A rare and unusual 'Longquan' Celadon Tripod Censer, Yuan Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's.

the deep rounded body raised on three tall, hollow, cylindrical legs,carved around the exterior with stylized floral scrolls below a band of triangular patterns, the everted rim set with two upright rope-twist loop handles, covered overall in a rich sea-green glaze. Height 6 3/4 in., 17.1 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD

Provenance: Japanese private collection, by repute.

Two censers of this form and similar size dated Yuan dynasty, are illustrated in Ye Yingting, Mei zi chu qing: Longquan yao qing ci tu ji, p. 187 and p. 191.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

A 'Longquan' Celadon Molded Tripod Censer, Southern Song Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's.

the cylindrical body rising from three cabriole legs to a flat incurved rim, molded to the exterior with a continuous floral scroll bearing four blossoms on leafy tendrils, covered overall in a pale sea-green glaze, reticulated silver cover, inscribed Japanese wood box (3). Diameter 7 1/8 in., 18.1 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Samson and Delilah (recto); Figure studies, probably of soldiers (verso). pen and brown ink, brown wash, brown ink framing lines (recto); pen and brown ink (verso), 6 ½ x 6 ⅝ in. Estimate: £15 – 2.5 million. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2014. 

LONDON.- Christie’s announced the sale of The I.Q. van Regteren Altena Collection which will be offered over a series of sales in London, Amsterdam and Paris throughout 2014 and 2015. This extensive collection of Old Master drawings is the most important to come to auction in a generation and features works by the greatest masters such as Rubens, Rembrandt, Goltzius, and de Gheyn. Formed by Professor I.Q. van Regteren Altena (1899 – 1980), a distinguished art historian and former head of the Prints and Drawings Department at the Rijksmuseum, the collection will be offered in more than 800 lots and is expected to realise in the region of £10 million. It is very rare for the collection of a true connoisseur to appear on the market and The I.Q. van Regteren Altena Collection presents an incomparable panorama of mostly Dutch and Flemish draughtsmanship from 1550 to 1850, with illustrious provenances. In recent years several drawings from van Regteren Altena’s collection have been transferred to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The museum has just announced that the Van Regteren Altena heirs have generously allowed the museum to make a selection of drawings from the collection for acquisition. The museum chose drawings with a special association with I.Q. van Regteren Altena: a landscape by J. de Gheyn and a group of 46 spectacular watercolours by Joseph Augustus Knip. These acquisitions were generously supported by the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Mondriaan Fonds, de BankGiroLoterij, the Rijkspatrons, the Gerhards Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds, the VSBfonds and an anonymous gift. Furthermore, the heirs have donated a group of 69 drawings by 19th-century Dutch contemporaries of Knip in Italy. 

On 10 July 2014 Christie’s London will present Part I of the collection including more than 70 lots of Dutch and Flemish drawings from the Renaissance to the Golden Age. Featuring a homogenous group of exceptional quality the sale offers a unique opportunity to acquire outstanding examples of drawings from the Low Countries. Leading the sale is Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the only known preparatory drawing for Rubens’s masterpiece of 1609-10 in the National Gallery, London (estimate £1.5 - 2.5 million). This dynamic composition of twisting forms dates from shortly after the artist’s return from Italy in 1608, and shows how he had begun to develop his distinctive style – blending the voluptuous sensuality of Venetian painting with the heroic musculature of classical sculpture. Commissioned by Nicolaas Rockox, Rubens’s most significant early patron, it offers a fascinating insight into the young artist’s preparatory processes. 

A young man leaning on a stick by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669) is a characteristic example of Rembrandt’s figure drawings produced while he was working in Leiden (until ca. 1631) (estimate: £250,000 – 350,000). Depicting a beggar, it can be related to a series of etchings of the same subject dating from 1629 onwards. Loosely and sketchily executed without any continuous pen lines, the drawing conveys a remarkable plasticity and suggestion of form in a very natural and lively way. 

Further highlights include Study of a hand by Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) (estimate: £300,000 – 500,000). Executed circa 1588 and imitating in pen and ink his style as an engraver, this drawing is a real tour de force in which Goltzius demonstrates his extraordinary skill. Showing the artist’s own right hand which had been damaged in a fire while he was a child, the drawing was also used for the hand of St. Jude in an engraving of 1589. The combination of the mutilated hand and the technical perfection with which it is drawn makes this sheet one of Goltzius’ most intriguing and striking works. 

One of van Regteren Altena’s greatest achievements as a scholar was the rediscovery of an extraordinary artist, Jacques de Gheyn II (circa 1565-1629), on whom he published, posthumously, a catalogue raisonné. It is due to his remarkable effort that de Gheyn is today seen as one of the greatest draftsmen of his time. In total the collection includes 20 drawings by de Gheyn, an unsurpassed group displaying the unrivalled alchemy of his art. Leading the selection of works by de Gheyn is A large beech tree (estimate: £300,000 – 400,000). 

Further highlights in the London sale include works by Jan Brueghel I, Jacob Jordaens, Roelandt Savery, Hendrick Avercamp, Nicolaes Berchem, Jacob van Ruisdael, Paulus Potter, Adriaen and Isaac van Ostade. 

Three further auctions of drawings from The I.Q. van Regteren Altena Collection will follow the King Street sale. Parts II & IV, dedicated to the Dutch and Flemish schools, will take place in Amsterdam in December 2014 and May 2015. Part III, including French and Italian drawings, will be sold in Paris in March 2015. 

Hendrick Goltzius (Mühlbracht 1558-1617 Haarlem), Study of a hand with inscription 'De Hand van Judas Thadeús door H: Goltziús'? pen and brown ink, brown ink framing lines, indistinct watermark WH, some spots of blue-grey staining, 24.5 x 34 cm. Estimate: £300,000 – 500,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2014. 

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Last year I.M. Chait took a different approach in planning their Asia Week sale. Rather than conducting their popular annual auction in New York amid the frenetic activity of Asia Week, they opted to hold the sale in the comfortable, low-key environs of their Beverly Hills gallery. That way, reasoned company founder Isadore M. Chait, visitors traveling from Asia to New York could stop over in Los Angeles and get a relaxed head start on their buying. Chait’s experimental 2013 California-based sale was a smashing success, taking in $3.4 million. This year, their Asia Week auction will be held at the firm’s Beverly Hills gallery on March 23rd, the Sunday immediately following Asia Week New York.

“We’re confident that Asia Week buyers will say the best was saved for the last stop on their itineraries before returning home this year,” said I.M. Chait Director of Operations Joshua Chait. “The selection we’ve prepared reflects our clients’ broadening tastes and interest in exploring new areas of art. In addition to the ongoing demand for classic Chinese porcelains and antiques, which hold a place of reverence with collectors, we’ve noticed that Asian art buyers are becoming more interested in bronzes, calligraphy, carved jades, fine jewelry and gems; embroidered silks, and Japanese prints and screens. We kept those trends in mind in curating the collections and pieces chosen for March 23rd.”

Several noted collections lead the auction lineup, including the exceptional Chinese snuff bottle collection of real estate developer F. Trammell Crow (1914-2009), which opens the sale. Nearly 100 bottles are cataloged, including examples carved from agate, glass, chalcedony, quartz crystal, jadeite and jade; and other precious and semi-precious materials. Lot 26 a rare and exquisitely detailed lac burguate snuff bottle is in the form of a lady in a mother-of-pearl inlaid dress, playing a “stringed” instrument. Estimate $1,500-$2,000.  Lot 95 another figural bottle depicting an empress holding a fan and a musical instrument, doubles as a brooch/pendant, and is estimated at $1,200-$1,500.

A rare and lac burguate snuff bottle 木嵌螺細樂女鼻煙壺. © I. M. Chait Gallery

Extremely rare and finely detailed, lac burgaute figural snuff bottle; in the form of a lady playing an instrument: her red lacquer dress with inlaid mother-of-pearl patterning; her hands and head of ivory; the head acting as a stopper; seal mark on inlaid mother-of-pearl reserve; H: 4 1/2". Estimate $1,500-$2,000

Provenance: The F. Trammell Crow Collection; acquired in 2006 from the Dr. Lionel Copley Collection 

Polychromed ivory snuff bottle-pendant 象牙加漆雕人物鼻煙壺/胸針, Early 20th Century© I. M. Chait Gallery.

Chinese carved and polychromed ivory figural snuff bottle; of an empress holding fan and instrument; mounted as a brooch/pendant in 14K yellow gold; H: 3 1/4". Estimate $1,200-1,500

Fine Chinese ceramics from two collections include treasures of the Han, Tang, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, plus Transitional and numerous Qing pieces. Lot 199 a large (15½ inches) and important, a 14th-century Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain jar exhibits ovoid form with unusually molded dragon-fish handles. The body is decorated with narrative scenes depicting Xiao He on horseback pursuing Han Xin by moonlight. Exceptional in every way, it is estimated at $150,000-$250,000.

Important large Yuan Dynasty blue and white jar 青花人物故事紋雙耳罐 © I. M. Chait Gallery.

Highly important and large, Chinese 14th Century Yuan Dynasty, blue and white porcelain jar: of tall, somewhat amphora-style ovoid form, with two unusually moulded dragon-fish handles; the body with narrative scenes, depicting Xiao He on horseback pursuing Han Xin by moonlight; all beneath a band with phoenix, and with lappets around the base; H: 15 1/2". Estimate $150,000-250,000

Leading the bronzes is Lot 200, a superb 15th-century early Ming Dynasty Xuande gilt-bronze Bodhisattva in a graceful seated pose. The 9 7/8-inch figure is elaborately decorated with cast “jewelry,” headdress and other adornments, and is expected to make $250,000-$350,000 at auction.

Superb Xuande gilt-bronze Bodhisattva 明宣德 銅鎏金菩薩坐像 © I. M. Chait Gallery

Superb 15th Century Chinese, early Ming Dynasty gilt bronze figure of a seated Bodhisattva: with hands in mudra, dressed in elaborately cast "jewelry" and headdress; with a lotus blossom at each shoulder, all atop a lotus base; Xuande Mark and of the Period; H: 9 7/8". Estimate $250,000-350,000

A selection of rare, scholarly Chinese calligraphy scrolls comes to auction with provenance from the Songwon Collection and the Young-Ig Min and Pyong-U Min family. Among the offerings is Lot 455 a pair of finely detailed ink and color on silk scroll paintings, each with a depiction of a Lohan – or one who has followed the Eightfold Path and achieved deliverance of earthly existence. Each of the signed and sealed scrolls measures 94½ by 27 inches, and together they are expected to achieve $12,000-$15,000. Lot 485 a Chinese ink and color on silk landscape painting by Pu Ru is inscribed and signed, with two artist’s seals and an additional collector’s Chongsog (Pyong-U Min) seal. The 22½-inch-long artwork is estimated at $10,000-$20,000.

Pair large chinese scroll paintings 設色絹本 羅漢 兩幅. © I. M. Chait Gallery.

Pair of large and finely detailed, Chinese ink and colors on silk scroll paintings; each with standing Lohan in landscape; each signed and with seals; 94 1/2" x 27" (each approx.). Estimate $12,000-15,000

Fine Chinese painting by Pu Ru: Landscape 溥儒 （1896-1963） 山翠暗煙圖 設色絹本 題識：山翠昏斜照，溪寒起暗煙。穎雲先生清賞 鈐印：溥儒、心畬 藏印：庭石珍藏 來源：韓國閔泳翊、閔丙宇家藏 展覽：韓國白岳美術館，1985 著錄：《松園秘笈》庭石家藏中國書畫，第79頁 © I. M. Chait Gallery.

Chinese ink and color on silk landscape painting, by Pu Ru (1896-1963); inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist and one collector's seal of Chongsog (Pyong-U Min); 22 1/2" x 8 1/8". Estimate $10,000-20,000

Provenance: The Songwon Collection, from Young-Ig Min & Pyong-U Min family

Literature: Songwon Collection: Korean calligraphy, painting and seal of Wonchong (Young-Ig Min); Chinese Arts in Chongsog (Pyong-U) collection, p.79

An exercise in perfection, Lot 301 a 16-piece carved ruby matrix tea set with gilt mountings and accents includes a covered teapot with carved dragon inside, a chocolate/water pot, creamer, four claw-foot shallow dishes, four dragon-form tea cups, serving accessories and a carved dragon centerpiece. A thick ruby zoisite freeform slab serves as the tray. A sensational work of art, the set is entered with a $160,000-$180,000 estimate.

Important carved ruby dragon tea set 紅礦石雕龍紋茶具組 © I. M. Chait Gallery.

of dragon motif with gilt mountings and accents, including: covered teapot with a carved dragon inside; chocolate/water pot; creamer; four claw footed shallow dishes; four tea cups of slightly varied dragons forms; wide scoop; long slim scoop; tweezers; a carved dragon centerpiece; and with a thick ruby zoisite freeform slab as a tray; L: 22 1/2" (tray). Estimate $160,000-180,000 

Lot 328 an antique oil-on-panel painting attributed to Ivan K. Aivazovsky (1817-1900) adds a Russian accent to the sale. Dated “1849,” the 10¾ by 15½-inch seascape depicts a ship in the distance beneath a softly diffused sun, with cresting blue-green waves in the foreground. Auctioned previously at Sotheby’s (in the 1970s), the painting is offered by I.M. Chait with a $70,000-$90,000 estimate.

Important Russian painting by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900) 重要俄罗斯海景油画作品 伊凡•康斯坦丁诺维奇•艾瓦佐夫斯基 (傳) © I. M. Chait Gallery.

oil on wood panel painting; of a seascape depicting a ship in the distance beneath a softly diffused sun amid clouds, with a strong crashing wave gleaming a brilliant blue-green in the foreground; signed in cyrillic and dated 1849 lower right; 10 3/4" x 15 1/2"; in carved and gilt wood frame. Estimate $70,000-90,000

Provenance by reputed family history: purchased from Sotheby's in the 1970s

Magnificent jewelry may be found in many forms in the March 23rd auction. Lot 358 A pair of chic, square-cut ruby-with-diamond cluster earrings in the style of Van Cleef & Arpels replicate flowers with distinctly formed petals. The earrings have a total ruby weight of (approx.) 40 carats and are mounted in 18K yellow gold. Estimate: $12,000-$15,000. Among the other treasures in this category are Imperial jadeite pieces, diamonds and other gems; watches and clocks; fine pens, Tiffany and Chinese export silver; and Faberge-style objects.

Pair Ruby & Diamond, 18k Gold Floral Earrings. 18K金鑲鑽紅寶石耳釘 一對 © I. M. Chait Gallery.

18K yellow gold mounted, ruby and diamond cluster earrings in the style of Van Cleef & Arpels; each comprised of six petals covered in invisibly-set, square-cut rubies, together totaling approx. 40 Cts.; each centering a triangular cluster of round white diamonds; each with hinged, convertible clip and post backs; D: 1 1/8" (each approx.). Estimate $12,000-15,000

Superior-quality prints and screens from an estate local to Beverly Hills include pieces by Toko Shinoda, Kyoshi Saito, Haku and other prestigious artists. Pre-Columbian and South Pacific primitive art from two California collections will also be offered.

I.M. Chait’s Asia Week Important Chinese Paintings, Ceramics & Works of Art Auction will take place at the Chait gallery on Sunday, March 23, 2014, commencing at 1PM Pacific Time. The gallery is located at 9330 Civic Center Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. All forms of bidding will be available, including in-room, absentee, telephone and live online bidding in real time.

A 'Junyao' openwork stand, Ming Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's.

the sides pierced with four openwork petal-shaped arches centered with molded florets, beneath the waisted neck with everted rim, the sides with molded decoration towards the base, covered overall with a bluish-purple glaze stopping just above the foot. Height 6 1/8 in., 15.5 cm. Estimation 40,000 — 60,000 USD

It is unusual to find stands with this glaze, though there are several Longquan celadon examples. See one illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. I, cat. no. 542, where it is noted that one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Longquan Qingci, pl. 73, with the comment that 'where (p. 133) the assumption that it was used as a dish stand and not, as often maintained, an insert for a fish bowl is substantiated by a quotation from the Zun sheng ba jian by Gao Lian of 1591.'

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

Jade and diamond pendant by David Lin 

Jade and ruby pendant by David Lin Jades 

A purple-splashed 'Junyao' jar, Song-Jin Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's.

the globular body applied with two small loop handles, covered overall with a grayish-blue glaze with irregular purple splashes, thinning to mushroom color on the edge of the rim and stopping above the base.Height 5 5/8 in., 14.2 cm. Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 USD

Provenance: Christie's Hong Kong, 26th April 1999, lot 653.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

Glossy white onyx whorls with 18-karat pink gold and violet amethysts pendant by Al Coro 

A white-glazed anhua-decorated stembowl, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period. Photo: Sotheby's

with deep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, supported on a tall slightly spreading hollow foot, decorated in anhua on the interior with a ruyi in the center and a pair of dragons chasing a 'flaming pearl' around the sides, the exterior plain and covered overall with an even creamy-white glaze. Height 4 3/4 in., 12 cm. Estimation 20,000 — 30,000 USD

Provenance: Collection of Peter Scheinman.
Christie's New York, 23rd March 1995, lot 94.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th October 2001, lot 560.

In the 1980s excavations at the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen revealed that a number of white wares, some decorated with anhua designs, including stembowls, were produced for imperial ceremonial use. For a further discussion see Liu Xinyuan, Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 58-59. Compare also two bowls both with flared sides and each bearing an anhua Yongle reign mark, the first in the British Museum, with a similar anhua dragon motif published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, fig. 3:1, p. 98; and the other from the Brankston Collection, illustrated in Rose. Kerr (ed.), Chinese Art and Design, London, 1991, p. 176, fig. 80 (right).

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

A blue and white 'Scholars' stembowl, 17th century. Photo: Sotheby's

the rounded sides rising to a flared rim, supported on a hollow stem widening towards the base, painted around the exterior with a continuous scene of sixteen scholars in various pursuits, some admiring a painting, others playing weiqi, and others discussing a book, the interior painted with a medallion enclosing a scholar seated in a garden setting. Diameter 5 5/8 in., 14.2 cm. Estimation 5,000 — 7,000 USD

Porcelains depicting scholarly pursuits were popular during the Transitional period from late Ming to Early Qing and into the Kangxi period. Traditionally a gentleman scholar manifested his skill in the 'Four Accomplishments'; calligraphy, the game of chess or weiqi, painting and playing the qin.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

An unusual iron-red-ground blue and white 'Scholar's' stembowl, 17th century. Photo: Sotheby's

decorated on the exterior with a continuous scene of eighteen scholars engaged in the 'Four Accomplishments', a few playing weiqi, some admiring a painting, and others rading poetry, an attendant carrying a qin off into the distance, the interior further painted with a scholar reading a book in a garden setting. Diameter 5 5/8 in., 14.2 cm. Estimation 6,000 — 8,000 USD

A similar example of this rare type in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is published in Rose Kerr & Rosemary Scott, Ceramic Evolution in the Middle Ming Period, Singapore & London, 1994, p. 21, cat. 31.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

Caressing Fire earrings by Wallace Chan.

A Circle of luck bangle by Wallace Chan

A pair of blue and white sleeve vases, Transitional period, 17th century. Photo Sotheby's

of cylindrical form rising to a short wide neck with everted rim, painted with a continuous scene in varying shades of underglaze blue with birds in flight and at rest amongst rockwork and foliage, the flat base unglazed (2). Height 10 1/8 in., 25.8 cm. Estimation 10,000 — 12,000 USD

Provenance: Christie's London, 29th June 1982, lot 87.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

A blue and white 'Peony' foliate rim dish, 17th century. Photo Sotheby's

painted to the center with a large flower-head, below a wave band at the rim, the exterior painted with sprigs of orchids, prunus and lotus, apocryphal Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue. Diameter 6 1/4 in., 15.9 cm. Estimation 6,000 — 8,000 USD

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

A blue and white kosometsuke food bowl, Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen Period. Photo Sotheby's

of conical form, with steep, faceted sides and supported on a splayed foot, each panel painted with a single ruyi head above a row of overlapping stylized leaves, the foot with a geometric wave band, the interior painted in the well with a camellia blossom on a leafy branch, beneath a chevron border and single line at the rim. Diameter 5 3/8 in., 13.7 cm. Estimation 6,000 — 8,000 USD

Provenance: Japanese Private Collection.

Litterature: S. Marchant & Son, Ltd. Ming Porcelain for the Japanese Market, London, 2008, no. 3.

Only two other food bowls of this rare type appear to be recorded; one in the Tokyo National Museum is illustrated in the Heibonsha Series, Toki Zenshu, vol. 15, p. 55, another is illustrated in Masahiko Kawahara, Ko-Sumetsuke Color Section and Monochrome Section, nos. 93-94, pp. 118-119 and nos. 336-367, p. 97. Another footed bowl is illustrated in Julia Curtis, Trade, Taste & Transformation, Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan 1620-1645, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2006, no. 23.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 18 Mar 2014, 10:30 AM - www.sothebys.com

Cartier. An Art Deco Emerald and Diamond Bracelet, circa 1925. Via FD Gallery, www.fd-inspired.com

Cartier. An Art Deco Emerald and Diamond Ring, circa 1920. Via FD Gallery, www.fd-inspired.com