Lot 459. Five pottery figures, Tang dynasty & Han dynasty. Estimate £800 - £1,200. Sold for £892 (€ 1,039). © Bonhams

Comprising a large figure of a groom, a male and a female seated court attendant, and a small model of a horse, Tang dynasty, the groom 52cm (20 1/2in) high; and a painted pottery figure of a man, Han dynasty, wearing a tight jacket over a pair of trousers, 22cm (8 5/8in) high.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 459. Two painted pottery figures of warriors, Northern Wei dynasty. The taller 32cm (12 1/2in) high. Estimate £800 - £1,200. Sold for £ 892 (€ 1,039). © Bonhams

Both figures standing upright with fierce expressions, one soldier seemingly of Central Asian origin carrying a shield with a monster mask, the other warrior clad in armour and a domed helmet, stand.

Provenance: Gisele Croes, Brussels, 19 December 1984 (warrior with shield)
Sotheby's London, 9 November 2005, lot 507 (warrior with shield)
Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2000 (grey pottery warrior; label).

Note: Compare with a related pottery figure, Northern Qi, excavated in 1981 from the tomb of Lou Rui, Prince of Dong'an in Commandery Wangguo Village, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, and now in the Shanxi Archaeology Institute, illustrated by R.L.Thorp, Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of China 1988, no.118.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 465. Two painted pottery figures, Han dynasty & early Tang dynasty. The taller 32cm (12 1/2in) high. Estimate £800 - £1,200. Sold for £828 (€ 964). © Bonhams

Comprising a figure of an attendant, Han dynasty, his right hand outstretched, the other by his side, 26.5cm (10 1/2in) high; and a standing figure of a lady, early Tang dynasty, standing upright with her arms crossed, with box, 24cm (9 1/2in) high.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 475. A Yueyao olive-green-glazed stoneware vase, Western Jin Dynasty (266–316); 35cm (13 3/4in) high. Estimate £1,000 - £1,500. Sold for £1,020 (€ 1,187). © Bonhams

The oviform vessel with three concentric bands around the upper body, flanked by beast-mask, rope-loop and ring handles, the body and neck with incised designs of stylised clouds and waves.

Note: See similar examples illustrated in Splendid Finds: The Archaeological Excavations at The Royal Cemetery of Haihunhou Kingdom in Han Dynasty, Beijing, 2016, pp.48–49; see another example illustrated by J.Rawson, Ancient China: Art and Archaeology, New York, 1980, fig.186; see also a related ash-glazed proto-porcelain jar, Western Han dynasty, illustrated by R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol.1, London, 1994, no.134.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 476. A rare green-glazed 'mythical beasts' lamp, Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577); 19.1cm (7 1/2in) high. Estimate £2,000 - £3,000. Sold for £22,750 (€ 26,484). © Bonhams

The cylindrical body rising from a spreading stepped base to an everted wide-flanged rim, the lower section of the body applied with three beasts seated above three cartouche apertures alternating with applied rosettes, the rim incised with leaf scrolls with a stepped border, covered overall with a thick green glaze.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2008, no.31.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C106n48 dated 30 May 2006, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Note: The closest comparison to this rare vessel is a lamp with green and brown glazes and sculptural felines in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by S.G.Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1975, pp.54-55, no.48, and again by S.G.Valenstein, Cultural Convergence in the Northern Qi Period: A Flamboyant Chinese Ceramic Container, New York, 2007, p.116, fig.49.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 476. A rare olive-green-glazed jar, Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577); 17cm (6 3/4in) high. Estimate £1,000 - £1,500. Sold for £4,845 (€ 5,640). © Bonhams

Thickly potted with a short neck and four lug handles resting on the shoulder of the globular body raised on a short foot with a flat base, the transparent straw glaze covering the interior and exterior except around the base revealing the buff body.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2006, no.26.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C106a90 dated 6 February 2006, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Note: See a related example with green and brown glazes, excavated in 1958 at Puyang, Henan Province, illustrated by W.Watson, The Genius of China, London, 1973, no.241. See also another example excavated in 1971 from Fan Cui's tomb dated 575 AD at Honghetun, Anyang County, and now in the collection of the Henan Museum, illustrated by Zhang Bai, Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, vol.12, Leiden, 2008, no.22.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 1: Coupe sur petit pied, Pakistan, Culture de Mehrgarh, période VII, 2800-2500 BCE Terre cuite. H. 6 – D. 8 cm. Est: €150 - €250. Résultat 455 €© Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Décor peint de registres incluant des végétaux en forme de cœurs et des oiseaux, structurés par des lignes parallèles. Rehauts classiques de pigments bleus et rouges. Anciens accidents visibles.

Note: Situéà l’ouest de la vallée de l’Indus, le site de Mehrgarh est considéré comme le premier où l’agriculture se serait développée en Asie du Sud à partir de 7 000 avant notre ère.
Les plus anciennes céramiques d’Asie du Sud y seraient également apparues à partir de 5 500 avant notre ère. Le déclin de cette culture au fil du 3° millénaire BCE semble s’être fait au profit de la culture Harappéenne plus communément appelée Culture de la vallée de l’Indus.

Références bibliographiques : - Jean-François Jarrige, catalogue de l’exposition « Les cités oubliées de l'Indus : archéologie du Pakistan», Musée National des Arts Asiatiques – Guimet Paris 16 novembre 1988 – 30 janvier 1989.
- Jean-François Jarrige, « Du néolithique à la civilisation de l'Inde ancienne : contribution des recherches archéologiques dans le nord-ouest du sous-continent indo-pakistanais », Arts asiatiques, vol. 50, no 50, 1995, pp. 5 à 30.

Lot 2: Coupe sur petit pied, Pakistan, Culture de Mehrgarh, 3° millénaire BCE. Terre cuite. H. 9,5 – D. 14 cm. Est: €120 - €200. Résultat: 156 EUR.© Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Décor peint de deux bandeaux alternant des séries de chevrons et de vides en brun. Anciens accidents visibles.

Lot 3. Coupe sur petit pied, Pakistan, Culture de Mehrgarh période VII, 2800-2500 BCE. Terre cuite. H. 9 – D. 13,5 cm. Est: €150 - €250. Résultat: 325 EUR. © Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Décor peint de registres incluant des végétaux en forme de cœurs structurés par des lignes parallèles. Rehauts classiques de pigments bleus et rouges. Anciens accidents visibles.

Lot 4. Coupe sur petit pied, Pakistan, Culture de Mehrgarh, 3° millénaire BCE. Terre cuite. H. 7 – D. 10,5 cm. Est: €150 - €250.Résultat: 325 EUR. © Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Décor peint structuré autour de protubérances hémisphériques. Rehauts de pigments rouges. Anciens accidents visibles.

Lot 510. A guri lacquer lobed tray, Yuan - Ming dynasty; Japanese wood box, 16.8cm. Estimate: 30,000 - 40,000 HKD. Lot sold: 63,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's

 Sotheby's. CHINA / 5000 YEARS, Hong Kong, 26 May 2021

Lot 511. A black guri lacquer rectangular tray, Ming dynasty; Japanese wood box, 47.2 cm. Estimate: 20,000 - 30,000 HKD. Lot sold: 25,200 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's

 Sotheby's. CHINA / 5000 YEARS, Hong Kong, 26 May 2021

Lot 512. A celadon crackle-glazed waterpot and a cinnabar guri lacquer tray, Ming dynasty; Japanese wood boxes, 7.7 and 16 cm. Estimate: 200,000 - 300,000 HKD. Lot sold: 252,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's

Provenance: A Japanese private collection.

Literature: waterpot: Nihon Bijutsu Kougei [Japanese Arts and Crafts], December 1950.

Exhibited: waterpot: Nihon Touji Kyoukai Shadan Houjin Kinen Chugoku Seiji Ten [Chinese Celadon Exhibition, The Japanese Ceramic Society], Tokyo, 1950, cat. no. 90.

Sotheby's. CHINA / 5000 YEARS, Hong Kong, 26 May 2021

Lot 513. A cinnabar 'tixi' lacquer box and cover, Ming dynasty, 15th - 16th century; Japanese wood box, 8.5 cm. Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000 HKD. Lot sold: 277,200 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's

Property from the Kaisendo Museum.

Note: The carved design on the current box, known as tixi or the Japanese term, guri (curves and circles), was a pattern established towards the end of the Song dynasty. The scrolling foliage design on the current box, referred to as juancao (scrolling grass) or xiangcao (fragrant grass), first appeared on Song dynasty lacquerwares and enjoyed considerable popularity well into the Yuan dynasty.

See two tixi lacquer boxes of similar form and closely related design, one in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, published in Hai-wai Yi-chen. Chinese Art in Overseas Collections. Lacquerware, Taipei, 1987, pl. 73; and the other included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer. The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 11.

Compare the tixi lacquer box and cover sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2012, lot 68; and another, of larger size (21.3 cm), sold in our New York rooms, 16th-17th September 2014, lot 546.

Lot 514. A cinnabar 'tixi' lacquer 'scholar under pine' cylindrical box and cover, Ming dynasty, 15th - 16th century; Japanese wood box, d. 6.3 cm; h. 6.5 cm. Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 HKD. Lot sold: 107,100 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's

Property from the Kaisendo Museum.

Lots 513-514 are being sold by the Kaisendo Museum, located in Yamagata Prefecture. The items were collected by Mr Kenzo Hasegawa (1886-1957), owner of the famous silk workshop in Kaminoyama. He began collecting knives and swords before his interest expanded to include lacquer, which he acquired between 1948 and 1950.

Sotheby's. CHINA / 5000 YEARS, Hong Kong, 26 May 2021

Faxas Residence, Havana, Cuba, 1997. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

AUSTIN, TX.- Thanks to the generosity of a Chicago-area family, renowned photographer Robert Polidori’s photographic print archive has been donated to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas. Consisting of more than 85,000 archive prints, the collection is valued at more than $30 million.

Polidori is one of the world’s most acclaimed photographers of human habitats and environments. He is best known for his detailed, large-format color film photographs that explore the built world, capturing layers of history in extraordinary detail.

Classrooms in School #5, Pripyat, Ukraine, 2001. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

The Robert Polidori Photographic Print Archive is a comprehensive collection of the photographer’s work to the present day. His subjects include the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding in New Orleans, the ruins of Pompeii, the Château de Versailles, Havana and Chernobyl. His current work deals with population and urban growth through photographs of cities around the world, including Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and Amman.

“Beyond Polidori’s undeniable importance as an artist, his photographs are of prime interest to the center because of their extensive documentation of historical spaces,” said Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center. “The widely acknowledged aesthetic value of Polidori’s images is matched by their evidentiary significance, which deserves more attention than it has attracted previously. His work depicts significant locations and events across the globe, capturing the impact of humanity and the passage of time on human environments. Given the at-scale format and intricate details in his images, these photos will provide future historians with incredibly rich source material.”

After the Flood, New Orleans, LA, 2005. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

Writer and critic John Updike wrote of Polidori’s post-Katrina photos, “It is for our children and our grandchildren—for the historical record—that … Polidori zealously labored over many months to capture on film … the aftermaths of [one of the] most spectacular disasters on American soil in this young century.”

Longtime art collectors in Chicago, the donors have recognized the urgency of identifying, saving and sharing Polidori’s work. “The University of Texas is the perfect home for the Polidori archive,” said a representative of the donors. “The family has made it part of their philanthropic mission to acquire and preserve important photographic collections. They’re excited that this collection will be at the Briscoe Center, one of the most impressive collections of photography in existence, where it will be accessible to future generations of students and researchers.”

“I’m honored that my body of work will be a part of the Briscoe Center’s photographic collection,” Polidori said. “It is of particular significance to me to have my archive at an institution that values images as evidence of history.”

5417 Marigny Street, New Orleans, LA, 2005. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

The archive includes more than 20,000 unique Polaroid film prints, more than 53,000 color contact prints, 11,000 proof prints, 37 large-format exhibition prints, and paper materials used to make maquettes for Polidori’s books.

Polidori’s work has been featured in major international exhibitions and galleries, including “New Orleans After the Flood” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2006. He was a contributor and staff photographer for The New Yorker from 1998 to 2006, and his work also has been featured in such publications as Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest, as well as 15 books by Steidl Publishing. Individual prints of his work are held in numerous collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bibliothèque Nationale and The Centre Pompidou in Paris. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship for photography in 2020, won the World Press Award in 2008, and he has twice won the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography (1999 and 2000).

The Polidori Photographic Print Archive is being processed and is closed to research at this time. The center will announce when the collection is open to researchers.

6328 North Miro Street, New Orleans, LA, 2006. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

Jagatganj Road, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2007. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

Cell 33, Museum of San Marco Convent, Florence, Italy, 2010. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

Château de Versailles, Versailles, France, 2018. Robert Polidori Archive, Briscoe Center, University of Texas at Austin. © Robert Polidori.

Lot 478. A rare marble head of Buddha, Northern Qi dynasty (​550-577); 23cm (9in) high. Est: £3,000 - £5,000. Sold for £ 27,750 (€ 32,211). © Bonhams

Carved with a serene and meditative countenance expressed by a pair of downcast eyes, pursed lips and pendulous ears, framed by tight curls densely covering the head, stand.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 1999, no.1.

Note: See a related example illustrated in China: Cultuur Vroeger en Nu, Ghent, 1979, no.292; see also D.Lion-Goldschmidt and J-C.Moreau-Gobard, Chinese Art: Bronze, Jade, Sculpture, Ceramics, Oxford, 1960, pl.118.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 479. A bronze ritual water-pouring vessel, kundika, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 24cm (9 1/2in) high. Est: £1,000 - £1,500. Sold for £ 27,750 (€ 32,211). © Bonhams

Standing on a thin flared foot, the oviform body set on the sloping shoulder with a short lobed spout with cupped opening and hinged lid, all surmounted by a bowstring at the base of the tall waisted neck cast with a wide collar rising to a lobed section and tapered opening.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Winter Exhibition, London, 2006, no.9.

Note: Called 'Kundika' after the Sanskrit term for a 'pure-water bottle', this type of vessel originated in India and became popular in China in the Tang dynasty for use during Buddhist ceremonies. It was filled through the side spout, which was closed by the hinged lid, with water being poured out through the top opening. Originally a bronze shape, this vessel was also produced in glazed stoneware during the Tang dynasty.

Compare with a bronze Kundika in the Idemitsu Museum, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl.328. White-glazed stoneware examples of Kundikas are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Ceramics, vol.4, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Beijing, 2013, pls.183-184.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 480. Three bronze vessels, Tang Dynasty (618-907). The vase 20.2cm (8in) wide. Est: £1,000 - £1,500. Sold for £7,650 (€ 8,912). © Bonhams

Comprising a shallow dish; an alms-bowl-shaped vessel; and a compressed globular vase with trumpet neck.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 481. A straw-glazed cup, Sui-Tang Dynasty (581-907);9.7cm (3 7/8in) diam. Est: £800 - £1,200. Sold for £3,570 (€ 4,159). © Bonhams

Set on a short tapering foot, the mottled pale yellow glaze running half way down the exterior to reveal the pale creamy-white body.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C109e35 dated 6 May 2009, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Note: See a related example illustrated by P.Toller, 'The Origins of Chinese White Porcelain' in TOCS, vol.39, 1971–1973, pl.16; see also S.J.Vainker, Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: From Prehistory to the Present, London, 1991, fig.44.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 482. A cream-glazed jar and cover, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 34cm (13 3/8in) high. Est: £800 - £1,200. Sold for £ 3,570 (€ 4,159). © Bonhams

The finely potted oviform jar with short neck and rounded rim, covered with a clear glaze over a white slip, the domed cover with bud finial similarly glazed, fitted box.

Note: See a related example illustrated by Mino Yutaka, Pre-Sung Dynasty Chinese Stonewares in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1974, no.52.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 483. A blue-streaked cream-glazed jar, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 9.9cm (3 7/8in) high. Est: £2,000 - £3,000. Sold for £12,112 (€ 14,112). © Bonhams

Potted with a compressed globular body rising from a short and splayed foot to a waisted neck and culminates in a trumpet-shaped upper section with a everted rolled rim, the shoulder finely incised with two parallel encircled lines, applied overall with a cream glaze with blue-streaked splashes to the mouth and exterior, stopping irregularly above the foot and exposing the unglazed pale cream body, box.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C102e23 dated 7 March 2002, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2009, no.28.

Note: For similar examples, see The Charles B.Hoyt Collection, Boston, 1952, no.118, p.30; R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection , vol.1, London, 1994, p.150, no.256, and note no.239, pp.142-143, for a sancai-glazed example; and C.Medcalf, Introduction to Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1955, pl.1.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021

Lot 486. A silver stem cup, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 7.8cm (2 7/8in) high. Est: £2,000 - £3,000. Sold for £5,355 (€ 6,239). © Bonhams

Of circular form with deep walls, rising from a spreading stem foot to a flared rim, the body decorated with a single raised band below the rim, the surface with some malachite encrustation.

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Roger Keverne Ltd., Summer Exhibition, London, 2009, no.6.

Note: Undecorated silver stem cups are comparatively rare, although the plain surfaces are particularly effective in emphasising the exquisite Tang shapes with their harmonious profiles and sharp edges. A copper alloy stem cup of the same shape in the Kuboso Memorial Museum of Art, Izumi, is published in Sekai bijutsu tai zenshu, vol.4, Tokyo, 1997, pl.161.

Compare also with an undecorated Tang silver cup with a ring handle, with a similar plain raised rib below the rim, excavated at Shapo, Xi'an and now in the Shaanxi History Museum, included in the exhibition The Glory of the Silk Road. Art from Ancient China, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio, 2003, no.106; and another cup of very similar form as the present lot, decorated with hunting scenes, from the same site but now in the National Museum of China, Beijing, ibid., no.105.

A similar undecorated silver stem cup, Tang dynasty, 7th-8th century, formerly in the Carl Kempe collection, was sold at Sotheby's London, 14 May 2008, lot 58.

Bonhams. Roger Keverne Ltd Moving On (Part II), London, New Bond Street, 7 Jun 2021