Lot 96. A group of seven stone and jade ritual blades, Neolithic Period to Zhou Dynasties. The largest: 12.3cm (4 1/8in) long. Estimate £800 - 1,200 (€ 930 - 1,400). © Bonhams 2001-2019

Including: a semi-circular stone blade with two apertures; an unusual arrow-head form blade with a large hole; and a rectangular jade implement with a chiselled terminal end. 

The Durwin Tang Collection of Chinese Jades.

Bonhams. Asian Art, London, 13 May 2019 - 14 May 2019

Tapestry sleeve ornament (detail; 7th–9th century) Egypt. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

Expensive, extravagant clothes played an important role in society even 1500 years ago in the Egypt of Late Antiquity. Dress could be a visible expression of dignity, rank and aspiration. But how best to do that in an age when men and women, young and old essentially wore the same outfit? The Abegg-Stiftung’s new special exhibition sets out to answer this question. In addition to several tunics or fragments of tunics from the period, it also presents numerous small pieces of cloth, which as ornamental appliqués were once sewn onto otherwise unremarkable garments to lend them an individual touch. 

The Abegg-Stiftung in Riggisberg is in possession of a major collection of textiles dating from the third to the ninth century, a selection of which the museum is now displaying in an exhibition about dress. The show turns and hinges on an item of clothing that is still familiar to us today: the tunic. This simple, wide-cut garment with or without sleeves was the most important item of clothing in the whole of the Mediterranean region. It was worn by men and women, adults and children of all social classes whether as everyday wear, ceremonial attire or livery. It derived its desired character not from the cut but rather from the materials of which it was made, the dyes colouring it and the ornaments embellishing it. Costly silk or coarse linen, dyed at great expense or left in its natural colour – these are what determined a tunic’s value, as did the number and sophistication of the decorative elements. 

Red woollen tunic (5th–7th century), Egypt. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

Textile treasures from desert sands

Today’s fast fashion is so short-lived and wears out so quickly that visitors will be amazed that the centuriesold Egyptian textiles on show here have not only survived, but often have retained their radiant colours as well. It is the dry sands of the desert that we have to thank for their preservation. There, raiments made of fragile organic fibres such as wool, silk and linen were protected against moisture and light and so withstood the ravages of time. That so many of them survived also has to do with the burial customs of the period. After the third century, Egypt’s dead were no longer embalmed and mummified, but instead were buried in their clothes. Often they were dressed in several garments, one on top of the other, and it is these items that archaeologists unearthed centuries later.

Woven in one piece

The centrepieces of the exhibition are two perfectly preserved, exceptionally large woollen garments. One is a bright red tunic decorated with two vertical bands patterned in purple and beige, which instead of being displayed on a mannequin has been spread out flat on the wall, mainly to show how huge it is. Another advantage of mounting it this way is that visitors can see how it was woven in one piece, including the sleeves. The weaving was done cross-wise from sleeve to sleeve, which would have been possible only on a loom of more than two and a half metres wide. The patterned parts, moreover, were woven straight into the cloth. Weaving such an item of clothing would therefore have been quite a feat. The second tunic might almost be a twin of the first one, except that it is made of a heavy, beige-coloured woollen fabric, which ends in a wide cord at the hem. Woven into this one are purple-coloured decorative bands showing intricate climbing plants, dancing figures and animals. This tunic, too, was woven in one piece; but unlike the other one, it is presented in three dimensions on a T-shaped stand that provides all-round support.

How might it have felt to wear such a wide-cut garment? Surely the sheer quantity of material would have impeded movement – to say nothing of making the wearer resemble a walking tent? An illustration sheds light on this question. Of crucial importance, it seems, were the extremely narrow sleeves. These were so tightfitting that they stabilized the whole tunic, as well as making the cloth bunch up at the shoulders as if the wearer were also wearing a cloak on top of it. The front and back overlap at the sides. The wide cord at the hem made the tunic stand out at both back and front so that it retained the desired shape and was comfortable to wear even when the wearer was moving. 

Sleeveless woollen tunic (1st–2nd century), Egypt or Eastern Mediterranean. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

Timeless elegance

Somewhat less spectacular in size, but equally interesting is a wide, sleeveless tunic dating from the first to third century. Very few garments from this early period have been preserved as well as this one. The tunic is remarkable for its fine, orange-coloured woollen weave and understated block pattern. The purple-coloured ornamental bands woven into it from shoulder to hem make for a decorative contrast. Surprisingly elegant and timeless, the tunic remained open at the sides and was gathered together by a belt worn at waist height. Being amply cut, it gives the impression of having half sleeves down to the elbows. For the exhibition, the tunic has been mounted on a special stand, which besides providing all-round support also reproduces the natural drape of the cloth.

Charming ornaments

While the showcases containing the tunics that have survived more or less intact form the centrepiece of the exhibition, most of the wall space is devoted to the display of smaller items: either tunic fragments or the ornamental appliqués that were once sewn onto them. Here we can admire the vast array of ornaments on offer, which ranged from coloured bands extending from shoulder to hem on both front and back to circular medallions or rectangular patches appliquéd onto the shoulders or at knee height and exquisitely worked borders used to embellish the neckline and sleeve ends. It is worth examining these ornaments more closely. Alongside geometrical patterns and floral motifs, there are several figural scenes, many of which are utterly charming. There are Nereids riding on dolphins, for example, or a fisherman in a loincloth with two fish on his line surrounded by birds, rabbits, fish and snails. Elsewhere there are hunters and beasts of prey, dancers and athletes. Most of these human figures have disproportionately large, expressive faces that would be more than a match for many a modern comic-book character.

Tapestry sleeve ornament (7th–9th century) Egypt. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

Silk and dyestuffs as luxury extras

Most tunics were made of linen and were decorated with ornaments made of linen and wool. But clothes made entirely of wool seem to have been widespread, too, whereas those made of silk were very much the exception.

The latter counted as the ultimate in resplendence and wealth. They could lend the wearer prestige and exclusivity as could no other attire. The starting material alone – the raw silk – was a luxury commodity of the highest order. Until the sixth century, it had to be imported from India or China. As silk garments were very rare even in Late Antiquity, it is hardly surprising that even fewer of these exquisite items have survived to this day. Visitors to the exhibition will nevertheless be able to admire some unique fragments of tunics made of patterned silk. Especially impressive is a green and beige silk, intricately patterned with rows of medallions formed by interlocking bands. These medallions are occupied by Erotes – boyish incarnations of the ancient god of love, Eros – holding baskets of fruit, rabbits, birds or reed pipes.

Another luxury feature are colours. Textile fibres that were to be coloured had to be dyed using either vegetal dyestuffs like madder and indigo or animals such as lac insects or, for purple, the secretions of the murex sea snail. Extraction was difficult and time-consuming, which made these dyes very expensive; so not everyone could afford a coloured tunic. Most people had to content themselves with cloth made of undyed yarn and to upgrade their tunics with isolated ornaments.

Detail of a round ornament with fisherman (7th–8th century), Egypt. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

A child’s tunic with stick figures

The exhibition closes with a small garment: a child’s tunic made of undyed linen decorated with red ornaments. These are patterned with frolicking stick figures reminiscent of children’s drawings. Whether these were deliberately chosen for somebody’s little son or daughter – who knows? The tunic belongs to the Museum August Kestner in Hanover and was entrusted to the Abegg-Stiftung for conservation. On show in Riggisberg only for the duration of the summer, it provides another highlight of late antique textile art alongside the treasures of the Abegg-Stiftung itself.

Luxury on the Nile, late antique attire from Egypt - 28 april-10 november 2019

Fragment of a silk tunic (4th century), Egypt or Eastern Mediterranean. Photo: Christoph von Viràg; © Abegg-Stiftung, Riggisberg

Lot 83. A russet-splashed black-glazed meiping, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 23 cm, 9 1/8  in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the broad-shouldered tapering baluster body rising from a short spreading foot to a narrow flaring neck with rolled rim, the body and neck covered with a lustrous black glaze irregularly splashed in reddish-brown, the glaze falling short of the foot to reveal the buff body.

Lot 84. A black-glazed oil-spot bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 13.6 cm, 5 3/8  in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the deep conical sides rising from a short straight foot to an everted rim, covered overall with a black glaze infused with silvery oil spots.

Note: The present piece boasts a highly lustrous glaze with iridescent ‘oil spot’ markings that shift from silvery-metallic tones to russet-brown when light shines through them. Bowls of this form and covered in this ‘oil spot’ glaze are unusual; compare a slightly smaller bowl, but the glaze stopping above the foot, in the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, pl. 1503; a bowl of deeper form, from the collection of Dr. Yogokawa Tamisuke, now in the Tokyo National Museum, included in Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics I, Tokyo, 1988, pl. 611; another in the Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo, included in the exhibition Charm of Black & White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 2002, cat. no. 138; a fourth bowl, but the rim less flared, in the Yuegutang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, A Collection of Chinese Ceramics in Berlin, Berlin, 2000, pl. 182; and another from the collection of Sir A. Daniel Hall and the Malcolm collection, sold twice in these rooms, 1st July 1943, lot 17, and 29th March 1977, lot 159.

Lot 85. A Yaozhou celadon 'Rhinoceros' bowl, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 19 cm,  7 1/2  in. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides, the interior decorated with a stylised rhinoceros gazing at the moon and encircled by leafy scrollwork, covered overall in an olive-green glaze.

Lot 86. A Shaanxi black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 10.2 cm, 4 in. Estimate 12,000 — 15,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the shallow rounded sides rising from a short spreading foot to a slightly everted rim, covered overall in a lustrous glossy black glaze suffused with silvery-brown splashes imitating partridge feathers.

Lot 87. A Cizhou sgraffiato 'Peony'meiping, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 29.3 cm, 11 5/8  in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the tapering baluster body rising from a recessed base to a rounded shoulder and narrow short neck with broad everted rim, carved around the exterior through the brown and black glaze with a broad leafy peony scroll, all reserved on a white ground between stylised key-fret and lotus lappet bands.

Note: Boldly carved with a floral scroll fired to a purplish-brown tone on one side and deep black on the other, this jar belongs to a distinct group of Cizhou wares decorated with sgraffiato floral motifs. This technique involved the application of two different-coloured slips – a layer of white followed by a layer of black slip. The motif was carefully carved through the black sip to reveal the white layer beneath. Fragments of meiping decorated with this technique have been unearthed at the Guantai kilns in Henan province, and illustrated in The Cizhou Kiln Site at Guantai, Beijing, 1997, col pl. XXI, fig. 2 (top right).

The present vase is unusual for the keyfret band above the foot, a motif that probably derives from the square spiral pattern commonly found on archaic bronze wares. While bands of keyfret are relatively common on Cizhou sgraffiato wares, they seldom appear on meiping of this type. Compare a vase with slightly rounder shoulders and lacking the keyfret, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, London, 1984, pl. 62a; a slightly larger one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 88; another in the Worcester Art Museum, included in the exhibition Freedom of Clay and Brush Through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz’u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1981, cat. no. 39; and a further vase in the Kyoto National Museum, illustrated in Sekai tōji zenshū / Ceramic Art of the World, 1955, vol. 10, pl. 94.

Lot 88. A 'Jian''hares-fur' teabowl and a lacquer stand, the bowl Song dynasty, the stand later; The bowl: 12.5 cm, 5 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the bowl with deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an indented rim, covered overall with a lustrous black glaze with silvery vertical streaks, the glaze falling short of the foot to reveal the dark brown body, accompanied by a stand of dark brown lacquer, the ring-shaped support rising from a dish-shaped collar and high spreading foot, three Japanese wood boxes.

Workshop of Guido Durantino, dish with Jupiter surprising Antiope, ca. 1540 – 50. Maiolica, 7 1/8 inches (diameter). Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Virginia Y. Trotter Decorative Arts Endowment. GMOA 2018.410.

ATHENS, GA.- Like a talented storyteller beginning his tale, a generous host invites visitors into the scene by setting the table with delicious food and decorated dinnerware. In Renaissance Italy, maiolica was the standard form of pottery used to serve these welcoming meals. The exhibition “Storytelling in Renaissance Maiolica,” on view at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia April 27, 2019 – January 5, 2020, contains several of these tin-glazed earthenware plates from 16th-century Urbino and Venice. 

The catalyst for the exhibition was two pieces of maiolica the museum recently purchased with funds provided by the Virginia Y. Trotter Decorative Arts Endowment and the William Underwood Eiland Endowment. These works were made in the workshop of Guido Durantino (also known as Guido Fontana; active 1520 – 1576) and his son Orazio in Urbino, Italy.

Nelda Damiano, Pierre Daura Curator of European Art and curator of the exhibition, said, “The two dishes, representing mythological subjects, were purchased on the London art market, at a time when maiolica is experiencing a renewed interest and major exhibitions are highlighting its beauty and art historical value. We are extremely proud to share with our visitors maiolica examples of such high quality, produced in one of the most important workshops of the period.” 

Islamic potters first developed the process of making maiolica around 800 BCE, emulating Chinese white porcelain. Islamic rule in Spain from the 8th to the 15th century spread the technique to Europe, including Italy. The technique requires covering a fired ceramic with a white glaze containing tin oxide. The result is a blank slate for decorating. Decorating this surface requires skill and determination. Fused glaze does not forgive mistakes. The final product is durable and remains bright and colorful for centuries. The plates in the exhibition, which come from lenders including the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, the Gardiner Museum, the Speed Art Museum and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, include a variety of colors from bright blue to sandy orange. During the Renaissance, Italian maiolica was affordable and sold at a large commercial scale. 

The stories shown on these plates would have been familiar to contemporary audiences and often come from classical mythology or the Bible. The two pieces that the museum purchased depict mythological subjects from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a Roman narrative poem. In designing complex, figurative compositions and three-dimensional settings, artists often derived inspiration from prints and illustrations. Dining was considered one of the most important social activities of aristocratic life—an ideal occasion to demonstrate one’s elevated status, good taste, and erudition. Banquets featured multiple courses that required a large number of serving pieces to present and distribute the food, which was eaten with one’s hands. In composing the painted narratives, artists often exploited the varying surfaces and depressions of the piece on which it appeared to reveal the story sequentially, enhancing the impact of the imagery as the diner emptied the dish. Inscriptions appear on the backs of many pieces of historiated maiolica—recording the subject matter, date, site of production, artist, and excerpts from poetry—suggesting that diners might have turned them over during meals for more information.

Lot 155. A large dark blue-glazed zun-form vase, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1662-1722); 11 3/8 in. (29 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000 (USD 51,560 - USD 77,340). © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The vase is covered to the exterior with a dark midnight-blue glaze while the interior is covered in white glaze. The unglazed base reveals the white porcelain body except for the circular section of the mark. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 14 May 2019

Lot 156. A large aubergine and turquoise-glazed 'Cadogan' teapot, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 10 in. (25.5 cm.) wide. Estimate GBP 6,000 - GBP 8,000 (USD 7,734 - USD 10,312). © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The peach-shaped ewer is covered overall in a deep aubergine glaze, and the spout and handle are shaped as gnarled branches sprouting delicate turquoise-glazed leaves. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 14 May 2019

Lot 157. A blue-glazed meiping, 17th-18th century; 14 in. (35.5 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 8,000 - GBP 12,000 (USD 10,312 - USD 15,468). © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The vase is covered with a dark purplish-blue glaze stopping below the narrow white mouth rim and thickening around the foot. The white interior is under a colourless glaze and the base is left unglazed. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 14 May 2019

Lot 158. A blue-glazed bottle vase, 18th-19th century; 13 ¾ in. (35 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 6,000 - GBP 8,000 (USD 7,734 - USD 10,312). © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

The vase has a compressed globular body and a tall neck that flares at the rim. It is covered on the exterior with a dark blue glaze that contrasts with the white interior and base.

Provenance: With Marchant, London (according to label on base). 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, London, 14 May 2019

Lot 72. A Retro Platinum, Pink Tourmaline, Pink Sapphire and Diamond Brooch, Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin. Estimate $15,000-20,000. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

CHICAGO, IL.- Hindman LLC today announced they will partner with storied Chicago jeweler Trabert & Hoeffer, and owner Donald Levinson, to sell a portion of the iconic jewelry retailer’s inventory ahead of the store owner’s retirement and subsequent closing. The sale, which includes more than 250 lots spanning the company’s history, will be held on May 15 at 4pm CT at Hindman’s Chicago headquarters (1338 W Lake St). 

Offering a selection of spectacular jewelry, Trabert & Hoeffer established its first store on Park Avenue in New York City in 1930. After expanding to Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Atlantic City and finally Chicago, the company purchased inventory from acclaimed Parisian jewelry Mauboussin, giving birth to one of jewelry’s most historic partnerships. 

After purchasing Trabert & Hoeffer in 1968, Chicagoan Don Levinson built his own distinctive salon identity, broadening the buying focus while maintaining the brand’s classic, intimate Art Deco look and feel. The store, which will close its doors for the final time on June 15, is the last remaining Trabert & Hoeffer location. 

“After more than 50 years with Trabert & Hoeffer, it’s time for me to announce my retirement and I can’t think of a better partner tthan Hindman to move the store’s spectacular inventory. It was important to me to partner with an organization that would treat my customers with the same care and dedication that I have,” said Levinson. “These pieces truly are incredible and I’m grateful they will find homes with collectors who understand and appreciate this brand’s unmatched quality and expansive legacy.” 

Highlights of the auction will include a Retro platinum, diamond and pink tourmaline brooch by Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin ($15,000 to $20,000); a 10.04 carat emerald cut diamond ring ($200,000 to $300,000); a 58.50 carat total weight diamond bracelet ($90,000 to $120,000); a pair of 10.04 carat total weight diamond stud earrings ($125,000 to $175,000); a 6.11 carat marquise diamond ring, certified D color, Internally Flawless clarity ($280,000 to $380,000); and more. 

Lot 72. A Retro Platinum, Pink Tourmaline, Pink Sapphire and Diamond Brooch, Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin. Estimate $15,000-20,000. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing 45 calibre cut pink tourmalines and two pink sapphires weighing approximately 15.00 carats total, 66 baguette cut diamonds weighing approximately 8.50 carats total and 42 round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 5.00 carats total. Stamp: TRABERT & HOEFFER MAUBOUSSIN 4021. 20.65 dwts.

Lot 242. A Platinum and 10.04 carat emerald cut diamond ring, G color, SI1 Clarity. Estimate $200,000-300,000.© Leslie Hindman LLC

containing one octagonal step cut diamond weighing 10.04 carats and two trapezoid shape step cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.85 carats total. 

Accompanied by a Gemological Institute of America diamond grading certificate number 5181779985, dated September 29, 2017, stating Color: G, Clarity: SI1, Polish: Good, Symmetry: Good, Fluorescence: Medium Blue, Inscription(s): GIA 5181779985. 5.80 dwts. 

Lot 240. A Platinum and 58.50 carat total weight diamond bracelet. Estimate $90,000-120,000. 

containing 230 octagonal step cut diamonds weighing approximately 58.50 carats total. Stamp: PT950. 44.80 dwts. 

Lot 87. A pair of platinum and 10.04 carat total weight diamond stud earrings. Estimate $125,000-175,000. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing one round brilliant cut diamond weighing 5.01 carats and one round brilliant cut diamond weighing 5.03 carats. 

Accompanied by a Gemological Institute of America diamond grading certificate number 11580594, dated July 10, 2001, stating Color: H Clarity: SI1, Polish: Good, Symmetry: Good, Fluorescence: None. 

Accompanied by a Gemological Institute of America diamond grading certificate number 15028657, dated May 10, 2006, stating Color: H, Clarity: SI1, Polish: Good, Symmetry: Good, Fluorescence: None. 

Lot 71. A Platinum and 6.11 carat marquise diamond ring, certified D color, Internally Flawless clarity. Estimate $280,000-380,000. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing one marquise cut diamond weighing 6.11 carats and two tapered baguette cut diamonds weighing approximately 0.70 carat total. Stamp: 10% IRID-PL(partially obscured). 

Accompanied by a Gemological Institute of America diamond grading certificate number 13698948, dated April 6, 2017, stating Color: D, Clarity: IF, Polish: Excellent, Symmetry: Excellent, Fluorescence: None. 6.10 dwts.

The collection will be available to preview in New York City from April 30 to May 1; Atlanta on May 3; and Chicago from May 10 to May 15. 

“For nearly 90 years, Trabert & Hoeffer has been one of the world’s most celebrated jewelers, and we’re honored and humbled to have been chosen to uphold its legacy,” said Katie Guilbault, Director and Senior Specialist of Fine Jewelry and Timepieces at Hindman. “This sale serves as the perfect catalyst for a new and exciting era for Hindman, as our brand evolves and we expand our offerings across the country."

Lot 161. A Platinum, 18 Karat Yellow Gold and Diamond Curb Link Necklace, Trabert & Hoeffer. Estimate $4,400-6,400. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing 112 round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 1.62 carats total, measuring approximately 13.00 mm wide. Stamp: Pt950 T&H 18K GERMANY. 62.10 dwts. 

Lot 76. A Pair of Retro Platinum and Diamond Earclips, Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin. Estimate $3,500-5,500. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing 102 round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 2.65 carats total and 24 baguette cut diamonds weighing approximately 0.15 carat total, with white gold hinged screwbacks. Stamp: T&HM 6844. 12.00 dwts. 

Lot 55. A Retro Yellow Gold, Platinum, Cultured Pearl and Diamond Clover 'Reflection' Brooch, Trabert & Hoeffer–Mauboussin. Estimate $2,500-3,500. © Leslie Hindman LLC.

containing 16 pearls measuring approximately 3.00-5.10 mm in diameter and 12 round single cut diamonds weighing approximately 0.35 carat total. Stamp: TRABERT & HOEFFER MAUBOUSSIN. 16.90 dwts.

Accompanied by the original rendering embossed with the 'Reflection' mark for Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin.

Lot 89. A 'Longquan' celadon 'Lotus' bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279);  3.9 cm, 5 1/2  in. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising from a short straight foot, the exterior carved with lotus petals, covered with an even olive-green glaze suffused with icy crackles.

Lot 90. A 'Longquan' celadon tripod censer, Song dynasty (960-1279); 12.9 cm, 5 1/8  in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body rising from three tall conical feet to a waisted short neck with everted rim, each leg with a low relief vertical flange joining a bowstring at the shoulder, covered overall in a crackled celadon glaze.

Lot 91. A 'Longquan' celadon bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279); 13.3 cm, 5 1/4  in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of conical form, rising from a short foot to widely flared sides, covered overall in a unctuous sea-green colour glaze suffused with crackles, the narrow foot ring left unglazed revealing the stoneware burnt brownish-orange in the firing.

Lot 129. Property of a Royal Collection. A portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent, by a follower of Gentile Bellini, Italy, probably Venice, circa 1520; oil on panel, framed; painting: 32.5 by 28cm. frame: 42 by 36cm. Estimate 250,000 — 350,000 GBP (290,200 - 406,280 EUR). Lot sold 5,323,500 GBP (6,172,085 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

LONDON.- The Arts of the Islamic World sale, which explores over 1,200 years of creativity and craftsmanship across several continents, brought a total of £9,914,625 / $12,951,475 (est. £4.2-6.1 million). One of the few Western images of an Eastern potentate by a European artist, this striking portrait of a young Suleyman the Magnificent (circa 1520) sparked a lengthy three-way bidding battle today, which saw it surpass its estimate of £350,000 – 500,000 by eighteen times to sell for £5,323,500 / $7,035,005. Testament to its rarity, Suleyman does not seem to have commissioned any portraits, and so details of his appearance were conveyed through sketches by those who had accompanied foreign embassies to the Ottoman court, and so it is very likely that either Andrea Gritti or his son Alvise Gritti were the patrons behind this portrait. 

Edward Gibbs, Sotheby’s Middle East & India Chairman, said: “There has been a real buzz in our exhibitions over the past week, and this sense of excitement has carried through into the saleroom – with enthusiastic bidding from private collectors and institutions alike. One snapshot into this was the fervour and determination with which three bidders – including one joining us from online – battled it out for the Venetian portrait of fabled Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Great, an artwork that perfectly encapsulates the desired elements of rarity, provenance and beauty, as well as the notion of creative synergy between different cultures that is so inherent in our category. There was a real breadth to the offering, which was reflected by the depth of bidding, and the range of records set for artists across The sale also featured fine rugs and carpets, led by an inscribed and dated intensely golden Persian silk rug – made for Fath-‘ali Shah, the second Qajar emperor of Iran – which doubled its estimate to make £150,000. the region and beyond was for both established, institutional, and indeed treasured, artists alongside names that we were introducing to our collectors for the first time. It is wonderful to witness, and to play a role in, an ever-increasing audience discovering the truly global appeal of this area of the market.” 

Cf; my post: A portrait of Suleyman the Magnificent, by a follower of Gentile Bellini, Italy, probably Venice, circa 1520

A further highlight of the auction was a rare intact Iznik ‘Golden Horn’ pottery dish, circa 1530, one of the last remaining examples of the unusual style which took its inspiration from contemporary illumination. Returning to the same saleroom it was last offered in 1986, the important piece made £531,000 / $701,717. 

 Lot 130. A rare and important Iznik 'Golden Horn' pottery dish, Turkey, circa 1530; 28.2cm. diam. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 GBP (348,240 - 580,399 EUR). Lot sold 531,000 GBP (615,643 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: A rare and important Iznik 'Golden Horn' pottery dish, Turkey, circa 1530

A number of exquisite examples of Indian miniature painting were met with demand across the auction. A remarkable early 17th century Mughal version of a 1524 engraving by Dürer of the powerful ruler Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, sold for five times its estimate at £102,500 / $135,454, and a previously unknown illustration of a battle raging outside a walled fortress, attributed to royal artist Sur Das doubled its estimate at £143,750. The selection of precious Indian jewellery in the sale was led by an important imperial gem-set and enamelled turban ornament (sarpech), from the family of Hari Singh Nalwa, which made a double-estimate £350,000 / $462,525. 

Lot 86. A drawing of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525), after a 1524 engraving by Albrecht Durer, India, Mughal, first half 17th century, the reverse with a page of calligraphy by Mir 'Ali, Herat or Bukhara, circa 1500-35, drawing: 11.6 by 8.5cm, leaf: 39 by 22.5cm. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 GBP (17,391 - 28,985 EUR). Lot sold 102,500 GBP (118,839 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

drawing on paper with use of colours and gold, inner borders of floral motifs in colours on gold, wide outer border of gold-flecked orange paper, inscribed below in a crude hand imitating Latin “S. Bernardus”; reverse with a central panel containing four diagonal lines of Persian poetry in nasta‘liq script signed by Mir 'Ali, inner calligraphic border, wide outer border of gold-flecked orange paper.

Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 4 April 1978, lot 221.

Note: This striking image of a heavily bearded European man wearing a hat and a fur coat is a Mughal version of a 1524 engraving by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525).

Albrecht Dürer, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, 1524, Engraving, 19.4 x 12.8 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, US.

European engravings arrived in India from the late sixteenth century onwards, brought by missionaries, travellers, diplomats and merchants. The imagery they contained was taken up by artists during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir, and Mughal versions of European prints, some copied verbatim, some with variations or adapted, had become a major feature of Mughal art. The majority of the subjects were religious, including Biblical figures, Christian scenes and figures of saints, or were taken from classical mythology – reflecting the sort of engravings that were brought to India. The copying of a near-contemporary secular figure such as the present example was altogether rarer (another secular example, an equestrian portrait of the Earl of Nottingham, the Lord High Admiral during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I based on an engraving by the English printmaker Thomas Cockson of 1596-1603, is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, see M. Fraser, From Kabul to Kolkata, Highlights of Indian Painting in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 2017, no.25, pp.62-63).

The Mughal artist of the present work has kept quite closely to the original – the face, hat, shape of the beard and the thick fur coat are all quite accurate. The two major differences introduced by the Mughal artist are the book held in the right hand and the fact that the figure’s eyes are looking towards the viewer, whereas in Durer’s print they are gazing off to the left. The texture of the beard has also changed subtly, although the general shape and bushiness remains the same. The book held in the right hand is an interesting addition, as it implies that the artist had seen an engraving of a similar figure holding a book. A strong candidate is a 1587 engraving by Christoph Murer of the French-Swiss religious reformer Wolfgang Musculus (d.1563), who bore a resemblance to Frederick the Wise (at least in the engravings) and had a similarly bushy beard (examples of the engraving are in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich and the University of Tubingen Library). The head and shoulders image shows Musculus in a similar pose to Frederick, wearing a similar hat and fur-lined coat, but significantly he is holding a book. Alternatively, the presence of the book here may be linked to the inscription below the drawing that mentions Saint Bernard. The inscription may have been copied from an engraving of St. Bernard, but, being unfamiliar with the Latin script, the artist has made some mistakes in the lettering. Engravings of at least three Saints Bernard (Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153), Bernard of Uberti (d.1133) and Bernardino of Siena (d.1444)) were in circulation in Europe by the late sixteenth century and although the figures themselves do not resemble Frederick the Wise, most of the engravings show these saints holding a book. One or more of these images of the saints and/or Musculus may have found their way to India and been combined by the Mughal artist with Durer’s image of Frederick the Wise. It is also possible that the drawing was influenced by earlier Mughal versions of these amalgamated European images. A good candidate for an earlier Mughal model is a full-length figure of a European with an extremely similar face, hat and fur coat holding a book in his hand, dating to circa 1595. It was formerly in the Khosrovani-Diba Collection, sold in these rooms 19 October 2016, lot 11.

The calligraphy on the reverse consists of nasta'liq verses by the Persian poet Mir 'Ali, copied by the great early sixteenth century master of nasta‘liq Mir 'Ali, whose works were greatly sought after in Mughal India and were included in large numbers in the royal albums of the first half of the seventeenth century. 

Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525) was one of Durer's earliest patrons and commissions by him helped Durer’s reputation and influenced others to patronise the artist. The print of Frederick the Wise was based on a drawing by Durer now in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Frederick the Wise was a powerful Catholic ruler, but towards the end of his life he transferred his allegiance to the Lutheran cause. Following Luther's excommunication in 1521 Frederick ensured his safe protection in Wartburg Castle, and is thus remembered as the man who saved Martin Luther from the wrath of the Catholic Church (see http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O137565/frederick-the-wise-elector-of-print-durer-albrecht/). 

Sotheby’s is grateful to Marcus Fraser for cataloguing this lot.

Lot 85. Probably a previously unknown illustration from the ‘British Library/Chester Beatty’ Akbarnama: a battle outside a walled fortress, attributed to Sur Das, India, Mughal, circa 1602-03, coloured drawing with gold on paper, borders of gold-flecked orange paper; painting: 17 by 12.8cm, leaf: 40.4 by 28.8cm. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 GBP (139,296 - 208,944 EUR). Lot sold 350,000 GBP (405,791 EUR)

Provenance: From an album assembled by Colonel John MacGregor Murray, Bart (1745-1822), Bengal and Scotland.
Sotheby’s London, 15 June 1959, lot 117. 
Sotheby’s London, 21 April 1980, lot 128. 
Colnaghi Oriental, London, 1984.

John MacGregor Murray, who acquired this painting along with several others in the late eighteenth century, was commissioned in to the Bengal Establishment of the East India Company in 1771, rising to the rank of Colonel in 1787. He was an influential and respected military administrator and among the appointments he held was the post of Military Auditor-General. He was also vice-president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1795 he was awarded a baronetcy and retired to Scotland in 1798, where he became Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire (see The East India Military Calendar, Containing the Services of General and Field Officers of the Indian Army, London, 1824, pp.461-3). The album of paintings he assembled in India was sold at auction in these rooms, 15 June 1959, lot 117, acquired by Hagop Kevorkian and subsequently dispersed. This leaf was sold again at Sotheby’s, 21 April 1980, lot 128.

Exhibited: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2004.

Lot 171. An important imperial gem-set and enamelled turban ornament (sarpech), India, probably Deccan, 19th century, from the family of Hari Singh Nalwa. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 GBP (139,296 - 208,944 EUR). Lot sold 350,000 GBP (405,791 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: An important gem-set and enamelled turban ornament (sarpech), India, probably Deccan, 19th century

The sale also featured fine rugs and carpets, led by an inscribed and dated intensely golden Persian silk rug – made for Fath-‘ali Shah, the second Qajar emperor of Iran – which doubled its estimate to make £150,000. 

Lot 297. A West Persian silk rug with an inscription panel, the inscription reading: hasb al-amr-e navvab-e mustatab-e ashraf-e vala na’ib al-saltanah ‘By the order of the Highness, the Gracious, the Noble, the Exalted, the Vice-regent (Na’ib al-Saltanah)' ‘amal-e nawruz saruqi fi 1205 ‘The work of Nawruz Saruqi in 1205 (1790-91)’, approximately 295 by 197 cm.,9ft. 8in; 6ft. 5in., dated AH 1205 (1790-91 AD). Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 GBP. Lot sold 150,000 GBP (173,911 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's. 

Cf. my post: An important inscribed and dated West Persian silk rug, made for Baba Khan Na'ib Al-Saltanah (Later Fath-'Ali Shah) in 1790-91

20TH CENTURY ART / MIDDLE EAST (30 APRIL 2019) 
A vibrant international platform for Middle Eastern Modern and Contemporary art, yesterday’s auction soared beyond expectations to bring £3,458,000 / $4,473,615 (est. £2.1-2.9 million) – with 91% of the lots finding a buyer, and over half of these surpassing their high estimates. The result stands as the second-highest total achieved since the reintroduction of the sale in London in 2015. The auction was led by Iraqi Modernist Mahmoud Sabri’s rare, monumental masterpiece The Death of a Child (1963) sold for a double-estimate £891,000 / $1,152,687. Appearing on the market for the first time since it was acquired directly from the artist in the 1980s, this bold, poignant work set a new auction record for the celebrated artist. 

Lot 31. Mahmoud Sabri (Iraqi, 1927 - 2012), Al Mawt al-Tafl (The Death of a Child), signed M.S. and dated 1963 in Arabic, oil on canvas, 137 by 196cm.; 54 by 77 1/8 in. Estimate 350,000 — 500,000 GBP. Lot sold  891,000 GBP (1,031,063 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's. 

A further highlight was a record for Huguette Caland, one of Lebanon’s most influential female icons whose first UK museum show is set to open at the Tate St Ives later this month. A rich crimson and emerald work on the female form, lovingly painted in 1973, sold for £187,500 / $242,569. Continuing the celebration of Lebanese female artists, a record was also achieved for beloved painter and poet Etel Adnan. Brimming with energy, a dazzling canvas from the 1960s, reminiscent of the landscapes from which she drew her inspiration, made its auction debut at £131,250 / $171,137, more than triple its estimate. 

Lot 16. Huguette Caland (Lebanese, B. 1931), Untitled, signed and dated H. Caland 1973 on the reverse, oil on canvas, 120 by 120cm.; 47 1/4 by 47 1/4 in. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 GBP. Lot sold 187,500 GBP (216,974 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.  

Elsewhere in the sale, records tumbled for artists from the across the region, including Iranian architect Siah Armajani, whose first major US retrospective opened at The Met Breuer in February, Emirati pioneer Hassan Sharif, Saudi artist Mohammed Al Saleem, self-taught Lebanese artist Willy Aractingi and photographer to the stars Firooz Zahedi. There were a number of benchmark prices achieved for artists making their debut at auction, including Emirati conceptual artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Saudi artists Nabila Al Bassam, Abdullah Al Marzook and GCC, Egyptian surrealist Mamdouh Ammar, Kuwaiti artist Thuraya Al-Baqsami and Palestinian painters Abed Abdi and Samira Badran.  

The day also saw strong prices for rare works by ‘blue chip’ names Mahmoud Mokhtar and Bahman Mohasses. A rare and important bronze by Egypt’s most significant sculptor, gifted to his teacher Jules-Félix Coutan in the 1930s, Three Beggars (circa 1929-30), sold for £150,000 / 194,055. Elmo Antico (1969), an intellectual insight into both the artist’s love for ancient civilisations and the grotesque malformation he saw in humankind, sold for £150,000 / $194,055.  

Lot 30. Mahmoud Mokhtar (Egyptian, 1891-1934), The Three Beggars, signed M. Mouktar and inscribed FONDERIE DES ARTISTES PARIS, bronze, 34 by 33.5 by 17cm.; 13 3/8 by 13 1/8 by 6 5/8 in. Executed circa 1929-1930, the edition number of this work is unknown. Only two other editions are known to Sotheby's, the other edition is in the Mokhtar Museum in Cairo. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 GBP. Lot sold 150,000 GBP (173,580 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's. 

Lot 48. Bahman Mohasses (Iranian, 1931-2010), Elmo Antico (Ancient Helmet), signed and dated B. Mohasses '69; signed, titled and dated on the reverse, oil on board, 100 by 70cm.; 39 1/3 by 27 1/2 in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 GBP. Lot sold 150,000 GBP (173,580 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.  

THE ORIENTALIST SALE (30 APRIL 2019) 
Now in its eighth season, The Orientalist Sale brought a total of £5,367,500 / $6,943,935 (est. £5-7.3 million / $6.5-9.4 million) and was led by Jean-Léon Gérôme’s rare masterpiece, Rider and His Steed in the Desert. The painting, which last changed hands when it was sold by the Fine Art Society in 1980, achieved £1,155,000 / $1,494,224. One of Gérôme’s most famous compositions, Evening Prayer, Cairo commanded the second highest price when it sold for £735,000 / $950,870.  

Lot 26. Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904), Rider and his Steed in the Desert, 1872, signed J.L.GÉRÔME lower right, oil on canvas, 60 by 101cm. Estimate £1,000,000-1,500,000. Lot sold 1,155,000 GBP (1,336,563 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 22. Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904), Evening Prayer, Cairo, signed J.L. GEROME lower left, oil on panel, 49.5 by 81cm. Estimate £600,000-800,000. Lot sold 735,000 GBP (850,540 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

The sale opened with a superb and rare group of watercolours by David Roberts, which had remained in the same distinguished private collection since they were acquired in the 1970s and 1980s. Together, the 13 works brought a total of £560,625 / $725,281, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate for the group (£350,000-533,000 / 452,795-689,542).  

Four new artist records were set, for Auguste Veillon (Halt in the Desert, sold for £312,500 /$404,281); Carl Haag (The Holy Rock, Jerusalem, sold for £275,000 / $355,768); Carl Saltzmann (Leander's Tower and the Old City Beyond, Constantinople, sold for £275,000 / $355,768), and Enrico Tarenghi (The Entertainers, sold for £118,750 / $153,627).

Lot 54. Auguste Veillon (Swiss, 1834 - 1890), Halt in the Desert, signed A. Veillon lower left, oil on canvas, 116 by 193cm., 45½ by 76in. Estimate £80,000-120,000. Lot sold 312,500 GBP (361,624 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Provenance: Selano Gallery (by 2000)
Sale: Dobiaschofsky, Bern, 8 November 2002, lot 1037
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner.

Note: This evocative, panoramic view captures a camel caravan in a desert landscape, very possibly the Sinai close to the shores of the Red Sea, halting for water. With great mastery, Veillon evokes the stillness of the desert air as the journeymen encounter a local water carrier at a well. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions and long distances without drinking made them ideal for communication and trade in the desert areas of northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula for centuries.

Veillon studied under François Diday in Geneva before enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1858. While in Paris, he spent a considerable amount of time in the Louvre, copying the works of the masters, especially the seventeenth-century Dutch masters and the work of Claude Lorrain, whom he later credited for the luminism that defines his landscapes. Veillon's neighbour in the French capital was the Orientalist painter Eugène Fromentin, who sparked his interest in Orientalist themes and inspired him to see the Middle East for himself. He went on to visit Egypt at least four times, in 1873 staying there with his friend, the artist Etienne Duval (1824-1919).

Lot 19. Carl Haag (German, 1820 - 1915), The Holy Rock, Jerusalem, inscribed, signed and dated The Holy Rock. Jerusalem. Original Study finished on the Spot, by Carl Haag. June 1859. lower left, watercolour over pencil on paper, 36 by 52cm., 14 by 20½in. Estimate £50,000-70,000. Lot sold 275,000 GBP (318,229 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's. 

Lot 59. Carl Saltzmann (German, 1847 - 1923), Leander's Tower and the Old City Beyond, Constantinople, signed and inscribed C. Saltzmann Nbbg lower left, oil on canvas, 126 by 250.5cm., 49.5 by 98.5in. Estimate £100,000-150,000. Lot sold 275,000 GBP (318,229 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: Rare masterpiece by Jean-Léon Gérôme leads Sotheby's annual Orientalist Sale

Lot 77. Enrico Tarenghi (Italian, 1848 - 1938), The Entertainers, signed and dated E. tarenghi / Roma 1897 lower right, watercolour over pencil on paper, 122 by 74.5cm., 48 by 29¼in. Estimate £15,000-20,000. Lot sold 118,750 GBP (137,417 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

Jan Sanders van Hemessen (Hemessen c. 1504-1556 Antwerp), Double portrait of a husband and wife, half-length, seated at a table, playing tables. Oil on panel, 43 ¾ x 50 3/8 in. Estimate: $4,000,000 - $6,000,000. Price realized: $10,036,000.© Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

NEW YORK, NY.- The top lot Classic Week was Jan Sander van Hemessen’s ‘Double portrait of a husband and wife, half-length, seated at a table, playing tables’, which sold for $10,036,000, earning a new world auction record for the artist and a new record for an early Netherlandish painting. Other top lots included Annibale Carracci’s ‘The Madonna and Child with Saint Lucy and the Young Saint John the Baptist’ which sold for $6,063,500, earning a new world auction record for the arist. Additionally, Lorenzo Monaco’s ‘The Prophet Isaiah’ realized $3,615,000, which earned a new world auction record for the artist.

Lot 26. Annibale Carracci (Bologna c. 1560-1609 Rome), The Madonna and Child with Saint Lucy and the Young Saint John the Baptist, oil on panel, 31 x 24 ¾ in. (78.8 x 62.7 cm). Estimate: $3,000,000 - $5,000,000. Price realized: $6,063,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: Sampieri collection, Bologna, possibly by the 1760s, from where acquired by
Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798).
Francis Basset (1757-1835), 1st Baron de Dunstanville and Basset, Tehidy, near Cambourne, Cornwall; Christie's, London, 8 May 1824, lot 41, as Ludovico Carracci (bought in), and by descent to his daughter,
Frances Basset (1751-1855), 2nd Baroness Basset, by descent to the son of her cousin,
John Francis Basset (1831-1869), by descent to
Arthur Francis Basset (b. 1873), Tehidy near Cambourne, Cornwall; Christie's, London, 9 January 1920, lot 88, as Ludovico Carracci (12 gns. to Everitt).
Anonymous sale; Phillips, London, 8 December 1987, lot 69, as Sisto Badalocchio, where acquired by the present owner.

Literature: (Possibly) M. Oretti, Marcello Oretti e il patrimonio artistico private bolognese: Bologna Biblioteca Comunale, MS. B.104, E. Calbi and D. Scaglietti Kelescian, eds., Bologna, 1984, p. 66, as Ludovico Carracci. 
(Possibly) Descrizione italiana e francese di tutto ciò che si contiene nella Galleria del Sig. Marchese Senatore Luigi Sampieri, Bologna, 1795, as Ludovico Carracci. 
(Possibly) G. Gatti, Descrizione delle più rare cose di bologna, e suoi subborghi, Bologna, 1803, p. 169, as Ludovico Carracci.
R. L. Feigen & Co., Seven Highly Important Pictures, New York, 1988, no. 3.
D. Benati, 'Dipinti sugli altari,' A. Benati and D. Benati, eds., La Parrocchia di Sassomolare, Quaderni del Circolo Culturale Castel d'Aiano, XIII, Castel d'Aiano, 1998, pp. 76-77.
D. Benati, 'L'oratorio di San Rocco: Il ruolo di Reggio nella prima attività di Annibale Carracci', Il seicento a Reggio: La storia, la città, gli artisti, P. Ceschi Lavagetto, ed., Reggio, 1999, p. 54.
D. Benati, D. DeGrazia and G. Feigenbaum, eds., The Drawings of Annibale Carracci, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C., 1999, p. 46.
D. Benati and C. Bernardini, I dipinti della Pinacoteca Civica di Budrio, Bologna, 2005, p. 192.
D. Benati and E. Riccòmini, eds., Annibale Carracci, exhibition catalogue, Milan, 2006, p. 186, no. 4.1 (cat. by A. Brogi).
A. Weston-Lewis, 'The Annibale Carracci Exhibition in Bologna and Rome', Burlington Magazine, CXLIX, 2007, p. 259.

Exhibited: New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Italian Paintings from the Richard L. Feigen Collection, 28 May-12 September 2010, no. 39.

Lot 10. Lorenzo Monaco (Florence 1370/75-c.1425/30), The Prophet Isaiah, inscribed 'ECCE VIGO COCIP' (center right, on the scroll), tempera and gold on panel, 7 ¾ in. diameter (19.7 cm. diameter). Estimate: $1,500,000 - $2,500,000 . Price realized: $3,615,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: Probably the Church of San Procolo, Florence, for the altar endowed by Antonio di Andrea del Pannocchia (died 1412/13), until the church was suppressed in 1778 (thought to be the original location of the Accademia Annunciation altarpiece to which this tondobelonged).
(Possibly) the Badia Fiorentina, Florence, by 1795 and before 1810 (where, according to a label on the reverse, the Annunciation altarpiece was found).
Alexis-François Artaud de Montor (1772-1849), Paris; (†) his sale, Schroth, Paris, 17 January 1851, lot 51.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 8 July 1987, lot 20, where acquired by the present owner. 

Literature: (Possibly) F. Bocchi and G. Cinelli, Le bellezze della città di Firenze, Florence, 1677, p. 389, as by an unknown artist (referencing the Annunciation altarpiece).
(Possibly) L. Lanzi, Storia pittorica della Italia dal risorgimento delle belle arti fin presso alla fine del XVIII secolo, Bassano, 1795-96, I, p. 19, as Giotto (referencing the Annuniciation altarpiece).
A.-F. Artaud de Montor, Peintres primitifs: Collection de tableaux rapportée d'Italie et publiée pa M. le chevalier Artaud de Montor, 3rd ed., Paris, 1843, no. 51, pl. 17, as Cimabue.
A. Schmarsow, 'Maîtres italiens à la galerie d'Altenburg,' Gazette des beaux-arts, ser. 2, no. 20, 1898, p. 502, as Antonio Veneziano.
O. Sirén, Don Lorenzo Monaco, Strasbourg, 1905, p. 44.
G. Pudelko, 'The Stylistic development of Lorenzo Monaco, I,' Burlington Magazine, LXXIII, 1938, p. 248, note 33.
W. and E. Paatz, Die Kirchen von Florenz, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1940-54, I, pp. 292, 315, no. 144, p. 316, no. 151; IV, pp. 694, 700, no. 31 (referencing the altarpiece).
M. Eisenburg, The Origins and Development of the Early Style of Lorenzo Monaco, PH.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1954, pp. 283-88, 310-11.
M. Eisenberg, 'Un frammento smarrito dell'Annunciazione di Lorenzo Monaco nell'Accademia de Firenze,' Bolletino d'arte, ser. 4, no. 41, 1956, pp. 333-35.
G. Previtali, La fortuna dei primitivi: Dal Vasari ai Neoclassici, Rome, 1964, p. 232.
M. Boskovits, Pittura fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento, 1370-1400, Florence, 1975, p. 352.
M. Eisenberg, Lorenzo Monaco, Princeton, N.J., 1989, I, pp. 149-50, illustrated p. 150.
L. Kanter, Painting and Illumination in Early Renaissance Florence, 1300-1450, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994, pp. 270-71, illustrated p. 271.
D. Gordon, The Fifteenth Century: Italian Paintings, National Gallery Catalogues, London, 2003, I, pp. 177, 186, note 64, fig. 20.
D. Parenti, in Lorenzo Monaco: A Bridge from Giotto's Heritage to the Renaissance, A. Tartuferi and D. Parenti, ed., exhibition catalogue, Florence, 2006, pp. 179-85, no. 27b, illustrated pp. 179 and 181.
D. Parenti, ‘Qualche approfondamento su Lorenzo Monaco e sulla Chiesa di San Procolo a Firenze,’ Intorno a Lorenzo Monaco: Nuovi studi sulla pittura tardogotica, D. Parenti and A. Tartuferi ed., Florence, 2007 pp. 20-31.
L. Kanter, Italian Paintings from the Richard L. Feigen Collection, New Haven, 2010, pp. 69-73, no. 20, illustrated.
S. Rossi, I pittori fiorentini del quattrocento e le loro botteghe : da Lorenzo Monaco a Paolo Uccello, Todi, 2012, p. 48.

Exhibited: New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Italian Paintings from the Richard L. Feigen Collection, 28 May-12 September 2010, no. 20.

Note: One of the leading painters in 15th century Florence, Lorenzo Monaco was born Piero di Giovanni and took the name Lorenzo Monaco, meaning 'Lorenzo the Monk', in 1390 when he joined the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence. He is known not only for his exquisite devotional paintings on panel but also for frescoes and illuminated manuscripts. The rhythmic, flowing lines that characterize his style lend his figures a sense of graceful movement, enhanced by a delicate and harmonious use of color.
This beautiful bust depicts the Prophet Isaiah, identifiable by the inscription on his scroll ECCE VI[R]GO CO[N]CIP[IET ET PARIET FILIUM](“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,” [Isaiah 7:14]). The tondo was recognized by Marvin Eisenberg in 1956 as one of the missing pinnacles from Lorenzo’s magnificent Annunciation altarpiece in the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence (fig. 1, inv. no. 1890 n. 8458). The triptych's central scene is flanked by Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Anthony Abbot at left and Saints Proculus and Francis at right. The polyptych's exquisite figures are painted with remarkable grace, appearing almost to sway in front of the viewer, unrestricted by the gabled framing device that contains them. The throne is draped in cloth-of-gold shot with crimson which, combined with the gilt background, surrounds the Virgin in a celestial light. The Angel of the Annunciation hovers serenely on a series of clouds, yet the gold lines radiating from his legs and feet and the undulating drapery gives the impression of his being surrounded by swirling air. This sense of drama and movement justifies the pose of the Virgin who flinches, shrinking into her seat. 
The pinnacle surmounting the central panel remains intact, with a tondo of the Eternal Father looking down and right, toward the Virgin, his left hand raised in a blessing and holding in his right a gilded globe. The decorative upper sections of the two lateral panels as they appear today, however, are reconstructions; their original troisfoil pinnacles were sawn off just above the heads of the saints. It is within one of those two missing pinnacles that this Prophet Isaiah would have been placed. That this roundel belongs to the Accademia triptych is universally accepted by scholars, but the matter of reconstructing its original placement, whether above the left- or right-hand wing, is less easily resolved. Eisenberg initially proposed that the Prophet Isaiah would have surmounted the right-hand panel, an assertion contradicted by Daniela Parenti. Based on the direction of the prophet's gesturing hand and gaze, Parenti places him above the left-hand wing, looking inward, toward the scene of the Annunciation (loc. cit., p. 179). Though, as Laurence Kanter notes, Isaiah points to his scroll, rather than to the scene beneath, and, even if he were within the left pinnacle facing right, his gaze would not rest on the central figures (loc. cit., p. 70). The light source, illuminating the prophet’s hooded cloak from left, corresponds with that in the right-hand panel, in which Saints Proculus and Francis are similarly lit from left (ibid.). But even this correlation cannot be relied upon as conclusive, since the left-hand panel is lit inconsistently, with Saint Catherine illuminated from right and Saint Francis from the front and slightly left (ibid.). Until the missing third tondo resurfaces Isaiah’s original intended position remains conjectural.
The matter of reconstructing the altarpiece’s predella is similarly unresolved. As the basis of his proposed reconstruction, Osvald Sirén used the predella of an Annunciation executed late in Lorenzo’s career (circa1420-24), for the Bartolini-Salimbeni chapel in Santa Trinità, Florence (fig. 2; loc. cit.). Matching the scenes represented in the lower section of that polyptych, Sirén united the Nativity from the Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (fig. 3); the Visitation and the Adoration of the Magi from the Courtauld Gallery, London; and the Flight into Egypt from the Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg. While these panels may indeed relate to one another, their relation to the Accademia Annunciationand to this Prophet Isaiah have since been rejected. Kanter subsequently proposed that the Funeral of an Unidentified Bishop Saint in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nice (fig. 4) may have belonged to the Accademia altarpiece. Kanter believes that the Funeral scene was likely painted by the young Fra Angelico, working in Lorenzo Monaco’s workshop (Kanter 2010, op. cit.). He argues that the unusual iconography implies the saint in question was not regularly depicted. The bishop Saint Proculus would fit just this description and his being the eponymous saint of the Florentine church which initially housed the Accademia Annunciation “may be more than a tantalizing coincidence” (ibid.). The mourners wear the habits of Camaldolese monks, a reformed Benedictine order, an illusion, Kanter suggests, to the fact that Saint Proculus’ remains were interred in a Benedictine monastery (ibid.). 
The first mention of this Prophet Isaiah as an object independent from the altarpiece came in 1843 when it was published in the catalogue of Alex-François Artaud de Montor (loc. cit.). The author had included an engraving of the work which, along with eight other paintings from his collection, he attributed to Cimabue. A pioneer in collecting Early Italian paintings, prior to the Leopoldine and Napoleonic suppressions, Artaud de Montor had amassed a collection of some 108 works by 1810, dating from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (Kanter op. cit.). Publishing the painting in 1898, August Schmarsow proposed an attribution to Paolo Veneziano (loc. cit.) but it was Osvald Sirén in 1905 who, on the basis of that same catalogue engraving, recognized the prophet as the work of Lorenzo Monaco. Misreading the last letters of the prophet’s scroll as [S]CO CIP[RIANO], Georg Pudelko identified the subject as Saint Cyprianus (loc. cit.). He suggested it may have belonged to Lorenzo’s Coronation of the Virgin, painted for the Camaldolese monastery of San Benedetto fuori della Porta Pinti, Florence circa 1407-09 and now in the National Gallery, London (inv. no. NG1897). Pudelko’s theory was later disproved following Eisenburg’s reconstruction in 1954. 
While it is not known when the two lateral pinnacles were removed, we do know that by 1812 the altarpiece entered the Accademia without them. A label on its reverse reveals that, at the time of the Napoleonic suppression the altarpiece was housed in the Badia Fiorentina, a Benedictine abbey and church in the center of Florence. The triptych is plausibly the “Nunziata” (Annunciation) described in the Badia in 1795-96 by Luigi Lanzi (loc. cit.), who mistook it for an early work by Giotto and thought it to be “una delle sue prime opera” (“one of his first works”). When the monastery was suppressed, many of the artworks housed there were removed and the abbey complex itself was separated out into houses, offices and shops. It was two years later that the altarpiece entered the collection of the Galleria dell’Accademia. 
The question remains, however, as to where the altarpiece was located prior to the Badia. Walter and Elizabeth Paatz suggested the inclusion of Saint Proculus (the blond-haired warrior with a sword in the right-hand wing) might align it with an altarpiece mentioned by Francesco Bocchi and Giovanni Cellini in 1677 (loc. cit.). Bocchi and Cellini described “una Nunziata dipinta da incerto sul legno nel 1409” (“an Annunciation painted by an unknown on panel in 1409”) in the church of San Procolo, Florence. The inclusion of the church’s eponymous saint certainly gives weight to the Paatz’s argument and their hypothesis for the San Procolo provenance is widely accepted by scholars, with the exception of Eisenberg, whose doubts (based on the saint’s hagiography) have since been convincingly disproven by Kanter and Parenti. (Eisenberg 1989, op. cit.; Kanter 1994, op. cit.; Parenti 2007, op. cit.). 
The exact date of this Prophet Isaiah (and of the Annunciation altarpiece as a whole) remains the subject of scholarly debate. Paatz and Kanter date it to 1409 (Paatz and Kanter 1994, op. cit.), while Mirella Levi d’Ancona and Miklòs Boskovits placed it a little later between 1410 and 1415 (M. Levi d’Ancona, ‘Bartolomeo di Fruosino,’ Art Bulletin, 1961, 43, p. 93; Boskovitz, op. cit.). Luciano Bellosi and Eisenberg, meanwhile, had initially considered it to have been painted earlier, settled on a date between 1415 and 1420 (loc. cit.). Parenti tentatively hypothesizes that the original inscription as described in 1677 may have been misread as MCCCCVIIII (1409) rather than MCCCCXIIII (1414) (Parenti 2006 and 2007, op. cit.). If such an error did indeed occur – whether during the transcription or due to damage obscuring an accurate reading – then this dating would align the Annunciation altarpiece with Lorenzo’s Coronation of the Virgin altarpiece of 1413 for the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

The top lot of from the Estate of Lila and Herman Shickman was Juan van der Hamen y León’s ‘Peaches, pears, plums, peas and cherries in wicker baskets, figs, plums and cherries on pewter plates, a boquet of tulips, blue and yellow irises, roses and other flowers in a Venetian crystal vase with terracotta and glass vessels and stone fruit on a stone ledge’, which sold for $6,517,500, a new world auction record for the artist. The other top lot within the sale includes Willem Kalf’s ‘A chafing dish, two pilgrims’ canteens, a silver-gilt ewer, a plate and other tableware on a partially draped table’, which realized $ 2,775,000, earning a new world auction record for the artist.  

Lot 109. Juan van der Hamen y León (Madrid 1596-1632), Peaches, pears, plums, peas and cherries in wicker baskets, figs, plums and cherries on pewter plates, a bouquet of tulips, blue and yellow irises, roses and other flowers in a Venetian crystal vase with terracotta and glass vessels and stone fruit on a stone ledge, signed and dated 'Ju° vander hamen fat. 1629' (lower right), oil on canvas, 34 x 51 7/8 in. (86.4 x 131.8 cm.) Estimate USD 6,000,000 - USD 9,000,000. Price realised  USD 6,517,500, new world auction record for the artist. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Cf. my post: Juan van der Hamen y León, Peaches, pears, plums, peas and cherries in wicker baskets, figs, plums and cherries on pewter plat

Lot 107. Willem Kalf (Rotterdam 1619-1693 Amsterdam), A chafing dish, two pilgrims' canteens, a silver-gilt ewer, a plate and other tableware on a partially draped table, signed 'w. KALF.' (lower right, on the front edge of the table), oil on canvas, 39 ¾ x 31 ¾ in. (101 x 80.5 cm.) Estimate USD 2,000,000 - USD 4,000,000. Price realised  USD 2,775,000, new world auction record for the artist. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Cf. my post: Willem Kalf, A chafing dish, two pilgrims' canteens, a silver-gilt ewer, a plate and other tableware on a partially draped table

The top lot of the Old Masters Paintings and Sculpture sale was a pair of parcel-gilt polychrome wood altarpiece reliefs attributed to Hans Klocker And Workshop circa 1495-1500, which achieved $362,500. Top works of sculpture include Rudolf (Ridolfo) Schadow’s White Marble Figure Of The Sandal Binder, which sold for $200,000 and a bronze figure of Neptune attributed to Benedikt Wurzelbauer, circa 1600, which totaled $200,000 against an estimate of $40,000-60,000. A still-life by Cristoforo Munari was the top painting, selling for $162,000 over an estimate of $60,000- 80,000, and a large group of European quartz and glass cameos, largely 18th, 19th and 20th century, soared above its estimate of $5,000-8,000 to achieve $156,250.  

Lot 220. Attributed to Hans Klocker And Workshop (Active 1482-1500), South Tyrol, circa 1495-1500, A pair of parcel-gilt polychrome wood altarpiece reliefs depicting the Circumcision and the Adoration of the Magi, with a 'BUNDES DENKMALAMT / WIEN' sticker and stenciled in black '13'; the first: 30 x 31 ½ in. (76 x 80 cm.); the second: 29 ½ x 33 1/8 in. (75 x 84 cm.). Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. Price realised  USD 362,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: Sold, Christie’s, New York, June 1, 1994, lot 70.

Literature: C. T. Müller, Gotische Skulptur in Tirol, Innsbruck and Vienna, 1976, figs. 155-159. 
R. Kahsnitz, Carved Splendor: Late Gothic Altarpieces in Southern Germany, Austria, and South Tirol, Munich, 2005, pp. 208-221, no. 9.

Note: The present wood reliefs compare very closely to the figure of Christ on a donkey originally from the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Caldaro, South Tyrol, and today in the Museo Civico, Bolzano. In 1498, Hans Klocker was paid for the creation of the high altar of the same church, now dismembered, together with this Palmesel depicting Christ’s re-entry into Jerusalem. The head of Christ from the Palmesel, with its restrained gesture, sharp-edged and hard facial features echoes those of the present reliefs, particularly figures of two of the Magi facing Christ and the two flanking male figures in the Circumcision relief. 
Hans Klocker was first mentioned in a letter of recommendation from the Bishop of Brixen in 1482 as ‘our faithful master Hanns Klöckl, sculptor…highly renowned for the faithfulness and artistry of his work’. Contracts and receipts tell us that the retable at St Leonard in Passeier is his work, as is the high altar at Caldaro and the Franciscan altar at Bolzano, dated to 1500. His surviving output shows that Klocker was one of the finest sculptors working in wood at this period, with an extraordinarily precise and distinctive carving style. 
The relief of the Adoration of the Magi is based on an engraving of 1475 by Martin Schongauer. Klocker developed many of his figures after pattern engravings by Schongauer, as did countless other artists of his time.

Lot 292. Rudolf (Ridolfo) Schadow (1786-1822), Rome, 1814. A White Marble Figure Of The Sandal Binder (Sandalbinderin). Signed and dated RUD: SCHADOW FEC: ROMAE / ANNO 1814, 50 in. (127 cm.) high. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 200,000. Price realised  USD 200,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: Private collection, New York, where acquired by the present owner, New York, in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Literature: COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: D.C. Johnson, ‘Rudolf Schadows Sandalbinderin in Rom und Amerika,’ Forschungen und Berichte, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1983, XXIII, pp. 113-122.
G. Eckardt, Ridolfo Schadow: Ein Bildhauer in Rom zwischen Klassizismus und Romantik, Cologne, 2000, pp. 30-31 and 82-86.

Lot 265. Attributed to Benedikt Wurzelbauer (1548-1620), circa 1600, A bronze figure of Neptune. Formerly a fountain, with printed paper label to underside Julius Böhler Munich and inscribed in ink E/97/0007, 29 in. (73.7 cm.) high. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 200,000. Price realised  USD 200,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland.
with Julius Böhler, Munich, 1998.

Literature: Apollo, CXLVII, 433, March 1998 (advertisement).
M. Schwartz, ed., European Sculpture from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, New York, 2008, pp. 156-157, no. 82.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: H. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, 15-18. Jahrhundert, Brunswick, 1967, pp. 325-328, figs. 396 and 399.
J. Chipps-Smith, German sculpture of the later Renaissance, c. 1520-1580, Princeton, 1994, pp. 198-244.

Exhibited: Blumka Gallery, New York, Collecting Treasures of the Past, New York, 26 January-11 February 2000, no. 44.

Note: Grandson and nephew of Pankraz and Georg Labenwolf, Benedikt Wurzelbauer (1548-1620) is best known for his work on public fountains. As a bronze caster rather than a sculptor, his works can be very different from one another, since the designs were most probably supplied by various artists. The genius of Wurzelbauer was however his ability to develop a consistent style through his casting technique. By far his most prominent work is the Fountain of the Virtues (1583-1589), which is still today one of the landmarks of the city of Nuremberg. Cast and signed by Wurzelbauer, this fountain is an emblem of early public art and civic allegory of good government; and it is reminiscent in its attention to details and extensive decoration to the style of Wenzel Jamnitzer. 

Several versions of this Neptune bronze exist in museum collections, including the J. P. Getty Museum and the Huntington Art Gallery which both ascribe their cast to Wurzelbauer. In its many variations, this model exemplifies his combination of German Renaissance forms and Italian-inspired Mannerism which translate in Neptune’s slender musculature and undulating beard. Like the other versions, the present bronze was likely part of a domestic fountain. The intricate fineness of Neptune’s facial expression and the richness of the patina make it a particularly admirable example of German Renaissance sculpture.

Lot 254. Cristoforo Munari (Reggio Emilia 1667-1720 Pisa), Biscuits, porcelain and an earthenware pot on a silver charger with a glass of wine, books, a clock, jasmine blossoms and other vessels on a partially draped stone ledge, oil on canvas, 23 7/8 x 29 1/8 in. (60.6 x 74 cm). Estimate USD 60,000 - USD 80,000. Price realised  USD 162,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Provenance: with Ugo Allegri, Brescia, from whom acquired by the present owner.

Note: Described by the 18th-century Florentine biographer Francesco Maria Niccolo Gaburri as 'an excellent painter in the depiction of kitchens, instruments, rugs, vases, fruit and flowers', Cristoforo Munari was born in Reggio Emilia, where he was a protégé of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena (reg. 1694-1737). In 1703 he moved to Rome 'where he served the Very Eminent Cardinal Imperiali and other princes and lords' (F.M.N. Gaburri, Vite de' pittori, Florence, c. 1730-40, p. 618) and settled in Florence some time after 1706, becoming part of the Medici court and working for, among others, Ferdinand, Cosimo III and Cardinal Francesco Maria de'Medici, for the latter of whom he decorated the Villa Lampeggi with trompe l'oeil still lifes. 
Munari produced the present refined still life in the early 18th century, while he was working in Florence. The artist presents the viewer with an abundance of delicacies and precious porcelain vessels arranged on a green stone table. An unseen source illuminates the display from the left, bathing it in a cool light that causes some of the objects to shine like jewels against the dark background. Munari delights in the juxtaposition of brittle and crunchy biscotti, which are split and ready to be enjoyed with honey, with the smooth and shiny Delft and Chinese porcelain. Completing this symphony of fragility are the crystal vessels in the background, delineated according to Munari’s typical practice only the flickering light that reflects along their contours. The artist likely considered this technique to be one of his hallmarks, as he chose to depict himself holding a similar glass with a long, fluted stem in his 1710 Self Portrait (Galleria degli Uffizi, Corridoio Vasariano) as well as in the circa 1710-15 Still life with musical instruments (The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston). Resting on a pile of leather bound books, the clock, with its tortoise shell ornamentation and gilt-bronze mounts, may have actually been part of the Medici collection, and adds further elegance and sophistication to the scene. 
We are grateful to Professor Francesca Baldassari for endorsing the attribution to Cristoforo Munari on the basis of firsthand inspection.

Lot 239. Largely 18th, 19th and 20th century, European, A large group of quartz and glass cameos. Estimate USD 5,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised  USD 156,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

Some 19th century examples possibly by James Tassie; includes examples made from lava, glass, quartz, shell and coral; some examples Roman, from the 1-3rd century BC; also including several glass beads and one micromosaic.

Francois de Poortere, International Director, Head of Old Masters, comments, “We are thrilled with the strong results of all the Old Masters sales, which had 92% sell-through rate by value supported by competitive bidding from five continents. Several new world auction records were established, led by Jan Sanders van Hemessen’s Double portrait of a husband and wife, half-length, seated at a table, playing tables. The painting was sold from the collection of Frank Stella, realizing $10,036,000, and set a record for any early Netherlandish work of art at auction. Further records include Annibale Carracci’s The Madonna and Child with Saint Lucy and the Young Saint John the Baptist ($6,063,500) and Lorenzo Monaco’s The Prophet Isaiah ($3,615,000), both from the collection of Richard Feigen. The Estate of Lila and Herman Shickman also set new world auction records for still-lives by Juan van der Hamen y Leon ($6,517,500) and Willem Kalf ($2,775,000). Christie’s are honored to have been entrusted with works from the prestigious collections of Frank Stella, Richard Feigen and the Estate of Lila and Hermann Shickman, all of which ensured that today’s sales will remain memorable.”

Lot 53. A rare blue and white 'Dragon'zhadou, Zhengde mark and period (1506-1521); 15.5 cm, 6 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 GBP (35,022 - 58,370 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body rising from a short spreading foot to a broad flaring neck, painted around the exterior with two bands of scaly five-clawed dragons amidst scrolling leafy lotus, the interior of the neck similarly painted, all above a ruyi band at the foot, the base inscribed with the four-character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle.