Lot 1332. Two 'huanghuali' continuous back armchairs, 19th-20th century. Height of taller 38 in., 96.5 cm; Width 21 1/2  in., 54.6 cm; Depth 18 in., 45.7 cm. Estimate: 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Sold Price: 56,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

each with a straight top rail joined to back posts, continuing through the hard-mat seat frame and forming the back legs, the central splat with varying paneled and openwork decoration, the serpentine arms continuing to shaped, recessed supports, all raised on four legs joined by shaped, beaded spandreled aprons and stretchers (2).

Lot 1329. A 'huanghuali' and 'huali' wood corner-leg table, late Qing dynasty. Height 31 3/4  in., 81 cm; Width 58 1/4  in., 148 cm; Depth 19 in., 48.3 cm. Estimate: 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Sold Price: 50,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the rectangular floating panel top of standard construction, set into the molded frame over a recessed waist and straight beaded apron, the legs, beaded to the inside edge, of square section, terminating in hoof feet.

Property from the Collection of Malcolm Swenson.

Exhibited: Classic Chinese Furniture, The Kimball-Jenkins Estate, Concord, New Hampshire, 2004, cat. no. 24.

Lot 1328. A lacquered elm wood 'bamboo' table, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Height 34 1/2  in., 87.6 cm; Width 58 1/4  in., 148 cm; Depth 19 1/4  in., 48.9 cm. Estimate: 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Sold Price: 21,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the paneled top set within a wide frame with rounded edge above a triple reeded-shaped apron wrapped around the round-section corner legs, supported underneath by three transverse stretchers and four giant's arm braces, and joined by a high humpbacked stretcher, the cylindrical members all artfully notched, simulating bamboo stalk nodes.

Provenance: Schoeni Gallery, Hong Kong, 1990s.

Lot 1275. A 'zitan''Dragon and Phoenix' document box and cover, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Height 8 1/2  in., 21.6 cm; Width 17 in., 43.2 cm; Depth 11 in., 27.9 cm. Estimate: 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Sold Price: 21,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of rectangular form, the top panel deeply carved with a frontal dragon coiling around a central shou character amid flames and swirling clouds, the front panel with a pair of confronting phoenix amid foliate scrollwork, repeated on the sides and back, huangtong hinges, bail handles to either side, corner mounts and a central lockplate with cloud-form hasp incised with foliate motifs.

Frans Post, Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758). Watercolour and gouache in shades of yellow, brown, and black, with pen and black ink, overgraphite. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem.

DUBLIN.- For the first time in Ireland, from 8 September – 9 December 2018, the National Gallery of Ireland presents a unique show of animal drawings by Dutch artist Frans Post (1612-1680). Admission is free. Post spent 7 years in Brazil, from 1637 to 1644, where he documented the plants and animals of the Dutch colony for its Governor-general Johan Maurits (1604-1679). This fascinating collection of Post’s unsigned drawings lay in a Haarlem archive for over 3 centuries before its rediscovery in 2010. Brazil inspired Post after his return to the Netherlands in 1644, where he produced and sold Brazilian-themed landscapes, which include many animals that correspond to the drawings on show here. Curious Creatures – Frans Post & Brazil includes 2 key paintings by Post. Specimens on loan from the Natural History Museum allow visitors to see animals from the artworks, in 3D. 

An extraordinary discovery was made in 2010 by Dr Alexander de Bruin of the Noord-Hollands Archief – a Dutch Archive - in Haarlem, during an inventory of its holdings. It was long suspected that Post based his Brazilian landscape paintings on original drawings of flora and fauna. However, until this recent discovery, not a single animal or plant study from his hand was known. Many of the animals depicted in this cache of rediscovered drawings also clearly relate to those animals portrayed in his paintings. 

Frans Post (1612-1680), Alpaca or Llama. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem

Curious Creatures – Frans Post & Brazil showcases these 34 previously unknown animal studies. The drawings on display include depictions of a white-lipped peccary, a porcupine, a giant anteater, a sloth, and a water opossum. The drawings within this collection include both graphite studies and more finished gouaches, of such animals as a South American Tapir, a Jaguar, a Neon Flying Squid with its Tentacles, an Alpaca or Llama, and a Cayman.  

In relation to these rediscovered drawings, exhibition curator Niamh MacNally said: “This cache of animal drawings provides the missing link between Post’s seven-year Brazilian adventure and the paintings replete with exotic creatures that he produced on his return to Haarlem. The studies, in particular the finished gouaches, include amusing inscriptions which note the size, friendliness, dangers, and edibility of the creatures depicted. To make sense of these ‘curious creatures’, some of the inscriptions draw comparisons with Dutch animals. Such observations offer a glimpse into the astonishment that the artist must have felt on encountering these strange species for the first time.”  

Frans Post (1612-1680), Neon Flying Squid with its Tentacles. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem

Post’s animal drawings have been complemented by 3 of the artist’s key works - his masterpiece View of Olinda, Brazil, 1662 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), an important autograph drawing of a Sugar Mill (Atlas Van Stolk, Rotterdam), and the Gallery’s own oil painting Brazilian Landscape with Sugar Mill, 1660s (NGI.847). These works give an insight into how the artist both engaged with and immortalized the New World for a curious European audience.  

Niamh MacNally comments: “The Gallery’s painting includes the highest number of animals corresponding to those appearing in Post’s recently found drawings – 9 in total. In the foreground, a plethora of animals including an alligator, armadillos, anteaters and a monkey are depicted. Regarded as one of the richest displays of exotic animals in any seventeenth-century European oil painting, our work has been described as a‘Noah’s Ark’ by Frans Post scholars Pedro and Bia Corrêa do Lagos.“

This display is complemented by a small exhibition catalogue.

8 September–9 December 2018. Admission free.

Frans Post (1612-1680), 'South American Tapir' (Tapiris terrestris), (around 1637-1644). Watercolour and gouache with pen in black; translated inscription: ANTES // Great as a calf, live int water-using opt lant. Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem inv.nr. 53004658_02. © Haarlem, Noord-Hollands Archief

Frans Post (1612–1680), Caiman, (around 1637-1644). Watercolour and gouache with pen in black; translated inscription: CAIJMAN // A coccodril's overseer fast income Starck, rad, andthe quaet / large ses: overnight more feet, keeps him in silent. Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem inv.nr. 53004652_02. © Haarlem, Noord-Hollands Archief

Frans Post (1612-1680), Frans Post (1612–1680), Moustached Guenon, watercolor and gouache, with pen and black ink, over graphite, c. 1637–1644, translated inscription: A blue-nosed monkey from Angola, one and a half feet large, are very angry and malicious. Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem inv.nr. 53004665. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem.

Frans Post (1612–1680), Capybara, watercolor and gouache, with pen and black ink, c. 1637–1639; translated inscription: CAPYBARA. A water pig, as large as a small pig, lives in water as well as on land, eats fish and grass. Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem inv.nr. 53004657_02. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem.

Frans Post (1612–1680), Southern Tamandua, or Lesser Anteater. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem.

Frans Post (1612–1680), Crab-Eating Fox. © Noord-Hollands Archief, Haarlem.

Frans Jansz Post, View of Olinda, Brazil, 1662. © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Frans Post (1612-1680), Brazilian Landscape, 1660s. Oil on wood panel, 48.3 x 62.2 cm. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland NGI. 2008.12.

Lot 1487. A painted and enameled biscuit figure of Rahula, Republic period, seal of Zeng Longsheng (1901-1964). Height 15 1/2  in., 39.4 cm. Estimate: 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Sold Price: 50,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the figure seated in monk's robes open at the neck exposing an emaciated chest, the proper right hand in prana mudra, the left on the knee and holding a mala resting above an alms bowl supported by the rockwork base, the base with an impressed rectangular cartouche seal reading Zeng Longsheng zao.

Note: Zeng Longsheng was a Republic period Jingdezhen artisan who specialized in figural works. A complete set of the eighteen Luohan by Zeng Longsheng, donated by Sir Kenneth Ping-fan Fung, is in the collection of the University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, inv. no. HKU.C.1978.0654(1). Another example from the same series was sold at Christie's New York, 18th-19th September 2014, lot 983.

An enameled and biscuit figure of luohan, seal of Zeng Longsheng, Republic period; 15½ in. (39.4 cm.) high. Sold for 62,500 USD at Christie's New York, 18th-19th September 2014, lot 983. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014.

The smiling, bald figure is shown seated on an outcropping of rock gesturing towards a young boy emerging from a sack below. He wears layered robes enameled in brown, cream, green and iron red, while his head, hands, and chest, and the child are in painted biscuit. A maker's mark, Zeng Longsheng, is stamped on the base. 

Zeng Longsheng's series of eighteen luohan appear to be modeled after Guan Xiu's paintings from 891. Legend has it the paintings were created after Guan had a dream in which the luohan visited him and asked him to paint their portraits. The resulting images were taken from his visions. The paintings were treasured and preserved in a Zhejing monastery, and during the Qianlong reign were copied and propagated.

Lot 1488. A painted and enameled biscuit figure of Bhadra, Republic period, seal of Zeng Longsheng (1901-1964). Height 15 3/8  in., 39 cm. Estimate: 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Sold Price: 40,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

depicted with a full face, seated in dhyanasana in monk's robes with the surplice fastened with a ring over the proper left shoulder, holding a mala over the lap, sutra texts stacked behind and all supported by a rockwork base, the base with an impressed rectangular cartouche seal reading Zeng Longsheng zao.

Note: Zeng Longsheng was a Republic period Jingdezhen artisan who specialized in figural works. A complete set of the eighteen Luohan by Zeng Longsheng, donated by Sir Kenneth Ping-fan Fung, is in the collection of the University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, inv. no. HKU.C.1978.0654(1). Another example from the same series was sold at Christie's New York, 18th-19th September 2014, lot 983.

Lot 1407. A polychrome-enameled and biscuit figure of a seated luohan, impressed seal of Zeng Longsheng, Republic period; 16 in. (40.6 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 37,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.

The figure is raised on an integral base decorated as a wooden stump, and shown seated in a crouching position with the left knee raised, and holding a string of prayer beads in the right hand. The cream and brown robe is gathered over one arm to reveal an orange under-garment decorated with roundels. A maker's mark, Zeng Longsheng, is stamped on the base.

Note: Zeng Longsheng (1901-1964) was a celebrated potter at the Jingdezhen kilns who specialized in figural sculptures. A complete set of the Eighteen Luohan by Zeng Longsheng, including a figure very similar to the present example, can be found in the collection of the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong. The set was donated to the museum by Sir Kenneth Ping-fan Fung.

Lot 1486. A painted and enameled biscuit figure of Asita, Republic period, seal of Zeng Longsheng (1901-1964). Height 15 1/2 in., 39.4 cm. Estimate: 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Sold Price: 35,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the monk modeled seated with the arms wrapped around the raised right leg, the white brows long and trailing down the chest, the expressive face with mouth agape showing the teeth and tongue, raised on a rockwork base, the base with an impressed rectangular cartouche seal reading Zeng Longsheng zao.

Note: Zeng Longsheng's series of eighteen luohan appear to be modeled after Guan Xiu's paintings from 891. Legend has it the paintings were created after Guan had a dream in which the luohan visited him and asked him to paint their portraits. The resulting images were taken from his visions. The paintings were treasured and preserved in a Zhejing monastery, and during the Qianlong reign were copied and propagated.

Paris - Sotheby’s est heureuse de proposer à Paris de nouvelles ventes dédiées à la Joaillerie et Horlogerie. Ce nouveau rendez-vous, intitulé Joaillerie Paris, coïncidera cette année avec un double anniversaire pour Sotheby’s France : les 50 ans de la maison sur le territoire français et les 20 ans de son installation dans la galerie Charpentier. A cette occasion seront présentés des bijoux et des montres datant de la fin du XIXe siècle au XXe siècle ainsi que quelques créations contemporaines, alliant œuvres emblématiques et originales. Les pièces sont signées des plus grands joailliers français comme Boucheron, Boivin, Cartier, M. Gérard, Sterlé, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet, certaines serties de diamants importants, de saphirs du Cachemire ou de rubis de Birmanie.

Cette nouvelle session sera rythmée par deux collections ayant appartenu à des stars françaises, toutes deux admiratrices des œuvres de la maison Cartier : Zizi Jeanmaire avec plusieurs bijoux de la période Art Déco, et Mireille Darc avec un sac du soir offert par Alain Delon dans les années 1960. 

Collection Zizi Jeanmaire et Roland Petit

La collection de Zizi Jeanmaire et Roland Petit que Sotheby’s aura l’honneur de présenter à Paris à l’automne, attirera sans nul doute connaisseurs et amateurs de la joaillerie du monde entier. Lorsque l’on aborde le monde du ballet et de la danse en France au XXe siècle, deux noms viennent immédiatement à l’esprit : Zizi Jeanmaire, figure emblématique du music-hall, et Roland Petit, chorégraphe et danseur qui ne cessera de renouveler son style et son langage. Selon lui, « La danse, aussi savante soit-elle, se doit d’être le reflet de son époque ; son vocabulaire étant précis, il suffit d’ajouter l’air du temps à sa violence et sa technicité, et de repenser son enseignement. N’étant plus depuis longtemps au XIXème siècle, mais sans oublier le XXème siècle et ses génies, envisageons l’avenir ».

Certaines pièces datées des années 1910 à 1930 rendent hommage aux prémices et au développement du style Art Déco, telle cette montre de dame Cartier provenant de Rose Repetto, mère de Roland Petit (estimation : 10.000 – 15.000€) ou la broche platine, cristal de roche, diamants, 1920 (estimation : 4.000- 6.000€). D’autres bijoux sont témoins de leur temps comme le clip ivoire, aventurine et diamants, monture Cartier (estimation : 10.000 – 15.000€) ou la bague saphir de Ceylan et diamants, 6,25 carats (estimation : 6.000 – 8.000€) qui sont deux exemples datant du milieu du XXe siècle.

Provenant de Rose Repetto, mère de Roland Petit. Cartier, Montre de dame sertie de diamants, circa 1910. Estimation : 10.000 – 15.000 €. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Formant une rose stylisée, les pétales et les feuilles en ivoire sculpté et quartz d'aventurine, rehaussés de diamants ronds, monture signée Cartier, poinçons français pour l'or 18K (750°/00) et le platine (950°/00), poinçon de maître, poids brut 79.51 g. 

Collection Zizi Jeanmaire et Roland Petit.

Collection Zizi Jeanmaire. Bague saphir de Ceylan et diamants, 6,25 carats, circa 1950. Estimation 6,000 — 8,000 €. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Sac du Soir Cartier offert à Mireille Darc par Alain Delon.

Sotheby’s mettra en vente un sac du soir en vermeil, saphir et diamants offert à Mireille Darc par Alain Delon dans les années 1960. Ce charmant accessoire que l’actrice et réalisatrice française aimait porter quand elle se rendait à l’opéra, est caractéristique de la production de la maison Cartier à cette époque. Les motifs de stries rayonnantes soulignent sa forme, et le fermoir orné d’un cabochon de saphir est serti de diamants taille brillant (estimation : 7.000-10.000€).

A motifs de stries rayonnantes godronnées, le fermoir du sac orné d'un cabochon de saphir souligné par une ligne de diamants taille brillant, révélant un compartiment unique, dimensions 160 x 120 x 40mm, poinçon d'import français pour l'argent (800°/00) et poinçon de maître, poids brut 361 g, dans son écrin signé Cartier, accompagné d'une pochette de voyage signée Cartier.

Formely in the Collection of Mireille Darc.

Provenance: Sac offert par Alain Delon à Mireille Darc.

Joaillerie et Horlogerie provenant de divers amateurs

La vente s’articule comme un hommage à la Parisienne libre, romanesque et élégante qui a, depuis toujours, inspiré les plus grands joailliers de la place Vendôme, au premier rang desquels Cartier. Une bague sertie d’un saphir Cachemire, 6.45 carats, et diamants, vers 1980 (estimation : 200.000-400.000€) et un solitaire, taille poire, 5,17 carats, signé Cartier, sont parmi les pièces les plus désirables de cet ensemble (estimation : 250.000-350.000€). 

Lot 186. Bague saphir Cachemire, 6.45 carats et diamants, vers 1980. Estimation 200,000 — 400,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Sertie d'un saphir hexagonal pesant 6.44 carats, épaulé de diamants baguette, dans un entourage de diamants taille brillant, tour de doigt 52, poinçon français pour le platine (950°/00), poids brut 13.31 g.

Accompagnée d'un certificat Gübelin no. 0404037 et d'un certificat SSEF no. 102311 indiquant tous deux l'origine du Cachemire et l'absence de traitement thermique pour ce saphir.

Lot 141. Importante bague diamant taille poire, 5,17 carats, Cartier. Estimation 250,000 — 350,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

Sertie griffe d'un diamant taille poire pesant 5.17 carats, épaulé de diamants tapers, taille 51, signée Cartier, numérotée, poinçons français d'import et anglais pour l'or 18K (750°/00), poinçon de maître, poids brut 4.46 g. 

Exclusivité de la branche parisienne Cartier, la pendule Mystérieuse, modèle A, dont la vente propose un modèle raffiné en agate, émail et diamants est l’un des lots les plus attendus de cette vente (estimation : 350.000-550.000€). Elle date des années 1930, la période la plus riche de la production de cette prestigieuse maison. 

Ainsi nommées pour le secret de fonctionnement qu’elles renferment jalousement, les pendules Mystérieuses n’ont eu de cesse de fasciner par leur préciosité et l’ingéniosité de leur mécanisme, exigeant de longs mois de travail minutieux. 

Lot 52. Pendule Mystérieuse en cristal de roche, émail, agate et diamants, "Modèle A", Cartier, vers 1930. Estimation 350,000 — 550,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

En cristal de roche, le cadran émaillé blanc et doréà indication des heures en chiffres romains, les aiguilles en platine (950°/00) serties de diamants taille rose, le tour du cadran à décor de guirlandes de laurier, la base en calcédoine blanche entourée d'un fil d'or 18K (750°/00) torsadé, mesurant environ 88 x 52 x 130mm, signée Cartier, accompagnée d'une clé remontoir, poids brut (avec sa clé) 1041.60 g, un petit diamant manquant.

Accompagnée d'une lettre de service de la Maison Cartier datant du 17 septembre 1985. 

Note:« Irréelles et précieuses, tissées dans un rêve avec des rayons de lune, elles découvrent le mystère du temps, minute par minute »[1].

Ainsi nommées pour le secret de fonctionnement qu’elles renfermaient jalousement, les pendules Mystérieuses n’ont eu de cesse de fasciner par leur préciosité et l’ingéniosité de leur fonctionnement, exigeant de longs mois de travail minutieux.

C’est inspiré par les pendules Mystérieuses de Jean-Eugène Robert Houdin, de Mathieu Planchon, et par le pendule de Guilmet, que Maurice Coüet élabore dès 1912 une pièce à la portée illusoire saisissante : les aiguilles semblent se maintenir, seules, dans la parfaite transparence du cristal de roche, sans lien apparent avec le mouvement. En réalité, chacune est fixée à un disque en cristal à bord métallique dentelé, conduit par un système de crémaillère caché dans l’encadrement du boîtier. Le mouvement est quant à lui contenu dans le socle.

La période la plus riche de production de ces pendules Mystérieuses, exclusivité de la branche parisienne de chez Cartier, s’étend de 1912 à 1930.

Le tout première modèle créé est celui que nous présentons. Il s’agit du Modèle A, rectangulaire, dans lequel le mouvement fonctionne grâce à un axe à double système, logé dans un cadre vertical, souvent orné de branches de lauriers ou de nacre. La base est en onyx, en agate pâle, ou en or cannelé. Les archives rapportent que le tout premier modèle a été vendu à JP Morgan Junior en 1912. Ce modèle est par ailleurs offert à la reine Mary en 1924, et en 1945, le général de Gaulle choisit un modèle à la base en lapis-lazuli pour Staline.

 [1] La Gazette du Bon ton, 1925.

D’autres pièces d’exception reflètent ces savoir-faire d’exception et témoignent du goût parisien, à l’instar de la bague Chaumet sertie d’un magnifique saphir Cachemire pesant 12.84 carats. Connus pour leur bleu intense et profond, leur pureté et leur rareté, le saphir Cachemire est la pierre la plus recherchée (estimation : 100.000 – 200.000€). La provenance de cette bague, issue d’une famille de la noblesse française, vient parfaire sa qualité. 

Chaumet. Bague sertie d'un saphir Cachemire pesant 12.84 carats et diamants, circa 1930. Estimation : 100.000 – 200.000 €. Courtesy Sotheby's

Ces créations exceptionnelles côtoieront des bijoux des maisons Van Cleef & Arpels, telle qu’une demi-parure or et diamants comprenant une paire de boucles d’oreilles et une broche, des années 1950 (estimation : 6.000-8.000€), M. Gérard avec une demi-parure en or rubis, taille cabochon, et diamants, taille brillant, qui sera vendue au profit de la fondation Notre Dame (estimation : 30.000-50.000€), ainsi qu’une paire de boucles d’oreille rubis et diamants en 1930, de la maison René Boivin (estimation : 40.000- 60.000€). 

Van Cleef & Arpels. Demi-parure or et diamants, circa 1950. Broche et paire de boucles d’oreilles. Estimation : 6.000-8.000 €. Courtesy Sotheby's

Enfin, une magnifique broche en diamants, saphirs de couleur et pierres semi-précieuses illustre parfaitement l'originalité du style de Pierre Sterlé, vers 1960 (estimation : 30.000- 45.000 €). 

Sterlé. Broche, or, saphirs et pierres fines, vers 1960. Estimation : 30.000- 45.000 €. Courtesy Sotheby's

Lot 78184  . A Pair of Wang Dafan Porcelain and Hardwood Table Screens, Republic Period, circa 1912-1949. Marks: Two red artist's seals; 29-1/2 h x 19-3/4 w x 11-1/4 d inches (74.9 x 50.2 x 28.6 cm) (overall);15-1/4 inches high x 9-7/8 inches wide (38.7 x 25 cm) (plaque, each). Sold for $150,000.

DALLAS, TX.- Eager collectors drove the sale price for a pair of Wang Dafan Porcelain and Hardwood Table Screens, Republic Period, circa 1912-1949 to $150,000 to claim top-lot honors in Heritage Auctions’ Asian Art auction Sept. 11 in New York. The total sale from the auction was $1,166,232. 

Multiple bidders pursued the Wang Dafan table screens in an event that marked the return to New York-based “Asia Week.” 

“The extraordinary lots in this auction really celebrated our return to New York for ‘Asia Week,’” Heritage Auctions Asian Art Director Richard Cervantes said. “The collectors in this auction clearly understood the importance of Wang Dafan for his work as a painter and with porcelain, prompting the aggressive bidding on the table screens.” 

An Exceptional Pair of Chinese Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Court Chairs with Peony and Landscape Motifs, Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing-Daoguang Period brought $93,750. They feature ornate engraving and rich red hues derived from cinnabar, the bright scarlet form of mercury sulfide. Engraving such as that found on these chairs was a popular and important way of decorating furniture, often depicting character patterns to geometric patterns to scenes in nature. 

 Lot 78210. An Exceptional Pair of Chinese Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Court Chairs with Peony and Landscape Motifs, Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing-Daoguang Period; 43-1/2 h x 24 w x 22-1/4 d inches (110.5 x 61.0 x 56.5 cm). Sold for $93,750. 

A Tibetan Mandala Thangka with Abbot Lineage, 18th century was another exceptionally popular lot among collectors, who pushed the final price to $81,250. Thangka like this one often are kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing in a style similar to that of Chinese scroll paintings, which helps explain the demand for such an exceptional example.  

Lot 78334; A Tibetan Mandala Thangka with Abbot Lineage, 18th century; 15-1/4 inches high x 13 inches wide (38.7 x 33.0 cm) (work). Sold for $81,250. 

Distemper on cloth, framed under glass 21 x 18 inches.

Provenance: Frederick Keppel & Co., New York City (label verso);
Acquired from the above;
Thence by descent.

Once a part of the collection of a German Consular Officer in China, a Fine Chinese Carved Hardwood Bitong Brush Pot, Qing Dynasty, 18th century drew $68,750. Spotlighting the ornate style of workmanship often used at the time, this lot is a superb example of the vessels used to hold the brushes used by scribes for Chinese calligraphy. 

 Lot 78221  A Fine Chinese Carved Hardwood Bitong Brush Pot, Qing Dynasty, 18th century;6-3/8 inches high x 6-1/4 inches diameter (16.2 x 15.9 cm). Sold for $68,750. 

Provenance: Collection of a German Consular Officer in China (1902-1917 and 1920-1930);
Thence by descent.

Reference: Christie's London, June 6, 2000, lot 158 for a nearly identical example. 

A gouache, watercolor and ink-on-silk Chinese Silk Painting Depicting a Seated Budai and Children, early Qing Dynasty realized $65,625. This 31-by-18-1/8-inch painting comes directly from a collection in Princeton, N.J.  

Lot 78349. A Chinese Silk Painting Depicting a Seated Budai and Children, early Qing Dynasty, Gouache, watercolor, and ink on silk. 31 inches high x 18-1/8 inches wide (78.7 x 46.0 cm) (work). Sold for $65,625. 

A Large Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period, circa 1403-1424 sold for $62,500. The dish reflects the extraordinary innovation of ceramics during the period, as kilns allowed new techniques in design and shape, and an expansion in the uses of color. The often-brilliant cobalt blue had a tendency to bleed in some previous pieces, but the addition of manganese dulled the color while making the lines more crisp.  

Lot 78141. A Large Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Dish, Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period, circa 1403-1424; 2 inches high x 15 inches diameter (5.1 x 38.1 cm). Sold for $62,500.  

Cf. my post: Heritage Auctions returns to 'Asia Week' in New York with Fine & Decorative Asian Art Auction

Other top lots include but are not limited to: 

Lot: 78280. Chen Wen Hsi (Singaporean, 1906-1991), Folio Album, (eight works). Ink and color on paper, 26 inches high x 19-1/2 inches wide (66.0 x 49.5 cm) (overall). Signed with red artist's seals. Sold for $45,000.

Cf. my post: Heritage Auctions returns to 'Asia Week' in New York with Fine & Decorative Asian Art Auction

Lot 78382. A Large Japanese Silvered and Partial Gilt Bronze Rooster Okimono. Marks: Three-character Masatsume mark; 27-1/2 h x 18 w x 7-3/4 d inches (69.9 x 45.7 x 19.7 cm). Sold for $27,500.

Lot: 78283. Attributed to Xu Beihong (Chinese, 1895-1953), Animal Folio Album (twelve works). Ink and color on paper,11-1/8 inches high x 12-5/8 inches wide (28.3 x 32.1 cm) (each). Signed with red artist's seals. Sold for $18,750. 

Cf. my post: Heritage Auctions returns to 'Asia Week' in New York with Fine & Decorative Asian Art Auction

Lot 78253. A Large and Impressive Chinese Gilt Silver, Bronze, Enamel, Jade, Coral, and Hardstone Tea House and Pavilion Diorama, 20th century; 13 h x 28-3/4 w x 20-1/2 d inches (33.0 x 73.0 x 52.1 cm) (overall). Sold for $13,750.

Lot 78051. A Chinese Carved Agate Snuff Bottle, Qing Dynasty; 2-1/2 inches high (6.4 cm). Sold for $13,750.

LONDON - In autumn 2018, the National Gallery will present a tale of two artists, their families and their cities; an interlinked story of art, family, rivalry, marriage, pragmatism, and personality – Mantegna and Bellini.

This exhibition is the first ever devoted to the relationship between two of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance: Giovanni Bellini (active about 1459–1516) and Andrea Mantegna (1430/1–1506). Through exceptionally rare loans of paintings, drawings, and sculpture, travelling to London from across the world, 'Mantegna and Bellini' offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compare the work of these two important artists who also happened to be brothers-in-law – a family connection from which both drew strength and brilliance throughout their careers. 

Neither’s career or artistic development would have existed without the other, and without these works imbued with their creativity and innovation, Renaissance art, by the likes of Titian, Correggio, and Veronese, would not exist as it does today.

The son of a carpenter, Andrea Mantegna was a self-made man. In 1453 the prodigiously talented young painter from Padua, married into the greatest artistic family of nearby Venice – the Bellini. Mantegna’s new brother-in-law, Giovanni Bellini, was also a phenomenally gifted artist who was bringing new innovations to the Venetian use of colour, observed light, atmosphere, and landscape to create an entirely new form of art. Their admiration and respect were mutual.

For seven years Mantegna and Bellini worked in close creative dialogue – something visitors to the exhibition will be able to observe at first hand through key groupings of subjects both artists portrayed. Inspired by each other’s example, they both experimented and worked in ways they were not entirely comfortable with in order to hone their artistic skills and identities. While Mantegna exemplified the intellectual artist, Bellini was the archetypal landscape painter, the first to use the natural world to convey emotion.

In 1460, Mantegna decided to pursue his own artistic path and moved to Mantua, where he occupied the post of court painter to the ruling Gonzaga family until his death in 1506. Bellini, who died 10 years after Mantegna, spent his entire career in Republican Venice. Despite the distance between them, their creative exchange continued throughout their long lives. Each artist continued to scale new heights in skill and ingenuity but remained forever shaped by their time together and by the knowledge of the other’s work and achievements.

At the core of the exhibition are two historic juxtapositions of Mantegna and Bellini’s work: depictions of 'The Agony in the Garden', (Mantegna’s about 1458-60, Bellini’s’ about 1465) which have hung side by side in the National Gallery since the late 19th century, as well as two paintings of 'The Presentation of Christ to the Temple' (Mantegna’s version of which is in the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and Bellini’s in the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice).

Andrea Mantegna, The Agony in the Garden, about 1458-60, panel, 62.9 x 80 cm, bought 1894. © The National Gallery, London.

Giovanni Bellini, The Agony in the Garden, about 1465, panels, 81.3 x 127 cm, bought 1863 © The National Gallery, London.

Andrea Mantegna, Presentation at the Temple, ca. 1453, canvas, 77.1 x 94.4 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt.

Giovanni Bellini, Presentation at the Temple, approx. 1472, panel, 80 x 105 cm © Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice / cameraphoto arte snc

Room One of the exhibition is called 'Beginnings' and will introduce the distinctive cultural environments of the two cities that shaped Mantegna and Bellini – Padua and Venice. It will show how the tastes of dominant patrons and their working environments (including the family-run workshop) played a role in the development of the artists. A highlight here will be 'The Jacopo Bellini album' on loan from the British Museum, which has been exceptionally generous in lending 18 works to the exhibition. This sketchbook – which has only been lent once in the last 100 years – is a key starting point for 'Mantegna and Bellini.' 

'Explorations' in the following room will examine the mutual impact of each artist on the other during the years of their closest creative exchange, around the time of the marriage that made them brothers-in-law. In this second room a number of juxtapositions will compare and contrast their approach to near identical compositions: Mantegna’s 'The Descent into Limbo' (Private Collection) and Bellini’s 'The Descent into Limbo' (1475–80, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery), Mantegna’s 'The Crucifixion' (1456–9) and Bellini’s 'Le Calvaire', both from Musée du Louvre, Paris. 

Giovanni Bellini, The Descent into Limbo, 1475–80, oil on vellum on panel, 51.8 x 37.3 cm © Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

Andrea Mantegna (circle), Descent into Limbo , ca. 1490, brown and darkgrey wash, heightened with white, blue prepared paper, 28.4 x 20.3 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

Giovanni Bellini (attributed), Saint Mark heals the hand of the shoemaker Anianus, ca. 1490, pen and brown ink on paper, 18,4 x 17,2 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

Andrea Mantegna, Studies for Christ at the Column (recto / verso), early to mid 1460´s. Pen and brown ink on paper, 23,7 x 14,5 cm © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London.

Andrea Mantegna (and unknown engraver), The Flagellation with Pavement, ca. 1460-1468, engraving, 44,5 x 34,4 cm (sheet), 39,1 x 30,8 cm (platemark) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

Andrea Mantegna, St Sebastian, about 1459-60, poplar wood, 68 x 30 cm © Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Picture Gallery.

Giovanni Bellini, The Blood of the Redeemer, probably 1460-65, poplar wood, 47 x 34,3 cm © The National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna, La Crucifixion, dite Le Calvaire, 1457-1459. Bois; H. : 76 cm ; L. : 96 cm, Paris, Musée du Louvre, dép. des Peintures, Inv. 368 © RMN / Thierry Le Mage

Room Three is entitled 'Pietà' and focuses on the origins and development of a distinctive new type of image – the Dead Christ supported by Angels. The works here will include sculptural reliefs (such as Mantegna’s 'Grablegung Christ,' Kunshistorisches Museum Wien, Kunstkammer) as well as works on paper (Mantegna’s Pietà, 1456–9, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice) and Bellini’s tempera on panel 'Pietà' (Galleria degli Uffizi).

Andrea Mantegna, Pietà, 1456-59, pen and brown ink on paper, 12,7 x 9,8 cm © Su concessione del Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, Museo Nazionale delle Gallerie dell‘Accademia di Venezia.

Giovanni Bellini, Lamentation over the Dead Christ, about 1460. Tempera on panel, 76 x 121 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi © Soprintendenza Speciale per il Polo Museale Fiorentino

Andrea Mantegna, Deposition, pen and brown ink on paper, 13 x 9,5 cm © Brescia, Musei Civici di Arte e Storia, Archivio Fotografico

Giovanni Bellini, Dead Christ supported by angels, about 1475, panel, 82,9 x 66,9 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Andrea Mantegna, The Man of Sorrows, ca. 1495-1500 canvas, 78 x 48 cm © Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

'Landscape' (Room Four) explores the enormous importance of Bellini’s particular contribution to the history of art – the depiction of beautifully observed landscape, natural light, and atmosphere as a key element of the composition and meaning of religious works (such as in Bellini’s 'The Resurrection of Christ', about 1478/9, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). A particular highlight will be a first chance to see the newly restored National Gallery work, 'The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr' (about 1507). A number of pairings will reveal the differences in approach to landscape between the two artists – and also reveal the ways in which Bellini’s exceptional talent had a lasting effect on Mantegna (such as in his astonishingly accurate view of Mantua in his 'Death of the Virgin', 1462, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid).

Giovanni Bellini, Resurrection of Christ, 1475/1479, poplar wood, 148 x 128 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 

Giovanni Bellini, The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr, about 1507. Oil and tempera on wood, 99.7 x 165.1 cm, NG812. © The National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna, Death of the Virgin, 1462. Mixed method on panel, 54.5 x 42 cm, P000248, Museo Nacional del Prado © 2018. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

'Devotional Paintings and Portraits' (Room Five) will provide a focused insight into a particular contribution to Italian Renaissance art – the development of the 'sacra conversazione' in which the seated Virgin and Child appear in the company of saints (‘in conversation’) as if occupying the same space and breathing the same air. Here Mantegna’s 'Holy Family' (about 1495–-1500, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden) and 'Madonna and Child' (about 1455­–-60, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) will be seen side by side with Bellini’s 'Madonna and Child with two Saints' (Gallerie dell'Accademia) and 'The Virgin and Child' (about 1475, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). 

Andrea Mantegna, Madonna with Sleeping Child, about 1455, canvas, 48,4 x 32,2 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Giovanni Bellini, Madonna with child, ca. 1475. Poplar wood, 76 x 54,2 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders.

Giovanni Bellini, Madonna and Child with Two Saints (Sacra Conversazione), circa 1490,oil on panel, 58 x 107 cm © Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venzezia

Andrea Mantegna, Holy Family, about 1495–1500. Oil on canvas, 75 x 61 cm, © Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

Andrea Mantegna, St. Mark the Evangelist, ca. 1448 – 1451, canvas, 81,1 x 63,6 cm © Städel Museum - U. Edelmann/ARTOTHEK

Andrea Mantegna, Cardinal Lodovico Trevisan, 1459/60. Poplar, 45,5 x 34,8 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Giovanni Bellini, Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1501-2, panel, 61,6 x 45,1 cm, bought 1844 © The National Gallery, London

  The final room of 'Mantegna and Bellini' (called 'Antiquity') will feature some of the largest and most spectacular loans, which showcase Mantegna’s particular brilliance in the use of antique models and subjects to drive innovation in his art. A highlight will be three of his great 'Triumphs of Caesar' (The Bearers of Standards and 'Siege Equipment', 'The Vase-Bearers', and 'The Elephants', c.1484–92) , monumental tempera on canvas works measuring almost three metres square, lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection. Contrasted with these will be sculptural monochromes by Bellini, including 'An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio' (about 1506, National Gallery of Art, Washington) and 'Two men in antique dress' (Fondation Custodia, Collection Fritz Lugt, Paris), along with one of his final paintings, 'The Drunkenness of Noah' (about 1515, Besançon, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie).

Andrea Mantegna, Dancing Muse, about 1497, pen and black ink, bluegrey wash, heightened with white, over preparatory drawing with black chalk, , on brown prepared paper (backed with paper), traces of spolvero-transfer 45,6 x 31,2 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Ande

Giovanni Bellini, Two men in antique dress, ca. 1506-1508, watercolour and oil-colour on paper, 41,4 x 26,6 cm © Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris

Andrea Mantegna, Introduction of the Cult of Cybele to Rome, 1505-06, linen, 76,5 x 273 cm © The National Gallery, London.

Giovanni Bellini, An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio, after 1506, canvas, 74,8 x 356,2 cm © Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of Collections and Research at the National Gallery and curator of 'Mantegna and Bellini' says: “Exhibitions focusing on 15th-century art are rare as the works involved are often fragile and so cannot travel very often – therefore 'Mantegna and Bellini' really is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the relationship and work of these two artists who played such a pivotal role in the history of art.”

Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says:“Mantegna’s passion for the ancient world and Bellini’s love of nature are crucial elements of the Italian Renaissance. This exhibition bringing their work together is unprecedented and probably unrepeatable.”

 1 October 2018 – 27 January 2019

Lot 1374. A purple splashed 'Jun' tripod censer, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Diameter 4 5/8 in., 11.7 cm. Estimate: 4,000-6,000 USD. Sold Price: 21,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the bombé body supported on three small square feet and surmounted by a short neck and everted rim, covered overall in a sky-blue glaze splashed at the exterior and mouth with violet tones transmuting to crimson and kelly-green in the center.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1384. A small 'Longquan' celadon-glazed 'peony' vase, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Height 7 1/4 in., 18.5 cm. Estimate: 6,000-8,000 USD. Sold Price: 11,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of baluster form, the round body with an applied peony scroll, rising to a tall horizontally-ribbed waisted neck and flaring mouth, the foot encircled by a band of stiff upright leaves, covered overall in a pale celadon-green glaze, the foot-ring unglazed for firing.

Exhibited: Shades of Green Jade and Misty Mountains: Chinese Celadon Wares from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie C.C. Tsao, The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, 2003, cat. no. 23.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1368. A crimson-splashed 'Jun' bowl, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Diameter 5 1/2 in., 14 cm. Estimate: 4,000-6,000 USD. Sold Price: 10,625 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the steep rounded sides covered overall with a thick pale blue glaze deepening to a lavender tone by the foot and draining to a pale mushroom color around the rim, the interior with a vivid violet-colored splash.

Provenance: Acquired from Heisey Gardner and David Oliver, Virginia, 1970s.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1408. A 'Cizhou' painted tripod censer, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Height 6 1/4 in., 16 cm. Estimate: 3,000-5,000 USD. Sold Price: 3,750 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the globular cream-glazed body painted in dark brown with abstract birds and flowers, the lower section covered with a metallic russet glaze, all below a freely painted pale russet band at the waisted neck, all raised on three mask-form splayed feet.

Provenance: Warren E. Cox, New York.
Parke-Bernet Galleries, 21st May 1971, lot 233.

Literature: Warren E. Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1944, rpt. 1945, vol. 1, pl. 132

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1407. A 'Cizhou' painted meiping, Yuan-Ming dynasty (1271-1644). Height 11 1/4 in., 28.5 cm. Estimate: 3,000-5,000 USD. Sold Price: 5,000 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

decorated with two lozenge-shaped panels, one enclosing two cranes in a landscape with a gnarled overhanging pine tree, the other containing a boy holding a floral sprig.

Provenance: Collection of Mrs. Charles Porter Wilson.
Warren E. Cox New York.

Literature: Warren E. Cox, The book of Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1944, rpt. 1945, vol. 1, p. 205, fig. 382.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1468. A polychrome painted stoneware figure of Guanyin, Yuan-Ming dynasty (1271-1644). Height 21 1/8 in., 53.7 cm. Estimate: 5,000-7,000 USD. Sold Price: 6,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

standing with long green and red robes draping the body, adorned with a beaded necklace, and an elaborate wire ornamented diadem crowning the head, the left hand holding the wire handle of an attribute, likely a flower basket, wood stand (2).

Provenance: Saito, Inc., Chicago, 1983.

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1077. An inlaid archaistic bronze vessel, pou, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Diameter 10 3/8 in., 26.4 cm. Estimate: 6,000-8,000 USD. Sold Price: 16,250 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the sides rising conically from the broad foot and sweeping inward from the round shoulder to the waisted neck and galleried rim, the body cast with a modified-leiwen ground, each unit of the diaper centered with a boss inlaid with a colored stone, traces of inlaid triangular lappet bands at the shoulder and foot, the patina black with areas of malachite and reddish-brown oxidation.

Provenance: Galerie Helbing Frankfurt, 13th May 1937, lot 262.
Collection of Mr. Moritz Werner (1894-1966), and thence by descent.

Note: The form of this vessel is based on pou ritual vessels of the Eastern Zhou through Han dynasties, an example of which can be found in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (coll. no. B60B1031).

Ritual vessel (pou), Western Zhou period (approx. 1050-771 BCE) or Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BCE). Bronze. H. 9 in x W. 11 in x Diam 7 5/8 in. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B1031. © 2017 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture. 

Sotheby's. Saturday at Sotheby's: Asian Art, New York, 15 Sep 2018

Lot 1475. Two bronze figures of Zhenwu and Guanyin, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Height of taller 13 5/8 in., 34.6 cm. Estimate: 8,000-12,000 USD. Sold Price: 7,500 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

comprising a seated figure of Zhenwu dressed in a 'dragon' robe, the embroidery of the robe cast in high relief, a turtle and snake by the proper left foot, traces of gilt and polychrome; and a seated figure of Guanyin holding a moon disc in the left hand and wearing an elaborate robe and diadem, secured to a wood base (2).

Provenance: The figure of Zhenwu:
Collection of Chingwah Lee (1901-1980).
Sotheby's Los Angeles, 8th June 1981, lot 225.

The figure of Guanyin:
Sotheby's New York, 8th-9th December 1983, lot 87.