Lot 1456. An extremely rare blue and white vase, zun, Jiajing period (1522-1566), 8½ in. (21.6 cm.) high. Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. Price realised USD 195,750 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The well-proportioned bronze-form body is applied with flanges that accentuate its shape. The bulbous mid-section is painted on each side in deep, vibrant tones of underglaze blue with a carp swimming amidst lotus plants and water weeds reserved on a ground of penciled turbulent waves. The trumpet-shaped neck is similarly decorated and related bands encircle the stepped foot above a band of rolling waves. The interior of the neck is painted with slender overlapping leaves radiating towards the rim. 

Provenance:

Note: The shape of this rare archaistic zun-shaped vase was one that found considerable favor with the Ming court, as evidenced by several examples of similar form ranging in date from the Chenghua to the Wanli periods, in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing. It would appear that it is on the Chenghua prototype that the present example is based, given the distinctive plantain leaves on the interior of the neck, which are most commonly found as a decorative design on vases and jars of the Chenghua period.

An almost identical example dated to the Jiajing period, of slightly taller proportions (23.9 cm. high), also with underglaze-blue fish decoration, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures from the Palace Museum - 35 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, no. 92. Another vase of this zun shape and comparable size (20.7 cm.), with a Jiajing mark, but decorated with green dragons and Trigram roundels, is illustrated by Fujio Nakazawa in "Chinese Ceramics in the Toguri Museum of Art", Orientations, April 1988, p. 50. fig. 14. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 21 - 22 March 2013, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 523. A fine and rare blue and white beaker vase, zun, Ming dynasty, Chenghua period (1465-1487), 21.5 cm., 8 1/2 in.  Estimate 4,000,000 — 6,000,000 HKD. Sold  13,760,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

well potted after the archaistic bronze zun form, freely painted in rich cobalt-blue tones, set on each section with four vertical flanges, the globular central bulb decorated with four of the 'babao' ('The Eight Treasures'), each issuing from a lotus bloom amid leafy curling scrolls, the broad trumpet neck similarly decorated with four emblems completing the 'babao' , all supported on a high spreading pedestal foot with two bands of detached flower sprays above a classic scroll, the inside of the neck with a bold ring of slender overlapping plantain leaves radiating towards the rim.

Provenance: Acquired at auction in France in 1980 (as late 19th century).

Note: This vase is extremely unusual both in shape and in design, and is remarkable for the fine quality of its porcelain. Chenghua porcelains, which are greatly admired and display a very distinct character both in terms of their material and their style of decoration, are the rarest Chinese Imperial porcelains. The decoration of this vase is particularly pleasing with the lotus blooms painted in a natural and carefree manner that allows the beholder to appreciate the material over design. The cobalt pigment is also even and is without the characteristic 'heaping and piling' of the early Ming period. The tones found on this vase are soft and attractive, a trademark of the Chenghua blue-and-white. Regina Krahl in 'Muted Elegance - A Superb Chenghua Palace Bowl, Classicism in Continuum. The Arts of the Ming, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 48, notes that 'Chenghua glazes are arguably the finest ever achieved at Jingdezhen. Unlike the crisp and glossy of the best Xuande wares, those of the Chenghua reign are more muted, covering the blue design with a most delicate veil. The sensual pleasure of the touch of the Chenghua porcelain vessel is unmatched by porcelains of any other period.'

Three other vases of this unusual type, all similarly decorated with plantain leaves on the inside of the neck, but with different designs on the outside, are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 50, decorated with dragons, pl. 51, with lotus scrolls, and pl. 92, with fish among waterplants. Another example of a zun painted with the motif of five-clawed dragons on a ground of waves is published in Adrian Joseph, Ming Porcelains. Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, pl. 42.  

See also a Chenghua zun of this shape but with finely painted scenes of a central mossy garden rock flanked by date-palm, bamboo and lingzhi sprays, sold at Christie's London, 16th November 1999, lot 206, and again in these rooms, 2nd May 2000, lot 656; and one with garden scenes of flowering chrysanthmum sprays, also sold in these rooms, 1st May 2001, lot 515.    

Although the shape of this vessel is ultimately based on archaic bronze zun, this particular profile is most closely related to numbered Junyao examples, such as, for example, a piece in Beijing illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 12.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2007

Lot 1525. A blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi period (1662-1722), 18½ in. (47 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 183,750 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The vase is well painted with a continuous scene of a gathering of the Eighteen Scholars of the Tang dynasty shown at various pursuits including playing the qin and playing weiqi while being served by numerous attendants, some of whom are floating wine cups on lotus leaves in a stream, all below a band of detached shou characters and a combined ruyi and key-fret band penciled in blue line either side of a single rib that encircles the neck. 

Provenance: Private collection, Dallas, Texas, ca. 1992. 

Note: The decoration most likely represents the gathering of eighteen erudite scholars who were specifically chosen by Emperor Taizong (626-649) to promote interests of culture and literature. The scene could also represent a tribute to the successful passing of the state examination, or congratulations on a promotion. These last two possibilities may explain the two scholars, one seated and one standing, who appear to be looking directly at the viewer of the vase. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 21 - 22 March 2013, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 508. An important documentary blue and white altar vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dedicatory inscription of Tang Ying, dated to 1741, 64.1 cm., 25 1/4 in. Estimate Upon Request. Sold  11,520,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

finely painted overall in vivid tones of underglaze-blue enhanced by simulated 'heaping and piling', the broad shouldered body with a reserved panel to one side enclosing a seven-line inscription, surrounded by lotus blooms borne on dense scrolling leafy stems, of which the larger blooms enclose a central shou character roundel, between two bands of ruyi heads, with bands of fan motifs and lappets around the collar into which the separately potted neck is inserted, the trumpet neck decorated with a composite floral scroll meander, between a classic scroll at the mouthrim and a band of stylised plantain leaves rising from the collar, all supported on a layered base decorated with a classic scroll and keyfret above lotus motifs and lingzhi scrolls, with pendant leaves and keyfret encircling the footrim. Quantity: 2

Note: The inscription can be translated

'Made under the general supervision of the Yangxindian. Representing the ruler, the Commissioner of the three Customs Stations of Huai[an], Su[qian] and Hai[an] in Jiangnan and at the same time Superintendent of Ceramics at Jiangxi and Supervisor of Taxes at the Jiujiang Customs Office, Vice Director of the Imperial Household Department and Assistant Chief Clerk promoted by five ranks, Tang Ying of Shenyang, has respectfully made and offered this in perpetuity before the altar of the Saintly Mother Heavenly Immortal of the Eastern Embankment, on a lucky day in the spring of the sixth year of Qianlong.'

According to this inscription, vase was made for a Daoist temple. Stephen Little (Taoism and the Arts of China, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2000, pp.278f.) states that the term 'Saintly Mother Heavenly Immortal of the Eastern Peak' (Dongyue Tianxian Shengmu) refers to Bixia Yuanjun, the 'Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn', 'the most popular female Taoist deity in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties'. In Tang Ying’s inscription Dongyue ('Eastern Peak') is replaced by Dongba('Eastern Embankment'), which may be a misspelling, but has also been interpreted as referring to an area in Beijing.

Undoubtedly the most innovative and talented spirit of Qing China’s porcelain industry was Tang Ying (1682 - 1756), a bondservant of the Plain White Banner at the Imperial Household Department, who had served at the court in Beijing from the age of 16. Before he became a master potter, he had already been well versed in painting and calligraphy – accomplishments that helped him later in his career to boost the quality of porcelain decoration at the Imperial kilns. While still serving the court in Beijing, the Yongzheng Emperor already had him create designs for porcelains produced at Jingdezhen. In 1726 he was sent to supervise the Jingdezhen factories himself, and continued his services during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.

In the fifth and sixth year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1740 and 1741), Tang Ying commissioned a number blue-and-white altar garnitures for temples in the vicinity of Beijing. These garnitures would have consisted of five pieces, an incense burner, two candlesticks and two vases, but no such Tang Ying altar set appears to have survived.

The present vase and its pair from the collection of T.T. Tsui, both reputedly still together in the late 19th century, were made in the same year for the same temple as a pair of candlesticks in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, all being identically inscribed. It is most interesting, however, that at the same occasion, Tang Ying appears to have made not only one but two such garnitures for the same temple, since the National Museum of China, Beijing (formerly the Museum of Chinese History) owns another vase with this inscription, which shows slight variations in the decoration. For the T.T. Tsui piece see The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl.73; for the candlesticks, Rose Kerr, Chinese Ceramics. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644 – 1911, London, 1986, p.69, pl.45; and for the vase in Beijing, Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan. Taoci juan, Hong Kong, 1993, no.913.

In the previous year, 1740, Tang Ying had already commissioned at least three similar altar garnitures for different temples at Dongzhimenwai just outside Beijing. Of one such set, made for the Holy Mother of the Immortals, a pair of vases is extant, preserved in the Shanghai Museum and published in Wang Qing-zheng, Underglaze Blue & Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pl.124; of another, made for the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a single vase is preserved, formerly in the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, sold in these rooms, 16 May 1989, lot 39; and of a set made for Guanyin, a pair of candlesticks has survived and is now in the Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim, Germany, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan. Die Ohlmer’sche Sammlung im Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim, Mainz, 1981, pp.44 and 108.

The inscription on the present vase and its companion pieces made in the same year varies slightly from the inscriptions of the previous year, particularly in listing Tang Ying's titles somewhat differently. Also, the present inscription does not specify how many pieces Tang Ying donated on this occasion.

Peter Lam ('Tang Ying [1682 - 1756]. The Imperial Factory Superindendent at Jingdezhen', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.63, 1998-9, pp.65-82), mentions (p.76) that 1740 and 1741 were eventful years for Tang Ying. In 1740, he celebrated several important events, the compilation of a volume of poems, the commission to write a preface to the local gazetteer, and the birth of his third son, while in 1741 his fortunes seemed less positive, with the Emperor complaining about low quality production and asking for a full financial report of Jingdezhen’s activities.

Although no matching inscribed incense burner appears to have survived, the lost censers might have been similar in style to some uninscribed Qianlong tripods decorated with lotus scrolls and formal borders, such as the censer sold in our London rooms, 13 December 1988, lot 248.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2007

Lot 1949. A fine and rare gold-ground archaistic bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795), 15 cm., 5 7/8 in. Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 12,980,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

of archaic bronze form, the lobed body rising from a short spreading foot to a tall neck with chilong handles and an everted rim, finely moulded to each side with square panels enclosing confronting archaistic dragons reserved on a robins-egg glazed ground, the foot and neck with similarly decorated ruyi and stiff leaf bands, all reserved on a speckled gold ground, the base with a four-character reign mark picked out in gilt.

Provenance: Collection of W.W. Winkworth.
Acquired in February 1992.

Note: Among the many simulations created by the imperial workshops for the Qianlong emperor, those imitating archaic ritual bronzes appear to have been the most popular. Ritual bronze vessels particularly of the late Shang (c.1600-c.1050BC) and Western Zhou (c.1050-771BC) period collected by the emperor inspired precise trompe-l'oeil copies as well as 'modern' interpretations, like the present vase. Furthermore, bronze shapes and design elements entered the general repertoire of Qianlong porcelain and provided inspiration for vessels otherwise unrelated to the ancient metal versions.

No simulated bronze vase of this form appears to have been recorded, although a much larger ovoid vase of this decorative type and style, from the J.T. Tai collection, was sold in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2128. In shape the present vase is loosely based on archaic bronze hu vessels, a form that, however, was not normally lobed or flanked with such ornate handles. The design equally mixes archaic designs with Qing period elements: whereas the confronted dragons dissolve into almost abstract angled scrollwork derived from bronze design, the bands of auspicious bats and ruyi heads are stylistically firmly rooted in the Qianlong period.

Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes, typically a brown of 'café-au-lait' or 'teadust' type heightened with gold, and this was often combined with a mottled turquoise or green glaze to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork. The lavish use of robin's-egg glaze seen on the present vase is, however, usual. 

Lot 3004. A fine and rare robbin's egg-ground gilt decorated archaistic bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong (1736-1795), 37.5 cm., 14 3/4 in. Estimate 5,000,000 - 7,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 35,380,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

based on the archaic bronze hu form with decoration imitating bronze and green patina, of compressed ovoid section with broad shoulders rising to a collared neck, flanked by a pair of reticulated archaistic gui dragons below an everted mouth, the body moulded in low relief in a café-au-lait glaze outlined in gilt with a wide register containing four pairs of confronting gui dragons with bodies dissolving into 'hooks and volutes', set between two rows of moulded bats and bosses, with further bands of ruyi-heads and a trefoil collar around the shoulders, the neck decorated with further confronting gui dragons, all above moulded upright lappets skirting the gui dragon foot, reserved against a mottled robin's egg blue ground with details picked out in gilt, the interior glazed in a café-au-lait glaze, the countersunk base similarly glazed with a further layer of gilding and impressed with a six-character reign mark.

Provenance: Collection of Lord Loch of Drylaw (1827-1900) (by repute).
Collection of Alfred Morrison (1821-1897), Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wiltshire.
The Rt. Hon The Lord Margadale of Islay, T.D.
Christie's London, 18th October 1971, lot 52.
Jen Chai Art Gallery, New York, no. A526 (one of the gallery labels of J.T. & Co.).

Note: This large oval vase with stylised dragons vaguely inspired by archaic ritual bronzes is one of the most impressive porcelains copying a metal prototype. Among the many simulations created by the imperial workshops for the Qianlong Emperor, those imitating archaic bronzes appear to have been the most popular. Ritual bronze vessels particularly of the late Shang (c. 1600 – c. 1050 BC) and Western Zhou (c. 1050 - 771 BC) periods, which the Emperor equally collected, inspired precise trompe-l'oeil copies as well as 'modern' interpretations, like the present vase, and bronze shapes and design elements equally entered the general repertoire of Qianlong porcelain and provided inspiration for vessels otherwise unrelated to the ancient metal versions.

No simulated bronze vase of this large shape and this type of decoration appears to be otherwise recorded. In shape the present vase is loosely based on a Bronze Age hu of oval section, a form that does not however usually come with stylised dragon handles. The design equally mixes archaic designs with Qing dynasty elements: whereas the confronted dragons dissolved into almost abstract angled scrollwork derived from bronze design, the bands of auspicious bats and ruyi-heads are stylistically firmly rooted in the Qianlong period. 

Bronzes were simulated through a variety of glazes, typically a brown of 'café-au-lait' or 'tea-dust' type heightened with gold, and this was often combined with a mottled turquoise or green glaze to evoke the blue-green patina of ancient metalwork. The lavish use of robin's-egg glaze seen on the present vase is, however, unusual. 

Compare a massive vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, echoing an archaic bronze zun with only a narrow band of this robin's egg glaze reserved on an overall tea-dust surface, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, 1989, p. 412, pl. 93, together with a gu and a bell simulating bronzes, pp. 414f., pls 95 and 96. A tripod censer of Qianlong mark and period, probably lacking any turquoise glaze but decorated with very similar stylised dragons, is illustrated in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, p. 282, fig. 486. A miniature vase of hu form with a much simpler decoration simulating inlaid bronze, with a band executed in a similar colour scheme with coffee-coloured dragon motifs raised on a mottled turquoise glaze, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat. no. 138, was sold in these rooms 14th November 1989, lot 340. A porcelain gu from the Shanghai Museum, apparently unmarked and with a somewhat different turquoise glaze, was exhibited together with a Shang dynasty bronze gu of the type it copies in the exhibition Treasures from Shanghai. Ancient Chinese Bronzes and Jades, The British Museum, London, 2009, cat. nos 56 and b.

A smaller plain white vase of similar form and decoration, perhaps originally intended to receive similar glazes but remaining unfinished, and with the reign mark partly obliterated, was included in the exhibition Ethereal Elegance. Porcelain Vases of the Imperial Qing: The Huaihaitang Collection, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2007, cat. no. 2. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong, 09 Oct 2012

Lot 1602. A rare gilt-decorated teadust-glazed imitation bronze beaker vase, gu, Qianlong incised and gilded sel mark and of the period (1736-1795), 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. Price realised USD 386,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Finely molded around the spreading foot, bulbous midsection and flared neck with ruyi heads and archaistic lappets enameled in turquoise in imitation of bronze encrustation, separated by confronted chilong, key fret and archaistic elements enclosing shou roundels painted in gilding, all reserved on a teadust ground.

Provenance: Acquired prior to World War II, and thence by descent within the family. 

Note: A similary glazed, slightly smaller (27.7 cm.) Qianlong-marked gu-form 'imitation bronze' vase, is in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 169, no. 150. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II, 15 September 2011, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 1530. A rare miniature molded archaistic vase and cover, Qianlong molded four-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795), 4 in. (10.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 60,000 - USD 80,000. Price realised USD 315,750 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The vase has a somewhat flattened globular body and is molded with pairs of archaistic birds on the sides between petal lappet and ruyi borders, and on the neck between the pair of archaistic bird scroll handles, all of which is covered with acafé-au-lait glaze with gilt highlights and reserved on a moldedleiwen ground finely mottled in black, turquoise and blue enamel in imitation of an ancient bronze patina. The domed cover with knob finial is decorated en suite. The interior and interior of the foot are covered with a finely speckled gold glaze. 

Provenance: Peter Mack Brown, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., 1979.  

Note: This diminutive vase and cover, with its archaistic decoration and enamels colored to suggest the patina of ancient bronze, represents a major artistic theme of the Qianlong reign. Like his predecessors, the Qianlong emperor was a great admirer and collector of antiques and was particularly fascinated with the concept of imitating one material in another. During the Qianlong reign this fascination was at its height, and lacquer, stone, wood and bronze were among the materials reproduced in porcelain. With the technical advances and virtuosity of porcelain production during the Qianlong period, potters from the official kilns were able to experiment with different ways and techniques to satisfy the emperor's penchant for the curious and archaic. 

There is a small group of Imperial Qianlong-marked porcelains to which this vase belongs, all decorated with mottled enamels of different types such as turquoise on the present piece, combined with café-au-lait-tone enamels and gilt motifs, and fashioned in imitation of ancient bronzes. Usually, the decoration on the porcelain vessels was modified from its original form and it is often difficult to determine whether they were copied from ancient prototypes or from contemporary archaistic Qianlong bronzes. Here, the central confronting birds with rounded heads form decorative roundels, rather than the more squared designs found on ancient bronzes. Similarly, while elegantly potted, the shape is an interpretation of an ancient bronze form, with the addition of a conforming low-domed cover and bud-form finial. 

One feature that appears on ancient bronze vessels and that distinguishes a few of the porcelains of this group, such as the current vessel, is the molded leiwen ground on which the raised motifs appear. As opposed to simply mottled enamels on a flat surface, the molded grounds provide a textural contrast to the flat gilt and enameled motifs. A small archaistic porcelain bell in the Palace Museum, Beijing, that also displays this rare feature beneath mottled turquoise, green and black enamels, is illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 415, no. 96. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 21 - 22 March 2013, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 553. An enamel, emerald, ruby, diamond, platinum and 18K gold butterfly brooch, by Mauboussin, Paris 1965. Estimation : 60 000 € / 80 000 € © Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo

en or jaune et platine. Il figure un papillon aux ailes déployées. Le corps est serti de diamants et d'émeraudes gravées, les antennes soulignées de diamants et de cabochons de rubis. Les ailes asymétriques, en émail plique-à-jour polychrome sont soulignées de saphirs calibrés et de diamants. Les ailes supérieures sont ornées d'un rubis cabochon entouré de diamants, les ailes inférieures chacune ornée d'une émeraude cabochon entourée de diamants. Signé Mauboussin Paris et trace de numérotation. Dans son écrin de la Maison Mauboussin. Dimensions : 9,4 x 7,5 cm environ. Poids : 58,1 g (18K - 750/1000 et platine 950/1000).

Bibliographie : Reproduit en page 196 et jaquette de couverture du livre intitulé Mauboussin par Marguerite de Cerval, aux Editions du Regard.

Importants Bijoux chez Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 98000 Monaco, le 17 Juillet 2017 à 10h30, 15h et 18h

Lot 276. A diamond and platinum tiara surmounted with a Conch pearl, circa 1910. Estimation : 20 000 € / 50 000 € © Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo

en platine, à décor feuillagé entièrement ajouré serti de diamants, le centre piqué d'une perle grise, le dessus d'une perle Conch. Vers 1910 (transformations). Poids : 55,6 g (platine - 950/1000). 

Importants Bijoux chez Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 98000 Monaco, le 17 Juillet 2017 à 10h30, 15h et 18h

Lot 242. A diamond, miniature portrait, platinum and 18K gold pendant, by Fuset y Grau, Barcelona, late 19th century. Estimation : 16 000 € / 18 000 € © Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo

n or gris, de forme ovale à décor de feuilles d'or mat liées et soulignées de diamants. Il ouvre à usage de porte photo et est ajouré au revers de rinceaux et de fleurs. Dans son écrin d'origine à la forme en loupe et soie. Dimensions : 8 x 4 cm environ. Poids : 36,2 g (18K - 750/1000).  

Importants Bijoux chez Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 98000 Monaco, le 17 Juillet 2017 à 10h30, 15h et 18h

Lot 274. A diamond, 18K gold and platinum 'Orphée' brooch, circa 1900. Estimation : 8 000 € / 12 000 € © Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo

en or jaune et platine, figurant un homme aux ailes déployées, les cheveux épars se mêlant aux cordes d'une lyre en platine, sertie de diamants. Dans son écrin à la forme. Dimensions : 5 x 4 cm environ. Poids : 34,4 g (18K - 750/1000 et platine 950/1000).  

Bibliographie : un modèle similaire de l'atelier Pochelon & Ruchonnet, daté de 1900 à Genève est reproduit page 110 dans Le Bijou Art Nouveau en Europe par Rolende van Strydonck de Burkel, aux Editions La Bibliothèque des Arts, 1998. 

Importants Bijoux chez Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 98000 Monaco, le 17 Juillet 2017 à 10h30, 15h et 18h

Lot 3110. A rare sancai-glazed phoenix-head ewer, Tang dynasty (618-907), 13 in. (33 cm.) high, box. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price realised HKD 687,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The pear-shaped body is moulded on one side with an equestrian archer turned backwards on his galloping horse as he takes aim with his bow, and on the reverse with a triumphant phoenix, both surrounded by ornate flowers issuing from the oval surround, the neck surmounted by a phoenix head grasping a pearl in the beak below the oval opening in the top of the head, the C-form handle with foliate terminals, covered overall with a mix of amber, green and cream glaze, leaving the foot unglazed revealing the pinkish-white body. 

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 6 April 1987

Note: The exotic design exhibited on this ewer, such as the hunting scene and rich foliage on the body, was inspired by Sassanian metal flasks which came into China through merchants and diplomats from Central Asia. One possible prototype is a fifth-century Sassanian giltsilver flask of similar shape but without a phoenix head, decorated with figural motifs, unearthed from the tomb of Li Xian in Ningxia, exhibited in The Silk Road: Treasures of Tang China, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1991, catalogue, p. 24. An earlier Chinese example which might have inspired the design of the current ewer is a celadon phoenix-head ewer with rich relief designs and a dragon handle, dating to the Sui to early Tang dynasty, now in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 11, Sui Tang, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 6.

A number of similar ewers can be found in important museums and institutions worldwide, including one in the British Museum Collection, illustrated by Jessica Rawson, The British Museum Book of Chinese Art, London, 1992, fig. 199; another one, which is similarly decorated on one side with a triumphant phoenix, but on the other side with a foreigner riding on a lion, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, op. cit., pls. 40-41; and one in the Tokyo National Museum Collection, illustrated by Margaret Medley, T’ang Pottery & Porcelain, London, 1981, pl. 19.  

Lot 3118. A rare amber and green-glazed ewer, Liao dynasty (608-1210), 6 3/8 in. (16.3 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 220,000 - HKD 280,000. Price realised HKD 375,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The ewer is finely potted with a compressed globular body sitting on a flat base with two large spur marks, set with an arching ropetwist handle terminating at each side with a monkey-like animal head, the top applied with a stylised flowerhead, the long tapering spout incised with concentric rings, opposite an integral strainer with six apertures. The ewer is largely covered with a rich amber glaze stopping irregularly above the base, the strainer highlighted with a bright green glaze. 

Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2001
The Benjamin J. Fernandes Collection, no. 013

Exhibited: Eskenazi Ltd., Chinese ceramic vessels 500-1000 AD, London, 8 to 30 November 2001, Catalogue, no. 13

Note: While the exact function of this ewer is currently unknown, the integral strainer suggests that it may have been used for the filtering of tea, wine or herbal drinks. There are very few known related examples. One slightly smaller example of similar form (14.4 cm. high) but glazed in blue on the body and amber on the handle, spout and strainer, is in the Art Institute of Chicago Collection (Gift of Russell Tyson, 1951.303), illustrated in H. Trubner, ‘Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period through Ch’ien Lung’, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1952, no. 62.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall

Lot 3123. A rare large Cizhou painted ‘floral’ vase, meiping, Jin dynasty (1115-1234), 16 ¾ in. (42.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 1,062,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The elongated ovoid vase is elegantly modelled with an overturned mouth rim. It is finely decorated on the exterior with floral scrolls growing from a feathery foliage meander. It is further decorated with radiating S-shaped motifs on the sloping shoulder between bowstring bands, and repeated with three broad cylindrical bands above the tapered foot. 

Provenance: Property from the Dexinshuwu Collection.

Exhibited: Chang Wei-Hwa & Company, Pottery Architectural Structures, Taipei, 2000, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 25

Note: Cizhou painted vases of this large size are remarkably rare, and only one other example of this size and design appears to be known, which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2-3 June 2016, lot 665. It is interesting to note the technique in the use of fine feathery motif denoting foliage on the present vase, which appears to be an effective design for slender Cizhou vases. It is noted that vases decorated with this design, rendered in quick, flicking brush strokes are characteristics of wares made in the Yuxian kilns in Henan. Compare to two further similar examples illustrated by Tsugio Mikami in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 13, Shogakukan, 1981, p. 239, no. 256 (49.2 cm.) in the collection of the Tomioka Art Museum; and p. 239, no. 257 (35.2 cm.).

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall 

Lot 3127. A Jizhou leaf-decorated conical tea bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), 5 7/8 in. (15.1 cm.) high, box. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 300,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl is of flared, conical form, and the interior bears the imprint of a large leaf fired to a yellowish-buff and pale brown colour, in contrast to the matte glaze of dark brown colour which covers the interior and exterior where it ends in a line above the foot to expose the off-white ware. 

Provenance: Property from the Dexinshuwu Collection.

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall

Lot 3130. A Jun blue-glazed bubble bowl, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234), 4 1/4 (10.9 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 250,000. Price realised HKD 225,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl has rounded sides rising to a slightly incurved rim from the short, unglazed foot, and is covered with a glaze of sky-blue tone, thinning to mushroom on the rim. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall

Lot 3135. A small Huairen black-glazed russet ‘oil spot’ bowl , Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234), 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 150,000. Price realised HKD 200,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

The bowl is covered with a thick black glaze splashed liberally with russet ‘iron spots’ of various sizes, above a thin brown glaze stopping above the purple-dressed foot and body. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 31 May 2017, Convention Hall

Lot 1525. A blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi period (1662-1722), 18½ in. (47 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 183,750 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The vase is well painted with a continuous scene of a gathering of the Eighteen Scholars of the Tang dynasty shown at various pursuits including playing the qin and playing weiqi while being served by numerous attendants, some of whom are floating wine cups on lotus leaves in a stream, all below a band of detached shou characters and a combined ruyi and key-fret band penciled in blue line either side of a single rib that encircles the neck. 

Provenance: Private collection, Dallas, Texas, ca. 1992. 

Note: The decoration most likely represents the gathering of eighteen erudite scholars who were specifically chosen by Emperor Taizong (626-649) to promote interests of culture and literature. The scene could also represent a tribute to the successful passing of the state examination, or congratulations on a promotion. These last two possibilities may explain the two scholars, one seated and one standing, who appear to be looking directly at the viewer of the vase. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 21 - 22 March 2013, New York, Rockefeller Center

Lot 508. An important documentary blue and white altar vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dedicatory inscription of Tang Ying, dated to 1741, 64.1 cm., 25 1/4 in. Estimate Upon Request. Sold  11,520,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

finely painted overall in vivid tones of underglaze-blue enhanced by simulated 'heaping and piling', the broad shouldered body with a reserved panel to one side enclosing a seven-line inscription, surrounded by lotus blooms borne on dense scrolling leafy stems, of which the larger blooms enclose a central shou character roundel, between two bands of ruyi heads, with bands of fan motifs and lappets around the collar into which the separately potted neck is inserted, the trumpet neck decorated with a composite floral scroll meander, between a classic scroll at the mouthrim and a band of stylised plantain leaves rising from the collar, all supported on a layered base decorated with a classic scroll and keyfret above lotus motifs and lingzhi scrolls, with pendant leaves and keyfret encircling the footrim. Quantity: 2

Note: The inscription can be translated

'Made under the general supervision of the Yangxindian. Representing the ruler, the Commissioner of the three Customs Stations of Huai[an], Su[qian] and Hai[an] in Jiangnan and at the same time Superintendent of Ceramics at Jiangxi and Supervisor of Taxes at the Jiujiang Customs Office, Vice Director of the Imperial Household Department and Assistant Chief Clerk promoted by five ranks, Tang Ying of Shenyang, has respectfully made and offered this in perpetuity before the altar of the Saintly Mother Heavenly Immortal of the Eastern Embankment, on a lucky day in the spring of the sixth year of Qianlong.'

According to this inscription, vase was made for a Daoist temple. Stephen Little (Taoism and the Arts of China, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2000, pp.278f.) states that the term 'Saintly Mother Heavenly Immortal of the Eastern Peak' (Dongyue Tianxian Shengmu) refers to Bixia Yuanjun, the 'Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn', 'the most popular female Taoist deity in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties'. In Tang Ying’s inscription Dongyue ('Eastern Peak') is replaced by Dongba('Eastern Embankment'), which may be a misspelling, but has also been interpreted as referring to an area in Beijing.

Undoubtedly the most innovative and talented spirit of Qing China’s porcelain industry was Tang Ying (1682 - 1756), a bondservant of the Plain White Banner at the Imperial Household Department, who had served at the court in Beijing from the age of 16. Before he became a master potter, he had already been well versed in painting and calligraphy – accomplishments that helped him later in his career to boost the quality of porcelain decoration at the Imperial kilns. While still serving the court in Beijing, the Yongzheng Emperor already had him create designs for porcelains produced at Jingdezhen. In 1726 he was sent to supervise the Jingdezhen factories himself, and continued his services during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.

In the fifth and sixth year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1740 and 1741), Tang Ying commissioned a number blue-and-white altar garnitures for temples in the vicinity of Beijing. These garnitures would have consisted of five pieces, an incense burner, two candlesticks and two vases, but no such Tang Ying altar set appears to have survived.

The present vase and its pair from the collection of T.T. Tsui, both reputedly still together in the late 19th century, were made in the same year for the same temple as a pair of candlesticks in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, all being identically inscribed. It is most interesting, however, that at the same occasion, Tang Ying appears to have made not only one but two such garnitures for the same temple, since the National Museum of China, Beijing (formerly the Museum of Chinese History) owns another vase with this inscription, which shows slight variations in the decoration. For the T.T. Tsui piece see The Tsui Museum of Art. Chinese Ceramics IV. Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl.73; for the candlesticks, Rose Kerr, Chinese Ceramics. Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty 1644 – 1911, London, 1986, p.69, pl.45; and for the vase in Beijing, Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan. Taoci juan, Hong Kong, 1993, no.913.

Pair of candlesticks with a inscription within a cartouche on the foot, China (Jingdezhen), Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dated 1741. Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue. Height: 67 cm, Diameter: 23 cm. Dorothy Bushell Gift, FE.129-1975 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017

Long inscription on body : 'Made by the Chief Superintendent of Works in the Yang Xin Dian. Respectfully made by Tang Ying of Shenyang, imperially appointed Superintendent of the three Customs Barriers at Huaian, Suquan and Hai'an in Jiangnan, and also Controller of Pottery in Jiangxi and of custom affairs at the customs house in Jiujian, Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household and Captain of the Banner promoted five honourary ranks, and given as an offering in perpetuity (to stand) before the Holy Mother of God of Heaven at Dongba. An auspicious day in the spring of the sixth year of Qianlong.'

In the previous year, 1740, Tang Ying had already commissioned at least three similar altar garnitures for different temples at Dongzhimenwai just outside Beijing. Of one such set, made for the Holy Mother of the Immortals, a pair of vases is extant, preserved in the Shanghai Museum and published in Wang Qing-zheng, Underglaze Blue & Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pl.124; of another, made for the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a single vase is preserved, formerly in the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, sold in these rooms, 16 May 1989, lot 39; and of a set made for Guanyin, a pair of candlesticks has survived and is now in the Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim, Germany, illustrated in Ulrich Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan. Die Ohlmer’sche Sammlung im Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim, Mainz, 1981, pp.44 and 108.

The inscription on the present vase and its companion pieces made in the same year varies slightly from the inscriptions of the previous year, particularly in listing Tang Ying's titles somewhat differently. Also, the present inscription does not specify how many pieces Tang Ying donated on this occasion.

Peter Lam ('Tang Ying [1682 - 1756]. The Imperial Factory Superindendent at Jingdezhen', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.63, 1998-9, pp.65-82), mentions (p.76) that 1740 and 1741 were eventful years for Tang Ying. In 1740, he celebrated several important events, the compilation of a volume of poems, the commission to write a preface to the local gazetteer, and the birth of his third son, while in 1741 his fortunes seemed less positive, with the Emperor complaining about low quality production and asking for a full financial report of Jingdezhen’s activities.

Although no matching inscribed incense burner appears to have survived, the lost censers might have been similar in style to some uninscribed Qianlong tripods decorated with lotus scrolls and formal borders, such as the censer sold in our London rooms, 13 December 1988, lot 248.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Hong Kong, 08 Apr 2007