Lot 572. A yellow-glazed dish, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 17.8 cm, 7 in. Estimate 20,000 -- 0,000 HKD. Lot sold 52,500 HKD (5,983 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

with shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a slightly everted rim, applied overall with a rich straw-yellow glaze, save for the base left white with a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double ring. 

Sotheby's. CHINA / 5000 YEARS, Hong Kong, 05 June 2020

Lot 112. Verseuse en porcelaine émaillée blanc, sengmaohu, Chine, XVIIe siècle. Hauteur: 18,5 cm. (7 ¼ in.). Estimate EUR 5,000 - EUR 8,000 (USD 5,662 - USD 9,059). © Christie's Image Ltd 2020.

La panse globulaire repose sur un pied légèrement évasé. Le long col tubulaire est surmonté d'une bordure étagée imitant la coiffe des moines bouddhistes. Le bec est allongé et l'anse de forme courbe est rehaussée d'une languette en forme de tête de ruyi incisée.

Christie's. Art d'Asie, Paris, 23 June 2020

Pierre Soulages, Peinture 130 x 89 cm, 25 novembre 1950. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020

PARIS.- Christie’s France will offer an important rediscovery by Pierre Soulages which will highlight the Paris leg of ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century on 10 July 2020. The painting, executed in 1950, has been in the same private Australian collection since being first acquired in 1953 by the present owner’s father from the Galerie Louis Carré& Cie Paris, when it was included in a major exhibition that toured to Australia.

Etienne Sallon, specialist in charge of the sale: “We are very proud to offer this luminous and vibrant painting by Soulages, which has been unseen by the public since its acquisition in 1953 when it toured to Australia for the exhibition “French Painting Today”. This fantastic rediscovery illustrates the artist’s early career and his first uses of black bars in oil paint, giving transparency, light and dynamism to the canvas. By offering this important painting in Paris, we will pay a beautiful tribute to Pierre Soulages who just celebrated his 100th birthday last December.”

The exhibition in which Peinture 130 x 89 cm, 25 novembre 1950 was displayed captivated the Australian public and proved highly influential within the history and development of twentieth century Australian art. It was the first exhibition to showcase contemporary French artists in Australia and included major examples by Picasso, Miró, Léger, Braque and Le Corbusier. The Canberra Times called it: “the provocative event of the art season”, warning its readers that “a masculine antipodean palate, accustomed to a diet of realism, may find some of the paintings sophisticated to a point of being effete” (“French Paintings”, The Canberra Times, February 28, 1952, p. 2). This description illustrates the powerful impact that this exhibition had on Australian audiences by, casting a spotlight on the French artistic scene. The present painting was executed when the artist’s calligraphic style became gestural and at the same time very structured, reflecting his passion for Romanesque architecture. For Soulages, abstraction provides a portal for exploration. Peinture 130 x 89 cm, 25 novembre 1950 reminds us clearly of his primary uses of brou de noix that he started to use at the end of the 1940s. Even though Soulages used oil paint in this painting, the incandescent sepia colours used here illustrates his masterful use of a sophisticated palette that shifts between warm translucent tones and intense blues and solar yellows.

ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century: This July, Christie’s will launch a revolutionary relay-style auction concept. Entitled ONE: a Global Sale of the 20th Century, this sale will present masterpiece-level works of 20th Century Art together in a curated live-online hybrid sale, blurring category boundaries and bringing clients together in an unprecedented way.

Launching in Hong Kong, the sale will then transition to auctioneers in Paris and London, concluding in New York. Each city will host a pre-sale public exhibition staged in line with the appropriate regional health advice at the time, complemented by a ground-breaking virtual exhibition and digital marketing campaign to connect with global audiences and support the auction event. Bidders will be able to participate both online, via Christie’s LIVE online bidding channel, and where regional, government advice allows, clients and phone bidders will be welcomed in each saleroom location.

Public viewing: All ONE sale highlights will be available for online viewing from anywhere in the world. For New York sale highlights, Christie’s welcomes clients following all public health guidelines and all necessary measures to protect our visitors and our staff in place.

René Magritte, L’arc de triomphe, 1962, estimate: £6.5-9.5 million. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020

LONDON – On 10 July, Christie’s will offer René Magritte’s L’arc de triomphe (1962, estimate: £6.5-9.5 million) in London as a highlight of ONE: A Global Sale of the 20^th Century. Painted during the opening months of 1962, L’arc de triomphe features one of the most familiar pictorial elements of René Magritte’s post-war oeuvre – the tall, imposing boughs of a verdant tree, meticulously rendered and here, superimposed upon an expanse of its own leaves. The idea first took shape in an ink sketch the artist made in a letter to André Bosmans, dated 14 February 1962.

Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s: “After the outstanding results achieved for René Magritte's work in London in February this year, we are thrilled and honoured to be able to present to the market the artist’s magnificent L’arc de triomphe (The triumphal arch) of 1962. One of only a handful of Magritte paintings of such a large scale left in private hands, L’arc de triomphe, formerly in the celebrated collection of Harry Torczyner, has not been seen in public since it was purchased from Christie’s over 25 years ago. The choice of title suggests Magritte believed that this composition was a triumph in his quest to answer the problem of how to represent trees whilst also revealing the mystery of reality. Magritte certainly has succeeded in capturing the essence of the tree in this work, and, as usual, he brilliantly subverts our expectations, playing with perspective by juxtaposing a massive and distant tree against a background of meticulously depicted leaves seen in close-up. The impossible contradiction makes a strong and poetic impression especially with such a large format, taking the viewer in, as a forest would.”

Magritte was a deeply cerebral, intellectually motivated artist and the tree was an important symbol in his imagination, representing the ultimate affirmation of nature as an essential theme in his perception of reality and vision of worldly existence. “Pushing up from the earth towards the sun,” Magritte said “a tree is an image of a certain happiness. To perceive this image, we must be still, like a tree. When we are in motion, it’s the tree that becomes the spectator. It is witness, equally, in the shape of a chair, a table, a door, in the more or less restless spectacle of our life”.

Magritte completed the present painting in late February or early March 1962, in time to show the newly dry canvas, which was initially titled Les goûts et les couleurs, in the annual Charleroi salon, which opened on 10 March. Harry Torczyner, who was Magritte’s attorney in America, as well as a close friend, collector, and a dedicated promoter of and writer on the artist’s work, acquired the picture then. As the invoice dated 9 April reveals, however, the artist had retitled the canvas L’arc de triomphe, apparently inspired by a comment from his friend Suzi Gablik at one of the weekly gatherings the artist held at his home. Magritte explained this change to Bosmans in a letter dated 10 April: “As regards the title: ‘Tastes and colours’, which I find excellent in itself, because of its easy, familiar ring, which when one thinks about it would change if applied to an image more appropriate than the tree. Suzi Gablik has thought of a better one: ‘The triumphal arch’. This title satisfies me completely and will replace ‘Tastes and colours’”.

Magritte celebrates in this painting the triumph of a harmonious, transcendent unity, a wholeness of wondrous design, creation, and perpetual renewal that is manifest in nature only—the sublime beauty of absolute synergy—to which humankind can only aspire in its works.

Lot 568. A blue and white cup, Mark and period of Wanli (1573-1620); 6.3 cm, 2 1/2  in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 125,000 HKD (14,244 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the rounded sides rising to an everted rim, painted on the exterior a dragon chasing a flaming pearl, the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue. 

Provenance: Inoue Collection.
Kyoto Bijutsu Club, 21st May 1918, lot 102.

René Magritte, L’arc de triomphe, 1962, estimate: £6.5-9.5 million. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020

LONDON – On 10 July, Christie’s will offer René Magritte’s L’arc de triomphe (1962, estimate: £6.5-9.5 million) in London as a highlight of ONE: A Global Sale of the 20^th Century. Painted during the opening months of 1962, L’arc de triomphe features one of the most familiar pictorial elements of René Magritte’s post-war oeuvre – the tall, imposing boughs of a verdant tree, meticulously rendered and here, superimposed upon an expanse of its own leaves. The idea first took shape in an ink sketch the artist made in a letter to André Bosmans, dated 14 February 1962.

Olivier Camu, Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s: “After the outstanding results achieved for René Magritte's work in London in February this year, we are thrilled and honoured to be able to present to the market the artist’s magnificent L’arc de triomphe (The triumphal arch) of 1962. One of only a handful of Magritte paintings of such a large scale left in private hands, L’arc de triomphe, formerly in the celebrated collection of Harry Torczyner, has not been seen in public since it was purchased from Christie’s over 25 years ago. The choice of title suggests Magritte believed that this composition was a triumph in his quest to answer the problem of how to represent trees whilst also revealing the mystery of reality. Magritte certainly has succeeded in capturing the essence of the tree in this work, and, as usual, he brilliantly subverts our expectations, playing with perspective by juxtaposing a massive and distant tree against a background of meticulously depicted leaves seen in close-up. The impossible contradiction makes a strong and poetic impression especially with such a large format, taking the viewer in, as a forest would.”

Magritte was a deeply cerebral, intellectually motivated artist and the tree was an important symbol in his imagination, representing the ultimate affirmation of nature as an essential theme in his perception of reality and vision of worldly existence. “Pushing up from the earth towards the sun,” Magritte said “a tree is an image of a certain happiness. To perceive this image, we must be still, like a tree. When we are in motion, it’s the tree that becomes the spectator. It is witness, equally, in the shape of a chair, a table, a door, in the more or less restless spectacle of our life”.

Magritte completed the present painting in late February or early March 1962, in time to show the newly dry canvas, which was initially titled Les goûts et les couleurs, in the annual Charleroi salon, which opened on 10 March. Harry Torczyner, who was Magritte’s attorney in America, as well as a close friend, collector, and a dedicated promoter of and writer on the artist’s work, acquired the picture then. As the invoice dated 9 April reveals, however, the artist had retitled the canvas L’arc de triomphe, apparently inspired by a comment from his friend Suzi Gablik at one of the weekly gatherings the artist held at his home. Magritte explained this change to Bosmans in a letter dated 10 April: “As regards the title: ‘Tastes and colours’, which I find excellent in itself, because of its easy, familiar ring, which when one thinks about it would change if applied to an image more appropriate than the tree. Suzi Gablik has thought of a better one: ‘The triumphal arch’. This title satisfies me completely and will replace ‘Tastes and colours’”.

Magritte celebrates in this painting the triumph of a harmonious, transcendent unity, a wholeness of wondrous design, creation, and perpetual renewal that is manifest in nature only—the sublime beauty of absolute synergy—to which humankind can only aspire in its works.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Classical Chinese Paintings Spring Sale on 9 July 2020 will present over one hundred paintings and calligraphy from the masters of the Song, Yuan, Ming andQing dynasties. Highlights include Bamboos, a rare work by Xia Chang, the leading ink bamboo master from the Ming dynasty, as well as Stele Inscription in Running Script, a widely published calligraphy work with impeccable provenance by Dong Qichang. The sale also boasts some of the finest and rarest works from various important private collections, including ‘Ming Dynasty Fan Leaves Collection’, ‘Treasure from the Palace – An Important Private Asian Collection’, ‘The Buddhist Painting & Calligraphy’, among others.

Steven Zuo, Head of Classical Chinese Paintings, Sotheby’s Asia, commented: “Headlining this season’s sale is a rare and extraordinary pair of hanging scrolls by Xia Chang, that together form an eloquent depiction of the movement of bamboo in the wind and encapsulate the artist’s precise, rigorous technique. Also not to be missed is the exquisite Poems in Running Script by Wen Zhengming, an extensive and outstanding calligraphy handscroll which was previously held in the C.C. Wang collection. The appearance of these exceptional pieces on the market, alongside a selection of distinguished works from private collections around the world, will undoubtedly generate a great deal of excitement among collectors.”

SALE HIGHLIGHTS

Lot 2556. Xia Chang (1388 – 1470), Bamboos,signed Xia Chang Zhongzhao twice, with one seal of the artist and three illegible seals. Titleslip with one seal. Ink on silk, a pair of hanging scrolls, each 128 x 55 cm. Est: HK$10,000,000 – 15,000,000 / US$ 1,290,000 – 1,930,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Ming scholar and imperial official Xia Chang is the leading bamboo painter not only of his time but throughout the history of Chinese painting. This elegant pair of scrolls, one depicting motionless bamboos, the other portraying swaying branches, was completed with sophisticated brushstrokes that pulsate and breathe life into the painting. Only a limited number of surviving works by the artist exist today, with themajority held in museums. Ink bamboo paintings by Xia Chang are infrequently seen on the market, and the appearance of large-scale hanging scrolls in a pair is exceedingly rare. This piece has been kept in Japan for hundred years, and was exhibited in The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara, Japan in 2015.

Lot 2530. Wen Zhenming (1470 – 1559), Poems in Running Script,signed Zhengming, dated wuxu (1538) and with two seals of the artist. Titleslip by C.C. Wang and with two seals of his, with six collector’s seals of C.C. Wang and two other collectors’ seals. Ink on paper, handscroll, 27 x 276 cm. Est: HK$1,000,000 – 2,000,000 / US$129,000 – 258,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Formerly from the esteemed collection of prominent connoisseur and collector C.C. Wang, this calligraphy handscroll comprising six poems was created by Wen Zhengming, one of the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty when he was 69 (year 1538). In this distinguished work, the fluid and elegant brush movement showcases to great effect Wen’s mastery of brush techniques. This piece was published in the exhibition catalogue, ‘The Pursuit of Antiquities: 40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Shiu Society’ in 2001.

Lot 2555. Dong Qichang (1555 – 1636), Stele Inscription in Running Script,signed Dong Qichang and with two seals of the artist. Titleslip by Meng Hongguang (active in early 19th century), dated wushen (1848). Colophons by Li Tingyu (1792-1861), dated dingyou (1837) and with one seal of his; Kong Guangtao (1832-1890), date wuwu (1858) and with two seals of his, with three collector’s seals of Weng Songnian (1647-1728), one collector's seal of Kong Jixun (1792-1842), six collector’s seals of Kong Guangtao, one collector’s seal of Zhang Bihan (1909-1995) and one other collector’s seal. Ink on paper, an album of eight leaves, each 35 x 32 cm. Est: HK$6,800,000 – 8,000,000 / US$875,000 – 1,030,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Dong Qichang is arguably one of the finest painters and calligraphers from the late Ming period. This rare inscription by the artist displays a robust character structure and dynamic brushstokes. With impeccable provenance, the widely published work was previously owned by Qing painter and calligrapher Weng Songnian, famous collectors from the Qing dynasty Kong Ji-xun and Kong Guang-tao, and Chinese artist Zhang Bihan.

Lot 2543. Hongli (Emperor Qianlong) (1711 – 1799), Manuscripts of Jinqin Weizhou Jishi. Titled, with Qianlong's annotation in cinnabar. Ink and cinnabar on paper, three pieces, various sizes. Est: HK$4,000,000 – 6,000,000 / US$515,000 – 645,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

The poem featured in this work, describing the intersection of two rivers, one clear and the other turbid, was the origin of a Chinese idiom that teaches the setting of clear boundaries between right and wrong. This precious set of calligraphy consists of the manuscripts by the Qianlong emperor and his court official Dong Gao, whom the emperor assigned to document the topography of the rivers. With edits marked by Qianlong himself, it serves as an important historical document demonstrating the studious and inquisitive qualities of the emperor.

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Lot 2568. Jin Nong (1687 – 1763), Flowers, signed Shoumen, Qujiangwaishi (twice), Juliu Shanming (twice), Jin Ershiliulang, Jin Nong(twice) and with thirteen seals of the artist? Ink on silk, an album of eight leaves, each 20.8 by 29.8 cm. 8 1/8  by 11 3/4  in. (8). Est: HK$1,600,000 – 2,000,000 / US$206,000 – 258,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 2599. Zhu Da (Bada Shanren; 1626 - 1705), Rock, Bamboo and Ducks, signed Bada Shanren, with two seals of the artist, with two collectors' seals. Ink on silk, hanging scroll, 97.2 x 77.3 cm. Est: HK$1,000,000 – 1,500,000 / US$129,000 – 193,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 2549. Hung Shen (1687 – After 1770), Beggars, signed Yingpiao Zi Shen, dated bingzi year of the Qianlong reign (1756) and with two seals of the artist and one illegible seal. Ink and colour on paper, framed, 74.7 x 118 cm. Est: HK$800,000 – 1,200,000 / US$103,000 – 155,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 2590. Issan Ichinei (1247 – 1317), Du Mu’s Poem in Cursive Script, . Ink on paper, hanging scroll, 126.2 x 41.8 cm. Est: HK$300,000 – 500,000 / US$38,600 – 64,500. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

Lot 2534. Dong Qichang (1555 – 1636), Rainy Landscape, signed Dong Xuanzai and with two seals of his, with one collector’s seal of Liu Guangqi (1932-2019). Ink on silk, hanging scroll, 116.2 x 47 cm. Est: 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 / 129,000 – 193,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Lot 1. A green-glazed jar and a sancai-glazed wine cup, Tang Dynasty (618-907);12,2 cm; 5,7 cm, 4¾ in.; 2¼ in. Estimate: 600 - 800 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

le vase de forme ronde à col resserré et ourlé; la petite coupe sur pied à bords évasés (2).

Collection Particulière du Sud-Est de la France.

Provenance: The vase: Noël Gallery, 122, rue de la Boétie, Paris (according to label).  

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 2. A Qingbai carved 'Boys' bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279);  Diam. 19,7 cm, 7¾ in. Estimate: 1,500 - 2,000 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

de forme conique, les côtés très fins évasés et incisés à l'intérieur d'un décor de deux garçonnets parmi les fleurs de pivoines, la glaçure transparente aux délicates tonalités bleu pâle, la base laissée sans glaçure.

Collection Particulière française.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 3. A moulded celadon-glazed bowl, a small Henan russet-splashed jar and a black and crackled glazed bowl, Song Dynasty (960-1279); de 11,9 cm à 17,8 cm, from 4¾ in. to 7 in. Estimate: 1,000 - 1,500 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

le bol céladon à décor floral et le bol craqueléà bords évasés reposant sur un court pied droit, la jarre de forme ovoïde décorée sur l'épaulement d'une épaisse glaçure brune sur fond noir (3)

Collection Particulière du Sud-Est de la France.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 5. A 'Jun' handled jar and a 'Jun' bowl, Yuan and Ming Dynasty;  19 cm ; 12,5 cm, 7½ in.; 5 in. Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

la jarre à panse globulaire au large col légèrement incurvé, flanqué de deux petites anses arrondies, couverte d'une épaisse glaçure bleu pastel mouchetée de beige; le bol àépaisse glaçure bleu pastel (2).

Collection Particulière du Sud-Est de la France.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 6. Two 'Jian' bowls and a circular moulded circular 'Qingbai' box and cover, Song Dynasty (960-1279);  de 7,2 cm à 11,8 cm, from 2⅞ in. to 4⅝ in. Estimate: 600 - 800 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

la boîte ronde à décor moulé, les bols à glacure brune (4).

Collection Particulière du Sud-Ouest de la France.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Jacob Woutersz Vosmaer (1584–1641), Flower still life with an imperial crown in a stone niche, 1613. Oil on panel, 110 x 79 cm. Courtesy Rijksmuseum.

The Harry Garner Reticulated Vase. A Magnificent and Highly Important Yangcai Reticulated Vase, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 31.4 cm. Estimate HK$70,000,000 – 90,000,000 / US$ 9,010,000 – 11,580,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sale Series 2020 on 11 July will present The Harry Garner Reticulated Vase, a lost masterpiece of Chinese porcelain found in a remote European house almost 60 years since it last came to market. The vase was rediscovered by Amsterdam-based art consultant Johan Bosch van Rosenthal in the country house of an elderly lady who had inherited it. The masterpiece survived the last 50 years almost unblemished, in a lively home surrounded by countless cats and dogs.

This magnificent yangcai reticulated vase represents the culmination of centuries of ingenuity in Chinese crafts and carries with it China’s glorious past. With a singular piece of porcelain, the viewer is taken on a stroll through the riches of Imperial collection, from archaic bronzes and jades via Longquan celadon and blue-and-white to Rococo flower design in vogue at the European courts. The extremely small group of pierced, double-walled vases that were produced for the Qianlong Emperor were a technical tour-de-force that was only attempted under the stewardship of Tang Ying (1682-1756), the eminent kiln supervisor, who produced such pieces in very limited quantities during the seventh and eighth years of the Qianlong reign, 1742 and 1743. A record for the twelfth day in the eighth month, seventh year of Qianlong (1742) mentions a yangcai red-ground sgraffiato winter-green reticulated flower vase with a Xuande-style inner body which was praised as a masterwork by the emperor. It was to be stored at the Qianqinggong (Palace of Celestial Purity), where the Emperor held audiences and banquets. The reference fits perfectly the present piece which appears to be unique.

This vase belonged to two major collectors of Chinese art, Sir Harry M. Garner (1891-1977), a mathematician and celebrated collector of Chinese art, and Henry M. Knight (1903-1970), a Dutch collector who assembled one of the finest collections of porcelain from 1930 up until his death in 1970. This masterpiece ranks amongst the most complex and exquisite porcelains from the Qianlong period ever to have emerged on the market.

Nicolas Chow, Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia, International Head and Chairman, Chinese Works of Art, comments, “It is such a great privilege for Sotheby’s to offer for the first time for sale in over 60 years this unique reticulated vase, a masterpiece made for the Qianlong emperor. It is a miracle that this extraordinarily fragile vase survived half a century in a home surrounded by countless pets, and we are excited to unveil it in Hong Kong in July.”

The Harry Garner Reticulated Vase. A Magnificent and Highly Important Yangcai Reticulated Vase, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 31.4 cm, 12 3/8  in. Estimate HK$70,000,000 – 90,000,000 / US$ 9,010,000 – 11,580,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

superbly potted with a pear-shaped body rising from a splayed foot to a tall waisted neck below an elaborately overhanging cusped ruyi collar at the rim, the neck flanked by a pair of gilt sinuous dragon handles and opulently decorated with three friezes divided by gilt bands, each frieze enclosing symmetrically arranged luxuriant flower garlands composed of stylised blooms and Rococo-inspired whimsical undulating acanthus leaves with feathery fronds, all against a rich puce ground picked out with scrollwork rendered with needle-fine sgraffiato engraving, the puce-ground floral design meticulously repeated along the lower body and foot, the prominent and rounded lower section of the body ingeniously modelled with a celadon-reticulated wall of interlaced dragons, interspersed with archaistic bird and bat-like motifs, all emphasised with gilt borders, the intricately carved wall revealing an inner vase decorated in shaded tones of cobalt blue with nine succulent peaches borne on leafy branches, all between lime-green bands of detached florets flanked by scrolling foliage encircling the ruyi collar at the rim and the foot, the base enamelled turquoise and centred with an underglaze-blue six-character seal mark reserved in a white square.

Provenance*: Collection of Sir Harry M. Garner (1891-1977).
Sotheby's London, 25th May 1954, lot 91 (£44).
Bluett & Sons, London, inventory no. 3396.
Jacob Stodel, Amsterdam and London, acquired from the above, 8th November 1954 (£80).
Collection of Henry M. Knight (1903-1970), The Hague, Holland.
Thence by descent.

* We thank Dominic Jellinek for his kind help on researching the provenance of the Garner vase.

Encompassing China’s Past
Regina Krahl

How to pay homage to as many classic Chinese art styles as possible while creating a symphonic work of art in contemporary taste? If it sounds like squaring the circle, this is what Jingdezhen’s craftsmen achieved with this piece. To any connoisseur versed in the history of Chinese art – which the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) unquestionably was – this porcelain masterpiece must appear like a culmination of centuries of ingenuity in Chinese crafts. Its multiple associations spell ‘Glorious Past’ on so many different levels, that even for the expert viewer it takes a while to unravel them all. Like a stroll through the imperial collection, this vase takes us from archaic bronzes and jades via Longquan celadon and imperial blue-and-white to Rococo flower design. What is perhaps most admirable about it – even more than its technical sophistication – is its stylistic coherence, which fuses nostalgic nods to antiquity with fashionable takes on international trends of the day.

Its technical mastery is of course unquestioned. The extremely small group of pierced, double-walled vases that were produced for the Qianlong Emperor provided probably the greatest technical challenge ever for the potters at the imperial kilns. The complexity of the production process can hardly be overstated and the perfection of the execution is next to miraculous. Works like these could have been developed by the imperial kilns only under the leadership of Tang Ying (1682-1756), who combined superior understanding of the properties of the ceramic medium, vast experience with the intricacies of the production process and an unerring sense of aesthetics, with exceptional ambition. These vases, however, appear to have provided cause for concern even to him. After having presented nine single vases, respectively designed with openwork or interlocking sections, Tang reported to the Emperor that he had not dared to create larger numbers or pairs, since they are so expensive (for which read: prone to endless failures) and would do so only if the Emperor accepted them. The Emperor replied that he ought indeed to keep numbers low and restrict their production to special occasions, but nevertheless ordered pairs to be created for the singles (Liao Pao Show, Huali cai ci: Qianlong yangcai/Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien-lung Reign, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, pp. 27f.). Many reticulated vases, however, do not have pairs today and may never have had pairs, as no such delivery from Jingdezhen is expressly recorded in the archives.

References in the court archives to reticulated vases date from the seventh and eighth year of the Qianlong period, 1742 and 1743. A record for the twelfth day in the eighth month, seventh year of Qianlong (1742) states (Qinggong Neiwufu Zaobanchu dang’an zonghui [General collection of archival records from the Qing imperial household department workshop], Beijing, 2005, vol. 11, p. 6; fig. 1):

fig.1. Qinggong Neiwufu Zaobanchu dang’an zonghui [General collection of archival records from the Qing imperial household department workshop], Beijing, 2005, vol. 11, p. 6

Eunuch Gao Yu, as proposed by Treasurer Bai Shixiu and Deputy Foreman Dazi, presented two yangcai zun vases with lingzhi, exotic flowers and cicada, a yangcai red-ground sgraffiato winter-green reticulated flower vase with a Xuande-style inner body [… and thirty-four other vessels]… Praised as top-quality (toudeng) objects by his Majesty, these vessels should be stored within tailor-made fitted boxes at Qianqinggong.

This reference fits perfectly to the present piece. Qianqinggong, the Palace of Celestial Purity, is the largest hall of the Inner Court, where the Emperor held audiences and banquets, a highly prestigious location.

Two other references to related vases are preserved from the following year, 1743 (op.cit., p. 311 and pp. 807-8). On the eighth day, leap fourth month of the eighth year of Qianlong:

Canton wood workshops … Eunuch Gao Yu, as proposed by Treasurer Bai Shixiu and Deputy Foreman Dazi, presented … a large yangcai red-ground sgraffiato ‘gall-bladder’ vase with a Xuande-style inner body [and several other vessels] …. By imperial decree, fitting stands should be made for these vessels.

And on the following day, ninth day of the leap fourth month of 1743:

Qianqinggong … Eunuch Gao Yu, as proposed by Treasurer Bai Shixiu and Deputy Foreman Dazi, presented … a pair of yangcai red-ground sgraffiato winter-green reticulated ‘gall-bladder’ vases with Xuande-style inner bodies …. By imperial decree, these vessels should be stored within tailor-made fitted boxes among other enamelled wares at Qianqinggong.

The National Palace Museum, Taipei, holds three related reticulated vases, very similarly pierced and enamelled in the same basic colour scheme as the present piece, but of pear shape, without handles and rim collar. The 1743 quotes most likely refer to these three vases (Liao, op.cit., cat. no. 68, p. 271, figs 49 and 51, and p. 281, fig. 131)(fig. 2). Liao Pao Show states that the pair was once displayed in the Duanningdian, the Hall of Solemnity, a side hall in the Inner Court, where the Emperor’s robes were stored, and the single vase in the Yangxindian, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Emperor’s personal living quarters. She has interpreted the quote of 1742 as referring to the third vase in the Taipei collection (Liao, op.cit., p. 198 and p. 281), but since this passage uses a different name for the shape, calling it a ‘flower vase’ rather than referring specifically to a ‘gall-bladder’, i.e. pear-shaped vase, the quote of 1742 is more likely to refer to the present piece. This seems to be one of the earliest references – if not the earliest – to a reticulated vase.

fig.2. A ruby-ground yangcai sgraffiato ‘floral’ pear-shaped reticulated vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong, height 38.5 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Archaistic motifs drawn from the Bronze Age were highly popular in the Qianlong period. Interlaced dragon designs appeared in bronze casting in the early Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BC), when ritual bronzes became more and more ornate and the technique of lost-wax casting was introduced, although simpler versions were also created with piece-moulds. Openwork designs of dragon or serpent-like creatures are found particularly on vessel covers and handles, but also as fanciful vessel ornament (e.g. Jenny F. So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York, 1995, fig. 91). In the sixth century BC, such motives appeared also on two-layered bronze vessels with a closed inner and a pierced outer wall (So, op.cit., figs 22-24) (fig. 3).

fig.3. A small bronze vessel with interlaced dragons in openwork and two serpentine handles, pou, Warring States period, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop (no. 1943.52.70). © President and Fellows of Harvard College

While the interlacing of highly stylised dragon figures was probably inspired by such bronze vessels, the rendering of the dragons themselves on this and related porcelains is more closely related to jade carvings. A typical feature of Eastern Zhou jade dragons are the almond-shaped eyes with outlines protruding at both ends, which we also see here. With their bent horns and split tails, the dragon handles in any case seem to take jade pendants as models; compare, for example, a small dragon pendant in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 2008.285) (fig. 4). Although we often see dragon handles on archaic bronzes, they are generally conceived fully in the round (see various examples in So, op.cit., pp. 22-41 passim) rather than as two-dimensional silhouettes, like the handles on this vase. The term linglong itself, which is used for reticulated porcelains, refers basically to something that is exquisite and elegant, like fine jade pendants. 

fig.4. A jade ‘dragon’ pendant, Eastern Zhou dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Sir Joseph Hotung Gift, 2008 (no. 2008.285). 

Ceramic vessels with pierced walls, which are serviceable due to a second, closed inner hull were already made by the official (guan) kilns of Laohudong in the Song dynasty (960-1279), but probably in small numbers (Du Zhengxian, ed., Hangzhou Laohudong yaozhi ciqi jingxuan [Selection of porcelains from the Laohudong kiln sites in Hangzhou], Beijing, 2002, pls 24 and 25). At the Qianlong court, they were associated with celadon models, probably of slightly later date, from the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang, of which the Jingdezhen potters also made exact replicas, just of finer material (Sotheby’s New York, 18th January 2019, lot 469 and Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2009, lot 1603) (figs 5 and 6). Even though the celadon-glazed reticulated band on the present vase and its companions no longer immediately recall Longquan models, they are still sometimes referred to as ‘Longquan’ in Qing documents, otherwise as ‘winter-green’.

fig.5. A Longquan reticulated ‘peony’ vase, Yuan – early Ming dynasty, 14th-15th century; height 12 3/8 in.; 31.4 cm, formerly in the collection of Nelson and Happy Rockefeller. Sold for 21,250 USD at Sotheby’s New York, 18th January 2019, lot 469. Courtesy Sotheby's.

fig.6. A celadon-glazed pear-shaped reticulated vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong; 31.8 cm, 12 1/2 in. Sold for 47,700,000 HKD at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8th April 2009, lot 1603.

Tang Ying’s reticulated vases obviously were meant to draw all the registers of the potters’ craft, therefore the inner walls had to hold yet another surprise. The fact that they are painted at all is astonishing in itself. An underglaze design was an obvious choice for the inside, since it could be fired in the first high-temperature firing together with the celadon glaze and the neutral glaze that covers the remainder of the vase, and thus was ready and done when the enamels were applied on the outside and further firings followed. Yet the design is not easy to make out, since it is largely hidden by the intricately carved ‘window’ in the wall around it.

Was Tang Ying here striving to engage the Emperor’s attention? Did he want to ensure that the vase would not just be placed on a stand and end up forgotten as yet another piece of palace decoration, but continue to arouse interest and amuse? He must have made the Emperor come up close in order to glance inside, and to strain his eyes in order to discover the vase’s secret. Once he had connected the small sections of the pattern that are visible through the narrow openings, the Emperor could only have been pleased. Recognizing an unmistakeable Ming (1368-1644) design from the time of the finest blue-and-white porcelains, the Xuande period (1426-1435), he had experienced a glimpse into the past. The various references to earlier periods in this vase all insinuate the natural continuation and patronage of Chinese culture by the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1911), but this physical incorporation of a ‘Ming vase’ into a Qing vessel symbolised even more explicitly that this ruling house encompassed China’s eminent past.

This message was undoubtedly welcome to the Emperor, yet his taste was not merely retrospective. Like his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722), he had invited Jesuit craftsmen to the court and engaged them side by side with Chinese artisans to modernise and invigorate the imperial workshops. The intense puce enamel colour, which is here superbly complemented with the high-firing celadon-green glaze, had been introduced to the porcelain colouring palette only some two decades earlier, in the Kangxi reign. A Qianlong contribution was the needle-fine sgraffiato engraving that gives the surface texture and makes for an even richer, more opulent aspect. The symmetrically arranged flower garlands, composed of imaginary, highly stylised blooms and fanciful, not species-specific foliage, were introduced from the West, where they had been popular in Rococo interiors. They were ideally suited to exhibit the wide range of enamel colours at the porcelain painters’ disposal, many of which were still fairly new at the time.

The present vase appears to be unique and may never have had a pair. It represents the quintessence of Qianlong style, but with the overhanging ruyi collar at the rim and dragon handles matching the openwork pattern, its design is particularly elaborate. Both features would have complicated the production process further and particularly the former, reminiscent of an embroidered cloth placed over the mouth, was rarely otherwise used (it appears similarly on a vase without openwork, also with a puce-ground neck but a landscape scene around the body and with different dragon handles, sold at Christie’s New York, 16th September 1999, lot 376).

Besides the pair of pear-shaped vases in the National Palace Museum mentioned above (fig. 2), the Museum also holds another related pair, of shouldered form, similarly pierced and painted, but with landscape panels reserved in the openwork band. These vases were formerly held in the Shouhuangdian, the Hall of Imperial Longevity, a palace complex outside the Forbidden City, at the foot of Coal Hill, and one of them was included in the Museum’s 2008 exhibition, see Liao, op.cit., no. 69 (fig. 7).

fig.2. A ruby-ground yangcai sgraffiato ‘floral’ pear-shaped reticulated vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong, height 38.5 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei.

fig. 7. A ruby-ground yangcai sgraffiato ‘landscape’ reticulated vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong, height 41.1 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei.

The Palace Museum, Beijing, also owns a related reticulated pear-shaped vase, but with a blue instead of the purple ground at the neck; see Gugong Bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji. Falangcai, fencai/The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 161 (fig. 8).

fig.8. A blue-ground yangcai sgraffiato pear-shaped reticulated vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong, height 32.8 cm, Qing court collection, © Palace Museum, Beijing.

The vase here offered has a notable history. It can be traced back to the 1950s, when it belonged to Sir Harry M. Garner (1891-1977; fig. 9), a distinguished English mathematician and scientist working in aerodynamics, and a major collector and historian of Chinese art, who for many years was Secretary and later President of the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS), a celebrated society founded in London in 1921. He published ground-breaking standard works on blue-and-white porcelain, cloisonné and lacquer wares, which laid the foundations of Western research in these fields and are still highly influential today. He wrote many essays also on Qing porcelain and was Chairman of the Selection Committee for the important OCS exhibition The Arts of the Ch’ing Dynasty in London, 1965. He donated large parts of his collection to the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Bluett & Sons, founded by Alfred Ernest Bluett in London in 1884 and for over a century remaining with the Bluett family, was one of the major antiques businesses devoted to Chinese art in Europe. The brothers Leonard and Edgar, who ran the business from the 1900s to the 1960s were more than just dealers. They were actively involved also in the activities of the Oriental Ceramic Society and its exhibitions, even lent to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy in 1935/6, and there was hardly an important Western collector, who did not visit Bluett’s premises during this time. The collections the company helped to shape over this period are legend.                                         

Jacob Stodel was an important Dutch antiques business dealing particularly in Dutch and Chinese works of art. Founded in 1859, it was run by several generations of the Stodel family in Amsterdam and London, under various names, and is still active today.

Henry M. Knight (1903-1970; fig. 10) was a highly discriminating Dutch collector of Chinese art as well as Western paintings and drawings. From 1930 practically until his death he assembled a major collection of Chinese ceramics and other works of art, focussing mainly on Ming and Qing dynasty porcelains, buying largely from Bluett & Sons, London. 

Portrait of Mr. Henry M. Knight (1903-1970).

Lot 113. A rare blue and white glazed stoneware peony' storage jar, Vietnam, 15th century. Hauteur: 33 cm. (13 in.). Estimate EUR 15,000 - EUR 20,000 (USD 16,900 - USD 22,533). © Christie's Images Ltd 2020

Lot 7. A blue and white 'toad' kendi, Ming Dynasty, 16th-17th century;  16,5 cm, 6½ in. Estimate: 800 - 1,200 EUR. Lot sold 8,750EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

la boîte ronde à décor moulé, les bols à glacure brune (4).

Collection Particulière Française.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 8. A blue and white 'lion' jar and cover, Transitional period, 17th century, and a blue and white baluster vase, Qing Dynasty, 18th century;  34,5 cm; 39 cm, 13⅝ in., 15⅜ in. Estimate: 1,200 - 1,500 EUR. Lot sold 6,000 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

la panse de la potiche décorée d'un animal fabuleux sur une terrasse; le vase peint d'un décor continu d'un paysage montagneux (3).

Collection Particulière Française.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 9. Two blue and white baluster jars, late Ming Dynasty;  Hauteur 16,3 cm, height 6⅜ in. Estimate: 1,500 - 2,000 EUR. Lot sold 5,000 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

la panse de forme ovoïde décorée d'une scène continue animée d'enfants jouant sur une terrasse, entourée sur l'épaulement et autour de la base de frises de pétales stylisés, le col hexagonal à décor de frises de leiwen (2).

Collection Particulière Française.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 11. A pair of blue and white vases, meiping, Ming Dynasty, 16th century;  Hauteur 16,3 cm, height 6⅜ in. Estimate: 8,000 - 12,000 EUR. Lot sold 13,750 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

chacun à la panse étroite s'élargissant vers un épaulement arrondi aux bords légèrement évasés, décorée sur le pourtour d'une frise de lotus feuillagés (2).

Collection L.A. Basmadjieff (1911-2000)

Provenance: Christie's London, 10th June 1996, lot 85. 

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020

Lot 12. A rare large blue and white 'lotus' vase, seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 52,4 cm, 20⅝ in. Estimate: 150,000 - 250,000 EUR. Lot sold 237,500 EUR. Courtesy Sotheby's.

de forme archaïsante, hu, le col évasé flanqué de deux anses tubulaires à décor de vagues, les bords surlignés d'une frise de vagues, de grenades suspendues, et d'une frise de chrysanthèmes soulignée d'une frise de ruyi, l'épaulement décoré de lotus dans des rinceaux feuillagés surmontant des vagues tumultueuses, le panse ornée d'une large bande de fleurs dans des rinceaux feuillagés, encadrée d'une frise de ruyi et de vagues, le pied décoré d'une frise de pétales stylisés, marque sigillaire à six caractères à la base.

Collection Particulière Française.

Note: The present vase is notable for its impressive size, fine potting and skilfully executed, varied decorative bands, and represents the expertise of craftsmen working during the Qianlong reign. In order to satisfy his own flamboyant taste, the Qianlong Emperor is known to have commissioned artists working in the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen to make pieces that were highly challenging and unconventional, often placing particular emphasis on the showier aspects of production and on the virtuosity of craftsmanship. The refinement of the material and expertise in firing provided a platform for artists to be ambitious in their repertoire and allowed for the making of such large vessels.

The form of this vase is an adaptation of archaic ritual bronze vessels, intended for use during ancestor worship ceremonies. Features like the angular ridge separating a concave neck from a convex body can already by traced to vessels of zun shape and tubular handles to vessels of hu form from the end of the Shang period in the late 2nd millennium BC. This reference to archaic forms would have been much appreciated by the Emperor who was a great connoisseur and a keen collector of archaic pieces.

Further reference to China's celebrated past is seen in the intricately painted floral scrolls which were inspired by Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain of the early 15th century. Painted in a brilliant deep cobalt blue, which reflects the high level of technical achievement by Qing craftsmen, Qing painters employed a stippled effect to simulate the accidental unevenness known as 'heaping and piling' typically found on early Ming pieces.

Large vases of related form, but with a narrow cylindrical neck and without foot were already produced during the Yongzheng reign. A Yongzheng vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, similarly decorated with Ming-style flower scrolls, is illustrated in Qingdai yuyao ciqi [Qing imperial porcelain], vol. 1, pt. II, Beijing, 2005, pl. 178. This Yongzheng form was also copied rather closely in the Qianlong period; compare two such vases in the Palace Museum, Beijing, one decorated with lotus flowers, the other with Ming-style flower scrolls and other motifs, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 3, pls 130 and 131.

A similar vase from the collection of Sir Ralph Harwood, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., at one time Financial Secretary to King George V and Controller of the Royal Household, and believed to have been presented to him by Queen Mary, out of the Royal collections at Windsor Castle, was sold in our London rooms, 7th June 1994, lot 358. See also a Qianlong vase of related form, with broader neck and a foot, and the same design as the present vase, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd April 2019, lot 3633. Compare also another example, also sold in our Hong Kong rooms,16th May 1977, lot 90 and now in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, included in the Museum's exhibition The Wonders of the Potter's Palette, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 63.

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 18 Juin 2020