Lot 2148. A finely carved white glass 'Lotus' box and cover, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 2 13/16 in. (7.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 220,000. Price realised HKD 325,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The circular cover is carved with a quatrefoil cartouche enclosing lotus seeds in the middle surrounded by lotus petals extending to the rounded sides of the box. The base of the box is inscribed with a Qianlong six-character mark. The material is of a semi-translucent opalescent white tone. 

Property from the Collection of George and Marcia Good, California

Provenance: Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 1935
Sterling Art, San Francisco, 1990s  

Lot 2153. A pair of transparent green octagonal bottle vases, Daoguang incised four-character marks within squares and of the period (1821-1850); 7 7/8 in. (20 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 250,000 - HKD 350,000. Price realised HKD 312,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Each vase is faceted into eight sides, supported on a straight foot and rising to a long neck of conforming shape. The material is of a transparent emerald-green tone (2). 

Property from the Collection of George and Marcia Good, California

Provenance: Benjamin Stein, Amsterdam, 2001

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 3019. A gilt copper figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Khasa Malla, 13th- 14th century; 23 in. (58.5 cm) high. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61544.  Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,600,000. Sold for US$ 1,392,500 (€ 1,130,643). © Bonhams 2001-2018

NEW YORK, NY.- Bonhams concluded its Asia Week with a total of $16.96 million, the highest total ever achieved for Asia Week at Bonhams New York, realized over six sales from March 19 to 21. 

“This was a special season at Bonhams as we celebrated our 10th anniversary of Asia Week in New York. The successful results of our sales emphasized the continued strength of the market in a wide range of categories from Tibetan sculptures to Chinese classical works of art. We were also delighted to have presented a special non-selling exhibition showcasing Masterpieces of Japanese Art from a private collection,” said Dessa Goddard, US Head of Asian Art, Bonhams. 

The Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art sale on March 19 and the evening sale of The Maitri Collection sale on March 20 totaled $11.2 million with the leading work achieving $1,392,500 – a 13th/ 14th century gilt copper figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, one of the largest Buddha bronzes thus far attributed to the lost Khasa Malla kingdom of Western Tibet and Western Nepal. In addition, the groundbreaking gilded 15th century Tibetan sculpture of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara realized $1,212,500. Other significant results were achieved by a rare Nepalese bronze of Manjusri Namansangiti of Heeramaneck provenance that sold for $672,500. 

Lot 3019. A gilt copper figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Khasa Malla, 13th- 14th century; 23 in. (58.5 cm) high. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61544.  Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,600,000. Sold for US$ 1,392,500 (€ 1,130,643). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Provenance: Rossi & Rossi, Hong Kong, 2004
Private Asian Collection

Published: Yixi Pingcuo, Haiwai huiliu xizang wenwu jingcui (Quintessence of Returning Tibetan Cultural Relics From Overseas), Beijing, 2012, pp.52-3.
Zaoxiang Yishu Jicui, The Art of Buddhist Sculpture Beijing, 2013, p.125.

Exhibited: Quintessence of Returning Tibetan Cultural Relics from Overseas, Tibet Museum, Lhasa, June 2012.
The Art of Buddhist Sculpture, Capital Museum, Beijing, 8 - 28 November 2013. 

Note: This Buddha is one of the largest bronzes thus far attributed to the lost Khasa Malla kingdom of Western Tibet and Western Nepal (flourished 13th century). It was evidently produced by the artist(s) in their prime, exhibiting the highest quality of modeling, casting, chasing, and gilding. 

His formidable frame is softened by the sinuous fluidity of the sheer sanghati clinging to his body, and the delicate engraving on the double hemlines, showing scrolling vines and rice grain patterns. The caster has achieved a beautiful balance and symmetry between the precise 'fishtail' lapel of Shakyamuni's robe over the left, coupled with its hems pooling around his ankles.

Fleshy cheeks, heavy-lidded eyes, and plump lips convey the auspiciousness of a well-nourished being, integral to the criteria for beauty within Nepalese aesthetics. He smiles cheerfully, very much present before his audience, where other large Buddha images seem deliberately aloof. 

Exemplary of the Khasa Malla tradition, the back of the sculpture's base is plain and painted with red pigment. The double-lotus band across the front and sides, however, has plump, double-lobed petals incised with an eyelash motif. Below them runs a frieze with an upright vajra flanked by side ribbons at the center of a bed of scrolling vines, floral roundels, and a pair of lions. 

Siudmak finds the origins of Khasa Malla lotus bases in the bronze sculpture of Kashmir (Siudmak,The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences, 2013, p.462). However, details particular to this rare instance of a large Khasa Malla Buddha surviving with its original base, and that base having an even rarer ornate band, appear to indicate borrowings from the Pala style. This can be gleaned from the similarity of the scrolling lotus vines and the lions facing outwards with their tails whipping over their backs (cf. Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree, Dayton, 1990, no.36). Yet closer still, the bronze appears to be in union with the 14th-century Newari painted murals of the South chapel of Shalu monastery in Southern Tibet, with its inverted flowers presented as closed blossoms or palmettes. The only other known large sculpture to feature a similar lower band is a bronze of Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari from the Sandor Fuss Collection, which is embellished with simpler floral decoration (Rossi & Rossi, 2007, no.7).  

In discussion of the present lot, Ian Alsop states:

"It is notable for the mystery that surrounds the Khasa Malla dynasty... The Khasa Mallas were kings with somewhat contradictory origins and leanings. As Indo-Aryans who first used the language now known as Nepali – the state language of the world's "only Hindu kingdom"– they were apparently Buddhists who ruled an area containing both Tibetan Buddhists and Brahmanical Nepalese."
(Foxun–zaoxiang yishu jicui – The Art of Buddhist Sculpture, Beijing, 2013, p.124):

The bronze sculpture patronized by these kings borrowed from the broader Newari tradition of the Kathmandu Valley, while also distinguishing itself from it. The acutely defined knuckles of the right hand and the ribbon-form jeweled earrings are two such idioms setting the Khasa Malla style apart, in addition to the aforementioned base. Related examples included a smaller Buddha on a plain lotus base, with a similarly broad and robust frame, sold at Sotheby's, New York, 17 June 1993, lot 9. Two without their bases are in the collection of the Patan Museum (http://asianart.com/patan-museum/a10.html) and the Rubin Museum of Art (HAR#65687). Another large Khasa Malla Buddha of bulkier proportions on an unglided lotus base within a private Beijing collection is published in Dependent Arising - Himalayan Art, Beijing, 2018, no.58. Also compare with large sculptures of the Bon figure of Tonpa Shenrab in the Pritzker Collection (HAR#58313).

Lot 3033. A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha, By Sonam Gyaltsen (a.15th Century), Central Tibet, Circa 1430; 26 1/8 in. (67.7 cm) high. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61516. Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000. Sold for US$ 1,212,500 (€ 984,491). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Cf. my post: Bonhams announces highlights from its Asia Week New York sales and exhibitions

Lot 3203. A gilt copper figure of Manjusri Namansangiti, Nepal, 13th-14th century. Himalayan Art Resources item no.58573; 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm) high. Estimate US$ 250,000 - 350,000 (€ 200,000 - 280,000). Sold for US$ 672,500 (€ 546,037). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Cf. my post: Bonhams announces highlights from its Asia Week New York sales and exhibitions

Edward Wilkinson, Global Head of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, commented: “Bonhams continues to offer the highest quality Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art and demonstrates its position as the leader in this category. It was gratifying to see global interest and participation for works at all price levels, exemplified by the important 15th century Tibetan sculpture of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, which sold for $1.2 million.” 

The sales of Chinese Works of Art and Paintings and The Dr. Sylvan and Faith Golder Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles realized a total of $4.4 million, with the top lot – a beautiful hanging scroll of Red Peony, 1948 by Yu Feian selling for ten times its estimate at $348,500. A further strong price of $275,000 was achieved for an elegantly potted celadon-glazed double-gourd vase with a Qianlong seal mark and of the period, which was deaccessioned from the Currier Museum of Art. 

Lot 8228. Yu Feian (1888-1959), Red Peony, 1948. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed and signed Feian, dated wuzi year (1948), with three artist's seals reading Yu Zhao si yin, Feian liushi hou zuo, and fugui yeyi. 37 1/2 x 20in (95.5 x 50.8cm). Estimate $25,000 - 40,000. Sold for US$ 348,500 (€ 282,965). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Provenance: Acquired in Beijing prior to 1949 by US Foreign Service Officer

Lot 8047. A celadon-glazed double-gourd vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 12 1/2in (31.7cm) high. Estimate US$ 60,000 - 90,000 (€ 48,000 - 73,000). Sold for US$ 275,000 (€ 223,286). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Cf. my post: A celadon-glazed double-gourd vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795)

The Fine Japanese and Korean Art and The Arno Ziesnitz Collection sale was highlighted by a highly important Meiji-era solid-gold short sword, which realized $187,500, and a Korean ten-panel screen depicting a bird's eye view of Pyongyang from the Joseon dynasty, sold for $87,500.

Lot 2266. Tanaka Kiyotoshi (1804-1876), A highly important solid-gold tanto, Meiji era (1868-1912), dated 1871; 10 1/4in (26cm) long (blade only), 13 3/4in (34.9cm) long overall. Estimate US$ 12,000 - 18,000 (€ 9,700 - 15,000). Sold for US$ 187,500 (€ 152,240). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Cf. my post: Bonhams announces highlights from its Asia Week New York sales and exhibitions

Lot 2293. Kecheng godaejido 箕城古圖 고대지도, A 10-panel screen of Pyongyang and its environs, Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), 19th-20th century. Ink and slight color on silk, showing a bird's eye view of the city, agricaultural and rural areas, and the surrounding rivers and distant mountians, inscribed Kecheng godaejido Pyongyang i han beon sseossda 箕城古圖 平壤一斎寫 (평양 일재사), signature and seal of Il-Jae (1865-1938); 38 5/8 x 120 1/2in (98.1 x 306cm), image only; (57 x 123 1/2in (144.7 x 313.7cm) overall. Estimate US$ 35,000 - 45,000. Sold for US$ 87,500 (€ 71,045). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Nicolas de Staël, Marseille, 1954, huile sur toile, 80,5 x 60 cm, collection privée. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Comité Nicolas de Staël

Organisée par Culturespaces, l’exposition Nicolas de Staël en Provence se tiendra du 27 avril au 23 septembre 2018 à l’Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d’art. A travers 71 peintures et 26 dessins provenant de prestigieuses collections internationales publiques et privées, cette exposition se concentre, pour la première fois et de manière exclusive, sur le développement de l’œuvre de Nicolas de Staël lors de son séjour en Provence, entre juillet 1953 et octobre 1954.

La période provençale de Nicolas de Staël marque un tournant essentiel, aussi bien dans sa vie que dans son œuvre. Entre juillet 1953 et juin 1954, l’artiste y puise une nouvelle source d’inspiration. La découverte de la lumière du Midi, la beauté exceptionnelle de ce pays, la rencontre amoureuse d’une femme et l’épreuve de la solitude qui lui permet de répondre à sa future exposition à New York à la galerie Paul Rosenberg, sont autant d’expériences qui nourrissent son imaginaire et le rythme spectaculaire de sa production artistique. La renommée internationale de Nicolas de Staël prend son élan au cœur de la Provence.

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage de Provence, 1953, Huile sur toile, 33 x 46 cm, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid © Adagp, Paris, 2018. Photo : © Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid 

À Lagnes, en juillet 1953, le regard du peintre s’intensifie. Les paysages sont saisis au plus près de leur motif avec une attention portée sur l’évolution de la lumière au fil de la journée. En août, le peintre voyage jusqu’en Sicile. Son appréhension des paysages, des sites archéologiques et des musées, lui permet, une fois de retour à Lagnes, de mettre en chantier une série de tableaux parmi les plus importants de sa carrière, notamment à partir des notes prises dans ses carnets à Fiesole, Agrigente, Selinonte et Syracuse. À la même époque, son intérêt pour l’étude du nu trouve son expression la plus accomplie dans les grands tableaux de figures et de nus qui dialoguent souvent avec le paysage.

Au terme de cette année intense de travail, le peintre a la certitude, en 1954, d’avoir donné le maximum de sa force. Préparant son exposition à New-York, il écrit à Paul Rosenberg : «Je vous donne là, avec ce que vous avez, de quoi faire la plus belle exposition que je n’ai jamais faite. »

Nicolas de Staël, Arbre rouge, 1953, huile sur toile, 46 x 61 cm, collection privée© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Christie’s 

L’exposition Nicolas de Staël en Provence rend compte des plus hautes envolées picturales du peintre. Ici, la précision d’un regard révèle la nature dans son expression la plus inventive.

Un catalogue bilingue anglais-français, richement illustré, sera publiéà l’occasion de l’exposition, sous la direction de Gustave de Staël et Marie du Bouchet, commissaires de l’exposition.

27 avril - 23 septembre 2018. Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d'Art, Aix-en-Provence, France

Nicolas de Staël, Agrigente, 1953, huile sur toile, 54 x 73 cm, CR 733, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Hövikodden, Norway © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Hövikodden, Norway

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage de Sicile, 1953, huile sur toile, 87,5 x 129,5 cm, CR 736, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Courtesy Fitzwilliam Musuem, Cambridge

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage, 1953, huile sur toile, 100 x 73 cm, collection privée © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Arbres et maisons, 1953, huile sur toile, 65 x 81 cm, collection privée. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Applicat-Prazan

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage de Provence, 1953, huile sur toile, 81 x 65 cm, collection privée. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Applicat-Prazan

Nicolas de Staël, Bol Blanc, 1953, huile sur toile, 32,3 x 54,6 cm, Cincinnati Art Museum, Bequest of Mary E. Johnston, 1967. 1108© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Cincinnati Art Museum

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage, Sicile, 1953, huile sur toile, 73 x 100 cm, collection particulière, CR 727© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Ciel de Vaucluse, 1953, huile sur toile, 16 x 24 cm, CR 666© Adagp, Paris, 2018 photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Arbre, 1953, huile sur toile, 22 x 33 cm, collection particulière, CR 649© Adagp, Paris, photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Grignan, 1953, huile sur toile, 14 x 22 cm, CR 594, Nathan Fine Art Zurich© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo: © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Paysage, 1953, huile sur toile, 14 x 22 cm, CR 603, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo: © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Nicolas de Staël, Le soleil, 1953, huile sur toile, 16 x 24 cm, CR 667, collection particulière© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Agrigente, 1953-1954, huile sur toile, 60 x 81 cm, peint à Ménerbes, collection privée. Courtesy Lefevre Fine Art, Londres, photo: © Courtesy Lefevre Fine Art, Londres.

Nicolas de Staël, Bateaux Rouges, 1954, Huile sur toile, 81 x 60,3 cm, Milwaukee Art Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, 1959-1960, Milwaukee Art Museum, Photo : © Dedra Walls© Adagp, Paris, 2018 

Nicolas de Staël, Agrigente, 1954, Huile sur toile, 60 x 81 cm, Collection Privée. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, Photo : © Comité Nicolas de Staël

Nicolas de Staël, Marseille, 1954, huile sur toile, 80,5 x 60 cm, CR 787, collection particulière. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Comité Nicolas de Staël

Nicolas de Staël, Sicile, 1954, huile sur toile, 60 x 81 cm, collection privée© Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Jean Louis Losi

Nicolas de Staël, Les Martigues, 1954, huile sur toile, 61 x 50,5 cm, CR 782, collection particulière. Courtesy Applicat-Prazan, Paris © Adagp, Paris, 2018, photo : © Applicat-Prazan

Lot 2111. A rare peachbloom-glazed 'Chrysanthemum' vase, juban ping, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price realised HKD 4,460,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Lot 2112. A peachbloom-glazed beehive water pot, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 5 in. (12.5 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,200,000. Price realised HKD 1,940,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Lot 2113. A fine and rare small white-glazed vase, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 350,000 - HKD 450,000. Price realised HKD 1,340,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Lot 2314. A fine 'eel-skin' glazed bottle vase, Qianlong impressed six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 7¼ in. (18.4 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 920,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Lot 2137. A fine and rare pink-enamelled saucer dish, Yongzheng six-character mark within double-squares and of the period (1723-1735); 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 3,140,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Lot 2118. A fine and rare clair-de-lune glazed vase, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,200,000 - HKD 1,800,000. Price realised HKD 12,420,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The slender vase has tall rounded shoulders rising to a trumpet neck. The whole is covered in a fine pale sky blue glaze except for the white concave base bearing the reign mark, silver stand by Tiffany & Co.

Provenance: Mrs. Potter Palmer, Chicago (1849-1918)
J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners 

Literature: The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. III, no. 161

Note: The vase is described as an amphora after the Greek shape, but it is known in Chinese as Guanyin ping as its shape compares well to the libation vase said to contain ambrosia held by many figures of Guanyin, as depicted in paintings and sculptures. It is also known in Chinese as liuye ping, 'willow-leaf vase', owing to its elegant form which resembles that of a willow leaf. Vases of this form belong to one of the eight vessels made for the imperial scholar's desk, known as Badama, 'Eight Great Numbers', and decorated with the peachbloom glaze. 

Compare to a similar example in the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, New York, also with a Tiffany & Co. stand and bequeathed by Benjamin Altman in 1913, who was a contemporary of J. Insley Blair (acquisition no.: 14.40.367). Another example, also in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is illustrated in The World's Great Collections, Oriental Ceramics, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, no. 136, where it is illustrated with other clair-de-lune glazed objects for the scholar's table. S.G. Valenstein also discusses this collection and relates the finely potted cobalt-glazed wares to later period in the Kangxi reign, see A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pp. 239-241. Another from the collection of Prince Gong (1833-1898), is illustrated by S. Lee, Selected Far Eastern Art in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1970, no. 341.

Two examples were sold at auction, the first from the Jingguantang Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 5 November 1997, lot 861, and the other was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1 November 1999, lot 340.

Lot 2119. A fine and very rare lavender-glazed bottle vase, Yongzheng six-character seal mark and of the period (1723-1735); 6 in. (15.2 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 5,300,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The vase is exquisitely potted with the angled shoulder tapering to a tall slim cylindrical neck. It is covered overall with a soft lavender glaze with the exception of the base bearing the seal mark written in three vertical lines under a transparent glaze, wood stand.

Provenance: Mrs. Potter Palmer, Chicago (1849-1918)
J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners 

Literature: The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. III, no. 116

Note: Compare to a pair of vases of this same size, shape and glaze, formerly in the J. P. Morgan and Peter A.B. Widener Collections, now in National Gallery of Art, Washington, illustrated in Decorative Arts, Part II, Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 86. Another example, also of same shape and glaze, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and was bequeathed by Benjamin Altman in 1913, who was a contemporary of J. Insley Blair (acquisition no.: 14.40.31). 

Lot 2306. A fine and rare guan-type glazed pear-shaped vase,fanghu, Yongzheng six-character seal mark and of the period (1723-1735); 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 400,000 - HKD 600,000. Price realised HKD 5,300,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The rectangular-sectioned vase is stoutly potted with rounded sides rising to a wide mouth. The sloping neck is flanked by a pair of cylindrical lug handles. The vase is covered overall with an even glaze of widely crackled greyish blue-green tone, with the exception of the unglazed foot rim which is covered with a brown dressing.

Note: A Yongzheng vase of similar form and size without a mark in the Qing Court Collection is illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 205. The author states that the group of unmarked Yongzheng examples were intended to imitate archaic prototypes. Another large Yongzheng-marked example (43.8 cm. high) was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 26 October 1993, lot 95.

The application of Song-type celadon glazes to porcelain, such as on the present lot, was another aspect of archaism seen at the court of the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The use of Song-type glazes on porcelains started at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in the early Ming dynasty, and was one of several archaistic trends that continued into the Qing reigns. Song dynasty glazes that were particularly revered by the Ming and Qing emperors included Northern Song Ru ware and Southern Song Guan ware and Ge ware. Compare to a Ming Guan-type glazed huvase inscribed by the Qianlong emperor also in the Qing Court Collection, op. cit., pl. 201. Although a number of Qing dynasty ceramics decorated with Song-style glazes were made in ancient forms, as in the case of the present vase, there are examples of the same Song-type glazes being applied to new shapes that were pioneered at the time during the Qing dynasty. 

Lot 2116. A rare copper-red decorated 'Dragon' vase, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 2,660,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The vase is exquisitely potted with the angled shoulder tapering to a tall slim cylindrical neck. It is covered overall with a soft lavender glaze with the exception of the base bearing the seal mark written in three vertical lines under a transparent glaze, wood stand.

Provenance: Richard Bennett Collection, Thornby Hall, Northampton (b. 1849)
J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners 

Literature: The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. 1, no. 104 

Note: This vase appears to be one of two unique examples among a small group of Kangxi-marked copper-red dragon wares. A high-shouldered vase with a similar vigorous dragon and comparable size (22.2 cm. high) in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art is illustrated by R. Scott ed., Chinese Copper Red Wares, London, 1992, pl. 16. Compare also to examples of similar form and size but with an underglaze-blue and copper-red design of a dragon above waves such as the vase sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 383. 

Lot 2117. A rare copper-red decorated 'Dragon' vase, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 8 1/4 in. (21 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 3,140,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The vase is finely potted with an ovoid body and a rounded shoulder rising to a tall cylindrical neck encircled with a stylised sinuous dragon. The dragon with three sharp claws has the scales detailed in pale red with mottled areas of green. The dragon's eyes are highlighted in underglaze-blue, wood stand.

Provenance: Richard Bennett Collection, Thornby Hall, Northampton (b. 1849)
J. Insley Blair (1870-1939) and thence by descent to the present owners 

Literature: The J. Insley Blair Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Tuxedo Park, New York, 1925, pl. 1, no. 103

This vase appears to be one of two unique examples among a small group of Kangxi-marked copper-red dragon wares. A high-shouldered vase with a similar vigorous dragon and comparable size (22.2 cm. high) in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art is illustrated by R. Scott ed., Chinese Copper Red Wares, London, 1992, pl. 16. Compare also to examples of similar form and size but with an underglaze-blue and copper-red design of a dragon above waves such as the vase sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 383.

The present lot is particularly effective in demonstrating the effects of the varying densities of the copper-red pigment, from dark red, red to green.  

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 28 November 2012, Hong Kong

Lot 2316. A fine and rare celadon-glazed charger, Qianlong period (1736-1795), xuhuatang zhi hall mark within double-squares; 18 7/8 in. (48 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 740,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The dish is well potted with shallow rounded sides raised on a slightly tapered ring foot. It is well moulded on the central medallion with a single large peony borne on a stem bearing jagged-edged leaves and a small bud. The everted rim is decorated with a keyfret band. It is covered in an attractive pastel green glaze. The base bears the hall mark Xuhuatang zhi, 'Made for the Hall of the Bright Rising Sun', inscribed in underglaze-blue, , wrapping cloth.

Provenance: Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 April 2001, lot 697; and Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1586 

Note: No other example bearing the Xuhuatang zhi hall mark appears to have been published, although a vessel inscribed with the four-character mark Xuhuatang cang, 'Treasure from the Hall of the Bright Rising Sun', has been published and dated to the Qianlong period by Geng Baochang, see Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Ming and Qing Porcelain on Inspection, Beijing, 1993, p. 348, pl. 5. 

Lot 2309. A fine teadust-glazed double-gourd vase, Qianlong impressed six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 8 1/8 in. (20.8 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 740,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The vase is well potted with a globular lower bulb and a slender, tapering upper bulb, linked by a pair of elegant high loop-handles terminating inruyi-heads. The waist is moulded with a band of petals divided by a central rib. The vase is covered overall in an even, finely speckled olive-green glaze, thinning to a russet-brown at the mouth rim and handles. The base is similarly glazed, except for the foot and the mark which are covered in a brown wash, stand, Japanese wood box.

Note: A number of examples of larger size (around 26 cm. high) are found in important collections, including one illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, no. 938; one included in the exhibition National Treasures - Gems of China's Cultural Relics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1997, Catalogue, pp. 352-353; one included in the Min Chiu Society Exhibition of Monochrome Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1977, Catalogue, no. 100, and subsequently sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2000, lot 378; and one sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2006, lot 1370. See also a smaller example (15.5 cm. high) sold at Christie's New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 2115.  

Lot 2138. A fine and very rare small white-glazed anhua-decorated cup, Yongzheng impressed four-character seal mark within a circle and of the period (1723-1735); 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 740,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The interior of the thin eggshell body is slip-decorated with a continuous scene of very delicately outlined cranes standing in a lotus pond. The cup is covered overall in an even white glaze with a faint bluish tinge, box.

The Property of a Southeast Asian Collector

Provenance: Sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 19 January 1988, lot 345; Christie's New York, 23 March 1995, lot 125 

Note: The present cup with its delicate lace-like slip-decoration beneath the white glaze is a very unusual decorative style in Qing period ceramics. This subtle technique enjoyed a brief popularity in the Yongzheng period among lighter-coloured glazes as exemplified by a yingqing-glazed bowl stand with slip designs of bats in flight, dating to the Yongzheng period, included in the exhibition Qingdai danseyou ciqi, Monochrome Porcelains of the Ch'ing Dynasty', National Palace Museum, 1981, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 113, no. 60. Slip-decoration was a technique commonly used in Song period Cizhou wares but it was later adopted by the imperial kilns during the Ming and Qing periods. An example of a white-glazed cup stand, slip-decorated on the interior with prunus blooms and dating to the Ming dynasty Chenghua period, from the Edward T. Chow collection was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 May 1981, lot 455. By the Qianlong period, this method of decoration gave way to overglaze decorations with the advancement in the development of the famille rose palette, and in particular the improvement of white enamels. For Qianlong-marked bowl with white enamel decoration on a turquoise ground, see The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai wenwu chubanshe, 2003, p. 265.  

Lot 2317. A flambé-glazed lobed vase, Daoguang incised six-character seal mark and of the period (1821-1850); 7 9/16 in. (19.2 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 400,000. Price realised HKD 524,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The vase is of hexafoil lobed section with conforming neck and everted floral rim, standing on a low flaring foot, all under a deep red glaze with purple and lavender streaks, the interior of the mouth with a light lavender glaze and the base covered in a brown wash, stand, Japanese wood box.   

Lot 2315. A robin's-egg glazed hu vase, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century; 12 in. (30.5 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 300,000 - HKD 500,000. Price realised HKD 400,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The vase is supported on a slightly splayed foot, the bulbous pear-shaped body rising to a waisted neck, with two raised bands beneath the neck, flanked on either side by a pair of elephant-head ring handles. It is covered with a finely mottled opaque glaze of turquoise and lavender hue that continues over the mouth rim and base, stand, Japanese wood box.   

Lot 2318. A fine and rare teadust-glazed basin, Daoguang incised six-character seal mark and of the period (1821-1850); 10 in. (25.4 cm.) across. Estimate HKD 180,000 - HKD 220,000. Price realised HKD 400,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

The basin is finely potted with deep curved sides rising from a slightly splayed foot ring and waisted below the rounded rim. It is covered in a flecked olive green glaze of a yellow tone with the exception of the foot rim which is dressed in a brown glaze.   

The property of a Hawaii collector

Provenance: Christie's New York, 4 June 1987, lot 322 

Note: Teadust glaze was used as early as the Tang dynasty on ewers and small cups produced at the Yaozhou kilns. However, it was not until the early 18th century, during the reign of the Yongzheng emperor, that the glaze was used on a wide scale. Because of the matte texture and subdued colour of the teadust glaze, it was favoured for use on ceramic vessels whose shapes were based on bronze prototypes. However, there are a few earlier examples of basin form in teadust glaze, exemplified by a Yongzheng-marked basin (32.5 cm. diam.) in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Qing Monochromes, Taipei, 1982, pl. 26.