Sackler Collections, p.229. A similar gu, late Shang dynasty, excavated in Anyang, now in the Institute of Archaeology, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, is illustrated by Li Jianwei and Niu Ruihong, Zhongguo Qingtong ji tulu, vol.I, Beijing, 2005, p.118 (top); see also a related excavated example, unearthed at Yongdoucun, Majiahe, Yanchuan county, Shaanxi Province, in the Cultural Relics Institute of Yan'an, Shaanxi Province, illustrated in Bronzes from Northern Shaanxi, vol.II Chengdu, 2009, p.155; and another excavated from the Shang tomb at Xiaqiyuan, Ci county, in the collection of the Hebei Museum, illustrated in National Treasures of Hebei Province, Hebei, 2008, p.100. 

A similar ritual bronze wine vessel, gu, late Shang dynasty, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 November 2016, lot 28. See also another related gu, late Shang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 March 2014, lot 6.

Bonhams. The Ollivier Collection of Early Chinese Art, London, 8 Nov 2018

(inscription on the cover)

(inscription inside the vessel)

Lot 15. A very rare inscribed archaic bronze vessel and cover, You, Mid Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC); 25cm (9 2/4in) high. Estimate: £150,000 - 200,000 (€ 170,000 - 230,000). © Bonhams.

Expertly cast of oval section, the slightly compressed pear-shaped body supported on a splayed foot, encircled by a band of pairs of crested birds confronted by taotiemasks all on a leiwen ground, the band interrupted on each side by a loop supporting the U-shaped bail handle with bovine-mask terminals cast with further bird motifs and lozenge-shaped bosses, the fitted and domed cover with a matching bird frieze, surmounted by a hollow oval knop, a smooth gray-green patina with malachite encrustation, the interior of the vessel and cover with an inscription reading 'Pi shu xian yi, ji bu yi, wei mu zong yi ze bei, yong qian mu ling'.

Provenance: Gisèle Croës Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels, 1997
Leon Derwa Collection, Belgium, 1998
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Published and Illustrated: G. Croës, From Ancient Kingdoms to Imperial China, International Asian Art Fair, New York, 1998, pp.30-31
K.Y.Cheung, 'The Inscriptions of Pi Shu Zun-Shedding New Light on Dispatch Wares of the Western Zhou', Bulletin of Institute of History and Philology, vol.1, Part 3, Taipei, 1999, p.772, fig.2.

Note: The you, as a type of sacrificial vessel for storing alcohol, appears to have emerged in the late Shang dynasty. Typically cast with a compressed pear-shaped body and overhead handle, the vessel form remained prominent during the early and mid-Western Zhou period.

The present lot exhibits decorative features typical of the early Western Zhou period, where cast decoration became less elaborate and simplified in comparison to earlier examples in the late Shang dynasty with complicated taotie masks covering the body of the vessel. The present lot is cast with crested birds flanked by a thin band of intricate archaic scrolls to the waisted neck, whilst the bulbous lower body is left plain. These features together form a balanced effect which gained popularity in the mid Western Zhou period.

The significance of this you lies first with the inscription seen on the bottom of the interior and underneath the cover. The inscription consists of seventeen characters reading:

否弔（叔）獻彝，疾不巳（已），爲母宗彝𠟭（則）備，用遣母霝

This may be translated as: 

'Hereby Pi Shu offers this sacrificial vessel. When mother was gravely ill, a series of sacrificial vessels have been prepared for her funeral.' 

Although the identity of Pi Shu remains unknown, another unusual aspect of this inscription is the use of the character qian (遣) on bronze specifically, to refer to a burial object. 

The character qian, originally means 'to send' or 'to dispatch'. Cheung Kwong Yue, however, indicated that bronzes cast with inscriptions including the character qian should be called qian qi (遣器; 'burial object') instead of mingqi (明器) which was a common term in ancient China for wares buried with the deceased. Furthermore, inscriptions which include the character qian may have the function of inventorying. This suggests that a number of objects were buried. Qian ce (遣册), inventories written on bamboo or wooden slips have been widely found in tombs dated to the Eastern Zhou dynasty and Warring States period in the former areas of the Kingdom of Chu. The inscription on this lot, 'wei mu zong yi ze bei', translates as 'a series of sacrificial bronzes have been prepared'. This suggests that more than one piece was made for Pi Shu's mother. Cheung noted six additional bronze vessels, all of which had the inscription including the character 'qian', thus it can be argued that this lot belonged to this group, forming a complete set of sacrificial bronzes. For a discussion on this group of bronzes, see K.Y.Cheung, 'The Inscriptions of Pi Shu Zun-Shedding New Light on Dispatch Wares of the Western Zhou', Bulletin of Institute of History and Philology, vol.1, Part 3, Taipei, 1999, pp.761-778. 

Compare with a similar archaic bronze vessel and cover, you, early Zhou dynasty, illustrated by J.Pope in The Freer Chinese Bronzes, vol.I: Catalogue, Washington, 1967, pp.305, pl.54. Another related bronze vessel and cover, you, Early Western Zhou dynasty, is illustrated by J.Rawson in Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections: vol.IIB, Washington D.C, 1995, p.494, pl.68. 

A related archaic bronze you, early Western Zhou dynasty, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 21 March 2018, lot 584; see also a mid Western Zhou bronze you of similar shape but with different motif, which was sold at Christie's New York, 23 March 2012, lot 1524.

An exceptional archaic bronze ritual wine vessel and cover (you), Early Western Zhou dynasty, 10th century BC. Height 7 1/2  in., 19 cm. Sold for 325,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 21 March 2018, lot 584. © Sotheby's

A rare small bronze ritual wine vessel and cover, you, middle Western Zhou dynasty, 10th century BC; 8¼ in. (20.9 cm.) high to top of handle. Sold for 422,500 USD at Christie's New York, 23 March 2012, lot 1524. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012.

Lot 2. A rare pair of silver taotie-mask handles, Warring States Period (475–221 BC). Each 7.8cm (2 7/8in) wide. Estimate: £12,000 - 20,000 (€ 14,000 - 23,000). © Bonhams.

The masks finely cast as taotie with curved leaf-shaped ears, finely striated hair markings and brows, the almond-shaped bulging eyes flanking the loops forming the snout, the reverse with a rectangular tab for attachment.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 10 December 1991, lot 28
Stephen K.C.Lo P.C. Lu Works of Art Ltd., Hong Kong, 11 April 1992
Jean-Yves Ollivier Collection.

Note: A related pair of silver taotie mask handles and a further gilt-bronze one are illustrated in Mancheng hanmu fajue baogao, Beijing, 1980, pls.2 and 15.

Compare with a related pair of gilt-bronze taotie mask ring-handles, Eastern Zhou dynasty, which was sold at Bonhams London, 9 November 2017, lot 5.

From the Sze Yuan Tang collection. A rare pair of gilt-bronze inlaid 'taotie mask' ring handles, Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC). Each 11.5cm (4 1/2in) high. Sold for £21,250 (€23,975) at Bonhams London, 9 November 2017, lot 5. ©  Bonhams. 

LONDON.- The National Gallery is staging the first-ever exhibition of portraits by the Italian Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto. 

Lorenzo Lotto Portraits brings together many of Lotto’s best portraits spanning his entire career from collections around the world. 

These include such masterpieces as the 'Bishop Bernardo de‘ Rossi' (1505) from the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples, united with its striking allegorical cover from the National Gallery of Art, Washington; and the monumental altarpiece of 'The Alms of Saint Antoninus of Florence' (1540–2) from the Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paulo in Venice coming to the UK for the first time. In this painting Lotto not only inserted portraits of members of the commissioning confraternity, but also, highly unusually, paid poor people to sit for him.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of Bishop Bernardo de’Rossi, 1505. Oil on panel, 52 x 40 cm, Naples, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte.

Lorenzo Lotto, The Alms of St Antoninus, 1542. Oil on wood, 332 x 235 cm,Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice.

Working during a time of profound change in Europe, Lotto was remarkable for depicting a wide variety of middle-class sitters, including clerics, merchants, artisans, and humanists. 

He portrayed men, women, and children in compositions rich with symbolism and great psychological depth. His works are characterised by expressive sensitivity and immediacy and are also known for their deeply saturated colours and luxuriant handling of paint. 

Born in Venice, Lotto travelled extensively and worked in different parts of Italy, most notably Treviso, Bergamo, Venice, and the Italian Marches. He spent his final years as a lay member of the confraternity of the Holy House at Loreto (1549–56.) In today’s terms, his disposition in the later decades of his life would probably be described as clinically depressed. A melancholic empathy with his sitters is evident in his in late portraits. 

Staged broadly chronologically the exhibition starts with Lotto’s earliest portraits before exploring the work from his most significant periods in Bergamo and Venice and ending with the late paintings. Unusually for a National Gallery exhibition objects related to those he depicted also are being displayed. 

Room one explores Lotto’s work from his time in Treviso (1503–6) and includes the 'Allegory' (1505) from the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the spectacular 'Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Anthony Abbot and Louis of Toulouse' (1506) from the Chiesa Prepositurale e Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, Asolo. 

Lorenzo Lotto, Allegory of Virtue and Vice, 1505. Oil on panel, 56.5 x 47.2 cm.Washington, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.156.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Assumption of the Virgin with Saints Anthony Abbot and Louis of Toulouse', 1506. Oil on panel, 175 x 165 cm. Asolo, catedral de Santa Maria Assunta.

Focusing on his Bergamasque period (1513–25), Room two contains the cleverly symbolic 'Lucina Brembati' (about 1520–3) and 'The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with Niccolò Bonghi' (1523) both from Bergamo’s Accademia Carrara; as well as the 'Portrait of a Married Couple' (1523–4) from the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, which has been cleaned on the occasion of the exhibition. 

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of Lucina Brembati', about 1520–3. Oil on panel, 52.6 x 44.8 cm. Bergamo, Accademia Carrara - Pinacoteca di Arte Antica.

Lorenzo Lotto, ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherines with donor Nicolò Bonghi, 1523. Oil on canvas, 172 x 143 cm. Bergamo, Accademia Carrara - Pinacoteca di Arte Antica.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Marriage Portrait (Giovanni Maria Cassotti y Laura Assonica?)', c. 1523 - 1524. Oil on canvas, 96 x 116 cm. Saint Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum.

Room three is dedicated to works produced in Venice (1525–49) such as the famous likeness of the Venetian collector 'Andrea Odoni' from the Royal Collection (1527), the National Gallery’s own Portrait of a Woman inspired by Lucretia and the 'Portrait of a Young Man with a Lizard' (1528–30) from the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice. 

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of Andrea Odoni', 1527. Oil on canvas, 104.6 x 116.6 cm. The Royal Collection Trust, Hampton Court.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of a Lady as Lucretia', c. 1530 - 1533. Oil on canvas, 96.5 x 110.6 cm, London, The National Gallery.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of a Gentleman in his Study', 1528-1530. Oil on canvas, 98 x 111 cm, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.

The final room celebrates the late work and includes the remarkably well preserved and affecting 'Portrait of a Man with a Felt Hat' (1541?) from the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, as well as the altarpiece of 'The Alms of Saint Antoninus of Florence' (1540–2). 

 Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of a Man with a Felt Hat', 1541?, oil on paper, 57.8 x 46.5 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Objects relating to the portraits show how the meaning of Lotto’s paintings extends from the sitter to their surroundings. Lotto painted these not so much to reflect a given sitter’s opulence and wealth, but to help tell their story and reflect their identity. Among items on display are a carpet, sculpture, jewellery, clothing, and books. 

Lotto’s reputation has consistently grown since the art historian Bernard Berenson published the first monograph on him in 1895. Writing during the emergence of Freudian psychoanalysis, Berenson saw Lotto as the first modern portraitist because of his interest in reflecting his sitters’ states of mind. 

“He seems always to have been able to define his feelings, emotions and ideals, instead of being a mere highway for them,” said Berenson, “this makes him pre-eminently a psychologist…The portraits all have the interest of personal confessions."

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Young Man, about 1500. Oil on panel, 34.2 × 27.9 cm. Accademia Carrara, Bergamo © Fondazione Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Young Man with a Lamp, c. 1506. Oil on panel, 42.3 x 35.3 cm. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'The Physician Giovanni Agostino della Torre and his Son, Niccolò', about 1515-16. Oil on canvas, 85 x 68.2 cm, NG699, The National Gallery, London.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Man with a Rosary, c. 1518. Oil on panel, 78.5 x 62 cm. Nivå, The Nivaagaard Collection.

Lorenzo Lotto, Micer Marsilio Cassotti and his wife Faustina, 1523. Oil on canvas, 71 x 84 cm, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Sebastian, Nicholas of Bari, Anthony Abbot and Catherine of Alexandria', 1524, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini, Rome.

Lorenzo Lotto, 'Portrait of a Dominican Friar (Marcantonio Luciani?)', 1526, Musei Civici di Treviso.

Lorenzo Lotto, Triple Portrait of a Goldsmith, c. 1530. Oil on canvas, 52 x 79 cm. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Man, c. 1535. Oil on panel, 118 x 105 cm. Rome, Galleria Borghese.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of Giovanni della Volta with his Wife and Children, 1547. Oil on canvas, 104.5 x 138 cm. London, National Gallery, Bequeathed by Miss Sarah Solly, 1879.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of an Elderly Gentleman with Gloves (liberale da Pinedel), 1542 - 1544. Oil on canvas, 90 x 75 cm. Milano, Pinacoteca di Brera.

Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Young Man, about 1500 (detail). Oil on panel, 34.2 × 27.9 cm. Accademia Carrara, Bergamo © Fondazione Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.

Lot 200. A doucai chicken cup, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. Estimate: £5,000-£8,000. © Chiswick Auctions.

LONDON.- Chiswick Auctions is delighted to announce the discovery of an 18th century Qing Dynasty Imperial Cup. The stunning piece of porcelain was found in an attic, where it had been packed away with other items and forgotten about for thirty years. 

Decorated with a cockerel and hen group and two chicks, the cup was made in tribute to the 15th Century Imperial chicken cup, which holds the record price for a piece of Chinese porcelain (£21.5 million). It will be offered in Chiswick Auctions Asian Art sale on November 12, 2018. 

Lazarus Halstead, Head of Chiswick Auctions Asian Art Department, said: “We are delighted to offer this Qing Dynasty Imperial interpretation of 15th Century Chenghua chicken cup. This version bears an -apocryphal Chenghua mark, but the design of the cockerel, chicken and chicks is charmingly reimagined for 18th century Imperial taste. 

This will be the first time in 50 years that the cup, which was discovered in a forgotten box in a dusty attic, has been seen on the market. The beautifully-crafted piece has come from a private European collection acquired during the 1940s/50s and Chiswick Auctions is thrilled to present such an exciting rediscovery to the world”. 

18th century Imperial porcelain such as this can often make hundreds of thousands of pounds, but as this one is slightly damaged, it has been given the conservative pre-sale estimate of £5,000-£8,000. However, such is the overwhelming interest in registering for the auction in relation to this piece already, that expert Lazarus Halstead has said he expects the cup to make in excess of £20,000. Advocates and collectors world-wide agree and no doubt will be watching the piece when it goes under the hammer, Halstead said: “This is a rare opportunity for collectors to own an 18th century version of the most iconic piece of Chinese porcelain ever made”.

Apocryphal Chenghua mark.

Lot 16. A Chinese gilt-bronze figure of Guanyin, Ming dynasty, 17th century. H. 37 cm. Estimate € 20.000 - 30.000. Result € 50.000. © AAG

The deity seated in padmasana, the right hand raised in karanamudra and the left holding a cup, dressed in long robes decorated with flowers at the hems, wearing ornate jewellery and a crown set with a small figure of Amitabha Buddha.

Provenance: - Collection Jan van Haaften (1869-1931), commander of the guard of the Dutch legation in Beijing from 10 October 1907 to 1 August 1909, thence by descent to the present owner.

 Jan van Haaften in his Beijing's interior.

Note: Van Haaften wrote a book, Drie jaar op wacht in China (Three years on guard in China), which was quoted in A Qianlong Legacy - The Censer of the Dutch Embassy by Schelling, Wesseling, Jansen & Hendriks, published to celebrate the return of the famous censer, now in the Capital Museum, by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing: "On the day of his arrival Van Haaften remarks, everything in the embassy seemed to be very European. While taking a walk over the embassy grounds, however, he made an exciting discovery: "Look, here suddenly Peking is visible again in our own courtyard. A Chinese temple demands our attention. The young Dutch engineer who accompanies me on my walk, reads my mind, and tells me this is his home. He invites me to come in. (...) Except for some European necessities, everything in his house is Chinese. Beautiful Chinese textiles in delightful colours match with the dazzling blue of the temple's ceiling, while all sorts of objects d'art give impression that the inhabitant has a taste for things Chinese." Van Haaften was intrigued by Chinese culture and objects and collected these during his stay in China.

Lot 320. An East-Tibetan Thanka, 19th century; 70 x 51 cm. Estimate € 2.000 - 3.000. Result € 12.000. © AAG

Depicting the lokapala Kubera, standing on a rock, an adorant in front, the right hand holding a parasol, the left the mangouste, wearing elaborate armour, boots, scarf, behind his head a flaming aureole, below his name with dBu-can script. Framed and glazed. 

Provenance: - Auction Christie's Amsterdam, 2 November 1999, lot 65
- Private collection, the Netherlands.

Lot 244. A set of two Chinese huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs with matching huanghuali table, 20th century. H. 77.5 cm, H. 99 cm. Estimate € 4.000 - 6.000. Result € 16.000. © AAG 

With intricately carved backsplat and curvilinear arms ending in a scrolled floral motif, the seat fronted by a plain bead edge apron and supports raised on a rectangular base, the wood with a fine grain and of a rich amber tone. 

Provenance: Acquired by the present owner with an art dealer/collector in Den Helder, the Netherlands in the 1990's.

Lot 110. A Chinese blue and white 'hundred boys' bowl, Yongzheng underglaze blue six-character mark in double circle and of the period (1723-1735). Diam. 20 cm. Estimate € 3.000 - 5.000. Result € 8.500. © AAG

Decorated on the exterior with a continuous landscape with a joyous scene of boys dancing and playing music in a garden, the interior with a boy and lingzhi fungus.

Provenance: Private collection, the Netherlands.

Art d'Asie comprenant la collection du Drs Koos de Jong - Partie 1 chez AAG (Arts & Antiques Group), Amsterdam, le 05 Novembre 2018 à 14h00.

Lot 11. A rare Chinese bronze figure of the ascetic Buddha Shakyamuni, 17th-18th century. H. 16.5 cm. Estimate € 3.000 - 5.000. Result € 7.000. © AAG

The emaciated figure is seated with his long hands supported on his bent raised knee, his dhoti falling open to reveal his skeletal rib cage, his face finely modelled with downcast eyes and benign expression, the bronze patinated to a dark brownish-black colour with traces of gilding at the extremities. 

Provenance: Private collection, the Netherlands.

Note: The present finely modelled figure depicts Shakyamuni Buddha during his long fast under the Bodhi tree, where he sat until he discovered the true nature of existence and suffering and realized how suffering can be ended. His meditation ultimately helped him to attain his enlightenment. It was in the Yuan dynasty that the modelling of Buddha in this manner became popular and a convention in Chinese art. However, according to Sherman Lee and Wai-kam Ho in Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), 1968, p. 124, 'the prototype could be traced back at least to Kuan-hsiu's Sixteen Arhats of the Five Dynasties period, or Buddhist paintings of the ninth and tenth centuries showing hermits and the familiar figure of Vasu in Tun-huang and Central Asia.'

Compare a similar bronze figure of Buddha from the Yuan dynasty, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 April 2012, lot 164. See also a lacquered gilt-bronze Shakyamuni figure, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, cat. no. 292, from the Sedgwick collection, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 July 1968, lot 37; and another example sold at Sotheby's London, 27 November 1973, lot 40.

Compare also a lacquer example with traces of colour and gold, in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, illustrated ibid., pl. 20, together with an unusually large gilt-bronze example in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, pl. 18, and a third sculpture made in dry-lacquer in the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, pl. 19.

Lot 34. A Chinese marbled bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279). Diam. 9.8 cm. Estimate € 4.000 - 6.000. Result € 5.000. © AAG

The conical bowl raised on a short foot and with wide flared rim, the buff and cream marbled pattern of the body overall covered in a matte transparent glaze. 

Provenance: - J. Wagenaar-Terpstra Oude Aziatische Kunst, Amsterdam (1998)
- Collection Drs. Koos de Jong, Amsterdam.

Compare: - [exhib.cat.] Inaugural Exhibition, Vol. 1. Chinese Ceramics, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath 1993, no. 72, p. 115 
- [exhib.cat.] Ancient Chinese Tea Wares, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong 1994, no. 18
- He Li, Chinese Ceramics, London 1996, p. 170, ill. 328
- Orientations, vol. 38, no. 1, p. 29.

Art d'Asie comprenant la collection du Drs Koos de Jong - Partie 1 chez AAG (Arts & Antiques Group), Amsterdam, le 05 Novembre 2018 à 14h00.

Lot 115. A Chinese famille verte'Buddhist lion' dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Diam. 35 cm. Estimate € 3.000 - 5.000. Result € 4.000. © AAG

Decorated to the interior with a Buddhist lion playing with its brocade ball, surrounded by birds, butterflies and flowers, the border with floral cartouches on a floral ground, the base with a lingzhi mark. 

Note: Another 'Buddhist lion' dish can be found in the collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and comes from the collection of August the Strong (inv.no. PO 6928).

Famille verte dish, Kangxi period (1662-1722). H. 6,2 cm, D 38,2 cm, D. Foot: 22,6 cm. PO 6928. © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Art d'Asie comprenant la collection du Drs Koos de Jong - Partie 1 chez AAG (Arts & Antiques Group), Amsterdam, le 05 Novembre 2018 à 14h00.

Lot 23. Rare well-carved rhinoceros horn 'lotus' libation cup, Qing dynasty, 17th century; 17.3cm high. Estimate £50,000 - £70,000. © Lyon &Turnbull

carved following the natural shape of the horn as a large lotus leaf issuing from a stem, tied with a ribbon with stems issuing lotus blossoms, buds and pots, the horn of a warm caramel tone.

Note: For a similar rhinoceros horn libation cup, also from the 17th century, see Christie''s sale in their London rooms on 10.05.2011, lot 8, sale 7964.

Lyon & Turnbull. Fine Asian Works of Art, London, November 7, 2018, 4:00 PM