Alain.R.Truong

A bronze ritual wine vessel (gu), Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC

A bronze ritual wine vessel (gu), Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of slender form with a wide flaring trumpet mouth and tall spreading foot, cast around the central bulb with confronting kui dragons forming taotie masks centered on vertical flanges, a pictogram on interior of foot, the greenish-gray patina with malachite encrustation. Height 8 in., 20.3 cm

Provenance: A private New York collection formed between 1945-47.
Christie's New York, 1st - 3rd October 2007, lot 631.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Works of Art New York, 17 mars 2015, 02:00 PM

A bronze ritual wine vessel (jue), Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC

A bronze ritual wine vessel (jue), Late Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC. Estimate 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of a deep U-shape, supported on three splayed blade-form legs, the body cast with a pair of taotie masks against a leiwen ground, the spout flanked by a pair of capped finials, the side set with a loop handle over a single pictograph reading min, the surface with patches of malachite and ferrous encrustation. Height 7 3/4  in., 19.7 cm

Provenance: Property of Dr. Kiyoshi Hosoi of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sotheby's Los Angeles, 13th October 1975, lot 12.
Christie's, lot 128 (according to label).

Notes: The pictograph min is likely a clan name. A similar jue was sold in these rooms 20th March 2010, lot 10.

The present lot had conservation work done to it by the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1993.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Works of Art New York, 17 mars 2015, 02:00 PM

The Quan Zu Xin Zu Gui Ding: An important inscribed bronze tripod, Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC

The Quan Zu Xin Zu Gui Ding: An important inscribed bronze tripod, Shang dynasty, 13th-11th century BC. Estimate 450,000 — 650,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the deep round body supported on three cylindrical legs, the lipped rim raised with two upright large loop handles, a band below the rim filled with six serpents interspersed with whorl-roundels in relief, the central body with three large taotie motifs, with bulging eyes, intersected by flanges, all against a fine leiwen ground, the legs with scrolls and cicada blades in intaglio pattern, the interior cast on the side with a six-character inscription, the bronze covered with an attractive olive patina with areas of malachite encrustation. Height 10 1/4  in., 26 cm

Provenance: David A. Berg Collection.
Christie's New York, 21st September 2000, lot 160.
Sotheby's London, 19th June 2002, lot 73.
Private Asian Collection.

Literature: Wang Chen, Sequel of the Surviving Writings of the Shang dynasty, 1935, vol. 1, p. 21, fig. 9.
Luo Zhenyu, Surviving Writings from the Xia, Shang Zhou Dynasties, 1937, vol. 3, p. 1, fig. 3.
Yan Yiping, Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions, Taipei, 1983, no. 0753.
Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Compendium of Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions, Beijing, 1984-94, no. 02113.
Wang Xiantang, A Record of Bronze and Stone Inscriptions in Chinese History, Qingdao, 2004, no. 2011-2.
Wang Tao and Liu Yu, A Selection of Early Chinese Bronzes with Inscriptions from Sotheby’s and Christie’s Sales, Shanghai, 2007, no. 60.
Wu Zhenfeng, Compendium of Inscriptions and Images of Bronzes from Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Shanghai, 2012, no. 01499.

Notes: The inscription on this bronze ding reads: QUAN ZU XIN ZU GUI XIANG, and is translated as 'Ancestor Xin and Ancestor Gui of Quan are sacrificed. X' The majority of Shang bronzes bear short inscriptions (ancestral names, personal names, or clan emblems). This ding vessel is of an impressive size and has a six-character inscription. The maker's name Quan (pictograph of a dog) here is also found in contemporary texts unearthed from Yinxu - the late capital of the Shang dynasty, and, apparently, was an important minister, likely a royal prince to the Shang king. On one of the large bronze tripods, a Shu Si Zi Ding, excavated at Anyang in 1959 (Kaoguxuebao 1960, no. 1, pls. 2) the inscription records the king awarding his princes with cowrie-shells for making ritual bronzes; and the recipients were Quan (dog) and Yu (fish).

According to a number of oracle bone inscriptions, Lord Quan led several royal clans into battle with the Zhou people (Heji:  6812 front); other sources record that Lord Quan made human sacrifices of the Qiang tribe men (Tunnan: 2493). There are more than twenty ritual bronzes bearing the name Quan, all dating from the Late Shang dynasty to the early Western Zhou period. On some of the Shang bronzes, Quan is associated with the official title ‘Ya’ as Ya Quan.

The style of the calligraphy here is well executed and with a strong pictographical element.

Sotheby's. Inscriptions: History as Art New York, 17 mars 2015, 01:30 PM

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860. Estimate US$ 1,500 - 2,000 (€1,300 - 1,800). Photo Bonhams.

Carefully hollowed with walls of even thickness, the bottle of tapering form with a cylindrical neck, flat lip, its shoulders sloping outward towards the recessed base, crisply carved with two faux lion mask-and-ring handles, executed from a nearly flawless transparent stone. 2 1/4in (5.7cm) high

Provenance: Asiantiques, February, 2012

Bonhams. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Barbara and Marvin Dicker, 16 Mar 2015 10:00 EDT- NEW YORK

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860. Estimate US$ 1,500 - 2,000 (€1,300 - 1,800). Photo Bonhams.

Well-hollowed, of compressed oval form with a cylindrical neck, flat lip and foot, boldly carved to the front and back in rounded relief with a bat with outstretching wings; the stone slightly crizzled and cloudy. 2 1/8in (5.4cm) high

Provenance: The Asian Art Studio, Inc. 
A. Klein, CA

Bonhams. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Barbara and Marvin Dicker, 16 Mar 2015 10:00 EDT- NEW YORK

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860

A carved rock crystal snuff bottle, 1750-1860. Estimate US$ 2,000 - 3,000 (€1,800 - 2,700). Photo Bonhams.

Well-hollowed, of compressed globular form with a cylindrical neck, flat lip, oval foot ring, carved in relief and incised on each side with a pendulating dragon breathing out vapor forming waves; the transparent stone marked with a few darker color spots. 2 7/16in (6.3cm) high

Provenance: Robert Kleiner, Singapore Convention, October 2002

Bonhams. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Barbara and Marvin Dicker, 16 Mar 2015 10:00 EDT- NEW YORK

An amethyst 'landscape' snuff bottle, Rustic Crystal Master School, 1750-1860

An amethyst 'landscape' snuff bottle, Rustic Crystal Master School, 1750-1860. Estimate US$ 2,000 - 3,000 (€1,800 - 2,700). Photo Bonhams.

The rounded rectangular bottle standing on an oval foot ring, rising to a straight cylindrical neck beneath a very subtly concave lip, carved in low relief with a continuous scene depicting an expand of lake surrounded by tree-accented rocky banks under a group of swallows flying high in the sky; the natural cloudy inclusions in the stone well incorporated into the landscape design, creating an atmospheric misty appearance. 2 7/16in (6.3cm) high

Provenance: Asiantiques, August 1996
Hugh Moss

Notes: The attribution of a group of crystal and quartzite bottles to the 'Rustic Crystal Master' refers to a yet unplaced school of hardstone carving active in China between circa 1730-1880. The instantly recognizable decorative style bears relation to literati landscape painting, with the vast majority worked in low relief. One other feature is the clever use of the natural flaws in the stone, and the ability of masterfully incorporating them into the design. For a discussion of the distinctive decorative styles of the school see A Treasury of Chinese Snuff Bottles, The Mary and George Bloch Collection, Moss, Graham, and Tsang, Hong Kong, 1998, Vol.2, no.255.

Bonhams. Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Collection of Barbara and Marvin Dicker, 16 Mar 2015 10:00 EDT- NEW YORK

A rare black-glazed 'Oil-Spot' ewer, Northern Song - Jin dynasty

A rare black-glazed 'Oil-Spot' ewer, Northern Song - Jin dynasty. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of lotus-bud form, the globular body supported on a short foot set with a loop handle and a short spout, the base perforated with a circular opening which connects to a tube that serves as a filler, covered overall in a lustrous black glaze suffused with a pattern of iridescent silvery 'oil-spots', stopping neatly above the base revealing the buff body. Height 4 1/8  in., 10.5 cm

Notes: Ewers of this form without a separate cover are referred to as lotus-bud form and were filled from the base. See a black-glazed ewer of related form discovered in the Five Dynasties excavations at Huangpu in Tongchuan, Shaanxi, illustrated in Wudai Huangbao yaozhi, Beijing, 1997, LXXX, no. 2.

This type of ewer covered with an oil-spot glaze is extremely rare and only two others appear to have been published. See the oil-spot ewer in the collection of Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, formerly in the Gustaf VI Adolf Collection, illustrated in Chugoku no toji. Temmoku, Tokyo, 1999, pl. 29; and another from the Eunice and Herbert Shatzman Collection included in the exhibition Dark Jewels: Chinese Black and Brown Ceramics from the Shatzman Collection, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2002, cat. no. 50.  

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A 'Jizhou' splashed bowl, Southern Song dynasty

A 'Jizhou' splashed bowl, Southern Song dynasty. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the deep rounded sides flaring out from a narrow recessed foot, covered overall with a glossy dark brown glaze accented with russet-brown splashes, stopping just above the knife-pared foot, the base left unglazed revealing the buff body. Diameter 5 in., 12.9 cm

Literature: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, no. 54. 

Notes: See a related bowl in the Muwen Tang collection and included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 170. Another Jizhou bowl similarly decorated but of conical form is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Tokyo, vol. 12, 1977, nos. 103-104; and another from the Jingguantang Collection, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 43 and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 525.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM

A black-glazed 'Hare's Fur' bowl, Song dynasty

A black-glazed 'Hare's Fur' bowl, Song dynasty.  Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of conical form with deep sides, covered overall in a thick lustrous black glaze suffused with a rust-brown 'hare's fur' pattern draining from the rim on the interior and exterior, the glaze falling irregularly above the foot to reveal the reddish-brown body.Diameter 6 1/8  in., 15.6 cm

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM