A rare wucai 'Eight immortals' jar, Qing dynasty, Shunzhi period (1644-1661)

June 3, 2019, 2:23 pm

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Lot 345. A rare wucai'Eight immortals' jar, Qing dynasty, Shunzhi period (1644-1661); 37 cm, 14 5/8 in. Estimate 100,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

of baluster form, painted with a scene depicting the battle between the Eight Immortals and the forces of the Dragon King of the East Sea, each immortal subduing the troops with their respective attributes, all below two decorative bands encircling the shoulder.

Property from the Xinyangtang Collection.

Provenance: Tai Sing Fine Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 7th May 2002.

Exhibited: The Studio and the Altar: Daoist Art in China, Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2008, cat. no. III:12.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 May 2019

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A newly-discovered Lewis Chessman appears at auction

June 4, 2019, 3:00 am

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Probably Norwegian, Trondheim, A Lewis Chessman, A Warder, walrus ivory, 8.8cm., 3½in. Estimate £600,000-1,000,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

NEW YORK, NY.- Rightly regarded as the most famous chess pieces to have survived from the medieval world, the Lewis Chessmen secured their place in history when they were found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The remarkable hoard constituted the greatest ever discovery of medieval chess pieces, and from the moment they were unearthed, the Lewis Chessmen evoked their own mysterious world, steeped in folklore, legend and the rich tradition of story-telling. They have continued to inspire every new generation, from the classic British 1960s children’s animated television series, The Sagas of Noggin the Nog, to, most recently, Harry Potter, in the Warner Bros. production of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and Japanese Manga, in Hoshino Yukinobu’s Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure.

The hoard comprised 93 objects, the majority carved from walrus ivory, which could make four complete sets of figure pieces, with the exception of one Knight and four Warders. In addition to the 59 chessmen, there were 19 pawns and 14 flat, circular games pieces and one belt buckle (the only outsider in the hoard). Of those 93 pieces, 82 are in the British Museum in London and 11 are in the collection of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the whereabouts of the remaining five pieces unknown. Now, on 2 July in London, Sotheby’s will offer what appears to be the first additional piece from the Lewis hoard to have been discovered since 1831.

Acquired for £5 in 1964 by an antiques dealer in Edinburgh and passed down the same family by descent, the ‘new’ Lewis Warder will be presented with an estimate of £600,000-1,000,000 in the Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art sale. Its appearance marks the first time that one of the chessmen has ever come up for sale at auction.

Alexander Kader, Sotheby’s Co-Worldwide Head of European Sculpture & Works of Art, said: “With fond memories from my childhood of the brilliantly animated television series that paid full tribute to the inspiration of the Lewis hoard, this is one of the most exciting and personal rediscoveries to have been made during my career. Today all the chessmen are a pale ivory colour, but the new Lewis Warder’s dark tone clearly has the potential to offer valuable and fresh insight into how other Lewis chessmen may have looked in the past. There is certainly more to the story of this warder still to be told, about his life over the last 188 years since he was separated from his fellow chessmen, and just as interesting, about the next chapter in his journey now that he has been rediscovered.”

A family spokesperson said: “My grandfather was an antiques dealer based in Edinburgh, and in 1964 he purchased an ivory chessman from another Edinburgh dealer. It was catalogued in his purchase ledger that he had bought an‘Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman’. From this description it can be assumed that he was unaware he had purchased an important historic artefact. It was stored away in his home and then when my grandfather died my mother inherited the chess piece. My mother was very fond of the Chessman as she admired its intricacy and quirkiness. She believed that it was special and thought perhaps it could even have had some magical significance. For many years it resided in a drawer in her home where it had been carefully wrapped in a small bag. From time to time, she would remove the chess piece from the drawer in order to appreciate its uniqueness.”

Courtesy Sotheby's.

THE DISCOVERY
The hoard was discovered on the Isle of Lewis, the westernmost of the Outer Hebrides. However, the exact spot and how remains a mystery. At some time just before April 1831 the hoard was unearthed, apparently in the sands of Uig Strand, an inlet in the north-west of the island, although a site a little further south on the same coast has been suggested.

Later accounts tell of a grazing cow accidentally revealing the chessmen. Fantastical folklore tales of ships moored in the bay, of a sailor swimming ashore clutching a bag, of murder and concealment of the hoard, of confession and a murderer hanged, all these conjectures appeared in later accounts of the find, which soon attained in the Scottish press and in legend the status of a ‘whodunnit’. Just two years after the discovery of the hoard, David Laing, a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, observed in 1833, ‘it is evident, that to serve some purpose, contradictory statements were circulated by the persons who discovered or afterward obtained possession of these Chess-men, regarding the place where the discovery was actually made’.

Early in 1831, the Lewis chessmen were shown to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in Edinburgh. At this time they still belonged to Roderick Pirie, a merchant of Stornoway, the capital of the Isle of Lewis. Soon after, they fell into the hands of an Edinburgh dealer, T.A. Forrest, who paid £30 for them. Forrest sold 10 of the chessmen to a Scottish antiquary, Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. Having failed to sell the chessmen as a hoard in Scotland, he approached Frederic Madden, an enthusiastic chess player and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, to buy them for the museum, with the principal argument that such an important find must be kept together, despite that fact that he had already sold 10 pieces to Sharpe.

The late months of 1831 saw a period of political turmoil with popular riots across southern England and south Wales, not a good time to solicit funds to buy a hoard of ivory chessmen from Scotland. However, despite certain parliamentary opposition, and harnessed in his endeavours by a few of the British Museum’s Trustees, Madden was successful in bringing 81 of the Lewis Chessmen to the museum, for a sum of 80 guineas, a great deal of money at the time, and knocked down by Madden from 100 guineas. Aside from his original purchase, Sharpe was later able to buy another piece from an owner on Lewis, and it is these 11 pieces that make up the collection held by the National Museum of Scotland.

Probably Norwegian, Trondheim, A Lewis Chessman, A Warder, walrus ivory, 8.8cm., 3½in. Estimate £600,000-1,000,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

THE ORIGINS OF THE LEWIS CHESSMEN
Scholars have proposed competing theories on the origins of the Lewis Chessmen, their style and iconography not restricted to one centre. The leading theory is that they are Norwegian, and more precisely probably from Trondheim, which seems to have specialised during the 12th and 13th centuries in carving gaming pieces, often from walrus ivory. Trondheim was the seat of the archbishop of Norway, with the island of Lewis under its authority as part of the kingdom of Norway from early Viking times up to the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The theory that the Lewis hoard was the stock of a trader in chess pieces buried after a shipwreck was first proposed by Frederic Madden and has been the favoured explanation of their discovery ever since. The good condition of the individual pieces and their apparent lack of wear supports the theory that they were the stock of a trader in chessmen that never reached their market.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEWIS CHESSMEN
Recognised as an important symbol of European civilisation, the Lewis Chessmen were included by Neil Macgregor, former director of the British Museum, in his BBC Radio 4 series, A History of the World in 100 Objects. He commented that ‘if we want to visualise European society around the year 1200, we could hardly do better than look at how they play chess. And no chess pieces offer richer insights than the… Lewis Chessmen’.

This notion was equally understood at the time the Lewis Chessmen were made, as evidenced in a 13th-century Communiloquium written by the Franciscan, John of Wales: ‘The whole world is like a chessboard, of which one square is white and another black, following the dual state of life and death, praise and blame. The society (familia) of this chessboard are men of this world, who are all taken from a common bag, and placed in different part of this world, and as individuals have different names. One is called king, another queen, a third rook, a fourth knight, a fifth alphin [bishop], a sixth pawn’. The Lewis Chessmen are remarkable in that the survival of each one of the familia allows us insights into the characters of each individual with incomparable vividness, imagining their strengths and vulnerabilities. Through dress and gesture, it becomes possible to read the social hierarchy within the group.

THE NEW LEWIS WARDER AND HIS FELLOW CHESSMEN
The warders that made up the hoard are of two types: the majority are bearded with a sword in their right hand and shields either at their left side or in front, and three are shown biting the tops of their shields, identifying them as the legendary Norse warriors known as berserkers. The new Lewis Warder is completely consistent not only with his fellow warders but also with the surviving group as a whole.

Probably Norwegian, Trondheim, A Lewis Chessman, A Warder, walrus ivory, 8.8cm., 3½in. Estimate £600,000-1,000,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

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Egyptian head with features of Tutankhamen to be offered at Christie's

June 4, 2019, 3:12 am

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An Egyptian brown quartzite head of Tutankhamen as the God Amen. Estimate on request.© Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

LONDON.- An Egyptian brown quartzite head of Tutankhamen as the God Amen, its features reminiscent of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen, a device used to align the ruling King with deities, will lead The Exceptional Sale in London on 4th July. The head which has been well published and exhibited in the last 30 years, is expected to realise over £4million.

This head was part of a statue of the God Amen, the most important deity of the New Kingdom. The distinctive crown, which would have been surmounted by tall double feathers, is part of the god’s iconography. Over 3000 years old, this exceptional representation of the King (28.5 cm. high) is sold from the Resandro Collection, one of the world’s most renowned private collections of Egyptian art, part of which was sold in 2016 by Christie’s for over £3 million.

The facial features – the full mouth with slightly drooping lower lips, and almond-shaped, slanted eyes, with a deep depression between the eyes and eyebrows – are those of Tutankhamen. Similar representations of the God Amen also with facial features of the young king, were carved for the temple of Karnak in Upper Egypt, as part of the royal restoration program.

The young pharaoh comes to life thanks to the particularly naturalistic depiction of the face inherited from the Amarna Period, which appeared during the reign of his father Akhenaton. This piece exudes strength and serenity, a testament to the craftmanship of Amarna sculptors.

Tutankhamen was 9 years old when he became Pharaoh, and reigned between 1333 and 1323 B.C., one of the last kings of the 18th Dynasty. This period is considered the golden age of ancient Egypt, not only in terms of regional and cultural influence, but also because of the incomparable beauty and quality of the art produced then. Tutankhamen is the most famous Egyptian Pharaoh in history thanks to the phenomenal discovery of his intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon.

The present lot was acquired from Heinz Herzer, a Munich-based dealer in 1985. Prior to this, Joseph Messina, an Austrian dealer, acquired it in 1973-74 from Prinz Wilhelm von Thurn und Taxis who reputedly had it in his collection by the 1960s.

An Egyptian brown quartzite head of Tutankhamen as the God Amen. Estimate on request. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.

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Remarkable Roman marble hounds lead Bonhams Antiquities sale

June 4, 2019, 4:00 am

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Lot 151. Two Roman marble figures of Celtic hounds, Circa 2nd Century A.D.; 74.5 and 68cm high respectively. Estimate £ 200,000 - 300,000€ 230,000 - 340,000. Photo: Bonhams.

LONDON.- Two Roman marble figures of Celtic hounds found in the ruins of the villa of Emperor Antoninus Pius (ruled AD 138-161), which later formed part of the outstanding collection of the renowned and influential English aesthete Thomas Hope, lead Bonhams Antiquities sale in London on Wednesday 3 July. Offered at auction for the first time since 1911, they are estimated at £200,000-300,000.

Thomas Hope (1769-1831), artist, novelist, and historian was one of the most renowned art collectors of his day. At the age of 18 he embarked on an extensive Grand Tour, and drawing on his family’s vast wealth, indulged his passion for classical art. He acquired most of his astounding collection of ancient Roman marble sculptures in Italy between 1795-1803. It is regarded as one of the finest collections of Roman sculpture ever formed in Britain.

The Celtic hounds would have been one of Hope’s earliest purchases, and had pride of his place in the Statue Gallery in his London town-house in Duchess Street Marylebone from 1804-1849. He decorated each room in the house in the style of the countries that he had visited, and opened it up to serve as a semi-public museum.

Bonhams head of Antiquities, Francesca Hickin said, “The hounds were found in 1795, in the ruins of Antoninus Pius’s villa in Laurentum, the coastal city where Antoninus – like many Emperors before and after him – went to escape the pressures of Imperial Rome. They were probably acquired by Thomas Hope very soon after their discovery, and were certainly highly prized by this most discerning of collectors. They are remarkable, rare, and very fine, survivors from the 2nd century AD with impeccable provenance, and I expect a lot of interest from collectors.”

Lot 151. Two Roman marble figures of Celtic hounds, Circa 2nd Century A.D.; 74.5 and 68cm high respectively. Estimate £ 200,000 - 300,000 (€ 230,000 - 340,000). Photo: Bonhams.

The male Celtic hound seated upright with his head tilted upwards, wearing a studded collar, the slender powerful body with visibly defined rib-cage, shown resting with his tail between his legs on a rock-like base, the head, neck, and part of the left foreleg restored in the 18th Century; together with a seated Celtic greyhound bitch wearing a wide studded collar, the slender body naturalistically carved, with her right foreleg raised, her haunches and left paw resting on an integral arch-shaped base, her muzzle, ears, part of the neck and the lower half of the raised right foreleg restored in the 18th Century.

Provenance: Found among the ruins of Antoninus Pius' Laurentine Villa, by Prince Chigi, at Torre Paterno, circa 1795-6, as recorded by C. M. Westmacott, British galleries of Painting and sculpture, London, 1824.
Thomas Hope (1769-1831) collection, acquired in Italy circa 1795-1803; and thence by descent to Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton-Hope (1866-1941).
Originally displayed as a pair in the statue gallery, Duchess Street, London, 1804-1849. The hounds were subsequently moved to Deepdene House, Dorking, Surrey, where Adolf Michaelis recorded them in the Gallery of the Entrance Hall.
Catalogue of the Celebrated Collection of Greek, Roman & Egyptian Sculpture and Ancient Greek Vases, Being a Portion of The Hope Heirlooms; Christie's, London, 23-24 July 1917, lots 226 and 227.
Purchased from the above sale by a UK collector, for 720 gns and 280 gns each; and thence by descent to the present owner.
Arachne no. 50036.

Published: T. D. Fosbrooke, The Outlines of Statues in the Possession of Mr Hope, (never published), for which illustrations were furnished by T. D. Fosbrooke, London, 1813, pl. 4.
C. M. Westmacott, British galleries of Painting and Sculpture, London, 1824, 'Mr Hope's Collection', p. 223.
A. Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge, 1882, p. 287, nos. 21 and 23.
G. Lippold in P. Arndt and W. Amelung, Photographische Einzelaufnahmen antiker Sculpturen, 1893-1943, EA 4866 and 4867.
G. Rodenwaldt, Jahrbuch des deutschen archäologischen Instituts, 48, 1933, p. 204-5.
C. C. Vermeule, 'Notes on a New Edition of Michaelis: Ancient Marbles in Great Britain', AJA 59, 1955, p. 134.
G. Waywell, The Lever and Hope Sculptures, Berlin, 1986, p. 90, nos 36 & 37, pl. 54.

Other highlights include:

Lot 139. A Roman marble satyr, circa 1st century A.D.; 49cm high. Estimate: £50,000-70,000 (€ 56,000 - 79,000). Photo: Bonhams.

His muscular torso contorted, with pronounced iliac crest and defined abdominal muscles, with his left thigh raised and left arm drawn behind his back, the head upward-gazing and twisted to the right, with thick wavy locks swept away from the forehead and falling loosely onto the neck, his face with angular features and high cheekbones, his heavily-lidded eyes creased at the outer corners, the lips slightly parted.

Provenance: Gerard Moerdyk (1890-1958) collection, South Africa, acquired late 1940s; and thence by descent to the present owner.

Note: Statues of satyrs were often depicted in motion, whether dancing, brawling or pursuing nymphs. The contortions of the present lot suggest the satyr was part of a group depicted in the midst of a fight. For another example of a fighting satyr in a dramatic pose, with his head and left thigh similarly raised, see M. Moltesen, Imperial Rome II. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, 2002, no. 96.

Gerard Moerdyk remains one of the most prominent Afrikaans architects, particularly known for his design of the famous Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. Alongside his passion for architecture, Moerdyk developed a keen interest in the ancient world. His admiration for Egyptian temple architecture, which he considered to symbolise African greatness, is thought to have influenced the Voortrekker Monument, with his 1932 sketches bearing resemblance to the Temple of Horus at Edfu. His interest in archaeology was further cultivated by his numerous trips to Italy between 1946-1949. According to family tradition, on one such trip his longstanding artistic collaborator, Romano Romanelli, Professor of Sculpture at the Italian Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, advised Moerdyk to purchase the satyr, believed to have been discovered in the Roman Forum.

Lot 146. A Roman marble head of Minerva, circa 2nd century A.D.; 42.5cm high. Estimate: £40,000-60,000 (€ 45,000 - 68,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Wearing a Corinthian helmet decorated with rams' heads on the cheek pieces pushed back from her face, exposing her waved hair, centrally-parted and drawn towards the nape of her neck, her head turned slightly to the right, her articulated almond-shaped eyes with defined lids and her lips slightly parted.

Provenance: with Charles Ede Limited, London.
Private collection, UK, acquired from the above in June 1993.

Note: This head of the goddess of war is derived from a Greek original dating to the late 5th-early 4th Century B.C, the so-called Giustiniani type, after a full-length statue in the Vatican Museums, acc. no. 2223. For another head of Athena, found in the Stoa of Attalos, see National Museum, Athens, acc. no. 3004.

Lot 315. A Roman marble Archaistic head of a youthful male, circa 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.; 28.6cm high. Estimate: £ 30,000 - 50,000 (€ 34,000 - 56,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Possibly a god, his short hair arranged in six symmetrical rows of tight snail curls, the face frontal and symmetrical, with deeply-set almond-shaped eyes, prominent nose and pert lips.

Provenance: Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 14 May 1973, lot 186.
Gottfried and Helga Hertel collection, Cologne, acquired at the above sale.

Note: From the 2nd Century B.C. onwards, sculptors harked back to styles of the Archaic period to add a sense of prestige and venerability to their work. The adoption of archaising styles grew in popularity during the 1st Century B.C., reflecting the increasing political and cultural dominance of the Roman Empire and, with it, the prominence of Romans as the primary patrons of Greek art (C. Hemingway, 'Retrospective Styles in Greek and Roman Sculpture', Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York, 2000).

In this work, the sculptor references Archaic sculpture of the 5th to early 4th Centuries B.C. in the rendering of the curled coiffure, heavy-lidded eyes and high cheekbones. For a similarly archaising male head dating to c. 75 A.D., see C. Vermeule, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America, California, 1981, no. 157

Thomas Hope (1769-1831)
Thomas Hope was one of the great tastemakers of Regency England. Born into a family of merchant bankers in Amsterdam, he inherited immense wealth on the death of his father with which he built astonishing collections of paintings, sculpture, antique objects and books. His extravagent residence in Duchess Street, Marylebone, London became a magnet for selected visitors keen to learn from his decorative flair. He juxtaposed Classical and modern styles in an entirely new way, and drew extensively on the Egyptian, Greek and Roman influences he had imbibed on his Grand Tour as a young man. He also designed furniture specifically for the house. His books on decoration and furniture were the first of their kind, and he became famous in aristocratic circles as a master of interior design. At his magnificent country seat at Deepdene in Surrey, the beau monde mingled with scholars and men of letters. In 2008 The Victoria and Albert Museum in London dedicated an exhibition, Thomas Hope & the Regency style, to his life, work and influence.

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Tianminlou – A Small History of Chinese Ceramics

June 4, 2019, 6:23 am

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Unknown Delights from the Tianminlou Collection
Regina Krahl

The Tianminlou collection, assembled by Ko Shih Chao, better known as S.C. Ko (1911 – 1992), can be considered one of the most remarkable private assemblages of Chinese ceramics. It is most famous for porcelains from the Jingdezhen kilns of the Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and its name does first of all evoke blue-and-white porcelain – a section that is particularly strong and representative. A fine selection of its Ming and Qing porcelains was recently sold in these rooms, 3rd April 2019. S.C. Ko was not only a discerning collector, but above all had himself an excellent understanding of the subject, without which the collection could not have achieved its high standard. He was chairman of the honourable Min Chiu Society of collectors and actively involved in the affairs of all the relevant Hong Kong museums, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Art Gallery of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Fung Ping Shan Museum of Hong Kong University, and was of course a generous lender to exhibitions. The Tianminlou name became internationally known through the special exhibition of the collection at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1987, for which a superbly produced bi-lingual two-volume publication was produced, Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection,with contributions by John Ayers, Julian Thompson, Laurence C.S. Tam and S.C. Ko himself.

In generously subsidizing it, so that it could at the time be offered at an unusually low price, S. C. Ko assured its wide distribution. The educational aspect and the wish to share his collection with a large audience were always matters of great importance to him. He always made his pieces readily available to the scholarly community, to students as well as fellow collectors, to be physically handled, studied and discussed. The wide range of the group of ceramics offered here may come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Tianminlou name, as most pieces have not been published before; but it reflects the collector’s broad interest in the subject.

It leads us through the best part of China’s ceramic history, starting with an iconic type of vessel from the early stoneware production, in the Jin dynasty (265 – 420), of the Yue kilns in Zhejiang, a chicken-head ewer. The colourful sancai wares made in north China are represented by examples from the Tang (618-907), Liao (907-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) periods. Most of the major Song (960-1279) kilns are included, with good examples of white wares from the Ding (Hebei), Huozhou (Shanxi) and Jingdezhen (Jiangxi) manufactories, celadons from Longquan (Zhejiang), Jun wares from Henan and a brown bowl from Yaozhou (Shaanxi). An exceptional piece of the Yuan dynasty is the blue-and-white spouted bowl with its lively painting of water fowl and lotus plants, striking in shape and delightful in its decoration. The Ming and Qing dynasties are represented with blue-and-white, monochrome and various polychrome styles; only three shall be mentioned here: the square wucai jar of Jiajing mark and period (1522-1566), the pair of yellow saucers of Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735) and the pair of little lotus-bouquet dishes in blue-and-white, of Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795).

The hall name, Tianminlou, that was chosen for the collection, is deeply anchored in China’s classical literature. It can be traced to a short autobiographical piece by Tao Yuanming (365-427), one of China’s most revered poets, where he describes a ‘Mr Five Willow Trees’ as living the Daoist ideal of a poor but free life, keen to increase his knowledge, but uninterested in personal recognition, fame, or even just approval of society. In the last line of his story Tao asks ‘Is he perhaps one of Emperor Getian’s people?’ (‘Getian … min …’), Emperor Getian being a mythical ruler of a prehistoric past marked by simplicity and happiness. Ge is the modern transcription of the family name Ko and Tianminlou only makes sense in combination with this family name, lou denominates a lofty pavilion. ‘[S.C.] Ko Tianminlou’ (Getian min lou) may thus perhaps be understood as ‘The Pavilion of One of Getian’s People’.

Lot 1. A 'Yue' celadon chicken-head ewer, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 13.8 cm, 5 3/8 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Lot sold 87,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body rising from a low foot to a waisted neck with galleried rim, flanked by a chicken-head spout opposite a curved handle ending with a dragon head biting the mouthrim, the shoulder further set with two lug handles.

Note: Chicken-head ewers are perhaps the most distinctive and representative ceramic vessels of the tumultuous, yet innovative period between the Han (206 BC to AD 220) and Tang dynasties (618-907). Production began in the Jin dynasty (265-420) by the southern Yue kilns of Zhejiang province, but was soon copied by other southern manufactories and later adopted by northern celadon kilns.

The wide use of such ceramics, including the tombs of emperors, reflects the auspicious symbolism of the chicken motif. Chickens were believed to have the power to exorcise evils, cure diseases and have other beneficent effects. Images of chickens were therefore painted and real chickens or replicas in cast metal or carved wood were hung on front doors.

Compare a slightly larger chicken-head ewer recovered from Yuyao city, Ningbo, illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 4, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 182; another sold in our London rooms, 21st June 1983, lot 168; and a third from the collection of Dr Ip Yee, sold in these rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 150. See also six chicken-head ewers of various sizes, but with undecorated handles, included in the exhibition Animal Farm in Yue Ware, Uragami Sōkyu-dō, Tokyo, 1992, cat. nos 84-89.

Lot 2. An amber-glazed figure of a standing groom, Tang dynasty (618-907); 23.6 cm, 9 1/4 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Lot sold 87,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

depicted wearing a cap picked out in black pigment, standing on a square base with his hands clasped beneath the long sleeves of his belted robe, his garments applied with an amber-chestnut glaze, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, 25th October 1975, lot 119.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 12th/13th May 1976, lot 12.

Note: Sancai models of grooms of this delicately modelled style were created to accompany figures of horses, usually the celebrated Ferghana horses treasured at the Tang court. For a Tang white-glazed horse and groom group, see The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 6, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 81.

See also a groom of this type, described as Western Turkic, in the Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Schloss Collection is illustrated by E. Schloss, Foreigners in Ancient Chinese Art, vol. II, New York, 1969, pl. 10a. A figure modelled in a similar pose, was sold in our New York rooms, 4th June 1982, lot 112; a slightly larger one was sold in these rooms, 30th March 1978, lot 119; and another was sold in our London rooms, 13th/14th November 1972, lot 285.

Lot 3. A sancai'foliate' vase, Tang dynasty (618-907); w. 13 cm, 5 1/8 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Lot sold 87,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body rising from a short foot to a waisted neck and everted galleried rim, the lower body applied with three upright curled leaves each detailed with carved veins, splashed overall with green, ochre and straw-coloured glazes, the splashes falling in streaks and stopping irregularly to reveal the buff-coloured body.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in the early 1990s.

Lot 4. A sancai'chrysanthemum' square dish, Liao dynasty (907-1125); 12.5 cm, 4 7/8 in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 125,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

with everted sides rising from a flat base to a foliate rim, the interior moulded in shallow relief with a large chrysanthemum bloom wreathed in trefoil leaves, the sides divided by ridges into panels, each panel enclosing a flower bloom and floral scrolls, all in chestnut and green glazes reserved on a cream ground, the exterior applied with a chestnut glaze stopping above the base.

Lot 5. An incised sancai'Fish' dish, Liao-Jin dynasty (907-1234); 14.6 cm, 5 3/4 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Lot sold 200,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides supported on a short foot, the interior carved and decorated with a yellow-bordered medallion enclosing a fish swimming among water weeds, all in yellow, cream and brown glazes against a green ground, the underside unglazed.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1983.

Exhibited: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, cat. no. 37.

Lot 6. A pair of small Qingbai lobed dishes, Song dynasty (960-1279); 10.8 cm, 4 1/4 in. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 HKD. Lot sold 60,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each with rounded sides rising from a flat base to a gently flared ten-lobed rim, divided with ridges evenly radiating around the cavetto separating the petals, applied overall save for the base with a blue-tinged transparent glaze.

Lot 7. A rare Huozhou white-glazed stem bowl, Song dynasty(960-1279); 10.8 cm, 4 1/4 in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 250,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

the bowl of compressed globular shape with an incurved rim, supported on a hollow splayed stem with upturned footrim, applied overall save for a ring on the interior with a translucent ivory-coloured glaze with darker teardrops.

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 22nd February 1973, lot 75.
Sotheby's New York, 23rd October 1976, lot 214.
Collection of the British Rail Pension Fund.
Sotheby's London, 12th December 1989, lot 72.

Note: Notable for its lustrous and creamy-white glaze, this stem bowl was likely made at the Huozhou kilns, which was renown for producing fine quality white wares inspired by the celebrated Ding wares of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Located near the town of Chencun, Shanxi province, the kiln complex is believed to be the same mentioned by Cao Zhao in his Gegu yaolun (Essential Criteria of Antiquities) from 1388, where he notes that ‘Peng Junbao copied ancient Ding wares making “waisted” vessels which were very neat. The white ones are similar to Ding wares’ (Kiln Sites of Ancient China. Recent Finds of Pottery and Porcelain, British Museum, London, 1980, p. 102).

White-glazed stem bowls of this unusual form, with a short flaring foot and a slightly incurved rim are rare. Compare a stem bowl of rounded form and the foot with raised ribs, illustrated in Porcelains of Yuan Dynasty Collected by the Palace Museum II, Beijing, 2016, pl. 277, together with an example with flared and lipped rim, pl. 278; and another with a shorter foot, sold in our London rooms, 15th June 1982, lot 222.

Lot 8. A Longquan celadon Ruyi-handled mallet vase, Song dynasty (960-1279); 17 cm, 6 3/4 in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 275,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

of mallet-form flanked by ruyi-shaped handles joined by a raised rib, applied overall with an even sage-green glaze draining to a paler tone at the edges, the knife-pared foot left unglazed and burnt orange in the firing, wood stand.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1985.

Note: Longquan vases of this distinct shape were seldom made with handles in the form of lingzhi, although three related examples are known; one is illustrated in Longquan qingci [Longquan celadon], Beijing, 1966, p. 40; another was sold in these rooms, 14th May 1983, lot 452; and a third was sold in our London rooms, 9th June 1987, lot 182.

This particular form, which was popular in the Song dynasty, is believed to have been inspired by glass vases made in the Middle East, possibly Iran. A glass bottle probably from Nishapur, was recovered at the tomb of the Princess of Chen of the Liao dynasty (907-1125), dating to no later than 1018 and illustrated in Grand View: Special Exhibition of Ju Ware from the Northern Sung Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, p. 121, fig. 2. Furthermore, fragments of glass vases of this form were recovered from the cargo of the Intan shipwreck, which sank off the Indonesian coast, and is believed to date to the Northern Song period.

Lot 9. A Yaozhou persimmon-glazed bowl, NorthernSong dynasty (960-1279); 17 cm, 6 3/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

elegantly potted, of shallow conical form, supported on a neatly cut, slightly splayed foot, covered overall in a glossy persimmon-coloured glaze, the knife-pared foot left unglazed revealing a smooth pale greyish-brown stoneware body.

Best known for their celadon-glazed stonewares, the Yaozhou kilns also made fine stonewares with persimmon glazes, probably inspired by contemporaneous russet-glazed Ding wares. A bowl of similar form from the Muwen Tang collection, included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat no. 86, was sold in our London rooms, 12th April 2003, lot 43; another was sold in our New York rooms, 30th March 2006, lot 39; and a slightly smaller bowl was included in the exhibition The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, cat. no. 56. Compare also a larger persimmon-glazed bowl modelled with straight sides, sold at Christie’s New York, 26th March 2003, lot 211, and again in these rooms, 5th April 2016, lot 2864.

Lot 10. An incised Dingyao cup, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 9.3 cm, 3 5/8 in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 HKD. Lot sold 375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

with rounded sides supported on a neatly knife-pared foot, the interior swiftly incised with a lotus bloom and broad leaves borne on curling stems, the exterior encircled with a carved line around the lower body, applied overall with an ivory-tinged transparent glaze, metal-bound rim.

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 512.

Note: This cup is notable for its confidently carved design on the interior, which accentuates the creamy white glaze. A cup of this type, recovered at the Dingzhou kiln site in Quyang, and now held at the Cultural Relics Institute, Hebei Province, is illustrated in Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pl. 109; two were sold in our London rooms, the first from the Lindberg collection, 12th December 1978, lot 119, and the second from the collection of Carl Kempe, 14th May 2008, lot 244; and a slightly larger example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of Ting Ware White Porcelain, Taipei, 1987, cat. no. 59.

Lot 11. An incised Dingyao 'Lotus lobed-dish, Song dynasty (960-1279); 21.1 cm, 8 1/4 in. Estimate 400,000 — 500,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

with rounded sides rising from a short foot to a gently flared six-lobed rim, the interior decorated with a medallion enclosing a lotus bloom and broad furled leaves borne on curling stems, the cavetto divided with ridges demarcating the petals, applied overall with an ivory-tinged transparent glaze

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London (label).
Collection of Amber Blanco White (1887–1991).
Bonhams London, 16th June 1982, lot 132.

Note: A similar dish from the George Eumorfopoulos collection is illustrated in Robert L. Hobson, The George Eumorfopoulos Collection Catalogue, London, 1926, vol. III, pl. XXVI, fig. C 128; another from the John Hadley Cox collection now in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, is illustrated in George J. Lee, Selected Far Eastern Art in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1970, pl. 36; two were sold in our London rooms, the first, 14th June 1955, lot 133, and the second, 13th December 1983, lot 157; and two further examples were sold at Christie’s New York, 9th November 1978, lot 118, and 17th September 2008, lot 240, respectively.

Lot 12. A Junyao blue-glazed dish, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 9.3 cm, 3 5/8 in. Estimate 250,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 875,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

sturdily potted with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to a flat everted rim, covered overall save for the footring with a milky-blue glaze thinning to a mushroom colour at the rim, the base with three spur marks.

Provenance: John Sparks Ltd, London (label).
Collection of Amber Blanco White (1887-1991).
Bonhams London, 16th June 1982, lot 148.

Note: The shallow and sturdy form of this dish, with a wide everted rim, represents a classic shape of Jun ware produced at kilns in Henan province. One of the ‘Five Classic Wares’ of the Song dynasty, these wares are known for their ravishing blue glazes, which were not achieved from pigment but from an optical illusion where minute spherules of glass in the glaze scattered blue light. Unlike the other classic wares of the Song dynasty, the porous and thick body of Jun ware was best suited for simple forms, such as this charming dish.

Two slightly smaller dishes in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, are illustrated in Selection of Jun Ware. the Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2013, pls 18 and 19; two slightly larger dishes were sold in our London rooms, the first from the collection of Edward T. Chow, published in Basil Gray, Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1952, pl. 84, sold 16th December 1980, lot 272, and the second, 10th December 1991, lot 133; and another dish was sold in our London rooms, 10th December 1991, lot 133.

Compare also two dishes that were fired on five spurs, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in A Panorama of Ceramics in the Collection of the National Palace Museum. Chün Ware, Taipei, 1999, pls 54 and 55; a dish in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 495; and a further dish from the Sir Percival David collection, now in the British Museum, London, published in Illustrated Catalogue of Ru, Guan, Jun, Guangdong and Yixing Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1999, pl. A66.

Lot 13. A Junyao purple-spashed bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 11 cm, 4 3/8 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 937,500 HKD. © Sotheby's

with deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to a gently incurved rim, the exterior liberally splashed with large vibrant patches of purple, applied overall with a greyish-blue glaze save for the foot and an unglazed circle on the interior.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1986, lot 6.

Note: This bowl is remarkable for its dramatic deep-purple splash on the exterior, boldly applied to form an undulating pattern that moves through the sides of the vessel. The variegated splashes stand against an attractive light blue glaze, which covers the entire vessel save for the footrim and a small area on the interior. The latter suggests that this piece was fired together with another smaller vessel that stood in its interior.

A bowl with a similar bold pattern on the exterior, from the collection of Mrs Alfred Clarke, now in the Matuoka Art Museum, Tokyo, included in the Museum’s Exhibition of Famous Pieces of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain from the Matsuoka Collection, Japan, 1983, cat. no. 37, was sold in our London rooms, 25th March 1975, lot 93; and another from the collection of Stephen D. Winkworth, was sold in our London rooms, 25th April 1947, lot 203. See also a bowl of similar form but lacking the splashes, in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 7, 1981, col. pl. 71; and another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, published in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 39 (left).

Lot 14. A Ge-type lobed dish, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 12.8 cm, 5 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

the rounded sides rising from a gently tapered foot to a five-lobed rim, covered overall in a soft grey glaze suffused with a network of black crackles, the glaze stopping neatly at the footring.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th November 1985, lot 40.

Note: A similar dish from the R.F.A. Riesco and the Flint collections, was sold at Christie’s London, 28th February 1977, lot 123; a round dish, from the collection of W.W. Winkworth, was sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1972, lot 133; and another was sold in these rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 719.

For the prototype of this form and glaze, see several petal-lobed dishes of various sizes, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Selection of Ge Ware, Beijing, 2017, pls 42-46 and 63.

Conpare also a Ming dynasty Xuande mark and period dish, of circular form, now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2008, pl. 76.

Lot 15. A Longquan celadon 'Lotus' bow, Song dynasty (960-1279); 21.1 cm, 8 1/4 in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Lot sold 68,750 HKD. © Sotheby's

with deep rounded sides supported on a short foot, the exterior decorated with lotus petals, covered overall save for the footring in a sage-green glaze.

Lot 16. A Longquan celadon jar, Song dynasty (960-1279); 21.1 cm, 8 1/4 in. Estimate 120,000 — 180,000 HKD. Lot sold 87,500 HKD. © Sotheby's

the ovoid body rising from a recessed base to a stepped shoulder and surmounted by a wide upright neck, the shoulder set with five upright tubular spouts, covered overall in an olive-green glaze.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1984.

Lot 17. A blue and white 'Egrets and Lotus' pouring bowl, yi, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 16.5 cm, 6 1/2 in. Estimate 350,000 — 450,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

the rounded sides supported on a flat base, set on one side with an outward flaring spout above a fine coiled band of clay attached as a lug underneath, the interior painted with a medallion enclosing three egrets underneath tall stalks issuing a lotus blossom and large furled leaves, surrounded by a classic scroll on the cavetto, the exterior encircled with lotus lappets, the rim and base unglazed.

Acquired in Japan, 2nd July 1990.

Exhibited: Blue and White Porcelain from the Tianminlou Collection, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1992, cat. no. 15.
Tianminlou qinghua ci tezhan [Special exhibition of blue and white porcelain from the Tianminlou collection], Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 1996.

Literature: Blue and White Porcelain from the Collection of Tianminlou Foundation, Shanghai, 1996, pl. 17.
Zhongguo meishu fenlei quanji. Zhongguo taoci quanji [The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics. Yuan], Shanghai, 2000, vol. 11, pl. 215.

Note: Known as yi, bowls of this form appears to have been used as pouring vessels together with yuhuchun vases. Chiumei Ho in ‘Social Life Under the Mongols as Seen in Ceramics’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 59, 1994-95, p. 44, notes that in archaeological contexts they are often found together with such vases and wine cups. This pairing is also depicted in a wall painting from the tomb of Zhang Andabuhua and his wife, which has been dated to 1269 A.D., and is illustrated in the catalogue to the exhibition The World of Khubilai Khan. Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, p. 83, fig. 115.

Bowls of this form were probably inspired by metal prototypes, such as the silver pouring bowl excavated together with a yuhuchun ping from a hoard in Hefei, Anhui province, illustrated ibid., p. 287, figs 330 and 331. These bowls were also used also by Mongols in Iran, as exemplified by the bowl painted in the Enthronement Scene, part of the album Jami al-tavarikh(Compendium of Chronicles), which was commissioned between the reigns of Ghazan (r. 1295-1304) and his brother, Öljeitü (r. 1304-1316), a version of which is in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and included in the exhibition The Legacy of Genghis Khan. Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2002, cat. no. 19, fig. 84.

Spouted bowls painted with this motif of egrets in a lotus pond are rare, although a bowl with a similar motif painted in underglaze red, from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, pl. 632, was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 34.

Compare also a blue and white pouring bowl painted with mandarin ducks from the collection of David L. Nathan, now in the National Gallery of Victoria, sold in our London rooms, 15th May 1962, lot 55; one painted with a hare in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, cat. no. 1:22; and another with two phoenixes excavated at Siwa village, Yaxia town, Gansu province, and now in the Lintao County Museum, included in the exhibition Splendors in Smalt: Art of Yuan Blue-and-white Porcelain, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2012, cat. no. 42.

Lot 18. A wucai'Baxijian and lotus' jar, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 12 cm, 4 3/4 in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 437,500 HKD. © Sotheby's

of square baluster form surmounted by an upright neck, the exterior painted with eight lotus blossoms borne on a meandering leafy scroll, each lotus beneath one of the bajixiang emblems, all between a ruyi-border at the shoulders and lappets encircling the foot, the neck collared by a key-fret border, the recessed base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark within a double-square, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th November 1986, lot 213.

Exhibited: Chinese Porcelain in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 72.

Literature: Liu Liang-yu, A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 4: Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 204 (bottom).

Note: Jars of this square form decorated with such vibrant designs were an innovation of the Jiajing period that displays the creative freedom enjoyed by potters active in this period. The colourful wucai palette, allowed potters to create increasingly complex and colourful motifs, as cobalt blue was used for colouring and not only for delineating outlines as in the doucai (‘dove-tailed colours’) colour scheme. While Jiajing potters did not develop completely new colours or decorative techniques, they creatively expanded the range of styles and colour schemes to create bolder designs.

Compare three jars of this type sold in our London rooms, the first, from the collection of Stephen D. Winkworth, 25th April 1933, lot 347, the second with cover, from the collection of Lord Hollenden, 27th November 1973, lot 297, and the third of slightly larger size, from the Joseph M. Morpurgo collection, 11th May 2016, lot 171; two jars sold at Christie’s London, 21st April 1986, lots 412 and 413, the former sold again in our London rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 309; and a further example sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 5th/6th September 1997, lot 1051.

This motif continued to be popular in the succeeding Wanli reign (r. 1573-1620), when it was used on jars of globular shape; see for example a Wanli mark and period jar in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 4-23; and another, from the collection of Kwong Yee Che Tong, included in the exhibition The Fame of Flame. Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2009, cat. no. 107.

Lot 19. A pair of blue and white 'dragon' cups, Qing dynasty, Kangxi perio (1662-1722); 9.6 cm, 3 3/4 in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 100,000 HKD. © Sotheby's

each of ogee form, the interior decorated around the cavetto with two dragons striding among flame wisps, the exterior decorated with cresting waves near the foot, the base inscribed with an apocryphal six-character Chenghua mark within a double circle

Provenance: Acquired from Xinzhong Co., Hong Kong, 30th November 1974.

Note: Compare a pair of cups of this form and design, but the exterior left undecorated, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 17th January 1989, lot 616; and a cup, attributed to the 18th century, sold at Christie’s New York, 16th September 2011, lot 1545.

Lot 20. A fine Ming-style white-glazed anhua-decorated bowl, Mark and period of Kangxi (1662-1722); 14.9 cm, 5 7/8 in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 687,500 HKD. © Sotheby's

with deep rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a gently flared rim, the exterior decorated in the anhua technique with six stylised lotus blooms borne on an undulating foliate scroll, above a stylised pomegranate border above the foot and a classic scroll encircling the foot, the interior with a medallion enclosing a gnarled peach tree bearing nine ripe fruits, the base inscribed with a reign mark in underglaze blue within a double circle.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15th May 1990, lot 67.

Note: This lotus scroll motif on this piece is rendered in the subtle anhua technique, or hidden decoration, a complicated and not yet fully understood manner of decoration that involved impressing the design into a layer of slip. First developed in the Song period (960-1279), this technique gained popularity during the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644), particularly in the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r.1403-1424), whose direct patronage of Buddhism also led to a renewed interest in monochrome white wares. The anhua technique was mastered in the Kangxi reign, with vessels displaying increasingly thin walls and sophisticated motifs. Porcelain vessels decorated in this technique required to be handled and inspected closely, as the motif is visible only when light shines through it.

In his strive to gain the influence and respect needed to rule over the predominantly Han-Chinese elite, the Kangxi Emperor took a keen interest in China’s history and culture and revived industries that had ceased production at the end of the Ming dynasty. Under the Kangxi Emperor’s patronage, the imperial kiln porcelain factory at Jingdezhen resumed production of imperial wares. The predominant aim for the Emperor appears to have been to regain standards of quality that had long been lost, and to employ ancient techniques in a new way. This bowl exemplifies this trend as it clearly references early Ming porcelain through its glaze and decoration. A white-glazed bowl from the Yongle period, decorated with a floral scroll, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reigns of Hongwu and Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, pl. 248.

A closely related pair of bowls was sold in these rooms, 17th November 1975, lot 144; another was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26th September 1989, lot 690; a slightly smaller bowl was sold in our London rooms, 1st/2nd April 1974, lot 261; and another was sold in our New York rooms, 15th June 1983, lot 326, and at Christie’s New York, 21st September 2004, lot 261

Lot 21. A persimon-glazed tripo incense burner, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 12 cm, 4 3/4 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 HKD. Lot sold 250,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

the compressed globular body raised on three cabriole legs to a short waisted neck with two upright bamboo-form handles, the exterior with a raised fillet below the neck, covered overall save for a circle on the base with a glossy persimmon glaze, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th May 1978, lot 539.

Lot 22. A pair of famille-verte'Mythical Beast' vases, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 12 cm, 4 3/4 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each with a baluster body divided into four bracket lobes, rising from a splayed foot to a tall neck, each lobe painted with a panel enclosing mythical beasts in a garden or scenes depicting flowers and birds, all between diapered bands interspersed with cartouches, the neck further decorated with auspicious emblems, wood stands.

Lot 23. A small coral-red glazed vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 10.8 cm, 4 1/4 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 43,750 HKD. © Sotheby's.

the baluster body surmounted by a cylindrical neck and galleried rim, the exterior covered with a rich coral-red glaze, the interior and the base left white.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 26th November 1976, lot 156.

Lot 24. A small coral-red glazed waterpot, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century; 8 cm, 3 1/8 in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 HKD. Lot sold 125,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

with irregular sides rising from four short legs to an incurved rim with an undulating outline, the exterior decorated in relief with gnarled stems resembling coral branches, wood stand.

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son Ltd, London, 19th November 1976.

Note: Compare a similar coral-red glazed waterpot sold in our Paris and London rooms, 14th June 2007, lot 62; and 5th November 2014, lot 272 respectively.

Lot 25. A teadust-glazed gourd-form waterpot, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century; 8 cm, 3 1/8 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 400,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

of eight-lobed globular form resembling a gourd, surmounted by a metal cover with a stem-like finial, wood stand.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 5th June 1977.

Lot 26. A teadust-glazed 'Double gourd' washer, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century; 10.1 cm, 4 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 250,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

modelled in the form of two conjoined gourds, decorated with coiling tendrils around the rim, covered with a teadust glaze thinning to brown at the rim and raised edges, wood stand.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 5th June 1977.

Lot 27. A celadon-glazed vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 17.5 cm, 6 7/8 in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 HKD. Lot sold 187,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

the tapered body surmounted by angled shoulders and a tall columnar neck, the shoulders decorated with eight petal motifs, the body divided into eight panels with vertical lines, covered overall save for the footring in a pale green glaze.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th May 1978, lot 517.

Note: A vase of similar form and proportions and carved on the shoulders with petals, but with a slightly flaring rim, in the Fondation Baur, Geneva, is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A334; and a slightly larger one, from the collection of Hon. Mountstuart William Elphinstone, now part of the Sir Percival David collection in the British Museum, London, is published on the Museum’s website, accession no. PDF,B.569. Compare also a much larger vase of this type, covered in a lavender glaze, from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 520.

Lot 28. A teadust-glazed incense burner, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 11.7 cm, 4 5/8 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 HKD. Lot sold 375,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

of bombé form supported on a short foot, set with two loop handles, the base with a wide unglazed ring covered with a dark brown slip, wood stand.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24th/25th May 1979, lot 558.

Note: A censer of this type but with a shorter neck, in the Zhuyuetang collection, was included in the exhibition Mille Ans de Monochromes, Fondation Baur, Geneva, 2018, cat. no. 152; another in the Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt am Main, is illustrated in Gunhild Gabbert, Chinesisches Porzellan, Frankfurt am Main, 1977, pl. 418; and a third of slightly larger size was sold in our London rooms, 2nd December 1997, lot 233.

Lot 29. A pair of yellow-glazed saucer dishes, Yongzheng mark and period (1722-1735); 10.9 cm, 4 1/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,937,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each with rounded sides supported on a short foot, covered overall in an egg-yolk yellow glaze, the white base inscribed in underglaze blue with a reign mark within a double circle, wood stands.

Provenance: Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980).
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 509.

Exhibited: The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 140.

Note: A slightly larger Yongzheng mark and period dish of this type, from the collection of Brian S. McElney, now in the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, was included in the Museum’s Inaugural Exhibition, Bath 1993, vol. 1, cat. no. 205; two dishes were sold in these rooms, one from the Hall family collection, 2nd May 2000, lot 549, and the other, 11th April 2008, lot 2976; a pair was sold in our London rooms, 18th June 1985, lot 173; and a dish from the collection of Paul Manheim, was sold at Christie’s New York, 20th March 1997, lot 126.

Lot 30. A pair of famille rose'Bajixiang' bowls, Seal marks and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 10.7 cm, 4 1/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 250,000 HKD. Lot sold 625,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each with rounded sides rising from a short foot to a slightly flared rim, the exterior decorated with the beribboned bajixiang, the eight emblems arranged in pairs, all below a key-fret band and above ruyi heads in iron red, the foot encircled by a band of blue-enamelled dots against a yellow ground, wood stands.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 2nd October 1976.

Note: A pair of bowls of this type from the collection of Irwin Laughlin, was sold in our New York rooms, 21st November 1973, lot 566; two pairs were sold in these rooms, 15th May 1990, lot 241, and 30th April 1991, lot 108; a further pair was sold in our London rooms, 31st October 1974, lot 322; and a bowl from the collection of Mulin Qian, was sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2012, lot 316.

Bowls of this design were made from the Qianlong (1736-1795) through the Xuantong (1909-1911) reigns. Compare a pair of Jiaqing (1796-1820) mark and period examples from the Jingguantang collection, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, Chinese Ceramics IV, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 181; and a Daoguang (1821-1850) mark and period bowl with cover, sold in these rooms, 3rd/4th December 2015, lot 428.

Lot 31. A pair of Ming style blue and white 'Lotus Bouquet' saucer dishes, Seal marks and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 9.3 cm, 3 5/8 in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Unsold. © Sotheby's.

each with rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a lipped rim, the interior painted with a medallion enclosing a beribboned bouquet of blooming lotuses, arrowheads and other water weeds, the exterior with a composite floral scroll, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark.

Note: Dishes of this small size, painted with this elegant motif of a luxuriant lotus bouquet and the well undecorated are more commonly known with Yongzheng mark and of the period, such as a dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 32; a pair sold twice in our New York rooms, 11th May 1978, lot 288 and 5th May 1979, lot 5; and a dish sold in these rooms, 8th November 1982, lot 156.

The lotus bouquet, with its beribboned cluster of lotus blooms, leaves and water weeds, first appeared on blue and white porcelain in the Yongle period (1403-1424) and was revived in the early Qing dynasty. A Yongle dish painted with this design, and with a flower scroll on the well, from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 2, 1994, pl. 665, was sold at Christie’s London, 4th June 1973, lot 106, and in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 37.

Lot 32. A pair of blue and white 'Floral' bowls, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 18.2 cm, 7 1/8 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each with deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the exterior decorated with five large floral blooms borne on meandering leafy scrolls.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong in 1979.

Lot 33. A doucai 'Bajixiang' cup, Shendetang hall mark, Qing dynasty, Daoguang period(1821-1850); 8.5 cm, 3 3/8 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 18,750 HKD. © Sotheby's.

with deep rounded sides supported on a short foot, the exterior decorated with lotus scrolls below beribboned bajixiang emblems and a border enclosing bats and clouds, underglaze-blue Shendetang zhi hall mark.

Lot 34. A yellow-ground famille-rose sgraffiato 'Medallion' bowl, Seal mark and period ofDaoguang(1821-1850); 15.1 cm, 6 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 HKD. Lot sold 162,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

painted on the exterior with four medallions of seasonal landscape scenes, each painted in enamels of famille-rose and grisaille, all reserved on a yellow sgraffiato ground picked out with feathery scrolls and enamelled with multi-coloured floral strapwork, the interior painted with a stylised octagonal rosette highlighted in gilt.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 19th May 1980.

Note: A pair of Daoguang mark and period bowls of this design, in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, was included in the Museum’s exhibition The Wonders of the Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 102; and single bowl in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain: The Ch’ing Dynasty (1644-1912), London, 1951, pl. CXIII. Further examples were sold at auction; a pair from the Meiyintang collection, was sold in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 52; and two pairs were sold in our London rooms, the first from the collection of B.C. Tattenhall, 12th December 1989, lot 432, and the second, 12th May 2010, lot 181.

Lot 35. A blue and white 'Three Frieds of Winter' bowl, Seal mark and period of Daoguang (1821-1850); 13.5 cm, 5 1/4 in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 250,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

with deep rounded sides supported on a low foot, the exterior painted with the 'Three Friends of Winter', prunus, bamboo and pine, the interior with stylised clouds forming a vajra medallion.

Note: A closely related pair of bowls was sold at Christie’s London, 16th April 1980, lot 148, and again in these rooms, 20th May 1981, lot 701, and probably the same pair also sold in these rooms, 15th November 1983, lot 244; a bowl was sold in these rooms, 2nd May 1995, lot 82; and a further example from the Yangzhitang collection, was sold at Christie’s New York, 20th September 2002, lot 329. For the prototype of this design, see a Kangxi mark and period bowl, reputedly from the Franzero collection, sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 115.

Sotheby's. Tianminlou – A Small History of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong, 30 May 2019

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Getty Museum acquires Veit Stoss Corpus Christi, intends to acquire Wright of Derby painting

June 5, 2019, 2:59 am

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Corpus Christi (Face Detail), about 1490-1500, wood, by Veit Stoss (1447 –1533).

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today its intent to acquire Two Boys with a Bladder, about 1769-70, a painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, which has not been on public view since the 18th century and was previously unknown to scholars. The Museum also announced the acquisition of Corpus Christi, about 1490-1500, a small-scale wooden sculpture depicting the crucified body of Christ by Veit Stoss.

“These two works of art offer exceptional opportunities to enrich our collections,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “The striking depiction of the crucified Christ represents a rare opportunity to acquire a masterwork from the great era of early Renaissance German sculpture. It joins our growing collection of late-Medieval and early-Renaissance sculpture and decorative arts, complementing the manuscripts and paintings collections, to offer a more complete picture of the visual culture of the period.

“Two Boys with a Bladder is a masterpiece that counts among Joseph Wright of Derby’s most accomplished nocturnal subjects and reflects the experimental interests of artists and scientists of the Enlightenment,” continued Potts. “Should we obtain the necessary export license from England, the painting will join two other works by the artist at the Getty, adding a completely new and engaging note to our 18th-century paintings collection.”

Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, about 1490-1500, by Veit Stoss, depicts the crucified body of Christ following the traditional representation of Jesus of Nazareth nailed to a Latin cross at his hands and feet. His head, lowered slightly toward his right shoulder, bears the woven crown of thorns. His right side bears the wound left after Longinus pierced Christ’s chest to ensure he was dead. The body is depicted with astonishing realism, emphasizing the bodily stress and physical pain caused by the crucifixion. The small scale of this Corpus Christi (it is 13 inches tall) and the care with which the details were carved on both the front and back of the figure indicate that it was intended for private devotion, its patron being able to hold it for worship.

One of the most important German sculptors of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Stoss, who was also an engraver and painter, excelled at carving wood and was renowned for his work in that medium. The great Florentine art historian Giorgio Vasari described Stoss’s virtuosity as a “miracle in wood.” In the Getty’s Corpus Christi that skill is evident in highly detailed curls of the hair and beard, elaborate drapery folds, the realistic representation of swollen veins in Christ’s legs and arms, the backbone pressing through the flesh, and the deep wrinkles in his feet.

“This Corpus Christi is a rare and striking work of art from the great era of early Renaissance German sculpture, of which Veit Stoss was a master,” said Anne-Lise Desmas, senior curator of sculpture and decorative arts at the Getty Museum. “It is among a handful of surviving examples of the master’s small-scale figures. Comparable in quality to the monumental crucifixions that Stoss created for churches in Krakow (Poland) and Nuremberg (Germany), this statuette stands out for the compelling power of its realistic rendering of the anatomy of the martyred body and its intensely expressive representation of human suffering.”

Corpus Christi, about 1490-1500, wood, by Veit Stoss (1447 –1533).

Two Boys with a Bladder
The acquisition of Two Boys with a Bladder is subject to an export license being granted by the Arts Council of England, which is being applied for on the Getty’s behalf by the seller’s representative, Lowell Libson and Jonny Yarker Ltd., London.

The recently rediscovered painting depicts two young boys, boldly lit by a concealed candle, inflating a pig’s bladder. In the 18th century, animal bladders served as toys, either inflated and tossed like balloons or filled with dried peas and shaken like rattles. While bladders appeared frequently in 17th-century Dutch painting they were depicted less frequently in 18th-century Britain. It was a motif that Wright made his own; the elaborate costumes that the boys wear are of the artist’s own invention, in the style of British “fancy pictures.” The dramatic pictorial effect created by the concentrated candle light within a dark interior setting was in vogue in much of Europe in the late 16th and 17th centuries, but it was not until the 18th century that English artists picked up the theme, Wright being among the first to do so.

The previously unpublished masterpiece is Wright’s earliest known treatment of the subject. Unseen in public since the 18th century, the painting forms part of a sequence of dramatic nocturnal paintings that includes The Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768, National Gallery, London) and An Academy by Lamplight (1770, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT). It was painted as a pendant to Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight, which is now at Kenwood House in London.

“Two Boys with a Bladder is a remarkable discovery that sheds new light on Wright’s work at the most important moment of his career,” said Davide Gasparotto, senior curator of paintings at the Getty Museum.“It is a compelling example from his most important and successful genre, candlelight paintings. Moreover, Wright’s innovative experimentation with the use of metal foil embodies a sense of technical and scientific exploration that typifies the intellectual milieu of the midlands on the eve of the industrial revolution. It is a major addition to the Getty’s holdings of art from the English golden age."

Two Boys with a Bladder, about 1769-70, oil on canvas, by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734– 1797)

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Trois superbes Mandalas du Tibet Oriental-Chine, c. 18° siècle chez Cornette de Saint Cyr

June 5, 2019, 3:52 am

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L'un des trois mandalas in situ dans l'appartement de Josette et Théo Schulmann. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Lot 40. Mandala d'Avalokiteshvara (Avalokitevara), Tibet Oriental-Chine, c. 18° siècle. Détrempe sur toile, 143 x 103 cm. Estimation: €12,000 - €18,000. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr.

L'aspect ekadashamukha (à onze têtes et quatre paires de bras) du bodhisattva de la compassion occupe le centre de la composition, debout au caeur d'un lotus épanoui sur les pétales duquel quatre jina occupent leurs orients respectifs Au-delà du cercle de flammes sont disposés, un lama au sommet de la composition, et douze mahasiddha. On notera le style particulièrement dynamique des représentations de grands acètes aux membres allongés. Encadré sous verre, usures de surfaces.

Provenance: Collection Josette et Théo Schulmann
- Acquis d'une ancienne collection française en juin 1972.

Exposé / Reproduit : « Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya » Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais (Paris) 1977 Reproduit au catalogue de cette exposition rédigé par Gille Béguin, n° 171 p 158,159.

Lot 41. Mandala de Vajrabhairava, Tibet Oriental-Chine, c. 18° siècle. Détrempe sur toile 143 x 103 cm. Estimation: €12,000 - €18,000. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr.

L'aspect de Yamantaka, le gardien de la loi bouddhique est figuré au centre de la composition associéà sa contrepartie féminine Il est entouré de quatre aspects secondaires de lui-même. Au-delà du cercle de flammes sont disposés, un lama au sommet de la composition, et douze mahasiddha. On notera le style particulièrement dynamique des représentations de grands acètes aux membres allongés. Encadré sous verre, usures de surfaces.

Provenance: Collection Josette et Théo Schulmann
- Acquis d'une ancienne collection française en juin 1972.

Lot 42. Mandala de Sarvavid Vairocana, Tibet Oriental-Chine, c. 18° siècle. Détrempe sur toile 143 x 103 cm. Estimation: €12,000 - €18,000. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Le jina omniscient occupant le centre est dans certaines traditions considéré comme une divinité suprême. Il est entouré de multiples divinités dans les diverses enceintes de la structure, et notamment un cercle de seize déesses porteuses d'offrandes. Au-delà du cercle de flammes sont disposés, un lama au sommet de la composition, et dix mahasiddha. On notera le style particulièrement dynamique des représentations de grands acètes aux membres allongés. Encadré sous verre, usures de surfaces.

Provenance: Collection Josette et Théo Schulmann
- Acquis d'une ancienne collection française en juin 1972.

Collection Josette et Théo Schulmann chez Cornette de Saint Cyr Paris, 75008 Paris, le 11 Juin 2019 à 14h30. Experts: Art Tribal & Arts d'Asie : Cabinet Daffos-Estournel -Tel. : +33 6 09 22 55 13 – www.aaoarts.com

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Joslyn Art Museum Acquires a Stunning Still Life By One of the Few Female 17th-Century Dutch Artists

June 5, 2019, 4:14 am

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Maria van Oosterwyck (Dutch, 1630–1693), Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase, ca. 1685, oil on canvas, 31 ¾ x 26 ¼ inches, Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha, NE), Museum purchase with funds from the Ethel S. Abbott Art Endowment Fund and the General Art Endowment Fund, 2019.4. Courtesy of Ben Elwes Fine Art, London. Photo Credit: Matthew Hollow.

OMAHA, NEB.- Joslyn Art Museum today announced the purchase of a seventeenth-century canvas, Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase (about 1685), by Dutch artist Maria van Oosterwyck (1630–1693). One of the few female painters active in Holland in the 1600s, Van Oosterwyck was a master of the floral still life. She enjoyed great success in her lifetime and counted King Louis XIV of France and King William III of England among her patrons. Her elegant floral arrangements set against dark backgrounds were especially admired for their diversity of flora, a characteristic exemplified in Joslyn’s painting.

Taylor J. Acosta, Ph.D., Joslyn’s associate curator of European art noted, “Of the known works by Van Oosterwyck, this painting is one of the most significant in terms of quality and scale. The meticulous attention to detail and the great variety of blooms, as well as the inclusion of insects and shells, make this an excellent example of the genre.” The first floral still life to enter Joslyn’s collection, Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase represents an important step in diversifying the Museum’s collections. “Joslyn is actively working to increase the representation of women artists in its collections, and this addition marks the earliest example in the European collection,” said Dr. Acosta. Held in the same private collection for several generations, Joslyn’s acquisition of Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase, through Ben Elwes Fine Art, London, makes this extraordinary painting accessible to the public for the first time in over a hundred years.

Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase is on view at the Museum in the Scott Gallery (gallery 2) with other Dutch and Flemish paintings, including Rembrandt’s Portrait of Dirck van Os, completed around 1658. Part of the Museum’s collection since 1942, Portrait of Dirck van Os was definitively attributed to the hand of Rembrandt by Ernst van der Wetering, the leading authority on the artist, in 2014. Since that time, new acquisitions have included an interior scene by Gerard Donck and a landscape by Jan van Goyen, both dating from the early 1630s. “In the last few years, the Museum has endeavored to increase and diversify its presentation of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age,” said Jack Becker, Ph.D., Joslyn’s executive director and CEO. “The Van Oosterwyck is the latest work to build out the story of that important period in the history of the Netherlands. Exceptional in and of itself, it also allows us to better contextualize the Rembrandt and provides avenues for discussion of the work of women artists in this period, the genre of still life, the relationship between flower painting and the great tulip speculation in Holland in the seventeenth century, and the use of the picture curtain.”

Indeed, a unique feature of this painting is its frame, which is original and includes metal hooks to which a rod with a silk curtain would have been attached. In seventeenth-century Holland, curtains served to protect paintings from exposure to light, smoke, and accidental scratches. At the same time, the act of drawing back the curtain also added a sense of drama to the unveiling and underscored the importance of the work of art, as it was only to be revealed to a select audience. While the practice of covering paintings with curtains was not uncommon in Holland in the seventeenth century, finding a frame with its original metal hooks like this is rare.

“There are only a few examples of original picture curtain rod attachments on seventeenth-century frames,” noted Hubert Baija, senior conservator of frames and gilding in the department of conservation and research at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. “A study of Dutch frames published in 1984 identifies three such frames, and the work Joslyn purchased is the only other surviving example I have come across during thirty years of tenure at the Rijksmuseum. The Van Oosterwyck painting, which retains its original frame, is a truly unique acquisition for any art museum.”

In the case of Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase, a new rod and green silk curtain have been fabricated according to historical examples (pictured at right). This restoration makes it possible for a contemporary audience to experience the work as it would have originally been displayed. While the restored rod and curtain will not be part of the daily presentation of the work at Joslyn, they will be added on special occasions or for educational purposes.

Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase depicts a loosely arranged bouquet consisting of roses, tulips, apple blossom, morning glory, periwinkle, lilac, iris, carnation, hollyhock, columbine, and larkspur, which appear in different states of bloom in a short, reflective glass vase. Stems and long grasses are interwoven throughout; butterflies, a bumblebee, and other insects settle on several flowers; and five assorted shells and an additional butterfly appear in the foreground on a marble ledge inscribed with the artist’s name. There is a dramatic contrast between foreground and background, as the flowers emerge from deep shadow in highly saturated tones, adding to the illusion of three dimensions.

Maria van Oosterwyck was born in 1630 in Nootdorp, a village near Delft in the south of Holland, the daughter of clergyman Jacob van Oosterwyck. Little is known about her early training. In 1658, she moved to Leiden and in 1660, she relocated to Utrecht, where she likely studied with the still-life painter Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1684). In 1666, she settled in Amsterdam, where she likely encountered the prominent still-life painter Willem van Aelst (1627-1683). Active from the early 1660s until about 1690, Van Oosterwyck enjoyed enormous success as a flower painter. Her patrons included Louis XIV of France, Emperor Leopold I, King Johann III Sobieski of Poland, the Elector of Saxony, and Stadholder-King William III and Queen Mary Stuart. Her work is characterized by a unique style and refined technique, marked especially by thoughtful detail, careful lighting, and fine brushwork. Never married, Van Oosterwyck died in Uitdam at age 63.

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Leonardo’s Legacy: Francesco Melzi and the Leonardeschi at The National Gallery in London

June 5, 2019, 5:33 am

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Francesco Melzi, 'Flora', about 1520© The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2019. Photo: Vladimir Terebenin

The National Gallery in London is marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death with a display presenting the exceptional loan (now through June 23, 2019) of the recently restored 'Flora' by Francesco Melzi from the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

The painting is being displayed alongside ten other key works by the so-called ‘Leonardeschi’ from the National Gallery Collection in a free, month-long display in Room 12. This is the first time the painting has been seen in the UK and the first time it has been seen outside of Russia since its restoration.

Francesco Melzi (1493–1570) was a wealthy gentleman of Milan, and the favoured assistant and companion to Leonardo in his final years. As his primary heir, he was largely responsible for preserving Leonardo’s notebooks and drawings for posterity.

Though Leonardo’s writings and inventions were not given due recognition for centuries, the legacy of his painting style was immediate and substantial. The term ‘Leonardeschi’ has since been used to identify artists centred in Milan who were taught by or associated with Leonardo, or whose work bears his influence.

This exquisite painting by Francesco Melzi depicts Flora, the goddess of springtime and flowers, seated in a leafy grotto sprouting with fern and ivy. Flora’s exposed breast and the way she tenderly inspects a sprig of aquilegia – a symbol of fertility – emphasise her role as ‘mother of flowers’. On her lap she caresses a spray of jasmine, signifying purity, beside anemones representing rebirth.

Recent restoration undertaken by the State Hermitage Museum has uncovered the picture’s true colours, including the powerful ultramarine blue; and hidden details have been revealed, such as the flowers growing from the walls of the dimly lit grotto. Infrared reflectography has also shown that Melzi ensured anatomical correctness by modelling Flora’s naked figure before adding her clothing.

The painting reflects the influence of Melzi’s teacher, Leonardo, to whom it was attributed at the time of its acquisition from the Dutch Royal collection in 1850. The female facial type with its downcast look is characteristic of Leonardo’s Milanese style, as is the mastery of subtle modulations of tone, known as ‘sfumato’. Melzi has taken Leonardo’s meticulous approach to painting plants and also replicates the complex hair-styling he uses in other portraits.

Francesco Melzi, 'Flora', about 1520. Detail: Flora holds up aquilegia (also called columbine), a symbol of fertility. © The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2019. Photo: Vladimir Terebenin.

Francesco Melzi, 'Flora', about 1520. Detail: Flora holds a sprig of jasmine, signifying purity. © The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2019. Photo: Vladimir Terebenin.

Francesco Melzi, 'Flora', about 1520. Detail: Lurking in the folds of her cloak are anemones, which represent rebirth. They also have a special meaning in the context of the painting: in ancient Greece the anemone was the flower of the wind, and Flora was married to Zephyr, the god of the West Wind. © The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 2019. Photo: Vladimir Terebenin.

Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldil says, “We are delighted to be able to mark the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death with a display presenting the exceptional loan of the recently restored ‘Flora’ by Francesco Melzi .The State Hermitage Museum has long-standing and close ties to the National Gallery and this Room 12 display is a superb example of international museums working together.”

Professor Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg,says,

“We are excited to have loaned‘Flora’ by Francesco Melzi to the National Gallery and to see her as the central focus of this fascinating display which explores the work of Leonardo’s closest friends and disciples. This represents the first time that ‘Flora’ has been seen outside of Russia since it was restored by Maria Shulepova, revealing details and rich colouring which had been lost for decades under layers of old varnish. We hope that visitors in London will enjoy seeing this rare masterpiece by Leonardo’s favourite pupil, and we are pleased to further strengthen our long and valued friendship with the National Gallery.”

Francesco Melzi, 'Vertumnus and Pomona', 1518-28. Gemaeldegalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin© Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur fuer Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin

The Leonardeschi

Leonardo’s scientific discoveries and inventions were not given due recognition for centuries, but his painting style made an immediate impact on artists. The term ‘Leonardeschi’ has since been coined to identify painters in or near Milan who were taught by or associated with Leonardo, or whose work bears his influence.

The display at the Gallery features works by Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (about 1467–1516), Marco d’Oggiono (active from 1487–died 1524), Giampietrino (active about 1500–1550), Bernardino Luini (about 1480–1532), and Martino Piazza (active about 1513–1522), among others.

In his painting, Leonardo pioneered the combination of detailed naturalism and ‘divine grace’, with which he sought to surpass the beauty of nature. His followers absorbed different characteristics of their master’s art, in particular his elegant compositions, meticulous rendering of plants, hair and dreamlike landscapes, and the blurred outlines he used to model forms, known as ‘sfumato’. In Leonardo’s words: ‘The true outlines of opaque bodies are never seen with sharp precision’.

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, 'The Virgin and Child', probably about 1493-9. Oil on walnut, 92.7 x 67.3 cm, NG728. © 2019 The National Gallery.

Marco d'Oggiono, 'Portrait of a Man aged 20 ('The Archinto Portrait')', 1494. Oil on walnut, 53.3 x 38.1 cm. © 2019 The National Gallery.

Martino Piazza, 'Saint John the Baptist in the Desert', 1513-22.Oil on wood, 69.2 x 52.1 cm, NG1152. © 2019 The National Gallery .

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Élément de parure, gZi, Tibet

June 5, 2019, 6:12 am

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Lot 295. Élément de parure, gZi, Tibet. L 16 cm. Estimation: €3,000 - €6,000. Courtesy Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Exceptionnelle forme d'agate oblongue à décor de bandes créant une alternance de brun, blanc et noir aux extrémités ornées d'embouts ouvragés en cuivre doré.

Ce type de pierre entre dans la catégorie générale appelée gZi par les tibétains qui leur attribuent des pouvoirs quasi-magiques d'où leur présence dans les plus riches parures portées sur le toit du monde.

Cette forme particulière rare est nommée sous le terme « Chung Bands » dans la classification établie par J.D Allen qui dans son article générique sur les gZi "Tibetan zi beads - The current fascination with their nature and history" en publie quelques exemplaires approchants.

On notera que dans son iconographie, le plus grand publié par cet auteur mesure 11 centimètres alors que celui de la collection de Josette Schulmann ici présenté en mesure 16.

Provenance: Collection Josette et Théo Schulmann
- Acquis de P Delplace à Bruxelles, dans les années 1960 -1970.

Références bibliographiques : Jamey D Allen : "Tibetan zi beads - The current fascination with their nature and history" in Arts of Asia July-August 2002 pp 72 à 91.

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A blue and white 'Fish' jar, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

June 5, 2019, 6:39 am

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Lot 413. A blue and white 'Fish' jar, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 32.4 cm, 12 3/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Lot sold 350,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

painted with a variety of fish swimming in a lotus pond amongst aquatic plants above cresting waves, between a lappet band encircling the foot and a chevron band with moulded bosses below the mouth, the mouth rim decorated with a foliate scroll.

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, ca. 1985.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A blue and white 'Boys' jar, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566)

June 5, 2019, 6:51 am

≫ Next: A blue and white 'Ladies' bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

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Lot 422. A blue and white 'Boys' jar, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566); 16 cm, 6 1/4 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the tapering ovoid body rising to a short neck, painted with eight boys at play in a garden with blossoming trees and jagged rocks, all between lappet bands encircling the shoulder and foot.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A blue and white 'Ladies' bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

June 5, 2019, 7:00 am

≫ Next: A wucai figure of Shoulao, Ming dynasty, Wanli period and a Dehua figure of an immortal, Qing dynasty

≪ Previous: A blue and white 'Boys' jar, Mark and period of Jiajing (1522-1566)

Lot 421. A blue and white 'Ladies' bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 16.2 cm, 6 3/8 in. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 HKD. Lot sold 75,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

painted to the exterior with ladies in a balustraded garden, the interior with a leafy chrysanthemum spray, Tianqi mark.

Provenance: C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei, ca. 1990.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A wucai figure of Shoulao, Ming dynasty, Wanli period and a Dehua figure of an immortal, Qing dynasty

June 5, 2019, 7:08 am

≫ Next: A Dehua incense burner, 17th century

≪ Previous: A blue and white 'Ladies' bowl, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Lot 409. A wucai figure of Shoulao, Ming dynasty, Wanli period and a Dehua figure of an immortal, Qing dynasty; 23.8 and 14.5 cm, 9 3/8 and 5 3/4 in. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 HKD. Lot sold 35,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the Shoulao seated on a deer, his robe further painted with a rabbit and a bat on the back; the immortal dancing on a jagged rock and trampling on a lion, Xuande mark.

Provenance: C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei, ca. 1990.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A Dehua incense burner, 17th century

June 5, 2019, 7:14 am

≫ Next: A Dehua tripod incense burner, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty

≪ Previous: A wucai figure of Shoulao, Ming dynasty, Wanli period and a Dehua figure of an immortal, Qing dynasty

Lot 415. A Dehua incense burner, 17th century; 14 cm, 5 1/2 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 32,500 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of bombé form, flanked by a pair of lion mask handles, impressed Chenghua mark.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A Dehua tripod incense burner, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty

June 5, 2019, 7:20 am

≫ Next: A inscribed Dehua incense burner, 17th century

≪ Previous: A Dehua incense burner, 17th century

Lot 415. A Dehua tripod incense burner, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty; 12.1 cm, 4 3/4 in. Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 HKD. Lot sold 25,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the cylindrical body supported on three ruyi-shaped feet, the exterior encircled by a band enclosing key-fret and archaistic motifs between two raised fillets.

Provenance: C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A inscribed Dehua incense burner, 17th century

June 5, 2019, 7:33 am

≫ Next: A Longquan celadon 'Fish' vase, Ming dynasty, 16th century

≪ Previous: A Dehua tripod incense burner, Late Ming-early Qing dynasty

Lot 419. A inscribed Dehua incense burner, 17th century; 14 cm, 5 1/2 in. Estimate 5,000 — 8,000 HKD. Lot sold 11,875 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of bombé form, flanked by lion mask handles, one side inscribed with a poem in running script.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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A Longquan celadon 'Fish' vase, Ming dynasty, 16th century

June 5, 2019, 7:39 am

≫ Next: 'The beginning of a new world' in the Kröller-Müller Museum

≪ Previous: A inscribed Dehua incense burner, 17th century

Lot 392. A Longquan celadon 'Fish' vase, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 17.8 cm, 7 in. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 HKD. Lot sold 35,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the cylindrical body rising to a canted shoulder and sweeping up to a tall neck surmounted by a cup-shaped mouth, the neck flanked by a pair of fish handles.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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'The beginning of a new world' in the Kröller-Müller Museum

June 5, 2019, 8:07 am

≫ Next: A Yaozhou celadon melon-form bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279)

≪ Previous: A Longquan celadon 'Fish' vase, Ming dynasty, 16th century

Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man II, 1960. Bronze, 189 x 27 x 109.5 cm, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo. © Kröller-Müller Museum.

OTTERLO.- The exhibition 'The beginning of a new world. The development of modern sculpture' shows the development of modern sculpture through the eyes of Bram Hammacher, director of the Kröller-Müller Museum from 1948 to 1963. Immediately upon his appointment, Hammacher chooses a new direction: seeking to document the development of modern sculpture at an international level.

Sculpture collection
He succeeds in bringing together a collection of sculptures that is a fully-fledged counterpart to Helene Kröller-Müller’s painting collection, thereby providing the museum a unique ‘profile’. Certainly at that time, there were very few major museums with an emphasis on sculpture.

Over the years, Hammacher manages to acquire works for Otterlo by amongst others Alexander Archipenko, Jean Arp, Antoine Bourdelle, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Julio Gonzalez, Barbara Hepworth, Jacques Lipchitz, Marino Marini, Henry Moore, Constant Permeke, Auguste Rodin and Ossip Zadkine. Hammacher also purchases non-Western sculptures, as he wants to show the sources of inspiration for modern sculpture and painting.

The sculpture garden
Hammacher’s ultimate dream is the creation of a sculpture garden. That dream is realized in 1961: the garden is opened to widespread international interest. The concept, a labyrinthine garden in which nature and sculpture are regarded as equal, is completely new and revolutionary at the time. As of that moment, the Kröller-Müller became one of the most important international museums for modern sculpture.

The sculpture garden is Hammacher’s most famous achievement, but he also acquires many sculptures for ‘indoors’, often in close correlation with the sculptures in the garden. With a large number of these sculptures, The beginning of a new world provides a richly varied picture of modern sculpture.

The exhibition also includes later acquisitions, some of which were made to complement the Hammacher collection. One of the most important is Le commencement du monde by Constantin Brancusi, the sculpture that inspired the title of the exhibition.

Publication and activities
The publication The beginning of a new world. The development of modern sculpture uses works from the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum to show how modern sculpture developed from around 1880 to the 1960s. Isabelle Bisseling writes about the problematic origin of the sculpture garden. Jurriaan Benschop investigates how the accents that Hammacher placed with his acquisitions as director still resonate in the collection today. The publication is available from the museum shop and webshop for € 24.95.

Exhibition view The beginning of a new world. Photo: Marjon Gemmeke.

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A Yaozhou celadon melon-form bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279)

June 5, 2019, 9:00 am

≫ Next: A Yaozhou celadon 'Chrysanthemum' bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1279)

≪ Previous: 'The beginning of a new world' in the Kröller-Müller Museum

Lot 301. A Yaozhou celadon melon-form bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279); 14.1 cm, 5 1/2 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 HKD. Lot sold 62,500 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the lobed body raised on a short foot and surmounted by an upright neck.

Property from the Xinyangtang Collection.

Provenance: Tai Sing Fine Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 18th April 2001.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 30 may 2019 - 31 may 2019

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