Lot 143. Émile Bernard (1868 - 1941), Bretonnes ramassant des pommes. Signed E. Bernard and dated 89 (lower left). Oil on canvas, 33 3/4 by 21 1/2 in., 85.7 by 54.6 cm. Estimate $400,000 - $600,000. Lot sold $1,940,000. New world auction record for the artist. Courtesy Sotheby's

NEW YORK, NY.- Scott Niichel, Head of Day Sales and Deputy Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby’s, New York. said “The Impressionist and Modern Art Day sale results reaffirmed the health and depth of this market following yesterday’s stellar Evening auction. Almost a third of the lots offered came from the same long-established private collections that formed the core of last night’s auction, and they included many of sale’s standout pieces - not least Émile Bernard’s idyllic countryside scene which established a new world auction record for the French artist, and Modigliani’s charcoal which achieved one of the highest prices for a drawing by the artist. Private collectors in particular responded to quality, rarity and provenance across the wide spectrum of categories this sale has to offer, and we very much look forward to presenting our next sales in London in June.”  

Today’s sale was led by Émile Bernard’s Bretonnes ramassant des pommes, which soared above its pre-sale high estimate of $600,000 to sell for $1.9 million – a new world record for the artist at auction. Offered from the Collection of Joe R. & Teresa L. Long, Bretonnes ramassant des pommes is undoubtedly one of the most important works by the artist ever to appear at auction. Its ravishing colors, flattened perspective and pastoral subject matter embody the Nabis vocabulary that Bernard helped to create, underscoring a striking contrast from the modern bustle of a rapidly industrializing Paris. 

The Joe R. & Teresa L. Long Collection also featured Amedeo Modigliani’s Tête profil gauche which fetched $1.1 million (estimate $400/600,000). Distilling the profile of a woman to its most fundamental geometric forms, this work on paper is representative of Modigliani’s exhaustive pursuit of pure artistic fulfilment and synthesizes the ancient traditions of Egyptian, Greek and Roman art.  

Lot 134. Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), Tête profil gauche. Black crayon on paper, 16 5/8 by 10 1/2 in., 42.3 by 26.6 cm. Estimate $400,000 - $600,000. Lot sold $1,124,000. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

Following Tuesday night’s sale of Marc Chagall’s enchanting Le Paysan, which achieved $7.6 million, healthy competition for the artist’s work continued in today’s auction. Completed in 1967, more than two decades after his beloved Bella’s death and at a time when Chagall enjoyed international fame as a painter, Paysage de Paris en bleu is replete with symbols that pay homage to the love in the artist’s iconic dreamscape style. Coq et femme à l'éventail showcases Chagall's mastery in assembling an array of folkloric images in a dense and colorful composition. This work contains several of the most crucial elements in the artist's pictorial iconography, including the violinist, the dancing peasant and the goat. It was painted during a period when Chagall was experimenting with stained glass, the influence of which can be seen in the kaleidoscopic colors.  

Lot 212. Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985), Paysage de Paris en bleu. Signed Marc Chagall (toward lower right); signed Marc Chagall (on the reverse). Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 by 21 1/4 in., 65.4 by 54 cm. Painted in 1967. Estimate $1,200,000 - $1,800,000. Lot sold $1,340,000 . Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 174. Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985), Coq et femme à l'éventail. Stamped Marc Chagall (lower left). Oil and acrylic on canvasboard, 23 1/2 by 19 5/8 in., 59.7 by 50 cm. Painted circa 1978. Estimate $700,000 - $1,000,000. Lot sold $956,000  . Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lynn Chadwick’s monumental and majestic Sitting Figures led today’s offering of sculpture in the sale. Conceived in 1979-80 and cast in an edition of 6, the present version was acquired directly from the artist’s studio in 1989 and has previously never appeared at auction.  

Lot 341. Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), Sitting Figures. Inscribed Chadwick and numbered 786 6/6. Bronze. Height of male: 71 5/8 in.; 181.9 cm. Height of female: 72 1/2 in.; 184.2 cm. Conceived in 1979-80 and cast in an edition of 6. Estimate $600,000 - $800,000. Lot sold $1,004,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

One of the standout classic Impressionist offerings of the sale, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Jeune fille en rose is a charming example of the artist’s portraits of women, which were lauded amongst his contemporaries just as they are today. Dominated by a range of bright tones of greens and blues, this palette underscores Renoir's understanding of the natural variations of light and his dexterity as an Impressionist portraitist. 

Lot 119. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919), Jeune fille en rose. Signed Renoir (lower right). Oil on canvas, 16 1/8 by 12 1/4 in., 50 by 31 cm. Painted circa 1890. Estimate $700,000 - $900,000. Lot sold $956,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

The Sleep of Reason: A Private Collection of Surrealist Art Online 
Open for Bidding through 20 May 
Unparalleled in its breadth, this enigmatic private collection of paintings, collages, works on paper and books, was carefully curated by a true connoisseur of Surrealist theory and history. French, Belgian, European, American and Latin American Surrealists are represented in the collection, speaking not only to the dedicated vision of the collector, but also to the worldwide prevalence of Surrealism within the context of the 20th century zeitgeist. Highlights include works by Dorothea Tanning, Leonora Carrington and Kay, Man Ray, Yves Tanguy, and Georges Hugnet.

Lot 105. Two very rare gilt-copper alloy figures from a set of eight Asvapati, the equestrian retinue of Vaishravana, Tibet, 15th century. the taller 20.4 cm, 8 in. Estimate 50,000 — 250,000 GBP. Lot sold 250,000 GBP (323,025 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

one equestrian deity, possibly Manibhadra or Jambhala, holding a flaming jewel in his raised right hand, and a mongoose in the left spitting gems and auspicious emblems, wearing regal belted robes, boots and crown, and seated astride a caparisoned cloud-borne horse on a lotus pedestal: the pair, possibly depicting Samjneya, Atavaka or Kubera, with his right hand raised to hold a now missing sword or lance, a mongoose in the left hand spitting gems and auspicious emblems, wearing robes, boots and crown and a breastplate bearing a kirtimukha mask, with lion masks at the shoulders, and seated astride a caparisoned cloud-borne horse on a lotus pedestal.

Himalayan Art Resources item nos. 13672 and 13673. 

Lot 82. A rare carved cinnabar lacquer boat-shaped incense box, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 53.5 cm., 21 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Lot sold 225,000 GBP (290,723 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

 carved in the form of a large elaborate boat, the curved bough carved on each side with four 'Buddhist Emblems', together comprising the bajixiang, admist lotus flowers and dense lotus scroll, the flat upper section mounted with two sections, one in the form of a room with sixteen doors skilfully carved in openwork treatment with fretwork-design, a double door on each side able to slide open, the back room of curved form following the shape of the boat, with a higher ceiling, a tall post fitted near the top with a guard post decorated with shou characters, and a gilt-bronze dragon headed 'pin', carved wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th April 2003, lot 289.

“A good fashion designer must be an architect for the patterns, a sculptor for the shape, a painter for the designs, a musician for the harmony and a philosopher for the fit.” (Cristóbal Balenciaga)

MADRID - This summer, 2019, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza will be presenting an exhibition that connects the work of Cristóbal Balenciaga, the most admired and influential fashion designer of all times, to the tradition of Spanish painting of the 16th to the 20th centuries. This is the first major exhibition on this Basque designer to be held in Madrid in almost fifty years and : the first that brings together his designs and a selection of paintings by leading names in the history of Spanish art, which was one of his principal sources of inspiration.

The exhibition is curated by Eloy Martínez de la Pera, who has selected a total of 90 items of dress from the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa in Getaria, the Museo del Traje in Madrid and the Museu del Disseny in Barcelona as well as from numerous private collections in Spain and elsewhere, many of them never previously exhibited in public. With regard to the paintings, an exceptional group has been brought together, comprising 55 works from Spanish institutions such as the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Museo de Bellas Artes de BIlbao and the Museo Lázaro Galdiano, foundations in Spain including the BBVA, Santander and the Casa de Alba, in addition to loans from private holdings such as the Abelló and Alicia Koplowitz collections. Notable among them are works by El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Carreño de Miranda, Zurbarán, Goya, Madrazo and Zuloaga. The project is benefiting from the collaboration with of Herbert Smith Freehills and Las Rozas Village.  

References to Spanish art and culture are present throughout the work of Cristóbal Balenciaga: the simple, minimalist lines of religious habits and the architectural volumes of their fabrics which recur in many of his creations; the billow of the train of a flamenco dancer’s dress reflected in the flounces of some of his dresses; the glitter of a bullfighter’s suit masterfully echoed in the embroidered paillette of a bolero jacket; or the aesthetic of the Spanish Habsburg court translated into velvety black fabrics adorned with jet are just some examples of this influence. Constantly returning to the history of art, Balenciaga employed his powerful artistic personality and distinctive style to maintain these influences even into his most avant-garde period, reviving historical techniques and styles and reinterpreting them in a particularly modern manner.

Evening jacket, 1946. Silk velvet, and passementerie and jet beads, Hamish Bowles collection © Jon Cazenave / Ramón Casas y Carbó. Julia, ca.1915. © Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza on free loan to the Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga.

The exhibition is structured as a chronological survey through the paintings, accompanied by designs associated with each style or painter. These are connections based on conceptual elements, on architectural forms and volumes and on chromatic echoes which together give rise to a fascinating dialogue between fashion and painting and between the creativity of this brilliant designer and his sources of inspiration. This presentation also allows for a reconsideration of art from a new viewpoint, focusing attention on painters as creators and transmitters of fashion and as masters of the depiction of fabrics, textures, folds and volumes. The exhibition space pays homage to black, one of Balenciaga’s iconic colours, and to the designer as an “architect of haute couture”, a concept of him that has survived to the present day due to the importance of line and pure forms in his creations and to some of his landmark creations, such as the barrel line, the semi-fitted suit, the balcony skirt, the tunic, the sack dress and the baby doll dress, culminating with abstraction in the 1960s.

“A good fashion designer must be an architect for the patterns, a sculptor for the shape, a painter for the designs, a musician for the harmony and a philosopher for the fit.” (Cristóbal Balenciaga)

Balenciaga was born in Getaria (Guipuzkoa) in 1895, the son of José Balenciaga, a fisherman, and Martina Eizaguirre, a seamstress. His mother introduced him to dressmaking as a child as she made clothes for leading families of the area including the Marquis and Marchioness of Casa Torres who spent their summers in the Palacio Aldamar (also known as Vista Ona) in Getaria. It was there that the young Balenciaga made contact with the taste of the aristocratic elites and where he could admire clothes and fabrics from the leading tailors and clothing and fabric shops of London and Paris. It was also there that he was able to see and appreciate the outstanding Casa Torres art collection and library. Combined with his remarkable sensibility, this ideal introduction to the world of art and fashion undoubtedly led Balenciaga to devote himself to fashion design from a very early age.

Bartolomé Gonzales (copia de Antonio Moro). Queen Anne of Austria, fourth Wife of Philip II, Ca. 1616. Oil on canvas. © Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid / Coat and dress evening outfit, 1962. Satin coat,  etamine dress, sequins ans ceramic beads, Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Jon Cazenave

The collection at Vista Ona included works by Velázquez, El Greco, Pantoja de la Cruz and Goya, among other masters of Spanish painting, and Balenciaga began to forge his unique aesthetic imagination through his admiration for these painters. Between the 16th and 18th centuries numerous technical and stylistic innovations emerged in dress in Spain, including silk stockings, the ruff, the corset and the doublet. Spanish tailors were famous at this period for their precision in the cut and line of  their garments. In 1939 Balenciaga was directly inspired by Velázquez for the design of his “Infanta” dress, a modern reinterpretation of the clothes in which the painter depicted the Infanta Margarita of Austria and which the designer presented that same year in Paris. 

Three years before, in 1936, as a result of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War Balenciaga moved to the French capital. He was by now at the height of his creative powers having set up fashion houses in San Sebastián, Madrid and Barcelona over the previous decades and counting on the Spanish royal family and the country’s social elites among his clients. In August 1937 he opened his atelier on the Avenue Georges V in Paris. During these years his creations drew heavily on the cultural context of his native country and became a homage to the aesthetic of the authentically Spanish. 

“We do what we can with fabrics, Balenciaga does what he wants.” (Christian Dior)

Esquivel y Suárez de Urbina, Antonio María. Flamenco dancer Josefa Vargas, 1850. Oil on canvas, 91 x 72 cm. House of Alba collection. Las Dueñas Palace. Seville / Fuchsia lace taffeta cocktail dress finished with ivory-coloured embroidered, gathered straps, 1955© Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga © Jon Cazenave

With his innovative style, total command of sewing and an extremely rigorous approach, Balenciaga soon became one of the most influential fashion designers on an international level. In Paris he established links with a cosmopolitan clientele and also began to attract the interest of the world’s press, which termed him the “king of haute couture”. Balenciaga favoured heavy fabrics, which he further enriched with handmade embroidery, rhinestones and sequins. Barely cutting or sewing the fabrics, he made dresses with straight or rounded lines, resulting in creations of a perfect, almost sculptural finish. His sense of proportion and fit, his technical mastery and his quest for excellence all brought him the admiration of his contemporaries such as Christian Dior, who considered him  “the master of us all”, and Coco Chanel who described him as “the only authentic couturier”. Furthermore, some of the most important fashion designers of the 20th century trained in his atelier or benefited from his teachings, including Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro, Óscar de la Renta and Paco Rabanne.

Based on comfort, purity of line, the reinterpretation of the Spanish tradition and the invention of innovative shapes and volumes, Balenciaga’s creations defined fashion in the mid-20th century and until 1968 when haute couture began to lose its preeminent position due to prêt-à-porter, at which point he decided to retire. He moved back to Spain and four years later accepted his final commission, Carmen Martínez-Bordiú’s wedding dress, which is included in the present exhibition. That same year, 1972, he died of a heart attack in Jávea. 

Balenciaga and art
The exhibition opens with a section devoted to the paintings that Balenciaga could have admired in his youth in the palace of the Marquis and Marchioness of Casa Torres and which became his principal source of inspiration from his earliest years. Three of the paintings on display in this gallery, loaned from the Museo Nacional del Prado, were in that collection: Head of an Apostle by Velázquez; Saint Sebastian by El Greco; and Cardinal Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga by Goya. The latter establishes a dialogue with a magnificent red dress suit with a short jacket loaned from the Museo del Traje in Madrid. Also notable is the interaction between a spectacular blue silk evening gown and cape and the mantle of the same colour seen in The Immaculate Conception by Murillo from the Arango collection, or the celebrated “Infanta” model mentioned above, loaned from the Museo del Traje in Madrid.

Goya. Cardinal Don Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga, ca.1800. Museo Nacional del Prado / Dress and jacket ensemble, satin dress; satin jacket with metallic thread, sequins and ceramic beaads 1960, Museo del Traje, Madrid. Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. © Jon Cazenave

El Greco
The next gallery focuses on the influence of El Greco, opening with a black, silk velvet evening coat with a ruffled collar that evokes the form of a ruff such as the one worn by the man in the portrait by the artist of around 1586. It is followed by various religious paintings that are displayed alongside a group of dresses in intense shades of pink, yellow, green and blue which seem to make use of the talette, luminosity and subtle gradations employed by El Greco for the mantles and dresses of his Virgins, angels and saints. Similarly, their shapes and volumes, all filled with movement, are repeated in some of Balenciaga’s most beautiful creations.

Evening coat with ruffled collar, Velvet and faille, ca.1955. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Jon Cazenave / El Greco. Portrait of a Man, ca. 1586. Museo Nacional del Prado. © Archivo Fotografico  Museo Nacional del Prado.

El Greco. Annunciation, ca.1576. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza / Evening gown, silk organza, 1968. Dominique Sirop collection, Paris © Jon Cazenave

Spanish court painting. Black
The court of Philip II made the use of black fashionable for clothing throughout Europe and for a lengthy period it continued to be a symbol of power and elegance, becoming one of the archetypes of Spanish identity. Black has always been a subject of fascination in the fashion world due to its visual and symbolic power and Balenciaga reinterpreted it in a unique and highly personal manner. He imbued it with a special light, expanding the direction embarked on by Chanel in 1926 with the “little black dress” and fully establishing it in modern international fashion design in the first half of the 20th century. This was recognised by the specialist press and in 1938 Harper’sBazaar reported that: “at the new Spanish house Balenciaga [...] the black is so black that it hits you like a blow. Thick Spanish black, almost velvety, a night without stars, which makes the ordinary black seem almost grey.” The black and white in Portrait of the 6th Countess of Miranda finds its echo in a spectacular satin evening gown that combines black and ivory. The same is the case with the group of evening gowns which are displayed here alongside court portraits such as Queen Isabel of Valois, third Wife of Philip II by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, and Juana of Austria, Princess of Portugal by Sánchez Coello.

Evening gown, satin, 1943. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria© Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Jon Cazenave / Attributed to Juan Pantoja de la Cruz. Portrait of the 6th Countess of Miranda, Fundación Casa de Alba. Palacio de Liria, Madrid.

Alonso Sánchez Coello, Portrait of Doña Juana de Austria, Princess of Portugal, circa 1557, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum/ Reversible evening coat, satin, 1966. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Jon Cazenave

Spanish court painting. The still life
Flowers are one of the most frequently recurring subjects in the history of painting and a source of inspiration for artists of all periods. Following his arrival in Paris, Balenciaga made contact with the leading textile designers and printers as well as with makers of buttons and floral and feather adornments which he used as luxury trimmings for his creations. This section includes magnificent gowns with floral designs, an evening coat in silk organza with floral appliqué and a pink dress with embroidered tulle, all accompanied to such as Juan de Arellano, Gabriel de la Corte and Benito perfection by a group of still lifes by Spanish painters Espinós. 

Evening gown, silk Ikat, 1958. Inès Carjval collection. © Jon Cazenave / Gabriel de la Corte, Vase of flowers, second half of the 17th century, Gerstenmaier collection.

Spanish court painting. Embroidery
Balenciaga assembled a collection of historical costume that included richly ornamented Spanish items made from elaborate lace and guipure and profusely embroidered or trimmed with beads. Inspired by these and other references he used embroidery in many of his designs, supplied to him by the best makers of the time. Outstanding models in this section include the formal gown from the collection of María de las Nieves Mora y Aragón, which is here paired with a portrait of Anne of Austria by Alonso Sánchez Coello; and a shantung, ivory coloured wedding dress with silver thread embroidery, its lines echoed in the dress worn by Isabel de Borbón, Wife of Philip IV in the portrait by Rodrigo de Villandrando.

Rodrigo de Villandrando, Isabel de Borbón, Wife of Philip IV, oil on canvas, 201 x 115 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.© Archivo Fotografico  Museo Nacional del Prado / Wedding dress, silk shantung embroidered with silver thread. © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Jon Cazenave

Evening gown, silk tulle and glitter, 1954, Dominique Sirop collection, Paris © Jon Cazenave / Attributed to Rodrigo de Villandrando, Portrait of a lady, circa 1600-1606, Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid © Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid

Francisco de Zurbarán
Considered by many to be one of the first fashion designers, Francisco de Zurbarán is notable for his mastery in the depiction of fabrics and the movement of cloth in his paintings. The influence on Balenciaga of the volumes, folds and textures of the sculptural dresses seen in Zurbarán’s paintings of female martyr saints is clear when the two creators’ works are seen side by side. The same is the case with the group of wedding dresses on display in this room (including the one made for Fabiola de Mora y Aragón for her marriage to King Baudouin of Belgium), which establishes a dialogue with the whites and the forms and textures of the monks’ habits painted by Zurbarán. These are creations made with rigid fabrics through which the designer produced new and flattering silhouettes of geometrical forms.

Zurbarán, Friar Francisco Zúmel, ca. 1628, Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid / Wedding dress, satin and mink, 1960. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Jon Cazenave 

Ensemble of evening gown and overskirt, cotton tulle dress embroidered with metallic thread over rayobn satin,silk taffeta overskirt, ca.1951. Museo del Traje, Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. © Jon Cazenave / Zurbarán. Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, ca.1635. Museo Nacional del Prado © Archivo Fotografico  Museo Nacional del Prado.

Francisco de Goya
Tulle and lace, the Empire line, the “Goyesque” style... another key painter in Balenciaga’s cultural imagination was undoubtedly Francisco de Goya. This was not only for the aesthetic of the dresses and accessories to be seen in Goya’s paintings but also for his particular approach to colour and his way of transforming the forms into areas of tone, which Balenciaga translated into his perfect chromatic harmonies. The evening gown with silk muslin, pearls and sequins and the Portrait of the Marchioness of Lazán from the Fundación Casa de Alba; or the evening gown in pale green satin with pearls and beads and the portrait of Queen María Luisa in a Dress wtih a hooped Skirt are some of the striking pairings established in this section.

Goya, Queen María Luisa in a Dress with a hooped Skirt, ca.1789. Museo Nacional del Prado. © Archivo Fotografico  Museo Nacional del Prado / Evening gown, satin, pearls and beads, 1963. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria. © Jon Cazenave 

The 19th and 20th century
Everyday life in Getaria and San Sebastián during the years of Balenciaga’s youth and more generally the regional dress and folk costumes of late 19th- and early 20th-century Spain all found their place in his visual and conceptual universe which he subsequently applied to his designs. This notion of the typically Spanish as the basis of cultural identity is to be found in the type of genre painting produced in Spain in the 19th century and in the work of contemporary painters such as the Basque artist Ignacio Zuloaga, whom Balenciaga knew during his years in San Sebastián. Both the traditional Castilian cloak that appears in many of Zuloaga’s paintings and the aesthetic of the bullfight were part of a world that Balenciaga had experienced at first hand. This room includes numerous examples, including a fuchsia cocktail dress in silk taffeta with bands of cotton thread embroidery has volumes that echo models such as the dress worn by The Flamenco Dancer Josefa Vargas in a painting by Antonio María Esquivel; a short evening jacket in silk velvet shares the “matador look” of the one worn by Julia in the portrait by Ramón Casa loaned from the Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza; and the full-volume, red taffeta evening gown with lines that resemble those of the dress worn by María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, Duchess of Alba in her portrait by Zuloaga.

Evening gown, taffeta, 1952. Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria.© Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, Getaria © Jon Cazenave  / Zuloaga, Portrait of María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, Duchess of Alba, 1921. Fundación Casa de Alba. Palacio de Liria, Madrid.

Lot 48. A Ru-type censer, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); 20 cm, 7 7/8  in. Estimate 40,000 - 60,000 GBP.  Lot sold 93,750 GBP (121,134 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of compressed circular form, resting on three short feet below a band of twelve bosses, the waisted neck rising to a flared mouth, the shoulder set with two lug-handles, and covered all over with an attractive crackled lavender-blue glaze stopping at the tip of the feet, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: E.T. Hall collection, no. 078 (according to label).
Christie's London, 13th May 2014, lot 410.

Note: hile the elegant crackled glaze on this censer was developed in imitation of the celebrated glazes made at the Ru kilns in Ruzhou, modern Baofeng county, Henan province, during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), the form of this censer, which is commonly referred to as yu lou (“fish basket”), appears to be a Yongzheng period innovation. Compare a Yongzheng mark and period censer of this form, but covered in a teadust glaze, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Porcelains from the Qing dynasty imperial kilns in the Palace Museum collection], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, pt. 2, pl. 13.  

A Qianlong mark and period censer of this form, similarly covered in a Ru-type glaze, is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 456; a guan-type censer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collections of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 209; and two censers from the Zande Lou collection were included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Monochromes. The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2005, cat. no. 31.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019, 10:30 AM

Lot 119. A cloisonné enamel 'lotus' tripod censer, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 10 cm, 4 in. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 GBP.  Lot sold 62,500 GBP (80,756 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the compressed bombé-form body rising from three short, tapered gilt legs and narrowing at the neck to the gilt rim set with two upright loop handles, decorated around the exterior with multi-coloured lotus and floral blooms surrounded by foliate scrolls, all reserved on a turquoise ground.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019, 10:30 AM 

Lot 103. A sancai-glazed harnessed horse, Tang dynasty (618-907). Length 53.5 cm, 21 in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 52,500 GBP (67,835 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

standing four square on a base, its harnessed head turned sideways, ears pricked, the long mane parted at the forelock and falling to one side, covered in a straw-coloured glaze and matching the docked and bound tail, the green-glazed saddle gathered at the sides, the saddlecloth splashed in green, chestnut and straw and hung from straps moulded with straw-coloured florettes suspending green tassels, the body glazed in a rich dark chestnut trickling over straw-glazed hooves on the unglazed base.

Provenance: Formerly in the Highfield Jones collection.
Sotheby's London, 8th July 1975, lot 54.
Sotheby's London, 10th December 1985, lot 101.
Thence in the family by descent.

Lot 72. A carved and pierced bamboo brushpot, 17th-18th century; 13.3 cm, 5 1/4  in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Lot sold 43,750 GBP (56,529 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of cylindrical form rising from three short feet, carved around the exterior in openwork with a continuous scene of a seated lady with her attendant and a boy below a towering gnarled pine tree, accompanied by two attendants and horses, incised signature of Sansong.

Provenance: From the estate of the late Leslie Charlotte Benenson R.E. (1941-2018).

Lot 95. An incised 'Ding' jar and cover, Song dynasty (960-1279); 9 cm, 3 1/2  in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 43,750 GBP (56,529 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the globular body rising from a short straight foot to an incurved mouth, freely incised around the exterior with an overlapping lotus lappet band below a double line at the rim, the domed cover incised with lotus leaves and surmounted by a stalk finial, all covered in an ivory-white glaze, the base incised with a guan character. 

Lot 134. A lime-green ground famille-rose'Tea-poem' tray, Jiaqing seal mark and period (1796-1820); 16 cm, 6 1/4  in. Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 35,000 GBP (45,224 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of oval lobed form supported on four ridge feet, the interior centred with a lobed panel enclosing an inscription in iron-red dated to Jiaqing dingsi year (corresponding to 1797) followed by two seal marks, all within composite floral scrolls and against a lime-green ground, the lime-green base with a central square reserved in white inscribed with an iron-red six-character mark.

Provenance: Collection of James L. Kraft (1874-1953).
Lizzadro Collection, Chicago, Illinois.
Christie's New York, 21st March 2013, lot 905. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019

Lot 80. A well carved cinnabar lacquer lobed box and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 32.3 cm, 12 3/4  in. Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 35,000 GBP (45,224 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of quatrefoil form, the cover finely carved with Magu and her acolytes preparing a celebration amidst an idyllic mountainous landscape detailed with an overhanging pine tree, pavilion and two recumbent deer, with further acolytes travelling across the swirling waves on a shaft with a peach, the sides with cartouches of floral blooms and leaves divided by the bajixiang emblems, all reserved against diaper grounds, the interiors and base lacquered black.

Note: A polychrome lacquer box of similar shape, carved to the top with bats, cranes and peaches, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Diaoqi/Carved Lacquer In The Collection Of The Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, pl. 328. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019

Lot 99. A 'Longquan' celadon cong vase, Yuan-Early Ming dynasty; 26 cm, 10 1/8  in. Estimate 30,000 - 50,000 GBP. Lot sold 35,000 GBP (45,224 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

modelled after an archaic jade cong, each long edge of the square-sectioned body with eight raised horizontal bands within a raised rectangular frame, all supported on a short foot and surmounted by a gently tapered neck, covered overall save for the footring with a unctuous celadon glaze draining to pale bluish-white at the raised edges.

Provenance: An old Japanese collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th April 2012, lot 3122.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019

Lot 101. A rare sancai-glazed stoneware 'Leopard's head' pillow, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 21.5 cm, 8 1/2  in. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 GBP. Lot sold 32,500 GBP (41,993 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

naturalistically modelled and glazed as a leopard head with large bulging eyes and flaring nostrils, the green-glazed semi-circular dished top incised with a fish within cash diaper and foliate scroll bands, the back inscribed under the glaze ci qu xie bi e (which may be translated as a wish to evade harm and avoid evil).

Provenance: Collection of the La Jolla Museum of Art, La Jolla, California.
Sotheby's Los Angeles, 7th-10th June 1976, lot 1435.
Sotheby's London, 15th July 1980, lot 47.
Collection of Jane Carnegie, Melbourne.

Exhibited: Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China. Tz'u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 AD, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1980-81 (late inclusion in the exhibition, without catalogue entry).

Oriental Art. Works of Art from China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia, Georges Gallery, Melbourne, 1981, cat. no. 21.

China without Dragons. Rare Pieces from Oriental Ceramic Society Members, London, 2016, cat. no. 18.

Literature: Mary Redfern, 'China Without Dragons. An Exhibition Presented by the Oriental Ceramic Society', Arts of Asia, November-December 2016, p. 159, fig. 3.

Note: Pillows in the form of leopards were believed to be capable of warding off evil spirits, as suggested in the Jiu Tangshu (Old History of the Tang Dynasty), compiled during the Later Jin dynasty (1616-1636), and exemplified by the inscription on the present piece.  

Francisco de Zurbarán (Spain, 1598–1664), Saint Francis in prayer in a grotto, 1650-1655. Oil on canvas, 62 x 39 9/16 in. (157.5 x 100.5 cm), Gift of Conrad Prebys and Debbie Turner, 2014.132, San Diego Museum of Art.

SAN DIEGO, CA.- The San Diego Museum of Art presents the exhibition Art & Empire: The Golden Age of Spain, featuring more than 100 outstanding works by leading artists from Spain and its global territories during the pivotal years of around 1600 to 1750. On view May 18, 2019 through Sept. 2, 2019, the exhibition showcases a wide variety of exquisite paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts produced throughout the Spanish-speaking world. This exhibition is the first in the U.S. to examine the notion of “Golden Age” beyond the shores of the Iberian Peninsula by bringing together works from Spain’s European, American, and Asian realms. 

“Art & Empire: The Golden Age of Spain showcases the broad scope of the Spanish empire and helps bring context to some of the international treasures within the Museum’s permanent collection,” said Roxana Velásquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director of The San Diego Museum of Art. “Our renowned collection of Spanish art is on view alongside important works from private collections and major institutions around the world. This is an opportunity for San Diego and its visitors to see works by the most influential Spanish artists, including Diego Velázquez, whose work has transcended time and continues to inspire new generations of artists.” 

Artists featured in the exhibition include Diego Velázquez, Peter Paul Rubens, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Zurbarán, Jusepe de Ribera, El Greco, Juan de Valdés Leal, Juan Sánchez Cotán, and many more. This exhibition also marks the first time since 1935 that all five of the Spanish masters represented on the Museum’s building façade—Velázquez, Murillo, Zurbarán, Ribera and El Greco—will be shown together at the Museum. 

Art & Empire: The Golden Age of Spain brings to life the extraordinary moment when Spain’s visual arts, architecture, literature, and music all reached unprecedented heights. More than 100 works of art are organized into four sections including The Courtly Image: Portraiture in the Hispanic World; The Birth of Naturalism; Art in the Service of Faith; Splendors of Daily Life and Global Materials, and represent more than 10 countries, including Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines. 

In addition to organizing the exhibition, Dr. Michael Brown, the Museum’s Curator of European Art, is editor and contributing author of the accompanying, fully illustrated publication, which features essays by renowned art historians including Jonathan Brown, the preeminent authority on Spanish art, as well as Benito Navarrete Prieto, Sofía Sanabrais, and Jorge Rivas Pérez. There will also be a wide variety of public programming to complement the show, including a symposium featuring notable scholars from around the world, a lecture by Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, London, as well as a film series, textile and cochineal dye workshops, performances by the San Diego Ballet, a Spanish jazz band, traditional Flamenco performances, community and outreach programs, and much more.

Francisco de Zurbarán (Spain, 1598–1664), Saint Francis in Meditation, 1635–39. Oil on canvas, 59 7/8 x 39 in. (152 x 99 cm) National Gallery, London, Bought, 1853, NG230.

Francisco de Zubarán, Virgin and Child with Saint John, 1658. Oil on canvas. Gift of Anne R., Amy and Irene Putnam. 1935.22.

Francisco de Zubarán, Agnus Dei. Oil On Canvas, 14 x 20 1/2 in, San Diego Museum of Art.

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus, 1619–20. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Ireland, Presented, Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection).

Sofonisba Anguissola, Portrait of a Spanish Prince (probably Philip II), ca. 1573. Oil on canvas. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam. 1936.51.

 Juan Sánchez Cotán, Still life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber, ca. 1602. Oil on canvas. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam. 1945.43, San Diego Museum of Art

Peter Paul Rubens, Allegory of Eternity. Oil On Panel, 26 x 13 1/2 in. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam, San Diego Museum of Art

El Greco, The Penitent Saint Peter. Oil On Canvas, 47 3/8 x 42 3/8 in., San Diego Museum of Art

El Greco, Adoration of  the Shepherds, c. 1576–77. Oil On Copper, 9 1/2 x 7 3/4 in., San Diego Museum Of Art, Museum purchase, 1990.104.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, The Penitent Magdalene, c. 1660-65. Oil On Canvas, 63 1/4 x 41 1/2 in., San Diego Museum of Art.

Carta ejecutoria of Eujenio Alfonso de Rioja, 1602. Tempera and ink on vellum. Gift of Dr. B. L. Riese (through the American Legion). 1925.116

17th century Painting, Plaza Mayor of Madrid. Spain (Madrid), ca. 1665. Oil on canvas, 53 1/4 x 78 3/4 in. (135 x 200 cm), Pérez Simón Collection.

Marcellus Clodius, Philip II of Spain, 1588. Engraving, 20 3/8 x 15 in., San Diego Museum Of Art, 1955.27.

Jusepe de Ribera, St Jerome Hearing the Trumpet of the Last Judgment, 1621. Etching And Engraving, 12 3/8 x 9 1/4 in., San Diego Museum Of Art, 1931.49.

Alonso Cano, Christ the Redeemer, 1645-50. Oil On Panel, 37 1/2 x 17 3/8 in., San Diego Museum Of Art, 1957.53.

Diego De Borgraf, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1656. Oil On Canvas, 65.75 x 45.75 in., Denver Art Museum. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2011.426.

Sebastian Lopez De Arteaga, Saint Michael and the Bull, c. 1650. Oil On Canvas, 75 x 61 in., Denver Art Museum. Gift of Frank Barrows Freyer Collection by exchange and Gift of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 1994.27.

Gregorio Vasquez De Arce y Ceballos, Vision of Thomas Aquinas, c. 1695. Oil On Wood Panel, 20 3/4 x 14 1/2 in., Denver Art Museum. Gift of the Stapleton Foundation of Latin American Colonial Art, made possible by the Renchard Family, 1990.361.

Pedro De Mena, San Diego De Alcala, 1665-70. Polychromed Wood, 24 7/32 x 9 7/16 x 10 5/8 in., San Diego Museum Of Art, 2012.77.

Lot 108. A green-enamelled incised 'dragon' dish, Chenghua six-character mark (1465-1487); 20.3cm (8in) diam. Estimate £10,000 - 15,000. Sold for £ 879,062 (€ 1,003,553). © Bonhams 2001-2019

Enamelled in the interior within a circle with a writhing five-clawed dragon in pursuit of the 'flaming pearl', the exterior with a further two striding green dragons on an incised ground of crashing waves and flaming pearls.  

Provenance: an English private collection, acquired in the 1920s, and thence by descent.

Note: Compare with a related dish with dragon design in green enamel on a white ground, Chenghua mark and period, in the Percival David Foundation (PDF 707), illustrated by R.Fong, Ming Colours: Polychrome Porcelain from Jingdezhen, London, 2006, pp.94-95, no.38. See also a similar dish with Hongzhi six-character mark and of the period, illustrated by J.Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p.185, no.7:17. Another similar dish, with Hongzhi six-character mark is also illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, no.67.

Lot 169. A rare set of three gilt-lacquered wood figures of the Buddha, 17th-18th century. The largest 55.2cm (21 7/8in) high. Estimate £15,000 - 20,000. Sold for £ 312,562 (€ 356,826). © Bonhams 2001-2019

The trinity including Bhaishajyaguru, Shakyamuni and Amitayus, all depicted seated in dhyanasana wearing pleated garments open at the chest, the serene faces with a meditative expression below thin arched brows and an urna, the hair arranged in rows of small whorls beneath a bud-shaped ushnisha, Bhaishajyaguru with the right hand in dhyanamudra, the left above his lap, Shakyamuni with the right hand in bhumisparsamudraand the left in dhyanamudra, Amitayus with both hands folded in dhyanamudra. 

Provenance: purchased from P.C. Lu in Hong Kong, circa 1980's.

Note: The technique of coating carved wood figures with gilt-lacquer appears to have emerged during the early part of the Ming dynasty and continued into the Qing dynasty. The physical characteristics of the present lot echo those of Tibetan gilt-bronze images and reflects the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on Chinese art.

Compare with a related gilt-lacquered wood figure of Buddha, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 17 September 2014, lot 437.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, London, 16 May 2019 

Lot 247. A very fine and rare pair of famillerose'goose' tureens and covers, Qianlong period, circa 1760. Each 41cm (16 1/4in) high. Estimate £150,000 - 200,000. Sold for £ 187,562 (€ 214,124). © Bonhams 2001-2019

Each naturalistically and boldly modelled, the raised head supported by a long elegantly curving neck, the body finely enamelled with sepia and purple plumage, the folded wings moulded with overlapping feathers in green, iron-red, rose, and crimson, with details picked out in gilt, the webbed feet tucked under the body.

Provenance:  a distinguished European private collection.

Note: Goose tureens are exceptionally rare due to their extremely delicate forms and the difficulty involved in both modelling and firing them successfully, as well as transporting them back to Europe. Goose tureens, in general, have frequently been celebrated as one of the most spectacular and recognisable forms of Chinese porcelain made for the West. Intended to be extravagant centerpieces for table settings, fashionable in Europe in the 18th century, geese, along with roosters, quail, fish, boar heads, ox heads and crabs (examples of which are included in this sale) are examples of animal and bird-shaped tureens used for such displays. 

The Dutch East India Company ordered 25 long-necked goose tureens in 1765, and according to W.R.Sargent, 'examples for the French and Danish markets were also very popular, but generally did not include arms in their decoration', see Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, p.379. A similar goose tureen with no coat of arms, Qianlong, but decorated with more muted enamels is illustrated by D.Howard and J.Ayers, China for the West: Chinese Porcelain and other Decorative Arts for Export illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection, London, 1978, pp.590-591. 

Goose tureens that bear coat of arms generally seem to have been made for the Portuguese and Spanish markets. A similar goose tureen with the coat of arms of the Basque family of Asteguita is illustrated by W.R.Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, pp.378-379, no.206. Another similar goose tureen, with the arms of Cervantes, is illustrated by Rocío Díaz, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for Spain, London, 2010, no.26. Another with the arms of Domingo Esteban de Olza, is illustrated by Rocío Díaz, ibid., no.36.

Compare with two very similar goose tureens and covers, Qianlong, formerly in the collection of Nelson and Happy Rockefeller, which were sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 January 2019, lot 322 and 323.

The Chinese have had a long tradition of creating figural ceramics (xiangsheng taoci 象生陶瓷, porcelain made in the shape of living forms). These three dimensional pieces were created with slabs of clay pressed into multiple moulds, the separate elements then luted together with slip to create the completed form (see note 1). Chinese potters made extensive use of this technique for creating tomb sculptures, religious figures and hollow forms that could not be thrown on the wheel, among others. 

The first Western observation of the use of moulds was made by Pere d'Entrecolles, the Jesuit missionary Father d'Entrecolles (1664–1741) in 1712 (see note 2): 

This has relations chiefly to the China-ware that is made in Moulds, or by the Hands only, such are those Pieces that are follow, or have an odd Shape, as animals, Idols, Grotesque Figures, Busts, of which the Europeans give Patterns, and others of the same nature. These sort of Works are made in three or four Pieces, which they add one to another, and afterwards finish with Instruments proper to hollow, polish, and trace the different Strokes which the Mould has not impressed... (see note 3)

The technique is illustrated in one of twenty-four early 19th century China trade gouache paintings depicting ceramic production (see note 4). In it, various moulds dry in the sun between use, and completed human and animal figures are set aside to dry as well. Various objects are being worked on, including a model of a crab on a leaf-shaped base, not unlike the crab tureen in this sale (lot 250). Molding included not only the overall form, but in the case of these tureens, a subtle relief of feathers, which added texture and a semblance of realism, and would have guided the enameller in decorating. 

While some figural ceramics made for the Chinese market found a market with foreign customers for their curiosity factor, it did not take long for Europeans to demand forms specially made for Western use. Although crab shaped containers were initially made for the domestic market as water droppers and scholars objects, versions for the European market were recorded as being used as butter dishes (see note 5).

Goose tureens had been produced throughout Europe in tin-glazed earthenware and porcelain at the Höchst, Strasbourg, and Meissen factories, among others. Chinese potters would have responded with a knowing nod when asked to produce versions of these European tureens. They had, after all, been making various forms of boxes and incense burners in the form of birds for millennia, and have continued doing so for their own markets in porcelain, bronze and cloisonné enameled wares.

How the replications were ordered is not specified in the records, although we know the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and its individual merchants brought models of some forms to be copied, and that drawings and written specifications were sent as well.

The VOC first ordered animal shaped tureens in 1763 when twenty-five boar head tureens and twenty 'in the form of a goose' were ordered. They wrote, of the tureens in the form of a goose there were certainly more to be had, but the stands were not very well painted and yet the dealers were not willing to lower the price. We did not order these, because we were afraid that it would be impossible for this article to bring in a reasonable profit in view of the high purchase prices and great volume. Large and complicated forms such as these tureens were notoriously difficult to successfully make and fire and so they were expensive to acquire, though undoubtedly less expensive than their European counterparts.

In 1764 nineteen boar head and four goose tureens were shipped by the VOC, and in that year the directors asked for thirty more, but the supercargoes considered them too risky and did not fill the order. It is probable that future orders were made through private trade and not through the company. They were also ordered by the Spanish, undoubtedly through the Manila galleon trade.

These models are a particularly distinctive and elegant form that sets them apart from other bird-form tureen such as the standard goose, rooster or duck form. They are frequently referred to as a 'ring neck geese', 'long necked geese' or 'swan geese'. However, there is no such thing as a 'ring-necked goose'. The ring at the base of the neck, the distinctive length and bend in the neck and the knob above the head are not found in nature. The knob resembles a whooping crane or a red headed crane and the neck is more like a crane or swan, though the bill, body and web feet are those of a goose.

Geese appear in nature in brown and white, not the almost psychedelic colouring in opaque enamels and gilding followed in the enameling of these tureens. The smaller and more realistically modeled goose tureens tend to follow realistic colouring. The deviation from a naturalistic form and colouring is inexplicable, but result in a joyful and immensely engaging sculptural, and useful, object d'art.

Tureens with coats of arms were made for the Spanish or Portuguese markets, and because of their histories are often easy to date. If not bearing armorials, occasionally one might find another European design, such as a pendant medallion on the breast.

On this rare pair the enamellers have introduced, in gilding, a distinctly Chinese basket of flowers with a typical high bail handle on the back of each tureen. A basket of flowers is the attribute of Lan Caihe 藍采和, one of the Eight Immortals. He granted longevity, so his basket of flowers is a symbol of longevity.

Most serving pieces of this type were meant to be sold as a pair, with one presented at each end of a banquet table. While is not uncommon to find two standard goose tureens with realistic coloring being sold as a pair, it is rare to find a pair of highly decorated examples that constitute a pair. 

These are exquisite examples of the Chinese potter's capabilities, and the decorator's imagination, a reminder of the fantasy of dining in the eighteenth century.

Hendrick Avercamp, Winter Landscape near a Village, about 1610–15. Oil on panel. 53.3 x 94.6 cm. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

TORONTO, April 29, 2019—For the first time in Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents In the Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, an extraordinary collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Opening Saturday, June 1, 2019, the exhibition features 70 works by major artists of the period including Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), In the Age of Rembrandt showcases the technical brilliance, naturalism, and layered meanings characteristic of 17^th century Dutch art, from the scientific precision of a floral still life to symbolic details in a scene from daily life. The ROM is the exhibition’s exclusive Canadian venue.

“Featuring Dutch works that are remarkable in breadth and quality, In the Age of Rembrandt represents a pivotal moment,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “The exhibition explores a time of unparalleled trade, prosperity, and scientific advancement, when art flourished and became a meaningful part of everyday life. Situated adjacent to the ROM’s renowned Samuel European Galleries, these collections together offer visitors an intimate perspective on the role of European art and culture in society at the dawn of the modern age.”

Coinciding with the 350^th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death, the exhibition includes the Dutch master’s Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh (1632), a moving depiction in nearly perfect condition that provides a glimpse into Rembrandt’s life when he first moved to Amsterdam.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh, 1632. 73.7 x 55.8 cm. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The 17^th century Dutch Golden Age exhibited a new approach to art. Independence from Spanish Catholic monarchical rule and the establishment of a Dutch Protestant Republic spurred a boost in global trade, a scientific revolution, and a burgeoning middle class. This political and religious freedom paved the way for a newly democratic period in art history. Instead of the extravagant portrayals of royalty, history, and religious subjects seen elsewhere in Europe, Dutch artists often depicted ordinary people, everyday life, and secular scenes that appealed to middle-class citizens and fueled a competitive art market.

“These paintings provide a window into the society that created them, one that is not unlike our own,” says Dr. Ronni Baer, the exhibition’s curator and former Senior Curator of European Paintings at the MFA in Boston. “The works are grouped thematically rather than chronologically or by artist, amplifying their meaning and allowing us to explore their stories. The abundance of detail and pure inventiveness evident in these paintings bring the viewer pleasure the longer one looks at them.”

In the Age of Rembrandt showcases the diversity, artistry, and technical skill of Rembrandt and his contemporaries across all painting categories for which the Netherlands is best known, including portraits, genre scenes, still lifes, landscapes, cityscapes, and architectural pictures. Rachel Ruysch, one of the few noted female artists of the period, became famous during her lifetime for her dynamic and detailed floral still lifes. Gerrit Dou’s meticulously fine painting technique contrasts with the loose brushwork that gave Frans Hals’s portraits a bold sense of liveliness.  Jacob van Ruisdael is renowned for his sweeping landscapes that expertly capture light and shadow. Jan Steen’s humourous depictions of Dutch homes and taverns contain important clues that reveal the pictures’ multiple meanings. With his restrained palette, Pieter Saenredam specialized in carefully designed “portraits” of Dutch church interiors.

In the Age of Rembrandt complements, and will be displayed adjacent to, the ROM’s Samuel European Galleries, home to one of the largest European decorative arts collections in Canada. The collection includes over 56,000 objects, including ceramics, metal work, silver, prints and drawings, arms and armour, musical instruments, and furniture, ranging from the 14 ^th to 20 ^th centuries.

Gerrit Dou (Dutch, 1613–1675), Old Woman Cutting Bread, about 1655. Oil on panel, 28 x 22 cm (11 x 8 11/16 in.), Henry H. and Zoe Oliver Sherman Fund, 2003.71, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Gerrit Dou, Dog at Rest, 1650. Oil on panel. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Frans Hals (Dutch, 1581 to 1585–1666), Portrait of a Man, about 1665. Oil on canvas, 85.8 x 67 cm (33 3/4 x 26 3/8 in.). Gift of Mrs. Antonie Lilienfeld in memory of Dr. Leon Lilienfeld, 66.1054, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jacob van Ruisdael (Dutch, 1628 or 1629–1682), View of Alkmaar, about 1675–80. Oil on canvas, 44.5 x 43.5 cm (17 1/2 x 17 1/8 in.), Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow Fund, 39.794, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jan Havicksz. Steen, An Elegant Company Playing Cards, about 1660. Oil on panel. 45.7 x 60.3 cm. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Pieter Saenredam (Dutch, 1597–1665), Church of Saint Odulphus, Assendelft, 1655. Oil on panel, 40.64 x 36.83 cm (16 x 14 1/2 in.), Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection, 48.321, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Osias Beert, Still Life with Various Vessels on a Table, about 1610. Oil on canvas. Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Willem Claesz. Heda, Still Life with Glasses and Tobacco, 1633. Oil on panel. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Peter Paul Rubens, Coronation of the Virgin, about 1623. Oil on panel. Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, 1655–60. Oil on panel. 47.3 x 35.6 cm. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Aelbert Cuyp, Orpheus Charming the Animals, about 1640. Oil on canvas. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of

Gerrit van Honthorst, A Merry Group behind a Balustrade with a Violin and a Lute Player, about 1623. Oil on canvas. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Willem van de Velde, the Younger, A Dutch Flagship Coming to Anchor Close to the Land in a Fresh Breeze, about 1672. Oil on canvas. Susan and Matthew Weatherbie Collection. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Jacob Isaacksz. van Ruisdael, Wooded River Landscape with Shepherd, about 1655–60. Oil on canvas. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Lot 75. A rare and gilt polychrome lacquer 'Elephant' incense stand, 18th century; 51cm (20 1/8) deep x 51cm (20 1/8) wide x 86cm (33 7/8) high. Estimate £50,000 - 80,000. Sold for £ 81,312 (€ 92,827). © Bonhams 2001-2019

Finely incised and coloured in varying shades of red, green and brown transmuting to black, all picked out with traces of gold filling within the incisions, the top finely incised and gilt with an elephant supporting a vase with flowers amidst cloud scrolls, surmounting a broad, flaring, cusped and barbed apron decorated with lotus scrolls, all raised on four cabriole legs terminating in outward curving slipper feet, supported on a square frame. 

Provenance: a distinguished French private collection, Normandy.

Note: Incense stands such as the present example were used both in religious as well as secular contexts as contemporaneous paintings and prints illustrate. Often positioned in the center of a room, such stands supporting incense burners were designed with great attention to detail and form, pleasing to the eye from any angle. 

Polychrome lacquer became popular in the late Ming dynasty, either brush painted or gold-engraved and colored in the more onerous qianjin-and-tianqi technique as found on the present table. The design on the top of the incense stand is also particularly auspicious and the combination of a 'vase' (ping 瓶) which puns with 'peace' (ping 平), and elephant (xiang 象) which also means 'sign' or 'portent', forms a rebus for the phrase taiping youxiang (太平有象), meaning 'Where there is peace, there is a sign (or elephant)'. 

Compare with a related lacquer 'dragon' incense stand, 17th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2019, lot 714.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, London, 16 May 2019 

Lot 128. A rare white and russet jade carving of a deer, 18th century 8cm (3 1/8in) long. Estimate £8,000 - 12,000. Sold for £77,562 (€ 88,546). © Bonhams 2001-2019

The recumbent stag superbly carved with slightly-raised head and long prominent antlers reaching the elegantly curved back incised with fine hairs, a spray of lingzhi fungus in its mouth, its legs neatly folded and tucked underneath, the stone of pale white tone with russet-brown inclusions, wood stand.

Provenance: Lowenthal Collection, no.60.

Note: The lingzhi fungus is symbolic of long life as is the deer, which is associated with Shoulao, the God of Longevity. Compare with a related jade carving of a recumbent stag, 17th/18th century, illustrated in Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, p.81, no.56. Compare also with a related pale green jade deer, in the Tuyet Nguyet collection, illustrated by H.K.Hui and T.Y.Pang, Virtuous Treasures: Chinese Jades for the Scholar's Table, Hong Kong, 2007, pl.101.

See a related very pale green jade carving of a deer, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams London, 12 May 2016, lot 156.

THE LOWENTHAL COLLECTION OF JADES

Hans 'Jack' Lowenthal was born in Frankfurt, Germany but at the age of five was brought to Britain with the rest of his family by his father in 1933. Although he briefly returned to Germany in 1934-1937 he thereafter permanently settled London. His father Julius Lowenthal founded the Smokers' and other accessories' business in Germany in 1921 but when he invented the most original semi-automatic lighter in 1928 he named it Colibri. Colibri gift lighters, pens, watches wallets became internationally well-known under the Colibri brand. In 1953, Hans Lowenthal joined Colibri and was the Managing Director for over 25 years. Lowenthal enjoyed designing and creating new products and he holds several important patents. Among the most important of his inventions was incorporating the Piezo-electric concept into a lighter, thereby creating a lighter that never needed a flint or battery, as the ignition spark was created manually. In 1967, he named the Colibri version 'Molectric' (molecular electricity). He also supervised Colibri when commisioned to design and manufacture the 'Golden Gun' and various Colibri products for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun.

Julius Lowenthal began collecting jades in the 1950s, and one of his first items included a jade axe (Lot 127). Jack inherited his father's interest in jade and stone carvings and continued to collect and regularly attended auctions. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Jack purchased jade carvings from several well-known dealers including Louis Joseph, Hugh Moss, Roger Keverne, Michael Gillingham, and Marchants. Jack was a particularly passionate collector of tactile jade carvings of animals.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, London, 16 May 2019