Lot 611. A rare teadust-glazed vase, zun, Daoguang incised six-character seal mark and of the period (1821-1850); 10 3/8 in. (26.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. Price realised USD 35,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The vase has an ovoid body encircled just below the top of the high splayed foot with a single bow-string band and around the body with three double bow-string bands, and has a pair of molded mask and ring handles applied to the shoulder below the slightly waisted neck that rises to a flared mouth with molded band below the rim. The vase is covered overall with a matte glaze of very finely mottled dark olive-green color that thins slightly on the mask handles and also covers the base surrounding the mark in which the characters are of the same dark green glaze against an ivory ground, and the foot is covered with a blackish-brown wash.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 10 November 2005, lot 790.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: Two other vases of this shape and design with Yongzheng marks are illustrated in Shimmering Colours: Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing Periods - The Zhuyuetang Collection, Art Museum, The University of Hong Kong, 2005, one with a celadon glaze, no. 76, the other with a different type of teadust glaze, no. 165. See, also, the Daoguang-marked vase of this shape, but decorated with blue and white archaistic designs, sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2007, lot 316.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 615. A celadon-glazed ovoid jar, yueya er guan, Qianlong six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 7 ¼ in. (18.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 20,000. Price realised USD 25,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The tapering body is carved on two sides with a pair of flat crescent-shaped handles, and is covered overall with a glaze of pale blue-green color.

Provenance: Christie's Paris, 14 June 2006, lot 362.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: Jars of this form with a cover are sometimes called ri yue quan ('sun and moon jar'), or yueya er guan ('jar with crescent moon handles'). Very similar jars include one illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, vol. II, p. 211, no. 866; one identified specifically as a tea caddy in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practise, and Art of Tea, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, p. 178, no. 156; and another in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Reigns, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 68. See, also, the example sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 323.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 614. An unusual pale blue-glazed carved pear-shaped vase, 18th century; 14 ¼ in. (36.2 cm.) high. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 22,500 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The bulbous body and waisted neck are well carved in low relief with bands of highly stylized archaistic decoration, all between a band of key fret below the mouth rim and a band of triangular overlapping blade tips encircling the splayed foot. The vase is covered inside and out with a glaze of pale sky-blue color that thins on the decoration.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 387.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: Compare the Qianlong-marked vase of similar shape and with similar decoration, but of larger size and covered with a celadon glaze, included in the exhibition Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai Museum, Beijing Museum, and the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 122-23, no. 44.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 617. A pair of grisaille-decorated yellow-ground rectangular jardinières, Guangxu period (1875-1911); 9 ¼ in. (23.5 cm.) long. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price realised USD 21,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Each is decorated in grisaille on the long, slightly curved sides with narcissus, nandina and lingzhi growing below the branches of a crabapple tree and an oval, iron-red Dayazhai mark, and the ends are decorated with orchids, all below a band of scroll on the flat rim and reserved on a lemon-yellow ground. A four-character Yong Qing Chang Chun ('Eternal Prosperity and Enduring Spring') mark in iron red is on the white base between two D-shaped drainage holes..

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, 1950s, and thence by descent within the family.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 619. A slender famille rose vase, signed Pan Taoyu (circa 1887-1926), dated xinyou year, corresponding to 1921; 12 3/8 in. (31.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price realised USD 21,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The slender, high-shouldered vase is finely painted primarily in grisaille on one side with an early spring scene of two scholars riding donkeys followed by a servant as they travel through an early spring landscape of towering trees, all still bare except for one, possibly a prunus tree, bearing pink blossoms, and on the reverse with a continuation of the scene below a flock of birds and an inscription referring to the scene is followed by a cyclical date Xinyou and signature Tao Yu followed by a red seal, tao. The base has a two-character seal reading Guhuan, cloth box.

Provenance: The Anthony Evans Collection of later Chinese Porcelain; Bonham's 10 November 2011, lot 579.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: Pan Taoyu (1887-1926), whose studio name is Guhuan, was a late Qing/early Republic porcelain artists based in Poyang, Jiangxi Province. Known for his excellence in classical Chinese painting, he taught at the Jiangxi Ceramics School in Poyang while actively participating porcelain-painting at the Jingdezhen kilns at his leisure. With his meticulous techniques demonstrated in the famille-rose palette, he was considered one of the founding figures who brought porcelain-painting at Jingdezhen into the 20th century. Many famous artists, including members of the Eight Friends of Zhushan, such as Wang Yeting (1884-1942) and Liu Yucen (1904-1969), were his students.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 622. A small famille rosehu-form vase, Republic period (1911-1949); 6 ¾ in. (16.5 cm.) high. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price realised USD 21,250 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The vase is finely decorated on one side with narcissus and lingzhigrowing around blue rocks and on the reverse with branches of pink and white crabapple, the branch of pink blossoms entwined with a convolvulous vine, and the neck is flanked by a pair of gilt-decorated iron-red handles formed as lingzhi stems. The base has a four-character Hongxian yuzhi mark.

Provenance: Christie's South Kensington, 15 July 2005, lot 391. 
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: For a pair of small Hongxian-marked famille rose vases of similar hu shape, with similar handles, and of slightly larger size (18.3 cm.), decorated with figural scenes, see H. A. Van Oort, Chinese Porcelain of the 19th and 20th Centuries, The Netherlands, 1977, p. 129, pl. 168.

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Lot 621. A rare pair of small famille rose table screens, Republic period (1911-1949); 5 5/8 in. (14.4 cm.) high. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. Price realised USD 15,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Each table screen is made in imitation of a circular plaque raised on a gilt-decorated red lacquer stand. Each ‘plaque’ is decorated primarily ingrisaille with an idyllic ‘winter’ landscape below a four-character inscription that refers to the scene. The reverse is finely enameled on one side with a scene of birds in flight and perched on rocks, below a prunus branch on one, and below bamboo on the other, and includes a poetic inscription in caoshu script followed by an iron-red seal. Each faux lacquer ‘stand’ is pierced with a stylized shou character.

Provenance: Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 416.
The Studio of the Clear Garden.

Note: The inscription on the panel with prunus may be translated: 
‘Against the bitter cold several branches of prunus buds blossom, 
the fragrant aroma wafts across and reaches my desk.’ 
The inscription, ta xue xun mei, may be translated, ‘stepping through the snow in search of prunus.’ 
The inscription on the panel with bamboo may be translated: 
‘I enjoy the blissfulness as I relax amidst the bamboo, 
Reading books that were never finished with the flowers surrounding me.’ 
The inscription, gu shan fang he, may be translated, ‘releasing the crane in the lonely mountain.’ 
Compare the small rectangular famille rose table screen (7 3/8 in. high) from the Fong Chow Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 21-22 March 2013, lot 1207, also with a pierced integral stand with a shou character, and decorated on one side in famille rose and on the other side with a winter scene in grisaille. This table screen was signed He Xuren. 

Christie's. The Studio of the Clear Garden: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 March 2018, New York

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige), 1887. oil on canvas, 73.3 cm x 53.8 cm. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation

AMSTERDAM.- On 23 March 2018 the Van Gogh Museum opened 'Van Gogh & Japan', a major international exhibition about the influence of Japanese art on the work of Vincent van Gogh. 

With some sixty paintings and drawings by Van Gogh and a large selection of Japanese prints, the exhibition explores the extent of Van Gogh’s admiration for this form of art and the fundamental impact it had on his work. Exceptional loans from museums and private collections all over the world are coming to Amsterdam, among them Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889, The Courtauld Gallery, London), a painting that has not left the UK since 1955 and has not been shown in the Netherlands since 1930. 

Other highlights include Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait (1888, Harvard Art Museums/ Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA), Woman Rocking the Cradle (Augustine Roulin) (1889, The Art Institute of Chicago), Undergrowth with Two Figures (1890, Cincinnati Art Museum), La Crau with Peach Trees in Blossom (1889, The Courtauld Gallery, London) and The Arlésienne (Marie Ginoux) (1888, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). It is the first time that an exhibition of this scope and scale has been devoted to this subject.  

Under the spell of Japan 
Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese printmaking played a decisive role in the direction he took as an artist. During his time in Paris (1886–88) he became fascinated by ukiyo-e, nineteenth-century Japanese colour woodcuts, and began to collect them on a large scale. 

What Van Gogh so admired about these colourful prints were the unconventional compositions, the large planes in bright colours and the focus on details in nature. The three remarkable paintings he made after Japanese prints while he was in Paris were his first exploration of this new artistic model. 

Van Gogh swiftly came to identify Japanese art as a benchmark for his work, as we learn from the letters he wrote from Arles, where he moved in early 1888 with the idea that the South of France was ‘the equivalent of Japan’. He learnt to look ‘with a more Japanese eye’ and made ‘paintings like Japanese prints’. Van Gogh & Japan shows how Van Gogh began increasingly to work in the spirit of the oriental example, with the emphasis on a bold, colourful palette. 

With some sixty paintings and drawings by Van Gogh and a large selection of Japanese prints, the exhibition explores the extent of Van Gogh’s admiration for this form of art and the fundamental impact it had on his work.  

Exceptional loans 
Van Gogh & Japan brings together famous paintings and drawings by Van Gogh from museums and private collections all over the world. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889, The Courtauld Gallery, London), a very fragile painting that has not left the UK since 1955 and has not been shown in the Netherlands since 1930, returns to its ‘spiritual home’ in the Van Gogh Museum prior to the closure of The Courtauld Gallery for major renovation in the autumn of 2018. The Japanese print in the background to this famous self-portrait attests to Van Gogh’s love of this oriental art.  

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889. Courtesy The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London

Another highlight is Self-Portrait (1888, Harvard Art Museums/ Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA), in which Van Gogh pictured himself as a bonze, a Japanese Buddhist monk. It is an expression of the strength of his identification with the Japanese. This impressive painting has been loaned, as a great exception, for Van Gogh & Japan and can only be seen in the exhibition in Amsterdam.  

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890),  Self-Portrait, 1888. Courtesy  Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge (MA), Fogg Art Museum

Van Gogh & Japan also features a group of important portraits, including Woman Rocking the Cradle (Augustine Roulin) (1889, The Art Institute of Chicago). This is a spectacular example of Van Gogh’s endeavour to make paintings like Japanese prints, with striking colours and a highly decorative effect. The Arlésienne (Marie Ginoux) (1888, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) is another masterpiece, in which the large planes of colour and strong outlines clearly reflect the influence of Japanese prints.  

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), La Berceuse (Portrait of Madame Roulin), 1889. Courtesy The Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection, 1926.

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), The Arlésienne (Marie Ginoux), 1888. Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951

La Crau with Peach Trees in Blossom (1889, The Courtauld Gallery, London) is a view across the fields near Arles. Van Gogh associated these surroundings with Japanese landscape. He found his own ‘Japan’ in the South of France: strong sunlight, bright colours and beautiful countryside. The landscape Undergrowth with Two Figures from Auvers-sur-Oise (1890, Cincinnati Art Museum), with the extraordinary composition of rows of tree trunks, shows that Van Gogh continued to look with a ‘Japanese eye’ during this last period of his life.  

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), La Crau with Peach Trees in Blossom, 1889. Courtesy The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Undergrowth with Two Figures, June 1890, oil on canvas, 19 ½ x 39 ¼ in. (49.5 x 99.7 cm). Courtesy Cincinnati Art Museum; Bequest of Mary E. Johnston. 

These and other masterpieces are shown along with other works from the Van Gogh Museum, among them Courtesan (after Eisen), 1887, and Almond Blossom, 1890. As well as Japanese prints from Van Gogh’s own collection, the exhibition also features a great many prints from other collections, including the famous colour woodcut Under the Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1830–32, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) by Katsushika Hokusai.

Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Courtesan (after Eisen), 1887. oil on canvas, 100.7 cm x 60.7 cm. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. 

Vincent van Gogh, Almond Blossom, 1890. oil on canvas, 73.3 cm x 92.4 cm. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. 

Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave of Kanagawa, 1829-1833. Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Katsushika Hokusai, Fuji Seen from the Katakura Tea Plantation in the Suruga Province, 1831-1835. Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, purchased with the support of the F.G. Waller-Fonds.

Utagawa Hiroshige II, Lake Chūzenji in Shimotsuke Province, 1859-1861. Courtesy Nationaal Museum voor Wereldculturen, Leiden.

Utagawa Hiroshige II, Plum Garden at Kamata, 1857. Courtesy Nationaal Museum voor Wereldculturen, Leiden.

Utagawa Kunisada, The Fourth Month: The First Cuckoo, from the triptych series ‘The Twelve Months’, 1884. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. 

 Utagawa Hiroshige, The Residence with Plum Trees at Kameido, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, 1857. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. 

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige), 1887. oil on canvas, 55.6 cm x 46.8 cm. Courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation. 

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander opened the exhibition Van Gogh & Japan at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander opens the exhibition in the presence of the Japanese Ambassador his Excellency Hiroshi Inomata. 

Lot 976. A magnificent imperial yellow kesi twelve-symbol dragon robe made for the Emperor, longpao, Jiaqing period (1796-1820); 59 ¼ x 75 ¾ in. (150.4 x 192.4 cm.). Estimate USD 80,000 - USD 120,000. Price realised USD 756,500. ©Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The kesi ground is woven in shades of blue, violet, red, pink and gold threads with nine five-clawed dragons clutching or confronting flaming pearls on a densely patterned ground of stylized wan emblems and florets in quatrefoil borders amidst clusters of ruyi-shaped clouds interspersed with bats, shou characters, and auspicious emblems. The Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority are arranged in three groups of four: the sun, the moon, constellation and mountain around the neck; the fu symbol, axe, paired dragons, and golden pheasant around the body; and the pair of libation cups, aquatic grass, grains of millet and flames, all reserved on a bright yellow ground above the Eight Buddhist Emblems rising from the terrestrial diagram and lishui stripe at the hen; with midnight-blue cuffs and collar decorated with further dragons and clouds.

Provenance: The Collection of General Joseph W. Stilwell (1883-1946), acquired in the early twentieth century, and thence by descent within the family.

Note: The Twelve Ancient Symbols of Imperial Authority first appeared on the Manchu emperor's clothing after 1759. The Huangchao liqi tushi(Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court), which was enforced in 1766, restricted the use of the Twelve Symbols to the Emperor. The symbols imply the notion of Imperial authority, signifying that the Emperor is the Ruler of the Universe. In the Qing dynasty, the first four symbols- sun, moon, stars, and mountain-were placed at the shoulders, chest and mid-back; the symbol of distinction (fu), hatchet, paired dragons, and the golden pheasant appeared at waist level; and temple-cups, aquatic grass, grains of millet, and flames were placed at knee level on the skirts of the coat. 

Sun 日
The sun is represented by the symbol of a threelegged cockerel, as the cockerel is symbolic of the dawn.

Moon 月
The moon is represented by the hare pounding the elixir of life, which is derived from a Chinese legend of a hare that inhabited the moon.

Stars 星辰
The stars are represented by the constellation, which is thought to represent Ursa Major. In ancient times, the position of Ursa Major was interpreted as a clock, which was used to dictate the timing for rituals.

Mountain 山
This, along with the four symbols on the lower portion of the robe, likely represent the wu xing (five elements). This symbol is thought to represent the rock, which symbolizes the wearer (the Emperor) being at the center of gravity.

Dragons 龍
The paired dragons, which are shown both ascending and descending, represent the sun and are thought to represent the summer solstice.

Golden Pheasant 華蟲
The golden pheasant is thought to be representative of the Vermilion Bird (Red Phoenix) constellation, and thus may represent the Spring equinox.

The Sacrifcial Vessels 宗彞
These vessels, which contain tiger-like creatures, represent bravery and flial piety. They are also thought to represent metal, which is one of the wu xing (five elements). This interpretation is further supported by its alignment on the robe with the axehead, which also would have been made of metal.

Aquatic Grass 藻
The grass would represent the element of water.

Grains of Millet 粉米
The grain is also representative of the wuxing, and is also thought to represent the Spring equinox, as it was the first crop.

Flames 火
Another component of the wuxing, the fame represents the fire element.

The Axe-Head 黼
The axe-head is symbolic of the Emperor’s power over life.

The Symbol of Distinction (fu) 黻
The fu symbol is thought to be a homonym for the word which means `to return’, and is also thought to be related to the Winter solstice.

The current kesi robe is a spectacular example of a late 18th-early 19th century Emperor's longpao. The dragons are worked in metallic gold threads with clouds woven almost exclusively in shades of blue against a yellow ground. The “five colors" of the clouds have been rendered as small color accents throughout. The reasons for this variation were not recorded and most likely reflected fashionable tastes, rather than ritual requirements. Among the earliest examples of the predominant blue and yellow schema for an emperor's twelve-symbol dragon robe is an embroidered satin robe in a private London collection that dates to the late eighteenth century. See Dickinson and Wrigglesworth, p. 33. However, most surviving pieces date from the nineteenth century. See J. E. Vollmer, Decoding Dragons: Status Garments in Ch'ing dynasty China, Eugene, Oregon, Museum of Art, 1983. pp. 143 and 209. 

Lot 904 . A very rare and important large bronze ritual wine vessel, lei, Middle Western Zhou dynasty, 10th century BC; 15 3/8 in. (39 cm.) high. Estimate USD 400,000 - USD 600,000. Price realised USD 732,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The heavily cast vessel is raised on a spreading, molded foot encircled by two bow-string bands. The body is decorated with a band of pendant blades enclosing pairs of confronted dragons, and the shoulder is decorated with a band of flower-like motifs with central 'eyes' alternating with whorl bosses, interrupted by a pair of bovine-mask-surmounted, D-shaped handles that suspend loose rings, below a band of wave patterns around the neck. The bronze has a blackish patina with small areas of malachite and cuprite encrustation. 

Provenance: Warren King, Hong Kong, 1980s.

Note: Massive containers for wine, lei vessels, were produced from the late Shang to middle Eastern Zhou periods (13th-7th century BC). Over this relatively long period of time, the form of lei vessels underwent several distinctive stages of development. One of the most remarkable variations of lei vessels is the fanglei, which is indeed the most imposing and most majestic of Chinese archaic bronzes, such as the fanglei sold at Christie’s New York: Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, 15 March 2017, lot 524. 

A magnificent and highly important bronze ritual wine vessel, fanglei, Late Shang Dynasty, Anyang, 13Th-11th century BC; 25 in. (63.5 cm.) high. Sold for USD 33,847,500 at Christie’s New York: Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, 15 March 2017, lot 524. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Cf. my post: Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, 15 March 2017, New York

The present lei vessel, dated to the middle Western Zhou period, represents the transitional style between the late Shang/early Western Zhou lei and the Eastern Zhou lei. Some of the most notable characteristics of the middle Western Zhou lei, as seen on the present example, include a more compressed shape, disappearance of the third D-shaped handle on one side of the lower body, and the introduction of continuous geometric patterns around the neck. These features were inherited and further developed by the Eastern Zhou lei vessels such as an 8th century BC example illustrated by J. So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1995, pp. 202-3, no. 30. 

A lei vessel of similar form and decoration found in Quandu village, Fengxiang county, Shaanxi province, is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji (Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes), vol. 5: Western Zhou 1, Beijing, 1996, p. 174, no. 182. Lei vessels of identical form, and with similar decoration, except for the regardant dragons on the shoulders, include a pair found at Qijiacun, Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Shaanxi chutu shang zhou qingtongqi (Bronze Vessels Unearthed from the Shaanxi Province), vol. II, Beijing, 1980, pls. 130 and 131; the Yan Yu Shi lei in the Palace Museum, Beijing, with a nineteen-character inscription identifying it as zunlei (ritual lei vessel), illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, - 27 - Bronze Ritual Vessels and Musical Instruments, Hong Kong, 2006, pp. 158-59, no. 102; one in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated by René Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé in Bronze vessels of ancient China in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, p. 92-93, no. XXXVIII; one in the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated by Wang Tao in Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pp. 120-21, no. 54; and another sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2009, lot 121. 

A large archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, lei, Western Zhou dynasty; height 17 1/4 in., 43.8 cm. Sold for 386,500 USD to an Asian Trade at Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2009, lot 121. © Sotheby's 

Cf. my post: Sales of Chinese Art at Sotheby’s Total: $15,532,479 Exceeding Expectations

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 - 23 March 2018, New York

Lot 1041. A rare gilt-lacquered wood figure of Buddha enthroned, 17th-18th century; 30 ¼ in. (76.8 cm.) high. Estimate USD 150,000 - USD 200,000. Price realised USD 684,500. ©Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Shakyamuni sits in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base atop a rectangular throne centered with the flaming triratna motif and flanked by Buddhist lions. He holds his hands in bhumisparshamudra, the earth-touching gesture, and is clad in voluminous robes. The face is serene in expression, and the hair is in tight curls over the ushnisha. The figure is backed by an elaborate flaming aureole with images of lions, mounted figures, andmakaras, all surmounted by a Garuda with serpents emanating from his mouth.  

Provenance: Private collection, United States. 

Note: Stylistically, the present work can be related to a corpus of Buddhist gilt-lacquer sculpture commissioned during the reigns of the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors at the Buddhist site of Rehol, near Chengde in Hebei province. Early in his reign, Kangxi understood the necessity for strong relations with the various Mongol tribes from the expansive steppes to the north and west of the capitol. One way in which he developed close bonds with the Mongol chieftains was to invite them on hunting excursions on an almost yearly basis. Rehol started as temporary hunting site, and was chosen for its strategic location at Chengde, north of Beijing, and for its idyllic beauty. It also boasted a massive phallus-shaped rock, known as Qingchui, that was likened to Mount Sumeru, the Buddhist axis mundi. As the Mongols were fervent followers of Tibetan-style Buddhism, Kangxi ordered the construction of various Tibetan-style Buddhist temples ordered around the axis of Qingchui. Under the reign of his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, the site was expanded massively, with the layout of the site mirroring the Buddhist cosmology of a mandala. Qianlong even ordered the construction of the Putuo Zongcheng, a replica of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, complete with a façade with simulated painted windows, and the Puning Temple, a copy of the ancient Samye Monastery in Tibet.

The central focus of worship for many of these temples were massive gilt-lacquered sculptures, including the 22-meter-high figure of Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara at the Puning Temple. Most similar to the present work are three massive figures of Buddha in the Zongyin Hall of the Pule Si, constructed in 1766 (illustrated by Du Jiang in Buddhist Art from Rehol: Tibetan Buddhist images and ritual objects from the Qing dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taipei, 1999, p. 29). Characteristic of many of these lacquered sculptures was the deeply colored gilding, almost in imitation of patinated gilt-bronze, atop thick red or black lacquer. Although no records exist as to why lacquer was chosen for the majority of the sculptural ensemble, it is likely the use of the more plentiful and pliable material allowed for a more extensive building project. Certainly, the façade of the Putuo Zongcheng indicates that Qianlong’s architects were willing to look for creative shortcuts.  

One of the defining features of the three massive gilt-lacquered Buddhas in the Zongyin Hall is the ornate flaming aureole behind each Buddha. The examples in the Zongyin Hall have large, separately carved figures of Garuda at the top of the aureole, very similar to an example sold at Christie’s New York, 13 September 2011, lot 376. The affinity between the present work and the massive gilt-lacquer Buddhas at the Zongyin Hall is striking. While the present work appears to date even earlier than 1766, with stylistic qualities characteristic of the Kangxi period, the composition and style of the present sculpture must have partially inspired the larger Pule Si examples.  

A large Imperial gilt and polychromed wood figure of Garuda, Tibeto-Chinese, 18th Century; 38 in. (96.5 cm.) high. Sold for 422,500 USD at Christie’s New York, 13 September 2011, lot 376. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

Lot 966. A huanghualiluohan bed, luohanchuang, 18th century with modifications; 27 ¾ in. (70.8 cm.) high, 80 ½ in. (204.5 cm.) wide, 46 ¾ in. (118.7 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 150,000. Price realised USD 564,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The thick, rectangular frame is set with a hard mat seat above a narrow waist and plain beaded apron. The whole is raised on thick beaded legs terminating in hoof feet. The later railings are carved with a lattice-work design. 

Provenance: Richfield Antiques, New York, 2002. 

Note: For a discussion of the possible origin of the couch bed, where it is suggested that they evolved from the Han dynasty low platforms with screens on two or three sides, see S. Handler, "Wood Shaped and Standing through the Winds of Time: The Evolution of Chinese Furniture,'' catalogue to the exhibition, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996, pp. 42-43. For its various uses during the Ming period, including sleeping, meditating and entertaining friends, see S. Handler, Austere Luminosity of Classical Chinese Furniture, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2001, pp. 118-19.

Lot 746. A large Ming-style blue and white moonflask, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 19 in. (48.3 cm.) high. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 150,000. Price realised USD 564,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The vase is decorated in rich underglaze blue with simulated 'heaping and piling' on the convex sides with eight petals enclosing the bajixiang (Eight Buddhist Emblems) radiating from a central boss decorated with a flower head, on the narrow sides with a band of stylized lotus scroll, and withlingzhi scroll on the slightly spreading rectangular foot and on the neck between the pair of blue-glazed, leaf-scroll handles below a bow-string border and a band of key fret at the rim.

Provenance: Earle D. Vandekar, London. 

Note: The shape of these large Qianlong flasks is based on Ming-dynasty fifteenth-century prototypes, which had one decorated, convex side and a flat, unglazed side with a countersunk medallion in the center. For a Yongle (1403-1424) example, see the flask in the Freer Gallery of Art, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1981, no. 94. These fifteenth-century blue and white flasks were themselves based on silver-inlaid brass prototypes. 

For other similar Qianlong blue and white vases see Zhongguo Li Dai Jingdezhen Ci Qi - Qing Juan, Beijing, 1998, p. 169, from the Nanjing Museum; Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 151; M. Beurdeley and G. Raindre, Qing Porcelain, London, 1987, pl. 154, formerly in the Edward Chow Collection; and Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Book II, Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 15. One is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV - Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 75. And another from the Robert Murray Bell and Ann Walker Bell Collection is illustrated by P. F. Ferguson, Cobalt Treasures, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, 2003, no. 28. See, also, two examples sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3439 and 1 December 2010, lot 2826.

A large Ming-style blue and white moonflask, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 20 in. (50.8 cm.) high. Sold for HK$6,040,000 ($782,437) at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3439. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

Cf. my post: A large Ming-style blue and white moonflask, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

From the Greenwald Collection, no. 58. A fine Ming-style blue and white moonflask, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period (1736-1795); 19 1/2 in. (49 cm.) high. Sold for HKD 18,580,000 at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 2826. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010.

Painted to each side in cobalt blue tones with eight radiating lotus petal-shaped panels enclosing the bajixiang around a central raised boss with a stylised flowerhead, divided by keyfret and lappet bands, all within a key-fret border, the flat sides with a wide band of leafy scroll issuing lotus blossoms, the neck and foot with bands of lingzhi scroll beneath a keyfret band to the rim, the cylindrical neck flanked by scroll handles.

Provenance: C.G. Sloan & Co., Washington D.C., February 1981
Greenwald Collection, no. 58

Literature: Gerald M. Greenwald, The Greenwald Collection, Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics, 1996, Catalogue, no. 58 

Note: Compare with other examples illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, no. 151; in Blue and White Ware of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Porcelain in the National Palace Museum, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 1968, pl. 15; in Chinese Ceramics in The Idemitsu Collection, Japan, 1987; and in Qing Porcelain, M. Beurdeley and G. Raindre, Fribourg, 1987, pl. 154.

Other examples were sold at Christie's New York, 2 June 1989, lot 81 from the Eugene O. Perkins Collection of Qing Porcelain; another moonflask sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2006, lot 1239; and another example sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2010, lot 1802. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 - 23 March 2018, New York 

Emerald-set Box, Mughal India circa 1635. 

This sides and lid of this spectacular gold box are set with 103 emeralds, perfectly matched and fitted. They are carved in shallow relief to depict cypress trees within borders of repeated stylized leaves. The precious materials and the high quality of the design and craftsmanship suggest that the box was made at the highest level of Mughal court patronage.

WASHINGTON, DC.- “To Dye For: Ikats from Central Asia,” is on view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery March 24–July 29. Traditional 19-century ikat coats and panels from the Sackler’s collections, a gift of Guido Goldman, encourage visitors to explore the techniques and traditions that produced the Central Asian textiles. Alongside these historical objects are a number of Oscar de la Renta (1932– 2014) garments on loan from the Collection of Annette de la Renta and the Oscar de la Renta Collection. 

The process of creating ikats involved collaboration among different communities. Bundles of threads are patterned by repeated binding and resist dyeing before being woven into narrow strips and immersed into sequential vats of color. In multi-ethnic 19-century Central Asia, each “group” played a different role in the process. The Jews were responsible for importing and dying indigo, while the Tajiks were in charge of the yellow-and red-dye. The Uzbeks served as the weavers, who turned the brightly colored threads into the textiles seen in the exhibition.  

Woman’s robe, Central Asia, late 19th century. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.13.

Woman’s robe, Central Asia, late 19th century. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.13.

The finished ikats are more than ornate fabrics. Transformed into brightly colored panels or sumptuous robes for men and women, they are works of art. The panels or curtains added colorful accents to the mud-brick architecture of Central Asia, while the coats were striking statement items that adorned wealthy men and women. Worn on special occasions as status symbols, they functioned in the same way as many of de la Renta-designer garments do today. 

Drawn to the vibrant colors and bold designs of Central Asian ikat in 1997, the Dominican American de la Renta incorporated ikat motifs into his haute couture gowns, which he created for Pierre Balmain, the celebrated French designer. After 2005, de la Renta used ikat-inspired patterns in his own collections and was soon followed by other American designers. Today, the distinct ikat motifs appear in collections ranging from high fashion to jeans, from pillows and rugs to wallpaper and stationery. In turn, international interest in ikats stimulated the revival of this traditional technique in present-day Uzbekistan.  

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.94.

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.94.

“These vibrant and highly original Central Asian ikat designs are found everywhere but few are aware of their origin and history,” said Massumeh Farhad, chief curator and Ebrahimi Family Curator of Persian, Turkish and Arab Art. 

The textiles are accompanied by a slideshow of images that will give viewers insight to the environment and times that fostered the creation of the historic objects.

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.96

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.96

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.95.

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–75. Silk velvet. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.95.

Woman’s robe, Central Asia, 1800–50. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.15.

Woman’s robe, Central Asia, 1800–50. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.15.

Woman’s robe, Uzbekistan, Bukhara, 1820–40. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.14.

Woman’s robe (munisak), Central Asia, 1850–1900. Silk, cotton, and wool. Gift of Guido Goldman, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2005.16.

Coat with large red crescents and comb design. Polychrome silk embroidery. Balmain Haute Couture, spring/summer 1997 collection; designed by Oscar de la Renta. Collection of Annette de la Renta, ELS2018.6.2.

Evening ensemble. Polychrome silk embroidery and silk taffeta; pants of silk shantung. Balmain Haute Couture, spring/summer 1997 collection; designed by Oscar de la Renta. Collection of Annette de la Renta, ELS2018.6.1.

Coat with fur trim. Silk, cotton, and wool with sable. Balmain Haute Couture, fall/winter 2000 collection; designed by Oscar de la Renta. Collection of Annette de la Renta, ELS2018.6.3.

Coat with red and black pomegranate design. Silk, cotton, and wool. Balmain Haute Couture, fall/winter 2000 collection; designed by Oscar de la Renta. Collection of Annette de la Renta, ELS2018.6.4.

Ikat classic trench coat. Silk and cotton. Oscar de la Renta Collection, spring 2005 collection, ELS2018.5.2

Ikat-patterned gown. Silk and wool jacquard. Oscar de la Renta Collection, fall 2013 collection, ELS2018.5.1

© Museo Balenciaga / Henri Cartier Bresson

GETARIA - This year, 2018 – European Year of Heritage – marks the 50th anniversary since the Master of Haute Couture retired in 1968. An opportunity to reflect on the heritage value of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s work from the moment of closing his salons and stopping activity at his workshops in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián.

This is the starting point of the exhibition Cristóbal Balenciaga, fashion and heritage, the moment that Balenciaga’s creations left the streets and salons to inhabit the archives, galleries and museums. No longer lending beauty to bodies to become admired as beautiful in themselves. Leaving the covers of the fashion magazines for those dedicated to art and losing their exclusive patina to become accessible to all publics in all social circles.

Suzy Parker wearing Balenciaga, 1953. Photo: Archives Balenciaga, Paris, France.

In this dialogue of Fashion and Heritage we want to follow both roads, precisely taking 1968 as the year of their confluence. One runs from that date until today, revealing to the public the path of patrimonial consolidation intimately linked to our reason to be as a museum, and the other, starting in 1917 – opening date of his first atelier in San Sebastián – until the moment his maisons closed their doors, in order to understand Balenciaga’s creative progression, evolution and revolution since those early days.

A conversation undertaken by the Museum with Judith Clark, eminent curator and director of the Centre for Fashion Curation at the University of the Arts London. The exhibition discourse and the selection of pieces that accompany it, added to the spatial conceptualisation and its design are the result of the collaboration between the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum team and the British curator.

Balenciaga, Baby Doll, 1956 © Archives Balenciaga, Paris.

The exhibition will occupy 900m2 of museum space from March 23, 2018, until January 27, 2019, and will include 80 items of clothing and other resources including documents, images, objects, patterns and fabrics. Technology too will be present, enabling interactive exchange thanks to digitisations allowing us to observe the detail of a piece, view it in 360 degrees, study infographics on its technical construction, or an App offering a variety of themed tours

The exhibition is based on the museum collections, with the indispensable support of Archives Balenciaga, Paris (Balenciaga sa, kering group). 

Balenciaga. Robe entièrement brodée de soies de couleur et de paillettes sur fond  ivoire, traîne en "Queu de Paon", ayant appartenu à Madame Bricard, 1959. © Archives Balenciaga, Paris.

Balenciaga. Manteau du soir en satin shantung noir, hiver 1962-1963. Photo: Archives Balenciaga, Paris, France.

Robe de mariée "Trapèze" en zagar ivoire, sans manches, et sa coiffe, 1967. © Archives Balenciaga, Paris.

Balenciaga, Automne-Hiver 1967. © Archives Balenciaga, Paris.

Uniforms for Air France hostesses, 1968. Photo: Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum, Getaria, Spain.

© Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga - Manuel Outumur

© Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga - Manuel Outumur

© Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga - Manuel Outumur

© Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga - Manuel Outumur

Lot 723. An Imperial yellow-glazed bowl, Hongzhi six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1488-1505); 7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 225,000. ©Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The bowl is potted with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, and covered inside and out with a glaze of soft egg yolk-yellow tone. 

Property from the estate of Dr. John D. Constable.

Note: A Hongzhi-marked and period yellow-glazed bowl of slightly smaller size (18.5 cm. diam.) in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 37 - Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 43, no. 38. Another example, also of larger size (20.3 cm.), from the Dr. and Mrs. E. T. Hall Collection, was included in the exhibition The Ceramic Art of China, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1971, no. 161.

For examples sold at auction, compare a bowl of a slightly smaller size (18.4 cm. diam.) sold at Sotheby's London, 13 May 2015, lot 112. Another example, also smaller in size (16 cm.), was sold at Sotheby's New York, 23 March 2010, lot 69. A further example, previously in the collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall, was sold at Christie's New York, 29 March 2006, lot 91.

A yellow-glazed bowl, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505); 18.4cm., 7 1/2 in. Sold for 30,000 GBP at Sotheby's London, 13 May 2015, lot 112. Photo Sotheby's

 Cf. my post: A yellow-glazed bowl, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)

Previously in the collection of Evelyn Annenberg Hall. A yellow-glazed bowl, Hongzhi Mark and Period (1488-1505);  diameter 6 1/4 in., 16 cm. Sold for 34,375 USD at Sotheby's New York, 23 March 2010, lot 69. Photo Sotheby's

Cf. my post: Two yellow-glazed bowls, Hongzhi Mark and Period @ Sotheby's New York, 23 March 2010 New York

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 - 23 March 2018, New York

Lot 923. A rare finely carved Longquan celadon dish, Ming dynasty, 15th century; 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. Price realised USD 40,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The shallow dish is carved in the center with a leafy flower spray bearing a large central blossom within a double-line border below a dense band of similar flower scroll on the sides and a classic scroll border at the slightly out-curved rim. A further band of flower scroll encircles the exterior above a band of key fret on the tapered foot. The dish is covered overall with a glaze of olive-green color that continues over the foot onto the base which has an unglazed ring burnt orange in the firing.  

Property from the estate of Dr. George S. Heyer, Jr (1930-2015).

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 21 May 1979, lot 29.
Spink & Son, Ltd., London, July 1979.
George S. Heyer, Jr. (1930-2015) Collection.

Note: A similar saucer dish is illustrated by M. Sullivan in Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and jades in the collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 99a, and another was sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2009, lot 364.

Lot 725. A rare massive blue and white charger, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue in a line and of the period (1522-1566); 23 5/8 in. (60 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 37,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The heavily potted charger is decorated in the center of the interior with four fish amidst a lotus pond, all within line borders and repeated as a frieze on the exterior where the reign mark is written in a panel below the rim. The base is unglazed.

Provenance: Private American collection, acquired in the 1960s.

Lot 719. A rare Longquan celadon tripod censer, Yuan-early Ming dynasty, 13th-14th century; 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) wide across handles. Estimate USD 15,000 - USD 18,000. Price realised USD 25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018 

The censer is raised on three lion-mask feet and the sides are incised with florets within a geometric design below applied florets evenly spaced around the shoulder and two rope-twist handles at the rim. The censer is covered with a thick glaze of sea-green color but reveals the burnt orange body on the underside and in the interior, openwork mix-metal cover and Japanese wood box. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 - 23 March 2018, New York