Roselite and Cobaltaustinite

Guillim Scrots and workshop (Active in England 1537 – 1553), Portrait of King Edward VI. Photo Sotheby's. 

inscribed at left on pedestal (now partially illegible): Arte hast not mist but lively e[xp]reste/the Shape of Englands [Treasu]r/yet unexprest r[i]maneth the be[ste]/Vertues [beyond] all m[easur]/[text in Greek script]/Exprimit Anglora [decus] Pictura, sed illa/Munera virtutum nulla tabella d[a]b[it]; oil on panel; 62 by 35in.; 157.5 by 89 cm. Estimation 400,000 — 600,000 USD

Provenance: Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough (1790-1871), Southam Delabere, Gloucestershire, ;
Thence by descent;
Sale, ("The Property of the late Earl of Ellenborough, removed from Southam, Delabere, Gloucestershire"), London, Sotheby's, 11 June 1947, lot 76 (as Holbein School);
With Leggatt, London;
From whom acquired by Lt. Col. George Golding, London, 1947;
With Leggatt, London, by 1950;
From whom acquired by William Randolph Hearst, 1951;
Gift of the Hearst Corporation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,1951 (acc. no. A.5933.51-104).

Exposition: London, Royal Academy of Arts, Winter Exhibition, 8 December 1950 - 9 March 1951, no. 301 (as by Scrots, lent by Leggatt, from a label on the reverse);
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1997, on view;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1999, on view.

Litterature: J.G. Nichols, Catalogue of the Portraits of King Edward the Sixth, Both Painted and Engraved, London 1859;
E. Auerbach, Tudor artists : a study of painters in the royal service and of portraiture on illuminated documents from the accession of Henry VIII to the death of Elizabeth I, London 1954;
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Catalogue of Paintings II: Flemish, German, Dutch and English Paintings XV-XVIII Century, Los Angeles 1954, p. 73, reproduced plate 80;
"Paintings in Los Angeles", Connoisseur, May 1955;
O.N. Millar, The Tudor, Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Text Vol., London 1963; p. 66, under cat. no. 49;
Roy C. Strong, The English Icon: Elizabethan and Jacobean Portraiture, London 1969, p. 71, under cat. no. 6;
Roy C. Strong, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, Vol. I, London 1969, p. 94;
S. Schaefer and P. Fusco, European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 1987, p. 91, reproduced;
E.K. Waterhouse, Painting in Britain 1530-1790, New Haven 1994, p. 13;
Bridget Cooks, What are you Wearing? Looking at Children's Fashions in Paintings from the Permanent Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 1999.

Guillim Scrots (also listed in contemporary documents as “Stretes”) was one of the most important artists working in the Tudor Court and the creator of arguably the most important official portrait of Edward VI. Scrots, who was Flemish, is first documented as peintre en titre to Queen Mary of Hungary, the Regent of the Netherlands, in 1537. There he would have absorbed the style and grand formality of Habsburg court portraiture that had been established by such artists as Jakob Seisenegger and Christophe Amberger, and which Scrots subsequently brought to England.1 Though no works by Scrots from this period are known, the fact that his services were sought by King Henry VIII of England would indicate that he was already an artist of international stature. Scrots entered the service of Henry VIII as the “King’s painter” in 1545 at the remarkably high salary of £62 10s a year, substantially more than was paid to his illustrious predecessor, Hans Holbein, who had died two years before. It seems the King, in his desire to keep pace with the fashions of his Continental rivals, was determined to spare no expense in procuring the most up-to-date painter with the best European Court pedigree.2 Following Henry’s death in 1547, Scrots was retained as court painter to Henry’s son and successor, Edward VI.

Edward VI was the only son of King Henry VIII, by his third wife, Jane Seymour, and just nine years old when he succeeded to the throne. As he matured, Edward developed a deep interest in religious policy and his reign, although brief, is important as it marked a continuation and consolidation of the English Reformation, something which his sister Mary, who succeeded him as Queen of England, was unable to reverse. As Henry's only son and the male heir to the throne, portraiture of Edward is one of the more extensive of any royal Tudor child. The earliest portrait is a drawing by Holbein of circa 1539-40, done when the prince was two years old (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle), already depicting him in an authoritative, full frontal pose, and which Holbein later developed into a celebrated oil portrait (National Gallery, Washington, D.C.).

Despite his apparent fame and stature at court, making firm attributions of existing paintings to Scrots has proved difficult. The work most closely associated with him is an anamorphic portrait of Edward VI in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1299) painted when the sovereign was nine years old. Rendered in distorted perspective, a technique designed to display the virtuosity of the painter, the correct image only becomes apparent when seen from the viewing hole on the right side. As it is such an unusual work, it is difficult to use as a reference point from which to make other attributions. However, it seems certain that Scrots was responsible for the design of the most important official portrait of Edward as king, of which the present painting is one of the rare extant examples.

This full length portrait of Edward depicts the young king at about the age of fifteen and not long before his untimely death from consumption in 1553. It adopts the full frontal, standing pose used so effectively by Holbein for his portraits of Henry VIII. This portrait type is known in four other versions, all on panel and of similar dimensions: in the Royal Collection (167 by 90.5 cm.); the Musée du Louvre (168 by 87 cm.) [fig. 1]; the Musée Joseph-Déchelette, Roanne; and formerly in the Duke of Marlborough's collection at Blenheim Palace (158 by 89.5 cm.) [fig. 2]. The Royal Collection and Musée Joseph-Déchelette versions depict the king in a black costume with gold embroidery and black tights; age-wise he appears, perhaps, around thirteen. In the present version and those in the Louvre and formerly at Blenheim, Edward appears to be more mature and is wearing a brown costume with gold embroidery and white tights. The Louvre version shows Edward wearing the order of the Garter, but this is thought to be a later addition. Unique to the present version is the laudatory inscription in English, Latin and Greek, suggesting that this version may have been intended for export abroad to a foreign country, possibly intended for the educated members of a foreign court where these languages would have been understood.3 In fact, documents show that in March 1552, Scrots was paid 50 marks for “three great tables,” the term “table” denoting a full-length portrait. Two were portraits of Edward VI and the third a portrait of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. The portraits of Edward were to be sent abroad to Sir John Mason and Sir Thomas Hoby. Mason was ambassador to France when the marriage treaty between Edward VI and a daughter of Henry II of France was settled on 20 July 1551, and a portrait is mentioned as being sent to him in October 1551.4 Any portraits of Edward sent during these negotiations would certainly have been the most up-to-date likenesses of the king and so it seems probable that the portrait type, of which the present work is an example, may have been commissioned for such a purpose.

Dendrochronological analysis of the Los Angeles panel support has revealed that it is made up of four oak boards from different trees, originating in the eastern Baltic region of Europe, still growing in 1534 and likely to have been felled after circa 1542. Lending support to the possibility that this portrait and the ex-Blenheim portrait could be identifiable with the two “great tables” for which Scrots was paid in 1552, are remarkable findings linking the panel supports of both portraits. They are of identical and unusual construction: both are made up of four oak boards of Baltic origin, aligned vertically; there is a narrow left hand board and 3 wide boards, and both have merchants or cargo marks on the reverse (thought to be marks derived from the stacking of packets of boards during shipment) [fig. 3]. Furthermore, dendrochronological analysis has shown that one of the boards in each portrait comes from the same tree. Based on these extraordinary findings, it can be concluded that the panel supports of the Los Angeles and ex-Blenheim portraits were most likely made by the same panel maker at the same time.

The full dendrochronological analysis report on the present painting, prepared by Ian Tyers in November 2013, is available upon request.

1. See R. Strong, The English Icon, Elizabethan & Jacobean Portraiture, New Haven 1969, pp. 5 and 7.
2. See E. Waterhouse, Painting in Britian, Edinburgh 1969, p. 11.
3. Ibid., p. 13.
4. See E. Auerbach, Tudor Portraits, 1954, pp. 74-75.

Sotheby's. The Courts of Europe. New York | 30 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com

Michiel Jansz. Van Mierevelt (Delft 1567 – 1641), Portrait of Queen Elizabeth Stuart of Bavaria, the "Winter Queen". Photo Sotheby's.

oil on panel; 26 by 19 1/2 in.; 66 by 49.5 cm. Estimation 25,000 — 35,000 USD

Provenance: Acquired by the present owner in 1982.

Queen Elizabeth Stuart (1596 - 1662) was the eldest daughter of King James I of England and his wife, Queen Anne of Denmark. In 1613, after a year of courtship, Elizabeth married the German Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and within two months of marriage, the newlyweds moved to the Electoral Court at Heidelberg. Six years later, following the death of King Matthias, they transferred to Prague; in August of 1619 Frederick took the throne as King of Bavaria and Elizabeth was crowned Queen. Their reign, however, was short-lived. The Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, a former contender for the Bavarian crown, defeated Frederick at the Battle of White Mountain in November that same year and, though their rule continued for some months from Prague, Elizabeth was dubbed the “Winter Queen” due to her one season on the throne.

Mierevelt was a renowned for his remarkable skills in portraiture, and his creations were often frank and truthful depictions of their subjects. He was the official painter at the court of the Stadholder in Delft, and enjoyed much favor from the House of Orange, who commissioned numerous portraits of their family members.1 A number of portraits of Elizabeth Stuart by Mierevelt are extant, though that most closely resembling the present work is a depiction of the queen now in the Gemeentehuis Sint Maartensdijk, Tholen (inv. no. 7, fig. 1). In that work the sitter appears to be some years older and is shown in three-quarter length, holding a fan, however she is depicted in the same feathered headdress and black gown, with a triple string of pearls, down the front of her stomacher.

1. R. O. Ekkart, “Michiel van Mierevelt” in The Dictionary of Art, vol. 21, p. 486.

Sotheby's. The Courts of Europe. New York | 30 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com

Flemish School, circa 1610. Portraits of Charles-Alexandre de Croÿ (1581 - 1624), Marquis d'Havré and Duc de Croÿ and his first wife, Yolande de Ligne (1585 - 1611). Photo Sotheby's.

a pair, both oil on canvas; each 76 3/4 by 42 7/8 in.; 195 by 109 cm. Estimation 200,000 — 300,000 USD

Provenance: Coudenhove family, Flanders;
Thence by descent within the family to Jakob Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi, Vienna;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 4 December 1997, lot 150;
With Johnny van Haeften, London, 1998;
With Weiss Gallery, London;
From whom acquired by the present collectors.

The eminent sitters represented in this superb pair of full-length portraits have been identified since their sale in 1997 (see Provenance), as Charles-Alexandre de Croÿ, Marquis d'Havré, Duc de Croÿ, and his first wife, Yolande de Ligne. While the identity of the artist remains unknown, the paintings bear a striking resemblance to the early works of Daniël Mijtens (Delft circa 1590 - circa 1647 The Hague) before his departure to England in 1616. Charles-Alexandre, a key figure in the Franco-Flemish and Spanish political field, was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and inherited the French title of Duc de Croÿ from his cousin and brother-in-law, Charles II. The golden key, seen here tucked into the gold waistband of his doublet, connotes his privileged position in the Habsburg court, either as Camarero Mayor (Great Chamberlain) or Sumiller de Corps (Groom of the Stool) to Archduke Albert VII of Austria, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. This was a role of the highest rank, comprising the supervision of the royal bedchamber, and awarded the title holder an exceptional position as intimate confidant to the monarch. Below the key, on a long chain, is a large, golden portrait medallion, whose sitter, though indistinctly portrayed, would be instantly recognizable to the contemporary eye as Charles-Alexandre’s master, the Archduke.

Yolande de Ligne was heiress to the estate of Thy-le-Château, Namur and daughter of the Lamoral I de Ligne, Prince de Ligne and Comte de Fauquemberque. She married Charles-Alexandre in 1599, and these marital portraits likely date to 1610, a year before her death at the age of 26. The Duke later remarried, taking the renowned beauty Geneviève d’Urfe as his wife in 1617, the same year he became the a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Geneviève, however, was said to be repeatedly unfaithful, and when Charles-Alexandre was shot dead in his Brussels palace in 1624, it was reputed that the Duchess and her alleged lover, the Marquis of Spinola, were behind the murder.

A note on the costume: The clothing worn here by the Duke and his wife would have been intended to convey a specific message to the contemporary viewer as to the couple’s elite social status and substantial wealth. It was of particular importance that different textures, fabrics and surfaces be convincingly and adeptly portrayed by the artist in order to correctly signify their value. These opulent garments were not worn simply as an exhibition of personal wealth. Each item would require the skills of numerous dexterous artisans, from goldsmiths and lace makers, to tailors, weavers and embroiderers. The wearer would also require a host of lady’s maids or grooms to stitch, pin, and lace their clothing into place, and the attire would therefore have been considered a testimony to the sitters’ benevolence, patronizing local craftsmen and providing employment. For courtiers, particularly those in as elevated a position as Charles-Alexandre, the lavishness of their dress reflected their veneration of the monarch, to whom they were privileged to attend.

Charles-Alexandre is dressed in a matching false-sleeved doublet and hose of patterned damask, a cloth so detailed that just one yard took an average of a day to produce. The depth of the black, a color popularized in the Low Countries by the Spanish Habsburgs, suggests the luxurious fabric is almost certainly silk, which was more absorbent and better able to retain the dye. The sitter leaves his left arm in the sleeve of the doublet but lets the false sleeve hang behind on the right side, displaying the elaborate gold thread embroidery of his stiff undergarment. The garter ribbons are finished with large, gold, pointed aglets, whose practical purpose was to allow for easier threading through the buttonholes and prevent the ribbon from fraying, though here they are an ornately lavish and eye-catching detail.1

Yolande’s gown is similarly extravagant. She is depicted wearing a wheel farthingale which, in keeping with the latest style, is tilted downward at the front by an elongated busk, the long, narrow central panel of the bodice, usually stiffened with whale bone or wood.2 The over skirt is pinned in thick folds to the farthingale, requiring vast volumes of fabric, and she pulls aside the upper layer to display her partlet, the panel of precious and extremely valuable cloth, which was pinned beneath.3 Along the folds of both the upper and under layers of fabric, are areas of horizontal cross-hatched highlights, which the artist employs to represent the silver thread weft. Cloth-of-silver, woven with real silver thread, was tremendously costly to produce and as ostentatious a display of wealth as the large jewels, the multiple strings of natural pearls and the intricate lace rebato standing ruff. The stones set into the three beautiful pendants are most likely diamonds, which often appeared black in color due to the cutting methods used in the 16th and early 17th centuries; diamonds at that time were more prized for their sheen and hardness than for the sparkling properties associated with them today.4 The placement of one of the pendants over Yolande’s heart in this marriage portrait, suggests it was perhaps a gift from her husband.
1. A. Reynolds, In Fine Style, the Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion, exhibition catalogue, London 2013, p. 96.
2. Ibid., p.42.
3. Ibid
4. Ibid., p. 73.

Sotheby's. The Courts of Europe. New York | 30 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com

From Jewellery Theatre's Flowers collection. The Flowers ring is set with a 2.02ct fancy intense yellow diamond (£76,000); the Flowers earrings with two pear-shaped fancy intense yellow diamonds weighing 1.28ct and 1.22ct (£84,000); the Flowers pendant with a 3.73ct fancy intense yellow diamond (£131,000).

Jewellery Theatre's yellow gold Flowers earrings and ring features white, green and blue diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

The yellow gold Flowers necklace by Jewellery Theatre is set with sapphires and white, green and blue diamonds, as well as round and oval rubies.

Lombard Master, 1540 – 1560, Portrait of a gyrfalcon, viewed from three sides. Photo Sotheby's.

oil on canvas, unlined; 29 3/4 by 39 5/8 in.; 75.7 by 100.5 cm. Estimation 700,000 — 1,000,000 USD

Provenance: Adamo Boari (1863 - 1928) collection, (according to tradition of the family in whose possession the painting remained for most of the 20th century);
In a private family collection from the 1920s until circa 2000;
When acquired by the present owner.

Exposition: Milan, Palazzo Reale, Arcimboldo, artista milanese tra Leonardo e Caravaggio, 10 February - 22 May 2011, no. 147.

Litterature: G. Olmi and L. Tongiorni Tomasi, "Raffigurazione della natura e collezionismo enciclopedico nel secondo Cinquecento tra Milano e l'Europa", in Arcimboldo, artista milanese tra Leonardo e Caravaggio, S. Ferino Pagden, ed., exhibition catalogue, Milan 2011, p. 128 and p. 370, cat. no. 147, reproduced p. 131.

The sport of falconry, practiced since ancient times, was a pursuit particularly enjoyed at Medieval and Renaissance courts. The gyrfalcon, shown here, is the largest of the falcon species; the size of the bird, almost certainly painted from life and to scale, suggests it is a female, and the grandeur of the portrait, presenting it from three viewpoints, raised above the clouds, indicates it was both a cherished pet and valued hunting companion. While incredibly rare, such portraits were not unprecedented. In a letter in the Gonzaga ducal archives, addressed to one Scaramella, the sender requests that a white gyrfalcon be sent to Mantua to be seen by Costa (likey Lorenzo Costa, the court painter) for a commissioned portrait:

"Scaramella, volemo che domani mandi a Mantua, o porti, el nostro ziriflco bianco et lo faccci vedere al Costa a' qual havemo dato comissione che lo retraghi"1

Sumptuary laws of the period dictated that only the most elite nobility be permitted to hunt with gyrfalcons; the owner of this majestic bird must therefore have been a person of elevated status, and the symbolism of the oak and poplar trees, in whose branches the bird sits, most likely holds the key to their identity. While the oak was an emblem traditionally assumed by the della Rovere, the ducal family of Urbino, this hand does not match any of the artists working for that court during the period. This striking portrait of a gyrfalcon likely dates between 1540 and 1560 and, while the identity of its author remains unknown, is undoubtedly the work of an extraordinarily accomplished Lombard master.

The exceptional preservation of the canvas and paint surface allows us to fully appreciate the artist's prowess in the depiction of light and texture, capturing the dancing movement of the leaves and the varied textures of the plumage. The accuracy and impeccable detail of the depiction harks to the established tradition of still life painting and the popularity of exact images of naturalia in sixteenth century Lombardy. These precise representations of animals, birds, insects and plants were circulated by men of science and swiftly became objects highly coveted by aristocratic collectors throughout Europe.2 One artist born of this encyclopedic manner of painting was Giuseppe Arcimboldo; Mauro Natale suggests that the anonymous author of this painting may well have been an artist working within Arcimboldo’s sphere. At the time of this painting’s exhibition in 2011 (see Exhibited and Literature) it was compared to another representation of a gyrfalcon on canvas, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, though that bird appears smaller and more svelte, suggesting it was a male (fig.1).3 Lucia Tongiorni Tomasi and Giuseppe Olmi tentatively propose the intervention of Arcimboldo in the execution of the Vienna painting. While the fleshy leaves in the background of our painting, reminiscent of those in Arcimboldo’s fresco in the Duomo at Monza, make it tempting to draw the same conclusion here, the handling of the Kunsthistorisches canvas is rather different and the two do not appear to be by the same hand.4

Mauro Lucco notes that in his treatment of the leaves the artist is looking toward Leonardo’s representations in the Sala delle Asse at the Castello Sforzesco. He asserts therefore that the work date much earlier, before 1530, and was executed by an artist who had either encountered Leonardo or who was familiar with his work and technique of painting.5 Mauro Natale, however, believes the work to be somewhat later, toward the latter half of the sixteenth century and discern in it the influence of a number of Lombard artists such as Arcimboldo, Gerolamo Figino and Moretto da Brescia.

We are grateful to Mauro Lucco and Mauro Natale for their kind assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.

1. Letter to Scaramella, dated 5 March 1521, Gonzaga ducal archives, State Archive of Mantua; translates: "Scaramella, we want you to send, or bring, our white gyrfalcon to Mantua and show it to Costa, from whom we have commissioned a portrait".
2. G. Olmi and L. Tongiorni Tomasi, op. cit. p. 128.
3. Ibid. cat. no. 140, reproduced p. 130.
4. Ibid. p. 128
5. Opinion expressed in a private written communication with Mauro Lucco, dated 16 August 2013.

Sotheby's. The Courts of Europe. New York | 30 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com

The Jewellery Theatre Atlantic set from the Elements collection features a pendant, ring and earrings with diamonds and sapphires.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze (Tournus 1725 - 1805 Paris), Portrait of the Comtesse du Barry. Photo Sotheby's.

oil on canvas; 23 1/2 by 18 5/8 in.; 60 by 47.5 cm. Estimation 80,000 — 120,000 USD

Provenance: M. Mainnemare collection, Paris;
His estate sale, Paris, 18 rue de Courcelles, 21 February 1843, lot 15;
John Allan Rolls, 1st Baron Llangattock (1837-1912), The Hendre, Monmouth, Monmouthshire;
Thence by descent to John MacLean Rolls, 2nd Baron Llangattock (1870-1916);
His estate sale, London, Christie's, 28 November 1958, lot 27.

Exposition: Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum; San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1 December 1976-1 May 1977, no. 74;
New York, Wildenstein & Co., The Winds of Revolution, 14 November 1989-19 January 1990, no. 6.

Litterature: L. Willoughby, "Lord Llagattock's Monmouth Seat: The Hendre and Its Art Treasures," in Connoisseur, vol. XVII, March 1907, p. 153, reproduced, p. 152 (as possibly by François Hubert Drouais);
J. Martin and C. Masson, Catalogue raisanée de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné de J.-B. Greuze, Paris 1908, p. 68, cat. no. 1104;
S. Preston, "The Revaluation of Greuze," in Apollo, CV, No. 180, February 1977, p. 137, reproduced, p. 138, fig. 5;
Greuze & Diderot: vie familiale et éducation dans la seconde moitié du XVIIIe, exhibition catalogue, Clermont-Ferrand 1984, p. 120;
H. Douwes Dekker, "Madame du Barry en haar Portretschilders," in Tableau, vol. IX, No. 2, November 1986, reproduced, p. 43;
P. Rosenberg and M.C. Stewart, French Paintings 1500-1825: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco 1987, p. 187;
E. Munhall, "The Fragonard Fracas," in Vanity Fair, LI, No. 3, March 1988, reproduced in color, p. 147;
M.-A. Denis, Madame Du Barry, de Versailles à Louveciennes, exhibition catalogue, 1992, p. 150, reproduced in color;
S. Moehring, L'Original était fait pour les Dieux!: Die Comtesse Dubarry in der Bildkunst, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Universtät zu Köln, 1995, pp. 60-3, 231, reproduced, fig. 41.

Born to humble beginnings as the daughter of a seamstress, the Comtesse du Barry (1746-1793), née Marie Jeanne Bécu, rose to become one of the most famous figures in the court of Louis XV. Her influence was born out of her legendary powers of seduction, which she used to gain the title of Maîtresse-en-titre (chief mistress of the King of France), the last to fill the position in the court of Louis XV. Her path to influence began in Paris, where she worked for a time as a shop girl. She would also work as a highly paid courtesan, gaining as clients some of the most influential figures in the court. Her reputation as a seductress helped her catch the attention of the King who, in an attempt to legally receive her in court, first married her off to Jean du Barry so that she could be accepted officially as a lady of title. The formal ceremony of her reception took place in 1769, and over the next five years, as the titular mistress to the King, she was able to exert influence on court culture, as well as state affairs. Madame du Barry's elevated position in the court came to a rather abrupt end upon the death of Louis in 1774, after which time she was exiled to live in the Abbaye du Pont-aux-Dames near Meaux-en-Brie. Though exiled from court, she eventually would be allowed to retire to her country estate, Château de Louveciennes, by Louis XVI. Fatefully, her connection to the court would never completely diminish, and in 1792 she was arrested on charges of conspiring against the French Republic, an accusation for which she would pay by beheading in 1793.

Madame du Barry's support for the arts was also legendary, and she came to amass one of the great collections in France in the 18th century. She had her portrait painted by some of the leading artists of the day, including Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (Philadelphia Museum of Art), François-Hubert Drouais (Madrid, Museo del Prado), and, of course, Jean-Baptiste Greuze.1

According to Edgar Munhall (see literature, Munhall 1976, p. 156), this portrait of the Comtesse was painted at the pinnacle of her success and influence, circa 1771, the year in which her glorious estate at Louveciennes was completed. She is depicted rather casually, dressed in a night gown, without jewels or other ornamentation, and with her hair hanging down. Her casual pose would suggest that she has suddenly turned from her mirror to engage with the artist.

1. Greuze is known to have painted another portrait of Madame du Barry, of oval format, which was formerly in the collection of Alfred Charles de Rothschild (location unknown).

Sotheby's. The Courts of Europe. New York | 30 janv. 2014 - www.sothebys.com

A dramatic ring from Jewellery Theatre's Autumn collection in yellow gold features both white and coloured diamonds and a 11.93ct diamond slice.

The Autumn collection brooch in white gold features white and champagne diamonds and four diamond slices totalling 11.58ct.

A jade-mounted wood ruyi scepter with polychrome inlay, 19th century. Photo Bonhams

The large scepter head mounted with a thick greenish-white nephrite plaque depicting a boy on a caparisoned elephant surrounded by a dragons and a bat in low relief, the curving dark wood handle inscribed ji xiang ru yi in cut bone set amid the Eight Buddhist Emblems inlaid in tinted bone and colored stones above the pale gray-green nephrite terminal of cloud-collar shape carved in relief with a fu-lion (old repairs, cracks, surface weathering). 18 3/4in (47.5cm) long. Sold for US$ 40,000 (€29,231)

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 - www.bonhams.com

A group of eight hardstone seals. Photo Bonhams.

Together comprising a partial set of the twelve zodiac figures, each of small square section surmounted by an incised and undercut animal finial, the undersides bearing various Confucian aphorisms in seal script, some reading shen si, lu zhen and zhong hou; carved in stone of translucent grayish white hue (chips). 1 1/4in (3cm) height of tallest. Sold for US$ 118,750 (€86,780)

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 - www.bonhams.com

A large wucai dragon and phoenix dish, Wanli mark and of the period. Photo Bonhams. 

The flat wide well painted in bright enamels depicting a rising five-clawed dragon opposed by a diving phoenix, surrounded by two pairs of confronting dragons and phoenix painted to the interior of the curving walls, all against a ground densely filled with leafy floral sprays, the exterior sides renders with eight lotus blossoms borne on leafy scrolls, the base centered with the six-character mark within double rings in underglaze blue. 14 1/4in (36.3cm) diameter. Sold for US$ 31,250 (€22,621)

Provenance: Oskar Gerson Collection, acquired during the 1920's-1930's, Germany, and thence by descent

A comparable dish with similar decoration but smaller in size from the Baur Collection is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1969, pl. A199. Another smaller dish with similar motif sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 18th May 1982, lot 175. Also, compare a wucai dish of the same period in the Tokyo National Museum, Illustrated catalogues, Chinese Ceramics, 1966, no. 536.

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 -www.bonhams.com

A fragment of a wucai vase, Late Ming dynasty. Photo Bonhams.

Thickly potted and preserving a small portion of what was likely a tall trumpet neck above the compressed globular body painted in a combination of underglaze blue, and overglaze iron red, yellow, green and black enamels with four of the Eight Trigrams filling four ogival reserves separated by lotus sprays while the spreading foot displays a grape vine painted en suite above a xiangxi band outlined in underglaze blue, the walls and the deeply recessed base covered with glaze but the wide foot pad left unglazed (losses, wear). 5 3/4in (14.5cm) high. Sold for US$ 1,000 (€723) 

Provenance: Oskar Gerson Collection, acquired during the 1920's-1930's, Germany, and thence by descent

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 -www.bonhams.com

Venus Necklace by Daniela Villegas. $13,500 http://modaoperandi.com

Kephris Purple Sapphire Ring by Daniela Villegas. $1,875 - http://modaoperandi.com

A famille verte enameled deep plate, Kangxi. Photo Bonhams.

Its wide curving well painted in the typical palette with a phoenix hovering over a longma standing in a garden terrace reversed by three floral sprays painted en suite, the recessed base displaying an artemisia leaf mark drawn in underglaze blue within a double ring (chips, hairline cracks, retouched). 15in (38cm) diameter. Sold for US$ 4,375 (€3,167) 

Property from The Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, sold to benefit The Museum Acquisition Fund

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 -www.bonhams.com

An iron-red and gilt enameled footed bowl, Kangxi period. Photo Bonhams.

The exterior sides covered in a dense scroll pattern ground surrounding phoenix and large floral sprigs, the interior well centered by a front facing dragon roundel, the recessed base centered by a double ring surrounding a square maker's mark (chips to rims). 8 1/2in (21.5cm) diameter. Sold for US$ 937 (€678)

Property from The Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, sold to benefit The Museum Acquisition Fund

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 -www.bonhams.com

Titania Ring by Daniela Villegas. $24,175  - http://modaoperandi.com 

Camouflage Ring by Daniela Villegas. $8,000  - http://modaoperandi.com 

A pair of gilt and famille rose enameled birthday bowls, Qianlong marks. Photo Bonhams.

Each of inverted bell form with the gilt-painted characters wan shou wu jiang in circular roundels separated by classic lotus flower and leaf sprays combined with Eight Buddhist emblems, all rendered in bright enamels with gilt highlights on the exterior walls, the recessed base bearing the six-character mark in iron red seal script. 6 3/8in (8.6cm) high. Sold for US$ 2,000 (€1,447) 

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. San Francisco. 18 Dec 2013 -www.bonhams.com