Lot 619. A large 'Yaozhou'''floral' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 8 3/4 in., 22.2 cm. Estimate: US$20,000 - US$30,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the broad conical sides rising from a low foot, the interior molded with a large roundel encompassing the entirety of the cavetto save for a plain band around the rim, depicting a thick stem sprouting three luxuriant peony blooms, the soft petals falling open in every direction, their delicate veining simulated in combed wavy lines all amid fluttering leaves with characteristic serrated edges, the exterior with a single incised band beneath the rim, covered overall in a translucent olive-colored glaze save for the foot ring.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019

Lot 620. A small carved 'Yaozhou' box and cover, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 3 in., 7.6 cm. Estimate: US$8,000 - US$12,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of circular section, the box with low straight sides rising from a shallow lower body set over a straight foot, the cover with similar straight sides and a gently domed top, the top carved with a blossoming peony, the lush petals and leaves deftly carved and incised with sweeping comb patterns, covered overall in a translucent olive-colored glaze save for the interior burnt pale orange from firing (2).

From the Collection of Robert Youngman

Exhibited: Inaugural Exhibition of the Robert F. Reiff Gallery of Asian Art, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont, September 2005.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019

Lot 621. A small 'Yaozhou'''lotus pond' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 4 1/2 in., 11.4 cm. Estimate: US$3,000 - US$5,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the conical sides rising from a low foot, the cavetto with a lotus pond centering a fish, a pair of mandarin ducks and a third waterfowl paddling amidst the foliate waterweeds and blossoming lotus stems above, the surrounding water combed with gentle swirls, covered overall in a translucent olive-green glaze.

Lot 622. A large 'Yaozhou' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 7 5/8 in., 19.4 cm. Estimate: US$4,000 - US$6,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the deep rounded sides rising from a slightly spreading foot to a gently flared rim, covered overall with a translucent olive-green glaze save for the foot burnt orange during firing.

Lot 623. A large 'Yaozhou' carved 'wave' deep bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Diameter 7 1/4 in., 18.4 cm. Estimate: US$30,000 - US$50,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the steep rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a groove below the lipped rim, the interior freely carved with five cresting waves amid further swirling water, the undulating movement enhanced with crisply combed arced lines, the exterior with an incised triple-line band below the rim, covered overall with a lustrous olive-green glaze, pooling to a dark green in the recesses, a ring to the interior and the foot ring unglazed revealing the pale gray body.

Note: Bowls of this distinctive form were created to be used as warmers. The depth of the basin and unglazed central ring were specific features designed to accommodate a wine ewer. See a closely related foliate-motif bowl with its ewer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 102, together with a slightly smaller bowl, pl. 103.

Lot 624. A 'Yaozhou' foliate-rim dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Diameter 7 in., 17.8 cm. Estimate: US$10,000 - US$15,000. Courtesy Sotheby's

finely potted, with angled sides rising from a broad base resting on a short foot to an elegantly everted hexalobed rim, the flaring shallow sides divided into six lobes by slender radial lines in slip, the underside with a single incised line just below the rim, applied overall with a smooth sage-green glaze save for the unglazed footring burnt orange in the firing.

Note: The present bowl is closely related to a type of five-lobed flaring bowl produced at the end of the Five Dynasties and beginning of the Northern Song dynasty. The angled base flaring to the lobed rim in this example is a feature more characteristic of the Northern Song period. For examples of the Five Dynasties type, see the pair sold in our London rooms, 11th May 2011, lot 1 and a bowl from the Feng Wen Tang Collection, sold at Bonham's Hong Kong, 9th October 2014 lot 108.

Yu Xing (1736- 1795), Fish Pond, ink and colour on paper, handscroll, 28.5 x 158.4 cm. Estimate: HK$10 – 15 M/ USD 1,280,000 – 1,920,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Hong Kong - Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Classical Chinese Paintings Spring Sale on 1 April 2019 will present a tightly curated selection of Ming and Qing dynasty calligraphy and paintings. The sale is anchored by Qian Weicheng’s Landscape after the Four Great Yuan Masters, Yu Xing’s Fish Pond, Bada Shanren’s Geese by the Hibiscus, as well as an extraordinary calligraphy handscroll by Zhang Bi, Li Dongyang and other literati. Additional major highlights include calligraphy by Wen Zhengming, and landscape paintings by court painter Dong Bangda and influential orthodox artist Wang Hui.

Steven Zuo, Head of Fine Classical Chinese Paintings, Sotheby’s Asia, comments, “Our  sale this season is distinguished by a group of seminal works from the Ming and Qing dynasties, many of which were sourced from prominent private collections around the world. This sale marks the debut of two exceptional and rare works with impeccable provenance from the Qing imperial court painters Qian Weicheng and Yu Xing. Another major highlight is Bada Shanren’s Geese by the Hibiscus from the artist’s late period.”

Qian Weicheng (1720–1772), Landscape after the Four Great Yuan Masters

Measuring over 5 metres long, this rare and well-preserved landscape was created by the renowned Imperial court painter Qian Weicheng, a high-ranking official and favourite during Emperor Qianlong's reign. Widely documented and endorsed by famous scholars, the present work is further distinguished by its provenance, originally gifted to the artist’s younger brother Qian Weiqiao. Its appearance this spring will be the first time the work has ever been offered at auction.

Qian Weicheng (1720–1772), Landscape after the Four Great Yuan Masters, ink on paper, handscroll, 33 x 523 cm. Estimate: HK$12 – 16 M/ USD 1,530,000 – 2,040,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Yu Xing (1736- 1795), Fish Pond

Fish Pond is an exceedingly rare work by Yu Xing, a court painter from the Qing dynasty. A popular subject amongst Chinese literati, this lively depiction of fish swimming joyfully resonates with the Daoist philosophy of happiness and illustrates the expression, “may there be abundance year after year.” The work was inscribed by Emperor Qianlong with a poem and stamped with his imperial seals, adding to its historical significance. Fish Pond was recorded in Sequel to The Precious Collection of the Stone Canal Pavilion (“Shiqu baoji xubian”), and was originally kept in the Forbidden City.

Yu Xing (1736- 1795), Fish Pond, ink and colour on paper, handscroll, 28.5 x 158.4 cm. Estimate: HK$10 – 15 M/ USD 1,280,000 – 1,920,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Zhu Da (Bada Sharen) (1626 – 1705), Geese by the Hibiscus, ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 199 x 56cm. Estimate: HK$14 – 18 M/ USD 1,790,000 – 2,300,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Measuring almost two metres high, Geese by the Hibiscus evokes a sense of play with its simple composition and expressive brushstroke – a classic example of the artist’s later works. Widely catalogued, the painting comes to the market with impeccable provenance, passing through the hands of a number of renowned government officials and scholars from the Qing dynasty. 

Zhang Bi (1425-1487), Li Dongyang and et. al, Calligraphy, detail, ink on paper, handscroll 29 x 967.5 cm. Estimate: HK$1.2 – 1.8 M/ USD 153,000-230,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

This impeccably long scroll is comprised of poems from the renowned calligrapher Zhang Bi and other reputable literati from the Ming Dynasty. It served as a farewell document, as the artist departed from the capital city after receiving an official appointment in Nan'an, containing important historical information for researching Zhang Bi.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS

Dong Bangda (1699-1769), Studio in Autumn Landscape, ink on silk, hanging scroll, 128 x 70 cm. Estimate: HK$ 3.6 – 4.2 M/ USD 459,000 – 535,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Wang Hui (1632-1717), Studio in Songshan after Lu Haoran, ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 82 x 42.5 cm.Estimate: HK$ 2.6 – 3.8 M/ USD 332,000 – 485,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Precious Ming and Qing Dynasty Calligraphy Collection. Xu You (17th Century), Calligraphy in Cursive Script, ink on silk, hanging scroll, 178.5 x 43 cm. Estimate: HK$180,000 – 260,000/ USD 23,000 – 33,200. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Property from the North America Collection. Lan Meng (Active 1639-1701), Winter Landscape after Wang Wei, ink and colour on silk, hanging scroll, 198.7 x 99 cm. Estimate: HK$400,000 – 600,000/ USD 51,000 – 76,500. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Bai Juyi’s Poem in Running Script, ink on paper, handscroll, 25.2 x 233.6 cm. Estimate: HK$3 – 4 M/ USD 383,000 – 510,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 307. A Teabowl Mino ware, Black Oribe type; glazed stoneware, Momoyama period, early 17th century; 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) high; 6 ¼ in. (15.9 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$60,000 - US$80,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019

The deep teabowl set on a raised circular foot and scraped around the sides with horizontal striations, the side and interior applied with a flecked matte black glaze.

Provenance: Todoroki Takashi (1938-2016), Tokyo.

Literature: Shino to Oribe/ Shino and Oribe (Tokyo: Idemitsu Museum of Arts, 2007), pl. 47.

Exhibited: Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, “Shino to Oribe/ Shino and Oribe,” 2007.

Oribe vessels are named for the radical unorthodoxy of the influential warlord and tastemaker Furuta Oribe (1543/44–1615), who had a keen interest in tea culture. So-called Oribe Black type teabowls are entirely black, without painted design, covered in an iron glaze that resembles Black Seto. The chartreuse green of thick tea at the bottom of such a bowl would make a striking contrast with the black glaze. There is a roughly circular depression—a chadamari, or tea pool—in the middle of the interior of the bowl. Only the foot and part of the base of this bowl are left unglazed. Momoyama-period Oribe teabowls have been excavated from sites of several Motoyashiki kilns in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, active from around 1600 until about 1620. They were destined for the pottery markets in Kyoto, where their distorted forms represented the fresh, original concepts that excited a new generation of modish townsmen. 

The lacquerlike, smooth and glossy black glaze is achieved by a technique known as hikidashi-guro—removing the bowl from the kiln with tongs at the peak of firing and rapidly cooling it. This technique is used only for Black Seto bowls and Oribe Black bowls. The potter emphasized the rim with a thick band of clay. The rim flares outward and is softly rounded so as to be inviting to the lips. The potter threw the bowl on a wheel, and then shaped it into a nearly triangular form with his hands. He gouged a deep mark on one side of the bowl with his spatula.  

Lot 306. A Deep Teabowl with Dragon Design, named Noboriryu (rising dragon), Mino ware, Black Oribe type; glazed stoneware, Momoyama period, early 17th century; 3 ¾ in. (9.5 cm.) high; 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$50,000 - US$70,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019

The deep teabowl set on a raised circular foot and scraped around the sides with horizontal striations, designed in black glaze with abstract image on one side and black bands on the opposite side and in the interior. With lacquered wood box affixed with paper label inscribed Oribe Kuro (Black Oribe) and Denshuan zo (collection of Denshuan [Maeda Seison]) 

Provenance: Maeda Seison (1885–1977), Nihonga painter and noted collector.

Literature: Watashino atsumeta yakimono ten mokuroku (The exhibition of ceramics in my collection) (Kamakura: The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, 1971), cat. no. 1.
Fujioka Ryoichi, Oribe, volume 12 of Toji taikei (Heibonsha: Tokyo, 1979), pl. 1.

Exhibited: Tekisui Museum, Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture (date unknown)
"Watashino atsumeta yakimono ten," The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, 24 October-10 November 1971.

Note: Black Oribe is a stye of Oribe favored for teabowls. Tall and narrow, the body has horizontal groves that were made in the course of shaping. The potter used a bamboo spatula to sculpt the sides of the bowl in several places. The thick rim is emphasized and has a slightly uneven waviness. A similar example is in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya.

The deep, cylindrical bowl was dipped at angles into the black glaze, creating a triangular empty space that was then decorated. The glazier left a thumbprint at the base where he held the bowl when dipping it into the iron-oxide glaze. A fanciful design of a climbing dragon was freely painted with black iron wash in the reserved area, suggestive of the profile of Mount Fuji. Then, the area was covered with a whitish felspar glaze. The foot is roughly formed and features an impressed mark, a single straight line. Marks on the foot used to be identified as "potter's marks," but recent thinking is that they identify Kyoto merchants who commissioned the production. Their significance, according to Louise Cort, is not yet clear. A Black Oribe type teabowl in the Freer Gallery of Art has a similar impressed single straight line on its foot (F2014.5). Since the advent of salvage archaeology some fifty years ago, over 150 Mino-area kilns have been excavated. Six of them, all within present-day Toki City in Gifu Prefecture, fired Oribe-style ware. The clients who commissioned teabowls such as this one were Kyoto pottery merchants catering to wealthy local townsmen. Oribe ware tends to be asymmetrical, eccentric and slightly warped, exhibiting spontaneity and abstraction that suited a new set of clients.

Lot 305. A stoneware dish, Karatsu ware, Okugorai type, Momoyama period, early 17th century; 10 ¼ in. (26 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$50,000 - US$70,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019

The circular dish set on a ring foot, the dark grayish body decorated in underglaze iron-oxide with freely-painted reeds on the interior.

Provenance: Todoroki Takashi (1938-2016), Tokyo. Todoroki was a famous connoisseur of Asian art, especially known for his great collection of Korean ceramics, Buddhist art and Negoro lacquer ware.

Literature: Ohashi Koji, ed., Tsuchi no bi kogaratsu: Hizen toji no subete (Kyushu: Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 2008), pl. 44.
Bi no tsubo Karatsuyaki (The mark of beauty / Karatsu ware) (Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., 2008), p. 34.
François Villemin, ed., The Golden Age of Karatsu Stoneware (Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2013), p. 177.

Exhibited: The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Saga Prefecture, "Tsuchi no bi kogaratsu: Hizen toji no subete / The Art of Clay: all about Hizen ceramics," 2008. 9.29-11.9.

Lot 310. A porcelain dish with keito (plumed coxcombs), Nabeshima Ware, Okawachi, Hizen Province, Edo period, late 17th-early 18th century; 5 7/8 in. (14.8 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$18,000 - US$22,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Designed on the interior in cobalt pigment under colorless glaze and in overglaze enamels of red, turquoise and accents of yellow with keito (plumed coxcombs), the high ring foot painted in underglaze blue with a comb-tooth pattern, the exterior painted in underglaze blue with three scrolling flowers.

Note: Collectors have long appreciated the flawless glaze and stunning designs of Nabeshima-type porcelains. There are more than 100 examples in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, many on exhibition in the 2015 exhibition “Discovering Japanese Art: American Collectors and the Met.” Americans who honeymooned in Japan in the late nineteenth century played a major role in augmenting the Met’s collections. Charles Stewart Smith (1832–1909), a trustee of the Met, was involved in the dry goods business and primarily collected European paintings. While on honeymoon with his third wife in Japan in 1892, he acquired Japanese ceramics from the British collector Captain Frank Brinkley (1841–1912) and shipped more than 400 pieces directly to the museum in 1893. Valentine Everit Macy (1871–1930), a New York industrialist and philanthropist, who was Commissioner of Parks, and his wife, Edith Carpenter Macy (1869–1925), also collected Japanese ceramics on their Japan honeymoon in 1896. These were subsequently given to the Met in the early 1920s.

For similar examples, see: Hayashiya Seizo, ed., Nabeshima, vol. 10 of Nihon no Toji (Japanese ceramics), (Tokyo, 1988), no. 209; Nagatake Takeshi and Yabe Yoshiaki et. al., Iro Nabeshima: Nabeshima-han yoseki hakkutsu kinen (Fukuoka, 1982), p. 118.

Lot 308. A porcelain dish with cherry blossoms, Nabeshima ware, Okawachi, Hizen Province, Edo period, late 17th-early 18th century; 5 7/8 in. (14.8 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$12,000 - US$15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Designed on the interior in cobalt pigment under colorless glaze and in overglaze enamels of red with cherry blossoms, baskets and stylized waves, the high ring foot painted in underglaze blue with a comb-tooth pattern, the exterior painted in underglaze blue with three clusters of tasseled coins.

Note: For similar dishes, see: The Kyushu Ceramic Museum ed., 
Shogun-ke eno kenjo Nabeshima (Nabeshima Porclain for the Shogunate), exhibition catalogue (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 2006), pl. 96. Nagatake Takeshi and Yabe Yoshiaki et. al., Iro Nabeshima: Nabeshima-han yoseki hakkutsu kinen (Fukuoka, 1982), pl. 126 (Hayashibara Museum Collection).

Lot 309. A porcelain dish with flowers, Nabeshima ware, Okawachi, Hizen province, Edo period, late 17th-early 18th century; 5 7/8 in. (14.8 cm.) diameter. Estimate: US$12,000 - US$15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Decorated in underglaze blue and enamels of red, green, turquoise and yellow over clear glaze with a scrolling peony design, the high ring foot painted in underglaze blue with a comb-tooth pattern, the exterior painted in underglaze blue with three clusters of tasseled coins.

Note: For similar dishes see:
Imaizumi Motosuke, vol. 21 of Nihon no yakimono (Japanese Ceramics) (Tokyo, 1975), pl. 48; Nabeshima, vol. 25 of Nihon Toji Zenshu (Complete Collection of Japanese Ceramics) (Tokyo: Chuokoronsha, 1976), pl. 29.
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, ed., Shogun-ke eno kenjo Nabeshima (Nabeshima Porclain for the Shogunate), exhibition catalogue (Saga: Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 2006), pl. 104.
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, ed., Shogun-ke kenjo no Nabeshima, Hirado, Karatsu (Ceramics for the Shogunate), exhibition catalogue (Saga: Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 2012), pl. 71.

Claude Monet, Meules. Oil on canvas. Executed in 1890, signed and dated by the artist in 1891. Estimate in excess of $55 million. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Sotheby’s announced that an enduring symbol of Impressionism from Claude Monet’s iconic Haystacks series will lead an important private collection of eight Impressionist masterworks on offer in our Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art on 14 May in New York. 

Of the 25 canvases that the artist created in the early 1890s, Meules from 1890 is one of only four works from this series to come to auction this century and one of only eight remaining in private hands. The other 17 examples reside in the distinguished collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris and, perhaps most notably, six in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Meules is further distinguished by its illustrious provenance, having been acquired by wealthy Chicago socialites and fervent collectors of Impressionist works, Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer, directly from the artist’s dealer in the 1890s. 

Having remained in the same private collection since it was acquired by the present owners at auction in 1986, the radiant canvas will be offered this May with an estimate in excess of $55 million. 

Meules belongs to a group of eight outstanding works by Impressionist masters on offer this May from the same important private collection, including defining examples by Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley and Édouard Vuillard. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the collection will significantly benefit two world-renowned, not-for-profit institutions in the fields of science and music. 

This exquisite group of works will debut in a public exhibition beginning 3 May in Sotheby’s newly reimagined and expanded York Avenue galleries. This exhibition marks the first public viewing of Meules in over three decades. 

August Uribe, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department in New York, commented: “It is a privilege to present one of Claude Monet’s defining Impressionist paintings in our Evening Sale this May. One of the most recognizable images in art history, Monet’s Haystacks series has long served as an inspiration to countless artists since its creation in the early 1890s, and continues to inspire anyone who has viewed one of these canvases first hand. Prior to 2016, a Haystack had not been presented to collectors since Sotheby’s London offered a work from the series in June 2001, nearly 20 years ago. In addition, the seven pictures that round out this collection are exceptional in their own right, and the group as a whole is among the finest assemblages of Impressionist works that we have seen in recent years. Anytime a work, such as Meules, that has been so formative in the canon of art history comes to auction there is a palpable energy that ricochets through the market. It is with this immense enthusiasm that we look forward to presenting this wonderful group to collectors worldwide this May.” 

Brooke Lampley, Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Fine Art Division, said: “It was in 1890 with the Haystacks that Monet first began an intrepid exploration of the varying effects of light and atmosphere on a single subject over the course of time. It is these“series” pictures of haystacks, the Rouen Cathedral, and water lilies in Giverny that would eventually come to define his immense contribution to not only Impressionism, but also Abstraction and 20th century art. Now the most celebrated works of Monet's oeuvre, the series pictures are sought after by Impressionist and Contemporary collectors alike. It is a thrill to be offering a Meule that is not only distinguished among those remaining in private hands, but also easily ranks among the best in the entire series. This is a painting that showcases Claude Monet as an unparalleled landscape painter, and a radically innovative conceptual artist who would influence generations of artists to come.” 

CLAUDE MONET’S MEULES 
Painted at the height of Claude Monet’s artistic powers, Meules stands as a seminal work of Impressionism. 

Executed in 1890 and signed and dated by the artist in 1891, Meules was acquired in the early 1890s by Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer directly from the artist’s dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel. Bertha Palmer, a celebrated Chicago socialite and the wife of well-known businessman Potter Palmer, amassed an unrivaled collection of Impressionist works, many of which are now the bedrock of the Art Institute of Chicago’s renowned Impressionist collection. Palmer acquired a large portion of the collection between 1891 and 1892 while traveling abroad to help organize the World’s Columbian Exposition, where she served as President of the Board of Lady Managers and advocated for women’s equality. The Palmers were introduced to Durand-Ruel in 1889 through curator Sarah Tyson Hallowell, who later introduced them to the artist Mary Cassatt. It is estimated that Mrs. Palmer owned nearly 90 works by Monet over the course of her life, and built a sprawling picture gallery, complete with red velvet walls, in her home to display her collection of Romantic, Barbizon and Impressionist works. Palmer owned six of Monet’s grainstack canvases, all purchased following the artist’s exhibition at Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris in 1891. While the Palmers sold many of the pictures shortly after their acquisition, the present work remained in Mrs. Palmer’s personal collection until her death in May 1918 and with her heirs for decades after. 

Monet began working on the group of paintings that are almost universally known as Haystacks as early as 1884, depicting stacks that were subsumed into a wider environment. However, the major series of majestic canvases depicting grainstacks, with a focus on the evanescent effects of light, were completed between 1889 and 1891. The stacks upon which Monet lavished so much of his energy and vision during those years were actually the stores for wheat and grain, and not for hay as is the popular misconception. 

The stacks in the present composition are distinguished from other depictions in the series by the diagonal swaths of light between the forms. Voluminous, full structures, the stacks suggest the great fertility and bountifulness of the Normandy landscape, their surfaces gilded and burnished with the light of the sun, imparting a sense of well-being, vitality and the harmony of nature throughout the canvas. In choosing these powerful grainstacks as his subject, Monet continued a long tradition of depicting the French countryside and its abundant riches as seen in the paintings of Jean-François Millet and the Barbizon school. However, Monet updates this tradition to striking effect. His grainstacks series contains virtually no anecdotal detail: no laborers, no figures walking through the fields or birds flying in the sky. The artist pares down his vision to focus solely on the grainstacks themselves, on the play of light on them, on the sky and the horizon. In its warmth and generosity of vision, in its elevation of the humble grainstack to an emblem of Impressionism, and in its emphasis on form and light, Meules is an undisputed masterpiece of Monet’s oeuvre and one of art history’s most evocative images.

Claude Monet (French, Paris 1840–1926 Giverny), Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun), 1891. Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (65.4 x 92.1 cm), H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929; 29.100.109. © 2000–2019 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Claude Monet, Meules, fin de l'été, 1891, huile sur toile. H. 60,5 ; L. 100,8 avec cadre H. 85,7 ; L. 126,7 cm, musée d'Orsay, Paris, France© photo musée d'Orsay / RMN.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer), 1891. Oil on canvas, 60 × 100.5 cm (23 5/8 × 39 9/16 in.). Inscribed lower left: Claude Monet 91. Gift of Arthur M. Wood, Sr. in memory of Pauline Palmer Wood, 1985.1103. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stack of Wheat (Snow Effect, Overcast Day), 1890-1891. Oil on canvas, 66 × 93 cm (26 × 36 5/8 in.). Inscribed lower right: Claude Monet 91. Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection, 1933.1155. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stack of Wheat, 1890-1891. Oil on canvas, 65.8 × 92.3 cm (25 15/16 × 36 3/8 in.). Inscribed lower left: Claude Monet 91. Restricted gift of the Searle Family Trust; Major Acquisitions Centennial Endowment; through prior acquisitions of the Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson and Potter Palmer collections; through prior bequest of Jerome Friedman, 1983.29. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn), 1891. Oil on canvas, 65.8 × 101 cm (27 7/8 × 39 3/4 in.). Inscribed lower left: Claude Monet 91. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection, 1933.444. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stacks of Wheat (Thaw, Sunset), 1891. Oil on canvas, 64.4 × 92.5 cm (25 3/8 × 36 7/16 in.). Inscribed lower left: Claude Monet 91; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Searle, 1983.166. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Stack of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect), 1891. Oil on canvas, 65.3 × 100.4 cm (25 11/16 × 39 1/2 in.). Inscribed lower right: Claude Monet 91; Potter Palmer Collection, 1922.431. © The Art Institute of Chicago.

Lot 625. A molded 'Ding'-type 'phoenix and peony' bowl, Song-Ming dynasty (960-1644). Diameter 8 1/4 in., 21 cm. Estimate: US$2,000 - US$3,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

thinly potted, the deep rounded sides molded on the interior with a pair of phoenix with wings outstretched and long trailing tail feathers, the birds separated by a large luxuriant leafing peony amid further small blooms, all encircling the sunken central medallion and bordered with a narrow band of keyfret, applied overall with a creamy-white glaze.

Note: A closely related bowl to the present, from the collection of Dr. Peter M. Greiner, sold in these rooms, 18th March 2017, lot 1028.

Lot 626. A Qingbai 'Boys and lotus' bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Diameter 7 1/8 in., 18.1 cm. Estimate: US$20,000 - US$30,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of conical form, the thinly-potted vessel with wide flaring sides rising from a slightly tapered foot to a gently everted hexalobed rim, the interior with three boys each playfully grasping the long sinuous stem of a leafing lush lotus meander, the petals with furled edges and freely incised with stylized wavy veins, applied overall with a translucent lustrous pale bluish-green glaze pooling to a deeper tone in the recesses, the glaze stopping neatly at the foot, the unglazed base fired and buffed tone to a burnt-orange at the center.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019

Lot 627. A carved Qingbai lobed bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279).Diameter 6 in., 15.2 cm. Estimate: US$6,000 - US$8,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

delicately potted, with deep rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a scalloped rim, the interior carved and combed with a large six-petal blossom, covered overall in a translucent ice-blue glaze save for the base.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019

Lot 628. A pair of Qingbai molded bowls, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Diameter 7 5/8 in., 19.5 cm. Estimate: US$6,000 - US$8,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each finely potted with steep sides rising from a short straight foot, molded to the interior with a central medallion enclosing twin phoenix, encircled by six radiating panels enclosing vases and jardinières with varying floral displays, all beneath a keyfret band, covered overall in a pale blue glaze save for the exposed rim.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 20 march 2019

Lot 629. A Qingbai carved 'Boys and lotus' bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Diameter 8 in., 20.3 cm. Estimate: US$3,000 - US$5,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the subtly rounded conical sides supported on a tapered foot, the interior freely carved with two plump boys playing amidst swirling leaves, covered overall in a pale blue-green glaze.

Provenance: Collection of Johannes Hellner (1866-1947).
Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc., New York, 1986.
New York Private Collection

Literature: Jan Wirgin, 'Sung Ceramics Designs', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 42, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 20b. 

Lot 630. A pair of floriform Qingbai bowls, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Diameter 5 1/2 in., 14 cm. Estimate: US$8,000 - US$12,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each with lobed sides rising from a low tapered foot flaring toward the rim, the floral form neatly divided into five undulating lobes radiating from the center, covered overall in a translucent pale blue-green glaze save for the base.