Lot 99. An underglaze-blue and overglaze-red bowl and cover, Xuande six-character mark and of the period (1426-1435); 6.7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 8,000 - GBP 12,000. Price realised GBP 26,450. © Christie’s Images Limited 1998

The bowl with deep sides rising to a flaring rim, decorated in iron-red with dragons in pursuit of the flaming pearl, amidst cloud wisps and above a band around the foot enclosing crested waves, the domed cover similarly decorated around the central circular knop, restored.

Note: This shape appears to be typical of the Xuande period, but does not appear to have been used again until the 18th Century. Xuande bowls and covers of this design were also made in underglaze blue, without the additional enamel, and in underglaze blue and underglaze copper-red. The decoration on the present bowl and cover appears to be rarer than the other forms. A very similar bowl and cover to the present lot was included in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1998 Special Exhibition of Selected Hsan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Catalogue no.55, pp.164 and 165. An underglaze blue and copper-red bowl and cover, which has similar crested waves around the foot, is in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated in the Catalogue, no.A.678, and by D. Lion-Goldschmidt, Ming Porcelain, New York, 1978, p.96, pl.62. For bowls and covers decorated only in underglaze blue, which appear to have petal lappets around the foot instead of waves, see the Palmer example included in the Oriental Ceramic Society 1957 exhibition, The Art of the Ming Dynasty, Catalogue no.123, and sold in our Hong Kong Rooms, 17 January, 1989, lot 568; and the Percival David Foundation example, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, 1982, vol.6, no.85. 

Christie's. MING - THE AGE OF REFINEMENT. London, 16 November 1998

Lot 100. A wucai globular 'Dragon' jarlet, Encircled Jiajing six-character mark and of the period (1522-1566); 5 in. (13 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 7,000 - GBP 10,000. Price realised GBP 11,500. © Christie’s Images Limited 1998

Enamelled around the body with two dragons in mutual pursuit among clouds, between a row of stylised lotus lappets at the base and quatrefoil cloud scrolls at the shoulder below the tooth-pattern at the short cylindrical neck, fitted box.

Note: A very similar jar is illustrated in colour in the revised edition Sekai Toji Zenshu, 1976, vol.14, no.232, p.236; and another in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, pl.844, p.282. Compare also the similarly enamelled square jars of this date; an example of this group complete with cover is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated Zhongguo Meishu Quanji (A Complete Anthology of Chinese Art), Ceramics, Vol.3, no.114, p.97.  

Christie's. MING - THE AGE OF REFINEMENT. London, 16 November 1998

Lot 97. A fine and rare blue and yellow saucer-dish, Encircled Zhengde four-character mark and of the period  (1506-1521); 7 in. (20 cm.) diam. Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000. Price realised GBP 25,300. © Christie’s Images Limited 1998.

Boldly painted to the centre with a gardenia branch bearing two blossoms and a bud, within a double circle in the well and below the rim, the rounded well with four evenly spaced pomegranate, grapevine, peach and lotus sprays, the exterior with a continuous flower scroll with five large blooms within double bands below the rim and around the tapering foot, all reserved on a rich and glossy yellow ground, the interior with surface wear and small glaze flake.

Note: For similar examples and a discussion of this group of wares, see the notes by Mary Ann Rogers, where the author discusses the origins of this distinctive type of decoration in the Xuande period and its developments in the 15th and early 16th Centuries, In Pursuit of the Dragon, Traditions and Transitions in Ming Ceramics, An Exhibition from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Seattle Art Museum, 1988, Catalogue, p.98. The Idemitsu Museum owns examples from each of the five reign eras during which the type was produced. Apart from minor differences in the treatment of the flowers and choice of fruit, the group is largely consistent.

Often called hibiscus, the flower in the centre of the present example is now identified as a gardenia. See the article by Regina Krahl, Plant Motifs on Chinese Porcelain, Example from the Topkapi Saray Identified through the Bencao Gangmu, Part.1, Orientations, May 1987, pp.52-65.

Further examples can be found in many of the world's greatest museums and collections. See J. Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tokyo, 1980, pl.153; J. Ayers, op.cit, vol.II, Geneva, 1969, Catalogue, no.A144; in an Exhibition of Ceramics from the Collection of the Shanghai Museum, Seibu Art Museum, Japan, 1984, Catalogue, p.110, no.80; The 15th Anniversary, Catalogue, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1981, no.796; Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book IV, National Palace Museum, Taibei, 1963, Catalogue, pp.40-41, pls.11, 11a, and 11b; Yutaka Mino and James Robinson, Beauty and Tranquility - The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1983, Catalogue, pp.246-247, pl.97; Margaret Medley, The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1978, Catalogue, pl.III, no.26. 

Lot 107. A very rare imperial Fahua bottle vase, Encircled Zhengde four-character mark and of the period (1506-1521); 8 in. (22.2 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 25,000 - GBP 30,000. Price realised GBP 49,900. © Christie’s Images Limited 1998.

The spherical body rising to a flaring rim with a short straight lip, the surface covered in a deep blue with two two writhing dragons among clouds reserved in white biscuit and pale blue enamel, the interior with a warm yellow glaze.

Provenance: Baron Eugene de Rothschild, sold in these Rooms, 23 March 1974, lot 172.

Literature: A. du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, 1984, p.175, no.2, colour plate. 

Note: Anthony du Boulay ibid. points out that "apart from a few pieces with Zhengde marks, no fahua appears to be Imperial." Compare the unmarked ewer of fahua type with dragon panels included in the Exhibition of Far Eastern Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, 1970, Catalogue, front cover, no.1, where it is dated to the 15th/16th century.  

Lot 106. A fine pair of large glazed stoneware standing figures, 16th century; each approximately 41 in. (104 cm.) high. Estimate GBP 12,000 - GBP 15,000. Price realised GBP 18,400. © Christie’s Images Limited 1998.

Each modelled standing on a pierced hexagonal base, the lady clad in robes of yellow, deep brown and green, holding a large dish in both hands, the gentleman wearing a long green cloak and holding a folded textile, minor chips and restoration.

Lot 842. A green and yellow-glazed tileworks figural group, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 19 ½ in. (49.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The central figure of a court official is shown standing between two female attendants with his head turned to the left as he points upwards with his right hand. He is dressed in ochre robes and the attendants are picked out in aubergine, ochre and green glazes, carved softwood stand.

Property from the Collection of Frederick A. and Sharon L. Klingenstein

Provenance: Chait Galleries, New York.
Mrs. Edward G. Robinson Collection.
Christie's New York, 2-4 December 1982, lot 477.

Lot 841. A carved Longquan celadon bracket-lobed dish, Ming dynasty, 14th-15th century; 14 ¼ in. (36.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The heavily-potted dish with everted, barbed rim is carved on the interior with a central medallion of 'cash' pattern, below a leafy floral scroll in the petal-carved well, and is covered overall with an even glaze of sea-green tone, with the exception of an unglazed ring on the base which burnt orange in firing. 

Property from the Collection of Frederick A. and Sharon L. Klingenstein

Lot 1053. A large Longquan celadon dish, Ming dynasty, 15th century; 18 ¼ in. (46.5 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The heavily potted dish with shallow rounded sides is decorated on the interior with diaper pattern below a band of floral sprays in the well, and is covered inside and out with a thick glaze of olive-green tone, except for a wide ring on the base which has burnt orange in the firing. 

Property from the James K. Li Collection.

Lot 1055. A carved Longquan celadon tripod censer, Ming dynasty (1368-1644); 10 in. (25.4 cm.) across. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The censer is raised on three animal-mask feet and the sides are incised with 'cash' pattern between two bands of applied florets below two rope-twist handles at the rim. The censer is covered with a thick glaze of soft sea-green color except for an area in the center of the interior which was left in the biscuit and impressed with a flower spray, Japanese metal openwork cover, double Japanese wood box. 

Lot 1056. A finely carved Longquan celadon bowl, Early Ming dynasty, 15th century; 8 ¼ in. (20.8 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The interior is carved with a chrysanthemum flowerhead in the center, surrounded by a leafy composite floral scroll in the well, which is repeated on the exterior. It is covered under a glaze of soft sea-green color, lacquer cover, Japanese wood box. 

Note: This finely carved bowl is exceptional for the beauty of its glaze and the harmonious organization of its decoration. Longquan celadons such as the present bowl were much admired both in the Ming court and abroad. This is attested by the large quantity of celadons preserved in collections such as the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul and the Ardebil Collection in the Iran Bastan in Tehran. In addition, sherds excavated from the Longquan Dayao kiln site bearing official marks further emphasize their importance.

Lot 1057. A white-glazed anhua-decorated lobed footed bowl, Ming dynasty, 15th century; 9 5/8 in. (24.6 cm.) wide. Estimate USD 50,000 - USD 70,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The bowl is molded with seven lobes and the exterior is finely incised on each lobe with various plants and trees within double-line-border panels, which are repeated on the correspondingly lobed and flared foot. The center of the interior is incised with a fruiting peach trees below a band of florets incised on both the top and the underside of the everted rim.. 

Note: This lobed bowl is covered in the soft lustrous white glaze and is subtly enhanced with anhua or 'secret' decoration. Such decoration is almost invisible from a distance, but was intended to be appreciated only by those fortunate enough to examine the piece up close. A Xuande-marked bowl of almost identical form and decoration rendered in underglaze cobalt blue was excavated from the Ming imperial kiln site in Zhushan, Jingdezhen and is illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Facotry at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 248-49, no. 83.

Lot 1058. An Imperial yellow-glazed dish, Zhengde six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1506-1521); 7 in. (17.8 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The dish is raised on a low tapering foot ring and has rounded sides flaring to an everted rim, and is covered inside and out with a glaze of rich egg-yolk yellow. 

Note: Monochrome yellow glazes were typically used to decorate dishes and bowls in the late 15th-16th centuries, such as the present dish. Although they are believed to have been manufactured for the sole use of the imperial court, it appears that some also found their way abroad, probably as diplomatic gifts. John Alexander Pope mentions that there are sixteen monochrome yellow-glazed wares amongst the Chinese porcelains dedicated to the Ardebil Shrine by Shah Abbas in 1611. These sixteen pieces date to the Hongzhi, Zhengde, Jiajing and Wanli periods. See J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, 1956, p. 151. 

For two similar dishes, one slightly larger and the other slightly smaller than the present example, see J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 205, nos. 8:27 and 8:28. Another similar dish was sold in Marchant: Nine Decades in Chinese Art; Christie's New York, 14 September 2017, lot 735.

Lot 1050. A carved Longquan celadon tripod censer, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 10 5/8 in. (27 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 25,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The deep bombé-form body is raised on three cabriole legs and carved with florets within a geometric design below a band of cloud pattern on the straight neck. It is covered overall with a crackled glaze of sea-green tone with the exception of the unglazed center of the interior and the protruding rounded center of the base., soft wood stand, Japanese wood box. 

LONDON.- Artificial intelligence has been used to analyse high-resolution digital x-ray images of the world famous Ghent Altarpiece, as part of an investigative project led by UCL. 

The finding is expected to improve our understanding of art masterpieces and provide new opportunities for art investigation, conservation and presentation. 

Researchers from the National Gallery, Duke University and UCL worked with technical images acquired from the brothers Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece, a large and complex 15th-century altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Belgium. 

The paper, ‘Artificial Intelligence for Art Investigation: Meeting the Challenge of Separating X-ray Images of the Ghent Altarpiece’, demonstrates how academics used a newly developed algorithm to study mixed x-ray images containing features from the front and back of the painting’s double-sided panels, which scientists have deconstructed into two clear images. 

These images are part of a comprehensive set of high resolution pictures acquired using different imaging techniques as part of the altarpiece’s on-going conservation by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), providing a wealth of data to interrogate and interpret. 

“This approach demonstrates that artificial intelligence-oriented techniques — powered by deep learning — can be used to potentially solve challenges arising in art investigation,” commented lead academic Dr Miguel Rodrigues (UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering). 

“We’d like to see the impact that the development of similar AI-oriented approaches will have on our ability to reveal other hidden features in a painting, such as earlier concealed designs,” he continued. 

The Ghent Altarpiece open. The bottom left panel of the open left wing has been missing since its theft almost a century ago. Images in this figure, used with permission of copyright holder, Saint-Bavo’s Cathedral, www.lukasweb.be – Art in Flanders; photo Hugo Maertens.

The Ghent Altarpiece originally consisted of twelve panels. The two wing sections, each originally made of four panels – painted on both sides – could be opened fully on feast days to reveal the four central panels. The painting has survived near destruction over the centuries and seizure by the Nazis in the 1940s. 

X-ray images are a valuable tool for examining and restoring paintings as they can help to establish a piece’s condition and provide insights into an artist’s technique. 

However the penetrating nature of x-rays means that everything in its path will contribute to the resulting image, which is informative but can produce images that are difficult to interpret. This is particularly true for panels painted on both sides, or where an artist has re-used a canvas. 

By separating the complex x-ray images, the new algorithm enables art historians, conservators and heritage scientists to better understand Old Master paintings, and the information revealed can help experts when protecting and restoring delicate pieces. 

Deep learning approaches are now being used to address challenges arising in other sectors including healthcare, fintech, defence and security.

Lot 1059. A large blue and white dish, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze-blue in a line within a rectangle and of the period (1522-1566); 20 in. (51 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 25,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The heavily potted dish has rounded sides rising from a tapering foot, and is decorated in the interior in bright blue tones of underglaze blue with a large medallion enclosing leafy meander bearing cockscomb flowers, below sprays of pomegranate, peony, chrysanthemum and peach in the cavetto, and the exterior is decorated with three repeated groups of the 'Three Friends of Winter', pine, prunus and bamboo, and the reign mark written in a line within a rectangle at the rim. 

Provenance: Nathan Bentz Asian Arts, San Francisco, 1962. 
John Yeon (1910-1994) Collection, Portland, Oregon.

Note: A Jiajing dish of the same pattern and comparable size ( 19 ½ in. diam.) was sold at Christie's London, 17 June 2003, lot 27. Another similar example is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 227, fig. 9:27, where the author notes that floral decoration was relatively rare in the sixteenth century and also that while the style of the painting follows early Ming design, there is no exact model from which this would have been copied, although the nianhao under the rim follows the Xuande precedent. Compare, also, the dish illustrated by R. Krahl and J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. II, p. 631, no. 926.

Lot 1060. A blue and white double-gourd vase, Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century; 10 ¼ in. (26 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The vase is potted with two pronounced bulbs, each decorated with dense meandering floral scrolls, divided by a waisted neck encircled by a band of classic scroll, the narrow mouth rim with a lappet band, and the foot with overlapping petals, double Japanese wood box. 

Lot 1061. A blue and white faceted vase, late Wanli period, 17th century; 6 7/8 in. (17 cm.) high. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

Each facet of the body is decorated with a flowering branch below flower-head tendrils on the broad shoulder. The facets of the neck are decorated with a flower spray and butterflies, double Japanese wood box. 

Lot 1062. A rare blue and white ewer and cover, Chongzhen period (1628-1644); 8 ¼ in. (21 cm.) across. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 18,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The ewer has a compressed tapering body decorated with a continuous river landscape below a band of ruyi-heads on the shoulder below the neck, and is set with a faceted S-shaped spout emerging from a lion mask opposite the imitation-bamboo handle. The domed cover is decorated with ruyi-heads below the lotus bud finial, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: Marquis Ikeda (1904-1988) Collection (according to label on the Japanese wood box).

Literature: Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art II - Special Exhibition 'Strolled for last ten years', Tokyo, 2016, p. 83, no. 121.

Exhibited: Tokyo, Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art II - Special Exhibition 'Strolled for last ten years', November 2016.

Lot 1063. A wucai'peony' bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The exterior is decorated with a continuous scrolling peony meander, and the center of the interior with a lingzhi sprig below a band of floral scroll at the rim, Japanese wood box. 

Lot 1063. A wucai'Zhong Kui' dish, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 8 1/8 in. (20.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 25,000 - USD 35,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2019.

The dish is decorated on the interior with a scene of the Daoist immortal Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller, holding a sword in his right hand while pulling the hair of a small, angry demon beside him, below a band of continuous double-gourd scroll in the well. The exterior is decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems above lotus sprigs, and a band of classic scroll encircling the foot, Japanese wood box. 

Note: Wanli dishes of this design are more commonly found in blue and white, and are very rare in wucai. Compare two blue and white dishes with Wanli marks that are similarly decorated with figural scenes as well as the unusual band of double-gourd scroll in the well, the depiction of the bajixiang on the exterior and the band of classic scroll on the foot, illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pp. 319, nos. II:117 and II:118. Discussing no. II:117, the author notes that the dish "illustrates Ming openness to the unity of both Buddhist and Daoist iconography on a single object," which is also true of the present dish.