Lot 25. A Yaozhou celadon dish, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 9 in. (22.9 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 100,000 (USD 6,401 - USD 12,803). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Provenance: The T.Y. Chao Collection (according to label)
Sold at Sotheby’s London, 11 December 1990, lot 233
Sold at Sotheby’s New York, 23 March 2011, lot 580

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 26. A Yaozhou celadon carved ‘Floral’ bowl, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century; 5 ¼ in. (13 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 70,000 (USD 6,401 - USD 8,962). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 27. A rubbing of a documentary stone stele about Yaozhou kilns, dating to Yuanfeng cyclical year of the Song dynasty (1084); 49 º in. (125 cm.) high, 24 º in. (61.6 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 20,000 - HKD 30,000 (USD 2,600-3,800). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The stele is dated Yuanfeng seventh year of the Song dynasty, under the reign of Emperor Shenzong, corresponding to 1084. Written by Zhang Long, the inscription documents the event in which Governor Yan of the Yaozhou County requested the bestowal of the title Marquis to the God of the Huangbaozhen kilns at Yaozhou. The stele provides further details of the history and production of Yaozhou celadons.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Andrea Soldi, Isabella Duchess of Manchester, 1738. Whitfield Fine Art.

LONDON.- This autumn, for the first time, visitors to the Foundling Museum will have an opportunity to discover portraits and stories of the remarkable women who supported the establishment and running of London’s Foundling Hospital. Marking 100 years of female suffrage, Ladies of Quality & Distinction resets the focus of the Hospital’s story, and radically re-hangs the Museum’s Picture Gallery. 

Despite its male face, women permeate every aspect of the Hospital story; as mothers, supporters, wet nurses, staff, apprentice masters, artists, musicians, craftsmen and foundlings. Yet for almost 300 years, history has placed these women as a footnote in the story. The Museum is redressing this balance by bringing these overlooked stories to the fore. 

Attributed to Hans Hysing, Elizabeth Knight (1692–1731), Lady Onslow, c 1700-1715, National Trust, Clandon Park © National Trust Images

Following a successful campaign via Art Happens, the Art Fund’s crowdfunding platform, the Museum brings together portraits of the ‘ladies of quality and distinction’ who signed Thomas Coram’s original petition to King George II in 1735, calling for the establishment of a Foundling Hospital. Working closely with eighteenth-century specialist Elizabeth Einberg, the Museum has identified portraits of these duchesses in public and private collections across the UK. Hung together for the first time, these paintings will temporarily replace the portraits of male governors that line the walls of the Museum’s Picture Gallery, reuniting the Ladies on the site of the charity they helped establish, and highlighting their role in shaping British society today. Included are magnificent court portraits by leading eighteenth-century painters William Hogarth, Thomas Hudson and Godfrey Kneller. The majority of the portraits are in private collections, having remained within the family or ancestral home. Some paintings have not been on public display for many years.  

Downstairs in the Museum’s exhibition gallery, the lives of the women who supported the day-to-day running of the institution will be brought to life. Women worked in many different roles at the Hospital, from laundresses and scullery maids, to cooks and matrons. Beyond its walls the organisation was supported by a small army of wet nurses who fostered the children in their infancy, as well as inspectors who supervised them. It was not until the twentieth century that the first woman was appointed Governor. Nevertheless, many female supporters of similar social class to the Hospital Governors gave valued advice, particularly around the proper care of infants, girls and female staff.  

Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), Lady Anne Vaughan, Duchess of Bolton (d.1751), c.1720, Carmarthenshire County Museum. © Carmarthenshire Museums Service Collection

Highlighted stories include: Mrs Prudence West, a female inspector and the only woman to run a branch Hospital; Miss Eleanor Barnes, one of the earliest female Governors of the Hospital; Mrs Elizabeth Leicester, an early matron of the Foundling Hospital who oversaw some of its most challenging years; and Jane Pett, a dry nurse highly acclaimed for her exceptional care.  

Caro Howell, Director of the Foundling Museum said: ‘Women of every social class permeate every aspect of the Foundling Hospital story. After centuries of omission, their revolutionary, catalytic and invaluable contributions can at last be celebrated. We are incredibly grateful to the 336 donors who supported our Art Happens campaign to make this important exhibition possible.’ 

Michael Dahl I (1656/1659–1743) (style of), Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1683–1737), c.1730, Warwick Shire Hall. © Warwick Shire Hall

This exhibition forms part of the Museum’s year-long programme of exhibitions, displays and events to mark the centenary of female suffrage, by celebrating women’s contribution to British society, culture and philanthropy from the 1720s to the present day. The Museum raised over £20,000 towards this exhibition through a successful Art Happens crowdfunding campaign. The Museum is incredibly grateful to all our exhibition donors, including the 336 donors who gave to our Art Happens campaign, our main corporate exhibition sponsor Saxton Bampfylde, and to Art Fund, whose support made conservation of paintings loaned for this exhibition possible.

Andrea Soldi, Countess of Huntingdon with husband and children, c.1740 © The Cheshunt Foundation

Lot 28. A small Longquan Guan-type celadon bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 3 ½ in. (8.8 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 80,000 (USD 6,401 - USD 10,242). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 29. A Longquan celadon petal-lobed bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 33 1/2 in. (9 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 250,000 (USD 19,204 - USD 32,008). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 30. A Longquan celadon Kinuta mallet vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 10 ½ in. (26.5 cm.) high, Japanese wood box. Estimate HKD 800,000 - HKD 1,000,000 (USD 102,426 - USD 128,032). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 31. A Longquan celadon twin-handled censer, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm.) wide across the handles, Japanese wood box. Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 120,000 (USD 10,242 - USD 15,363). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Dinh Q. Lê, Untitled, from the series “Tapestry,” 2006. Chromogenic print and linen tape, 53 x 53 inches. Courtesy of UBS Art Collection.

SAN JOSE, CA.- Dinh Q. Lê: True Journey Is Return is the largest solo exhibition of the renowned Vietnamese-American artist’s work in the United States in more than a decade. Dinh Q. Lê features five major video and photography installations, including the installation Vision In Darkness: Trần Trung Tín (2015), which has never before seen in the US, and rarely seen photo-weavings from 2006. The exhibition highlights the artist’s ongoing experimentation in narrative and storytelling through multimedia documentary video and found photography installations. The exhibition is organized by San José Museum of Art’sassociate curator Rory Padeken and is on view at SJMA from September 14, 2018 through April 7, 2019. A 120-page illustrated catalogue, has been published by SJMA in conjunction with the exhibition. 

“We are thrilled to bring internationally renowned artist Dinh Q. Lê’s work to Silicon Valley as part of our ongoing commitment to exhibitions that reflect the diversity of our community and the exciting and important work being done by contemporary artists,” says Sayre Batton, Oshman Executive Director at SJMA. 

Dinh Q. Lê, Untitled, from the series “Tapestry,” 2006. Chromogenic print and linen tape, 53 × 53 inches. Courtesy of UBS Art Collection.

While Lê is best known for his unique photo-weavings—interlaced vertical and horizontal strips of documentary photographs and Hollywood film stills about the Vietnam War—this exhibition highlights his ongoing experimentations in video and photography installation. He explores themes of departure and return, the role of the artist during times of war, and reimagining symbols of American imperialism and recent histories of Vietnam through documentary videos and multichannel cinematic presentations, delicate watercolors and abstract paintings made by his artist/subjects, and architectural structures that comprise thousands of photographs abandoned by families fleeing from the ravages of war. Engaged with other Vietnamese voices and perspectives, Lê reshapes and generates new memories and images of the conflict by giving voice literally and metaphorically to those marginalized by history. 

Dinh Q. Lê, Crossing the Farther Shore, 2014. Found photographs, thread, and linen tape. Seven parts, dimensions variable. Photo by Nash Baker.

The exhibition includes Light and Belief: Voices and Sketches of Life from the Vietnam War (2012), a multimedia installation of 101 paintings and drawings with a documentary video with animation. Originally commissioned by documenta for dOCUMENTA 13, Light and Belief uncovers how northern Vietnamese artists were enlisted to fight in the war by sketching scenes at the battlefront. Vision In Darkness: Trần Trung Tín (2015), Lê’s sequel to Light and Belief, comprises six abstract paintings and a biographical documentary of artist Trần Trung Tín (1933–2008). The work examines Tran’s disillusionment with repressive government policies and the solace he found in creating abstract paintings— resisting the established artistic and social norms of the time. The exhibition will also feature Lê’s major architectural installation Crossing the Farther Shore (2014), constructed with thousands of found photographs abandoned by families fleeing from the conflicts of war; his earliest video works The Imaginary Country (2006) and The Farmers and the Helicopters (2006); and a selection of rarely-seen photo-weavings of flowers from the series “Tapestry” (2006). 

“Lê entwines unknown narratives of war and migration from people in North Vietnam, the Vietnamese diaspora, and refugees who have recently returned to Vietnam,” says Padeken. 

Dinh Q. Lê, Video still, The Imaginary Country, 2006. Four-channel video installation with sound. Dimensions variable Running time: 16 minutes, 4 seconds © Dinh Q. Lê. Courtesy of the artist and Shoshana Wayne Gallery.

Published by SJMA, the fully illustrated exhibition catalogue includes documentation of the exhibition; a transcribed conversation between Dinh Q. Lê and Moira Roth, Trefethen Professor Emerita of Art History, Mills College, Oakland; and essays by Padeken and by Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde, associate professor of Asian American Studies, University of California, Davis; and Nora A. Taylor, Alsdorf Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Born in 1968 in Hà Tiên, Vietnam, Dinh Q. Lê and his family immigrated to the US in 1978. He received his BA in studio art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1989 and MFA in photography and related media from The School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1992. He currently lives and works in Vietnam. Recent awards include a Rauschenberg Residency, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York (2016); Bellagio Creative Arts Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation, New York (2014); Visual Art Laureate, Prince Claus Fund, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2010); and Artist-in-Residence, Tokyo Wonder Site Aoyama (2009). He has had solo exhibitions at such venues as Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2015); Rice Gallery, Houston (2014); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010); Bellevue Arts Museum Washington (2007); Asia Society, New York (2005); and The Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky (2000). His work is in the collections of Asia Society, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and San José Museum of Art.

Lot 82. A moulded Ding white-glazed makara dish, Northern Song dynasty-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 9 ¼ in. (23 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 250,000 (USD 19,204 - USD 32,008). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The base is inscribed with Shangshi Ju. The inscription, Shangshi Ju, appears on other vessels used in conjunction with food preparation in the palace during the Northern Song and Jin dynasties, box. 

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 83. A Ding white-glazed incised foliate bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 7 ½ in. (19 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 80,000 (USD 6,401 - USD 10,242). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 85. A Ding-type black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 5 ¼ in. (13.5 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 50,000 - HKD 80,000 (USD 6,401 - USD 10,242). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 86. A Jian persimmon-glazed tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 4 7/8 in. (12.3 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 100,000 - HKD 150,000 (USD 12,803 - USD 19,204). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Provenance: The Ryoichi Fujioka (1909-1991) Collection, Japan.

Note: Ryoichi Fujioka (1909-1991) is the former chief curator at the Kyoto National Museum, and eminent scholar on Chinese ceramics, who was also one of the contributing authors to the well-respected publication on Chinese ceramics Sekai Toji Zenshu.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 87. A Jian ‘Hare’s fur’ tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 5 in. (12.7 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 80,000 - HKD 120,000 (USD 10,242 - USD 15,363). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 88. A russet-spot black-glazed bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 3 ½ in. (9 cm.) diam., box. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000 (USD 25,606 - USD 38,409). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 90. A Changzhi painted lady-form pillow, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 15 in. (38.3 cm.) long, box. Estimate HKD 40,000 - HKD 60,000 (USD 5,121 - USD 7,681). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Literature: Dream Quest-The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 45.

The result of Oxford Authentication thermoluminescence test no. P105z43 (28 September 2005) is consistent with the dating of this lot.

Lot 91. A Chengguan sancai carved and moulded ‘Peony and Mythical Beast’ pillow, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 9 in. (23 cm.) long, box. Estimate HKD 40,000 - HKD 60,000 (USD 5,121 - USD 7,681). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Literature: Dream Quest-The Mark Lam Collection of Chinese Ceramic Pillows, Shanghai, 2008, pl. 68.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 96. A Cizhou foliate-rimmed ribbed jar, Northern Song dynasty, 11th century; 3 ½ in. (9 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 70,000 - HKD 100,000 (USD 8,962 - USD 12,803). © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

Note: Compare to another Cizhou foliate-rimmed jar of slightly larger size (9.7 cm high) and similar shape but with eight pairs of vertical ribs on the sides, illustrated by Robert Mowry in Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers- Chinese Brown-And Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Harvard University Art Museums, 1996, p. 173, no. 60.

Christie's. The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 4 October 2018

Lot 139. A gilt-copper figure of Vasudhara, Nepal, 14th century. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61637; 21.5 cm (8 1/2 in.) high. Estimate HK$ 1,600,000 - 2,400,000 (€ 170,000 - 260,000). © Bonhams 2001-2018

Provenance: David Weldon, London, 1970-72.

Note: Vasudhara's name means, "Bearer of Treasure"; she is a Buddhist goddess of wealth and abundance. She is particularly revered among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley. She is the consort of the wealth deity Jambhala, but her worship precedes his in Nepal. Also considered the personification of transcendental wisdom, Vasudhara is the Buddhist counterpart to both Lakshmi and Sarasvati, Hindu goddesses of prosperity and wisdom.

This sizeable, heavily cast bronze of Vasudhara is modeled with soft, rounded forms – a hallmark of the Newari aesthetic, showing gods happy and well-nourished. Her six arms radiate naturalistically from her shoulders, spreading in all directions. Vasudhara is richly adorned with extravagant crown, jewelry, and boldly patterned dhoti, accentuating her abundant perfection. She displays the mudras of generosity and reassurance. Vasudhara brings prosperity in its fullest sense, holding treasure vases, grain, jewels, and sutras. She is propitiated not only for wealth and success, but also for fertility, both of land and womb.

Among the many representations of Vasudhara, this six-armed form is largely unique to Nepal. In Tibet, her two-armed form is more common. Compare her rounded physiognomy and patterned dhoti to a related example published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of the Alain Bordier Foundation, Hong Kong, 2010, pp.26-7, no.10B. Also see a smaller figure of the same deity sold at Sotheby's, New York, 26 March 1998, lot 217. Informing her 14th-century date, compare the closely related physiognomy, facial type, jewelry, metallic alloy, and gilding to a Uma Maheshvara, dated by inscription 1345 CE, sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3020.

Lot 182. A gilt copper alloy figure of Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja, Tibet, 15th century. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61639; 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.) high. Estimate HK$ 500,000 - 800,000 (€ 54,000 - 87,000). © Bonhams 2001-2018