Appliqué depicting the Sun God Usil, Etruscan, 500 - 475 B.C. Italy, Vulci. Bronze. H: 20 cm (7 7/8 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California.

Matchless Canyon Diablo meteorite - natural sculpture from outer space. Iron – Coarse octahedrite IAB-MG Meteor Crater, Coconino County, Arizona (35°3' N, 111°2' W) Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018.

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s New York hosts, for the first time a public view of meteorites in conjunction with Deep Impact: Martian, Lunar and Other Rare Meteorites, an online auction taking place from February 7 – 14. In addition to rare and aesthetic iron meteorites—natural sculptures from outer space—and specimens with extraterrestrial gemstones, a highlight will be a meteorite recovered from last month’s Michigan fireball. 

As was extensively reported worldwide, Earth’s atmosphere over Michigan was punctured by a visitor from the asteroid belt at 8:10 pm EST January 16, 2018. Shortly after atmospheric impact, the resulting fireball created sonic booms of such intensity that the resulting energy waves mimicked an earthquake terrifying local residents. The fireball broke apart and rained-down on Michigan between the cities of Lansing and Ann Arbor, and shortly thereafter hundreds of people took to the frozen lakes on an extraterrestrial treasure hunt. Very few specimens have thus far been found with less than 1 kg of material currently documented. 

Ashley Moritz was one of the lucky meteorite hunters, Moritz reports: “I spotted a little hole in a patch of snow on the ice and was so excited upon extracting a small black rock.” The specimen, a chondritic meteorite, is covered with black fusion crust except for small portals providing a peek to this meteorite’s archetypal interior cream matrix. The Chicago’s Field Museum, which has a different specimen from this same meteorite shower said that because it fell on winter ice, “This is one of the best-preserved meteorites” in its collection. Such is the case with Moritz’s find, which will be offered in April. 

The February 7-14 sale features some of the oldest objects in the solar system, A curated selection of objects on view will include specimens of the Moon and Mars (which are among the rarest substances on Earth), meteorites with museum provenance as well as meteorites from the largest meteorite shower since the dawn of civilization. 

Highlights: 

Matchless Canyon Diablo meteorite - natural sculpture from outer space. Iron – Coarse octahedrite IAB-MG Meteor Crater, Coconino County, Arizona (35°3' N, 111°2' W). Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018.

An uncommon smooth metallic surface delimits a somewhat ellipsoidal metallic abstract form. Numerous sockets and perforations abound in a very-rarely-seen proximity. Wrapped in a gunmetal patina with splashes of cinnamon and platinum-hued accents, this is among the most aesthetic iron meteorites known. 344 x 203 x 184mm. (13½ x 8 x 7¼in.) 31.9kg. (70⅓lbs) 

Provenance: Robert Ward Meteorites, Prescott, Arizona
Macovich Collection of Meteorites, New York City

Note: Like all iron meteorites, the current offering is more than four billion years old and originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Evocative of a Henry Moore, this sculptural form was once part of the molten iron core of an asteroid that broke apart—a portion of which was deflected into an Earth-intersecting orbit. It was approximately 49,000 years ago that it plowed into the Arizona desert with the force of more than 100 atomic bombs. Fragments were ejected more than 11 miles away from the point of impact and the main mass vaporized, creating the most famous and best-preserved meteorite crater in the world—the renowned Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona nearly one mile across and 600 feet deep. The fragments of iron that survived the impact are referred to as Canyon Diablos (“Canyon of the Devil”), and they are the quintessential American meteorite prized by museums and private collectors everywhere.

The Canyon of the Devil became precisely that for one Daniel M. Barringer. At the turn of the 20th Century, Barringer reasoned that the crater had to be created by an enormous extraterrestrial mass weighing millions of tons. He believed this mass, worth a fortune in nickel and iron, lay under the crater’s base. In 1903 Barringer filed a mining claim and commenced a drilling operation that went on for years. Unfortunately for Barringer, scientists later determined that a mass much smaller than what Barringer believed existed would possess sufficient energy to blow the huge hole in the desert floor—and would also generate enough heat to vaporize much of itself. In effect, what Barringer spent the last decades of his life looking for didn’t exist—but this extraordinary meteorite does, as does the best-preserved meteorite crater on Earth. The Barringer Family maintains the crater and adjacent museum today in what is a major international tourist attraction not to be missed by any reader. 

Canyon Diablos are noted for containing nodules of graphite and carbonados (minute black diamonds). In the specimen now offered, it was the ejection of the graphite inclusions that resulted in the sculpting of sockets or hollows in the mass. In a process referred to as terrestrialization, these sockets expanded in size when exposed to Earth’s elements as the seasons turned over tens of thousands of years. Some of these hollows expanded sufficiently to entirely penetrate the mass resulting in the sought-after rarity of a naturally formed hole. This meteorite has seven such complete holes, perhaps the most of any single iron meteorite. 

Large partial slice of esquel pallasite — extraterre strial gems. Pallasite – PAL, Chubut, Argentina. Estimate: $25,000 - 35,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018. 

One long curve of the meteorite’s exterior surface along with two cut edges delimit this partial slice. Crystals of olivine and peridot richly abound and appear suspended in the metallic matrix. One side of the specimen reveals the natural crystalline habit of the two iron-nickel alloys comprising the matrix—a signature pattern that is diagnostic in the identification of a meteorite—the opposite side has been polished to a mirror finish. Modern cutting. 260 x 238 x 5mm. (10¼ x 9⅓ x ¼in.) 967.9g. (2.13lbs)

Note: Pallasites are the most dazzling extraterrestrial substance known, and Esquel is among the most coveted. Esquel’s crystals were not heavily shocked, and as a result, its highly translucent olivine crystals range in hue from amber to forest-green. This specimen also contains gem-quality olivine or peridot (birthstone of August); relatedly Esquel was the first pallasite material to be utilized in modern jewelry applications. Pallasites formed at the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid after stony olivine (a magnesium-rich silicate mineral) settled atop the asteroid’s molten metal core. This partial slice has a Macovich Collection provenance—as does the giant complete slice of Esquel on display at the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth & Space. As a result of their sheer beauty, pallasites are the most sought after of all meteorite types. Named after 18th Century scientist Peter Pallas (an honor Pallas is fortunate to have received, as he never accepted the fact that the strange boulder he found originated in outer space), pallasites are exceedingly rare, comprising less than 1% of all known meteorites. This superlative complete slice showcases a sparkling mosaic of crystalline olivine and peridot in an iron-nickel matrix. 

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalog note. 

Large Seymchan sphere - An extraterrestrial crystal ball, Pallasite – PMG  , Magadan District, Russia. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000. © Christie’s Images Limited 2018.  

Originating from a large Seymchan meteorite sample that underwent a number of stages of cutting, grinding and polishing in a sphere-making apparatus. Dazzling amber-hued olivine and peridot crystals are distributed throughout its highly-polished iron-nickel matrix.
59 x 59 x 59mm. (2⅓ x 2⅓ x 2⅓in.) 522.9g. (1⅛lbs)

Note: Less than 0.2% of all meteorites are pallasites, the most beautiful extraterrestrial substance known. Pallasites are formed at the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid that underwent a mixing of the core’s molten metal with olivine from the mantle. The result is olivine crystals suspended in an iron-nickel matrix. Seymchan also contains gem-quality olivine otherwise known as peridot (birthstone of August). Pallasites are the most dazzling of all meteorites and this is a wondrous three-dimensional presentation of a pallasite, revealing aspects of structure impossible to see in a flat slab. Found in Siberia, this specimen can rightfully be considered an otherworldly crystal ball.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalog note. 

Lot 88. A large gilt-bronze figure of Guanyin,17th century; 49.5cm., 19 ½ in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Lot sold 266,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014

cast seated in dhyanasana with the right hand raised holding the end of a willow stem and the left hand supporting a cup, dressed in long robes engraved with lotus scrolls at the hem, opening at the chest to reveal beaded necklaces, the contemplative face framed by elongated earlobes suspending ornate earrings, the tall headdress centered by a figure of Amitabha Buddha, wood stand. Quantité: 2

Note: According to the Lotus Sutra, Guanyin can take any form necessary to save sentient beings, and the present lot depicts the bodhisattva in the manifestation of Bhaisajyaraja Avalokitesvara. The bowl of elixir held in the left hand is believed to cure all physical and spiritual illnesses, and the willow, which is used to sprinkle the elixir over devotees, has evil dispelling properties.

Lot 92. A gilt-bronze figure of Manjushri, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 25.3cm., 10in. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 GBP. Lot sold 170,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014

cast seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base, the right arm raised to the side grasping a sword, the left hand lifted to the chest in vitarkamudra holding leafy stems of uptala lotuses rising above the shoulders, wearing a dhotitied at the waist and draped over with a celestial scarf, the bare chest embellished with beaded jewellery, the face with a serene expression, surmounted by a five-leaf diadem.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. London, 14 mai 2014

Lot 93. A parcel gilt-bronze figure of Avalokitesvara, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 25.3cm., 10in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Lot sold 158,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014

cast seated in rajalilasana with the right arm resting on the raised right knee, the left hand resting beside the pendent left leg, wearing a dhoti tied on a bow at the waist and a shawl draped across the shoulders, elaborately incised with floral sprays and bordered by foliate scrolls, the bare chest adorned with a beaded necklace, the head turned slightly to the left, eyes downcast in a meditative expression, the face detailed with a beard, moustache and curly hair, all supported on a bronze rocky plinth with a bird and a vase on either side.

Note: This bronze figure likely depicts the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the manifestation known as ‘Southern Seas’ (Nanhai) as indicated by the rocky pedestal on which he rests, which represents Mount Potalaka. He is seated in the pose of royal ease (rajalilasana), which Derek Gillman in ‘A New Image in Chinese Buddhist Sculpture of the Tenth to Thirteenth Century’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1982-1983, vol. 47, p. 37, suggests is a variation of the rajalila pose which appeared in the 10th century, possibly inspired by Sri Lankan images of bodhisattva.

Representations of the Southern Seas Avalokitesvara as a bald and bearded bodhisattva are rare and as he is more commonly depicted crowned; see a figure of Avalokitesvara seated on a pedestal of this type, included in A Special Exhibition of Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 22; one, seated on a smaller pedestal, sold in our New York rooms, 1st December 1992, lot 195; another sold at Christie’s London, 11th November 2003, lot 92; and a fourth example sold at Christie’s New York, 21st September 2004, lot 130. Compare also a seated bald and bearded figure, catalogued as Maitreya, from the collection of Otto Rose, sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 34.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. London, 14 mai 2014

Lot 230. A rare iron-red and underglaze-blue ‘Nine dragon’ charger, Yongzheng mark and period (1723-1735); 47.5cm., 18 ¾ in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 GBP. Lot sold 218,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014

sturdily potted with curved sides rising from a tapered foot to a wide everted rim, the interior painted with a central medallion enclosing an iron-red five-clawed frontal dragon curled around a flaming pearl amidst a turbulent sea of underglaze-blue waves, the cavetto on both the interior and exterior with four rampant red dragons in different lively attitudes, two of them five-clawed and two three-clawed and one of the latter with wings and a fish tail and only one eye visible, all pacing among blue clouds, the rim encircled by a band of crashing waves, inscribed to the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-circle.

Provenance: Collection of George and Cornelia Wingfield Digby.

Note: Dishes of this magnificent size and formidable decoration were made to impress. Such wares were used at Imperial banquets and on special celebratory occasions, such as the ‘Thousand Elderly Banquet’ held in honour of senior citizens when thousands of invited guests were served a great feast. The Manchu custom of banqueting closely followed the Mongolian and Tibetan tradition of shared communal dining.

A Yongzheng dish of this design and large size in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 223; another in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, was included in the exhibition Seikado zo Shincho toji. Keitokuchin kanyo no bi [Qing porcelain collected in the Seikado. Beauty of the Jingdezhen imperial kilns], Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo, 2006, cat. no. 53; and another in the Meiyintang collection is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1723. Compare also a Yongzheng dish sold three times in our rooms, once in London in 1995, and twice in Hong Kong, in 2005 and 9th October 2012, lot 125, from the collection of Dr Alice Cheng; another sold in our London rooms, 6th December 1994, lot 179; and a third, with a slightly reduced rim, sold at Christie’s London, 10th April 1978, lot 49.

The decoration found in this dish is a Yongzheng period interpretation of an early-Ming pattern. The Yongzheng emperor was known to have sent antiques from the palace to Jingdezhen in order to establish production standards as well as to serve as models and inspirations for designs. This dragon design follows after a Xuande prototype, where dishes were painted with a side-facing five-clawed dragon amongst crashing waves in the centre, the side decorated with three dragons striding amid clouds. An example of this Xuande dish, excavated at the waste heap of the Ming Imperial Kilns in Zhushan, was included in the exhibition Xuande Imperial Kiln Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 87. 

The creative ingenuity of the Yongzheng potter is evident from the successful transference of a pattern that was originally made for much smaller vessels. The different design elements on this dish are perfectly composed to give no hint of overcrowding or spatial gaps that could hinder the overall harmony. While maintaining the essence of the original design, the artist created a motif that is familiar yet fresh: the side-facing dragon has been replaced with a frontal dragon and the crashing waves no longer cover any part of the dragon’s body to give a greater sense of the creature’s dominance and strength. The use of red heightens the contrast between the dynamism of the background and that of the dragons while endowing the scene with further auspicious meaning. Moreover, the extent of the Qing craftsman’s proficiency is evident in the additional crested rolling wave band encircling the rim of the dish which frames and draws the expansive design together, an element that was not necessary for the smaller Ming dishes.

Yongzheng dishes of this type continued to be favoured by the Qianlong emperor who commissioned the making of very similar vessels. Examples of dishes from both periods are illustrated in Min Shin no bijutsu [Ming and Qing art], Tokyo, 1982, pls. 154 and 172; and another Qianlong example in the Nanjing Museum was included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 81, and also illustrated on the dust jacket.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. London, 14 mai 2014

Lot 55. Two 'Jun' bubble bowls, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 9cm., 3 ½ in. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 20,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

each with rounded sides rising from a flared foot to a gently incurved rim, covered overall in a pale lavender-blue glaze stopping just above the foot, thinning to a mushroom tone at the rim, one bowl with vertical brown streaks just below the rim. Quantity: 2.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 14 May 2014

Lot 72. A 'Longquan' celadon lotus bowl, Song dynasty (960–1279); 16.5cm., 6 1/2 in. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 GBP. Lot sold 6,250 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

the deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to a slightly incurved rim, carved around the exterior with overlapping lotus petals and covered overall with a sea-green celadon glaze.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 14 May 2014

Le diamant blanc le plus rare jamais apparu sur le marché. Pesant 102,34 carats, le plus gros diamant rond, de couleur D et de pureté« Flawless » jamais certifié. En vente auprès de Sotheby’s Diamonds © Sotheby’s Diamonds

Londres– À l’occasion du premier anniversaire sa boutique sur New Bond Street, Sotheby’s Diamonds, l’enseigne spécialisée dans la vente de diamants d’exception, dévoile aujourd’hui un diamant blanc de 102,34 carats extraordinairement rare. Cette pierre est le seul diamant rond brillant de plus de 100 carats connu au monde parfait au regard de des quatre critères qui déterminent la valeur et la rareté d’un diamant, plus communément connus sous la dénomination « 4C ». Outre son poids hors norme, le diamant se distingue par une couleur, une pureté et une taille exceptionnelles. 

Pesant 102,34 carats, ce chef-d’oeuvre de la nature est non seulement le diamant blanc le plus rare jamais apparu sur le marché, il est aussi le plus gros diamant rond, de couleur D et pureté« Flawless » connu à ce jour. Seule pierre de la sorte jamais certifiée par le GIA (Gemological Institute of America), le diamant est decouleur D (la meilleure couleur possible pour un diamant), de pureté exceptionnelle (le terme « Flawless » signifiant l’absence d’inclusions aussi bien externes qu’internes) et se caractérise par une taille, un éclat et une symétrie jugés exceptionnels. A l’instar des célèbres diamants Cullinan I et Koh-i-noor qui font partie des joyaux de la couronne britannique, cette pierre appartient à une catégorie comprenant moins de 2% des diamants de qualité précieuse, appelée Type IIa*. Les diamants de ce groupe sont chimiquement les plus purs et s’illustrent souvent par une exceptionnelle transparence optique. 

Selon Patti Wong, Fondatrice et Présidente de Sotheby’s Diamonds: « Ce diamant, c’est plus de 100 carats de pure perfection. Au cours de ma longue carrière, j’ai eu la chance de croiser certaines des plus belles pierres au monde mais je n’ai jamais rien vu de la sorte. C’est un chef-d’oeuvre de la nature que la main de l’homme a révélé pour en faire jaillir un feu d’artifice de couleur. Sa brillance est incroyable, quasi-hypnotique. C’est un rare privilège de pouvoir célébrer le premier anniversaire de notre salon londonien avec un tel diamant. »

The Largest D Flawless Round Brilliant in the World. 102.34 carats, The World’s Largest-Known Round, D Colour, Flawless Diamond. © Sotheby’s Diamonds.

LONDON.- To celebrate the first anniversary of its New Bond Street salon, Sotheby’s Diamonds, a retail boutique specialising in the world’s finest diamonds, unveiled a stone of exception – an extraordinarily rare 102.34 carat white diamond. The stone is the only known round brilliant-cut diamond over 100 carats perfect according to every critical criterion: in addition to the high number of carats, the stone is also perfect in colour, clarity and cut. 

At 102.34 carats, this masterpiece of nature is the rarest white diamond ever to come to the market and the largest, round D colour flawless diamond known to man. The only stone of its kind ever graded by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America), the diamond has achieved the highest rankings under each of the criteria by which the quality of a stone is judged (‘the four Cs’). The diamond is D colour (the highest grade for a white diamond); of exceptional clarity (it is completely flawless, both internally and externally), and has excellent cut, polish and symmetry. As with the famous Cullinan I and Koh-i-noor diamonds, which are part of the British Crown Jewels, the stone is part of the rare subgroup comprising less than 2% of all gem diamonds, known as Type IIa*. Diamonds in this group are the most chemically pure type of diamond and often have exceptional optical transparency. 

Describing the stone, which is available for private purchase through Sotheby’s Diamonds and is on view to the public in Sotheby’s New Bond Street Galleries on 8 and 9 February 2018, Patti Wong, Founder and Chairman of Sotheby’s Diamonds, said: “This stone is over 100 carats of flawless perfection. In the course of my long career, which has brought me close to some of the greatest stones the earth has ever yielded, I have not encountered anything quite like this. With its outstanding weight, its perfect colour, clarity and cut, it is a masterpiece of nature brought to life by human hand, blazing with a brilliant firework-like display of almost every colour on the spectrum - mesmerising to behold. It is a huge privilege to mark the first anniversary of our London salon with the exhibition of such a superlative stone.” 

A Rarity in the mythical world of 100-carat Diamonds 
100 carats has always been a mythical number in the world of diamonds. While only a small number of diamonds weighing over 100 carats have been recorded, barely any diamonds of that weight are known to possess the same exceptional qualities of purity and perfection as the Sotheby’s diamond. 

A Masterpiece of nature 
Finding a rough diamond that allows the cutter to end up with a stone of over 100 carats is a true and very rare discovery. The 425-carat rough stone which yielded the Sotheby’s diamond was mined by De Beers in Bostwana and subsequently cut and polished, over a period of six intense months, by Diacore’s most experienced artisans, in Johannesburg and New York. 

The Perfect Cut 
The round shape is the most sought after shape for colourless diamonds as it gives the most light and life to the stone; the proportions are well defined to reflect the optimum fire and dispersion to the eye of the observer. When it comes to stones of significant size, it is very rare to find a round brilliant-cut stone, as the cutter will generally try to keep the maximum of weight from the rough; therefore elongated cushions, emerald-cuts, and pear-shapes are usually more common for large diamonds. 

Given that diamonds are the hardest material on earth, great skill and precision is needed to cut them. Most of today’s greatest diamond cutters have learnt their trade from their forbears in an industry that – in spite of the advances of modern technology - still relies to a large degree on craftsmanship that has been handed down through families for generations. To cut a stone of this outstanding importance required a level of expertise and craftsmanship possessed by only a small handful of cutters. The Sotheby’s diamond is testament to the impeccable savoir-faire of the diamond cutter who, in the words of Patti Wong, “approached the task with the precision of Michelangelo”.

© Sotheby’s Diamonds.

 © Sotheby’s Diamonds.

 © Sotheby’s Diamonds.

 © Sotheby’s Diamonds.

Johann Paul Schor (1615–1674), known in Rome as Giovanni Paolo Tedesco, The Parade of Prince Giovan Battista's Carnival Float for the Masquerade of the Thursday Before Lent in 1664,1664. Courtesy Gallerie degli Uffizi.

FIRENZE - "Spectacular and rare" is how Gallerie degli Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt described the large painting by Johan Paul Schor, dated 1664, which the Gallery has just acquired.

"The painting depicts roughly a hundred figures dressed in gold costumes, parading for carnival in 1664 alongside the old Commedia dell'Arte masks. The parade gaily accompanies a monumental triumphal float – a masterpiece also made by Schor, as we know from the archives – and a carriage hosting members of the Roman aristocracy. Allowing us to relive the splendour of the Baroque era in Rome, the artist has immortalised and set in context the ephemeral (and thus now lost) masterpiece that was this monumental gilded triumphal float, while at the same time portraying himself (bottom right) in the act of proudly displaying a sheet bearing the signature: Gio. Paul Schor de Insprvh fat(to) il carro e il quadro anno 1664. Thus the painting also has its place in the collection of self-portraits begun in those very same years by Leopoldo de' Medici, the superlative collector whom we are continuing to celebrate in a major exhibition at Palazzo Pitti until 25 February. It is also worth pointing out that Schor, who was born in Innsbruck in Austria, achieved international renown in Rome, where he lived from 1640 until his death in 1679: thus he symbolises the truly European dimension of the Italian art scene in the Baroque era, which is another reason why the acquisition of this painting highlights both the national and the European stature of the Gallerie degli Uffizi's collections."

Curator of 17th Century Painting Maria Matilde Simari added: "The Austrian stage designer and artist, who was known in Italy as Giovanni Paolo Todesco (1615–79) provides us in this painting with an original example of his overflowing Baroque imagination. Schor was capable of devising astonishingly inventive urban stage sets, yet also of producing precious pictures in fresco and on canvas, in addition to designing furnishings and items of everyday use. He was a diligent assistant of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who detected an affinity in this northern European master in the production of exuberant machines and apparatuses that embodied the typical taste of their era to the highest degree". 

Alessandra Griffo, Curator of 18th Century Painting, Tapestries, Furniture and Carriages, said in conclusion: "The location in which we plan to hang this painting, at the start of the tour of Palazzo Pitti's new Museum of Carriages, will fully enhance the iconographic significance and uniqueness of a work that reflects one of the artist's areas of expertise, because the theme of carriages explored in detail for their decorative and representative potential is addressed in many of the drawings by Johann Paul Schor and his circle now in the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi and other international collections."

 Courtesy Gallerie degli Uffizi.

Courtesy Gallerie degli Uffizi. 

Attributed to Francesco Melzi, Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1515-18. Red chalk, 27.5 x 19.0 cm (sheet of paper), RCIN 912726. Royal Collection Trust / © HM Queen Elizabeth II 2018

In February 2019, to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, 144 of the Renaissance master's greatest drawings in the Royal Collection will go on display in 12 simultaneous exhibitions across the UK. 

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, a nationwide event, will give the widest-ever UK audience the opportunity to see the work of this extraordinary artist. 12 drawings selected to reflect the full range of Leonardo's interests – painting, sculpture, architecture, music, anatomy, engineering, cartography, geology and botany – will be shown at each venue in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland, with a further venue to be announced.  

Danh Vō, She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene, 2009. Brass bugle, felt cap with velvet, bayonet sheath, field radio with wood and leather case, sashes, wooden drumsticks, fife, leather sword belt with gold and silver details, and 13-star American flag, 96.5 x 54.5 x 13.5 cm. Collection of Chantal Crousel. Photo: Jean-Daniel Pellen, Paris.

NEW YORK, NY.- From February 9 through May 9, 2018, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum presents the first comprehensive survey in the United States of work by Danish artist Danh Vo (b. 1975, Ba Ria, Vietnam). Danh Vo: Take My Breath Away offers an illuminating overview of Vō’s production from the past 15 years, including several new projects created on the occasion of the Guggenheim presentation. Filling the ramps of the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda and comprising more than one hundred objects, the exhibition interweaves installations, sculptures, photographs, and works on paper from various points in the artist’s career, amplifying thematic resonances among diverse cultural and political subjects. 

Danh Vō: Take My Breath Away is organized by Katherine Brinson, Daskalopoulos Curator, Contemporary Art, with Susan Thompson, Associate Curator, and with additional support from Ylinka Barotto, Assistant Curator.  

Vō’s installations dissect the power structures, cultural forces, and private desires that shape our experience of the world. His work addresses themes of religion, colonialism, capitalism, and artistic authorship, but refracts these sweeping subjects through intimate personal narratives—what the artist calls “the tiny diasporas of a person’s life.” Each project grows out of a period of intense research in which historical study, fortuitous encounters, and personal relationships are woven into psychologically potent tableaux. Subjected to Vō’s vivid processes of deconstruction and recombination, found objects, documents, and images become registers of latent histories and sociopolitical fissures. 

Danh Vō, Das Beste oder Nichts, 2010. Engine of Phung Vo’s Mercedes-Benz 190, 66 x 101.6 x 205.7 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Purchased with funds contributed by the International Director’s Council 2011.56. Photo: Kristopher McKay © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York © Danh Vo.

Ranging the full spectrum of Vo’s oeuvre—from early conceptual works such as Vō Rosasco Rasmussen (2003), in which he married and divorced acquaintances in order to add their surnames to his own, to his recent sculptural hybrids of antique statuary—the exhibition will forgo a chronological presentation, instead assembling works from the past fifteen years by their formal and thematic resonances. Significant subjects include the legacy of colonialism and the fraught status of the refugee. In particular, Vo has focused on European and U.S. influences in Southeast Asia and Latin America, examining the relationship between military interventions and more diffuse cultural incursions from forces such as evangelical Catholicism and consumer brands. Objects absorbed into the work are frequently charged by knowledge of their former ownership or their status as historical bystanders. Whether presenting the intimate possessions of his family members, a series of thank-you notes from Henry Kissinger, or the chandeliers that glittered above the signing of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, which ended American involvement in the Vietnam War, Vō subtly excavates the internal tensions embedded in his material. Repeatedly, he has probed the myths and symbols that frame entrenched cultural ideals and aspirations, from the Grimms’ Cinderella to the Statue of Liberty and the Kennedys’ “Camelot.” A sustained focus of the work has been the image of the United States in its own collective imagination and in that of the world—a topic that is central to this exhibition. 

For his Guggenheim presentation, Vō has made several subtle architectural interventions that aim to amplify the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic building. The oculus covering has been removed to allow natural shifts in sunlight and shadow to filter though the ramps below. Specially selected flora revitalizes the museum’s outdoor gardens and also features in plantings distributed within the interior of the building in Talavera pottery commissioned by the artist. 

Fabulous Muscles Take My Breath Away (2018) is a new, site-specific work for which Danh Vō’s father and frequent collaborator, Phung Vō, hand-etched windows on the rotunda floor with calligraphy of his own design that transcribes lyrics written by the band Xiu Xiu and the exhibition’s title.

Danh Vō, Installation view: Danh Vo, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, November 13, 2014 – February 25, 2015. Photo: Abigail Enzaldo and Emilio Bernabé García, courtesy Museo Jumex, Mexico City. 

Danh Vō, Bye bye, 2010. Photogravure, sheet, 25 3/5 × 20 1/2 in, 65 × 52 cm. Edition of 24. Photo: Nick Ash, courtesy the artist © Danh Vō

André Derain, Londres: la Tamise au pont de Westminster, oil on canvas, 1906-07. Estimate: £6,000,000-9,000,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

London – André Derain’s Londres: la Tamise au pont de Westminster (1906-07, estimate: £6,000,000-9,000,000) will star in Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 27 February, launching ‘20th Century at Christie’s’, a series of auctions that take place in London from 20 February to 7 March 2018. One of 29 recorded paintings of London that Derain painted across 1906 and 1907, it comes to auction alongside the exhibition ‘Impressionists and London’ currently on view at London’s Tate Britain. Londres: la Tamise au pont de Westminster is captured from the Albert Embankment, portraying the Thames, the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Bridge and, in the background, the pyramidal silhouette of Whitehall Court. As with all of the works in this series, the British capital is saturated in radiant colour. The expansive grey waters of the Thames are transformed into a mosaic of shimmering yellow, blue and turquoise; the sunlit sky rendered in an iridescent patchwork of blues and pinks. The painting will be on view in Hong Kong from 5 to 8 February and New York from 12 to 14 February 2018 before being exhibited in London from 20 to 27 February 2018.

Just a few months before he ventured to London, Derain had made his explosive debut into the Parisian art world when he was included in the Salon d’Automne of 1905. Derain’s work at the Salon caught the eye of one of Paris’ leading contemporary art dealers, the man who had, a few months earlier, introduced the artist to Matisse: Ambroise Vollard. Vollard became his dealer later that same year and it was his idea to send Derain to London and commission him to paint a series of cityscapes there. With Monet’s famous series of Thames views set firmly in his mind, over the course of his time in London, Derain travelled across the city in search of his subjects, sketching an array of different views. Unlike Monet, whose depictions of the city had centred around three specific viewpoints, Derain was not fixed to one specific location. Instead he captured the city from a range of positions, never returning to an identical subject twice in an attempt to challenge himself with each work. The notorious London fogs for which London was so well known, and under whose spell Monet had fallen, proved strangely elusive for Derain. As a result, Derain did not pursue the same muted, soft effects of light and colour that this atmospheric condition cast over the appearance of the city, but rather focused on more radical formal experimentation.

Keith Gill, Head of Sale, Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, Christie’s, London: “Derain’s time spent in London saw him produce some of the most revolutionary works of his career. With its blazing colour, radical means of execution and structure, Londres: la Tamise au pont de Westminster is a magnificent painting that takes its place within the esteemed artistic lineage of Turner, Whistler and Monet, all of whom had depicted London in their art. Among the most iconic works of Fauvism, many of this rare series of London paintings are now housed in museum collections across the world, including the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Tate Gallery, London, where a selection of other works from this groundbreaking London series are currently on view in the exhibition, ‘Impressionists in London’. Following the widely acclaimed exhibition of Derain’s work of this period at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, we are honoured to present this rare Fauvist work in our Evening Sale in London.”  

 Arriving in London with a strongly felt desire to take colour, and indeed painting, beyond traditional conventions, Derain’s radical ideas took flight upon visiting the capital’s collections of non-Western art. Visiting the ethnographic and ancient collections of the British Museum, he was immediately inspired to ‘make of the Thames something other than coloured photographs’, as he wrote to Matisse on 15 March 1906. Immersed in the capital, its national collections, and most importantly, removed from the avant-garde hub of Paris, Derain was able to forge an artistic idiom that was wholly unique.

Alessandro Casolani (1552/53 -1607), Woman contemplating a skull, 1552-1607. Black and red chalk with a reddish wash, 286 x 199 mm. SMK, The Royal Collection of Graphic Art.

COPENHAGEN.- A new exhibition at the National Gallery of Denmark discusses how artistic creativity has found expression through the ages while also refuting the Romantic notion of the lonely artist-genius who, in a momentary rush of inspiration, creates a unique masterpiece independently of time and place. 

Throughout the spring of 2018, SMK visitors can explore works by Donato Bramante, Paolo Veronese, El Greco, Rembrandt van Rijn, Edgar Degas, Nicolai Abildgaard, Bertel Thorvaldsen, Christen Købke, P.S. Krøyer and many other great masters of art history. The exhibition Art in the Making delves into the artists’ creative processes, offering insight into their deliberations as they created their works. 

For how is a work of art made? How do ideas arise, and what processes does the work undergo before it is finished? These questions are addressed in this exhibition, which invites visitors to trace the evolution of selected works of art – from the initial idea to the finished work. 

Presenting more than 150 drawings, fine-art prints and paintings dating from the fifteenth to the twentieth century, the exhibition allows visitors to explore the relationships between sketches and finished works – and how artistic creativity has unfolded itself in different ways through the ages. 

The exhibition shows rarely-seen works from the Royal Collection of Graphic Art as well as a range of major masterpieces from e.g. the Louvre in Paris, British Museum in London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm 

The myth of the creative genius 
There are many myths about how a work of art is created. Most of them share the assumption that artists possess special creative gifts that set them apart from other people. Inspiration, the ability to see possibilities that are hidden to ordinary mortals, and the ability to engross oneself completely in one’s work are the three most frequently seen factors in the various myths about how art is made. 

The exhibition Art in the Making deflates these myths by demonstrating how creativity is very much a working process. And that most artists have made their works of art through the application of experience, craftsmanship and hard work, with each finished work being preceded by plenty of sketches. 

A lifetime of research 
The exhibition Art in the Making is based on the lifelong study of Old Master drawings conducted by Chris Fischer, senior researcher and head of SMK’s Centre for Advanced Studies in Master Drawings. An internationally acclaimed expert, Fischer has conducted extensive research within the field and arranged exhibitions at institutions such as the Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi in Florence, the Courtauld Gallery in London and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He is the world’s foremost expert on the work of the Italian Renaissance artist Fra Bartolommeo, who ranks alongside Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo as one of the four pre-eminent artists of the High Renaissance. 

The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive book written by Chris Fischer. Here, selected works of art are subjected to a close study of the creative process, exploring every step from idea to finished work. The author also considers factors such as tradition, finances and societal demands and how they have influenced the working procedure as well as the finished work of art.

Alessandro Casolani (1552/53 -1607), Woman contemplating a skull. Before 1591. Oil on canvas, 63 x 44.5 cm. SMK.

Lot 143. A jade blade (ge), Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE). Length 4 7/8  in., 12.4 cm. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 USD. Lot sold 4,375 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the double edges beveled, a small circular aperture just below the rectangular nei carved with serrations on one end, the dark green stone with white inclusions . 

Provenance: Acquired in London, 1980.

Property from the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection.

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

Lot 145. A jade tiger implement, Shang dynasty  (c. 1600-1046 BCE).  Length 2 3/4  in., 6 cm. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 USD. Lot sold 6,250 USD. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

the double edges beveled, a small circular aperture just below the rectangular nei carved with serrations on one end, the dark green stone with white inclusions . 

Provenance: Acquired in New York, 1975.

Property from the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection.

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

Lot 487. A pair of famille-rose covered bowls, Daoguang seal marks and period (1821-1850). Diameter 4 1/4  in., 19.8 cm. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Lot sold 16,250 USD. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

Lot 488. A famille-rose'Figure' bowl, Xianfeng mark and period (1831-1861). Diameter 4 1/4  in., 10.7 cm. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000 USD. Lot sold 20,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

Lot 489. A famille-rose hexagonal cup, Jiaqing seal mark and period (1796-1820). Diameter 3 in., 7.6 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 25,000 USD. Lot sold 20,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's 2014.

Lot 490. Two Yixing famille-rose enameled teapots and covers, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Height of taller 9 5/8  in., 24.5 cm. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 6,875 USD. Photo Sotheby's 2014.