A 'Qingbai''lotus' bowl, Song dynasty. Estimate £1,500 — 2,000. Photo: Sotheby's

the deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an everted petal-shaped rim, carved to the interior with a leafy lotus spray and covered overall in a crisp pale-blue glaze, save for the unglazed base revealing the white body - 19.5cm., 7 5/8 in.

PROPERTY FROM A DANISH PRIVATE COLLECTION 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM 

An antique diamond and natural pearl brooch, circa 1880. Estimate $45,000 – $65,000. Unsold . Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The center designed as an old-cut diamond flower centering upon a button-shaped natural pearl, measuring approximately 10.85-11.21 x 9.83 mm, to the old-cut diamond scrollwork surround, suspending an articulated drop-shaped natural pearl pendant, measuring approximately 10.10-10.90 x 16.40 mm, circa 1880, 3 ins., mounted in silver-topped gold

Accompanied by report no. 81684 dated 20 August 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that thepearls are natural saltwater

With report no. 1152296685 dated 20 March 2013 from the GIA Gemological Institute of America stating that the button pearl is natural saltwater

With report no. 2165061946 dated 25 April 2014 from the GIA Gemological Institute of America stating that the semi-baroque drop pearl is natural saltwater

Christie's. IMPORTANT JEWELS, 20 October 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A set of antique natural pearl and diamond jewelry. Estimate $45,000 – $65,000. Unsold . Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

Comprising two concentric old-cut diamond circles, centering upon a button-shaped natural pearl, measuring approximately 11.15-12.80 x 9.40 mm, enhanced by old-cut diamond collets, suspending a baroque-shaped pearl, measuring approximately 15.05 x 9.55 x 8.85 mm, with old-cut diamond cap, a pair of ear pendants en suite, suspending baroque drop-shaped natural pearls, measuring approximately 16.60 x 9.80 x 9.20 mm and 17.00 x 10.15 x 8.85 mm, circa 1895, 3 ins. (brooch), mounted in platinum-topped gold

Accompanied by report no. 81107 dated 14 July 2015 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that thepearls are natural saltwater pearls with no indications of artificial colour modification 

Christie's. IMPORTANT JEWELS, 20 October 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Model wearing a gown by Madame Gres, 1937, in a photo by George Platt Lynes for Harper’s Bazaar

Alix ( Madame Grès ) Dress Lud, 1938 - Photo by Horst P. Horst

Madame Grès, 1940. Photo George Platt Lynes

Dovima wearing an evening gown by Madame Grès, 1950, photographed by Richard Avedon.

Madame Grès, 1954. Photo Willy Maywald.

Modèle de Madame Grès, Septembre 1954, Vogue Paris. Photo par Henry Clarke

Dovima modeling a dress designed by Madame Grès, 1955.

Madame Grès, 1956. Photo: Philippe Pottier.

Suzy Parker wearing Madame Grès gown, 1957. Photo Richard Avedon

Katherine Pastrie in this delicate and charming silk faille evening gown of two shades of blue, by Grès, coiffure by Guillaume, photo by Pottier, 1963

Embroidered, pink silk coat was worn by a Frenchman in the court of Louis XVI in the 18th century. Photo Susan Stamberg/NPR

Mellerio dits Meller, 19th century

LONDON.- Bonhams will hold the sixth (and penultimate) of a series of sales from the Edward Wrangham Collection on Tuesday 10 November at its New Bond Street headquarters in London. 

The five previous sales of the Edward Wrangham Collection - considered to be Europe's pre-eminent private collection of Japanese miniature art - have so far realised more than £7m. 

The Wrangham Collection was formed by the late environmentalist, mountaineer, scholar and collector Edward Wrangham OBE (see notes for editors). One of the last of the great British collectors, he was greatly influenced by his uncle William Winkworth as well as by his grandfather, the legendary collector of Asian art Stephen Winkworth, who presented him with his first netsuke in 1936, when he was only eight years old. Wrangham continued to add to his collection until his death in 2009, sourcing works of art from all over the world. His collection, which was catalogued and published by Wrangham himself, consists of more than 1,000 examples of inro, netsuke and Japanese sword fittings assembled over many decades. 

Highlights of the sale include:

A complete set of five lacquer tanzaku (poem-cards) by Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), Meiji Period. Estimate: £20,000 - 25,000 €27,000 - 34,000). Photo Bonhams.

Each of slender rectangular form, lacquered with designs illustrating the Gosekku (Five Chief Festivals of Japan): 

1) Rich reddish-brown lacquer ground, decorated in gold and slight coloured takamaki-e with a shime-kazari(New Year decoration) including a fan with rising-sun design, spiny lobster, tachibana (mandarin orange), ferns, gohei (cut-paper decorations) and other elements; 

2) Dark olive-green lacquer ground, decorated in gold and coloured takamaki-e with paper tatebina dolls and a flowering peach branch; 

3) Bright vermilion-lacquer ground, decorated in gold and coloured togidashi maki-e and takamaki-e with Shoki in a roundel watching a fleeing oni; 

4) Seido-nuri (dark green-lacquer) ground, decorated in gold and coloured takamaki-e with an itomaki (silk-winder), mulberry leaves wrapped in shikishi (squares of decorative folded paper) and a stem of bamboo; 

5) Polished black-lacquer ground, decorated in gold and coloured togidashi maki-e and takamaki-e with chrysanthemums and katabami (wood sorrel) beneath the full moon. 

Each signed in lacquer Zeshin with seal Koma; later mounted on gold-washed silk within a black-lacquer frame; with wood storage box. Each tanzaku 36.5cm x 6cm (14 3/8in x 2 3/8in); the frame 49cm x 79.3cm (19¼in x 31 3/8in). (7).

Provenance: Malcolm Fairley, London, 2003.
Wrangham collection, nos.2200-2204.

Notes: The lid of the storage box inscribed outside Zeshin-o hitsu Gosekku no zu maki-e tanzaku; inscribed insideShowa ninen shoshun Kakan'an Chikushin kan narabi ni dai maki-e tanzaku (lacquer tanzaku by the venerable Zeshin depicting the Five Festivals; examined and inscribed by Kakan'an Chikushin in the first month of the second year of Showa [=1927]), with two seals.

The festivals depicted are:

1) Oshogatsu, the New-Year's Festival. Shime-kazaridecorations are generally put out a few days before the New Year and taken down on jinjitsu, the seventh day of the first lunar month.

2) Hinamatsuri, the Doll's Festival, held on the third day of the third month.

3) Shobu no Sekku, the Boys' Festival, held on the fifth day of the fifth month. During the 19th century, in Edo/Tokyo and the Kanto region dolls representing Shoki the Demon-Queller started to be made for this festival.

4) Tanabata: The itomaki and wrapped silk-mulberry leaves are associated with the Tanabata Festival held on the seventh day of the seventh month when the stars Altair (the Herd Boy) and Vega (the Weaver Girl), separated on either side of the Milky Way as a punishment for neglecting their duties, are allowed to meet. 

5) Kiku no Sekku, the Chrysanthemum Festival, held on the ninth day of the ninth month and associated in particular with moon-viewing parties.

Zeshin made many lacquers with festival motifs, including a famous set of inro in the Victoria and Albert Museum; the seventh inro in the V&A set (inventory no.W.307-1922) is in the shape of a silk-winder, decorated with a mulberry leaf on which poems were composed to mark the Tanabata Festival. Other examples of festival-themed lacquers by Zeshin include two boxes in the Khalili collection both decorated with the motif of mulberry leaves wrapped in shikishi, see Joe Earle, Masterpieces by Shibata Zeshin, London, The Kibo Foundation, 1996, nos.4 and 5.

A fine gold-and-black-lacquer five-case inro by Hon'ami Shoetsu, after Yamaguchi Soken, 19th century. Estimate: £20,000 - 25,000 (€27,000 - 34,000). Photo Bonhams.

The tall vertical body with a roiro ground lacquered with a continuous scene of a girl gazing at her reflection in the Kagami-ishi (Mirror Rock), a tall flowering cherry tree beside a rushing stream on the reverse, its branches extending into cloud bands above, all in gold and slight-coloured takamaki-e and togidashi maki-e with profuse highlights of kirikane, the ends of fundame and the interior of nashiji, signed Hon'ami Shoetsu with sealShoetsu; with a solid lacquer multi-coloured ojime in the form of a shojo (red-haired drunken sprite), unsigned.9.5cm (3¾in) high. 

Provenance: F. A. Richards collection, purchased in Japan, 1914, sold at Sotheby's, London, 1964.
Graham Gemmell, London, 1989.
Wrangham collection, no.1965.

Published: E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists, Alnwick, Harehope Publications, 1995, p.246, Shoetsu, Hon'ami.

Notes: Located to the north of the famous Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto, the Kagami-ishi (also called the Kagami-iwa) was famed for its remarkable reflective and diagnostic properties. A image similar to that on the present inro is shown in Miyako meisho zue (Illustrations of Famous Places in the Capital), published in 1780. According to the picture caption, 'The Kagami-ishi is a rock that clearly reflects anything placed in front of it . . . It is large with a bright surface and often reflects a person's internal organs; if there is anything wrong it will show up clearly.' (1) Both Henri L. Joly and, later, V. F. Weber refer to a celebrated painting of this subject by Yamaguchi Soken (1759-1818). The present whereabouts of this work are unknown but it is almost certainly the one published in Nihon bijutsu gaho in 1899; Weber also reproduces a suzuribako (writing box) with the same design. (2)

1. For the Miyako meisho zue, see Takemura Toshinori (ed.), Nihon meisho fuzoku zue (Traditional Topographical Works of Japan), Tokyo, 1981, vol. 8, pp.195-6. For an online reproduction, see also http://www.nichibun.ac.jp/meisyozue/kyoto/page7t/km_01_568.html.

2. See H. L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art, London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1908, p.500, V. F. Weber, Ko-ji Hō-ten, Dictionnaire à l'usage des amateurs et collectionneurs d'objets d'art japonais et chinois, Paris, 1923, vol.2, p.169, fig.728, and Nihon bijutsu gaho, vol.5, no.12 (25 May 1899), 'Maiden before a Stone Mirror', accessible at http://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/gahou/page/42, where both Soken's name ('Sojun') and the date of his death (1804) are inaccurate.

A gold-lacquer four-case saya inro by Koma Kansai, 19th century. Estimate: £20,000 - 25,000 (€27,000 - 34,000). Photo Bonhams.

The rectangular body with the saya with a kinji ground decorated in gold, silver and coloured takamaki-e with an oni (demon) servant kneeling before Enma-O, the Judge of Hell, the reverse with a red-bodied oni next to Enma-O's magic mirror which reflects sinners' past misdeeds, the surface of the mirror inlaid in shell; the four-case inro with roiro ground decorated in fine gold, silver and coloured togidashi maki-e with the Death of Buddha: on one side humans and animals in mourning around the body of the Enlightened One, on the other side birds and a bat and a host of descending bodhisattvas, signed Kano Tan'yu hitsu Kansai saku (by Kansai after Kano Tan'yu); with an amber ojime. 8.2cm (3¼in) high. 

Provenance: purchased at Lempertz, Cologne, 1964.
Wrangham collection, no.416.

Published: E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists, Alnwick, Harehope Publications, 1995, p.112, Kansai I, right.

Note: According to the signature, the design was based on an original painting by the famous painter Kano Tan'yu (1602-1674).

A fine lacquer five-case inro by Suzuki Tokoku (1846-1913), late 19th century. Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000  (€20,000 - 27,000). Photo Bonhams

The vertical rectangular body with a grey ishime lacquer ground with a sunken circular panel of gold ishimelacquer, decorated and inlaid with Daruma seated meditating, surrounded by a trailing plant and carved broken trellis which continues onto the reverse, in carved red lacquer and ivory, his earring of gilt-metal, the reverse also inlaid with a juzu (rosary) and hossu (fly whisk) among trailing plants, in ivory, stained bone, red lacquer and glass, the interior of black lacquer with gold fundame shoulders and rims, signed with two seals in gilt-metal and shell Bairyu Tokoku; with a dark-green stone vase-shaped ojime, unsigned. 8.5cm (3 3/8in) high.

Provenance: F. Webb collection, purchased at Sotheby's, London, via Douglas J. K. Wright, 1967.
Wrangham collection, no.813.

Published: E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists, Alnwick, Harehope Publications, 1995, p.295, bottom row, left.

Exhibited: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1972, no.85. 
Treasures of the North, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester and Christie's, London, 2000, no.56.

Notes: Suzuki Tokoku worked in Tokyo at the end of the 19th century and is well known for his netsuke, carved and inlaid in an intricate manner. His early work is similar to that produced by Ishikawa Rensai of Tokyo and it was in his later life that he made a few inro in the style of the present example. He was succeeded by two followers who used the same name. Another inro by him, with a design of a rakan is illustrated in George Lazarnick, The Meinertzhagen Card Index on Netsuke in the Archives of the British Museum, New York, Alan R. Liss Inc., 1986, p.873.

For another lacquer version of this image of Daruma seen through a window against a gold background, see Honolulu Academy of Arts, Shadows and Reflections: Japanese Lacquer Art from the Collection of Edmund J. Lewis, Honolulu, 1996, no.26, a suzuribako by Miura Ken'ya

A large gold-lacquer four-case inro by Yamaguchi Shojosai (1900-1978), 20th century. Estimate: £15,000 - 18,000 (€20,000 - 24,000).  Photo Bonhams.

The fundame ground lacquered in gold and colouredtakamaki-e with a continuous scene of an episode during the battle of Dannoura (1185), with the great hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune preparing to make his famous hasso-tobi (leap over eight boats), the turbulent water depicted in white lacquer with dark highlights and the interior of nashiji with gold fundame shoulders and rims; signed Shojosai Rosho saku with kao. 10.5cm (4 1/8in) high. 

Provenance: purchased at Sotheby's, New York, 1990.
Wrangham collection, no.1988.

Notes: During the decisive sea battle of Dannoura between the Heike clan and the Minamoto clan, Yoshitsune escaped death at the hands of Taira no Noritsune by leaping across eight boats. Elements of the present design are possibly based on the middle and right-hand sheets of a woodblock-print triptych by Utagawa Sadahide dating from 1847-8, entitled Genpei Dannoura ogassen no zu (Picture of the Great Battle between the Minamoto and the Taira at Dannoura), although Yoshitsune's historic superhuman leap is there pictured in the background, see http://data.ukiyo-e.org/wbp/images/911938329.jpg

Yamaguchi Shojosai was a remarkable lacquerer who worked in various studios in Tokyo, Kyoto and Niigata. He contracted polio when he was four years old and used a crutch for walking from then on. He began his lacquer studies when he was 14 and devoted his life to working with lacquer and to his family. Following the death of his wife in 1952, two of his sons became lacquer craftsmen.

Although Wrangham was fascinated by both Chinese and Japanese art, it was to be the study of Japanese inro as a whole - the techniques of their production, their makers and (as he himself commented) ‘the by-ways of the art’ - which ignited Wrangham’s enthusiasm and cemented an enduring passion. His deep and scholarly contribution to what was then a relatively unknown area of Japanese art was acknowledged in a pioneering exhibition (the first of its kind dedicated to inro in the United Kingdom) held at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, in 1972. 

Wrangham’s passion culminated in the private publication of his book, The Index of Inro Artists (Harehope Publications, 1995), which is still considered one of the most important English-language studies on lacquer ever published and remains an essential reference tool in the libraries of collectors, dealers and museums. While writing the book, he also produced numerous eloquent and knowledgeable articles on Japanese art, as well as on mountaineering, his other love, lecturing widely on both subjects. 

Suzannah Yip, head of Bonhams’ Japanese department, comments: "This series of sales represents one of the finest and most comprehensive single-owner collections of inro ever to have been offered at auction. As with the first five sales, we have endeavoured to select a cross-section of important pieces, ranging from the earliest rudimentary examples to sophisticated and elaborate pieces from the 20th century." 

The sale also includes a selection of sword-fittings, netsuke, pipe cases and other lacquer works of art. The previous sales generated intense and unprecedented interest from academics, students and collectors worldwide.

The flattened hexagonal body with an ultramarine blue ground embellished with a sprinkling of gold powder, decorated with three butterflies flitting around chrysanthemums, in gold and coloured togidashi maki-e, the interior of nashiji,unsigned; with a bone ojime. 5.4cm (2 1/8in) high.

Provenance: Edward Gilbertson collection, no.5065.
W. L. Behrens collection, no.208.
Nairn collection.
Lt. Col. J. B. Gaskell collection, no.586.
F. A. Richards collection, sold at Sotheby's, 1964.
Victor Topper collection.
Eskenazi, Ltd., London, 1982.
Wrangham collection, no.1612.

Published: Glendining and Co. (H. L. Joly comp.), W. L. Behrens Collection, Part II, Lacquer and Inro, London, 1913-4, no.208, pl.XXI.
H. L. Joly and Kumasaka Tomita, Japanese Art and Handicraft, London, Yamanaka & Co., 1916, no.201, pl.LXXXVI.
International Netsuke Society Journal, vol.31, no.4 (Winter 2012), p.38.

Note: This and the two other recorded blue-lacquered inro are discussed in an article by Else and Heinz Kress in theInternational Netsuke Society Journal article referred to above, pp.34-39. Of the three, the only signed specimen is in the Garrett collection, Evergreen House, Baltimore, illustrated by Neil K. Davey and Susan G. Tripp, The Garrett Collection, Japanese Art, Lacquer, Inro, Netsuke, London, Dauphin Publishing, 1993, p.208, no.209. There, the signature was mistransliterated as Taira Shusai; it should be read Heishusai. The second example is in the collection of Heinz and Else Kress. Each of them depict flowers and butterflies in a similar manner to the present example, which can confidently be attributed to Heishusai.

A fine gold-lacquer three-case inro by Koma Kyuhaku, 19th century. Estimate: £20,000 - 25,000 (€27,000 - 34,000).  Photo Bonhams.

The rounded square body with a subdued kinji ground lacquered with a continuous mountainous landscape showing soaring peaks and pine trees among rocky cliffs, a temple seen in the deep cleft betweeen two hills, in sumi-e togidashi maki-e, the interior of nashiji with gold fundame shoulders and rims; signed Koma Kyuhaku saku. 7.3cm (2 7/8in) wide 

Provenance: purchased at Sotheby's, London, 1972.
Wrangham collection, no.1159.

Published: E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inro Artists, Alnwick, Harehope Publications, 1995, p.157, Kyuhaku IV, Koma. 

Note: The work has been attributed to Koma Kyuhaku IV, who died in 1795 and was appointed lacquerer to the shogun Tokugawa Ieharu in 1786

A rare black-lacquer three-case saya inro by Kanshosai Toyo, 19th century. Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000 (€14,000 - 20,000).  Photo Bonhams.

The saya of roiro, lacquered with the Satsuma mon(heraldic crest) on either side in shibuichi-nuri, the inner three-case inro of roiro, lacquered in fine detail with a scene of lovers after an ukiyo-e print, in gold, silver and coloured togidashi maki-e, the interior of nashiji with gold fundame shoulders and rims, signed Toyo with kao; with a silvered-metal ojime, unsigned. 6cm (2 3/8in) high. 

Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 1989.
Wrangham collection, no.1975.

An unusual brown-lacquer four-case inro, 18th century. Estimate: £4,000 - 5,000 (€5,400 - 6,800).  Photo Bonhams.

The fine brown-lacquer ground inlaid with six panels of mica, four of them overlapping, each panel covering an imaginary portrait of one of the Rokkasen (Six Immortals of Poetry) executed in gold and coloured lacquer and pigment, one poem by each poet inscribed in gold hiramaki-e next to the portrait, the top and base also inlaid with a mica panel covering a piece of silk brocade woven in gold-applied thread with a shippo-tsunagi (linked-pearl) design, the interior of nashiji lacquer with gold fundame shoulders and rims, unsigned; with a metal ojime, unsigned. 7.6cm (3in) high.

Provenance: Louis Cartier collection, purchased at Hotel Drouot, 1965.
Wrangham collection, no.544.

Exhibited: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1972, no.111.

A rare lacquered wood koro (incense burner) in the form of an elephant, attributed to Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuo, 1663-1747), 18th century. Estimate: £5,000 - 6,000 (€6,800 - 8,200).  Photo Bonhams.

Formed from soft wood, standing on all fours, facing ahead with its trunk raised, its body lacquered dark brown and carved with an elaborate tasselled cloth over its back and tied beneath, lacquered in red with formal designs, the copper liner surmounted by a bronze cover finely pierced with scrolling flowerheads; unsigned. 20.4cm x 27cm (8in x 10 5/8in). (2).

Provenance: Nihon Token, London, 1988.
Wrangham collection, no.1880.

An extremely rare boar-tusk netsuke by Seiyodo Gansui (1809-1848), Iwami Province, featuring a poem by Li Bai, first half of the 19th century. Estimate: £5,000 - 6,000 (€6,800 - 8,200).  Photo Bonhams.

Of natural form, carved in relief with a crab and breaking waves, the reverse delicately engraved on the reverse with shinobu ferns (Davallia bullata) and inscribed in minute characters with a 28-character Chinese poem; signed Iwami no kuni Kaaigawa Gansui cho (carved by Gansui by the Kaaigawa River in Iwami Province). 9.8cm (3 7/8in) high.

Notes: The crab and ferns appear frequently as motifs in Gansui's boar-tusk netsuke: the present example is referred to but not illustrated in George Lazarnick, Netsuke and Inro Artists and How to Read Their Signatures, Honolulu, Reed Publishers, 1982, p.387, while another example is illustrated in Joe Earle, The Robert S. Huthart Collection of Iwami Netsuke, Hong Kong, 2000, p.155, no.134. Gansui's surviving works are few in number due in part to the shortness of his life and this example is particularly unusual on account of its long inscription which is believed to be the only known example of a Chinese poem on one of his netsuke. The poem is one of five that were composed by Ri Haku (in Chinese Li Bai, 701-762), perhaps the most celebrated of all Chinese poets, on the occasion of a visit to Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, north of the city of Changsha:

Looking west from Dongting, the Chu River divides and flows into the lake:
Where its waters disappear to the south, there is not a cloud to be seen.
The sun sets over Changsha, making the autumn colours seem more distant
So that I cannot tell where I should go to mourn the passing of Master Xiang. 

For Gansui's other inscriptions, see Joe Earle, The Robert S. Huthart Collection, pp.150-169, nos.131-146.

LOS ANGELES, CA.- “Almost every rock, every promontory, every river, is haunted by the shadows of the mighty dead,” wrote the English antiquarian Edward Dodwell of his travels in Greece at the beginning of the nineteenth century. During this time, he and the Italian artist Simone Pomardi traversed the country, producing around one thousand watercolors and drawings of the ancient Greek countryside. 

On view at the Getty Villa October 21, 2015 – February 15, 2016, Greece’s Enchanted Landscapes: Watercolors by Edwa rd Dodwell and Simone Pomardi presents, for the first time in the United States, a selection of 44 magnificent illustrations from the expansive archive acquired by the Packard Humanities Institute, as well as four photographs from the Getty Museum’s photographs collection and six prints from the collection of the Getty Research Institute. They depict picturesque landscapes infused with memories of the classical past, often in striking juxtaposition with the realities of Greek life under Ottoman rule. The exhibition culminates in a series of monumental panoramas of Athens, each over thirteen-feetlong, that are both sweeping in scope and rich in scrupulous detail.  

The Erechtheion, Athens, After 1805. Simone Pomardi (Italian, 1757 - 1830). Watercolor. VEX.2015.1.37. The Packard Humanities Institute.

“These captivating drawings represent one of the most beautiful and compelling manifestations of Europe’s fascination with modern and ancient Greece—its landscape, archaeological sites and social customs—in the years before its independence from Ottoman rule,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “Displaying them at the Getty Villa, alongside our unparalleled collections of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art, will allow visitors to experience these unique images in a particularly appropriate setting.” 

The Parthenon, Athens, After 1805. Edward Dodwell (English, 1777 or 1778 - 1832). Watercolor. VEX.2015.1.35. The Packard Humanities Institute.

Potts adds: “We are particularly grateful to David Packard and the Packard Humanities Institute, not only for their generosity in supporting this exhibition, but for the decades of work they have done in researching, preserving, and publishing this extraordinary body of work that serves as an important record of Greece’s ancient past.” 

Removal of Sculptures from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin’s Men, after 1801, Edward Dodwell and/or Simone Pomardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute.

Edward Dodwell (1777/78 – 1832) was one of an increasing number of travelers in the nineteenth century who combined Hellenism—an erudite passion for the legacy of Greek antiquity—with documentary intent. He first traveled through Greece in 1801, and then returned in 1805 with the Italian artist Simone Pomardi (1757-1830). They toured the country for fourteen months, drawing and documenting the landscape in all its aspects. Dodwell described the objective of his travels in Greece as “to leave nothing unnoticed,” and the illustrations—many never published—are a valuable record of the country and its monuments in the years at the beginning of the nineteenth century.  

Hyperia Spring, Pherai, after 1805, Edward Dodwell and Filippo Maria Giuntotardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute.

“The sight of ancient temples lying in ruin, or of the Greek people under Turkish rule, contrasted poignantly with nostalgic imaginings of the classical past. Yet for Dodwell and Pomardi, such juxtapositions only magnified the lost splendor of Greek antiquity,” says David Saunders, curator of the exhibition. 

Village of Portaria on the Slopes of Mount Pelion, after 1805, Simone Pomardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute

For many of their illustrations, the artists made extensive use of the camera obscura, an optical device that Dodwell described as “that infallible medium of truth and accuracy.” This is most fully apparent with the panoramas of Athens. Combining expansive vistas and topographical exactitude on a grand scale, the four monumental illustrations in this exhibition are the most complete expression of Dodwell and Pomardi’s project to document Greece, and capture what Dodwell referred to as “the delights of the present, and recollections of the past.” Also, included in the exhibition is a portable tent camera obs c ura from the Getty’s collection. Dodwell and Pomardi would have used a similar camera obs c ura during their travels.  

Greece’s Enchanted Landscapes: Watercolors by Edward Dodwell and Simone Pomardi is curated by David Saunders, associate curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Finished Watercolor of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina from the Southeast, after 1805, Simone Pomardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute.

View of the Parthenon from the Propylaea, Athens, 1805, Simone Pomardi; sepia. The Packard Humanities Institute.

Temple of Poseidon, Sounion, after 1805, Simone Pomardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute.

Temple of Zeus, Nemea, after 1805, Simone Pomardi; watercolor. The Packard Humanities Institute

A rare Chelsea Kakiemon plate, circa 1752-1755. Estimate 800 — 1,200 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

with scalloped rim and fluted well, painted after a Japanese original with the `Hob in the Well' pattern, depicting a boy hurling a stone at a jar in which his friend is drowning, another figure attempting to pull him out, within a border of meandering vine interspersed with lotus and chrysanthemum, red anchor mark, 24cm., 9 1/2 in. diam.

Exhibition: Albert Amor London, 18th Century English Chinoiserie Porcelain, 1990, no. 61 (paper label to base).

Note: This design originated in Japanese 17th century porcelains where it depicts the legend of Shiba Onko, the boy who saved his friend from drowning in a water jar by breaking it. The design was popular in Europe and appears at Meissen, Chelsea and Bow where it was known as 'Hob in the Well'. Several entries of this pattern appear in the Chelsea 1755 factory sale on octagon shaped wares, Monday 10th March, lot 77, Wednesday 12th March, lot 82, Thursday 20th March, lot 99. The present form appears to be quite rare with few examples recorded. Three similar examples were sold by Sotheby's in 1970, 19th May, lot 158, 30th June, lot 144, and 24th November, lot 78.

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A rare Derby dry-edge chinoiserie white group of 'Hearing' from the series of the five Senses, circa 1752-55. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

probably modelled by Agostino Carlini, as an old man seated on rocks, listening intently as a young woman in exotic robes plays a musical instrument raised above his head, 21.5cm., 8 1/2 in. high

Provenance: The property of O. J. R. Brookman, Esq., sold Sotheby's London, 8th October 1946, lot 76;
Christie's London, 5th June 1978, lot 138

Bibliography: John Twitchett, Derby Porcelain, 1980, p. 33, pl. 15

Notes: Since these groups of the Chinoiserie Senses are very rare, and in several examples the musical instrument in her hand is in any case missing, this group has in the past confused the cataloguer and was often thought to represent 'Sight' rather than 'Hearing'. The presence of a trumpet in two examples (and a parrot in another!), as well as the concentration in the man's expression, make it clear that this is indeed Hearing. Sight exists in only one example, now in the British Museum.

Examples of this group are to be found in the Untermeyer collection at the Metropolitan Museum New York; in the Victoria and Albert Museum and in the British Museum, while four others are in private hands. Two examples in the white of the present group, and lot 59, Smell, are illustrated by Franklin A. Barrett and Arthur L. Thorpe, Derby Porcelain 1750-1848, 1971, pls. 17 and 17.

All the Derby dry-edge figures of Senses are rare, and rank among the masterpieces of English porcelain. This celebrated series of figures was once described by Arthur Lane as '... among the most impressive and original of early English porcelain figure-models.', English porcelain figures of the 18th century, 1961, p. 98. 

Formerly attributed to Andrew Planché, these Derby groups of the Senses have recently been attributed by John Mallett on stylistic grouunds to Carlini; see his article, Agostino Carlini and Dry-Edge Derby, British Ceramic Design 1600-2002, Ed. by Tom Walford and Hilary Young, 2003, pp. 42-57. The expression 'dry-edge' for these early Derby figures refers to the habitual careful wiping away of the glaze from the bases, leaving an unglazed edge. It is a distinguishing mark of the earliest period of the factory, before the change to firing on small raised pads, leaving the characteristic 'patch marks' of the post 1756 period.

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A rare Derby dry-edge chinoiserie white group of 'Smell' from the series of the five Senses, circa 1752-55. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

probably modelled by Agostino Carlini, as a figure in a long, flowing skirt and exotic hat holding aloft a flower, a child seated on a bench surrounded by pots of flowers at her side on the pad base, 22.3cm., 8 3/4 in. high

Provenance: The Property of Norman C. Ashton, Esq., sold at Christie's London, 6th June 1988, lot 254

Exhibition: Albert Amor London, 18th Century English Chinoiserie Porcelain, 1990, no. 8 (paper label to base)

Bibliography: Peter Bradshaw, 18th Century English Porcelain Figures, 1745-1795, 1981, pl. 101

Note: Examples of this group, some coloured, are to be found in the Lady Ludlow collection, formerly at Luton Hoo, in the Metropolitan Museum New York, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A rare Bow solid powder-blue ground plate, circa 1760. Estimate 300 — 400 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

with shallow well and everted rim, the blue of rich tone, the reverse painted with three blue leafy sprays, pseudo Oriental character marks in blue, 22cm., 8½in diam.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 8th April 1975, lot 32

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A good Bow porcelain plate, circa 1755-56. Estimate 400 — 500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

finely painted in famille-rose enamels in the Chinese manner with a central group of flowers beneath a border painted with four sprays of peony and lotus; and another Bow famille-rose plate, circa 1758-60, painted with peony and bamboo issuing from pierced blue rocks, Quantité: 2 - each 23.5cm., 9 1/4 in. diam.

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

Four Chelsea Kakiemon `Damask'd' plates, circa 1753-4. Estimate 1,500 — 2,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

each moulded after a Meissen original with Gotzkowsky erhaben Blumen, one painted in the centre with a coiled phoenix and flower sprays to the border, two painted with a pair of quail within prunus and corn stalks, the fourth painted in the centre with a red crane inside a border with two blue cranes and flowers, one with red anchor mark, Quantité: 4 - each approximately 23cm., 9in. diam.

Provenance: The first with Albert Amor Ltd (paper label to base)

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A Worcester hexagonal shaped bottle-vase, circa 1753-54. Estimate 1,000 — 1,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

painted in a famille-rose palette with a crane-like bird amongst flowering shrubs, the reverse painted with a bird in branches, 12cm., 4 3/4 in. high

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

A small Chelsea circular lobed dish, circa 1753-54. Estimate 600 — 800 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

painted in Japanese Imari style in the centre with prunus blossom inside a lobed iron-red frame, the border painted with flowers and ears of wheat, red anchor mark, 17.8cm., 7in. diam.

Sotheby's, Collections, Londres, 27 oct. 2015, 10:30 AM

Carlo Crivelli, Saint George Slaying the Dragon, 1470. Tempera, gold and silver on panel. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

BOSTON, MASS.- The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston will be the sole venue for the first ever monographic exhibition dedicated to Carlo Crivelli in the United States. Titled, Ornament and Illusion: Carlo Crivelli of Venice, the exhibition opens Oct. 22 and runs through Jan. 25, 2016.

Carlo Crivelli, The Angel of the Annunciation 1482. On panel. Städelisches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main. Photo © U. Edelmann - Städel Museum - ARTOTHEK.

Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciate Virgin, 1482. On panel. Städelisches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main. Photo © U. Edelmann - Städel Museum - ARTOTHEK.

Carlo Crivelli (about 1435–about 1495) is one of the most important – and historically neglected – artists of the Italian Renaissance. Distinguished by radically expressive compositions, luxuriant ornamental display, and bravura illusionism, his works push the boundaries between painting and sculpture. Crivelli manipulated the surface of each one with rare mastery of his medium, crafting visionary encounters with the divine, forging the modern icon, and offering a powerful alternative to new models of painting associated with Florence. 

Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciation with Saint Emidius 1486. On canvas, transferred from panel. The National Gallery, London. Presented by Lord Taunton. Photo: © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY.

The exhibition brings together 23 paintings and the artist’s only known drawing. Newly cleaned and restored, the Gardner’s iconic Saint George Slaying the Dragon is the focal point for a two-part installation. The first reunites four of six surviving panels from Crivelli’s Porto San Giorgio altarpiece, of which the Gardner painting is a fragment. The second part introduces visitors to the artist’s repertoire of dazzling pictorial effects with some of his most important works in Europe and the United States. 

Carlo Crivelli, The Crucifixion, c. 1487. On panel. The Art Institute of Chicago, Wirt D. Walker Fund. The Art Institute of Chicago © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Included in Ornament and Illusion are unprecedented loans from The National Gallery, London; the Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt; the Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Together, the works assembled in Boston reveal the artist’s astonishing skill, encompassing artistic vision, and relentless ambition, restoring Crivelli to his rightful place in the pantheon of Renaissance painters. 

Carlo Crivelli, The Dead Christ between the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist,  c. 1475. On canvas, transferred from panel, with overpainting by by Luigi Cavenaghi (1844–1918). Harvard Art Museum/Fogg Museum, Gift of Arthur Sachs. Imaging Department © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Crivelli was esteemed in his own time as a painter of rank and status. Born in Venice, he trained locally and joined a workshop in the mainland city of Padua, learning from the same master as the celebrated artist Andrea Mantegna (1430/1–1506). Exiled for adultery shortly after returning to Venice in 1457, Crivelli then embarked on a peripatetic career. Early successes on both sides of the Adriatic led to prestigious commissions in the Marches, a mountainous region of northeast Italy defined by its religious and ethnic diversity and ruled by competing feudal lords. He signed the immense high altarpieces for the cathedrals of Ascoli Piceno, in 1473, and Camerino, around 1490. Recognized for his remarkable artistic accomplishments with the aristocratic title of “knight,” Crivelli died around 1494. 

Carlo Crivelli, The Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels, c. 1472. On panel. Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

The exhibition is organized by guest co-curator Stephen J. Campbell (Henry and Elizabeth Wiesenfeld Professor, Johns Hopkins University), guest co-curator Oliver Tostmann (Susan Morse Hills Curator of European Art, Wadsworth Athenaeum), and Nathaniel Silver (Assistant Curator of the Collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum).

Carlo Crivelli, The Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saints John and Mary Magdalene, 1485. On panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Anonymous Gift and Julia Bradford Huntington James Fund. Photograph © 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Carlo Crivelli, The Lamentation, 1470. On panel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society purchase, General Membership Fund. Photo: Bridgeman Images.

Carlo Crivelli, The Last Supper, 1482. On panel. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Gift of Catherine J. Tudor-Hart Estate. Photo: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Christine Guest.

Carlo Crivelli, The Nativity (Adoration of the Shepherds), c. 1491. On panel. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg. Photo: Musées de Strasbourg.

Carlo Crivelli, Saint Anthony of Padua, c. 1485–90. On panel. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Carlo Crivelli, Saint George, 1472. On panel. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY

Carlo Crivelli, Saint James Major, 1472. On panel. Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Helen Babbot Sanders ©2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Carlo Crivelli, Saint Nicholas of Bari, 1472. On panel. Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund. Photo: © The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Carlo Crivelli, Saint Peter, c. 1470. Brown ink, brown wash, and white gouache on paper, laid down. Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Charles A. Loeser. Imaging Department © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Carlo Crivelli, Saint Peter, c. 1470. On panel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of E.M. Sperling. Photo: Bridgeman Images.

Carlo Crivelli, Saint Peter, c. 1470. On panel. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Gift of Hannah D. and Louis M. Rabinowitz ©2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  

Carlo Crivelli, Saints Anthony Abbot and Lucy, 1470. On panel. (Not in exhibition). Krakow National Museum, Krakow, Collections of the Princes Czartoryski Foundation © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Carlo Crivelli, Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Jerome (?), 1470. On panel. Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation © 2015 Philbrook Museum of Art, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Carlo Crivelli, Saints Paul and Peter, 1470. On panel. (Not in exhibition). The National Gallery, London. Photo: © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY.

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child, c. 1468–70. On panel. San Diego Museum of Art, Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child, c. 1480. On panel. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Jules Bache Collection. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child, 1485–90. On panel. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection. Photo: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with a Donor, 1470. On panel. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection. Photo: Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child with Infants Bearing Symbols of the Passion, c. 1460. On panel. Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona. Archivio fotografico. Photo: Matteo Vajenti, Venice.

Carlo Crivelli, The Virgin and Child with Saint Francis, Saint Bernardino of Siena and the Donor Fra Bernardino Ferretti, c. 1490. On panel. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore © 2015 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

This car was used in the famous film Le Mans, released in 1971 and which remains without doubt one of the most important racing car movies of all time. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2015.

ARIS.- Christie’s will offer the Steve McQueen Porsche in The Exceptional Sale. This sale concept is the first one organised in Paris after its launch in London in 2008. After the success of five Exceptional sales in London, totaling more than £100 million and after the launch of the Exceptional sale in New York totaling $40 million, Christie’s France is delighted to present its first edition in Paris this November. International collectors will be able to acquire rare and unique objects from different specialties such as furniture, antiquities, modern art or even cars, like the 911T Porsche which will highlight the sale on November 4th (estimate: €250.000-350.000). 

This car was used in the famous film Le Mans, released in 1971 and which remains without doubt one of the most important racing car movies of all time. It was shot at the track of the famous 24-hour-race between June and November of 1970 and was credited for its realistic rendition of contemporary racing as well as the outstanding acting performance of the main character. To this day many fixtures and details are acknowledged groundbreaking in style. 

Steve McQueen © François Gaillard

Steve McQueen and "Le Mans" 
Steve McQueen is the American race driver Michael Delaney, who competes for Porsche in the eponymous race. At the beginning of the movie he is seen exploring the city of Le Mans in his Porsche 911 when he sees the widow of his former Ferrari competitor, who had a fatal crash on that very circuit the previous year, buying flowers at a road side flower market. He also goes to pay his respects at the scene of the crash in which he himself was injured. Without any dialogue, this opening sequence sets the tone of the story: competition, speed and risk, love and danger, Porsche and Elga Andersen. 

 Steve McQueen  © François Gaillard

 Steve McQueen  © Keystone France/Getty Images

Steve McQueen. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2015.

Elga Andersen, the female Co-Star 
The female lead is played by the German actress Elga Andersen, who was living in Paris at the time – in the former studio of Henri Matisse. She was invited by CBS Solar to Le Mans after all other proposed actresses such as Diana Rigg, Maud Adams and Twiggy had been rejected. Andersen had already made a name for herself, especially with her breakthrough role in "L'ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (“Elevator to the Gallows”), in which she played side by side with Jeanne Moreau. After an affair with McQueen in Le Mans (well documented by contemporary tabloids), she later went on to marry the owner of the department store Saks 5th Avenue, Peter Gimpel. 

Elga Andersen and Steve McQueen. © Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection

Jo Siffert, a Swiss race car legend 
Josef "Jo" Siffert was one of the most successful drivers of the 1960’s and at the time of shooting, he was an international star: Apart from countless Formula 1 races, driving his Porsche 907 he had also won the long distance race in Le Mans (1966 and 1967 in the Index scores), Daytona and Sebring (1968). In actual fact Siffert drove the race car of the main character as McQueen was prohibited to do so due to insurance reasons. He was not only an exceptional racing driver, but also a smart business man. Siffert sold Porsche sports cars alongside his race driving carrier and his garage in Fribourg (Switzerland) turned into an important technical outfitter for the film project. Siffert, not only provided the Porsche 908 and 917, which can be seen on the race track, but also a fleet of street sports cars (which included four Porsche 911 and one Porsche 914), which were used by the crew at the shoot. The weekly rental of these demonstration cars was lucrative business of over 100.000 US Dollar for Siffert, especially as the shooting was postponed during the summer months to finally be concluded in late autumn. McQueen’s Porsche 911S is the only street car that appears in the movie; after wrapping up the movie and dissolving the production camp “Solar Village” in December 1970 the star was able to keep the car and transfer it to the US. 

Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2015.

The Co-Star also receives a Porsche 
After the resumption of work after the summer break the production company also promised Elga Andersen a Porsche from Jo Siffert – the final invoice dates this promise from CBS Solar to 6.10.1970. This means Ms Andersen was given a current 911T, which had been produced after the Stuttgart summer break with the specifications of the 1971 model year. This car was later registered in Switzerland under her name and Elga Andersen had to merely pay the luxurious extras, such as the still installed original cassette player. The invoice of Siffert’s garage dated 16.1.1971 not only lists the payment details from CBS Solar (discussed and arranged during production) and the settlement of the contract of sale, but also the extra wishes of the new owner.

Porsche 911T Coupé. Conçu en 1970, modèle de 1971. Châssis No. 911/1100804. Moteur No. 37516478. Estimation: €250,000 – €350,000 ($284,502 - $398,303). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2015.

Moteur : six cylindres, 2,195 cc., 125 cv.; Boîte de vitesse : 4 rapports; Suspension : train avant avec suspension triangulée, amortisseurs et entretoise Macpherson, roues arrière indépendantes; Freins à discs ventilés; Conduite à gauche; brun sepia et intérieur cuir tan

Au début des années 50, les designers Porsche commencent à travailler sur un nouveau modèle destinéà remplacer la 356. La mission, assortie de contraintes, est confiée à Ferdinand Porsche, le fils de Ferry. La nouvelle Porsche doit incarner une ligne moderne tout en s'inscrivant dans la continuité de la gamme traditionnelle. (Dean Bachelor dansIllustrated Porsche Buyer's Guide). L'équipe, constituée de Ferdinand Porsche, Erwin Komenda et Ferdinand Piech, ingénieur motoriste, conçoit et perfectionne la nouvelle Porsche dans un temps record. Ils la révèlent à l'occasion de la Foire Automobile de Frankfort en 1963 et rencontrent un franc succès auprès du public. Le nouveau modèle porte le numéro 901 et présente un moteur plus puissant avec une maîtrise de conduite et une aisance de manoeuvre accrues. En 1965, Porsche change le numéro en 911 car le code de production 901 a déjàété déposé par Peugeot. Ce numéro deviendra celui de la voiture de course la plus performante et la plus pérenne de toute l'histoire de l'industrie automobile.
Le véhicule de 1971 que nous présentons ici, vendu en Suisse, conduite à droite, immatriculé pour la première fois le 5 janvier 1971, est un exemplaire légendaire qui n'a parcouru que 46.350 km. Son état de conservation est superbe, avec une peinture majoritairement d'origine. Elle possède les jantes Fuchs alliage léger (6J x 15), l'option toit ouvrant éléctrique, antenne électrique et radio-cassette d'origine. L'intérieur est en excellent état d'origine avec sièges en cuir et tapis d'origine.

Notes: Le flm ‘Le Mans’, produit en juin-novembre 1970 et sorti en 1971, est demeuré un flm culte pour tous les amateurs de course automobile. Avec Steve McQueen dans le rôle du coureur américain Michael Delaney, ce flm, entièrement tourné sur site pendant les 24 heures du Mans de 1970, a marqué les esprits par sa représentation très réaliste des courses de l’époque, la performance d’acteur de Steve McQueen et les superbes Porsche projetées sur grand écran.

Point d’orgue du flm, Porsche est à la fois l’écurie pour laquelle concours Delaney (McQueen), les voitures de course qu’il conduit au Mans et surtout – de façon plus poignante – la voiture à bord de laquelle il se rend sur les traces de l’accident de course fatal de son ancien rival, coureur Ferrari, arrivé un an auparavant. Cette scène, qui constitue la séquence d’ouverture
du flm, dépeint son personnage errant dans la ville du Mans au volant de sa Porsche 911, au petit matin, cheminant à travers des sites mémorables tels que celui de la Cathédrale St Julien. Il aperçoit la veuve de son ancien concurrent décédé (incarnée par Elga Andersen) qui achète un bouquet chez un feuriste. Puis il arrive sur le lieu du crash, dans lequel il a lui aussi été
blessé. Cette scène remarquable, sans aucun dialogue, a érigé la Porsche 911 au rang des classiques parmi les voitures du grand écran.

La 911 T coupé que nous présentons ici fait partie d’un groupe de Porsche 911 qui a servi au tournage du flm. Achetée par CBS Solar Film Studios directement auprès des garages du légendaire coureur Suisse Jo ‘Seppi’ Siffert, qui a fourni des Porsche de course et de ville pour la production et qui était le vrai conducteur dans le flm, cette voiture fût originellement offerte à l’actrice allemande Elga Andersen. Diana Rigg et Maud Adams avaient toutes deux étéégalement envisagées pour le rôle de la partenaire de Steve
McQueen et la production avait débuté sans que le rôle féminin principal ne soit encore distribué. Mais lorsque l’allemande superbe, avec ses cheveux blonds et ses yeux bleus, fût envoyée sur le tournage, elle fût immédiatement
adoubée par Steve McQueen; Elga Andersen a joué dans une douzaine de flms français au cours des années 50 et 60 mais son personnage dans le Mans sera la rôle principal de sa carrière.
Elle fût la propriétaire de la voiture jusqu’à sa mort en 1994. Elle transmit la voiture à sa meilleure amie, une dame Suisse, qui la céda au propriétaire actuel. La voiture a été entretenue par le même garage Suisse depuis le début des années 80.

 Porsche 911T Coupé. Chassis No. 911/1100804. No matricule: 375 16 478. Estimate: €250,000 – €350,000 ($284,502 - $398,303). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2015.

Engine: six cylinder, 2,195cc, 125bhp; Gearbox: 4 speed; Suspension: triangulated front wishbone with Macpherson shocks and struts, independent rear; Brakes: ventilated disc all around. Left hand drive. Sepia brown with tan leather interior

In the early 1950s Porsche designers began working on a new model aimed at replacing the 356. The task, along with a set of guidelines, was given to Ferry Porsche's son Ferdinand. The new Porsche would have to be an evolutionary design and continue in the established Porsche tradition (Dean Bachelor from Illustrated Porsche Buyer's Guide). Under a three man team comprised of Ferdinand Porsche, Erwin Komenda and engine designer Ferdinand Piech, the new Porsche was designed and perfected in a remarkably short period of time. Its unveiling took place at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963 and was met with great satisfaction and enthusiasm from the public. The new model carried the number 901 and featured a more powerful engine with greater control and handling. In 1965 Porsche transformed the 901, as this production code was a copyright of Peugeot, into the 911. The result was the creation of one of the longest running and most successful sports car models in automobile industry.

This right hand drive Swiss-supplied example was first registered on 5th of January 1971, it is a cherished example that has covered just 46.350 Km from new. Condition throughout is superb, with mainly original paintwork. On correct Fuchs “Five Leaf” alloys (6J x 15), the car is fitted with the optional electric sunroof, electric antenna and original radio-cassette. The interior is in excellent original condition with tan leather seats and original carpets.

A fine blue and white 'Eight Immortals' bowl, Qianlong seal mark and period. Estimate 10,000 — 15,00000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to an everted rim, painted around the exterior with the Eight Immortals, each holding their respective attribute and standing amidst scrolling clouds and mist, the interior with a medallion enclosing the Three Star Gods conversing beneath a pine tree, the base inscribed with the seal mark in underglaze blue - 15cm., 5 7/8 in

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st November 1999, lot 428.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A blue and white 'dragon' bowl, Zhiyuan Tang zhi mark, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

well-potted with deep rounded sides rising from a straight foot to a flared rim, the exterior brightly painted in rich cobalt-blue tones with two five-clawed scaly dragons striding amongst scrolling clouds, their mouths opened revealing sharp fangs, all above tumultuous waves crashing on stylised rocky mountains, the rim and the foot encircled by double-line borders, inscribed to the base with a hallmark reading Zhiyuan Tang zhi (Hall of Extended Remoteness) within a double-square - 17cm., 6¾in.

Provenance: Collection of Tore Borströms.

Exhibition: Helsinki, Finland, 1956.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM

A rare copper-red 'Dragon and Phoenix' vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

the compressed spherical body rising from a straight foot to a tall cylindrical neck, finely painted with a lively writhing dragon and flying phoenix, their eyes picked out in underglaze blue, amidst a continuous meandering peony scroll - 33cm., 13in. 

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 27th/28th April 1993, lot 114 

Notes: The vase is modelled in an elegant form inspired by bronze prototypes of the Han dynasty (206 BC- AD 220), and superbly painted with the ultimate auspicious symbol of power, the five-clawed dragon, and his consort, the phoenix, denoting Emperor and Empress. The underglaze copper-red required extremely precise control of the firing process to achieve the brilliant attractive colour. Made during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736-1795), one of the greatest patrons of the arts, the vase is of excellent Imperial quality and extremely rare, and is a remarkable example of the outstanding aesthetic and technological accomplishments of Chinese potters. While imperial porcelains are often inscribed with marks of the reigning emperors, court records demonstrate that there are cases where Qing emperors decreed reign marks not to be used on their porcelains, for example see Feng Xianming, Annotated Collection of Historical Documents on Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Taipei, 2000, p. 241.

The vase is also remarkable in that the pupils of the dragon and phoenix are clearly picked out in contrasting underglaze blue instead of red, which is rare on porcelains of this type. This remarkably highlights the soaring spirits of the mythical creatures, and evokes a household legend in China related to the famous painter Zhang Sengyou (active c. 490-540). According to this story, Zhang Sengyou painted four dragons on the walls of a temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu, without marking their pupils.  By adding the essential finishing touch of their pupils, he got two of them immediately to fly to heaven, while the other two without pupils remained on the wall.

Dragon and phoenix are among the earliest symbolic motifs from antiquity which continue to have resonance until today. These motifs of rank, importance and auspiciousness were formalised in the Yuan period (1279-1368) when three-clawed (princely), and five-clawed (Imperial) dragons were used to decorate jade and porcelain, before the male and female Imperial beasts were conjoined in symbolic Imperial union in the early Ming (1368-1644). At the Qing court (1644-1911), the combination of dragon and phoenix was particularly popular in the Kangxi period (1662-1722) famille-verte ware, including Kangxi-marked dishes and bowls in the collection of the Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei, which depict striding five-clawed dragons and fanciful phoenix amidst flowers.

While dragon and phoenix were highly favoured motifs and were frequently used on porcelains with various glazes and decorations, it is very rare to see them depicted in underglaze copper-red like on the present vase. This is not surprising, because successful firing of underglaze copper red requires extremely precise control of the firing temperature and the atmosphere (i.e., reducing or oxidising) inside the kiln. According to a court record of 1738 about a porcelain meiping('prunus vase') with dragon design in underglaze red, the Qianlong Emperor deemed the colouring of the copper red not good enough and demanded a better red colour, see Feng Xianming, ibid, p. 232. The excellent red colour of the present piece is a credit to the kiln master responsible for its successful firing.

No other example of identical form and decoration as the present vase appears to be recorded, although its shape and design are closely related to many imperial porcelains of the Qing court. For an underglaze-red vase of Qianlong mark and period decorated with a similar dragon, but red-eyed, amongst clouds and bats, and of related shape but with more flattened body and flaring mouth rim, see the catalogue to the exhibition La Splendeur Du Feu: Chefs-D'oeuvre de la Porcelaine Chinoise de Jingdezhen du XII au XVIII Siecle, Centre Culturel de Chine a Paris, Paris, 2004, cat. no. 31. The dragon of the present vase is also very similar to two red-eyed dragons amongst clouds on an underglaze-red yuhuchun ('spring in jade bottle') vase of Qianlong mark and period, sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd May 1994, lot 194, and 30th October 2002, lot 292, illustrated in Sotheby's Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 295, and sold again at Christies Hong Kong, 27th May 2009, lot 1831. Compare also two 18th-century underglaze red meiping with double phoenix and peony motif, one sold in these rooms, 10th November 2010, lot 84, and the other sold at Christies Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3925.

The form of the vase was inspired by bronze prototypes, for example see a Han dynasty engraved bronze vase, hu, of similar shape in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated for comparison with a Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)guan ware octagonal vase of related form sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2015, lot 1. The bronze shape started to appear on ceramics during the Song (960-1279) and continued, with modifications, into the Qing dynasty when it became very popular on Qing imperial porcelain. For two Qianlong-marked vases of similar form but shorter height, one with Ru-type crackle glaze and the other with guan-type glaze, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Monochromes in the Zande Lou Collection, Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2005, cat. nos. 28 and 33. Also compare a Southern Song guan ware vase of related form, but with a thicker neck and more flattened body, sold in these rooms 13th May 2015, lot 32.

For an example of early Ming porcelain with the dragon-and-phoenix motif, see a blue-and-white brush washer of Xuande mark and period (1426-1435) in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, of ten-lobed mallow shape with a dragon and a phoenix on the inside and ten dragon-and-phoenix medallions on the outside, included in the Museum's Mingdai Xuande guanyao jinghua tezhan tulu/Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, no. 182. For examples of the dragon-and-phoenix motif in overglaze enamels, see a dish and a bowl of Kangxi mark and period, both in famille verte, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pls. 133 and 135.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 11 nov. 2015, 11:00 AM