Lot 135. An Exceptional 6.33 carats Colombian Emerald. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot sold 1,095,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's2018.

The unmounted emerald-cut emerald weighing 6.33 carats.

Lot 53. An Impressive 11.24 carats Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring, circa 1920. Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 USD. Lot sold 999,000  USD. Courtesy Sotheby's2018.

Set with a cushion-cut sapphire weighing 11.24 carats, accented by numerous single-cut diamonds, size 6¼; circa 1920.

Lot 46. 11.71 carats Fancy Intense Yellow Diamond and 10.15 carats Diamond Ring. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot sold 639,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

Of crossover design, set with an oval-shaped Fancy Intense Yellow diamond weighing 11.71 carats and an oval-shaped near colorless diamond weighing 10.15 carats, flanked by shield-shaped diamonds, size 5¾, signed Krashes. 

Lot 381. Gold, Turquoise and Diamond Grande and Petite Repeating Desk Clock with Alarm, Cartier. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 275,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Composed of a rectangular reeded gold case with polished gold base, the silvered dial with buff-top turquoise and round diamond indicators, the hands applied with rose-cut diamonds, with subsidiary dial for alarm with arrow-form hands, minute repeating pusher at top applied with turquoise cabochon, manual winding movement, strike choice for quarters, silent, and hours and quarters, repeating on two gongs with two hammers, measuring approximately 7 x 6 x 4⅝ inches, case and dial signed Cartier, movement signed Couaillet Frères, backplate signed European Watch & Clock Co., backplate numbered 20784 and 3289; circa 1938. With signed fitted box and key.

Literature: For a clock of similar design, see Made by Cartier by Franco Cologni and Ettore Mocchetti, page 156.

Sotheby's. The Jeweler’s Eye: The Personal Collection of Fred Leighton, New York, 18 Apr 2018, 02:00 PM

The ancient fishing port of Trapani on the west coast of Sicily was renowned in the 16th-18th centuries for its production of objects made from local red coral. Most common were capezzale, devotional plaques with religious figures set in engraved copper frames with rich coral inlay and enamel decoration. Other work included liturgical items such as chalices and crucifixes, as well as secular objects like jewelry, inkstands, and small caskets, many of which made their way into European kunstkammern. The historic and aesthetic value of Trapani ware makes it a fitting complement to the 20th-century works in the Leighton Collection.

Lot 353. A Trapani coral inlaid and enameled plaque with the Madonna flanked by two saints, late 17th century: height 18 in.; width 14 in., 46 cm; 35.5 cm. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 USD. Lot sold 75,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

Provenance: Manolo March Collection, Mallorca; Christie's Paris, June 16, 2015, lot 56

Kazimir Malevich, Landscape, 1911. Gouache on paper laid down on board, 41 3/4 x 41 3/4 in. (106 x 106 cm.). Estimate: £7,000,000-10,000,000.© Christie’s Images Limited 2018

LONDON.- Kazimir Malevich’s Landscape (1911, estimate: £7,000,000-10,000,000) will be a major highlight of Christie’sImpressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 20 June 2018, part of ‘20th Century at Christie’s’, a series of auctions taking place from 15 to 21 June 2018. The monumental, square-format landscape is from ‘The Red Series’, a group of works characterised by gestural brush strokes and an expressive use of colour, referencing both Fauvism and Cubism, and anticipating Malevich’s move towards Suprematism. 

Landscape was first exhibited in the ‘Moscow Salon’ in February / March 1911. It was subsequently shown the following year in St. Petersburg as part of ‘The Union of Youth’, where Malevich represented a radical collective known as ‘Donkey’s Tail’. In 1927, he was invited to Germany to show his work for the first time outside Russia and brought with him the best works of his career to date. Landscape was one such work and remained in Berlin after Malevich returned to Russia. Due to the rise of totalitarianism in Germany and in his home country, the artist lost control of his works abroad before he died in 1935. Landscape resurfaced after the war and was acquired by the Kunstmuseum Basel, where it hung for over 50 years, before being restituted to the heirs of the artist. It is now being offered from a private collection and represents the first time that work has come to auction in two generations. Landscape will be exhibited in London from 15 to 20 June 2018. 

Landscape is a ‘pure’ landscape painting whose motif of peasant dwellings surrounded by stylized treetops is borrowed from Russian primitive art. The use of colour to sculpt the forms represented recalls the techniques employed by Cézanne, while the block-like depiction of the buildings nods towards the Cubist compositions of Braque and Picasso. By distilling these diverse visual references, Malevich has created a powerful and profoundly unique work of art. He himself stated that ‘one was obliged to move both along the line of primitive treatment of phenomena, and along the line of Cézanne to cubism.’ The red-hot gleam on the horizon is a direct depiction of the sun, one of the unique features of the painting that foretells the primacy of colour that would define Suprematism. In the early 1930s, Malevich returned to creating ‘pure’ landscapes, producing Landscape with five houses, Landscape with a white house, and Red House, all of which are in the collection of the State Russian Museum. 

Jay Vincze, Senior International Director, Impressionist and Modern Art, Christie’s: “Malevich was one of the most dynamic Russian Avant Garde artists whose continual strive to redefine the pictorial plane resulted in an incredibly varied and ultimately hugely influential body of work, most of which is to be found in public institutions around the globe. This early landscape shows the artist absorbing the lessons of his European counterparts while moving in a wholly unique direction, towards what would become his most significant and radical style – Suprematism. We are honoured to present such a rare work to auction for the first time at Christie’s in London."

Lot 72. A rare 'Jizhou''Phoenix' vase, Yuan dynasty (1279-1366); 28 cm, 11 in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

the baluster body rising from a slightly spreading foot to a waisted neck and slightly lipped rim, applied with a thick opaque black glaze, reserved on the buff biscuit with two pairs of phoenix circling in the air, one of each with four long tail feathers, the two pairs divided by clouds, the base glazed in black below the foot.

Provenance: Sotheby’s London, 11th December 1990, lot 220. 

Note: Jizhou vases decorated with this elaborate phoenix design are rare, and the present piece is particularly notable for its rich black-coffee brown glaze that provides a striking contrast with the two pairs of phoenix in white reserve. The four birds appear animated with the details of the flowing feathers and eyes painted in swift brushwork.

A similar vase, in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, is published in Robert D. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, Mass, 1995, pl. 103; another, illustrated in Nuno de Castro, A Ceramica e a Porcelana Chinesas, Porto, 1992, vol. 1, pl. 169, was sold in these rooms, 11th December 1990, lot 220; a slightly larger meiping was sold in our New York rooms, 17th March 2015, lot 181; and a smaller example, decorated with a less elaborate design, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 4th December 2015, lot 265. Compare also a meiping of the same shape but decorated with a blossoming prunus branch illustrated in the Complete Collection of Treasures from the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 217.

A large and unusual 'Jizhou''Phoenix' meiping, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Height 14 1/4  in., 36.2 cm. Sold for 50,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 17th March 2015, lot 181. Courtesy Sotheby's 2015

Cf. my post: A large and unusual 'Jizhou''Phoenix' meiping, Southern Song dynasty

A superb  Jizhou''Phoenix' vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 24.5 cm., 9 5/8  in. Sold for 175,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th December 2015, lot 265. Courtesy Sotheby's 2015

well potted with an ovoid body rising to a wide, slightly tapered, neck and a lipped rim, applied overall with a rich dark brown glaze, save for two pairs of phoenix in flight left in the biscuit on each side and fired to a pale orange colour, each pair consisting of a phoenix rising and another swooping downwards, with details drawn in brown slip and flower heads dividing the pairs.

Note: slightly larger vase of this type, painted with a dynamic and elaborate image of a phoenix, in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, was included in the Museum's exhibition Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers. Chinese Brown and Black Glazed Ceramics 400-1400, Cambridge, 1995, cat. no. 103, where the author notes that the form of these meiping derives from contemporary silver bottles, such as the one recovered from a tomb dated to 1195 in Jiangpu county, Jiangsu province (see p. 253).

Further related vases include one sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1990, lot 220; and another also painted with scattered prunus blossoms, sold in our New York rooms, 17th March 2015, lot 181.

Lot 73. A rare 'Ding' censer and cover, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 15 cm, 6 in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

the rounded body supported on a domed pedestal foot carved with four quatrefoil cut out panels, the cover carved with an open work design of diaper leading up to a flower head, all covered in an ivory coloured glaze, deepening to an olive tone where it pools.

Provenance: Collection of Frederick M. Mayer. 
Christie's London, 24th/25th June 1974, lot 34.
Collection of Walter Hochstadter.
Christie's New York, 18th/19th March 2009, lot 510.
J.J. Lally & Co, Oriental Art, March 2010.

Exhibited:  J. J. Lally & Co, Oriental Art,  Chinese Ceramics in Black and White, New York, 2010, cat. no. 17.

Jeong Seon painted this album following his first trip to the Diamond Mountains. He likely traveled northeast from the capital, Hanyang (today’s Seoul), and traversed the mountain range from Inner to Outer Geumgang toward the sea. Displayed here are six scenes from a total of thirteen (the last leaf in the album is a colophon). The varied compositions reveal Jeong’s early experimentations, which he would repeat, adapt, or refine over the course of his career.

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), General View of Inner Geumgang, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 14 1/4 × 14 7/8 in. (36.2 × 37.8 cm) © National Museum of Korea

This overview format as well as the juxtaposition of dark, foliage-covered rolling peaks and the white spiky pillars reveal Jeong’s ingenuity. Prominent sites enfolded into this view include Jangan Temple and the adjacent stone bridge in the foreground center and the tallest summit, Biro Peak, in the far distance. Labeling important sites is a convention Jeong applied to many of his paintings of the Diamond Mountains, which other artists followed.  

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), Mount Geumgang Viewed from Danbal Ridge, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 14 1/8 × 14 5/8 in. (35.9 × 37.1 cm) © National Museum of Korea

Travelers to the Diamond Mountains usually approached from the Danbal Ridge, from where they would catch their first glimpse of the glittering rocky peaks—depicted here as if floating in the sky, creating a sense of drama and wondrous discovery. Jeong employed multiple perspectives to create this view.

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), Buljeongdae Rock, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 14 1/4 × 14 7/8 in. (36.2 × 37.8 cm)© National Museum of Korea

This haunting scene beautifully captures the main rock in the center (with a cluster of pine trees atop) surrounded by stunning and ghostly white pillars floating behind. This site is one among many celebrated markers within Inner Geumgang. 

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), Baekcheon Bridge, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 14 5/8 × 13 1/2 in. (37.1 × 34.3 cm)© National Museum of Korea

The Baekcheon Bridge, which is not visible in this scene, straddles the transition from Inner to Outer Geumgang, the eastern part of the Diamond Mountains. The delightful close-up scenery focuses as much on the travelers as the landscape, and reveals the changing modes of their transportation: from sedan chairs, as seen on the left of the stream, to horses, on the right.  

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), Haesan Pavilion, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 10 5/8 × 14 3/4 in. (27 × 37.5 cm)© National Museum of Korea

Unlike the previous two scenes, this leaf depicts a relatively large swath of the mountains, in an overhead composition. With the white rocky peaks in the background, a wide slice of Sea Geumgang is presented—from the Haesan Pavilion in the middle ground to the Seven Star Pillars, a constellation of oddly shaped rocks, in the sea on the lower left corner. 

Jeong Seon (artist name: Gyeomjae) (Korean, 1676–1759), Chongseok Pavilion, from Album of Mount Geumgang (Pungak-docheop), 1711, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Six leaves from a fourteen-leaf album; ink and light color on silk, 14 7/8 × 14 3/4 in. (37.8 × 37.5 cm)© National Museum of Korea

Among the most striking sceneries of the Diamond Mountains are the basalt formations rising out of the sea along the eastern coast of the peninsula. The pavilion on the cliff shares the center stage in this composition, while the surrounding water occupies more than half the space. In later depictions, Jeong often placed greater focus on the fantastical rocks. 

Lot 508. A rare blue and white globular bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Estimate 800,000 — 1,200,000 HKD. Lot sold 960,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's 2005.

the globular body potted with generously rounded sides, painted in soft tones of characteristic 'heaped and piled' cobalt-blue with five large peony flower-heads blooming from long winding stems further issuing tight buds and foliage, all above a band of upright lappets and a border of stylised scrolling stems of at the foot, and below a band of scrolling lotus at tapered rim between a double-line border, the six-character mark inscribed in a line at the shoulder.

Note: This small globular bowl is perfectly formed in its ergonomical shape and delicately painted with the vibrant cobalt blue typical of the Xuande period. Bowls of this type were used during Buddhist religious ceremonies and are called qing shui wan which can be translated as 'pure water bowl'. The bowl was filled with water, that symbolized purity, and was carried during the prayers. The small size and rounded shape allowed it to be held comfortably in one's palms.

A small number of similar examples can be found in important museums and private collections. See one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Ming chu qinghua ci, vol.2, Beijing, 2002, pl. 122; one in the National Palace, Taipei, included in Minji meihin zuroku, vol.1, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 51, together with a globular stem bowl of Xuande mark and period that would have been used for the same purpose, pl. 52. Another bowl of this form and design is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 636; and one from the collection of Sir Percival and Lady David, London, was included in the Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat.no. 639.

A bowl of this design without reign mark, also attributed to the Xuande period, is in the British Museum, London, from the collection of Sir John Addis, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 132, pl. 4:22.

Blue and white bowls of very similar shape and painted decoration have been sold at major auctions: such as the piece from the Edward T. Chow collections sold in these rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 402, and again, 3rd May 1994, lot 40; and one from the Fuller collection, sold at Christie's London, 28/29th June 1965, lot 147.

Sotheby's. A Collection of Exceptional Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 02 may 2005 

Lot 134. A rare blue and white 'Peony' bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435); 9.5 cm, 3 3/4  in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

the rounded sides rising from a concave foot, painted to the sides in inky washes of cobalt blue with peonies borne on the same continuous scroll surrounded by fleshy leaves and attendant buds, with a band of classic scroll and lappets at the foot and a band of lotus scrolls at the rim, the underglaze blue six-character mark inscribed horizontally below the rim.

Note: Perfectly formed in its ergonomical shape and delicately painted with vibrant cobalt blue, this bowl is a charming example of the outstanding imperial wares characteristic of Xuande porcelain. Bowls of this form are described in Archibald Brankston, early Ming Wares of Chingtechen, Beijing, 1938, p. 25, as jing shui wan (pure water bowl) which were filled with water and used during prayers for purification. The small size and rounded shape allowed it to be held comfortably in one's palms.

A small number of closely related bowls can be found in important museums and private collections; see one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 130, together with a Xuande mark and period stem bowl that would have been used for a similar purpose, pl. 131; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum's exhibition Ming Xuande ciqi fezhan mulu [Special exhibition of Hsuan-te wares], 1980, cat. no. 20; another published in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection Tokyo, 1987, pl. 636; and a fourth from the collection of Sir Percival and Lady David, included in the exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 639. A small number of bowls have been offered at auction; one, from the collection of E.T. Chow, was sold twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th May 1981, lot 402, and 3rd May 1994, lot 40; another, included in the Ceramic Society of Japan's Inaugural Exhibition, Hiroshima, 1954, lot 14, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th May 2012, lot 4056; and a third was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd May 2005, lot 508.

Stemmed bowl with carnation scroll, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD 1426–35. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, 10,3 x 9,8 cm. Percival Daivid Foundation of Art, PDF A636 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

A rare early Ming blue and white globular bowl, jingshuiwan, Xuande six-character mark in a line and of the period (1426-1435), 3 3/4 in. (9.7 cm.) diam. Sold for 2,180,000 HKD at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th May 2012, lot 4056. © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Cf. my post: A rare early Ming blue and white globular bowl,jingshuiwan, Xuande six-character mark in a line and of the period (1426-1435)

A rare blue and white globular bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Sold for 960,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd May 2005, lot 508. Courtesy Sotheby's 2005.

 Cf. my post: A rare blue and white globular bowl, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

Bowls of this type, but lacking the reign mark, include one, from the collection of Sir John Addis and now in the British Museum, London, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 4.22; another from the Fuller collection was sold at Christie's London, 28th/29th June 1965, lot 147; and a third illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics. The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 50.

Small blue and white globular porcelain bowl with underglaze blue decoration, Ming dynasty, Xuande period (1426-1435). Height: 7.5 cm. Donated by Sir John M Addis, 1975,1028.10 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Lot 135. A yellow-ground and underglaze-blue 'Gardenia' dish, Zhengde mark and period (1506-1521); 25.2 cm, 9 7/8  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

 the shallow rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to an everted rim, painted in various tones of cobalt on a rich yellow ground, the interior painted with a medallion enclosing a leafy branch bearing two five-petalled gardenia flowers, encircled in the cavetto with branches of pomegranate, crab apple, grape and a bouquet of lotus, between double line borders, the underside with a continuous scroll of seven large blooming roses borne on a foliate stem, between double lines at the rim and foot, the base left white and inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character mark within double circles, Japanese wood box.

Note: The gardenia (zhizi) is a flower very rarely depicted on Chinese ceramics and known almost exclusively from the present design. It is not immediately associated with any auspicious meaning, but the highly fragrant flowers were popular with ladies to wear in the hair, and were used for flavouring tea and for preparing cosmetics, and the small fruits of the plant were coveted for dyeing – producing a fine yellow or orange colour – as well as for their medicinal benefits.

The blue-and-yellow colour scheme was developed in the Xuande period (1426-35), when the first dishes of this design were produced and was taken up again in the Chenghua period (1465-87). In both periods, the base of the dishes was generally still unglazed and the mark inscribed in a horizontal cartouche below the rim. In the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns the design experienced its peak, and after the Jiajing reign (1522-66), when rare examples were still produced, was totally abandoned. 

This dish is particularly rare for its large size and six-character mark on the base, and only one other example appears to have been published, excavated in Beijing and now in the Capital Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji[Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 13, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 147. A larger dish (29.5cm), also with a six-character mark, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 232, together with a smaller dish with a four-character mark on the base, pl. 233. Further smaller dishes with six-character marks include one in the British Museum, London, published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 8:23; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan cangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections : A Series of Monographs. Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-41; and a fourth example from the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 2, pl. 683, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 43.

Dish with gardenia, Ming dynasty, Underglaze blue six-character Zhengde reign mark in a double ring and period, AD 1506–1521, Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Bequeathed by Henry Blackwell Harris, 1929,0722.11 © Trustees of the British Museum

An Underglaze-Blue and Yellow-Enamel 'Gardenia' Dish. Mark and Period of Zhengde (1506-1521) from the Meiyintang Collection; 20 cm., 7 7/8 in. Sold for 1,220,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9th October 2012, lot 43. Photo Sotheby's 

Cf. my post: An Underglaze-Blue and Yellow-Enamel 'Gardenia' Dish, Mark and Period of Zhengde

Dish with gardenia, Ming dynasty, Zhengde six-character mark in a double circle in underglaze blue on the base and period, AD 1506–1521, Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. On loan from Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A743 © Trustees of the British Museum

An underglaze-blue and yellow-enamel 'Gardenia' dish, Mark and period of Zhengde, Collection of the Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo. Sold 937,500 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 october 2013. Photo: Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: An underglaze-blue and yellow-enamel 'Gardenia' dish, Mark and period of Zhengde

A rare Yellow-Ground Blue And White 'Gardenia' Dish, Mark and Period of Zhengde (1506-1521) from the Collection of Maureen Pilkington. Sold 2,980,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 05 april 2017, lot 4. Photo: Sotheby's.

Cf. my post: A rare Yellow-Ground Blue And White 'Gardenia' Dish, Mark and Period of Zhengde (1506-1521)

Lot 25. A copper-red bottle vase, yuhuchun ping, Qianlong seal mark and period (1736-1795); 30 cm, 12 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

the rounded sides rising from a spreading foot to a waisted neck and everted rim, richly applied on the exterior with a deep copper-red glaze, the base with a seal mark in underglaze blue.

This vase is notable for its vibrant copper-red glaze, the even tone which accentuates the graceful curves of its profile. Copper was notoriously difficult to fire, as the slightest irregularity in any stage of the production would result in undesirable colour and hence the rejection of the piece. With the technical advances made at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen from the early Qing dynasty, by the Qianlong reign (r. 1736-1795) potters were able to accomplish such previously unattained command over the pigment to successfully create a number of monochrome vessels with a strong and even red tone, such as the present vase.

Lot 67. A rare 'Longquan' celadon 'Dragon and Bird' jar and cover, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 27.2 cm, 10 3/4  in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

the tall ovoid body finely potted with three ribs encircling the upper body and supported on a flared foot, applied at the shoulder in high relief with a powerful dragon with long sinuous body coiled around the sides in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl', poised with mighty paws set with outstretched talons gripped to the surface, set with ferocious gaping jaws, bulbous eyes and long horns, the body carved with scale pattern and flaming mane, the domed cover surmounted by a bird-form finial, covered all over in an even celadon-green glaze, the unglazed footring and mouth rim burnt russet-brown in the firing.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 21st May 1985, lot 73.
Sotheby’s London, 12th November, 2003, lot 79. 

Exhibited: Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990-91, cat. no. 112.
Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 57.

Note: Funerary jars of this type are described by Julian Thompson in 'Chinese Celadons', Arts of Asia, November-December, 1993, p. 62, as belonging to the finest Longquan celadon vessels recorded. The glaze of the present jar is a thick lustrous bluish green, often referred to as the kinuta glaze by the Japanese who were especially fond of these wares. Kinuta wares are considered as masterpieces of the Longquan potter, who prepared the perfect glaze executed masterful knowledge and skill over his kiln.  

A related jar and cover, from the Avery Brundage collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, is illustrated in Mary Tregear, Song Ceramics, London, 1982, pl. 286; another, from the Charles Russell and H.M. Knight collections, was sold in these rooms, 12th July 1960, lot 147, and again, 15th July 1980, lot 75; and a further example, from Eskenazi, London, and illustrated in Julian Thompson, op. cit., p. 61, fig. 1 left, was sold in these rooms, 8th November 2006, lot 53.  Compare also a jar and cover in the Indianapolis Museum of Art included in the exhibition Beauty and Tranquillity: the Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1983, pl. 78; another of similar size and with a domed cover surmounted by a bird finial, from the collection of Warren E. Cox, included in the exhibition Chinese Ceramics in Chicago Collections, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1982, p. 35, cat. no. 19, sold twice in our New York rooms, 24th May 1944, lot 53, and again, 19th March 2007, lot 138; and a third example, from the Carl Kempe collection, sold in these rooms, 14th may 2008, lot 312.  

Ottoman shield of gilt-Copper (tombak). Early 17th century. Image provided by Peter Finer Ltd. 

LONDON.- The inaugural Antique Arms Fair at Olympia London of September 2017, a showcase for fine antique arms, armour and militaria from an array of UK based and international specialist dealers, received very positive feedback from dealers and collectors alike regarding the high standard of the fair, excellent sales, and good attendance. The organisers hope to emulate and build on this positive start in their next fair on the 21st April 2018, and are delighted to welcome back high-profile dealers such as Peter Finer, Hatford Antiques, Magazin Royal, and Runjeet Singh among many others. 

This year the fair organisers have chosen to sponsor the highly regarded Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, an organisation which works, “to make a difference to the lives and careers of crafts people whilst maintaining the very highest standards in craftsmanship.” The Trust provides numerous scholarships, and has supported over 130 different crafts, from the contemporary to the traditional. Donations received on the day of the fair as well as 50% of ticket sales will go to the Trust.  

The fair promises to maintain a broad range of high-quality pieces on show: Peter Finer Ltd will be exhibiting an Ottoman shield of gilt-Copper (tombak), early 17th century (pictured above), and Antique Auctions Support Network Ltd’s display will include an Indo-Persian dagger (jambiya) with ivory hilt. Garth Vincent Antique Arms & Armour will include a pair of flintlock pistols by Scamadine and an unusual flintlock pocket pistol by Gilet of Bristol. Prices for pieces at the fair will range from the tens of pounds to the thousands, ensuring a broad range of purchasing options for collectors at all levels. 

An Indo-Persian dagger (jambiya) with ivory hilt. Image provided by A.A.S.N. Ltd.

An Early Pair of 22-Bore Flintlock Pistols Of ‘Queen Anne’ Type By T. Scamadine, London, Circa 1715. Image provided by Garth Vincent Antique Arms & Armour.

An accompanying guide will be provided to exhibitors and visitors as previously, with articles written by experts such as Pierre Terjanian (Arthur Ochs Curator in Charge at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and Tobias Capwell (Curator of Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection). It is hoped that the guide will once again provide exciting insights into the latest research and developments in the field of antique arms and armour.  

The Antique Arms Fair will take place at Olympia, London on Saturday 21st April 2018, 09:00-15:00. Pillar Hall, Olympia Way, Olympia, London W14 8UX.

 A Korean helmet damascened in gold, for a high-ranking member of the royal household, Joseon dynasty, probably Yeongjo period, about 1724–76. Image provided by Peter Finer Ltd.

Vietnamese ‘Babao’ (Eight Treasures) Processional Standard, 19th century. Image provided by Runjeet Singh Ltd. 

Sotheby’s London is delighted to announce its new Spring Rugs and Carpets sales to be held alongside London Islamic week. Our sale includes distinguished collections and offers a wide range of property drawn across Europe and the USA, with selected works representative of the international weaving centres of Persia, Caucasus, Anatolia, Central Asia, China, and Europe. We also include the second instalment of the prominent collection of Christopher Alexander; the first half formed the core of our NOVEMBER SALE last year. This second group being offered focuses almost exclusively on early and archaic Anatolian examples, with the exception of a beautiful vibrant green Khorossan fragment.

Lot 86. A Mughal nobleman riding through a landscape holding a hawk, India, Deccan, Bijapur, circa 1660-80, gouache and gold on paper, depicting a mounted nobleman holding a hawk on his right hand, a retinue with elephant following, within a landscape, inscription to the reverse; 18.4 by 27.4cm. Estimate 70,000 — 90,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

Note: This is an important and rare equestrian portrait painted at Bijapur during the third quarter of the seventeenth century.

It is close in style and palette to the well-known dynastic durbar scene The House of Bijapur by Kamal Muhammad and Chand Muhammad in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1982.213; see Zebrowski 1983, pl.XVII, Welch 1985, no.208, Haidar and Sardar 2011, frontispiece and cover detail). Indeed, the execution of the horse, the rocks and the trees in that work is very close to those in the present example. It also relates stylistically to other Bijapur works, including A Princely Deer Hunt, datable to circa 1660, in which the horses and palette again relate to the present work (see Welch 1985, no.207; Zebrowski 1983, no.115), and Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah before a distant vista, a mid-seventeenth century work by Muhammad Khan, son of Miyan Chand, where the background hills and trees are close to the present example (see Zebrowski 1983, no.94).

The identity of the mounted figure here is uncertain. By the time this work was painted, the Mughal overlordship of the Deccan was well-established and Mughal princes and officers were frequent visitors and residents. Furthermore, Mughal artistic influence was assimilated into Deccani art. The facial type of the main figure, as well as the composition in general, is clearly influenced by the Mughal school (for a closely related Mughal equestrian hawking scene of the same period in the India Office Library Collections, British Library, see Falk and Archer 1981, p.410, no103; Losty and Leach, no.11). The figure wears a beard of a distinctly Mughal fashion associated with the reign of Shah Jahan and the early years of Aurangzeb's reign.

An inscription on the reverse gives the name Ja'far Khan. There were several noblemen and courtiers of the Shah Jahan and Awrangzeb periods with this name, but the two most likely are the Ja'far Khan who was Mir Bakhshi from 1647 onwards, and the Ja'far Khan who was Umdat al-Mulk, minister and governor towards the end of Shah Jahan's reign and Grand Vizier under Awrangzeb. A portrait of the former, by Chitarman of circa 1645 (British Museum, 1920,0917,0.13.36, see Beach and Koch 1997, fig.114, p.192) shows him to have had a similar physiognomy to the present figure, and other portraits of him, including numerous appearances in groups scenes in the Padshahnama and related works, confirm the similarity, albeit occasionally with a straighter nose (see Beach and Koch 1997, pages as indexed) . The latter is shown in a Deccani portrait of circa 1670 in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (69.8, see Leach 1995, vol.II, pp.951-2, no.9.682, p.955, col.pl.138). The Deccani origin of this seated portrait perhaps provides a link to the present work, also of Deccani origin; however, even allowing for the much greater age of the sitter, the facial features are less akin, leaving the former courtier as the more likely match.

Since the inscription on the reverse has probably been written somewhat later than the execution of the painting itself, it is also possible that the figure here is meant to depict someone else, perhaps a royal figure, and it is worth noting that a closely related drawing of Shah Jahan carrying a hawk as he processes across a landscape with his army is in the Freer Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (F1907.196, see http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/zoomObject.cfm?ObjectId=3416, where it is described as Mughal, although it is quite possibly Deccani in origin). The prince with the closest facial characteristics is Prince Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s eldest son and heir apparent, who is often shown with a very slightly more convex line to his nose, and with the same type of Shah Jahan-fashion beard as seen here (see, for instance: Dara Shikoh (one of four portraits on an album page), Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., S1986.421, see Beach 2012, no.22I; Shah Jahan Receiving Dara Shikoh, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.83.105.21, see Pal 1993, pp.282-3, (which clearly shows the slight difference between Dara Shikoh's visage and Shah Jahan's); Dara Shikoh with a Tray of Jewels, Victoria and Albert Museum, IM 19-1925, see Stronge 2002, pl.115; Dara Shikoh with Mian Mir and Mulla Shah, Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., S1986.432, see Beach 2012, no.36; Dara Shikoh and Sulaiman Shikoh, sale in these rooms, 16 June 2009, lot 2; Portrait of Dara Shikoh, Christie’s, London, 10 October 2006, lot 166). A further very close resemblance can be seen in a small portrait in the Dyson Perrins album, included in this sale as lot 102. Dara Shikoh’s brother, Prince Shah Shuja, also has the very slightly convex nose profile (see a portrait in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Leach 1995, no.3,82, Wright 2008, no.81), and he is also a possible candidate for the subject here. However, if the painting does show a royal prince, which the symbolism of the mounted, hawking figure might imply, it is slightly odd that he is depicted without a nimbus, which portraits of royal princes of the Mughal dynasty would normally have. Thus the probability remains that it does indeed depict one of the senior Mughal courtiers named Ja'far Khan.

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, London, 25 Apr 2018, 10:30 AM

Lot 68. Firdausi (d.1020 AD), Shahnameh, Persia, Qazwin, Safavid, dated 985 AH/1577 AD. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's 2018.

Persian manuscript on paper, 472 leaves plus 3 fly-leaves, 25 lines to the page text arranged in 4 columns, written in nasta’liq in black ink, titles in gold, f.3b and 4a with gold and polychrome shamsas followed by an opening bifolium with 12 lines of nasta’liq within clouds against a gold ground, surrounded by polychrome and gold scrolls against a blue ground, 22 miniature paintings, in contemporaneous gilt-stamped Safavid binding with fine polychrome doublures, with flap; text panel: 23 by 13.8cm. leaf: 35.7 by 23.6cm. 

Provenance: Christie's, London, 11 July 1974, lot 8.

Lot 167. A unique blue and white pilgrim flask with animals, Turkey, circa 1545-55; 32.2cm. height. Est. 60,000-80,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018.

Cf. my post: Sotheby's announces highlights from the Arts of the Islamic World auction on 25 April

Lot 175. An Iznik polychrome pottery tile, Turkey, second half 16th century; 25.5 by 24.5cm. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018.

of square form, decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, green and relief red, featuring carnations and saz leaves, mounted.

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 14 April 2010, lot 325, previously in a French private collection since the 1970s.

Lot 155. A gem-set and enamelled necklace, earrings and ring, India, circa 19th century. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018. 

 the gold necklace composed of rectangular beads each depicting a flower with a central diamond set in the kundan technique, red enamel petals against a green criss-cross design, the reverse enamelled with red and green floral blossoms on a white ground, with hanging gem-set and seed pearl beads, matching pendant earrings, together with a large bulbous ring set with a carved emerald and polychrome enamel body; necklace: 23cm. length; each earring: 6cm; interior of ring: 1.7cm. diam. 

Lot 157. A gem-set and enamelled necklace, India, 19th century. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018.

Lot 153. A fine Mughal gem-set inscribed jade pendant, North India, 18th-19th century. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018.

the jade pendant of lobed form, one side inlaid with gold and highlighted with inset foil-backed green stones and diamonds with a crescent moon amongst floral and bird motifs, the reverse featuring an incised calligraphic medallion within an inscribed border, gold floral motifs along the edges, with a green and metal-thread necklace; pendant: 5 by 5.8cm.

Inscriptions:
In the centre: The Shahada
In the borders: The nada ‘Ali quatrain, followed by: 'There is no youth [as brave as] ‘Ali, no sword [as sharp as] dhu’l-faqar’
And invocation to God as: ‘O the Judge of needs! O Sufficient of necessities! O the Healer of ailments!’

Lot 156. A diamond-set and enamelled necklace and earrings, India, 20th century. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018. 

comprised of facet-cut diamonds set in gold with foil backing on linked chains, with a hanging pendant in the form of a stylised flowerhead, enamelled on the reverse in red, green, yellow, blue and white with foliate details on each setting, gold chain, together with a pair of matching earrings, in bespoke box. Quantity: 3 - diamond section: 23cm. max. length - each earring: 6.2cm. 

Lot 158. A pair of large gem-set earrings with seed pearls, India, late 19th-early 20th century. Estimate 5,000 — 8,000. Courtesy Sotheby’s 2018. 

each of openwork design, with a flowerhead ear-piece with hanging drop and crescent-shape containing two facing birds, gemstones set with foil-backing, seed-pearl fringes, attachment string. Quantity: 2 - each earring: 13cm. with string: 23.2cm. 

Note: Stylistically, these earrings share a similar design with a nose-ring (balu) in the National Museum, New Delhi (inv. no.87.1168), attributed to Himachal Pradesh, early twentieth century (Krishan and Kumar 2001, p.177, no.276).