Lot 114. A Safavid agate-set parcel-gilt seal ring, Persia, 16th century; 2.6cm. height, 2.2cm. diam. Estimate: 8,000 - 12,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the flat round chalcedony seal incised with thuluth script reading 'Muhammad, 'Ali, Hassan', set within a frame with strapwork motifs, the shoulder and sides of the silver hoop applied with intricately worked gold foliate decoration and pointed base, underside with incised lozenge-shaped motif.

Note: inscriptions: Qur’an, chapter III (al-‘Imran), part of verse 173, followed by: ‘Confident in the Absolute King, Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn Muhammad’.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 114. A Safavid blue and white porcelain cat, Persia, 17th century; 14.3cm. height. Estimate: 5,000 - 7,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

in the form of a seated cat, the soft-paste porcelain body painted with blue Chinese-inspired stylised details to body, feline features, a hole between ears and one to chest for use as a Qalyan.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Gozu Tenno, god of warding off pestilene. Late Heian period, 12th century. Courtesy of Carole Davenport.

Lot 180. A jewelled and enamelled sarpech, India, 19th century with later elements; 12.5 by 11.5cm. Estimate: 12,000 - 18,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the openwork body set with foiled white stones, designed as a central floral medallion flanked by hinged petal florets and surmounted by a hinged curling jigha, suspended emeralds, the reverse with polychrome enamel floral design with birds, later set with three fastening pins.

Provenance: Ex-collection of a diplomat, Greece, since the early 1970s. Previously gifted from the Maharani of Jodhpur

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 195. A diamond and carved emerald-set enamelled necklace, India, 19th-20th century; 23cm. height; 15cm. max. diam. Estimate: 25,000 - 35,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

featuring a large carved emerald pendant set within a foliate frame, with articulated openwork metal settings designed as flowerheads, set with diamonds, polychrome enamelling to reverse with floral details, metal thread string with seed pearl terminals.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Note: It is interesting to note the similar style of carving and shape of the large carved emerald hanging prominently from this necklace with the emerald on the 'Empress Crown', part of Farah Pahlavi, the Empress of Iran's coronation regalia, made by Van Cleef and Arpels with loose gemstones in the Iranian Imperial treasury, some of which must have been brought back by Nader Shah's victorious armies following his invasion of India and sack of Delhi in 1739.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 196. A pair of gem-set emerald earrings, India, 19th-20th century; each: 10cm. Estimate: 10,000 - 12,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each with a central rose-cut round emerald further set with gemstones, including diamonds and rubies set in the kundan technique, hanging from a carved leaf, polychrome enamel to reverse and adapted with pin and hook for fastening to ears.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Note: Mughal emeralds were popular among European jewellers such as Cartier who re-purposed them into new creations such as a beautiful necklace and matching earrings in the British Museum, inv. no.2001,0505. Whereas the cabochon emeralds are attributed to the eigthteenth/nineteenth century Mughal era, the design is early twentieth century. The current emeralds feature a rose cut which was known to be used since the sixteenth century.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 197. A pair of gem-set and pearl pendant earrings, India, 19th-20th century; each: 10.2cm. Estimate: 8,000 - 12,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each designed with a flowerhead set with a spinel in the centre surrounded by petal-form diamonds in the kundan technique, with a hanging cresent-form foliate pendant and seed-pearl fringes, reverse with polychrome enamel, adapted with fastening pin and hook.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 198. A diamond and carved emerald enamelled necklace, India, 19th-20th century; 14.6cm. height; 12cm. max. width. Estimate: 18,000 - 22,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

comprising linked petal-form diamond-set drops with large pendant featuring a central carved emerald, reverse with polychrome enamelling,with fastening string.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 200. A gem-set and enamelled anklet converted into a necklace, India, 19th-20th century and later; 20cm. max. diam. Estimate: 10,000 - 12,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

comprising an anklet composed of linked panels each set with a diamond on a green-enamel ground with enamel flower to reverse, topped with pearl fringe and hanging spinels, transformed into a necklace with cord for fastening.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 201. A pair of gem-set and enamelled bracelets with makara-heads, India, 19th-20th century; each: 8.5cm. diam. Estimate: 15,000 - 20,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the hinged clasps rendered in the form of two confronting makaras or serpents with pink-gem tongues, set with diamonds in the kundan technique on a green and red enamel ground, the interiors with white enamel and gold bands.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Note: A closely comparable pair of bracelets with green makara-heads and red enamel bodies with white interiors are in the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, inv. no.LNS 1863 Ja,b (see Keene 2001, p.81, no.6.43).

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 202. A jewelled head ornament (jhumar) with seed-pearls, India, Lucknow, 19th-20th century; 15cm. height. Estimate: 6,000 - 8,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

designed as a gem-set floral arrangement from which rows of seed-pearls connect to an openwork crescent-form hinged panel with hanging details and seed-pearl and bead fringe, reverse in polychrome enamel, with hook above for fastening.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Note: For an example in the National Museum, Delhi, inv. no.89.1030, see Balakrishnan 2014, p.91.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 203. A gem-set and enamelled pendant necklace, India, 19th-20th century and later; 62cm. max. length. Estimate: 12,000 - 18,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

designed as a gem-set floral arrangement from which rows of seed-pearls connect to an openwork crescent-form hinged panel with hanging details and seed-pearl and bead fringe, reverse in polychrome enamel, with hook above for fastening.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 204. A diamond and emerald-set enamelled bracelet, India, 19th-20th century; 7cm. height; upper motif: 4.2cm. width. Estimate: 12,000 - 18,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the openwork foliate-form settings set in the kundan technique with emeralds and rose and table-cut diamonds on linked band, underside and thick edges with polychrome enamels featuring floral motifs, screw pin to fasten.

Provenance: Previously property of an Indian maharani.

Private collection, UK, since the early 1970s.

Note: A similar example was sold in Christie's, Maharajahs & Mughal Magnificence, New York, 19 June 2019, lot 333.

Sotheby's. ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA INCLUDING FINE RUGS AND CARPETS, 01 Apr 2020

Lot 3583. A large and rare Ming wucai seated figure of Shoulao, Wanli period (1573-1620); 15 1/2 in. (39.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,200,000 - HKD 1,800,000. Price Realized HKD 980,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

The God of Longevity shown seated atop a recumbent deer raised on an oval plinth painted with clouds and waves breaking against rocks, holding a ruyi scepter in his right hand, dressed in a brightly coloured robe predominantly decorated with peony medallions on an iron-red diaper ground, the front and shoulders with blue-ground green dragon panels and the back with a medallion of an iron-red chilong, tied at the chest and partially open at the front to reveal the yellow under-garment centred with a cloud scroll, his head with long beard, characteristically high bald crown and hair tied into a bow at the nape of the neck, the recumbent animal dappled in underglaze-blue, with fur markings streaked in sepia and with a yellow bell hung on a tasselled collar, the oval plinth painted with clouds and waves breaking against rocks, flanked at the front by a crane and tortoise, the broad unglazed foot rim encircling the base pierced with an aperture to one side and picked out in vivid green enamels.

The property of Dr. Elizabeh Shing.

Provenance: Edward T. Chow Collection, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 November 1980, lot 34.

Exhibited: Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, 1990, no. 149.

Note: Another large wucai figure of Shoulao, formerly in the collection of Robert Chang, was sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2000, lot 317. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale,  Hong Kong, 1 June 2011

Lot 3592. A rare large late Ming wucai dish, Wanli six-character mark within double-circles and of the period (1573-1619); 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price Realized HKD 3,140,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Finely painted in a brilliant palette on the interior with Shoulao seated on a rock beside an attendant being greeted by the Eight Immortals, Baxian, in a rocky landscape with gnarled pine branches and lingzhi, the cavetto decorated with a scroll of ruyi-clouds supporting Shou characters, the exterior with detached floral sprays above a leafy scroll band at the foot, box.

Provenance: Previously sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27 April 1999, lot 414.

Note: It is rare to find a large Wanli dish with such a detailed design of Immortals in landscape. Shoulao symbolises longevity, and so do the Eight Immortals. Comparable dishes include one of similar size and design in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by D. Lion-Goldschmidt, La Porcelain Ming, Fribourg, 1978, p. 186, pl. 193; another one from the J. M. Hu Family Collection, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 4 June 1985, lot 14; and another was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 6 November 1997, lot 1053. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale,  Hong Kong, 1 June 2011

Lot 3573. A highly important and extremely rare imperial polychrome lacquer 'dragon' box, Wanli period (1573-1619); 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 5,000,000 - HKD 7,000,000. Price Realised  HKD 11,300,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Superbly carved to the flat cover through layers of cinnabar, green and yellow lacquer with a central roundel containing a fierce full-face dragon, its eyes picked out in black, amidst vaporous ruyi-shaped clouds coiling around a 'flaming pearl', the central roundel encircled by six further roundels depicting similar dragons shown in profile facing the central dominant dragon, their bodies alternately picked out in cinnabar and green, the roundels separated by ruyi clouds and lotus sprigs, the sides of the box and cover with shaped panels depicting two rows of four confronted green and cinnabar dragons separated by the Eight Buddhist Emblems, all against intricate yellow and cinnabar lacquer diaper grounds, the interiors and base lacquered black, Japanese wood box

Property from the Kaisendo museum, Yamagata, Japan.

Literature: Bijutsu Senshu Dai Hachi Kan, Cho Shitsu (Carved Lacquer), 1974, Fuji Art Publications, Japan, no. 61.

Exhibited: Tokyo National Museum, Exhibition of Oriental Lacquer Arts, Tokyo, 1977, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 253, no. 549.

Note: No other large box of this design appears to be recorded although the design of six dragon roundels around a central dragon in profile can be seen on a large dish bearing a Wanli cyclical date relating to 1592, formerly in the Fritz Low-Beer Collection and now in the Linden Museum, Stuttgart illustrated by M. Kopplin, ed., Im Zeichen des Drachen, Linden-Museum, 2006, p. 169, no. 80 where the current Kaisendo Museum example is discussed. The author discusses the unusual use of seven dragons to top of the dish rather than the usual nine dragons generally favoured by the Imperial court.

It is interesting to note that most other examples of Imperial lacquer of this importance from the late Ming period are inscribed with reign marks and frequently with a cyclical date. It is very likely that the present box originally bore a Wanli mark, and possibly even the same cyclical date as the Linden-Museum example, that has since bee effaced as a result of relacquering to the base. 

A number of late Ming lacquer boxes of similar form and size with differing decoration are known. Two Wanli period qiangjin and tianqi decorated lacquer dragon boxes in the Palace Museum, Beijing are illustrated in in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, pp. 226-227, nos. 178 and 179, measuring 49.2 and 39.5 cm. in diameter respectively. A Wanli period large carved cinnabar lacquer rectangular 'dragon' box and cover inscribed with a Xuande mark in the same collection is illustrated ibid., p. 221, no. 174. 

The present box and cover appears to have been inspired both in terms of the form and decoration by early Ming examples such as the Xuande period lacquer 'dragon' box in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, illustrated ibid., p. 84, no. 60. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale, 1 June 2011, Convention Hall

Lot 3574. A rare carved cinnabar lacquer circular 'cranes' box and cover, Jiajing six-character mark and of the period (1522-1566); 11 1/8 in. (28.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 3,000,000 - HKD 5,000,000. Price Realised  HKD 2,900,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Of circular form, the flat surface of the cover is crisply carved through layers of cinnabar-red lacquer to the black ground beneath with seven cranes in flight amidst ruyi-form swirling clouds, the central crane emitting a plume of smoke from its beak which rises to form a stylised Shou character made up of flame scrolls which the remaining cranes surround, all above a large lingzhi blossom flanked by peony stems and bamboo branches growing from rockwork among turbulent waves, the sides of the box and cover similarly decorated with a total of twenty four further cranes in flight amidst ruyi clouds, the base and interior lacquered black, the reign mark incised and gilt to the centre of the base, Japanese wood box

Property from the Kaisendo museum, Yamagata, Japan.

Literature: Bijutsu Senshu Dai Hachi Kan, Cho Shitsu (Carved Lacquer), 1974, Fuji Art Publications, Japan, no. 59.

Note: The choice of motifs on this box is in keeping with the Jiajing emperor's keen interest in Daoism and the attainment of immortality. The botanical motifs of the lingzhi fungus symbolises immortality, as do the cranes on the top and sides of the box and this imagery is reinforced by the Shou character. In addition the combination of the bamboo and peony signifies the wish for peace and prosperity, Fugui ping'an, the bamboo and crane is a pun on the wish for unhindered peace, Yilu ping'an and finally the lingzhi and bamboo together symbolise birthday greetings, Zhushou.

Although no other box of this exact design appears to be published, compare the carving on the present example, particularly the depiction of the lingzhi fungus, with that found on a Jiajing-marked mirror box and cover from the Lee Family Collection sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1828. The stylised lingzhi is also present on a Jiajing-marked dish in the Baoyizhai Collection included in the exhibition, Layered Beauty - The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 116, no. 44. A Jiajing circular polychrome box in the Palace Museum, Beijing with a different arrangement of cranes around a Shou character is illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 179, no. 137. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale, 1 June 2011, Convention Hall

Lot 3578. An extremely rare early Ming carved cinnabar lacquer circular box and cover, Yongle period (1403-1424); 3 1/2 in. (9.1 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,000,000. Price Realised  HKD 980,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011.

Exquisitely carved in deep relief to the domed upper surface of the cover with two scholars standing on a balustraded terrace beneath the gnarled branches of a pine tree admiring a waterfall set within the gardens beyond the fence, with three attendants standing nearby on the terrace and inside the pavilion, all set within lakeside gardens with leafy bushes emerging from ornamental rockwork, the side of the box encircled by a composite floral scroll above the black lacquered base inscribed with a Yongle six-character mark, the box core of metal, box

Note: While the rounded circular form is well-known among carved boxes of the Yongle period, it is very rare to find an example carved with a figural scene. A Yongle box of comparable size and form but carved with lychees rather than the figures found on the present box, is in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 74, no. 52. Yongle circular boxes and covers of varying sizes with straight sides and figural scenes depicted on the flat cover appear to be common and an example in the National Palace Museum was included in the exhibition Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors, Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2007, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 48, no. 28. Compare also a larger box carved with similar theme of a scholar admiring distant mountains, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, no. 65, dated to the early Yongle period; and a box included in the exhibition, 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, 1993, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 88, no. 40.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale, 1 June 2011, Convention Hall

Lot 120. A rare and important Venetian parade shield, Italy, 16th century; 58cm. diam. Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

constructed of wood with leather covering, lacquered with a deep red ground featuring tooled and gilt design of scrolling vines terminating in split palmettes, leaves and flowerheads.

Provenance: Ex-private collection, Switzerland, pre-1991.

Lot 121. Sections from an Ottoman voided velvet and metal thread (çatma) panel, Turkey, Bursa or Istanbul, early 17th century; 99 by 63cm. Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's.

comprising two panels with same motif joined together, with beige silk and metal thread pattern of large carnations containing tulip and carnation stems, on a crimson silk velvet ground, stapled old collector’s printed card label handwritten: '... 58 (5048), Velours Persan, cramoisi or & argent XVI ... 1/62'.

Provenance: Ex-private collection, Switzerland, pre-1991.