Lot 1360. A Guan-type faceted hu-form vase, 18th century. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The two bow-string bands that encircle the neck are interrupted by the pair of lug handles, and there is a slit in each end of the foot. The vase is covered overall with a pale blue-green-tinted grey glaze suffused with clear crackle, and the bottom of the foot with a dark brown dressing. 13 ¾ in. (35 cm.) high.

Provenance: Acquired in the 1960s

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 16 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza

Mary Katrantzou (British, born Athens, 1983). Dress, spring-summer 2014, Prêt–à–Porter. Machine–sewn blue and purple digitally printed polyester satin twill, bonded to neoprene; hand–embroidered with purple Swarovski crystals and pearls, silver acrylic leaves, purple silk velvet ribbon, iridescent plastic sequins, and clear plastic tubing. Photo © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Mary Katrantzou (British, born Athens, 1983). Dress, spring-summer 2014, Prêt–à–Porter. Machine–sewn blue and purple digitally printed polyester satin twill, bonded to neoprene; hand–embroidered with purple Swarovski crystals and pearls, silver acrylic leaves, purple silk velvet ribbon, iridescent plastic sequins, and clear plastic tubing. Photo © Nicholas Alan Cope. 

#ManusxMachina #CostumeInstitute

With unwavering dedication to the transformation of a rare diamond from its rough state into a polished masterpiece, Graff has cut and polished two identical stones of beautiful proportions and quality – The Graff Eternal Twins, an exceptional pair of 50.23 carat D Flawless emerald cut diamonds set as earrings, incorporating a total of 132.53 carats of the finest diamonds.

Hans Memling (Flemish, ca. 1440–1494), The Triptych of Jan Crabbe, ca. 1467-70. Oil on panel. Center panel: Image courtesy of Pinacoteca Civica di Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza. Left and right panels: © The Morgan Library & Museum, Photography by Graham S. Haber. 

NEW YORK, NY.- Completed around 1470 in Bruges, Hans Memling’s extraordinary Triptych of Jan Crabbe was dismantled centuries ago and the parts were scattered. The inner wings from the altarpiece are among the finest paintings owned by the Morgan Library & Museum, where they have long been on permanent view in museum founder Pierpont Morgan’s study. Hans Memling: Portraiture, Piety, and a Reunited Altarpiece, opening on September 2, reunites the Morgan panels with the other elements of the famous triptych: the central panel from the Musei Civici in Vicenza, Italy, and the outer wings from the Groeningemuseum in Bruges, Belgium. 

This exhibition—on view through January 8, 2017—is the first to explore the reconstructed masterpiece in context. The altarpiece will be surrounded by other paintings by Memling and his contemporaries, by a choice selection of illuminated manuscripts from Bruges, and by a group of Early Netherlandish drawings. Aside from the triptych fragments from Italy and Belgium, loans from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection, and a private collection will complement a range of works from the Morgan’s own holdings. 

“It is always meaningful—and moving—to see a great work of art made whole again,” said Colin B. Bailey, director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “The Crabbe triptych is a masterpiece of the first order and shows a relatively young Memling demonstrating many of the characteristic elements of his work—crystalline realism, spatial sophistication, and the ability to capture the humanity and individuality of his subjects. We are delighted to offer visitors the opportunity to see this work in its full glory for the first time in the U.S. and to explore the artistic milieu in which it was created.” 

EXHIBITION 
I. Triptych of Jan Crabbe 
Morgan acquired the triptych’s inner wings in 1907. They were part of an altarpiece commissioned by Jan Crabbe, Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Ten Duinen, near Bruges, Belgium. On the central panel, Memling depicted the crucifixion of Christ, with the Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Mary Magdalene to the left of the cross. Kneeling to the right of the cross is Jan Crabbe, accompanied by his name-saint St. John the Baptist and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the Cistercian order. The two inner wings depict members of the patron’s family: his mother Anna Willemzoon with St. Anne on the left, and his much younger half-brother Willem de Winter with St. William on the right. The outer wings, originally visible only when the panels are closed, feature an Annunciation scene with the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. It is not known precisely when or why the work was dismantled, though it was not unusual for composite pieces such as triptychs to suffer this fate. 

The Triptych of Jan Crabbe is a fine demonstration of Memling’s extraordinary ability to capture the essence of the human face. In particular, the left panel portrait of Anna Willemzoon is one of the most frank and extraordinary depictions of old age from the Renaissance. 

Indeed, in later years, Memling’s portraiture would come to revolutionize the genre across Europe. Similarly transformative, the Annunciation scene features Gabriel and the Virgin Mary clad in white drapery and set on pedestals in niches like sculptures, but with rosy flesh tones in their heads and hands, making them one of the earliest examples of the technique of demigrisaille in Flemish painting. 

II. Triptych of Jan Crabbe in Context 
Paintings by Memling and his Contemporaries Several independent portrait paintings from Memling’s early and late career offer further evidence of Memling’s extraordinary talent as a portraitist. Although Memling’s painterly style developed as he grew older, his ability to capture the essence of his sitters’ personalities never changed. 

Memling did not work in isolation, and a painting representing the Virgin and Child with St. Anne by a contemporary artist known as the Master of the Saint Ursula Legend provides an ideal counterpart to the triptych with its broad landscape and similar iconography. It shows how Memling’s production fits alongside that of other painters in Bruges, while also highlighting how his technical abilities surpassed most others. 

Manuscript Illumination in Bruges 
In the fifteenth century, Bruges was an important center for manuscript illumination. Memling’s development of the demigrisaille technique has generally been traced to his time spent in Cologne, but in fact, varieties of grisaille and demi-grisaille were regularly used in Bruges manuscript illumination in the decades prior to the painting of the Crabbe triptych, as will be shown with a selection of Books of Hours from the Morgan’s rich holdings. Conversely, the radical naturalism of Memling’s painting seems to have served as an inspiration to the manuscript painters. Superb manuscripts from the Morgan’s collection will show that reflections of Memling’s painting technique began to appear in manuscript painting towards the end of the fifteenth century. 

Drawings by Memling’s Contemporaries and Followers 
No original drawings by Memling survive, and those by his contemporaries are extremely rare, but it is clear that drawing played a fundamental part of his artistic practice. Several exquisite drawings by Memling’s contemporaries and followers from the Morgan and the Metropolitan Museum of Art will give an impression of the array of drawing types Memling must have executed in his lifetime. 

III. Beneath the Surface: Technical Study of the Crabbe Triptych 
Technical study of the Jan Crabbe panels has revealed fascinating aspects of the altarpiece’s evolution. With infrared imaging (IRR), Memling’s graphic style can be seen in the lively underdrawings that lie beneath the layers of paint. Differences between the underdrawing and painting show that Memling made changes to the initial composition. X-radiographs show that he also made changes during the actual painting process.

NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s autumnal offerings of Asian Art collate in Asia Week, 9-17 September 2016. The auctions will kick off in New York on Tuesday, 13 September 2016 with Chinese Art Through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō: Early Chinese Art followed by four sessions of Important Chinese Art. On Wednesday, 14 September 2016 at 6:30pm, the Chinese Classical Paintings department will host its first evening sale – 122 lots from The Roy and Marilyn Papp Collection of Chinese Paintings. Chinese Paintings will continue their sales through Thursday, 15 September 2016. The Asia Week series will conclude on 17 September 2016 with Saturday at Sotheby’s: Asian Art, taking place at 10am and 2pm. 

Chinese Art Through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō: Early Chinese Art celebrates the beauty of works created in the Shang to Tang Dynasties. Particularly well represented are archaic bronzes and pottery: the Rare Bronze Double-Owl-Form Ritual Vessel is formed by conjoining two owls back to back, creating a ‘you’ vessel (estimate $400/600,000). Like the one in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., this complex work from the Shang Dynasty, 1300-1046 BC, combines form and function. The collection of pottery is led by a Magnificent Sancai-Glazed Ewer, which encapsulates the international spirit and opulent atmosphere at the Chinese court in the first half of the Tang Dynasty (estimate $500/700,000). 

Lot 13. A rare bronze double-owl-form ritual vessel (you), Shang Dynasty. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

(Cf. my post of 12 august 2016 http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2016/08/11/34181456.html)

Lot 6. A magnificent sancai-glazed ewer, Tang dynasty. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's 

(Cf. my post of 11 august 2016 http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2016/08/11/34181160.html)

Immediately following Chinese Art Through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō: Early Chinese Art will be four sessions of Important Chinese Art, over two days, 13-14 September. The highlight of the sale is a Qianlong Seal Mark and Period Rare Turquoise-Ground Famille-Rose 'Hui Mountain Retreat' Teapot and Cover (estimate $300/500,000). Celebrating the Qianlong Emperor’s adoration of tea, the beautiful porcelain teapot features a figure, possibly the Qianlong Emperor himself, being served tea by an acolyte while admiring an open handscroll. This delicate outdoor scene is accompanied by an imperial poem, entitled Jihiuquan peng zhulu ge (Brewing Tea by Hui Spring), included in the Siku quanshu [The Complete Library in Four Sections], Yuzhishi erji [Imperial Poems, vol. 2], juan 24, p. 4, written by the Emperor himself following a visit to the Hui Spring, a stop along his Southern Inspection Tour. 

Lot 261. A Rare Turquoise-Ground Famille-Rose 'Hui Mountain Retreat' Teapot and Cover, Qianlong Seal Mark and Period (1736-1795). Estimate 300,000— 500,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

the finely potted globular body on one side with a short angled upright spout, opposed by an elegant ear-shaped loop handle, brightly painted to the exterior with a gilt-bordered rectangular panel enclosing a garden scene of a scholar seated at a low stone table admiring a scroll, an aged pine and rocky outcrop concealing part of a pavilion in the background, with an attendant serving tea while another brews it on a stove set amid rocks in the foreground, a bridge leading over a canal to a walled garden on one side, the reverse with a similarly shaped panel framing an imperial poem by the Qianlong emperor, Jihuiquan peng zhulu ge (Brewing Tea by Hui Spring), followed by two seals reading Qian and Long, all against a pale turquoise ground with a dense penciled pattern of curled feathery leaves, with swooping and ascending bats grasping beribboned wansymbols amid leafy foliate scrolls, the stepped cover similarly decorated around a slightly raised yellow-ground floral disc supporting a spherical knop painted with finely shaded lotus flower on a gilded ground, the interior and base enameled in turquoise, six-character seal mark in underglaze blue reserved in a square (2) - Length 6 7/8  in., 17.5 cm

Provenance: Collection of Mrs. Murrell R. Werth (1923-2014)

BREWING TEA BY THE HUI SPRING: A FAMILLE-ROSE TEAPOT FOR THE QIANLONG EMPEROR

The Qianlong emperor was a fervent tea lover and is said to have composed more than two hundred poems on the subject of tea. He expressed his appreciation of tea culture in his writings and many of his poems make reference to the plucking, processing and preparing of tea. The Chonghua Dian (Hall of Double Glory) within the Forbidden City was the palace hall where the Emperor’s annual tea parties were held in the first lunar month, and where he invited his Grand Secretaries, ministers and members of the Imperial Academy to accompany him in drinking tea, writing poetry and pursuing other leisurely interests.

The idyllic outdoor scene on this vessel depicts a scholar seated in his garden at a stone table before an open handscroll, an attendant serving him tea brewed by a second assistant some distance away.  Inscribed on the reverse is an imperial poem, entitled Jihuiquan peng zhulu ge (Brewing Tea by Hui Spring), which is included in the Siku quanshu [The Complete Library in Four Sections], Yuzhishi erji [Imperial Poems, vol. 2], juan 24, p. 4 (fig. 1).

fig. 1. Imperial poem, Jihuiquan peng zhulu ge (Brewing Tea by Hui Spring) Siku quanshu [The Complete Library in Four Sections], Yuzhishi erji [Imperial Poems, vol. 2], juan 24, p. 4

The painting and the poem celebrate the Qianlong emperor’s fondness for the Hui Spring in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and the legendary bamboo brazier which was used to prepare tea using water from the spring, both of which had been treasured by scholars for hundreds of years. The pure natural spring water from the Hui Mountain, appreciated by scholars since the Tang dynasty (618-907), was recorded in Chajing [The Classic of Tea] by Lu Yu (733-804), the highly respected ‘Sage of Tea’, who ranked it second among all natural springs. During the Ming dynasty, a well-known monk named Pu Zhen, zi Xinghai from the Hui Mountain Temple, commissioned artisans from Huzhou, Zhejiang province, to make a bamboo brazier, and served his guests tea made with water from the Hui Spring boiled using this unique brazier. Over many years it became a tradition for scholars to gather on the Hui Mountain to liberate their literati spirit through drinking tea, writing poems, or painting landscapes. The paintings and writings left by these scholars were later compiled into several scrolls and were given the name Zhulu tuyong [Compendium of the ‘Bamboo Brazier’]. These scrolls, together with the bamboo brazier, were regarded as the two treasures of the Hui Mountain Temple. During the Qing dynasty, the Qianlong emperor learned about the Hui Spring and the treasures of the Hui Mountain and visited during his Southern Inspection Tours. He was served tea prepared on the bamboo brazier whilst admiring the handscrolls, and later composed the poem inscribed on this teapot to commemorate his visit. Upon returning from the south, the emperor ordered a replica of the Hui Mountain retreat to be built in Yuquan Mountain near the Forbidden City and instructed his workshops to produce a copy of the original Ming dynasty bamboo brazier with an imperial poem (dated 1751) inscribed to the base. This now resides in the Palace Museum, Beijing.

The original Compendium of the Bamboo Brazier was destroyed by fire in 1779. The following year the Qianlong emperor commanded court painters to repaint the scrolls under his supervision. Upon completion, the emperor gave the newCompendium of the Bamboo Brazier back to the Hui Mountain Temple and ordered that it be stored in a special room. In addition he had the paintings and poems transferred onto a series of steles, also to be kept in the temple. In 1860 the Hui Mountain Temple was destroyed by fire, resulting in the loss of all the scrolls. Fortunately some of the stele survived, including one engraved with a painting by the Qianlong emperor, Zhulu zhucha tu [Brewing Tea in a Retreat]. The remaining stele are now preserved inside the Hui Park in Wuxi City. Given the Qianlong emperor’s attachment to the Hui Mountain retreat, it seems likely that the scholar depicted in the painting on the present teapot is intended to represent the emperor himself.  

A teapot closely related to the present example was sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th October 1992, lot 156, and again, 2nd May 2000, lot 646, now in the Alan Chuang collection, illustrated in Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 113 (fig. 2). 

fig. 2. A turquoise-ground famille-rose teapot and cover, Qianlong mark and period Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 27th October 1992, lot 156, and 2nd May 2000, lot 646.

A third teapot of this type, but with the outdoor pavilion scene and inscription panels surrounded by feathery iron-red scrolls and scattered flower heads, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum.Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 108 (fig. 3). A distinguishing element of these three teapots is the knop, which is decorated on all three examples with a lotus in iron-red and gilding. 

fig. 3. A famille-rose teapot and cover, Qianlong mark and period © Palace Museum, Beijing

Another Qianlong imperial teapot of this form, painted with figures drinking tea in a garden pavilion on one side and an imperial poem on the other, the two panels against a flower scroll-decorated yellow ground that continues onto the knop of the cover, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 1974, lot 316, and subsequently in the K.S. Lo collection, is illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 86. Moss notes that the distinctive nature and quality of this teapot suggest that it was clearly made for the court and possibly for the emperor’s own use illustrating the shift of imperial patronage from the Palace workshops in Beijing to the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the reign of Qianlong. He further notes that it may have been inspired by the artistic genius of Tang Ying, Superintendent of the Imperial Kilns at Jingdezhen (see p. 85). Compare also a teapot of domed form with flared neck, similarly decorated with a tea preparation scene and inscription on the reverse against a yellow ground adorned with flower scrolls, from the collection of Hong and David Cho, sold in these rooms, 22nd March 2000, lot 135, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1212.

Murrell Rickards Bowden Werth (1923-2014) of Norfolk, Virginia was an avid art enthusiast and collector. After having worked during World War II for the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the Counterintelligence Department at the Pentagon, she moved to Neuilly, Paris in the 1950s, where she studied art, befriending the exiled Prince Michael Petrovic-Njegos of Montenegro (1908-1986). Werth returned to the United States, settling in New York City in 1958, where she studied painting with William Kasso, later moving to Venezuela, where she studied with the artist Pierre Desenne. During her lifetime, Merth was a benefactor of many cultural and charitable organizations, including The Chrysler Museum, Physicians for Peace, Church of the Good Shepherd and many more.

Another highlight is a Large Ruby-Ground Famille-Rose 'Eight Daoist Immortals' Vase, Qianlong Seal Mark and Period (Estimate $300/500,000). 

Lot 262. A Large Ruby-Ground Famille-Rose 'Eight Daoist Immortals' Vase, Qianlong Seal Mark and Period (1736-1795). Estimate $300,000-500,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

the tall ovoid lantern-shaped body superbly painted with a continuous scene depicting the 'Eight Daoist Immortals' and attendants gathered in a fantastical landscape setting to celebrate the birthday of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, who arrives seated astride a phoenix, each Immortal holding an identifying attribute, with the attendants bearing baskets of peaches and other tributes, all finely detailed in famille-roseenamels with gilt details, the scene framed within ruyi-head borders outlined in blue and yellow enamels and decorated with scrolling lotus and bats suspending ribboned wanzi, reserved on a rich ruby-red ground, all below a gilt rim, the interior and base enameled in turquoise, the six-character seal mark in iron-red reserved in a square - Height 14 1/4  in., 36.1 cm

Provenance: Collection of Léon Bartholin (1871-1918), Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, France, acquired in China circa 1900.

A PEACH FESTIVAL FOR THE EMPEROR

This vase is exceptional for its elaborate design painted in a brilliant palette depicting Immortals celebrating the birthday of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West. A sense of naturalism is successfully achieved through the carefully observed details, from the rendering of deer’s fur to the differing textures of the rocks and the numerous patterns adorning the clothing of the Immortals. The overall design was executed to perfectly complement the cylindrical shape of the vessel and be viewed like a painting on an unrolled handscroll.

The ‘Peach Festival’ is a popular Daoist theme associated with the birthday celebration of Xiwangmu, who has the sole authority to grant Peaches of Eternal Life and bestow the celebrant of the festival with great fortune. Xiwangmu is depicted seated gracefully on her phoenix, which carries her from her home in the Kunlun Mountains to observe the preparations for her Peach Banquet. She wears her characteristic phoenix headdress and is followed by a female assistant. In the landscape below, her entourage gather together large peaches of immortality for the Queen Mother’s inspection, while Immortals gather to greet her. The peaches, which are believed to bestow immortality on those who eat them, come from Xiwangmu’s orchard of 3600 trees. According to legend, each one of these trees was planted by the goddess herself. The fruit on the trees ripen once every 3000 years. While consuming a three thousand year peach will make you an immortal, eating a six thousand year peach, will give you everlasting life, and having a nine thousand year peach will give you a life span equal to that of heaven and earth. On the rare occasion of the peaches ripening, the Queen Mother invites all the immortals to a Peach Banquet, the Pantaohui, so that they can feast on peaches and assure their immortality.

Xiwangmu is the earliest recorded goddess in the Chinese pantheon. The first mention of her appears in Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions dating to the fifteenth century BC, that record sacrifices to Dongmu, Eastern Mother, and Ximu, Western Mother.  It is unclear if this Ximu is the same Queen Mother of the West, but certainly by the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) Xiwangmu had emerged as a goddess worshipped not only by the Han imperial family and the upper classes, but also by the common people.

In the mythological classic Shanhai Jing, 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', compiled between the Early Warring States period and the Early Han dynasty (475 BC- 9 AD) Xiwangmu is described as a ferocious half-human, half-animal, with the teeth of a tiger and the tail of a leopard, who sends pestilence down upon the world. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 AD) the religious Daoists with their belief in opposing and complimentary forces, adopted her as the counterpoint to Dongwanggong (The King Father of the East).  By this time she had shed her animal form, become the embodiment of femininity, the personification of the yin principle, and as a mother goddess, she was responsible for allocating the lifespans of humans.  As a result, she became associated with dispensing longevity, hence depictions of her are frequently found on birthday gifts.

A slightly smaller version of this vase, but set between turquoise ground bands, also with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 350, pl. 31 (fig. 1).  

fig. 1. A turquoise-ground famille-rose ‘Eight Immortals’ vase, Qianlong mark and period © Palace Museum, Beijing

Compare also an ovoid lantern-shaped vase depicting the Eight Immortals as they cross the rough seas after attending the peach festival of Xiwangmu, painted between pink-ground bands, also from the collection of Léon Bartholin (1871-1918), sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 3611 (fig. 2); and a pair of jars and covers, sold twice at Christie’s Hong Kong in 1992 and 1995, and again in these rooms, 17th March 2009, lot 124, from the collection of Gordon Getty.

fig. 2. A pink-ground famille-rose ‘Eight Immortals’ vase, Qianlong mark and period Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 6th April 2016, lot 3611

Important Chinese Art also includes The Richard Lehman Gray Collection of Dehua Porcelain: ‘Divine Figures and Elegant Vessels’, an assemblage of 40 Blanc de Chine figures and wares. Purchased from notable figures in the field including Patrick Donnelly, the foremost collector of Dehua, and dealers such as Ralph Chait, John Ayers, Warren Cox, Alan Hartman and Roger Keverne over the course of four decades, Richard Lehman Gray’s collection has been exhibited in prominent locales around the United States. The group is led by a ‘Dehua’ Figure of a Seated Guanyin from the Qing Dynasty. Featured in the China Institute exhibition, Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, this beautifully sculpted figure bears a Lin Xiaozong yin seal mark on its back (estimate $30/50,000). 

Lot 283. A ‘Dehua’ Figure of a Seated Guanyin, Qing Dynasty, late 17th century-early 18th century. Estimate $30,000-50,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

the deity with arms clasped around the raised right leg, wearing long robes open at the chest to reveal a simple necklace, the face with a meditative expression and the neatly combed hair falling in two knotted plaits around the shoulders, all raised on a furled lotus leaf with rolling waves beneath, the back impressed with a square Lin Xiaozong yin seal mark - Height 9 1/4  in., 23.5 cm

Exhibited: Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 29.

Note: Compare other figures bearing Lin Xiaozong's seal mark, illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 142A-C.

The final sale of Asia Week is the fourth edition of Saturday at Sotheby’s, with an exhibition curated by Jarret Yoshida, an interior designer trained at the Corcoran Gallery School, Parsons, FIT and École des Beaux Arts et Décoratifs. This season’s auction is made up of approximately 300 works of art and 100 paintings from China, Japan and Korea. From large works of art, including Four Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Panels from the Late Qing Dynasty (estimate $30/50,000) to smaller decorative objects such as a Pair of Large ‘Kakiemon’ Vases from late 17th century Japan (estimate $25/35,000), collectors are invited to explore works of all sizes, dynasties and countries in the Asian continent. For those interested in Chinese Paintings, the majority of the offerings in Saturday at Sotheby’s are classical in nature, including seventeen works from the collection of Sakamoto Gorō. 

Lot 957. Four Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Panels, Late Qing Dynasty. Estimate $30,000-50,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

each rectangular panel with a central section carved in high relief with a sweeping landscape, set between a shaped floral cartouche at the top and a rectangular panel enclosing a writhing dragon amidst clouds below, all against varying geometric diaper grounds and a floral border (4) - Height 65 3/4  in., 267 cm; Width 19 7/8  in., 50.5 cm

Lot 1194. A Pair of Large ‘Kakiemon’ Vases, Japan, late 17th century. Estimate $25,000-35,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

each of ovoid form decorated in overglazed blue, green, yellow, and iron red depicting a mountainous landscape (2) - Height 11 in., 27.9 cm

Provenance: Collection of Placido de Sangro, Duca di Martina (1829-1881), Naples, Italy.
Collection of Placido de Sangro, Conte dei Marsi, nephew of Placido de Sangro, Duca di Martina, Naples, Italy, inherited in 1891.
Collection of Duchess Laura Avati di S. Pietro, niece of Placido de Sangro, Naples, Italy, inherited circa 1911, and thence by decent.

Note: Enameled wares decorated in the simple, bold style of the present piece are documented as appearing in European collections during the 1660-80 period. Whist generally ascribed the description 'early Kakiemon' or 'Kakiemon-style' it has not been possible to firmly attribute this group to a specific kiln. For a further discussion of the style of enameling see Eva Ströber, 'La maladie de porcelaine'; East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of Augustus the Strong, Leipzig, 2001, p. 166, where the author illustrates a vase of similar form to the present example, decorated with flowers, with its original cover. For a vase painted with willow tree and rockwork see the example in the Toguri Museum of Art, illustrated in Old Imari Ware, Tokyo, 1991, p. 81, pl. 173

Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, 1503-1540), Madonna of Santa Margherita, c. 1529-1530. Oil on canvas, 204 × 149 cm. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna.

Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, 1503-1540), Madonna and Child with Saints, circa 1530. Oil on wood, 75.5 × 60cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze.

Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, 1503-1540), Madonna of The Rose, circa 1528-1530. Oil on panel, 75.5 × 60cm. Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, 1503-1540), Madonna With The Long Neck, circa 1534 - 1535. Oil on wood, 216 × 132 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze.

Van Cleef & Arpels tribute to Noah’s Ark. (Source Instagram)

Untitled - Seagram Mural sketch; Painting; Artist: Mark Rothko; 1959; Oil and acrylic on canvas; Gift of the Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.; National Gallery of Art; ELS2016.8.2.

Dish with copper-red glaze; China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen; Ming dynasty, Xuande (1426-35) mark and period; Porcelain with copper-red glaze; on the base, a six-character cobalt-oxide (blue) reign mark in a double circle under colorless glaze; Purchase-Freer Endowment and Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries F2015.2.

WASHINGTON, DC.- Brought together for the first time in an unexpected juxtaposition, an imperial Chinese porcelain dish and a Mark Rothko (1903-1970) painting reveal the profundity of the color red. The exhibition, "Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko," will be on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Sept. 3-Feb. 20, 2017. This unprecedented pairing of two objects created more than five centuries apart demonstrates that the power of color transcends time and place. 

The exhibition marks the debut of this Ming dynasty dish, a new acquisition for the museum. The dish, a rare Xuande period (1425-36) treasure, is the first copper-red-glazed porcelain to become a part of the permanent collection. Monochrome porcelains are among the greatest achievements in ceramics, and no color is more complex to create and more coveted than the luscious copper-red glaze of this period. The dish's velvety texture and variegated reds evoke crushed raspberries and parallel Rothko's tactile use of richly layered pigment on canvas. 

Working centuries after the Ming potters in a different mindset, Rothko developed his own complex way of handling red pigments. His "Untitled (Seagram Mural Sketch)" of 1959, on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is an oil-and-acrylic painting created when Rothko accepted a commission to decorate the dining room of the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan--a plan from which he ultimately withdrew. For the project, Rothko favored a palette of dark wine reds and browns, overlaying the pigments to create a surface that echoes the plush, luminous glaze of the Xuande dish. 

The color red is universally symbolic and is nowhere as celebrated as in China, but the exhibition intentionally separates the artworks from their historical context, instead celebrating the visual dialogue that this pairing puts into play. It is an opportunity to meditate on the abstract qualities of red and enjoy the uncanny resonance of these artworks. 

"Rothko believed that art could transform the public--he was hoping to engender big emotions in his viewer--tragedy, ecstasy and doom," said exhibition curator Jan Stuart, the museum's Melvin R. Seiden Curator of Chinese Art. "The Ming potters had a different mindset--they were making a ritual ware for the emperor, and yet they worked with the same visual concerns--how to achieve an alchemy of color, texture, shape and edge. Rothko painted the edge of this canvas, while the Ming potters left the rim of the dish white to contrast with the red. In the end, the dish and painting together leave you weeping with the beauty of red." 

"Red: Ming Dynasty/Mark Rothko," advocates the museum founder Charles Lang Freer's (1854-1919) love for "quiet contemplation and intelligent comparison." When seen together, the exhibition creates a one-time chance for a unique and contemplative experience. After the exhibition, the dish will enter the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art--upon its reopening in 2017--and be displayed among other imperial artworks of its time. Simultaneously, the Rothko will return to the National Gallery.

Lot 136. A ceremonial sword, Vietnam, 19th Century. Estimate €1,000-€1,500. Photo Czerny International Auction House Ltd.

Straight, double-edged, silver blade; silver hilt embossed with a dragon; massive grip, engraved with a symbol; metallic scabbard with fine, silver and red decorations depicting floral and geometrical motifs; silver mounts, embossed and decorated with dragons and floral motifs. Two suspension rings.

Czerny International Auction House Ltd. Autumn Sale of Fine Antique Arms & Militaria. 12:00 AM PT – Sep 17

Lot 137. A Vietnamese Sword, 19th century. Estimate €2,600 – €2,900. Photo Czerny International Auction House Ltd.

Simple, double-edged blade; silver hilt, embossed with dragon and floral motifs, silver grip with Vietnamese symbol; wooden scabbard, richly inlaid with mother-of-peal plaques, finely engraved with trophies and floral motifs, silver mounts embossed with dragons, turtle, birds and floral motifs. Dimensions: length 77 cm.

Czerny International Auction House Ltd. Autumn Sale of Fine Antique Arms & Militaria. 12:00 AM PT – Sep 17

Lot 229. An inlaid crucifix, Vietnam, late 19th Century. Estimate €400-€500. Photo Czerny International Auction House Ltd.

Ebony cross, finely decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays (small missing parts) at the front. Depicting a pattern of vines and Christian symbols such as spikes, crown of thorns, cartouche with the writing « INRI » (one missing part); decorated with mother-of-pearl flora motifs at the sides. Dimensions: height 58,5 cm.

Czerny International Auction House Ltd. Autumn Sale of Fine Antique Arms & Militaria. 12:00 AM PT – Sep 17

Lot 249. Two Dragon Temple Roof Sculptures, Vietnam, 19th century. Estimate €1,000 – $1,500. Photo Leland Little Auctions.

clay with green, blue, white and yellow glazes, very expressive facial features with bulging eyes and bared teeth, the arched body is decorated with layered scales finely glazed and a tail that rises at the end into the air, the two dragons may have graced the top central portion of a temple roof facing each other as noble dragons luring prosperity to the temple, or they may have decorated the corners of the temple roof. 11 x 26 in. (largest)

Leland Little Auctions. The Fall Auction. 6:00 AM PT - Sep 9

Lot 293. A 'Dehua' figure of Guanyin, Late Ming Dynasty, attributed to Huijiang Shanren. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

the standing bodhisattva with finely modeled hands joined in front of loose robes opened to reveal a beaded necklace, a cowl draped over the high chignon secured by a scrolling trefoil ornament above the serene face with downcast gaze, all supported on a base of scrolling clouds, the back with an impressed Huijiang Shanren square seal mark - Height 17 in., 43.2 cm.

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Note: Robert Blumenfield discusses this late Ming dynasty potter in Robert H. Blumenfield, Blanc de Chine: The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 139 and notes that the 'Hermit of the Hui River' excelled at sculpting Buddhist figures. A seated Guanyin figure with a similar mark is illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 82A. Donnelly places the potter in the second half of the seventeenth century, ibid. p. 283. A figure of Damo with similar seal mark was sold in our London rooms, 5th November 2008, lot 335.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM

Lot 294. A 'Dehua' figure of Guanyin, 19th century, Qing dynasty. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

finely modeled in a pose of 'royal ease', adorned in loose robes and a single-strand beaded necklace, the hair swept up in a chignon with two knotted plaits falling in tresses over the shoulders, the left arm holding a ruyis cepter and leaning on a tripod armrest, the back impressed with a double-gourd seal reading He Chaozhong - Height 8 1/2  in., 21.6 cm.

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Note: Compare with a similar example illustrated in P.J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 144A and from the author's collection; and a Guanyin signed He Chaozhong, with similar facial expression but hooded, formerly in the J.M. Hu Collection, included in An Exhibition of Te Hua Porcelain, Art Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1975, cat. no. 77, and sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2009, lot 408.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM

Lot 295. A 'Dehua' figure of Tudi Gong, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

seated on a throne, wearing a tall scholar's hat and voluminous robes belted with a long sash tied in front extending to the feet, the bearded face with contemplative expression - Height 6 1/2  in., 16.5 cm.

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Exhibition: Blanc de Chine: Divine Images in Porcelain, China Institute Gallery, New York, 2002, cat. no. 48.

Note: A similar example was sold in these rooms 8th May 1980, lot 211.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM

Lot 296. A 'Dehua' figure of Budai, 19th-20th century. Estimate 3,000 — 5,000 USD.Photo: Sotheby's

modeled wearing loose-fitting robes ribbon-tied below a well-rounded stomach, the jovial deity holding a pearl in the right hand, standing on a knotted cloth sack with waves curling up from beneath, the back with impressed double gourd mark reading He Chaochun - Height 6 1/4  in., 15.9 cm.

From the Collection of Richard Lehman Gray

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 13 sept. 2016, 10:30 AM