Judith Leyster (Haarlem 1609–1660 Heestede), The Concert, ca. 1633; Oil on canvas, 24 x 34 1/4 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. National Museum of Women in the Arts© 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Along with tavern scenes and intimate domestic genre pieces, Judith Leyster frequently painted musical performance scenes. In The Concert, Leyster accurately depicts elements such as the Baroque violin (made without a chin rest and usually supported against the chest), as well as the woman's songbook.

The figures shown here are likely portraits. Based on similar individuals in Leyster's other pictures, scholars have tentatively identified the singer as the artist herself, the violinist as her husband, and the lute player as a family friend. The members of the trio, like all musicians, must work together as a unit, "in concert," which has led some writers to theorize that this scene symbolizes the virtue of harmony.

Leyster frequently placed her subjects against a plain, monochromatic background. Thus, nothing distracted from the figures, who are all shown in the midst of various actions (bowing or plucking strings and beating time). The deep angle at which the lute is held adds depth to the composition. The varied directions of the musicians' gazes offer the viewer different focal points. 

Judith Leyster.

Judith Leyster, an independent artist with her own workshop and pupils, had a talent for painting lively scenes of people enjoying themselves in taverns or playing music.

Leyster produced most of her paintings between approximately 1629 and 1635; her artistic output decreased dramatically after her marriage in 1636. In addition to raising her children, Leyster may have managed the family’s business and properties; she probably also assisted with her husband’s art. By 1649, the family returned from Amsterdam to Haarlem, where Leyster spent the remainder of her life.

Her work was clearly influenced by genre paintings created by noted Haarlem artist Frans Hals, which led to attribution errors. Although well known during her lifetime, Leyster and her work were largely forgotten after her death until 1893, when a painting acquired by the Louvre was found to have Leyster’s distinctive monogram (her initials entwined with a five-pointed star) hidden under a false signature reading “Frans Hals.” This discovery led to renewed research and appreciation of Leyster's oeuvre, which had previously been confused with that of Hals.

(source: http://www.nmwa.org)

Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella (Lyon 1641–1676 Paris), The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua, 1675; Engraving on paper, 6 1/2 x 15 3/4 in.. Gift of Chris Petteys. National Museum of Women in the Arts© 2012 National Museum of Womenin the Arts.

Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella mastered the art of printmaking with tutelage from her uncle, painter and printmaker Jacques Stella. Invited to live in his prestigious lodgings in the Louvre, she produced copies of paintings by her uncle and 17th-century master Nicolas Poussin. She later received important commissions from French officials.

In 1675, Stella executed The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua for Louis XIV’s minister of finance. The commission was part of a large-scale effort by the French government to emulate the appearance of Classical Greek and Roman sculpture in French national art.

The engravings reproduced a 16th-century stucco frieze in the Palazzo del Te in Mantua, Italy, by Renaissance artists Giulio Romano and Francesco Primaticcio. Stella’s prints thus employ the grand pictorial language of ancient Rome to depict the visit of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismond to Mantua in 1433.

Exquisitely executed, the engravings by Stella illustrate the power of a narrative borrowed from antiquity, employed in 16th-century Italy, and sought after by the 17th-century French court.

Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella.

After her prominent artistic family facilitated her training in her youth, printmaker Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella created detailed and intricate engravings that depicted scenes from antiquity, the Bible, or paintings and sculptures by prominent artists.

Stella was the youngest daughter of a successful French goldsmith. Despite the restrictions placed on women in art academies at the time, her family’s prominent social status allowed her and her sisters, Françoise and Claudine, to receive private training.

Her uncle Jaques Stella, a painter and close friend of Nicolas Poussin, assisted his nieces and nephew in their artwork, inviting them to live in his prestigious lodgings at the Louvre. As the youngest of the children, Antoinette was additionally trained by her older siblings. The family frequently collaborated in painting, engraving, and publishing prints.

Remembered for her masterfully executed aquatints and engravings, Stella suffered a tragic fall and died in Paris at the age of 35. One of Stella’s most notable works, The Entrance of the Emperor Sigismond into Mantua, 1675, consists of 33 relief-style engravings on paper depicting crowds of men, women, children, and horses traveling alongside the emperor.

(source: http://www.nmwa.org)

Clara Peeters (Antwerp 1594–after 1657 ?), Still Life of Fish and Cat, n.d.; Oil on panel, 13 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. National Museum of Women in the Arts© 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Clara Peeters’s considerable skill at rendering naturalistic texture and detail is on full display in Still Life of Fish and Cat. Typically called a “breakfast piece,” this type of still life realistically depicts household abundance, with no subtle moral or subtext.

The reddish ceramic colander holds several types of fish, including an eel. Its long, slender body forms a prominent loop that adds visual interest to the upper left of this still life. Peeters increased the illusion of space within the picture by including several reflections in the metal dish.

The varied textures of slippery fish scales, thickly glazed clay, cat's fur, rough oyster shells, and a gleaming pewter dish enhance the sensory qualities of the painting. The cat, with its ears pointed back, stands alert to any potential interloper as it protects its fishy fortune. 

Clara Peeters.

A pioneer in the field of still-life painting, Clara Peeters is the only Flemish woman known to have specialized in such pictures as early as the first decade of the 17th century. 

While definite details concerning her life are scarce, records indicate that Peeters was baptized in Antwerp in 1594 and married there in 1639. There is no indication that Peeters ever joined the Antwerp painters’ guild, but the records for many relevant years are missing.

Peeters’s earliest dated oil paintings, from 1607 and 1608, are small-scale, detailed images representing food and beverages. The skill with which this 14-year-old artist executed such pictures indicates that she must have been trained by a master painter. Although there is no documentary evidence of her artistic education, scholars believe that Peeters was a student of Osias Beert, a noted still-life painter from Antwerp.

By 1612, the 18-year-old artist was producing large numbers of painstakingly rendered still lifes, typically displaying groupings of valuable objects, such as elaborately decorated metal goblets, gold coins, and exotic flowers. Her compositions often show these arrangements on narrow ledges, seen from low vantage points, against dark backgrounds.

(source: http://www.nmwa.org)

Elisabetta Sirani (Bologna, 1638–1665), Virgin and Child, 1663; Oil on canvas, 34 x 27 1/2 in. Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Conservation funds generously provided by the Southern California State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts © 2012 National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Elisabetta Sirani's Virgin and Child portrays Mary not as a remote Queen of Heaven but as a very real, young mother.

Wearing the turban favored by peasant women in Bologna, Mary gazes adoringly at the plump baby wriggling on her lap. Within her embrace, the Christ child playfully leans back to crown his mother with a garland of roses, which she lowers her head to receive. Sirani's virtuoso brushwork is clearly visible in the Virgin's white sleeve, thickly painted to emphasize its rough, homespun texture.

The Virgin's only ornaments are her blue-patterned headscarf and a gold tassel at the corner of the pillow on which the Christ child rests. This touch of glitter and the floral garland seem especially noticeable in contrast to Sirani's plain, dark background. The artist's signature and the date appear in gold letters set along the horizontal seam of the pillow.

Elisabetta Sirani.

According to written records, when she died at 27, the Italian artist Elisabetta Sirani had already produced 200 paintings, drawings, and etchings. 

An independent painter by 19, Sirani ran her family’s workshop. When her father became incapacitated by gout, she supported her parents, three siblings, and herself entirely through her art.

Sirani spent her life in Bologna, a city famous for its progressive attitude toward women’s rights and for producing successful female artists. She became known for her ability to paint beautifully finished canvases so quickly that many visited her studio to watch her work. Her paintings were acquired by wealthy, noble, and even royal patrons, including the Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici.

Sirani’s funeral was an elaborate affair involving formal orations, special poetry and music, and an enormous catafalque decorated with a life-size sculpture of the deceased. In addition to her substantial oeuvre, Sirani left an important legacy through her teaching. Her pupils included her two sisters, Barbara and Anna Maria, and more than a dozen other young women who became professional painters.

(source: http://www.nmwa.org)

Zao Wou-ki’s (1920–2013), 15.1.82 (triptych), oil on canvas, 1982, 195.3 x 390.5 cm (Est.: HK$68 –90 million/ US$ 8.7 – 11.5 million). Photo: Sotheby's.

HONG KONG.- To mark its 40th anniversary in Asia, Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s Autumn 2013 Sale Series will be spearheaded by the eagerly anticipated Sotheby’s Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Evening Sale at 7pm on Saturday, 5 October, 2013, which will combine the best offerings of our 20th Century Chinese Art, Contemporary Asian Art and Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art categories. Presenting over 50 works of art of superb quality, this very special celebratory Evening Sale will have the highest total estimate of any comparable sale in Asia. The evening will be led by a remarkable group of seven museum-quality works by modern Chinese masters from A Distinguished Private Collection. These highly important paintings in oil by Sanyu, Zao Wou-ki and Wu Guanzhong, widely recognised as the most sought-after artists in modern Chinese art today, were created at seminal moments in their respective artistic careers. All of the works have been exhibited at major art institutions or museum exhibitions and will appear for the first time at auction or after a long absence from the market. 

Estimated at over HK$211 million / US$27.1* million, the group of seven works from A Distinguished Private Collection coming to the market provides an outstanding collecting opportunity for discerning collectors. Highlights from the Evening Sale, including works from this Collection, will be on view in Asia throughout September. 

The collector, who is generously parting with these seven seminal pieces in celebration of Sotheby’s 40th anniversary in Asia, has left his collecting footprints in the modern and contemporary art world in both the East and the West. The collector’s discerning eye for works of art of the highest quality has long been recognised by the international art world. Numerous works from this prestigious collection have been on loan to world-class museums for their important exhibitions. Furthermore, a renowned international art institution held an exhibition dedicated to this distinguished collection to showcase and celebrate the dialogue between Western and Eastern art. 

Sylvie Chen, Head of 20th Century Chinese Art Department, said: “This season, we are honoured to have been entrusted with the sale of the group of seven superb works by modern Chinese masters from this Distinguished Private Collection at our 40th anniversary in Asia. We are immensely grateful to the collector for his long support and for his trust and confidence in Sotheby’s. The collection itself embodies the development of modern Chinese art in the 20th century and these seven selected works are the masterpieces of the era. The appearance of these works at auction manifests the collector’s exquisite taste, and serves as a catalyst to further the developments of the 20th century modern Chinese art market. This group of rare works will no doubt mark a significant milestone in the flourishing market, and present an unprecedented opportunity for collectors to make important acquisitions.” 

THREE LARGE-SCALE REPRESENTATIVE WORKS BY ZAO WOU-KI

Sotheby’s has held the auction record for any Zao Wou-ki work since the artist’s 10.1.68 was sold for HK$689.8 million / US$88.4 million at the sale of 20th Century Chinese Art in October 2011. This October, three of Zao’s most important large-scale works from the 1960s to 1990s will be offered at auction for the first time. These significant large-format pieces rarely come on to the market and are expected to draw intense bidding. 

Zao Wou-ki 15.1.82 (triptych), oil on canvas, 1982, 195.3 x 390.5 cm. Est.: HK$68 –90 million / US$8.7 – 11.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

Zao Wou-ki reached the peak of his artistic output from 1979 to early 1980 when he created many large-format paintings, and was recognised by the international art world for his perfect ability to infuse the spirit of Chinese ink into Western oil paintings. In 1981, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris held an exhibition, Zao Wou-ki. It was the first time for such a prestigious national art institution in France to hold an exhibition for a living Chinese artist, who was by then already a French citizen. At the end of 1979, Zao was also invited for a solo show in New York by the influential Pierre Matisse Gallery – almost 15 years after his last show in the city with Kootz Gallery which closed in 1967– a testament to the fact that Zao had transformed from a modern Chinese artist living in Paris into one of the international contemporary masters. 

The three monumental works by Zao in this group are led by the present large-format 15.1.82 (triptych) created in 1982 at the peak of the artist’s creativity. 

In the early 1980s, Zao was recovering from the loss of his loved ones and gradually resuming his work in infusing Chinese ink spirit on to canvas. In many of the paintings from this period, somber tones could be seen giving way to brighter, lighter colours. Zao also threw himself into creating a number of large-format, majestic polyptych works, as though they were to provide expression for the joys of life he rediscovered. As one of the most representative pieces in this oeuvre, 15.1.82 (triptych) stands out with its subtle beauty and richness. Here, the artist delves into his inner world and memories for inspiration. It is deep within this sublime state that he channels his streams of consciousness and projects them upon canvas, creating a world of mist, rain and vapors in the process. Applying a highly unique method, Zao dips his paintbrush in yellow ochre and light purple dyes, then unleashes a flurry of fine strokes across the canvas. In essence, 15.1.82 (triptych) celebrates the aesthetics of a mature painter who, in his early sixties, had achieved the mental transition to become free of worry and cravings. 

Zao Wou-ki created over a thousand works in his lifetime, but based on public records and literatures, there are only 17 large-scale triptychs published and are all held in prestigious public museums and private collections. 15.1.82 (triptych) has been exhibited at Zao Wou-ki’s first solo exhibition at the National Museum of History, Taipei (1983), as well as exhibitions at Galerie de France (1984), Fuji Television Gallery, Japan (1987) and Saatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany (2008). Featured in many publications dedicated to Zao and his works, 15.1.82 (triptych) is one of the artist’s most important and seminal works. This gigantic triptych also represents the key stylistic transition Zao underwent during this significant period. 

Zao Wou-ki, 22.8.91, oil on canvas, 1991162 x 150 cm. Est.: HK$20–30 million / US$ 2.6 –3.8 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

The 1990s saw Zao Wou-ki embracing a keener sense of freedom that he applied to his art. Creatively, he subverted the existing norms as well as the conventional composition styles and layouts. As he abandoned a “focused” approach for a more “ diffuse” style, a shift in the visual composition of his works emerged. Structurally, some of his paintings are void of imagery in the middle. He also often adopted an outflanking method and chose to use bright and vivid colours. The present example, 22.8.91, a painting never appeared at auction before, exemplifies this approach. Yellow, painted in varying degrees of brightness, provides the central palette of the work. Through layering along with the use of wash effects, the colour is skillfully administered to evoke the effects of a crystalline golden light. Shades of purple, executed with swift, robust brushstrokes, wrap smoothly around the yellow disc on top and to the right. The effect is almost like an adventurer exploring a mysterious ancient cave with a flickering torchlight. This, clearly, is an attempt boldly undertaken to juxtapose two colours to achieve an impression of contrast yet harmony. Zao Wou-ki seeks to present the glittering outside world, as he perceives it, on canvas. 

Zao Wou-ki, 30.7.64, oil on canvas, 1964, 149.8 x 161.8cm. Est.: HK$30 –50 million / US$3.8 –6.4 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

In the 1960s, Zao had already cast aside all considerations of technique to paint what his heart desired. Challenging himself to take on larger canvases, he channelled all his energies into the endeavor, whereby the visual contrasts and monochromatic colours seem to pulse on the canvas with life and dynamism. This is rendered to perfection in 30.7.64, now brought to the auction market for the first time. Zao reduced the colours applied to a basic contrast of brownish black and white in this painting. Sturdy brushstrokes are executed with speed and force, in Chinese calligraphic style. The visual outcome is the image of an air column spiralling upwards, underscoring the artist’s ability in rendering the unseen wind and cosmic forces visible, to be forever imprinted on the canvas. This is one of the current owner’s favourite works by Zao Wou-ki, and has been in his care for over a decade. 

THREE IMPORTANT PAINTINGS BY SANYU WITH DIFFERENT SUBJECTS

Sanyu (1901 –1966), Goldfish, 1930s –1940s, oil on canvas, 73.8 x 50.2 cm. Est.: HK$50 –70 million / US$6.4 –9 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

It is important to note that in the exquisite and very rare oil on canvas Goldfish, Sanyu uses the auspicious Chinese symbol, the swimming goldfish, signifying “yearly surplus”, to be his main subject for the first and only time. Although Sanyu included the motif of fish several times in his later works, such as Lotus et Poissons Rouges (sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October 2009), painted in the mid-1950s, and the large scale six-panel work Lotus and White Crane (six-panel screen) (1940 – 1950s), the subject of fish never featured so prominently again. Also distinct from the early works-dominated by soft pink and white hues which Sanyu painted in his Pink Period in the 1930s, in Goldfish, almost in contrast, Sanyu’s use of coral red and white, the colours closely associated with Chinese culture, is a bold and concise effort to delineate spatial relationships. The theme of abundance and positive feeling is echoed in Sanyu’s self-assuredness and boldness, evident in his great skills to bring the fish to life with such simple brushstrokes, performed with preciseness and speed. 

Goldfish bears a distinguished provenance. Over the past 60 years, this remarkable work has only been in two collections. The first was Robert Frank, a famous American photographer, who was also a close friend of Sanyu’s, for whom Sotheby’s held a dedicated sale for his collection in 1997 in Taiwan. The present owner seized the unique opportunity and acquired the work at this auction. As the most important work in the sale, Goldfish was naturally chosen as the cover illustration of the auction catalogue. This work was later featured in the Sanyu Scholarship Fund handbook published by Yale University, as well as the invitation card of the Sanyu exhibition in National Museum of History in Taipei in 2001. The painting’s re-emergence on the market after its long absence from the public eye is set to spark another bout of market frenzy. 

Sanyu, Fruits, 1930s, oil on canvas, 49.9 x 65.3 cm Est.: HK$18-25 million / US$2.3 -3.2 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

Also formally in the collection of famous American photographer, Robert Frank, Fruits is a classic still life painted by Sanyu in the 1930s. Executed on canvas and embodying the classical Chinese spirit of simplicity, the composition appears split in three portions, through the use of colours, to depict a black table top with a white table runner across it. If the fruits in the centre are overlooked, the viewer can find an interesting connection between Sanyu’s present work from 1930s and the works by the younger Western abstract artist Mark Rothko from the late 1940s onwards. Sanyu’s deft brushstrokes, executed in varying degrees of strength, create a layout of lines, coloured portions and surfaces to give the fruits and vegetables form and dimension. This visual arrangement reflects creative ingenuity, preciseness and purity, so intelligently and skillfully evoked from the painter’s steep foundation in classical Chinese painting and calligraphy. 

Sanyu, Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, 1930s, oil on canvas, 55.1 x 45.9cm Est.: HK$15 - 20 million / US$1.9 – 2.6 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

Completed in the 1930s, Virgin Mary and Jesus is Sanyu’s only known composition to directly address the theme of religious faith. In this painting, Virgin Mary cradles the sacred infant Jesus, but the two come across not as lofty personalities, but instead commonplace statues found in many homes. Part portraiture and part still life, the imagery bespeaks a transcendental religiosity combined with mortal existence. Not only is the image of the religious statue delineated in a down-to-earth style, it also hints at Sanyu’s yearnings for his hometown and mother during his distant travels. Another stroke of genius lies in the mirror backdrop. The religious figurine stands alone before the mirror, which shows its back reflection, magnifying the sense of space. While providing a study of emptiness and form, the work also makes expressive use of “empty space’, a concept borrowed from traditional Chinese paintings. 

WU GUANZHONG

Wu Guanzhong (1919 –2010), Mountain Lu, oil on board, 1974, 45.8 x 59.8cm Est.: HK$10-20 million / US$1.3 –2.6 million. Photo: Sotheby's.

From 1973, Wu Guanzhong ’s reputation in China spread further through the many exhibitions of his works as well as the important painting commissions he received from several national museums and government institutions. In Mountain Lu, a composition he executed in the 1970s, Wu Guanzhong adopted an unusual vantage point to offer a glimpse of mountain scenery through the crisscrossing branches of four trees. The natural beauty of these gnarled trees is expressed through their varying heights, accentuated by the different light angles and subtle colour differences of distant and closer objects. The spirit of unyielding sturdiness that the trees embody is also vividly captured, thanks to the painter’s steady grasp of calligraphy techniques and its inventive application. Houses in the middle ground are scattered across a valley, extending their way to the mountain top. Perspective mapping is applied not just to add colour and life to the composition but also to lengthen its depth of field. With its natural convergence of Western painting techniques with Chinese aesthetics, Mountain Lu is endowed with a fresh vitality rarely seen in other similar works.

Mick Jagger by Bob Carlos Clarke. ©Estate of Bob Carlos Clarke

LONDON.- An impressive selection of rarely seen celebrity portraits by renowned photographer Bob Carlos Clarke have been donated to the National Portrait Gallery collection by the Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation, it was announced today (Tuesday 13 August 2013). 

The photographs, which were taken in various locations between 1971 and 1998, include portraits of high profile figures such as Marco Pierre White, who Carlos Clarke photographed in his studio following the success of his acclaimed recipe book and autobiography White Heat, a striking portrait of actress Rachel Weisz, shot in Carlos Clarke’s studio in 1993, and Mick Jagger, taken during a Rolling Stones performance at The Marquee in London in 1971. 

Other highlights from the collection include portraits of Ronnie Wood and Bryan Ferry, both photographed by Carlos Clarke for the 1997 Powergen calendar, and a portrait of Elton John smiling directly at the camera, which was taken during an album cover shoot in 1991. Portraits of Elle Macpherson, taken during a 1993 photo shoot for luxury jeweller Butler & Wilson and Christopher Lee, shot for the 1993 Powergen calendar were also donated to the Gallery. 

Carlos Clarke (1950 – 2006) was born in Cork, Ireland, and moved to England in 1964 to study art and design at The West Sussex College of Art where he developed a strong interest in photography. He went on to The London College of Printing, before completing an MA degree in photography at the Royal College of Art in 1975. 

Carlos Clarke worked across many photography styles, winning numerous awards for his high-profile advertising campaigns and international recognition for his photojournalism and portraits of celebrities. He is often cited as an influential photographer and he became particularly well known for his controversial portraits, the subjects of which included rock stars and glamorous female models. 

Bob Carlos Clarke had two solo exhibitions during his lifetime; Styx at Hamiltons Gallery in Mayfair, London in 1991 and his first digital photography exhibition Love Dolls Never Die at Eyestorm Gallery in 2004. He also produced six books: The Illustrated Delta of Venus (1979), Obsession (1981), The Dark Summer (1985), White Heat (1990), Shooting Sex (2002), and Love Dolls Never Die (2004). 

Following a period in rehabilitation clinic The Priory, Carlos Clarke committed suicide in 2006. His wife Lindsey Carlos Clarke and daughter Scarlett have generously donated the ten prints to the National Portrait Gallery collection in recognition of Carlos Clarke’s remarkable contribution to portrait photography. In 2007, Lindsey Carlos Clarke opened The Little Black Gallery, a new London photography gallery, in Carlos Clarke’s memory, which showcases artists from around the world and which is also home to the Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation. 

Clare Freestone, Associate Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, says: ‘These photographs are both classic and era defining. We are pleased to be able to add to the representation of Bob Carlos Clarke’s work in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection with this generous portfolio gift.’ 

Lindsey Carlos Clarke says: ‘I am delighted to donate these prints to the National Portrait Gallery as I feel it is very important that future generations enjoy these intimate portraits.’ 

The ten photographic prints by Bob Carlos Clarke can be viewed in the National Portrait Gallery’s online digital collection at www.npg.org.uk/collections while plans are made to publicly display the prints in the Gallery in the future. 

For further information about the Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation, visit www.thelittleblackgallery.com or contact Ghislain Pascal at The Little Black Gallery. 

Marco Pierre White by Bob Carlos Clarke. ©Estate of Bob Carlos Clarke.

Pendant, Venice, late 16th century. 3.3 inches. AF.2859. British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum

Pendant; gold; enamelled and jewelled; shaped, pierced plaque; Virgin(?) with chalice; quatrefoil pendant at base between two chains attached to pelican in her piety with jewelled wings and baroque pearl for breast; below: monster in coral attached by loops from which hang three quatrefoils with pearl at base of each. 

Isis. Orchid brooch/wrist cuff with tsavorite garnet, yellow sapphire, pink sapphire, and diamond by Paula Crevoshay. Photo by Chris Chavez

Helios. Brooch/pendant with opal by Paula Crevoshay• Photo by Peter Hurst Photography

Luna Moth. Brooch/pendant with chrysoprase, opal, moonstone, and diamond by Paula Crevoshay• Photo by Chris Chavez

Midnight Seduction. Ladyslipper orchid pendant with sapphire, blue zircon, black diamond, coral, and abalone pearl by Paula Crevoshay• Photo by Chris Chavez

Octavian. Brooch with opal, black diamond, and black spinel in white gold and blackened rhodium by Paula Crevoshay• Photo by Chris Chavez

Poppy. Brooch pendant with opal, black diamond, and moonstone by Paula Crevoshay• Photo by Chris Chavez

This photo taken on June 26, 2013 shows German artist Jonathan Meese making a 'nazi salut' during his play "Generaltanz den Erzschiller" at the National Theatre in Mannheim, western Germany. A German court on April 14, 2013 acquitted controversial Berlin artist Jonathan Meese for performing the outlawed Hitler salute, arguing it was a form of artistic expression. AFP PHOTO / DPA / ULI DECK.

BERLIN (AFP).- A German court on Wednesday acquitted controversial Berlin painter Jonathan Meese for performing the outlawed Hitler salute, arguing it was a form of artistic expression.

Raising the right arm in the style of the Nazi dictator is generally illegal in Germany and prosecutors had demanded the 43-year-old be punished with a 12,000 euro ($16,000) fine.

However the court in the central city of Kassel sided with the free-speech argument of the defence and found Meese had used the gesture as part of an interview-turned-art performance.

Meese, also a sculptor and performance artist, was taking part in a forum talk on "megalomania in the art world" with news weekly Der Spiegel at Kassel University in June last year when he twice performed the offending gesture.

"Art has triumphed," Meese said after the verdict was read on Wednesday, national news agency DPA reported.

"Now I am free." Meese, who in his manifestos has called for a "dictatorship of art", has argued his repeated use of the Hitler salute and the swastika symbol are satirical and aim to lessen not promote their potency.

On Wednesday he told the court: "I can paint an apple without ever having eaten an apple. I can do the Hitler salute without having anything to do with it."

Prosecutors were yet to decide whether to appeal the verdict. © 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Paolo Veronese, Italian, 1528–1588, Venus Disarming Cupid, about 1560, oil on canvas, Gift of Hester Diamond, 2013.50.

WORCESTER, MASS.- The Worcester Art Museum today announced it has acquired Paolo Veronese’s Venus Disarming Cupid, datable to circa 1560, one of the few works by the famed Renaissance master still in private hands. The subject depicts Venus, in a playful gesture, taking away the bow of her son Cupid, so he is unable to deliver his arrows of love. The painting is a gift from collector Hester Diamond of New York, in honor of her stepdaughter, Rachel Kaminsky, a board member of the Museum. Ms. Diamond acquired the work at Christie’s in 1990. Venus Disarming Cupid will go on view at the Worcester Art Museum on September 20, as part of the upcoming exhibition [remastered]. 

“It is rare that a museum can announce the acquisition of a single Italian Renaissance work, let alone one as spectacular as this Veronese,” said Matthias Waschek, the Museum’s director. Venus Disarming Cupid is a game changer for our collection. We are fortunate ten times over to be receiving this generous gift from Ms. Diamond. While the Museum’s collection includes exceptional Italian Renaissance masterworks by artists such as Andrea Del Sarto and Piero di Cosimo, it has traditionally been stronger in northern European works. This Veronese shifts the spotlight to the south, and reflects our desire to grow and expand the scope and diversity of the Museum’s collection.” 

This is one of several recorded paintings by Veronese that present the subject of Venus and Cupid, however few have survived. The scene comes from the writings of the Greek rhetorician and satirist Lucian, and was a popular subject in sixteenth-century Italy. This particular composition is based on a drawing by Parmigianino, the Bolognese master whose work Veronese greatly admired. 

“I have two motives for giving this painting to Worcester,” said collector Hester Diamond. “First, it is an opportunity to honor my stepdaughter, Rachel Kaminsky, who joined the Museum Board in 2012. Beyond that, I have always believed that the best public home for a work of art is within an institution where it adds something new to the collection and helps bring in new audiences. Over the years, my collection has evolved, incorporating art from many periods, genres and styles. The Worcester Museum’s willingness to explore new ideas for encouraging audiences of every age to think differently about art reflects the arc of my own collecting.” 

In 1990, Venus Disarming Cupid was consigned to Christie’s by its owner as “Circle of François Boucher.” Prior to the sale, the attribution for this important rediscovery of a work by Veronese was enthusiastically endorsed by the art historian and Veronese expert Terisio Pignatti, who, in conjunction with Filippo Pedrocco, published the work in Veronese: Catalogo completo dei dipinti (1991), and W. R. Rearick, a well-known expert on Venetian 16th century painting. A collector’s stamp on the reverse of the canvas suggests that the painting was once in the collection of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, a county and principality in southwestern Germany. The painting was on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in late 2006, and was included in the exhibition Venus: Bilder einer Göttin (Images of a Goddess) at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich in 2001. 

In Worcester, the painting will be a celebrated addition to the Museum’s upcoming reinstallation of a suite of old master galleries, under the title [remastered]. European works will be featured in medallion-style hangings—reminiscent of 17th-18th century collection displays—that encourage the viewer to make personal connections with and between the works. At the same time, WAM is working on alternative design approaches that encourage new ways for visitors to interact with and participate in daily uses of the gallery as: a classroom, inviting formal (collegiate) and informal (drop-in visitor) learning; as a laboratory, with interpretative and interactive iPad applications; as a sanctuary, reintroducing spirituality practices with interfaith clergy; and as a community space, activating the galleries as a welcoming place for family audiences. The goal is to balance opportunities for quiet contemplation—the “traditional” museum experience—with new presentation modes and forms of audience engagement. This is part of the Museum’s overall emphasis on reshaping the visitor experience, particularly for those for whom more direct instruction or engagement is needed or desired. 

In addition to the Veronese, [remastered] will include paintings by El Greco, Rembrandt, Ribera, Ruisdael, Strozzi and de Hooch. 

Close helmet for combat at the barriers. Augsburg, about 1590 (HAM 2205.a). John Woodman Higgins Armory collection. Worcester Art Museum

The Cartier Red Peacock Brooch, Property From A Royal Private Collection (Est. HK$3.2 – 4 million / US$400,000 – 500,000). Photo: Sotheby's. 

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite Autumn Sale 2013 will take place on 7 October at Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Specially curated to honour Sotheby’s 40th anniversary in Asia, this season’s sale will highlight a selection of jewels that epitomise the glamour of some of the most stylish personalities of the old and new worlds – from royalty to the celebrated Asian jewellery designer Cindy Chao. This distinguished selection will be complemented by highly sought-after jewellery, from important pink, yellow and colourless diamonds, fabulous Burmese rubies, Colombian emeralds and Kashmir sapphires, to splendid natural pearls and the finest jadeite. Altogether this sale will offer approximately 330 lots estimated to achieve in excess of HK$600 million / US$80 million*. 

QUEK Chin Yeow, Deputy Chairman and Head of Jewellery Department, Sotheby’s Asia, said, “In celebration of Sotheby’s 40th anniversary in Asia, our selection this Autumn is marked by unique pieces of illustrious provenance as well as inimitable style and glamour. We are delighted to offer an extravagant set of two jadeite bead necklaces from Republican Shanghai, a Cartier pink diamond ring from the estate of Madam Ji Ing Soong, an extremely glamorous Cartier peacock brooch from a royal private collection, and a unique 8.03-carat Burmese ruby ring which is the result of collaboration between Sotheby’s and celebrated Asian jewellery designer Cindy Chao. We are also offering a varied group of impeccable DIF diamonds as well as coloured diamonds, gemstones, natural pearl and jadeite jewellery which promise to be an enchanting feast for discerning collectors.” 

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEW WORLD GLAMOUR TO OLD WORLD ELEGANCE

Primarily corundum with traces of chromium, one of the scarcest elements on earth that manifests itself in a fiery red glow, ruby is one of the world’s rarest gemstones. Burmese rubies from the legendary mine in Mogok Valley, Myanmar, have become increasingly sought after in recent years. Examples of superlative quality and the most desirable fiery “pigeon’s blood” colour are extremely rare and have fetched impressive prices at auction in the past few years. This season’s sale highlights an 8.03-Carat Cushion-Shaped Natural “Pigeon’s Blood” Burmese Ruby Ring designed by one of the most celebrated Asian jewellery designers, Cindy Chao(Est. HK$28 – 33 million / US$3.5 – 4.2 million) to a ribbon floral motif. Originating from Mogok Valley in Burma, this fiery ruby of impressive size is free of inclusions to the naked eye and glows with a rich saturated red colour known as “pigeon’s blood” red. Its rarity and beauty would be highlighted by a unique mount modelled as a diamond-set ribbon exclusively designed by Cindy Chao. 

Connoisseurs of rubies and Cartier’s impeccable style will also be delighted by The Cartier Red Peacock Brooch, Property From A Royal Private Collection (Est. HK$3.2 – 4 million / US$400,000 – 500,000). A unique, special commission jewel fashioned by Cartier taking inspiration from its famous animal repertoire, this proud and noble peacock in a platinum brooch features as its centrepiece a cushion-shaped ruby weighing 48.57 carats. The peacock’s plumage is set with brilliant-cut, marquise and pear-shaped rubies and diamonds, altogether weighing a total of approximately 28 carats. The harmonious proportions of the lines of the plumage and the volume of the ruby centrepiece make this brooch a whimsical, creative, yet elegant part of Cartier’s legacy. 

Cartier’s impeccable style is further illustrated in this sale by a 13.19-Carat Emerald Cut Fancy Light Pink Diamond And Diamond Ring, From The Estate Of Ji Ing Soong (Est. HK$4.7 – 6.3 million / US$600,000 – 800,000), the elegant wife of banker, T.A. Soong, the youngest son of businessman Charles Soong and brother of the legendary Soong sisters. Centring an emerald-cut light pink diamond of the purest Type IIa quality, the diamond ring offered was given to Ji Ing by her grandmother. Born Ji Ing Woo in Shanghai in 1920, Ji Ing was educated in Shanghai and Hong Kong before graduating from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1944 and a Master of Arts in Asian Studies in 1972. After marrying T.A. Soong in 1941 she moved to San Francisco where she lived for the rest of her life. Civic-minded with a particular appreciation for the arts, Mrs. Soong established in 1970 the T.A. and Ji Ing Soong Galleries at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum.

Another stunning treasure offered is a Set Of Two Jadeite Bead Necklaces, Circa Republican Period, From The Collection Of An Overseas Chinese Family (Est. HK$22 – 30 million / US$2.8 – 3.8 million). An epitome of old world elegance, these two striking graduating jadeite bead necklaces that glow with superb emerald green colour and fine translucency are an extremely rare treasure that enliven the tales of Old Shanghai in its golden age. With the huge wastage involved in the cutting process, the bead is one of the most extravagant forms of jadeite and it takes a jadeite boulder of considerable size and impeccable quality to yield a strand of matching beads. To put together two strands comprising 254 jadeite beads of such superb and matching colour, translucency and texture would have been an almost impossible feat spanning years. An entire mansion in Shanghai was, therefore, traded over 70 years ago for these 254 matching jadeite beads exhibiting the most coveted properties of top-quality jadeite. These two necklaces have been carefully preserved in the family since then, and will make their first public appearance this autumn. 

DIAMONDS

Pink diamonds have been highly coveted in recent years by connoisseurs for their unique feminine beauty and rarity, and examples of over five carats have been a rare occurrence in the auction market. This 10.94-Carat Pear-Shaped Fancy Light Pink Diamond And Diamond Ring (Est. HK$15 – 18 million / US$1.9 – 2.3 million), centring a Fancy Light pink diamond of significant proportions, sparkles with a soft and lovely pink hue, which is gracefully offset by surrounding marquise white diamonds.

Those with a more flamboyant taste will be delighted by a 20.82-Carat Square Emerald-Cut Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond And Diamond Ring (Est. HK$13 – 15 million / US$1.7 -1.9 million). Fashioned in emerald cut, a rare and elegant cut only applied to coloured diamonds of the best colour, this Fancy Vivid yellow diamond glows with an intense and even golden yellow hue that, coupled with is important size of over 20 carats, promises to be headturning. 

On the other hand, the high demand for superlative colourless diamonds of important sizes remains apparent in the auction market. Significant examples ranking high on the top ten lists of recent auctions with a 28.86-Carat Brilliant-cut D-colour Flawless Diamond achieving HK$53.88 million / US$6.91 million (Est. HK$38 - 45 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Spring Sale in April 2013, setting the World Auction Record Prices Per Carat for D-Flawless Round White Diamonds (for US$239,352 per carat). This season’s sale boasts a magnificent assemblage of diamonds combining the highest calibre in all attributes - D colour and Internally Flawless (IF) as well as Type IIa quality signifying the highest chemical purity and therefore exceptional optical transparency – and the most impressive proportions. These include a 17.74-Carat Pear-shaped DIF Diamond (Est. HK$19 – 21 million / US$2.4 – 2.7 million), a 11.89-Carat Oval-shaped DIF Diamond (Est. HK$13 - 15 million / US$1.65 - 2 million) and, last but not least, A Superb Group Of DIF Diamonds In The Highly Coveted Round Brilliant Cut With Excellent Cut, Polish And Symmetry (Triple Excellent), one weighing 10.82 carats (Est. HK$13 - 15 million / US$1.65 - 2 million), a matching pair weighing 10.03 and 10.04 carats respectively (Est. HK$25 - 30 million / US$3.2 – 3.8 million) and a single stone of 20.05 carats (Est. HK$26 - 30 million / US$3.3 – 3.8 million). 

COLOURED GEMSTONES

Natural coloured gemstones of top quality from the world’s most famous mines are extremely rare and have been highly sought after in recent years as illustrated by the significant prices realised at auction. Apart from the 8.03-Carat Burmese Ruby Ring designed by Cindy Chao, this season’s sale will offer a Suite of Cushion-Shaped Colombian Emerald And Diamond Ring And Pair Of Matching Pendent Earrings (Emeralds Totalling 22.69 Carats. Est. HK$7.5 – 8.5 million / US$950,000 – 1 million) featuring a trio of well-matched top-quality emeralds of no indication of clarity enhancement as well as highly saturated natural green colour and desirable clarity, which are exceedingly difficult to amass. Equally captivating is a natural untreated 12.60-Carat Cushion-Shaped Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring (Est. HK$13 - 15 million / US$1.7 - 2 million) of high transparency and a richly saturated and homogenous velvety blue colour accentuated by gleaming white diamonds for the most elegant effect. 

NATURAL PEARLS

An embodiment of understated glamour and uncontrived beauty, natural pearls have been cherished for centuries and are increasingly rare due to depreciating water quality. An example offered this season is a remarkable Natural Pearl, Emerald and Diamond Necklace (Est. HK$9 - 11 million / US$1.15 – 1.4 million) spaced by seed pearls and attached to a clasp set with a 4.40-carat emerald and diamonds. As good quality natural pearls of over 8mm in diameter are exceedingly rare, this notable necklace comprising 37 perfectly matched graduated round natural saltwater pearls of fine lustre, measuring approximately 11.60 – 7.70 mm, is graded by the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF as an “Exceptional Natural Pearl Necklace”. This is complemented by a Pair Of Natural Pearl And Diamond Pendent Earrings (Est. HK$2.2 – 2.6 million / US$280,000 – 330,000), each suspending on a matching pair of drop-shaped natural seawater pearl, measuring approximately 10.65 x 10.65 x 15.90mm and 10.15 x 10.15 x 15.35mm respectively.

SUPERB JADEITE

Highlighted by the exquisite set of jadeite bead necklaces from Republican Shanghai, the selection of jadeite jewellery offered this season represent all the classic forms, from bead necklace to cabochon and bangle, that best accentuate the unique beauty of the saturated green hue, magnificent translucency and fine texture of this fascinating gemstone. The sale features a spectacular Jadeite Cabochon and Diamond Necklace (Est. HK$18 – 23 million / US$2.3 – 3 million), on which nine oval jadeite cabochons and one large pear-shaped jadeite cabochon are flanked by diamonds weighing a total of 43.65 carats that lend a dazzling brilliance to the matching intense emerald green colour and mesmerising translucency of the beautiful jadeite cabochons.

This is complemented by a Pair of Jadeite Cabochon And Diamond Earrings (Est. HK$11 – 13 million / US$1.4 – 1.65 million).

Lavender jadeite has also been increasingly appreciated by the collecting community in recent years for its endearing purple hues and feminine allure. This season, connoisseurs will be delighted by a superb Lavender Jadeite Bangle (Est. HK$6.8 – 8 million / US$850,000 – 1 million) of even and saturated lavender purple colour, fine texture and significant proportions with inner diameter and thickness of approximately 59.45 x 12.50mm. 

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium. 

Collection de porcelaine de Dresde, en Saxe, redessiné par Peter Marino. L'un des panneaux "Famille Verte".

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722), about 1700 - 1720. Porcelain Collection. PO 6933. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 5.9 cm, D. 35.8 cm. © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

August the Strong had a special passion for Chinese porcelain famille verte style, a term that in 1862 by Albert Jacquemart (1808 - 1875) was used for the first time. The glaze colors of the famille verte appear bright and clear on a white background, which is an integral part of the composition. The porcelain is imaginative, complex patterns, and often small, filled frames fit into tightly woven patterns that cover the entire surface. The Dresden collection has both jewel-like single pieces as well as large attachments and bowl of this type. The bowl represents a technical and artistic high point of the painterly style of decorations of famille verte represents the bowl is in the mirror with bamboo, pine and painted Prunuszweigen growing out of a rock and be swarmed by insects. One swallow sitting on the blooming Prunuszweig, two more flying around. Similar to the painting or on woodcuts a small red seal is applied to the left free surface of the Fund. On the edge of the bowl there is a border with flowers and insects, as well as auspicious symbols in fruit-shaped image segments. (Exhibition label panel arch wall famille verte).

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 6929. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.0 cm, D. 35.4 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 6932. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.5 cm, D. 38.8 cm. © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 6932. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.5 cm, D. 38.8 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 6927. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.7 cm, D. 38.6 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3040. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.7 cm, D. 39.4 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3039. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.6 cm, D. 38.5 cm. © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3043. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.1 cm, D. 35.7 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3038. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6,7 cm, D. 39,3 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3037. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6,8 cm, D. 38,8 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3035. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6,5 cm, D. 38,4 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 3036. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6,6 cm, D. 39,6 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Jingdezhen, Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Kangxi era (1662 - 1722), 1700 - 1710. Porcelain Collection. PO 3034. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels of the "family verte" green, turquoise, iron red, blue, aubergine, black and gold. H. 6.9 cm, D. 39 cm. © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The picturesque setting of this flat shell form two kingfishers on a lotus pond. Maybe a color woodcut served as a template. From in an unusual manner indicated by slight light gray wash and diffuse light blue bubbles water surface grows a gorgeous blossomed lotus flower in bright pink, the tips of the petals leaves are shaded in darker red, the backs heightened mannered with gold, clearly visible is the characteristic inflorescence. Behind the lotus flower is a large leaf unfolded in bright green, which a grasshopper sits on. In the foreground young, not yet fully unfolded leaves are visible in bright turquoise green, and an already converted unkenes, old sheet with frayed edges in a dull green. Enhance the scenic character of the decor nor the two painted with fine brush strokes kingfishers on a reed branch that extends diagonally into the image area. Similar to the painting or on woodcuts a small red seal is applied to the left, left free surface of the Fund. The two characters lin ju, "live in the forest," in seal script form a typical Chinese artist name. The decor is the most since the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) kept the genre of "flower and bird painting." The rear of the shell surrounds a strong blue band, which forms an interesting contrast with the green tones of the painting, and the rim is decorated with a border of tiny painted flowers, a flowering Prunuszweig, peonies and chrysanthemums on finely dotted light green background in sophisticated colors. The shell provides a technical and artistic high point of the painterly style of decorations of "family verte" dar. (From: La maladie de porcelaine, East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig 2001, p 72).

Melon shaped pot from the donation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici, Annam, mid 15th Century. Porcelain Collection. PO 1065. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 25.5 cm, D. 34.0 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Collection de porcelaine de Dresde, en Saxe, redessiné par Peter Marino. Les Kraak et les bleu et blancs Ming. 

Cup from the donation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici. China, Ming period, Xuande era probably (1426 - 1435). Porcelain Collection. PO 3225. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 6.7 cm, D. 11.9 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Cup from the donation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Jiaqing era (1522 -1566). Porcelain Collection. PO 3226. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 10.5 cm, D. 14.7 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Exquisite Chinese porcelain was already more than a hundred years before Augustus the Strong (1670 - 1733) come to Dresden. In 1590 the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici made (1549 to 1609), the Court of Dresden under Christian I of Saxony (1560-1591), a gift of fourteen Chinese porcelains, eight of which have up to now in the obtain Dresden porcelain collection.This includes the shell of the noble shape of a calyx, which is painted on the outside wall with a river landscape with high mountains, pagodas and multi-storey pavilions. On one side is a small boat to see on the opposite side appears a large sailing ship with two masts, the sails are hoisted by the team in the pole baskets sit sailors. The free painting executed in different shades of cobalt blue is typical of the Jiajing era (1522 -1566). Several similar shells are found in the collection of the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul Seraglio. (From: Giambologna in Dresden, The Dresden gifts of the Medici in 2006, pp. 103 -110.)

Incense burner in the form of a lion. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Wanli era (1573 - 1619), circa 1600. Porcelain Collection. PO 3767. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 31 cm L. 26 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The grotesque-looking incense burner in the form of a lion (in the West under the name Foh-known dog) with an underglaze blue floral decoration was created during the Wanli era in China.The animal's head can be removed to be able to insert the incense.

Covered baluster jar. China, Jingdezhen, Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 2015. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 64 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

This large pot lid and would surely was, whether its decor, an ideal birthday gift was. It symbolizes wishes for a long life, happiness, contentment and strength. Vessel and lid are painted with vines and a hundred times with the Chinese character for longevity, shou, in a stylized circular shape. A strengthening of the desire for longevity is emphasized by the lingzhi or ruyi bands. The lingzhi mushroom is covered in the Daoist imagery with immortality. Stylized lingzhi-forms are the so-called ruyi-heads. Ruyi in Chinese means, as desired. " The knob of the lid is modeled in the form of a writhing, powerful dragon. (Exhibition showcases caption "Long Life").

Kendi (Junchi?). China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 2327. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 19.6 cm, D. 14 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The kendi bottle belongs to a group of Ming dynasty export porcelain, known as Kraak porcelain.The name derives from the Portuguese ship type Caracca: here, the goods were shipped from the Far East to Europe (Dutch kraak). From 1602, the shipment of Chinese porcelain from the Portuguese but not Vereenigde the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was perceived. Kendi are still many countries in South and Southeast Asia popular as drinking vessels. Kendi in China were made in different materials, but not used as drinking vessels. Exported to the Middle East Kendi served as hookahs, in Europe you appreciate them because of their unusual shape. The Kendi bottle has a rounded squat reveal a squirrel sitting on the. The raised head of the beast that scratches his ear with the left paw, serves as a spout, from the back of the animal grows the neck of the vessel. The grapes painted on the soffit form with the squirrel, the popular motif of grapes in China naschenden squirrel. This design has an auspicious meaning, which arises from the homophony of the first letters of both words. Squirrels and grapes transmission as a wish for a long life. The neck of the bottle is decorated with the swastika geometric patterns. The painting in cobalt blue is run something in the fire and the neck slightly sunken. The Kendi bottle in the form of the squirrel seems to be a very rare, if not singular piece. (From: La maladie de porcelaine, East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig 2001, p 18);

Cup. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), probably Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 1747. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 6.3 cm, D. 9.3 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), probably Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 1401. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 5.2 cm, D. 27.8 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Kraak porcelain is one of the Chinese export porcelain of the first half of the 17th Century. The name derives from the Portuguese Schifftsypus Caracca (Dutch: kraak) ago, were transported to the goods from the Far East to Europe. From 1602 export and shipment of Chinese porcelain were taken not by the Portuguese, but by the Dutch trading company Vereenigde Dutch East India Company (VOC). The forms of Kraak porcelain include small and large cups, mugs, bowls, bottles and vases. The decoration consists of flowers, landscapes shore with birds, insects and figures.The edges of the vessels are usually divided into frames that are filled with flowers and auspicious motifs. (Exhibition label panel arch wall Kraak porcelain)

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), probably Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 1293. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 6,9 cm, D. 27,4 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013 © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), probably Wanli era (1573 - 1619). Porcelain Collection. PO 1742. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 4.5 cm, D. 14.4 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Covered pot. China, Jingdezhen, Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzheng era (1627 - 1644). Porcelain Collection. PO 3242. Porcelain with underglaze painting in cobalt blue. H. 92.3 cm, D. 52.0 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The large, egg-shaped pot lid has emerged in the era of the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty to 1640th In 1602 was the Vereenigde Dutch East India Company (VOC) was founded the East India Company of the Netherlands. She perceived the export Chinese and Japanese porcelain to Europe. Chinese traders in 1635 were Dutch decorative role models who had to copy the Chinese. With the Tulipmania flourished in Holland as the tulip came as a decorative motif on Chinese porcelain. The decor of the pot is a combination of European and Chinese motifs.Traditional Chinese motifs, for example, shore landscapes in which writers engage Mußebeschäftigungen in nature. These games are contrasted by ornamental stylized flowering branches, in their symmetrical arrangements clearly European in origin. The tulips take as the center of the flower ornaments as well as on the peripheral borders a dominant role. (From The Porcelain Collection in Dresden, China, Japan, Meissen, Dresden, 2006, p 14)

Cover pot. China, Jingdezhen, Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzhen era (1628 - 1644). Porcelain Collection. PO 1169. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 30.3 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The shape of the pot lid with round lid is known as "Ginger Jar" in the West. On a blue background with an irregular pattern of "geborstenem ice" lotus vines are cut white. The cover shows lotus tendrils and stylized clouds and dragons. On the body of the pot an elephant and a phoenix are shown in two large leaf-shaped reserves. The white elephant is almost directly in front of a direction indicated by rocks and trees landscape. It is likely that the potters had never seen a live specimen. The animal has a huge, wrinkled body, a small head with leaf-like ears, a thin, short snout and narrow tusks. In China, the elephant stands for wisdom and, with Tiger, Leopard and Lion to the four animals embody the strength and energy. Another level of meaning is particularly the white elephant as a Buddhist symbol, since it presents the mount of Puxian Bodhisattva (Sanskrit Samantabhadra). The bulbous "Ginger Jars" by slightly varying shape were a popular Chinese export. The name is derived from the Dutch name confijt pot, canning pot, from which is around 1635 to refer to the loading lists of Dutch ships and certainly describes the original function of these pots. Among the canned food was also the Chinese ginger. Pots of this type seem to have been appreciated in Holland, being on numerous still lifes of the 17th Century, especially in the work of Willem Kalf (1622 - 1693), appear. (From: La maladie de porcelaine, East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig 2001, p 36)

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzhen era (1628 - 1644) / Shunzhi era (1644-1661). Porcelain Collection. PO 3419. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 10.5 cm, D. 48.9 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzhen era (1628 - 1644)-Shunzhi era (1644-1661). Porcelain Collection. PO 1272. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 6.2 cm, D. 36.3 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzhen era (1628 - 1644)-Shunzhi era (1644-1661). Porcelain Collection. PO 1403. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 5,9 cm, D. 36,2 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Charger. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Chongzhen era (1628 - 1644)-Shunzhi era (1644-1661). Porcelain Collection. PO 1271. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 5,8 cm, D. 31,5 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Rouleau vase (yitongping?). China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Shunzhi era (1644 - 1661) or early Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 2038. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 46.6 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Adhering to the wall of the slender vase with a wide neck pulling landscape appears as the transfer of a hanging scroll painting on porcelain vessel. The composition takes the art of traditional Chinese painting. The viewer looks into a river landscape with mountains, trees, houses and figurines. As in a Chinese landscape, the viewer from the bottom right to enter into the picture space, with offers him the wanderer on the bridge as a figure of identification.Unusual are the style and the outstanding quality of the painting. The landscape elements, especially the rocks and mountains are finely contoured and designed with sparse, delicate structure dashed lines. The painting of the Dresden vase shows similarity to the landscape painting of the monk painter Hongren (1610-1664). This was one of the influential school of the 17th Anhui Century. In this province there was the seat of the merchant guilds, which controlled the transport of porcelain produced in Jingdezhen. The rich merchants profiled itself as a collector with a taste of the literary. So Anhui experienced in the mid-17th Century painting of a flower and a wide distribution of books illustrated with woodcuts. Chinese paintings and woodcuts became models for the nearby Jingdezhen porcelain decors. The decor of many porcelains in the first term of the new Qing Dynasty, the era Shunzhi (1644 - 1661) and the early era of Kangxi 1662-1683 arisen, each carrying the individual signature of an artist, especially in the landscapes. If these designs were not created by the painters themselves, they nevertheless point to a story in the Chinese porcelain unusually close relationship between painting and porcelain décor. (From: La maladie de porcelaine, East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig 2001, p 40).

Bowl. China, Jingdezhen Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Shunzhi era (1644 - 1661) or early Kangxi era (1662 - 1722). Porcelain Collection. PO 1357. Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue. H. 7.0 cm, D. 33.9 cm© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

The flat, round bowl is assigned to the style of the 'Master of the Rocks ", a term that was coined by the English collector Gerald Reitlinger, whose collection is now in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Behind this name hides any individual painter tangible personality, but a stylistic echo of the contemporary landscape painting, especially the influential school of the painter, art collector and critic Dong Qichang (1555-1636). This style of painting is characterized by the special playback equipment, surface and volume of the often dramatic towering mountains and rocks by numerous parallel structure lines graded color intensity. It is particularly evident in the Dresden bowl with rocks in the foreground. More distant mountains often appear in darker areas maneuvered by light outlines. Characteristic of the 'Master of the Rocks' style is also the representation of the ground vegetation in the form of irregular light blue polka dots. Porcelain with a painting in the style of "Master of the Rocks" was not produced for export. It was commissioned by the local scholar layer, which they estimated as collectibles. The best Chinese potters of Jingdezhen porcelain metropolis came the demanding requirements of a new market with great creativity. The Dresden collection has several pieces that can be assigned to the "Master of the Rocks' style, including two highly-quality, painted with landscapes fish tank (PO 9055, PO 9056), who belonged to the collection of Augustus the Strong (From:. La maladie de porcelaine, East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig 2001, p 42).

Nardi Blackamoor Pendant Brooch,1970. Photo courtesy  Samuel Saidian and Sons

A fine pendant brooch consisting round Persian turquoise set on 18k gold. Signed Nardi 750. Price on request

Samuel Saidian and Sons. 1050 2nd Ave Gallery #48, New York NY 10022, New York City, NY, 10022 - 212.752.2684

NARDI Venice, circa 1970, Blackamoor. Photo courtesy Galerie Montaigne

NARDI Venice circa 1970, Blackamoor pin in ebony, yellow and white gold enameled in blue, set with an angel sculpted coral of the XIXth century, diamonds (33grs). Price on request

Galerie Montaigne. 2 avenue de la Madone, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, 98000 - +37 793504411

NARDI Blackamoor Diamond Gold Brooch. Photo courtesy Simon Teakle

An 18kt gold and diamond blackamoor brooch, the pave set diamond torso and turban with a carved ebony face. Sold

Simon Teakle. 4 Grigg St, Greenwich, CT, 06830 - 203.769.5888

Lucas Cranach d. Ä. (1472-1553), Adam und Eva (Der Sündenfall), um 1510/16 © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, München.

MUNICH.- The Old Testament unites. It is the foundation of Judaism and of Christianity, and its subjects and stories are familiar to Islam. In the West, a remarkable pictorial tradition related to the Old Testament has developed over the centuries. Some of the greatest examples of Old Testament scenes dating from the late Middle Ages and the Baroque period have been gathered for this exhibition from the outstanding holdings of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections). 

Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Burgkmair, Lucas Cranach, and Peter Paul Rubens, as well as Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain, Luca Giordano and numerous other artists, all explored themes from the Old Testament. Their works depict the creation and fall of man, an angry and merciful God, the captivity and deliverance of Israel from the Egypt of the Pharaohs, disasters of unimaginable proportions and the destruction of entire civilizations. They portray heroes and heroines who bravely confront their enemies, and they celebrate the wisdom and foresight of the prophets. The stories of Noah and Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael as the progenitors of Jews and Arabs, and of Moses, David, Solomon, Judith, Esther and Susanna come to life in the exhibition. 

The 37 exhibited works come from galleries in Aschaffenburg , Augsburg , Bamberg , Ottobeuren, and Schleißheim, as well as from the Alte Pinakothek. Loans from the museums and collections of the city of Augsburg , museums of the city of Bamberg and from the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum ( Bavarian National Museum ) in Munich are also included in the exhibition. Valuable prints from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library), the university library of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Staatsbibliothek Bamberg (State Library Bamberg) supplement the selection of paintings. 

The entire Alte Pinakothek is included in the exhibition. An investigative tour leads visitors past 43 more of the gallery's paintings that depict Old Testament themes or motifs.

The exhibition is arranged in three parts:

1. Paintings from the late Middle Ages to the beginnings of the New Modern period (Room III, special exhibition space at the Klenze Portal)

2. Paintings of the Baroque period (Room I, special exhibition space at the Klenze Portal)

3. "Investigation"– A tour through the gallery on the first and ground floors, West Wing 

Hans Baldung, called Grien, The Flood, 1516 © Bavarian State Painting Collections, State Gallery in the New Residence, on loan from the Museum of the City of Bamberg

Hans Burgkmair d. Ä. (1473 - 1531) Die Geschichte der Esther, 1528© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Alte Pinakothek, München.

Vessel with figure of Guixing the boat from the donation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Jiajing era (1522 - 1566). Porcelain Collection. PO 3791. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels (émail sur biscuit). H. 9.5 cm, D. 9.9 cm © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013

Exquisite Chinese porcelain was already more than a hundred years before Augustus the Strong (1670 - 1733) come to Dresden. In 1590 the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici made (1549 to 1609), the Court of Dresden under Christian I of Saxony (1560-1591), a gift of fourteen Chinese porcelains, eight of which have up to now in the obtain Dresden porcelain collection.This includes the abnormal vessel in the form of small figure Guixing on a boat. In the Medici inventory of 1579 it is described as "Lucernina di porclana dorata et dipinta, de l'Indie" in the Dresden inventory of 1595 we find: ". Lucerna, or lamp on top of Porcellana verguldet Geziret with a standing figure" Surprisingly appears the bizarre display of the Chinese god of literature, Guixing. There is a Taoist deity in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 906) is said to have lived as a man and in the 14th Century learned divine worship. A form of representation shows the deity with ugly features and a bizarre kind of horns on his head. Often she stands with one foot on the head of a large carp, which symbolizes success in China in the official career. (From: Giambologna in Dresden, The Dresden gifts of the Medici in 2006, P. 103 - 108.)

Pot in Phoenix figure out the gift of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinando I de 'Medici. China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Jiajing era (1522 - 1566). Porcelain Collection PO 3478. Porcelain, painted in overglaze enamels (émail sur biscuit).© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2013