Rudolf Stingel (b. 1956) Untitled. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

signed and dated 'Stingel 2012' (on the reverse), oil and enamel on canvas, 94½ x 76 3/8 in. (240 x 194 cm.) Executed in 2012. Estimate $400,000 – $600,000

Provenance: Courtesy of the artist

Notes: Rudolf Stingel's paintings evoke minimalist reflective surfaces and baroque ornamentation that reflect the mechanics of painterly creation. In 1989, his manual Instructions, revealing the step-by-step process of making "a Stingel," propelled his paintings into the realm of conceptual art. A few years later, in 1994, perhaps as a pendant to this statement, Stingel produced a Buddha sculpture holding different tools in each hand necessary to the composition of his visually complex paintings. 

In Untitled (2012), background and foreground dissolve against layers of silver and red in which sit a diamond motif.Untitled is part of a series of canvases featuring traces of tulle fabric commonly used for bridal veils. Leaving sweeping marks on the silver pink base to smooth out its appliqu, the netting, once removed, reveals the vibrancy of a cardamom red motif over a delicate surface texture unique to Stingel. The tactility emerging from this process is central in the richness of Stingel's paintings and in many of his installations. 

Reflecting the nature of canvas as a fabric, applied motifs of Stingel's work are often derived from tapestries, carpeting and, in this case, the light meshing and transparency of tulle. Stingel started using this particular fabric as a process for marking his paintings in the late-eighties. For these works, the artist specially manufactured the fabric to fit the scale of the 2012 series. 

The pattern of diamonds, which can also take the form of hearts or circles in works of this type, is a playful reminder of the importance of the grid in the development of modernist abstraction. Transfer of geometrical structures derived from the decorative arts are built upon wet paint, creating levels of sheerness, and opacity. The series of tulle works also suggests "atmospheric" weather or "precipitation" within the lineage of German romantic painters. 

The artist's use of gold and silver also common to many of his works comment on the glorification of iconic painting, while referring to the Baroque and the golden sepia hues or silver gelatin prints dating from early photography, in overlapping historical visual references. 

Stingel is also acclaimed for his photo-realist paintings such as Untitled, (after Sam), 2005-6, presented at the Whitney Museum in 2007 based on photographs of the artist. For this solo exhibition, Stingel additionally placed silver panels visitors were invited to graffiti in the museum, evoking a combination of a baroque hall of mirrors and an eighties nightclub. These pieces, and Untitled, footprints onto a Styrofoam surface, mark the passage of time and transpositions from one space to another, of planes of horizontality and verticality where floor becomes wall. About this approach Gary Carrion-Murayari writes "For Stingel, painting is not just representational-it's always related to materiality and physical change within a temporal space. Stingel's paintings rely on and point to an expanded meaning of time." (Rudolf Stingel at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Hatje Kantz, 2007, p.112)
Stingel's works offer simultaneously the possibilities of aesthetic contemplation, the opulence of surfaces, emptiness and void. His mastery of repetition, wondrously reveals unique patterns and traces and what it is to make a painting.

Christie's. THE 11TH HOUR. 13 May 2013. New York, Rockefeller Plaza.

Lü Ji (ca. 1429-ca. 1505), Egrets in Flight, Ming dynasty. 

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf, ink and colors on paper, 15.7 x 49.1 cm

The seal and signature do not accord with the style of this painting, the brushwork derived from the manner of Lü Ji and tending to have a straightforward quality but nonetheless bearing his simple yet hoary manner. The forms of the white egrets derive from those in "Autumnal Egrets and Hibiscus," the one in the middle being especially similar. The reeds and the rocky slopes are also close to those of "Autumn Shoals and Waterfowl," expressing Lü Ji's misty river scenery and making this an imitation in his style. Text and images are provided by National Palace Museum

Dan Colen (b. 1979) To be titled. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

flowers on bleached Belgian linen 92 x 72 in. (233.7 x 182.9 cm.) Executed in 2013. Estimate $150,000 – $250,000

Provenance: Gift of the artist, Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery

Notes: A magician of mediums, Dan Colen is an artist who makes chewing gum look like acrylic, oil paint like bird excrement and now, flowers like vibrant, tenacious swirls and splashes of paint. Crucify Me (2013), is a sea of rich color; an encyclopedia of shade and depth that towers over its viewers at almost eight feet tall. A psychedelic vortex of hues splatter, blur, and compete with one another on this large scale linen work. The radiant colors rush towards the painting's center in an energetic blend of shades, dance briefly in this nucleus, and spread out towards the edges of the work as if each is on its own way, going at its own pace. Vivid magenta, glowing yellow, neon orange, and bold aquamarine both mingle and scatter to encapsulate Colen's playfully brazen style.

If Jackson Pollock revolutionized painting by throwing his canvases on the floor before covering them in paint, Dan Colen takes this a step further with the innovative 'painting' technique used in the present lot. The artist collects a variety of flowers, ranging from the brightly colored tropical blooms from specialty florists to the dyed carnations available at a corner bodega. Once the canvas has been wet down with water, Colen rubs the flower petals into the surface, leaving abstract swathes of pigment. Much like Andy Warhol, high and low culture has been combined, elevating a humble bouquet of flowers into fine art.

With both the style and creation of this work, Colen has expanded Pollock's performative legacy, but his tongue-in-cheek humor pays homage to the Dadaists of the early twentieth century as well. Colen's Birdshitpaintings, for instance, are a contemporary take on Magritte's thought-provoking visual jokes. Colen leads us to believe his work is one thing-a canvas decorated with bird feces-yet upon closer inspection, we realize we have been fooled and the works are composed of oil and enamel paint. With Crucify Me, however, Colen flips the trick of trompe l'oeil: instead of making a traditional medium look like an object he makes an object look like a traditional medium. Once again, the artist keeps the viewer on his toes, always eager to keep us engaged and surprised.

A rare tixi lacquer ‘Buddhist lion’ box and cover, Song-Yuan dynasty - Sothebys

of circular form, the flat top carved through the black and red layers to the ochre ground with two Buddhist lions amongst stylised clouds, clasping in their mouths the ends of the ribbons tied to the brocade ball in the centre, the sides of the cover and the box encircled with keyfret bands, the interior and base lacquered black. Quantité: 2 - 27cm., 10 5/8 in. Estimation: 30,000 - 50,000 GBP

NOTE: It is rare to find lacquer boxes of this early attribution, and the present piece is especially fine for its detailed carving and well preserved condition. See a smaller box decorated with the same motif of a pair of Buddhist lions playing with a brocade ball, but attributed to the early 15th century, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Craved Lacquer Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl. 2; and another in the British Museum, London, published in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pl. 40. The British Museum box is similarly attributed to the Ming dynasty. A third related box carved with four Buddhist lions, from the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, was included in the exhibition Carved Lacquer, The Tokugawa Art Museum, Tokyo, 1984, cat. no. 182. The motif of Buddhist lions playing with a large brocade beribboned ball may also be found on porcelain of the period; for example, see a dish in the Linden Museum, Linden, illustrated in Im Zeichen des Drachen, Linden, 2006, p. 138, pl. 57.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 www.sothebys.com

Hermès Paris made in france. Sac Birkin 35 cm en crocodile porosus gris vison. Photo Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan

(crocodylus porosus, CITES Annexe IIB), garniture en métal argenté palladié, tirette, clochette, clefs, cadenas gainé, intérieur doublé en chèvre gris vison comprenant une poche zippée et une poche plaquée, double poignée. Année: 2007. Bon état général (petites taches d'eau et légères usures aux angles). Estimation : 30 000 / 35 000 €

A Vison grey porosus crocodile Birkin bag (crocodylus porosus, CITES Annex IIB), 35 cm, silver palladium hardware, keyfob & padlock, double handle. Year: 2007. Good general condition (few humidity marks, used corners).

Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan. Mardi 21 mai 2013. Hôtel Dassault - 7 Rond Point des Champs-Elysées. www.artcuriel.com

A guri lacquer dish, Yuan dynasty - Sothebys

the shallow rounded sides rising from a short foot to a thick rolled rim, deeply carved through thick layers of red and black lacquer with two rows of guri pommels enclosing a five-pointed star in the centre, the exterior similarly decorated with a foliate scroll, the base lacquered brown, Japanese wood box. Quantité: 2 - 22.5cm., 8 7/8 in. Estimation: 10,000 - 15,000 GBP

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 www.sothebys.com

Hermès Paris made france. Sac Birkin 35 cm en crocodile porosus gris graphite. Photo Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan

(crocodylus porosus, CITES Annexe IIB), garniture en métal argenté palladié, tirette, clochette, clefs, cadenas gainé, intérieur doublé en chèvre gris graphite comprenant une poche plaquée et poche zippée, double poignée. Année: 2008. Bon état général (oxydations sur le fermoir).

A Graphit grey porosus crocodile Birkin bag (crocodylus porosus, CITES Annex IIB), 35 cm, silver palladium hardware, keyfob & padlock, double handle. Year: 2008. Good overall condition (few ocydation on the hardware).

Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan. Mardi 21 mai 2013. Hôtel Dassault - 7 Rond Point des Champs-Elysées. www.artcuriel.com

A cinnabar lacquer ‘Floral’ cupstand. Ming dynasty, 15th century - Sothebys

the hollow bowl with rounded sides collared with a wide six-lobed dish with slightly curved sides, all supported on a hollow spreading foot, carved through the layers of red lacquer on the exterior with organically arranged leafy floral blooms including chrysanthemum, peony, camellia and prunus, the interior of the bowl and foot lacquered in black; 16.2cm., 6 3/8 in. Estimation: 15,000 - 20,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: A Japanese Private Collection.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 www.sothebys.com

Hermès Paris made in france. Sac Birkin 35 cm en crocodile porosus Cognac. Photo Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan

(crocodylus porosus, CITES Annexe IIB), garniture en métal plaqué or, tirette, clochette, clefs, cadenas gainé, intérieur doublé en chèvre marron comprenant une poche zippée et une poche plaquée, double poignée. Année: 1994. Bon état général (légères petites usures aux angles). Dans sa boîte. Estimation : 24 000 / 26 000 €

A Cognac porosus crocodile Birkin bag (crocodylus porosus, CITES Annex IIB), 35 cm, gilt metal hardware, keyfob & padlock, double handle. Year: 1994. Good overall condition (tiny slight signs of wear on corners). In its box.

Artcurial - Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan. Mardi 21 mai 2013. Hôtel Dassault - 7 Rond Point des Champs-Elysées. www.artcuriel.com

A cinnabar lacquer ‘Pheasant and Peony’ dish, Ming dynasty, 16th century - Sothebys

the shallow flaring sides rising from a flat base, the interior carved with a pheasant perched on leafy peony branches issuing from pierced rocks, the exterior with meandering scrolling lotus, all reserved on a diaper ground, the base lacquered black, Japanese wood box and cover. Quantité: 2 - 13.4cm., 5 1/4 in. Estimation: 12,000 - 18,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: A Japanese Private Collection.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 www.sothebys.com

Wim Delvoye. This is the artist's fourth solo exhibition at the gallery.

New York, NY - Sperone Westwater presents an exhibition of recent laser-cut stainless steel and bronze sculptures by Wim Delvoye. Known and described as a provocative and subversive artist, Delvoye's work celebrates paradox, building on the Belgian Surrealist tradition of combining seemingly unrelated elements and engaging diverse provocative conceptual themes. By referencing Gothic, Baroque, and Rococo artistic conventions, and reconfiguring religious icons, Delvoye upends the creative process.

This is the artist's fourth solo exhibition at the gallery. Last year, Delvoye was invited by the Musée du Louvre in Paris to show his works in the context of the museum's collection in the Napoleon III apartments as well as under the I.M. Pei pyramid on the Cour Carrée.

Suspended from the gallery's ceiling will be a monumental 6-meter high Gothic tower made of stainless steel, Suppo (scale model 1:2), 2010. Tall, spiraling, and slender, this work combines Delvoye's recent experiments in twisted, anamorphosed sculptures and his earlier Gothic works. Also to be installed is a large-scale polished bronze sculpture, Dual Möbius Quad Corpus, 2010, which depicts contorted and warped crucifixes in a Möbius band – a single closed continuous curve with a twist. 

Another suite of nickeled bronze sculptures, including Daphnis & Chloë Rorschach works from 2012, reactivates the mythological figures of nineteenth-century academic sculptures by Mathurin Moreau, among others. Delvoye employs computerized reproduction techniques and then twists and further morphs their Baroque and Rococo forms even further. One half of the sculpture is a mirror image of the other, reiterating the principle of Rorschach plates. 

Born in Belgium in 1965, Delvoye currently lives and works in Ghent, Belgium. The artist had gained international recognition through his participation in major exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1990 and 1999, Documenta IX in 1992, and particularly, through his presentation of "Cloaca" at the New Museum, New York in 2002. Other recent solo exhibitions have been held at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy (2009); Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MAMAC), Nice, France (2010); Musée Rodin, Paris, France (2010); Palais des Beaux-Arts (BOZAR), Brussels, Belgium (2010-2011); the Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart Tasmania, Australia (2012); and the aforementioned Musée du Louvre (2012). Delvoye's work is in public collections worldwide.

Zao Wou-Ki. 24.01.63. Oil on canvas, 115 x 88 cm. (45 1/4 x 34 5/8 in.). Painted in 1963. Estimate:HK$10,000,000-15,000,000 / US$1,282,100-1,923,100. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013. 

HONG KONG.- On May 25 and 26, Christie’s Hong Kong will present four sales of Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art. Offering 700 lots, the sales build on the "East Meets West" concept that has been Christie’s leitmotif for this category in recent years and includes more than 200 works by Southeast Asian artists, the largest Southeast Asian art offering ever to be featured at Christie’s. A number of important private collections are highlights of the sale: a private German Collection featuring works by Zhou Chunya; a selection from the Guy and Myriam Ullens collection including an important work from Zhang Xiaogang’s ―Bloodline Series‖; the Gerardo Rueda collection of works by Philippine abstract artist Fernando Zóbel; and works by T'ing Yin-Yung. Responding to market demand, a selection of 97 Asian 20th Century works on paper will be presented as a special sale for the first time. 

ART WORLD BECOMES ONE: INSPIRING DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST

The mingling of Eastern and Western cultures and arts has been an exhilarating curatorial theme for a number of prestigious art institutions throughout the world in the past decade. It has also inspired Christie’s auctions. This season, ―East Meets West‖ continues to be the key concept in our sales, which cover a selection of works that display and reinterpret the versatility of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art, as well as its connections with Western art. These masterpieces will offer viewers and collectors an opportunity to experience the various languages of Asian art and to rediscover its unique historic value.

Primary examples include works of Chinese-French masters Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun, as well as influential Chinese contemporary artist Zhou Chunya, who is known for his incisive combination of Chinese painting and Western expressionism. The sales also feature Two Standing Nudes (Sale 3205, Lot 9, estimate on Request) by Chinese-French painter Sanyu, whose Chinese aesthetics-infused rendition of this classic Western subject matter, the nude, has invited comparison to Pablo Picasso’s Group of Nudes, painted in 1921, and Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, executed in 1929. 

FAST-GROWING ART SCENE: SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART

Since the consolidation of the Southeast Asian Modern & Contemporary Art and Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art auctions in Autumn 2011, which led to the creation of a wider pan-Asian category, art from Southeast Asia has increasingly attracted global attention in Christie’s sales.

Alongside masterpieces from Indonesian modern artists, Affandi, Hendra Gunawan and S. Sudjojono, 20th century art from Singapore has emerged as a strong growth area. This season, auction highlights from Singaporean artists include a rare still life by French-trained Georgette Chen, Still Life with Tropical Fruits (Sale 3205, Lot 23, estimate: HK$600,000-800,000/US$76,900-102,600) and Cheong Soo Pieng’s Nature’s Expression (Sale 3205, Lot 15, estimate: HK$900,000-1,500,000/US$115,400-192,300), which reflects both his experimentation and his integration of Eastern philosophy and aesthetics with Western abstraction. 

Abstract art as a genre has experienced a strong upward trend within this category. The Gerardo Rueda Collection of paintings by Fernando Zóbel showcases some of the artist’s most significant abstract works to be presented at auction. The collection, comprising a number of Zobel’s rarely seen works, is highlighted by Arganda (Sale 3206, Lot 3375, estimate: HK$900,000-1,200,000 / US$115,400-153,800), which was created in 1961. The painting shows Zóbel’s skill in incorporating movement, speed, and Chinese calligraphic elements within a minimalist format. Other highlights include two distinctive works from the 1960s, Vortex (Sale 3206, Lot 3376, estimate: HK$500,000-700,000 / US$64,100-89,700) and Espejo sin Reflejo (Sale 3206, Lot 3377, estimate: HK$450,000-650,000 / US$57,700-83,300).

Contemporary Southeast Asian highlights are Masriadi Presents – Attack from Website by Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi (Sale 3205, Lot 46, estimate: HK$2,000,000-3,000,000 / US$256,400-384,600) and Eyeland Divide (Sale 3205, Lot 45, estimate: HK$650,000-850,000 / US$83,000-109,000) by Philippine artist Ronald Ventura, exceptionally strong creations by two of the most exciting contemporary artists today. 

OTHER AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

A number of important works by prominent Asian artists from different backgrounds further explore the diversity of Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art and the ―East Meets West‖ theme. Among them are Yoshitomo Nara’s Life is Only One! (Sale 3205, Lot 31, estimate: HK$6,500,000-8,500,000/US$833,300-1,089,700), a large-scale acrylic on wood that meditates on a universal sentiment: the ephemerality of life. Oil painting Society (Sale 3205, Lot 29, estimate: HK$16,000,000-24,000,000/US$2,051,300-3,076,900) by Zeng Fanzhi, a metaphor for China’s aplomb and decisive role in the international political milieu, is another highlight.

A further highlight of the auction is Yan Pei-Ming’s 2012 oil painting Bruce Lee – Fighting Spirit (Sale 3205, Lot 27, estimate: HK$4,000,000-5,000,000/US$512,800-641,000), which was generously donated by the artist himself via La Société des Amis du Louvre. The proceeds from the sale of the painting will go to the Louvre Museum for the refurbishment of its 18th Century Decorative Arts Galleries. 

A SPECIAL SELECTION OF ASIAN 20TH CENTURY ART (DAY SALE)

Titled "A Special Selection of Asian 20th Century Art," a day sale comprising a selection of works will bring together a pan-Asian group of the most influential artists of the age including Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun, Sanyu, Lim Tze Peng, Ting Yin-Yung, Walasse Ting and Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès, among others. All the featured works were executed on paper, arguably the most convenient and versatile medium in creating art.

"In my years as a professional in the international art market, I have never found medium to be a determining factor of value, and artworks on paper are beginning to command top prices." Eric Chang, International Director of Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art, says about this collection of works on paper. "To me, these water colors, lithographs, sketches and mixed media works communicate a subtle, personal message, and are best appreciated in the intimate setting of your home—in your study, salon or bedroom."

Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled (Black on Maroon). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

signed and dated 'MARK ROTHKO 1958' (on the reverse); oil on canvas; 72 x 45 in. (182.8 x 114.3 cm.). Painted in 1958. Estimate $15,000,000 – $20,000,000

Provenance: Estate of the Artist
Marlborough Gallery, Inc., New York
Estate of the Artist
Pace Gallery, New York
Private collection, New York
Private collection, New York, by descent from the above

Literature: D. Anfam, Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas, Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven, 1998, p. 480, no. 618 (illustrated in color).

Notes: Painted in 1958, the year he began his iconic Seagram Murals, Untitled (Black on Maroon) is a mesmeric example of Rothko's ability to create an overwhelming material presence through a combination of shimmering and almost indefinable planes of color. In his painting Rothko wanted to move away from what he termed 'self-expressionism,' (the Abstract Expressionist belief that art should be the expression of individual personality), and instead seeking to establish a pure and direct form of painting, one that opened up the canvas and erased the traditional boundaries between the painter and the idea, and then between the idea and the observer. To this end, Rothko celebrated what he considered to be the two fundamental elements of picture making-space and color-making these the sole protagonists of his work.

Untitled (Black on Maroon) provides ample evidence of just how successful Rothko became in this bid to develop a new treatise of abstraction. Standing in the presence of this powerful painting allows the viewer to join the celebration of the richness and diversity of Rothko's palette as the surface resonates with visceral energy, turning a purely visual experience into the realms of the spiritual. Rothko summons a rich and complex array of chromatic sensations as the deep reds, maroons, blacks and blues reverberate and coalesce into a gentle maelstrom of color and emotion. He begins his journey into the sublime by laying down multiple layers of red pigments, each varying in depth and tone so that surface becomes a subtle assortment of maroon, chestnut, vermillion and crimson. To temper this chromatic intensity the artist lays two passages of darker pigment which, despite the painting's rater foreboding title, resound with a dusky subtleness that allows the shadowy pigment to fracture into diaphanous hues of purple, violet and even blue. In this way, like many of Rothko's mature paintings, Untitled (Black on Maroon) becomes a play of emotive color, one that through its simplicity, directness and the establishment of a tense equilibrium, expresses a psychological reality that immediately resonates in and is unconsciously understood by the human spirit. Continuing in the tradition of the pioneering colorist Henri Matisse and his 1911 masterpiece The Red Studio, Rothko evoked the physical properties of color to disrupt our sense of space and perspective, and alter our sense of reality.

In this particular work Rothko uses a complex web of rapid brushstrokes to conjure up a quartet of rectangular forms. Two large blocks of dark color lead the composition, their dominance subdued by their complex construction as translucent and transfigured passages of intertwined bands occasionally become diaphanous enough to reveal an enticing under layer of rich and warm ambers and ochers. Accompanying these are two, almost imperceptibly subtle passages that populate the upper and central portions of the canvas. Rendered in the same warm tones that Rothko uses elsewhere, he carefully, almost inscrutably, feathers of the edges of these block so that they become delicate and almost indefinable forms. Like the radiant energy of a sunset by J.M.W. Turner--and an artist Rothko greatly admired --the shimmering fiery light seemingly invoked by the horizon-line--like divide between the two forms at the center of this painting invokes a deep and almost sublime sense of landscape.

To achieve this high degree of luminosity, Rothko developed a process by which he would build up his forms by laying down successive layers of thin, almost opaque, glaze over and over again until the resulting body of color would almost shimmer with a lustrous sense of radiance. Visible across the expansive surface of Untitled (Black on Maroon) is the entire range of Rothko's formal repertoire, ranging from melodramatic passages of broad, swiftly applied brushstrokes which morph into more subtle areas of color before our very eyes. Rothko often likened his paintings from this period to "dramas" and with its chromatic intensity and expressive execution, Untitled does not fail to live up to this description.

Paintings such as the present lot speak to this drama of the human condition. Speaking at New York's Pratt Institute in 1958--the year he painted Untitled (Black on Maroon)--Rothko told his audience of the importance of scale and color within his work, "Since I am involved with the human element, I want to create a state of intimacy--an immediate transaction. Scale is of tremendous importance to me--human scale. Feelings have different weights; I prefer the weight of Mozart to Beethoven because of Mozart's wit and irony and I like his scale. Beethoven has a farmyard wit. How can a man be ponderable without being heroic? This is my problem. My pictures are involved with these human values. This is always what I think about. (M. Rothko, quoted by J. E. B. Breslin, Mark Rothko: A Biography, Chicago 1993, p. 395).
Stylistically, this painting belongs to the period when Rothko first began to adopt the deep somber Dionysian colors that were to increasingly dominate the artist's palette until his death in 1970. It relates closely in color and complexity for example, to such works as Four Darks in Red, 1958, in the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and No. 16 (Red, Brown and Black), 1958, in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Many critics have somewhat misleadingly identified these darker paintings with Rothko's 'dark side' and seen in them a symbol of the increasing depression of his last years but this view is a largely simplistic categorization given in hindsight that misinterprets Rothko's original intentions.

1958, the year Untitled (Black on Maroon) was painted, proved to be the peak of the artist's lifelong obsession with the distillation of form. Although he began as a figurative painter, he soon found himself dissatisfied with the representational nature of painting. In his late twenties, Rothko was introduced to Milton Avery, whose reductive forms he admired greatly. By 1938, his Subway Scenes had already begun to show his dismantling of recognizable forms, as the frenetic life on New York's subway is distilled into a collection of flat passages of color. By the mid-1940s and his Multiforms, Rothko was honing his format with the physical power of scale and the emotive power of color, he achieved the kind of unobstructed communion that pitched the individual against the universal forces of the human collective, and indeed, created works that were nothing less than sublime manifestations. "There is no such thing as a good painting about nothing," he had said in 1943, and in the dominant Greenbergian mode of the fifties, maintained that he was interested in communicating deeper human truths. "I am not interested in relationships of color or form or anything else. I'm only interested in expressing basic human emotions--tragedy, ecstasy, doom and so on-and the fact that people break down and cry when confronted with my pictures shows that I communicate those basic human emotions" (M. Rothko, quoted in ibid. pp. 119-120).

1958 was a pivotal year for Rothko as it was the year he embarked on one of the most significant commissions of his career, that of the Seagram Murals. The story of Rothko's murals is one of the central legends of his career and has become the kind of fable that impregnates and often threatens to dominate the history of any great artist's life. It is however nonetheless a remarkable and particularly pertinent story because the Seagram commission and the unfolding drama that surrounded Rothko's eventual rejection of it-after having worked on the project for nearly two years-encapsulates and reveals two important parameters of Rothko's character and artistic temperament. The Seagram commission threw Rothko's long held personal keenness to create a complete painterly environment into direct conflict with his deep-rooted socialist principles. Ultimately, the overt luxury of the Four Seasons restaurant proved too offensive to Rothko's conscience and this, alongside the fact that he feared that the solemn paintings that had devised for it would come to be seen as mere decoration, led to his pulling out from the project.

Rothko admired the work of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and said that in his paintings he tried to bring together the two opposing forces of the universe--order and dynamism--that the German philosopher identified. It was with the aim of establishing a similar state of harmonious dtente between these two central organizing principles of existence that Rothko painted, hoping to generate within the reductive format of his abstract forms a profound expression of these dual elements compacted into a single unity. Conflicting the romanticism and heightened emotionalism of the rich and expansive horizon-like landscape vistas of his color-drenched rectangles with a strict rational vertical grid-like progression of form compressed onto a rectangular canvas, the dynamism of confrontation is all important in Rothko's work. Such dynamism is often defined and characterized by the nature of the shimmering edges of his colored forms and the 'personality' that they give to the work as a whole. "In a way my paintings are very exact" Rothko explained in 1958, "but in that exactitude there is a shimmer, a playin weighing the edges to introduce a less rigorous, play element. The tragic notion of the image is always present in my mind when I paint and I know when it is achieved, but I couldn't point it out--show where it is illustrated. There are no skull and bones. I am an abstract painter" (Mark Rothko lecture given at the Pratt Institute, New York, 1958, op. cit., p. 395).

Christie's. POST-WAR & CONTEMPORARY EVENING SALE. 15 May 2013. New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A Sapphire, Emerald and Diamond Pendent Necklace-Brooch, by Cartier. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

Designed as an openwork brilliant-cut diamond girandole pendant, set to the centre with a cushion-shaped sapphire weighing approximately 45.82 carats, suspending graduated sapphire and emerald drops, to the double-strand emerald bead neckchain with diamond roundel accents, joined at intervals by brilliant-cut diamond stylized links, the clasp further enhanced by a sapphire drop (with brooch fitting), mounted in platinum, 40.5 cm long, in red leather Cartier case. Estimate HK$8,000,000 – HK$12,000,000

Signed Cartier, no. 34391B 
Accompanied by report no. 0408151 dated 19 february 2013 from the Gübelin Gemmological Laboratory Stating that the 45.82 carat sapphire is of sri lanka (ceylon) origin, with no indications of heating

Christie's. HONG KONG MAGNIFICENT JEWELS. 28 May 2013. Convention Hall

An Exceptional Emerald and Diamond Necklace. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

Designed as a line of graduated old European and cushion-shaped diamonds alternating with baguette-cut diamonds, the front suspending a fringe of emerald drops, flanked by cabochon emeralds, accented by a sugarloaf emerald clasp, mounted in platinum and 18k yellow gold, 39.5 cm long, with French assay marks for platinum and gold, in grey suede Boucheron case. Estimate HK$24,000,000 – HK$40,000,000

Mounted by Boucheron 
Accompanied by report no. 66682 dated 11 February 2013 from the SSEF Swiss Gemmological Institute stating that the emeralds weighing approximately 105.00 carats total is of Colombia origin, with no indications of clarity modification and minor to moderate amount of oil in fissures; also accompanied by an appendix stating that the natural emerald necklace possesses characteristics which merits special mention and appreciation. The emeralds of highly impressive size show a well saturated green colour, well matching with each other. The most outstanding of these emeralds is the centre stone, as it shows excellent purity, very rarely seen in emeralds. Microscopic examination revealed inclusions, which represent the hallmarks of Colombian emeralds from the famous mining areas as Muzo, Coscuez, and Chivor, all located in the green foothills of the Cordillera Oriental in the Colombian Andes. Its saturated green colour is due to a combination of well-balanced trace elements in the stone, typical and characteristic for the finest emeralds of Colombia. Fissures in emeralds are commonly filled with a colourless substance to enhance their clarity. The fact that the largest emerald shows no indications of clarity modification is adding to its exceptional quality. Assembling a set of natural emeralds from Colombia of this size and quality is very rare. In combination with the design using large diamonds, this necklace certainly can be considered a very exceptional treasure. 

Christie's. HONG KONG MAGNIFICENT JEWELS. 28 May 2013. Convention Hall

Clip "Bombe"émeraudes, saphirs et rubis, par Suzanne Belperron. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

De forme bombée, bordé de deux lignes d'émail noir et ponctué d'émeraudes carrées, de rubis ovales et carré et de saphirs ronds en serti clos, monture en or et argent, poinçons français, poids brut: 20.10 gr., vers 1935. Poinçons de la Société Groene & Darde pour Suzanne Belperron. Estimate €10,000 – €15,000

Accompagné d'un certificat de Belperron LLC no. B41103202013 en date du 20 mars 2013

Literature: Suzanne Belperron, Sylvie Raulet, Olivier Baroin, La Bibliothèque des Arts, 2011, page 154 pour des modèles similaires

Bague "Tourbillon" perle mabé et calcedoine, par Suzanne Belperron. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

Ornée d'un perle mabé, le tour du doigt en calcédoine godronnée, taille 46, poids brut: 12.80 gr., vers 1950. Estimate €10,000 – €15,000

Accompagnée d'un certificat de Belperron LLC no. B41303202013 en date du 20 mars 2013

A MABE PEARL AND CHALCEDONY "TOURBILLON" RING, BY SUZANNE BELPERRON

Christie's. PARIS BIJOUX. 29 May 2013. Paris.

An underglaze blue and red celadon ground bottle vase, Qianlong mark and period. Photo Sotheby's

the elongated pear-shaped body rising from a short spreading foot to a long slender neck, the exterior painted in underglaze blue and red with prunus growing from rockwork, the reverse with bamboo canes, all reserved on a celadon ground, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark; 53cm., 20 7/8 in. Estimation: 15,000 - 20,000 GBP

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A fine and rare iron-red ‘Phoenix’ waterpot ,Yongzheng mark and period - Sothebys

of beehive form, the tall hemispherical sides rising to a short waisted neck, painted to the exterior with two archaistic phoenix between stylised keyfret bands, the base inscribed with a six-character mark within a double-circle; 6cm., 2 3/8 in. Estimation: 15,000 - 20,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Sotheby’s London, 16th June 1998, lot 260 (part lot)

NOTE: Waterpots of this form and decoration, bearing a Yongzheng reign mark on the base and of the period, are rare, although a similar example, from the collection of Edward T. Chow, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 127; and a pair was sold in these rooms, 31st October 1974, lot 291.See a pair of Yongzheng dishes similarly enamelled with dragons in iron-red, included in the exhibition Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1992, cat. no. 168. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A coral-ground reserve-decorated ‘Lotus’ bowl, Qianlong seal mark and period - Sothebys

the deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to a flared rim, the exterior covered in brilliant coral-red enamel, decorated in reserve with stylised meandering lotus scrolls, the outlines of the leaves and petals pencilled in iron-red, the interior glazed white, inscribed to the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze-blue; 12.7cm., 5in. Estimation: 15,000 - 20,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: A Swedish Private Collection.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. London | 15 mai 2013 - www.sothebys.com