Necklace of carved carnelian, granules, diamonds and sterling by Bruce Hartman of Carlisle, Pennsylvania 

“Emotions Held Captive” pin-pendant of drusy agate, sterling silver, and 18k gold by Aleksandra Vali of Aurora, Illinois.

“Forest Cluster Necklace” of oxidized sterling silver, 18k gold, tourmaline, labradorite, Tahitian pearl and green quartz briolette by Sydney Lynch of Lincoln, Nebraska.

“Essence of Nature” necklace of cast bronze by Claire Avery of Savannah, Georgia.

Sonata in the Rain” bracelet of oxidized silver, 24k gold leaf, pearls by So Young Park.

Ammonite jewelry by Hendrik Hackl. Photos by Elles Magermans, courtesy  of Hendrik Hackl.

A stone head of Guanyin, Ming Dynasty. Photo Bonhams.

The soft grey-coloured stone carved as the serene Goddess with eyes downcast beneath elegantly arching brows below a circular urna, the head crowned with curling hair piled into a topknot and encircled by a high-peaked Buddhist tiara, the central peak containing a carved figure of the Amitabha Buddha seated in dhyanasana on a lotus pedestal, fixed stand. 38cm (15in) high. Estimate£8,000 - 12,000 (€9,700 - 15,000)

Provenance: purchased from William Clayton Ltd., London, on 21st October 1969
A Scottish private collection

Guanyin is the popular feminised form of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and is one of the Buddhist deities most favoured in China for sculptural and pictographic representation. Guanyin is frequently depicted with a small figure of the Amitabha Buddha in her tiara; her compassion is particularly evident in her serene but kind smile, symbolising her role as an enlightened being who has nevertheless chosen to delay entering Nirvana in order to stay on earth and help others to achieve enlightenment.

The head is carved from a soft-toned grey stone, characterised by small darker grey grains which give an attractive textured, flecked appearance. Compare a similar stone head with a related ornate crown illustrated by W.Percival Yetts, The George Eumorfopoulos Collection Catalogue of Chinese and Corean Bronzes, Sculptures, Jades, Jewellery and Miscellaneous Objects, vol.3, London, 1932, col.pl.LXXII, no.C.114, where it is noted that the character meaning Buddha is crudely incised on the headdress and that it probably replaces a figure of the Amitabha Buddha which had been earlier cut away.

Compare also a related stone head but with a polychrome lacquered headband sold at Sotheby's Paris, 18 December 2012, lot 42

Bonhams. ASIAN DECORATIVE ARTS. 4 Mar 2014, San Francisco - www.bonhams.com

Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533 © The National Gallery, London.

'Strange: unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain' 

'Beauty: a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, which please the aesthetic senses, especially the sight' 

Oxford English Dictionary, 2013 

LONDON - What exactly makes a work of art beautiful? And how can this perception radically alter due to the changing world its viewer is living in? These are the intriguing questions being posed by 'Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance' at the National Gallery this spring.

This collection-focused exhibition takes a fresh look at paintings, drawings and prints by well-known artists such asHans Holbein the Younger, Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder – examining the striking changes in the ways these works were perceived in their time, in the recent past, and how they are viewed today. 

More than 30 loans from UK collections will help visitors explore these fascinating themes. Key works coming to 'Strange Beauty' include the Matthias Grünewald drawing of 'An Elderly Woman with Clasped Hands' (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), the renowned Holbein miniature of 'Anne of Cleves' (Victoria & Albert Museum, London), 'Portrait of Young Man with a Rosary' by Hans Baldung Grien (Royal Collection Trust on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen) and a collection of fine drawings and prints by Holbein, Dürer and Altdorfer (British Museum, London).  

The German Renaissance was part of the cultural and artistic awakening that spread across Northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. German artists such as Dürer developed an international reputation, their fame reaching all parts of Europe, while renowned humanist scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, the patron of Hans Holbein the Younger, played a leading role in reviving the study of classical texts in the service of Christianity. 

Paintings such as  'The Ambassadors' by Holbein, 'Christ taking Leave of his Mother' by Albrecht Altdorfer, 'Cupid complaining to Venus' by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 'Portrait of a Man' by Hans Baldung Grien and 'Saint Jerome' by Albrecht Dürer were highly valued in the 16th century for qualities such as expression and inventiveness. However, by the 19th and early 20th centuries German Renaissance art was receiving a very mixed reception. Some viewers admired the artists' technical mastery and their embodiment of a perceived German national identity; others perceived these works of art as excessive or even ugly, particularly when compared to works of the Italian Renaissance.

Views such as these – alongside the shifting attitudes towards the German nation in the UK following the First and Second World Wars – were to have a direct effect on the formation and growth of the Gallery, and indeed all the UK national collections.

This was strongly evidenced in 1856 when the Trustees of the National Gallery sold the Krüger Collection – the only time in its entire history that the Gallery has had an Act of Parliament passed to de-accession and sell pictures. This group of 64 early Westphalian paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries was acquired for the Gallery by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, in 1854. However just three years later, 37 works were sold as they did not fit in with the 'present state of the Gallery' (as National Gallery Trustees Minutes noted at the time). Rarely publically displayed contemporary documents from the National Gallery archive will be featured in the exhibition in order to illustrate this episode.

A highlight of the exhibition will be, for the first time ever, a reconstruction of the Liesborn altarpiece. This work was created after 1465 and originally formed the high altarpiece in the Benedictine Abbey of Liesborn in Germany. In 1803, on the suppression of the monastery, it was dismembered, sold and scattered across the globe – eight pieces remain at the Gallery as part of the Krüger Collection. Now for the first time, visitors will be able to visualise the completed altarpiece as it might have looked during the 15th century.  

The first room of 'Strange Beauty' introduces the types of paintings that were admired in 1824, when the Gallery was founded. Room 2 presents some of the German Renaissance painting acquisitions finally made by the National Gallery during the 19th and early 20th centuries – not all of which were immediately appreciated or admired. The third room focuses on the qualities of expressiveness and technical and stylistic invention which are so important within German Renaissance art. The masters of this genre, Holbein, Dürer and Cranach, will be exhibited in Room 4, highlighting their distinctive style. Past letters and documentation continue to reveal the historic reception to these paintings. Room 5 discusses themes of beauty and nature, examining the distinctive interpretation of these concepts by German Renaissance artists.

The final room of 'Strange Beauty: Masters of the German Renaissance' will be an interactive experience, inviting today’s visitors to comment, and vote, on their reactions to German painting.

Albrecht Altdorfer, 'Christ taking Leave of his Mother',  probably 1520. The National Gallery, London© The National Gallery, London.

Rahu. Central Tibet. Ca. 1400. Gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones. 21½ x 19¼ x 7 in. (54.6 x 48.9 x 17.8 cm). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of the 1999 Collectors Committee (AC1999.58.1). Digital Image© 2013 Museum Associates / LACMA. Licensed by Art Resource, NY. 

NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Society presents the first exhibition to explore the history, iconography, and extraordinary artistic production associated with the central Tibetan Buddhist monastery called Densatil that was destroyed during China’s Cultural Revolution. 

The exhibition reunites a selection of reliefs and sculptures salvaged from the Monastery’s towering thirteenth- to fifteenth-century inlaid gilt copper memorial stupas (tashi gomang). Works on view are from public and private collections in the United States and Europe. 

Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery illuminates the artistry of the tashi gomang stupas—special memorial stupas masterfully designed and cast in relief by artists, including craftsmen from Nepal—and the spiritual journey toward enlightenment laid out in their imagery. 

“Asia Society is pleased to present this exhibition, a first attempt to recapture the magnificent splendor of the Densatil Monastery and to create appreciation for its artistic, religious, and political aspects through new scholarship,” says Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu. 

The exhibition examines the unique design of tashi gomang stupas as huge, three-dimensional mandalas, each comprising a square base supporting six tiers with a stupa at the top. Historical sources indicate that there were eight tashi gomang stupas in the main hall of the Densatil Monastery; they housed the mortal remains of Buddhist adherents. 

To help viewers visualize the stupas, a selection of photographs taken by Pietro Francesco Mele during Italian scholar Giuseppe Tucci’s 1948 expedition to Tibet are included. From February 19–23, monks from the Drigung (Drikung) school of Buddhism will create a colored sand mandala onsite in a small gallery. The completed sand mandala will be on display for the duration of the exhibition, and then ritually destroyed at its close. 

Built in 1198, the Densatil Monastery was founded at the site inhabited by the monk Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170). Evolving from a hermitage, the Monastery was situated in a remote area of central Tibet close to the northern banks of the Tsangpo River. At the height of its power, the Densatil Monastery was one of the wealthiest Tibetan monasteries in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The iconographic program created by the monk Jigten Gonpo (1153–1217), a disciple of Phagmo Drupa, laid the foundation for the tradition of erecting tashi gomang stupas to commemorate deceased abbots. 

Throughout its history, the site figured in conflicts amongst monastic schools and factions, but it remained intact for centuries until its destruction during China’s Cultural Revolution. Fragments and pieces of the site were salvaged and later dispersed around the world. In 1997, a new assembly hall and small temples were built on the site of the destroyed monastery and in 2010, a new main hall was constructed. Under the auspices of the Tibet Autonomous Region Ministry of Culture and the Drigung (Drikung) Kagyu school, reconstruction of the Densatil Monastery continues today. 

Panel of offering goddesses. Central Tibet. 14th century. Gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones. 10 1⁄8 x 15¼ x 6¼ in. (25.7 x 38.7 x 15.9 cm). Collection of David T. Owsley. Photo by Brad Flowers, courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art/ 

Dhumavati Sridevi. Early 15th century. Gilded bronze and semi-precious stones. H. 18 x W. 19 x D. 7 in. Asia Society, New York: Asia Society. Photo © John  Bigelow Taylor, Asia Society.

Nagaraja. Central Tibet. 15th century. Gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones. H. 15½ in. (39.4 cm). The Kronos Collections.  Photo by Richard Goodbody © Courtesy of The Asia Society Museum.

Saptadashashirshi Shri Devi. Central Tibet. 15th century. Copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones. 2001.19.1. Ester R. Portnow Collection of Asian Art, a Gift of the Nathan Rubin-Ida Ladd Family Foundation © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo Bruce M. White, 2007.

Egg with model of the cruiser “Memory of Azov” (671 KB). Presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Maria Feodorovna, at Easter 1891. Saint Petersburg, 1891. House of C. Fabergé, Artist: M. Perkhin. Heliotrope, aquamarine, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, gold, ruby, platinum, silver, velvet - egg: 9,3 х 7 cm, model: h. 4 cm, l.7 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

VIENNA.- As part of the Austro-Russian Cultural Season the Kunsthistorisches Museum is hosting a major exhibition that showcases both the work of Carl Fabergé, the period’s leading and most influential Russian jeweller, and the decorative arts in Imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th century. 

Over 160 selected loans from the Kremlin and the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow document Fabergé’s virtuosity, and place his oeuvre in the context of contemporary Russian jewellery design. Another focus of the exhibition is the role of the Imperial family as patrons and connoisseurs. 

Two of Moscow’s largest museums - the museums of the Moscow Kremlin and the Fersman Mineralogical Museum - are showing works at the Kunsthistorisches Museum for the first time. In many ways their history and organization are similar to those of the Kunsthistorisches Museum: the latter evolved from collections assembled by the Habsburgs, the former from those amassed by the Imperial Russian family. In the Imperial Russian Treasury the collection of Russian goldsmith work and jewellery from the second half of the 19th and the early 20th century forms a seminal section. These objets d’art were produced by the leading jewellery houses - C. Fabergé, P. Ovchinnikov, I. Khlebnikov, V. Semionov, or F. Köchli, to name but a few. 

Additional unique works by Peter Carl Fabergé and the Imperial glyptic manufactories with which he collaborated are today in the Mineralogical Museum. 

“The house of Fabergé” conjures up exceptional jewellery creations – a combination of brilliant imagination and virtuoso craftsmanship using only the choicest materials. This is particularly true for objects created for members of the Imperial Russian family after 1885, the year Fabergé received a Royal Warrant. 

In 1872 Peter Carl Fabergé took over the company from his father. At the same time he began to restore historical gold and silver artefacts in the Hermitage, and to assist in the new installation of the Imperial Treasury. This careful study of historical jewellery and goldsmith work may be the reason why the family firm evolved from a jeweller to a company celebrated for their objets de fantaisie – objets d’art without any practical use – that are in many ways similar to Kunstkammer objects. In 1900, these objects cut from precious or semi-precious stones – from baroque bouquets of flowers to animal figurines inspired by Japanese netsuke – induced the jury of the Paris World Fair to proclaim that these works touch “the frontier of perfection – where jewellery turns into art”. 

In addition to these artefacts, the house of Fabergé is best known for the Imperial Easter eggs that Peter Carl Fabergé and his workmasters created for the Russian Imperial family – one of the reasons why he was known as the “Cellini of the North”. 

Fabergé created his first Easter egg in 1885 for the wife of Emperor Alexander III, Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark). It was inspired by an early 18th century Easter egg now in the Danish Royal collection. Two similar baroque eggs have also survived, one of them in the Kunstkammer in Vienna. These golden eggs all contain an enamelled hen in a nest made of brilliants. The hen, in turn, contains a crown that contains a ring. 

Fabergé created a gold egg covered in white enamel containing a hen, a crown and a small ruby egg. Emperor Alexander III and his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, loved the “Jewelled Hen” egg, and each Easter they commissioned a new egg from Fabergé. So at the start of each Holy Week the owner of the house of Fabergé would present his Imperial patrons with a new egg, surprising them again and again with unusual subject-matters and his virtuosity. Following the death of Emperor Alexander III, his son and heir, Emperor Nicholas II, ordered two eggs each year: one for the Dowager-Empress, Maria Feodorovna, and one for his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. Each egg had to be different from its predecessor, surpassing it in terms of inventiveness, composition and unusual design. 

In all Fabergé created around 50 Easter eggs for the Imperial family, forty-two of which have survived. The exhibition includes four eggs: the “Memory of Azov” egg of 1891, the “Trans-Siberian Railway” egg, which contains a miniature working model of a train of the Trans-Siberian Railway (1900), the large “The Moscow Kremlin” egg, and the “Constellation” egg, which features the Tsarevich’s star sign; this was the last egg ever begun by Fabergé but events in the course of the Great War and the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in February 1917 prevented its completion. This egg featuring the star sign of the doomed Crown Prince is a poignant symbol of the fall of the House of Romanov. 

In addition to the four Easter eggs by Fabergé, the exhibition showcases personal objects that belonged to members of the Russian Imperial family. Among them are precious objects for every-day use such as cigarette cases, objects to be placed on a writing desk, seals and fans. However, a particular focus of this exhibition is on a section of the decorative arts-production that flourished at this exalted level only in Russia: hardstone carving. 

Thus the exhibition draws a line from the Russian to other imperial collections, especially the Kunstkammer Vienna. Hardstone carving was much admired and collected in a Kunstkammer by 16th and 17th princely connoisseurs; however, this genre retained its popularity only in Russia, and the objects produced in the Imperial-Russian manufactories at Petergof and Yekaterinburg in the 19th century were greatly admired all over the world. Peter Carl Fabergé opened his own stonecutting workshop at St. Petersburg. It produced precious vessels but also animal figures cut from semi-precious stones that were popular presents at court and in society, the choice of animal reflecting the recipient’s appearance or character. Over thirty of these small hardstone sculptures depicting animals, plants or people are on show in the exhibition; they were produced either in the Imperial stone carving workshops or by the house of Fabergé. 

Another section of the show focuses on Fabergé’s enamel work, celebrated for its virtuosity, and the firm’s sumptuous jewellery. Only a handful of the latter has survived in Russia; most was broken or reworked, and many of the precious stones reset. A rare exception is the hoard of magnificent pieces of jewellery discovered by chance in the 1990s during rebuilding work in a Moscow house. We now know that they were hidden by one of the directors of the holding company C. Fabergé; this is how they survived the turmoil of the 20th century. These rare artefacts are on show in the exhibition, together with other magnificent examples of Russian goldsmith work. 

The exhibition documents that Fabergé’s fame is buttressed not only by his Easter eggs but also by his wide range of fine goldsmith work, making him Russia’s leading jeweller at the turn of the 20th century. At the same time the show illustrates that the house of Fabergé was not unique, placing their products in the context of work by other, less well known but equally brilliant firms holding Royal Warrants such as Bolin, Carl Blank, P. Ovtichinnikov, or I. Khlebnikov. 

This exhibition is curated by Paulus Rainer (Vienna) and Tatjana Muntian (Moscow). 

Egg with model of the cruiser “Memory of Azov” (3.2 MB). Presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Maria Feodorovna, at Easter 1891, Saint Petersburg, 1891. House of C. Fabergé, Artist: M. Perkhin. Heliotrope, aquamarine, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, gold, ruby, platinum, silver, velvet - egg: 9,3 х 7 cm, model: h. 4 cm, l.7 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

The Trans-Siberian Express Easter Egg with key (659 KB). Presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, at Easter 1900 Saint Petersburg, 1900. House of C. Fabergé, Artist: M. Perkhin.Gold, platinum, partly-gilt silver, rose-cut diamonds, ruby, onyx, crystal glass, wood, silk, velvet, enamel on guilloché ground, filigree enamel; egg: h. 26 cm, train: l. 39,8 cm, wagon: h. 2,6 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

“The Moscow Kremlin" Egg (561 KB). Presented by Emperor Nicholas II to his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, at Easter 1906. Saint Petersburg, between 1904 and 1906. House of C. Fabergé. Gold, silver, onyx, glass, glimmer, enamel of guilloche ground, enamel paint, oil paint; h. 36,1 cm (incl. base), base: 18,5 х 18,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

“Constellation” Egg (365 KB), Saint Petersburg, 1917. House of C. Fabergé. Rock crystal, rose-cut diamonds, glass; h. 18 cm © Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Cigarette case (1.1 MB). Presented by the Dowager-Empress Maria Feodorovna to Emperor Nicholas II at Christmas 1897, Saint Petersburg, 1897. Firm: K. Hahn, Artist: C. Blank. Gold, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, almandine, enamel on guilloché ground; 8,5 х 5,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

French Bulldog Figurine (1.0 MB), Saint Petersburg, late 19th / early 20th century. House of C. Fabergé. Citrine, sapphires, gold; 4 х 2 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Flower "Pansies" in Crystal Glass (728 KB). Gift from Tsar Nicholas II to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, on their tenth wedding anniversary, Saint Petersburg, 1904. House of C. Fabergé, Artist: H. Wigström; gold, rose-cut diamonds, rock crystal, glass, ivory, bone, enamel, water colours; h. 15,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Cup (701 KB), Saint Petersburg, between 1899 and 1904. House of C. Fabergé, workshop: A. Nevalainen; silver, moonstones, enamel on guilloché ground, gilt; h. (with handle) 5,5 cm, 3,8 cm in diam. © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Notebook (1.3 MB), Saint Petersburg, 1908–1917. House of C. Fabergé, Artist: H. Wigström; platinum, gold, silver, pearls, leather, paper, moiré, enamel on guilloché ground, painted enamel; 8,7 х 6 х 1 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Jar (619 KB). Crystal glass: Western Europe, late 19th / early 20th century. Setting: Moscow, between 1899 and 1908. House of C. Fabergé; cut glass, silver, ruby, sapphire, glass grinding, gilt; h. 28,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Kovsh (traditional drinking vessel or ladle) (689 KB), Moscow, between 1899 and 1908. House of C. Fabergé, artist: F. Rückert; silver, filigree enamel with additional painted enamel; l. 9 cm, h. (with handle) 2,6 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Kovsh (traditional drinking vessel or ladle) (794 KB), Moscow, between 1908 and 1917. House of C. Fabergé, artist: F. Rückert; silver, filligre enamel, painted enamel, amalgam, gilt; h. 11,4 cm, l. 15,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Pectoral Cross (706 KB), Saint Petersburg, between 1899 and 1908. House of C. Fabergé, artist: August Hollming; gold, almandines, pearls, enamel on guilloché ground, painted enamel; 13,6 х 8 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Pendant (513 KB), Moscow, early 20th century. House of C. Fabergé; silver alloy, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, emerald; 6 x 4,8 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch-pendant on a Chain (450 KB), Saint-Petersburg, early 20th century. The House of Fabergé; platinum, gold, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, pearls; 5 х 2,7 cm (brooch-pendant), l. (chain) 47 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch (431 KB), Moscow, 1899 - 1908. House of C. Fabergé; gold, silver, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, sapphires; 2,4 х 2,4 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch-pendant (690 KB), Moscow, between 1899-1908. House of C. Fabergé; gold, diamonds, rose-cut diamonds, emeralds, wood, cloth, non-precious metal; 11 х 6,7 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch: Tortoise (825 KB), Saint Petersburg, third quarter of 19th century; gold, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, sapphire; 6,7 х 4,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch (635 KB), Russia, late 19th - early 20th century; gold, platinum, base metal, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, emeralds, pearls; 9 х 6,5 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Brooch (362 KB), Saint Petersburg, 1908-1917; gold, silver, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds, sapphires, glass, mother-of-pearl; 6,5 х 2,7 cm (with legs) © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Reserve Soldier (667 KB), Saint Petersburg, House of C. Fabergé, artist: P.M. Kremlev and G. Savitskij; gold, silver, jasper, ophicalcite, pegmatite; h. 17 cm © Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Geese (344 KB), Saint Petersburg, early 20th century. House of C. Fabergé; rock crystal with a gold chain, rhinestone diamonds, rubies, stone carving; h. 8 cm © Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Small Cup (342 KB), Saint Petersburg. House of C. Fabergé, artist: Mihail Perhin; moss agate, silver, stone carving, gilt; 7,5 x 6 x 6 cm © Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Pine, entwined with Wisteria (437 KB), Saint Petersburg. 1908–1917. House of C. Fabergé, artist: F. Afanasiev; gold, silver, emeralds, jade, onyx marble, noble serpentine (bowenite); h. 21,5 cm © Fersman Mineralogical Museum

Casket (1.2 MB), Saint Petersburg,1898-1903. House of C. Fabergé, artist: Yu. A. Rappopo; silver; 27 x 16.8 x 28 cm © The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site

Cloisonné Plaque with Mount Fuji, 1893 (Meiji 26). Namikawa Sōsuke (1847–1910). Cloisonné; 113.6 x 64 cm. Tokyo National Museum, G-603. Important Cultural Property.

CLEVELAND, OH.- The Cleveland Museum of Art presents Remaking Tradition: Modern Art of Japan from the Tokyo National Museum, featuring fifty-five masterpieces of modern Japanese art from the late nineteenth to the twentieth centuries, including six Important Cultural Properties of Japan designated by the Japanese government. Drawn exclusively from the holdings of the Tokyo National Museum in a range of media including painting, sculpture, tapestry, ceramics and calligraphy, this exhibition marks the first time that a collection of modern Japanese art of this size and quality has ever been displayed outside of Japan. Remaking Tradition: Modern Art of Japan from the Tokyo National Museum is on view from February 16 to May 11, 2014 in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall. 

Remaking Tradition: Modern Art of Japan from the Tokyo National Museum at the Cleveland Museum of Art is a part of a unique cultural exchange. Now on view at the Tokyo National Museum through February 23, 2014 is Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art, featuring highlights of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s stellar Japanese art collection as well as select works from the Korean, Chinese and European art collections. Admired from Afar will travel to the Kyushu National Museum from July 8 to August 31, 2014. 

“Thanks to our long-term friendship and partnership with the Tokyo National Museum, it is our privilege to bring this important exhibition of art from a period in the cultural life of Japan to America,” said Fred Bidwell, interim director of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “Audiences will be fascinated by how the currents of Japanese culture and style represented by our beloved collection of traditional art are reflected in the evolution of Japanese Modern art in these objects of superb craftsmanship and artistry.” 

Japan opened its door to the world in 1854 after more than two hundred years of isolation from foreign culture. This monumental occasion drastically impacted traditional Japanese ways of thinking and habits, and artists were challenged to reconsider and reconstruct existing artistic methods and traditions. Subsequently, they experimented with ways to incorporate original techniques and styles into modern artistic culture and created masterworks that reflect a confluence of traditional Japanese style in concert with Western concepts and techniques. 

“Despite a recent surge in Western academic interest in the arts of the Meiji, Taishō, and early Showa periods, there have been few major exhibitions on Japanese modern art in the United States,” stated Sinéad Vilbar, curator of Japanese and Korean art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “This exhibition represents a special opportunity to bring Tokyo National Museum's holdings to a wider audience in the United States.” Several of the light-sensitive objects displayed in this exhibition, including Mount Fuji Rising above Clouds by Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958), Meishō by Tsuchida Bakusen (1887-1936) and Spring Rain by Shimomura Kanzan (1873-1930), will rotate. The first rotation will be through Sunday, March 30 and the exhibition will re-open to the public on Thursday, April 3. 

Cloisonné Plaque with Mount Fuji (detail), 1893 (Meiji 26). Namikawa Sōsuke (1847–1910). Cloisonné; 113.6 x 64 cm. Tokyo National Museum, G-603. Important Cultural Property. 

Maiko Girl, 1893 (Meiji 26). Kuroda Seiki (1866–1924). Oil on canvas; 80.4 x 65.3cm. Tokyo National Museum, A-11258. Important Cultural Property.

Eagle, 1893 (Meiji 23). Suzuki Chōkichi (1848–1919). Bronze; 45 x 90 x 45 cm. Tokyo National Museum, E-13034. Important Cultural Property.

Flower Vendors, 1924 (Taishō 13). Maeda Seison (1885–1977). Color on paper; 221 x 121 cm. Tokyo National Museum (A-11693)

Footed Bowl with Applied Crabs and Brown Glaze, 1881 (Meiji 14). Miyagawa Kōzan I (1842–1916). Ceramic; H. 37 cm, diam. 19.6 cm (mouth) and 17.1 cm (bottom). Tokyo National Museum, G-105. Important Cultural Property. 

Mount Fuji Rising above Clouds, c. 1913. Yokoyama Taikan (Japanese, 1868–1958). Pair of six-fold screens, color on gold-leafed silk; 187.2 × 416.3 cm. Tokyo National Museum (A-10533).

Large Dish with Stormy Coast, Shell, Autumn Foliage, and Cherry-Blossom Design in Overglaze Enamel and Gold, 1877 (Meiji 10). Tsuji Katsuzō (1847-1929). Porcelain; 66.7 cm. Tokyo National Museum (G-296).

Maiko Girl, 1930. Tsuchida Bakuse (Japanese, 1887–1936). Panel painting, color on paper; 184 × 97 cm. Tokyo National Museum (A-12289 ).

Poems from the Man’yōshū Poetry Anthology, 1959. Miyama Ryūdō (1903–1980). Two-fold screen, ink on paper; 68.8 x 121.1 cm. Tokyo National Museum, B-3148.

Priest of Brahmanism, 1914. Satō Chōzan (1888–1963). Wood with polychromy; H. 63.9 cm (with base). Tokyo National Museum, C-1501.

Portrait of Reiko, 1921. Kishida Ryusei (Japanese, 1891–1929). Oil on canvas; 48.3 x 55.9 cm. Tokyo National Museum (A-10568).

Spring Rain, 1916. Shimomura Kanzan (Japanese, 1873–1930). Pair of six fold-screens, color on silk; 190 × 406 cm. Tokyo National Museum (A-10517).

Tapestry with Flower Baskets, Goldfish Bowl, and Cat Designs, about 1893 (Meiji 26). Kawashima Jinbei II (1853-1910). Silk brocade; 166.4 x 276.9 cm. Tokyo National Museum (I-26).

Large Vase with Plum Tree Design in Iron Brown under Yellow Glaze, 1892 (Meiji 25). Miyagawa Kōzan I (1842–1916). Porcelain; h. 57.2 cm, diam. 14.5 cm (mouth) and 25.8 cm (body) Tokyo National Museum, g- 139. Important Cultural Property.

David Hockney R.A. (British, born 1937) Room with a View 40.6 x 50.8 cm. (16 x 20 in.). estimated to sell for £150,000 to £200,000. Photo: Bonhams

LONDON - Two powerful images by David Hockney RA, (b 1937), Britain's best known and most admired living artist, lead Bonhams next sale of Modern British and Irish art on May 28 in New Bond Street.

Neither have ever been on the market before as they were given by the artist to the current owner.

The first painting, titled, 'Room with a View', is a boldly coloured work, an oil on canvas, estimated to sell for £150,000 to £200,000. It depicts Bridlington, located in Hockney's home county of Yorkshire, where he retains a home and studio.

The second Hockney picture is altogether different, more abstract and mysterious, appropriately enough, as the image is titled 'Tyger'. It is estimated to sell for £40,000-60,000.

Penny Day, Bonhams Director of Modern British and Irish art, says: "We are delighted to be offering two significant paintings by such an important British name. Both works are of contrasting date and style, presenting an exciting opportunity for collectors".

Hockney's current exhibition of prints, at the Dulwich Gallery, is receiving rave reviews from the critics. His artistic stature continues to grow as critics agree that he is one of the most versatile artists this country has seen, a master of the line.

Born in Bradford on July 9, 1937, Hockney returned to Britain after many years in California and is now based in Yorkshire again. He is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Currently he is using the latest communication technology to create images that will doubtless come to define this period of his creative output.

Ary Bitter (French, 1883-1973), A pair of bronze modelled elephant bookends, circa 1920, Photo: Bonhams.

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Pear-shaped diamond ring.

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Emerald and diamond parure.

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Ruby and diamond earrings

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Sapphire and diamond earrings

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Pink diamond and emerald ring.

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Blackened gold and diamond earrings

Alexandre Reza Spring/Summer 2014 Collection. Ruby and diamond earrings

Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982), Afloat, 2014. Collage, silk brocade and scripture, 152 x 152 cm (60 x 60 in). Rossi & Rossi, Stand 166. US$25,000. 

Rossi & Rossi will unveil a new work by the contemporary Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol at TEFAF Maastricht, from 14 to 23 March 2014.  Entitled Afloat, it is an immaculately executed collage of some considerable size, which references traditional and contemporary notions of Tibet.  The result is an aesthetically simple yet intellectually complex work of art, which highlights the uncertain future surrounding the country and its diaspora.   

The iconography of the central four-armed figure is derived from classical Tibetan images of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion and the deity of which the Dalai Lama is believed to be a manifestation.  Dressed in robes of traditional silk brocade, his featureless face and body are made of pasted pages of text taken from The Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People, a proposal drafted by the Tibetan government in exile and presented to the Chinese government in 2008 but largely ignored.  According to the artist, Afloat aims to present “the majesty of Tibet”, however, the figure, which drifts across a background of traditional scriptures, also presents a Tibet “without resolution”.

Tenzing Rigdol is representative of the growing prominence of contemporary Tibetan art which often addresses issues faced by modern Tibet: the rapid industrialisation and globalisation of the territory, the escalating military presence, harsh censorship, increasing control over the movement of its residents, and a sharp increase in self-immolations as a form of protest.  It also takes into account the concerns and situations faced by Tibetans-in-exile.  Contemporary Tibetan art is increasingly recognised by major collectors and institutions and this year a monumental work by Rigdol was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the only contemporary Tibetan artwork in the Museum’s permanent collection.

Tenzing Rigdol was born in 1982 in Kathmandu, Nepal, studied art and art history at the University of Colorado, USA, and now lives and works in New York.  His work ranges from painting, sculpture, drawing and collage, to digital, video-installation, performance art and site-specific pieces.  Widely exhibited internationally, his art is included in both museums and public and private collections around the world.  In 2011 Rigdol made international headlines for smuggling 20,000 kilograms of native Tibetan soil from Shigatse in Tibet, through Nepal and India, to Dharamsala.  There he created a platform for exiled Tibetans to stand on home soil.  The documentary recording this feat, Bringing Home Tibet, won the award of Jury des jeunes Européens for its director Tenzin Tsetan Choklay at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels in January 2014.

Adrien Carpentiers, Louis François Roubiliac Modelling His Monument to Shakespeare, between 1760 and 1761, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. 

NEW HAVEN, CONN.- Opening in February 2014, the Yale Center for British Art, in collaboration with Waddesdon Manor, will present an exhibition on the eighteenth-century literary fi gure and poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744), whose sculpted portraits exemplified his fame at a time when the portrait bust was enjoying new popularity. Fame and Friendship: Pope, Roubiliac, and the Portrait Bust in Eighteenth-Century Britain will bring together paintings, sculptures, and materials that convey Pope’s celebrity status, highlighted by a series of eight busts by Louis François Roubiliac (1702-1762), the leading sculptor of the period, to explore questions of authorship, replication, and dissemination. 

Frequently used in antiquity to represent and celebrate writers, the portrait bust became the most familiar way of lauding famous writers in the eighteenth century, as the concept of authorship was being newly conceived. The signed and documented versions of Roubiliac’s busts of Pope, which span the years from 1738 to 1760, are among the most fascinating and iconic images of the poet. These early versions of Roubiliac’s bust are likely to have been made for Pope’s close friends, serving to articulate those friendships that were so important to him. Further, the comparisons of these related versions, together with copies from the period in marble, plaster, and ceramic, will provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity to understand the role of replication and repetition in eighteenth-century sculptural practice. 

Complementing the sculptures of Pope will be busts of other sitters with whom Pope’s image was associated, refl ecting the poet’s place in a developing literary canon, as well as a selection of painted portraits of the poet by artists such as Jonathan Richardson the Elder, Jean-Baptiste van Loo, and Sir Godfrey Kneller. Alongside these works will be a range of Pope’s printed texts. With their subtle changes in typography and their carefully planned illustrations and ornamental features, these early editions were produced under the watchful eye of Pope himself and were the outcome of the poet’s direct engagement with the materiality of the book and print. 

Also presented will be lesser-known material about the Yale literary critic W. K. Wimsatt, who in the 1960s not only helped to make Yale a major center for the study of eighteenth-century literature (and Pope in particular), but spent twenty-fi ve years researching the poet’s portraits, an achievement celebrated in this exhibition. As Wimsatt recognized, the relationship between Pope’s private persona and public fame was complex and ambiguous. Pope proved adept at managing the two while gradually establishing himself as an independent author, no longer dependent upon the support of noble patrons. Throughout his career, he astutely managed the presentation of his own image and reputation through both his published works and his portraits, especially those by Roubiliac. 

Among the busts by Roubiliac will be a terracotta model (ca. 1738) from the collection of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England, and four marble pieces that he carved between 1738 and 1741. These busts have been assembled from a number of locations: the Center’s own collection; Temple Newsam House, Leeds Museums and Galleries; and the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead (formerly in the possession of the eighteenth-century actor David Garrick). Another, from a private collection, was made for Pope’s close friend, the brilliant young lawyer William Murray, later fi rst Earl of Mansfi eld, with whom the poet shared an enthusiasm for both the classics and the visual arts, particularly sculpture. 

Also on view will be an earlier marble bust of Alexander Pope made in 1730 by the Anglo-Flemish sculptor John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770), from the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. 

When this exhibition travels to Waddesdon Manor, the core group of busts of Pope by Roubiliac and some of the contextual material from the Yale Center for British Art will remain the same, but there will be an additional selection of painted portraits, a different range of printed texts lent by the British Library, and material that will illustrate the reception of Pope and his works in France in keeping with Waddesdon’s superb French collections. 

Joseph Nickolls, Pope’s Villa, Twickenham, ca. 1755, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Ludwig Deutsch, The Procession of Al Mihmal, Cairo. Estimate: 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

LONDON.- On 8 April 2014 in London, Sotheby’s will present The Orientalist Sale as part of Sotheby’s Orientalist & Islamic Week. The auction comprises masterpieces by leading European and American Orientalist painters, including Ludwig Deutsch, David Roberts, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Etienne Dinet and Frederick Arthur Bridgman, as well as select works of sculpture. 

The genre of Orientalist art has undergone a revision in perception over the last thirty years. Orientalist paintings are today coveted by collectors and institutions in the Middle Eastern and North African region, for whom they offer fascinating glimpses into their countries’ history before the widespread use of photography and when representative painting was little practiced by local artists. Western nineteenth-century artists travelled to the East from across America and Europe with an agenda: to try and capture the ‘Orient’ faithfully in order to enlighten their audiences at home and to raise the bar for themselves, not only in terms of their reputations but also the self-imposed challenge of painting sites, cultures and the intense desert light few had experienced before. The resulting European representations of the ‘Orient’ (the nineteenth-century descriptor for Asia Minor, the Levant, Egypt, and North Africa), far from being the visual embodiment of an exoticising, colonialist agenda, were faithful depictions of the sights that many of the artists experienced first-hand. 

Claude Piening, Sotheby’s Head of Orientalist Paintings, said: “Orientalist art was very much an art for Western consumption when it was first produced. What’s interesting now is how that consumption has moved toward the very countries that are depicted in the paintings. We have seen the rise of collectors, both private and institutional, in North Africa and Egypt, the Gulf and the Middle East generally, and this is what has contributed to the current strong market for Orientalist art.” 

David Roberts (British, 1796 – 1864) toured the Near East in 1838, focusing on Egypt and Palestine. On his travels, he produced hundreds of detailed drawings and sketches of the mosques and bazaars. The Bazaar of the Coppersmiths, Cairo, painted in 1842, depicts a very real place in time, specifically the façade of Sultan al-Ghuri’s mausoleum (est. £600,000-800,000). 

Austrian artist Ludwig Deutsch (Austrian, 1855 – 1935) regularly travelled to Cairo from 1883 and he too captured the essence of the city on canvas. In his monumental 1909 work The Procession of the Mahmal through the streets of Cairo (est. £1,000,000-1,500,000), Deutsch records in extraordinary detail an event central to Muslim life, the Cairo departure of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The composition captures a fleeting moment and is notable for its spontaneity. The camel-borne mahmal, the elaborate coffer containing the Koran that accompanies the pilgrims to Mecca, is glimpsed on a crowded narrow street. The sheer size of the canvas – 284 by 294cm – signifies a conscious celebration of this event. 

The French academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824 – 1904) made Egypt a central theme in his oeuvre. He first travelled there in 1855-56 and returned several times. The Orientalist Sale features one of his Egyptian subjects, a close-up portrait of an armed solder wearing an ornate and minutely observed tribal headdress. A Bashi-Bazouk, estimated at £180,000-250,000, combines a meticulous approach to detail with a devotion to ethnographic accuracy. Gérôme was accompanied on his journeys by photographers Auguste Bartholdi and Albert Goupil, whose documentary photographs aided him in his quest for verisimilitude in his paintings. 

The art of American painter Frederick Arthur Bridgman (American, 1847 – 1928) invited contemporary comparisons with the Orientalist paintings of Gérôme, Bridgman’s teacher and mentor in Paris in the 1860s. Bridgman would even become known as 'the American Gérôme', due in no small part to his archaeological precision and ethnographic subject matter, inspired by numerous trips to Egypt and North Africa. The influence of Bridgman’s academic training under Gérôme is still clearly visible in the earlier of two works by the artist in the sale, Idle Moments (1875, est. £50,000-70,000, formerly from the collection of Andy Warhol, illustrated left); while Le jour du prophete à Blidah, en Algerie, painted in 1900 and showing a group of Algerian women gathering for the Muslim feast of Mouloud, on the anniversary of the birth of the prophet Mohammed, reflects his freer, more naturalistic later style (est. £70,000-90,000). At the turn of the 20th century, the artist was at the height of his fame and fortune. He had been awarded his third silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1900 and his work was sought after by collectors and institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Etienne Dinet (French, 1861 – 1929) took his desire to immerse himself in Muslim culture to an unprecedented level in order to better understand and portray it. The French painter took his commitment to the people and places of Algeria very seriously, moving to the country and living the life of Islamic North Africa. He spoke Arabic fluently, and in 1913 converted to Islam, changing his name to Nasreddin (‘Defender of the Faith’). In 1929, alongside his friend Slimane Ben Ibrahim, Dinet went on the Hajj. Two important works by the artist are included in the sale. Le Conciliabule depicts a group of tribesmen planning an ambush by firelight (est. £400,000-600,000); and Jeunes filles à leur toilette (est. £250,000-350,000) shows two girls decorating one another with henna dyes. Both paintings illustrate the life of the local people as observed by a westerner who had become part of their world. 

*Sotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World sale will take place in London on 9 April 2014. 

David Roberts, The Bazaar of the Coppersmiths. Estimate: 600,000-800,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Bashi-Bazouk. Estimate: 180,000 - 250,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

Eugène Girardet, Femme et enfant sur un âne. Estimate: 30,000 - 40,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

The Rong Fu Jue. A bronze ritual wine vessel. Late Shang Dynasty, 13th-11th century BC. Photo Sotheby's

The deep 'U'-shaped body supported on three splayed blade-like legs, decorated on each side with a frieze of taotie mask with prominent eyes on a fine leiwen ground, below a band of scale motifs between two borders of circles, centered by a vertical flange and a loop handle issuing from a bovine head, the long spout and pointed tail forming the rim, surmounted by a pair of posts capped by conical tops with sunken whorl pattern, a two-character inscription beneath the handle, the surface with an olive green patina. Height 8 in., 20 cm. Estimation 30,000 — 50,000 USD

Provenance: Collection of Jiang Deliang (1752-1793), probably.
Collection of Wu Dacheng (1835-1902).
Private Japanese collection.

Litterature: Ruan Yuan, Jiguzhai zhongdingyiqi kuanzhi, (Archaic Bronzes Inscriptions in the Jiguzhai Studio), 1804, vol. 2, p. 7.
Wu Shifen, Meigulu jinwen, (The Records of Pursuing Antiquity: Archaic Bronze Inscriptions), 1850, vol. 1.1, p. 7.
Fang Junyi, Zhuiyizhai yiqikuanzhi kaoshi, (Interpretations of Archaic Bronze Inscriptions in the Zhuiyizhai Studio), 1899, vol. 19, p. 31.
Luo Zhenyu, Yinwencun, (Surviving Writings from the Yin Dynasty), 1917, vol. 2, p. 5.
Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun, (Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties), 1936, vol. 16, p. 16.
Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji, (Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions), Taipei, 1983, no. 3884.
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinzhou jinwen jicheng, (Compendium of Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), Beijing, 1984, vol. 14, p. 202, no. 8567.
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng, (Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2012, vol. 16, p. 82, no. 7877.
Zhou Ya, Kezhai jigutu jianzhu, (The Annotations on the Illustration of Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Collected Antiquities), Shanghai, 2012, p. 24.

The inscription on this jue was first published by Ruan Yuan (1764-1894) in the Jiguzhai zhongdingyiqi kuanzhi, (Archaic Bronze Inscriptions in the Jiguzhai Studio). According to a later publication Meigulu, the inscription in Ruan Yuan's book was transcribed from a copy made by Jiang Deliang (1752-1793). It is possible that this jue vessel was once owned by Jiang Deliang who had an extensive collection of paintings, calligraphy, stelae and bronzes. In the late Qing period, this bronze jue vessel entered the collection of Wu Dacheng (1835-1902). Despite his achievements in politics, Wu Dacheng was most renowned for his scholarship on bronze inscriptions and ancient objects. An ink rubbing of the present vessel and its inscription were included in Kezhai Jigutu, (The Illustration of Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Collected Antiquities), now in the Shanghai Museum and published by Zhou Ya in the Kezhai jigutu jianzhu, (The Annotations on the Illustration of Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Collected Antiquities), Shanghai, 2012, p. 24a.

In many publications, the first character of the inscription on this jue vessel has been mistakenly translated as yan due to the difficulty of discerning the ink-rubbing of the inscription underneath the handle, on which the character fu is also omitted. The first character is actually a clan sign reading rong that comprises a fire flame on top and a tripod at the bottom. The difference between rong and yan is that the former has a three-pronged top denoting the fire flame, which was omitted in all rubbings and drawings in old illustrations. A jue vessel bearing the clan sign rong excavated from Sufutun, Qingzhou city, Shandong province is illustrated in Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng, (Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2012, vol. 14, p. 37, no.6434.

The box for this lot is inscribed with a research note written by Professor Matsumaru Michio, dated 2000.

Wu Dacheng, was born in Wuxian (Suzhou) in 1835. He was a follower of the important politician and diplomat Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), and served as a high ranking official at the Manchu Court, but his real passion was in traditional arts and collecting. He named his studio “Ke Zhai”, because he once owned a Zhou dynasty bronze vessel Ke Ding; he published his collection in Kezhai jigulu, (Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Records of Collecting Antiquities). He was also an accomplished calligrapher and amateur painter.

Sotheby's. Archaic Bronzes and the Wu Dacheng Jijintu Scroll. New York. 18 mars 2014 - www.sothebys.com

The Fu Ding Jue. A bronze ritual wine vessel, late Shang Dynasty, 13th-11th century BC. Photo Sotheby's

the deep ‘U’-shaped body rising from three blade-like legs, decorated in relief with a band of four stylized dragons with raised central eyes and thread-like bodies, reserved on a leiwen ground, interrupted on one side by a loop handle issuing from a bovine head, the rim set with a pair of posts adorned by mushroom caps with sunken whorl patterns, a three-character inscription underneath the handle, the surface with mottled green patina with light malachite encrustation. Height 8 1/2 in., 21.6 cm. Estimation 10,000 — 15,000 USD

Provenance: Private Japanese collection.

The highly stylized dragon motif on this jue vessel shows a departure from the classical taotie motif. Compare a similar jue illustrated by Rong Geng, Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies, Monograph Series No. 17, The Bronzes of Shang and Chou, vol. II, Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1941, Bejing, p. 227, pl. 428; one in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Chen Peifen, Xiashangzhou qingtongqi yanjiu (Researches on Bronzes from the Xia Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2004, vol. 3, pp. 116-117; and one excavated from the Baoji area of Shaanxi province, illustrated in Bronzes of Shang and Zhou Dynasties Unearthed in Shaanxi Province, vol. III, Beijing, 1980, no. 68. The first character of the inscription is a clan sign, depicting a hand holding a knife.

The box for this lot is inscribed with a research note written by Professor Matsumaru Michio, dated 2005.

Sotheby's. Archaic Bronzes and the Wu Dacheng Jijintu Scroll. New York. 18 mars 2014 - www.sothebys.com

The Ji Zu Yi Zun. A Magnificent And Important Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel, Late Shang Dynasty, 13th-11th Century BC. Photo Sotheby's

of cylindrical form with four heavy notched flanges on the sides, boldly cast around the slightly bulging waist with two taotie masks with rounded eyes, ‘C’-shaped horns, fangs and clawed arms, the splayed foot decorated with further taotie masks with rectangular slit pupils, upright horns and hooked jaws above the molded foot ring, the flaring neck with four upright blades filled with upward-looking kui dragons above a band of two pairs of confronted kui dragons, all reserved on a dense leiwen ground and detailed with intaglio, the surface with a smooth olive-green patina with light malachite encrustation, a three-character inscription on the interior of the foot, reading ji zu yi. Height 12 1/8 in., 31 cm. Estimation 300,000 — 400,000 USD

Provenance: Collection of Wu Dacheng (1835-1902).
Collection of Zhang Zhidong (1837-1909), by repute.
Private Japanese collection.

Litterature: Luo Zhenyu, Yinwencun, (Surviving Writings from the Yin Dynasty), 1917, vol. 1, p. 21.
Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun, (Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties), 1936, vol. 11, p. 6.
Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji, (Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions), Taipei, 1983, no. 4559.
The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinzhou jinwen jicheng, (Compendium of Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions), Beijing, 1984, vol.11, p. 46, no. 5596.
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng, (Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties), Shanghai, 2012, vol. 20, p. 329, no. 11294.
Zhou Ya, Kezhai jigutu jianzhu, (The Annotations on the Illustration of Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Collected Antiquities), Shanghai, 2012, p. 90.

The provenance of this zun vessel can be traced back to the late 19th century. On the cover of the Japanese box associated with this vessel, there is an inscription written by a famous Japanese sinologist and calligrapher, Nagao Osan (1864-1942) in 1934. Mr. Nagao commented that: "the Shang dynasty Ji Zu Yi Zun was published in the Jiguzhai zhongdingyiqi kuanzhi, (Archaic Bronzes Inscriptions in the Jiguzhai Studio), which says the inscription was transcribed from an ink rubbing in the Zhaojinzhai collection." Mr. Nagao was convinced that the inscription of Ji Zu Yi in that book belonged to the present piece. However, in examining the inscription in the Jiguzhai zhongdingyiqi kuanzhi, it is clear that the writing style of that inscription varies slightly from the inscription on the present vessel. In general, the inscription on the present vessel is bolder and sharper, and the last stroke of character zu on the present vessel stretches smoothly as a continuous curve; whereas the last stroke of Zu in the publication jumped slightly at the right end. Due to the complexity of woodblock printing of images, only very few images of bronze vessels were published in ancient times. Fortunately, ink rubbings of both the vessel and the inscription of this zun vessel appear in Wu Dacheng's unpublished hand scroll, also offered in this sale. This hand scroll was commissioned by Wu Dacheng (1835-1902) to record the bronze vessels in his collection. We can now conclude that there are two Ji Zu Yi Zun, of which the present zun vessel is from the collection of Wu Dacheng. The ink rubbing of this vessel is also included in another hand scroll of Wu Dacheng's bronze collection, originally forming a set of five with the one offered in present sale, now in the Shanghai Museum and published by Zhou Ya in the Kezhai jigutu jianzhu, (The Annotations on the Illustration of Kezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Collected Antiquities), Shanghai, 2012, p. 90.

On the outside of the Japanese box, the former Japanese collector of this zun wrote: "this vessel was from the collection of Zhang Zhidong." Zhang Zhidong (1837-1909) was one of the most influential figures in the late 19th century China and was known as a “scholar-official”. Although Zhang has not been known as a collector of archaic bronzes, he was clearly a keen student of bronze inscriptions and compiled a monograph on epigraphic materials: Zhiyatang lun jinshi zha (Essays on the Bronze and Stone Inscriptions in the Zhiyatang studio). When Wu Dacheng was appointed as the inspector-general of Hunan province, Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Hubei and Hunan provinces. According to the Wukezhai nianpu (Chronicle of Wukezhai’s [Wu Dacheng] Life), in the eighteenth year of the Guangxu era (1892), Wu Dacheng acquired a draft of a memorial to the throne written by the famous calligrapher, Liu Yong (1719-1805); Wu Dacheng showed it to Zhang Zhidong for him to write a colophon on this piece. It is evident that these two top officials in the same region also shared their interest in collecting art works. Moreover, Wu Dacheng’s fourth daughter married Zhang Zhidong’s son in the twentieth year of the Guangxu era (1894). We can therefore surmise that the present zun vessel was given to Zhang Zhidong as a gift in the 1890s. Probably after Zhang's death, the Ji Zu Yi Zun went overseas to Japan. The reunion of the Ji Zu Yi Zun and Wu Dacheng's Jijintu hand scroll after one hundred twenty years of separation is a true ‘serendipity of bronzes and stelae’.

Sotheby's. Archaic Bronzes and the Wu Dacheng Jijintu Scroll. New York. 18 mars 2014 - www.sothebys.com