Lot 78. A 23.54 carats Sri Lankan sapphire and diamond ring, by Sterlé, circa 1960. Estimate £ 25,000 - 35,000 (€ 28,000 - 39,000). © Bonhams 2001-2018

The cushion-shaped sapphire, weighing 23.54 carats, set within an undulating openwork surround decorated with graduating baguette-cut sapphires and brilliant-cut diamonds, on a ropetwist band, signed Sterlé Paris, numbered, ring size J½ (sizing band), cased by Harry Hofmann, Zürich.

Accompanied by a report from GCS stating that the sapphire is of Sri Lankan origin, with no indications of heating. Report number 78150-49, dated 11 April 2018.

Bonhams. FINE JEWELLERY, 26 Sep 2018, 14:00 BST - LONDON, NEW BOND STREET 

Lot 1335. A very rare blue and white deep bell-shaped cup, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1522-1566); 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The exterior is decorated with four roundels of side-facing five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst flames, each positioned above a peach sprig and separated by thebabao and clouds. The interior is decorated with a shou character, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London. 
The Falk Collection, no. 267. 
Christie’s New York, The Falk Collection I, 16 October 2001, lot 139. 
Kitayama Fine Arts, Tokyo.

Note: There appear to be no other published cups of this design and decoration. There is, however, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, a Jiajing mark and period cup with a similar bell-form profile painted with three sheep on the exterior along with pine, bamboo, plum, palm trees, and taihu stones, as well a slightly narrower cup, also Jiajing mark and period, with a scene of a pavilion between arching columns; both examples illustrated by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, A New Comprehensive Survey, New York, 1996, p. 225, nos. 424 and 426.

Deep cup with three goats, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration, Qinghua ware. H. 4 1/4 in x Diam. 6 1/4 in, H. 10.8 cm x Diam. 15.9 cm. Gift of Roy Leventritt, B69P130L. © 2017 Asian Art Museum

Cup with a scene of Daoist temples, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), China, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt decoration, Qinghua ware. H. 4 in x Diam. 4 1/2 in, H. 10.2 cm x Diam. 11.5 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60P2374. © 2017 Asian Art Museum

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018

Lot 183. An archaic bronze ritual vessel (zun), Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (1300-1046 BCE); 13 5/8 in. high, 34.6 cm. Estimate: 650,000-850,000 USD. © Sotheby's

of cylindrical form, superbly cast with a subtly rounded midsection set above a spreading foot and surmounted by a trumpet neck, recessed horizontal bands separating each section and four vertical notched flanges dividing the foot and midsection into quadrants, the foot and midsection each cast in high relief with two pairs of dissolved taotie masks staring outward and kuilong crawling alongside the flanges, further kuilong marching around the trumpet neck and extending their slender bodies to border the arched blades ascending toward the rim, a pendent cicada positioned at the pinnacle of each blade, the creatures' bodies and the ground both covered with a fine leiwen pattern, the interior of the base cast with two large characters reading luo jing, wood stand, two Japanese wood boxes, handwritten description label by Kunio Fujita, senior curator for Asian Art, Tokyo National Museum, circa 1960 (6).

Provenance: Nagao Art Museum, Tokyo.
Japanese Private Collection.

Exhibited:Chugoku In-Shu Doki Ten [Chinese Shang Zhou Bronzes Exhibition], Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, 1958, cat. no. 19.

Literature: Yu Shengwu, Shang Zhou jin wen luyi [Record of Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions], Beijing, 1957, no. 189 (inscription).
Seiichi Mizuno, In-Shu Seidoki to Gyoku [Yin and Zhou Bronzes and Jades] Tokyo, 1959, pl. 82, fig. 70g (inscription).
Umehara Sueji, Shina Kodo Seika [Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes], vol. 2, Tokyo, 1960, pl. 138.
Sekai Bijutsu Zenshu 12 Chugoku (1) In, Shu, Sengoku [Collection of World's Art. China (1). Shang, Zhou, Warring States] , vol. 12, Tokyo, 1962, pl. 23.
Kunio Fujita, In Teikoku Chugoku Kodai no Bijutsu [Shang Empire Chinese Ancient Art], Tokyo, 1962, pl. 88.
Noel Barnard and Cheung Kwong-Yue, Rubbings and Hand Copies of Bronze Inscriptions in Chinese, Japanese, European, American and Australasian Collections, vol. 7, Taipei, 1978, p. 778, no. 1273 (inscription).
Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji [Corpus of bronze inscriptions], Taipei, 1983, no. 4544.
Minao Hayashi, Inshu-jidai seidoki-monyo no kenkyu / Studies on Yin and Zhou Bronze Decoration: A Conspectus of Yin and Zhou Bronze Vessels, vol. II, Tokyo, 1986, pl. 45. 
Institute of Archaeology, CASS, ed., Yin Zhou Jinwen Jicheng [Compendium of Bronze Inscriptions from Yin and Zhou Dynasties], Beijing, 2007, pl. 05444 (inscription).
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from Shang and Zhou Dynasties], vol. 20, Shanghai, 2012, no. 11248. 

The Dragon and the Cicada: Visions of Transformation on a Magnificent Shang Dynasty Bronze Zun

Notable for its crisp decoration that has been remarkably preserved, this zun is an outstanding example of late Shang bronze workmanship. Similar to a gu but broader across the body, zun of this form are relatively rare. The craftsman has paid careful attention to the decorative motifs, which complement its elegant silhouette, by placing cicadas at the tip of each upright blade encircling the neck and in the bold rendering of the taotie mask, with prominent jaws and C-shaped horns. Both the shape and style of the decoration suggest a late Yinxu date, also evident in the bold high-relief motifs and allover leiwen.

Related zun are more commonly known with upward-looking taotie masks enclosed within the blades; see one in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection, illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. 1, Cambridge, MA., 1987, pl. 46; and another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 1998, pl. 56. Compare also a similar zun, but lacking leiwen on the high-relief motifs and with an additional band of two pairs of kuilong below the neck, from the collection of Sakamoto Gorō, sold in these rooms, 13th September 2016, lot 12.

From the collection of Sakamoto Gorō. A bronze ritual wine vessel (zun), Late Shang – Early Western Zhou dynasty. Height 13 in., 33 cm. Sold for 310,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 13th September 2016, lot 12. Photo: Sotheby's

Cf. my post: A bronze ritual wine vessel (zun), Late Shang – Early Western Zhou dynasty

Some vessels of similar beaker shape have flanges extending to the neck; one in the Arthur M. Sackler Collection illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, op. cit., pl. 47, was sold in these rooms, 2nd-5th May 1972, lot 435; another, in the Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute, is published in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 4, Beijing, 1998, pl. 119; and a third in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Shanghai bowuguan cang. Qingtongqi [Ancient bronzes in the Shanghai Museum], Shanghai, 1964, pl. 8. See also a zun of slightly stouter shape, illustrated in Wang Tao, Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, pl. 62, where the author notes that these types of high-relief decoration over a dense background design ‘fall into the “transitional” style between the late Shang dynasty and the early Western Zhou’ (see p. 135).

Originally used as ritual wine containers, zun are known from the late Erligang period and grew in popularity during the Shang dynasty. They were made either with angular shoulders or of beaker shape, such as the present piece, which appears to have evolved from archaic bronze gu. Elongated zun were not among the altar vessels recovered from Fu Hao’s tomb, in Anyang, Henan province, dated to around 1200 BC, which suggests that they became popular only after this period.

In ancient China, the cicada was a symbol of transformation and resurrection due to its life cycle. After mating, the female cicada deposits eggs into a groove she cuts into a tree limb; after a nymph hatches, it feeds on the tree fluids until it develops sufficient strength to emerge from the bark and crawl down into the earth; the nymph then dwells underground for two to seventeen years, tunneling and feeding all the while; eventually, the mature cicada emerges from the ground, sheds its skin, spreads its wings, and finds a mate. The insect’s repeated emergence from burial, each time returning to the world in a new, stronger phase of its life, inspired a sense of hope for the regeneration of other beings in the spiritual realm of the ancestors. Thus, as early as the 3rd millennium BC, the Chinese carved jade cicadas and interred them in the ritual burial of the deceased; a practice that continued through the Han dynasty. For a jade cicada from the Hongshan Culture dated to around 2500 BC, see an example in the collection of the British Museum (coll. no. 2006,0502.10). Images of cicadas cast onto bronze vessels, which could be used in life or interred with the body at death, would have borne the same connotations for the users or owners of the vessels.

The other zoomorphic motifs cast onto the present zun—the taotie and kuilong—were also potent totems. According to the Lüshi chunqiu (‘Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals’) taotie were ferocious beasts that destroyed their own bodies before devouring men, which is why they are depicted as disembodied heads on Shang and Zhou dynasty bronzes. The Shanhaijing (‘Classic of the Mountains and Seas’) maintains that kui were single-footed dragon-form spirits that dwelled underwater and caused violent storms when they emerged, thereby associating them with thunder. In the Zuozhuan(‘Commentary of Zuo’), 3rd year of Duke Xuan (606 BC), Wangsun Man of Ding explains to the King of Chu that the creatures represented on bronze ding allow people to identify the ‘helping and the harming spirits’ as a way of protecting the people and harmonizing ‘the high and the low’ (e.g., heaven / the ancestral realm and earth). It follows that the same would have been true for animal representations on other ritual paraphernalia, including the present zun.

It is well known that the Shang rulers used bronze ritual vessels and other tools (such as oracle bones and divination) to commune with the higher powers of the ancestral spirit realm. Rulers may have performed the rituals personally, or with the aid of a spirit medium, such as a shaman. These rituals underpinned the religio-political order, therefore the selection and application of animal, insect, and abstract images for these ritual implements, as well as the contents of the vessels for consumption, were deliberate and for particular ends. Claude Lévi-Strauss argues in his seminal essay, “Split Representation in the Art of Asia and America” (1963), that the use of masks in ritual, regardless of if the mask is worn as a costume or applied to a ritual implement (e.g., taotie on the zun), permits the user to embody or otherwise harness the power of the creature(s) depicted. Furthermore, Lévi-Strauss, along with Harlee G. Creel, and K. C. Chang, among other scholars, have observed that Shang dynasty bronzes frequently depict animals in ‘split representation’, meaning that both sides of the animal are depicted in profile. In the case of the present zun, this occurs in the taotie masks, the cicada, and the kuilong at the edges of the upright blades. Split representation allows the entire creature to be rendered, presumably improving the potency through the complete imaging of the animal. Split representation also effectively wraps the animal’s ‘skin’ around the vessel, implying that the contents of the vessel become synonymous with the contents of the animal(s). When the shaman or ruler drank the wine, they were in fact ingesting these creatures and the powers possessed by each. This process in conjunction with the mind-altering properties inherent to the wine itself would have enabled those who drank from the present zun to physically, psychologically, and spiritually bring the taotie, kuilong, and cicada into themselves. The drinker would transform into an elevated state embodying the properties of these creatures as he transcended the divide between the mortal and the spirit realms.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 12 sept. 2018, 10:30 AM

Lot 188. An archaic bronze ritual vessel (ding), Late Shang–Early Western Zhou dynasty. Height 8 in., 20.4 cm. Estimate: 200,000 — 300,000 USD. © Sotheby's

the deep U-shaped body supported on three columnar legs, the flattened everted rim set with two small upright loop handles, a band of kuilong encircling the vessel beneath the rim, their bodies comprised of hooked lines and leiwen and shown in 'split representation' centered by the face in profile with a large raised eye, the remainder of the exterior sides cast with a diagonal grid, each diamond-shaped unit with an individual leiwen border and centered with a conical boss, a single pictogram cast to the well, the sage-green patina with patches of malachite, dark gray and reddish-brown encrustations.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 11th December 1979, lot 25.
Sotheby's London, 15th May 2008, lot 522.  

Literature: Liu Yu and Lu Yan, ed., Jinchu Yin Zhou jinwen jilu [Compilation of recently discovered bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2002, pl. 192.
Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby's and Christie's Sales, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 25.
Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from Shang and Zhou Dynasties], vol. 1, Shanghai, 2012, no. 00334. 

Note: Robustly cast with an attractive design of raised bosses, this type of distinctive 'diamond and boss' decoration appears to have been an innovation of the Anyang bronze foundries and very popular in the late Shang, based on the excavated examples of the period.  Most often seen on gui and yu, this motif is commonly found on round-bodied vessels.  For a further discussion on the decoration see Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pp 504-514.

The striking surface decoration has been accentuated through the deliberate use of carbon, a practice common to Shang bronzes. A related ding, but of slightly smaller size and with cicadas cast below the rim, excavated in 1970 from Xioaning tun, Anyang, Henan province, and now in the collection of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 2, Beijing, 1997, pl. 26; and a larger version, and with blades cast onto the legs, in the Avery Brundage Collection, is included in Rene-Yvon Lefebvre-d’Argence, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection,  Berkeley, 1966, pl. IV (right).

Ritual food vessel (ding), approx. 1200-1050 BCE, Shang dynasty (approx. 1600-1050 BCE), China, Anyang. Bronze. H. 11 3/4 in x Diam. 9 in. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B755. © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture

Lot 187. An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (zun), Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (1300-1046 BCE). Height 8 1/2  in., 21.6 cm. Estimate: 180,000 — 200,000 USD. © Sotheby's

cast with a tall spreading foot supporting a globular body surmounted by a trumpet neck, the sides of the belly cast with three dissolved taotie masks, their horns, jaws, and other features abstractly rendered in low-relief hooked curls and the hemispherical eyes emerging in high relief, a procession of kuilong marching in the band above, the angled shoulder with a band of three simplified taotie masks aligned with their counterparts below, the center of each superimposed with a bovine mask in high relief, the foot and lower neck each cast with two parallel string-relief bands, the dark olive-gray patina mottled with various tones of green and brownish-red oxidation.

Provenance: Collection of Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987).  

Literature: Robert W. Bagley, Shang Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pl. 45. 

Note: The origin of the zun form is discussed by Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, p. 265, where he observes that zun seem to have evolved from the earlier lei. Zun was one of the more popular forms during the first half of the Anyang period, and produced in a variety of sizes and proportions of the three sections. 

The development and flourishing of the bronze workshops in Anyang coincided with the establishment of the Shang capital to the modern-day village of Xiaotun, near Anyang, by King Wuding (r. circa 1250-1192 BC). With his conquest of the Jiangnan regions, bronze factories in the south were destroyed and the artisans were transferred to Anyang.  Bronze vessels of Anyang are characterized by highly ornate designs that often incorporate zoomorphic features. Crafted using piece-mold casting, sharp, bold designs as seen on the present were achieved. For a thorough analysis on the development of bronze workmanship during this time, see Su Rongyu, ‘Bronze-Casting Technology in the Late Shang Dynasty’, Mirroring China’s Past. Emperors, Scholars, and their Bronzes, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2018, pp 32-37. 

Lot 191. An archaic bronze bell (bo), Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC). Height 11 1/2  in., 29.3 cm. Estimate: 100,000 — 150,000 USD. © Sotheby's

of pointed oval section, each side cast with four principal registers, the broad lowest register cast in low relief with a taotie mask flanked by dragons, the creatures' bodies richly patterned in leiwen spirals, the upper three registers divided by a central vertical panel and each bearing six large hemispherical bosses cast in the form of coiled animals, horizontal bands of interlaced dragons between each register, the flat top supporting an elaborate openwork suspension loop in the form of a pair of confronting feline mythical beasts, their sinuous bodies moving in an undulating rhythm from their curling tails to their arched torsos and long necks turned back to grasp their backs with their jaws, two snakes twisting around the felines' necks and extending their tails upward to form twin loops, leiwen swirling across the bodies of the felines and snakes, the surface with a gray-green patina and scattered malachite, azurite, and brownish-red encrustations.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. A. F. Philips (1874-1951).
Sotheby's London, 30th March 1978, lot 23.
Collection of the British Rail Pension Fund.
Sotheby's London, 12th December 1989, lot 12.

Exhibited: San Antonio Museum of Art, 1986-1988.. 

Note: Imposing in form and design, this bell reflects the sophistication of bronze musical instruments which had been produced in China since the thirteenth century BC. It is cast using techniques typical of the state of Jin (present-day Shanxi province), which became the center of bronze casting in north China and was renowned for exquisite bells such as the present. 

Bells of this type were decorated by using carved clay pattern blocks, which were impressed onto strips of clay to become molds for the bronze. Thus, one master pattern block could be used for several different bells, and would have contributed to the impressive rows of identically decorated bells. As the bell would have been suspended from a loop, it is known as a bo or niu zhong. In large sets of bells, such as that from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zheng (d. ca. 433 BC), bo were included with sets of another type of bell, yong zhong.

Bells with very similar decoration and probably from the same set, of various sizes, include one exhibited in the Marco Polo Seventh Centenary Exhibition, Chinese Art, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 75 (16.5 inches high); one from the Pillsbury Collection, illustrated in George W. Weber, The Ornaments of Late Chou Bronzes, New Brunswick, 1973, pl. 61 (12.5 inches); another included in the Exhibition of Chinese Ritual Bronzes, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, 1940, cat. no. 45 (11.75 inches); and a fourth, publisheded in Rene-Yvon Lefebvre-d’Argence, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Avery Brundage Collection,  Berkeley, 1966, pl. XLVI B. Further bells of this type include one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 1988.20.7; one in the British Museum, London, published in Jessica Rawson, Art and Ritual, London, 1987, pl. 35; and another in the Compton Verney Art Gallery, Warwickshire, coll. no. CVCSC 0405.A. A set of fourteen bells of related design, excavated at Jinshengcun, Taiyuan, Shanxi province, is illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji [The complete collection of Chinese archaic bronzes], vol. 8, Beijing, 1995, pls 113 and 114.

Flat-bottomed ritual bell (bozhong), China, approx. 550-400 BCE, Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BCE). Bronze. H. 13 1/2 in x W. 10 1/4 in x D. 9 in, H. 34.3 cm x W. 26 cm x D. 22.9 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B709. © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture.

Bell (Zhong), Eastern Zhou dynasty, Spring and Autumn period (770–476 B.C.), early 5th century B.C. Bronze. H. 15 in. (38.3 cm); W. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm); D. 7 in. (17.8 cm). Charlotte C. and John C. Weber Collection, Gift of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber through the Live Oak Foundation, 1988; 1988.20.7. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bronze bell, Eastern Zhou dynasty, circa 5th century BC. H. 55 cm; W. 42 cm; D. 33 cm; 1965,0612.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

Lot 179. A rare archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (you), late Shang dynasty (1600-1100 BC). Height 13 1/8  in., 33.3 cm. Estimate: 80,000 — 120,000 USD. © Sotheby's

the elongated pear-shaped body raised on a tall hollow foot cast with a leiwen band, the neck of oval section, decorated with a pair of taotie masks on leiwen ground, each mask divided by a narrow flange in the center, the tall swing handle decorated with a diamond pattern terminating in serpent heads, cast below the handle on each side with an inscription reading wei ('surround'), the surface with areas of malachite encrustation.

Provenance: Acquired in New York, 6th April 1967.
Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978).

Note: The present you is notable for its fine casting which creates an elegant silhouette. The exquisite workmanship is further revealed by the intricately cast design of the handle ending in snake-like heads, which deliberately draws attention to the elegant curves of the slender vessel. The minimalist surface decoration and graceful form of this piece are typical of the early stage of the bronze development in Anyang during the Shang dynasty (c.1570 - c.1046 BC). Bronze you, which were used as wine containers at ancestral rituals, emerged as one of the major ceremonial receptacles in the late Shang dynasty and remained prominent until the mid-Western Zhou dynasty.  

Compare a closely related you with a cover, excavated in 1950 from a tomb in Wuguancun, Anyang, Henan Province, and now in the National Museum of China, illustrated in Zhongguo Wenwu Jinghua Daquan [The Quintessence of Chinese Cultural Relics], Qingtong Juan [Bronzes], Hong Kong, 1994, pl. 109. See further examples of this form, such as a slightly larger example, cast with a narrower band of leiwen spirals and a taotie mask around the neck, from the Arthur M. Sackler Collection and now in The Art Museum, Princeton University, New Jersey, illustrated in Robert W. Bagley, Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington D.C., 1987, pl. 61; one featuring a more elaborately decorated handle, formerly from the collection of Hans-Jürgen von Lowchow, included in the exhibition Frühe Chinesische Bronzen aus der Sammlung Klingenberg, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne, 1993, cat. no. 9; and another in the Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo, published in Ancient Chinese Arts in The Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 64.

Lidded wine vessel (you), Shang dynasty, 13th century B.C. Bronze with a cast inscription in the foot; h. 31.5 cm., w. 16 cm., diam. 13.5 cm. (12 3/8 x 6 5/16 x 5 5/16 in.). Museum purchase from the C. D. Carter Collection, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, y1965-5 a-b. © 2018 The Trustees of Princeton University

Lot 1336. A rare yellow-ground blue and white 'gardenia' dish, Zhengde six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1506-1521); 7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 100,000 - USD 150,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The dish is well potted with low rounded sides rising to a slightly flaring rim, and is finely decorated in underglaze-blue with a central gardenia spray bearing two flowers, below the evenly spaced sprays of a beribboned lotus flower and pod, a persimmon branch with two fruits, grapes on a leafy vine, and a branch laden with two pomegranates in the cavetto. The exterior is decorated with six peony blossoms on a continuous meander, all on a rich yellow ground within double-line borders. 

Lot 1337. A rare small blue and white dish, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century; 5 in. (12.7 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The slightly concave center of the interior is decorated with an immortal wearing a tall hat and long, loose robes enveloped by vapor which is being emitted by a carp emerging from waves below. The shallow, rounded sides are decorated on the exterior with branches of peaches. 

Lot 1338. A blue and white 'Daoist Immortals' jar, Jiajing period (1522-1566); 13 in. (33 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The sides are decorated with a broad band of the Eight Daoist Immortals holding their attributes standing on froth-capped, rolling waves, the figures framed by clouds that partially obscure mountains in the distance, all between a petal-lappet border below and a diaper band surrounding four bird and flower cartouches on the shoulder. The waisted neck is encircled by four flower cartouches on a fish scale band, lacquered Japanese wood box, Meiji-Taisho period (1868-1926). 

Lot 1339. A large blue and white 'Deer and Cranes' dish, Jiajing period (1522-1566); 16 in. (40.5 cm) diam. Estimate USD 12,000 - USD 18,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The dish is heavily potted with rounded sides and is decorated on the interior with a central roundel of a pair of deer and a pair of cranes with a fence in the background, all below two fruiting peach trees alternating with two trees with spreading branches in the well. Two further fruiting peach branches extend around the exterior between two squirrels on a small, fruit-laden peach branch. The base is unglazed, Japanese wood box. 

Provenance: Ira (1913-2004) and Nancy (1915-2005) Koger Collection.
Property of the Jacksonville Art Museum; Sotheby's New York, 1-2 June 1993, lot 308.
Private collection, Japan.

Literature: J. Ayers, Koger Collection, London, 1985, p. 88, no. 63.

Lot 1340. Alarge blue and white 'Auspicious characters' bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 12 in. (30.5 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The deep, rounded sides are decorated with large fu and shou characters formed by the twisted trunks of a pine tree, a prunus tree, a chrysanthemum stem and bamboo, all growing amidst tufts of grass and between double line borders. 

Provenance: Private collection, Miami, Florida.

Note: The characters, fu and shou, are wishes for happiness and long life. 

Compare the similarly decorated bowl of this deep, rounded shape, also with Wanli mark, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 35 - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 229, no. 209. See, also, the similar bowl of comparable size, with Wanli mark, decorated with the characters, fu shou kang ning, sold at Christie's New York, 17 September 2010, lot 1323.

An unusual large blue and white deep bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 11 13/16 in. (29.9 cm.) diam. Sold for 30,000 USD at Christie's New York, 17 September 2010, lot 1323. © Christie's Images Ltd 2010

Lot 1341. A blue and white 'Dragon' jar, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) high. Estimate USD 18,000 - USD 24,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The jar is decorated with two dragons racing above a band of waves and rocks in pursuit of flaming pearls, between a band of overlapping leaf tips below and a band of lingzhifungus on the shoulder above, all within narrow decorative borders.

Provenance: The Jingguantang Collection.
Christie's New York, 20 March 1997, lot 87.
Christies New York, 21 March 2000, lot 328.

Lot 1342. An unusual blue and white 'Dragon' vase, Wanli period (1573-1619); 12 ¼ in. (31.1 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The high-shouldered, tapering body is decorated on one side with two four-clawed dragons leaping amidst clouds and flames interspersed with a flaming pearl and a flaming ruyi head, the two confronted on a panel enclosing four characters, taizi yeye, the flames continuing onto the reverse to surround a large panel enclosing a dedicatory inscription to a temple positioned above two horses flanking a rock rising from rolling waves. A further band of four horses leaping above a band of rocks and waves is below, and a wan-diaper band with four 'crane' cartouches is on the shoulder below the narrow, waisted neck and cup-shaped mouth, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Tozan Art Collection, Toyama, Japan.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018

Lot 1343. A rare blue and white 'monkey and deer' circular box and cover, Wanli period (1573-1619); 8 ¾ in. (22.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 40,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The slightly raised center of the cover is decorated in dark underglaze blue with two deer standing below a peach tree in which a monkey is disturbing a wasp nest while the other stands below ready to catch it. The sides are decorated with four quatrefoil panels of birds perched on blossoming branches above a key-fret border repeated on the box above a frieze of six horses leaping between clouds above a band of wind-tossed waves and a narrow band of scroll encircling the foot ring, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Takayanagi Collection, Tokyo.

Note: The imagery on this box and cover is highly auspicious. The Chinese words for monkey (hou) and wasp (feng) form a pun that wishes speedy advancement to the rank of marquis. The deer (lu) represent a desire for good fortune or professional success, and are also being associated with immortality, since deer were believed to be able to find lingzhi fungus which is a much favored symbol of immortality.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018

Lot 1344. A very rare blue and white faceted vase, Ming dynasty, late 15th century; 8 ¾ in. (22.2 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Of square section, the vase is decorated on the faceted body with a continuous scene of Daoist figures in a landscape with rocks and plants, all between lappet petals on the foot and upright leaves on the neck which is flanked by a pair of halberd-form handles, fitted Japanese wood box.

Provenance: Yukawa Genyo (Shichiseki-ou, b. 1867) Collection; Osaka Bijutsu Club, 15 June 1937, lot 164.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018

Lot 1345. A rare blue and white 'Mandarin duck' ewer, 17th century; 7 ¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The ewer is made in the shape of two side-by side mandarin ducks, one with head curved back behind one end of the spotted handle to rest behind the raised neck of its mate. Their necks, wings and tails are detailed with feathers, and the sides of their bodies are delicately decorated with lotus plants and water weeds as if they are swimming in a lotus pond above a scroll band encircling the foot, Japanese double wood box.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 - 14 September 2018

© Galerie J. Kugel

PARIS.- Galerie J. Kugel presents the first exhibition devoted to the art of ‘piqué’, which flourished in Naples during the first half of the 18th century. The technique combines lavish inventiveness, virtuoso skill and astonishing opulence. 

These extraordinary objects bring together three precious materials: tortoiseshell, gold, and mother-of-pearl. According to Nicolas Kugel: “This fascinating combination is sublimated by light, which makes the gold shimmer, reveals the iridescence of the mother-of-pearl, and penetrates even the diaphanous darkness of the tortoiseshell.” 

The exhibition includes over 50 objects, highlighting a table by Sarao - the ultimate masterpiece made using this technique – here lent, for the first time, by the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

These pieces were created between 1720 and 1760 for connoisseurs and the court, and particularly for Charles of Bourbon, who became king of Naples in 1734, and made his court one of the most splendid and cosmopolitan in all Europe.

The artisans who created these masterpieces were known as “Tartarugari”. Giuseppe Sarao, the most famous among them, had a workshop adjoining the walls of the royal palace. Several of the pieces in the exhibition were made by him.

These talented artists were able not only to join and mould the tortoiseshell using boiling water and olive oil, but also inlaid gold and mother-of-pearl into the still-soft tortoiseshell. They created the most extravagant shapes, which they adorned with fashionable “piqué” decors such as singeries (scenes where monkeys engage in human activities), chinoiseries, and grotesques.

Alexis Kugel explains: “The exhibition will allow visitors to discover both the incredible inventiveness of the artists and the extraordinarily keen interest this art sparked among 19th century collectors, including several members of the Rothschild family. Many pieces boasting that prestigious provenance will be presented.”

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue, offering the first complete study of the subject. The French version will be published by Monelle Hayot and the English version by Rizzoli.

September 12- December 8 2018. Exhibition Monday to Saturday from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm, admission free

Galerie J. Kugel. 25, quai Anatole France, 75007 Paris - +33 1.42.60.86.23 - www.galeriekugel.com 

Giuseppe Sarao, Elaborately shaped ewer with pelmet motifs. Tortoiseshell piqué with gold and mother-of-pearl. Signed above the handle: GS FN; Naples, circa 1735-1745. H. 21.8 cm; L. 21.6 cm; D. 21.7 cm. © Galerie J. Kugel

Provenance: -Baron Henri de Rothschild (1872-1947).

Attributed to Giuseppe Sarao, Lidded goblet surmounted by a monkey playing the flute. Tortoiseshell piqué with gold and mother-of-pearl, Naples, circa 1730-1740. H. 31 cm; D. 13.9 cm. © Galerie J. Kugel

Provenance:-Baron Mayer Carl von Rothschild, Frankfort (1820-1886)
- Baroness Theresa de Rothschild (1847-1931), his daughter (wife of James de Rothschild)

Giuseppe Sarao, Large coffer with chinoiserie decor standing on four turtle-shaped legs. Tortoiseshell piqué with gold and mother-of-pearl. Signed in gold along the edge “Sarao fecit Napoli”. The inside of the cover is adorned with the arms of Charles de Bourbon, king of Naples; Naples, circa 1735-1740. H. 28 cm; L. 42 cm; D. 33.5 cm. © Galerie J. Kugel

Provenance: -Sir Julian Goldsmid, Bart.
-His sale, Christie’s, Manson & Woods, London, 8-14 June 1896, lot 1105.

Giuseppe Sarao, The Hermitage Table, Naples, circa 1730-1740. © Galerie J. Kugel

The extraordinary table from the Hermitage Museum is the greatest masterpiece to have been created using the “piqué” technique. It is also the only table to have retained its original legs. The triangular shape of the legs is also present in the cabinet from the Royal British Collections. The extraordinarily inventive and elaborate tabletop is adorned with over a hundred chinoiserie figures, while countless animals, monkeys, insects, birds, and dragons also inhabit the space. The six main medallions depict Chinese couples in gold and mother-of-pearl, two of which are also found on the turtle casket, (page 4). The compartments are decorated with small Chinese figures made of cut out and engraved gold. In the centre, four gold vases symbolise the seasons; the figures between refer to the same theme. The centre is adorned with a small cartouche in which two Chinamen rock back and forth on a seesaw. The Chinese theme continues on the legs and stretcher. Underneath the medallion with the Chinese couple there is the monogramme SfN, which stands for Sarao fecit Napoli. In 1886 Baron Stieglitz purchased the table from the Frankfort antique dealer Goldschmidt, who was one of the main suppliers to Mayer Carl de Rothschild, also a great connoisseur of tortoiseshell piqué. It was no doubt the death of Mayer Carl that same year (1886) that allowed Stieglitz to acquire the table. It stood in the Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts and was transferred to the Hermitage after 1924. 

© Galerie J. Kugel

Lot 122. A massive yellow-glazed bowl, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 14 3/4  in., 37.5 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000. © Sotheby's.

the finely potted deep sides rising in generous flared profile from the thick wedge-shaped foot, applied overall with a vitreous, translucent pale yellow glaze pooling unevenly at the rim and foot to a richer egg-yolk tone, the base white-glazed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue.

Provenance: Collection of Ira (1912-2004) and Nancy (1915-2005) Koger. 
Sotheby's New York, 27th November 1990, lot 30.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1997.

Note: Large monochrome yellow-glazed bowls with imperial marks originated during the Jiajing emperor's reign (1521-1567) and enjoyed a renaissance under the Kangxi emperor (r. 1662-1722). A Jiajing-marked example from the Qing Court Collection and now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of the Palace Museum: Monochrome Porcelain, vol. 37, Hong Kong, 1999, cat. no. 43.

Lot 123. A rare copper-red and underglaze-blue waterpot, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722). Diameter 3 7/8  in., 9.8 cm. Estimate 5,000 — 7,000. © Sotheby's.