Alain.R.Truong

Sotheby's Hong Kong to offer an outstanding Guan Vase from the Southern Song Dynasty

An Outstanding ‘Guan’ Octagonal Vase, Southern Song Dynasty; height 21.9 cm. Expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sales 2015 will take place on 7 April at Hall 5, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, led by an outstanding Southern Song ‘Guan’ Vase from a Japanese Collection (Expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million) which has been unseen in the market for four decades, as well as two theme sales respectively dedicated to the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors of the Qing dynasty, two of the greatest art patrons and collectors in Chinese history. Also noteworthy are a magnificent carved celadon, famille-rose and underglazed-blue ‘boys’ vase, the Robert H. Blumenfield collection of bamboo carvings in addition to imperial porcelains and works of art from a Hong Kong private collection. Altogether, the six sales will offer more than 250 lots with a total estimate of approximately HK$600 million / US$76 million*. 

Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s Asia Deputy Chairman and International Head of Chinese Works of Art, said, “We are privileged to offer this season some of the most outstanding Chinese works of art to come to the market in recent history. The Southern Song Guan vase, a masterpiece of ceramic art, and the jade seal that the Yongzheng Emperor used to impress on his own calligraphy are worthy of the finest public or private collections.” 

Auction Highlights:

GUAN – FROM A JAPANESE COLLECTION. 

An Outstanding ‘Guan’ Octagonal Vase, Southern Song Dynasty; height 21.9 cm. Expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's.

Guan yao, the fabled ‘official ware’ specially created for the imperial court of the Southern Song (1127-1279) in Hangzhou in south China, is perhaps the most desirable and certainly one of the rarest types of Chinese ceramics. It showcases Chinese potters at the height of their ingenuity, technical know-how and aesthetic vision. The works of art they conceived embodied the leitmotifs of China’s highly educated scholar-officials, the ruling elite of the Song. 

The shape reflects the Song dynasty fascination with archaic bronzes. The exquisite, unctuous glaze of the present vase with its smooth pleasing texture, milky-blue tint and subtle gloss was achieved through gradual application of multiple layers and presumably successive firings. The thick coating thus formed softly envelopes the angular shape, rounding off all sharp angles to create an object that invites being held. The distinct web of veins of the large-scale crackle, probably provoked by a well-controlled cooling process after the last firing and subsequent staining, acts like a design formed by nature, giving the whole piece an aspect as if carved out of one large boulder of a fine jade-like stone. 

Although widely admired and avidly imitated, actual examples are exceedingly rare even in the Palace Museums of Taipei and Beijing, since despite the expertise of the craftsmen, a satisfactory outcome was difficult even at the time. Only three other vessels representing Song guan ware at its best have ever appeared at auction. The present vase, originally purchased from Sotheby’s London in July 1975, from the collection of John Henry Levy, has been carefully preserved the last forty years in a Japanese collection, from where the record-breaking Ru washer emerged in 2012, selling for an unprecedented HK$207.86 million / US$27 million. Kept until last, the current vase was the one the collector cherished and valued the most highly.

YONGZHENG - TREASURES FROM THE AGE OF HARMONY AND INTEGRITY 

The Yongzheng Emperor is celebrated among historians and connoisseurs as a distinguished aesthete and art patron. Under his brief thirteen-year rule, the Imperial workshops within the Forbidden City came into full bloom by virtue of the Emperor’s meticulous involvement in the production and quality control. The most luxurious materials were painstakingly gathered, the most skilled craftsmen summoned from afar and techniques perfected to levels never to be surpassed. 

The present sale pays homage to the exacting eye and elegant taste of the Yongzheng Emperor . The nineteen objects selected here encompass some of the finest porcelain produced in Jingdezhen, and include as a group of exceedingly rare works of art – jade, soapstone, crystal, agate, glass, bronze, lacquer – manufactured in close proximity of the Emperor at the court and under his direct guidance. Every piece in the sale is inscribed with a reign mark, or of a type documented as being directly commissioned by the Emperor. It is unprecedented to have assembled a group of such quality and rarity. 

An Extremely Rare Imperial White Jade ‘Yongzheng Yubi Zhi Bao’ Seal with original Ivory-Inlaid Box and Cover. The seal: Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period. The seal face: Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng Period. Seal 7.5 x 6.1 x 6.1 cm; box and cover 9.1 x 9.1 x 8.6 cm. Est. HK$30 – 40 million / US$3.8 – 5.1 million. Photo Sotheby's.

This jade seal with its original box, one of only five recorded jade examples from the Yongzheng reign, ranks among the most important works of art of the period to come to light in recent history. The seal face translates as ‘Treasure penned by his Majesty the Yongzheng Emperor’ and the seal is impressed on his own calligraphy and paintings. It is exceptional to find such a seal preserved with its original box, which, like the seal itself, is recorded in the archives of the Forbidden City. 

A Fine and Superbly Painted Blue and White ‘Dragon’ Vase, Mark and Period of Yongzheng; height 38.6 cm. Est. HK$40 – 60 million / US$5.1 – 7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's.

This magnificent dragon vase epitomises the Yongzheng Emperor’s admiration for early Ming dynasty porcelain and his endeavour for aesthetic excellence. The dragon motif is emblematic of the Emperor and, by extension, imperial power. The brilliant deep blue cobalt, applied to replicate the ‘heaping and piling’ effect of early Ming underglaze blue designs, reflects the high level of technical achievement of the kilns in Jingdezhen during the period. No other example is known from the period. 

QIANLONG – POET AND COLLECTOR 

Prince Hongli (1711-1799), the Qianlong Emperor, is one of the most prolific poets and writers in China’s literary history, with more than 40,000 poems composed by him. He is also recorded in history as one of the most zealous collectors, with an art collection of enormous scope and size, which included antiques, archaistic works and contemporary art. His enthusiasm is reflected in the numerous inscriptions compiled in anthologies, and in his commemorative poems and compositions preserved on the surface of the finest paintings, calligraphy, porcelains and jades. The present sale offers four pieces formerly in the imperial collection of the Qianlong Emperor. 

An Exceptionally Large and Extremely Rare Dated Zitan Mounted Archaic Jade Bi Disc Jade. Disc: Eastern Han Dynasty. Stand: Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, dated in accordance with 1770; height 30 cm; disc 23.8 cm. Est. HK$30 – 40 million / US$3.8 – 5.1 million. Photo Sotheby's.

The superb Eastern Han jade bi disc features painstakingly carved and reticulated dragon and phoenix motifs. The carved words Yan Nian (‘elongated lifespan’) stand for the longevity of the emperor as well as the eternal prosperity of Qianlong’s reign, a symbolic reflection of his quest for legitimacy as a ruler and his right to the Mandate of Heaven. The jade disc itself is of outstanding quality and superbly carved. Inscribed, dated and preserved with its original zitan stand, it is arguably the greatest inscribed work of art from the Qianlong Emperor's collection that remains in private hands. 

IMPERIAL PORCELAIN AND WORKS OF ART FROM A HONG KONG PRIVATE COLLECTION 

This sale presents a selection of 24 objects from an Asian private collection, ranging from imperial porcelain from the Xuande period, in the Ming dynasty, to Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing dynasty. There is also a number of rare imperial works of art, kesi and albums.

An Imperial Kesi Album of Poems On ‘West Lake’, Mark and Period of Qianlong; 37.8 by 25.7 cm. Est. HK$4 – 6 million / U$510,000 – 770,000. Photo Sotheby's.

The Qianlong Emperor was particularly drawn to the beauty and elegance of the landscapes in southern China. When revisiting, he would compose poems, and then upon returning to the Forbidden City, would order imperial albums of all the poems he had composed on them. 

A Fine and Rare Celadon-Glazed Vase, Seal Mark And Period Of Qianlong; height 37.9 cm. Est. HK$8 – 12 million / US$1 – 1.5 million. Photo Sotheby's.

Of exceptional graceful form covered with a luminous celadon glaze, this vase is an impressive example of the remarkable technical developments made to meet the specific taste of the Qianlong Emperor, which was characterised by the imitation of antiques, innovation and flair. Its simplicity of form and absence of decoration was a new stylistic trend resulted from research into celebrated Song glazes. Published in the collection of Taji Shuichi in Tokyo in 1983, it has exceptional provenance.

IMPORTANT CHINESE WORKS OF ART

The sale will feature a diverse range of important Imperial porcelain and works of art from the Ming and Qing dynasties, highlighted by a magnificent carved-celadon, famille-rose and underglaze-blue ‘boys’ vase. 

A Magnificent Carved Celadon-Glazed, Famille-Rose and Underglaze-Blue ‘Boys’ Vase, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong; height 44 cm. Est. HK$50 – 70 million / US$6.4 – 9 million. Photo Sotheby's.

This exceptional vase is a tour-de-force, combining celadon glaze with relief design, famille-rose and underglaze-blue painting. Acquired by the currently owner in France twenty years ago, it is extremely rare with no other comparable published example, and is of the uttermost refinement. The subject of children at play was favoured for its auspiciousness inspired by paintings by court artists such as Jin Tingbiao. 

THE ROBERT H. BLUMENFIELD COLLECTION OF BAMBOO CARVINGS

Passionately collected over 30 years by the American collector Robert H. Blumenfield, this is an outstanding assemblage of bamboo carvings, reflecting the superb output of literati taste bamboo produced in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Encompassing all the major categories, the collection includes figure carvings, brushpots, incense burners and exquisite miniatures produced for the scholar’s desk.

A Superb Carved Bamboo ‘Eight Daoist Immortals’ Brushpot. Attributed to Gu Jue, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period; height 17 cm. Est. HK$2.5 – 3.5 million / US$320,000 – 450,000. Photo Sotheby's.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

A Chinese Guan Vase of the Southern Song Dynasty is shown to the media in Hong Kong on March 2, 2015. The rare vase is expected to fetch more than 60 million HKD (7.7 million USD) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Spring Sales 2015 which will take place on April 7, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez.

A Sotheby's Hong Kong specialist Yongzheng Jade Seal. Photo: Sotheby's.

A Japonisme glass and diamond brooch-pendant, circa 1915, attributed to Lacloche Frères

A Japonisme glass and diamond brooch-pendant, circa 1915, attributed to Lacloche Frères. Photo courtesy Symbolic & Chase

Of Japonisme design, centring on the figure Hotei, one of the seven Japanese God of Fortune, playing a Koto, composed of carved glass imitating turquoise, coral and white agate, embellished with a rose-cut diamond necklace, upon a black glass plaque carved with swirling motifs, within a stylised traditional Japanese architectural border set with rose- and circular-cut diamonds. Price: £50,000

A conch pearl and diamond brooch, English, circa 1880

A conch pearl and diamond brooch, English, circa 1880. Photo courtesy Symbolic & Chase

Of floral design, the flower buds set with two oval white conch pearls of circa 52 and 76 grains and one pink conch pearl of circa 2 grains, to leaves accented with rose-cut diamonds, mounted in silver and gold. Sold.

An enameled porcelain snuff bottle, Daoguang period

An enameled porcelain snuff bottle, Daoguang period. Estimate US$ 1,500 - 2,500 (€1,300 - 2,200). Photo Bonhams.

Well-hollowed, the ovoid form bottle finely painted on either side with a katydid, the enamels in green and purple with iron red and black penciled details. 2 3/8in (6cm) high

Provenance: Dennis Crow

Exhibited: Norton Museum of Art, September-November 1997

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

A molded and famille rose enameled porcelain snuff bottle, 1820-1900

A molded and famille rose enameled porcelain snuff bottle, 1820-1900. Estimate US$ 1,500 - 2,500 (€1,300 - 2,200). Photo Bonhams.

Of high-shouldered bulbous form with a short neck, everted flat lip, splayed oval foot, painted in famille rose enamels and iron-red with a continuous scene depicting blooming trees and large peony blossoms rising behind perforated rocks, separated by two raised animal mask-and-ring handles on the narrow sides. 2 1/8in (5.4cm) high

Provenance: Robert Hall, San Francisco convention, October 1988

Exhibited: Norton Museum of Art, September-November 1997

(Anvers 1664 – 1730), Natures mortes aux vases de fleurs

Gaspar Pieter Verbruggen (Anvers 1664 – 1730), Natures mortes aux vases de fleurs (Still life with flowers vases). Estimation 25,000 — 35,000 EUR. Photo Sotheby's.

Signé en bas à gauche pour l'une et en bas à droite pour l'autre gas.p.verbruggen f. Huile sur toile, une paire; 86 x 69 cm ; 33 7/8 by 27 1/8 in

Sotheby's. Les Dillée : Une dynastie d’experts et de collectionneurs Paris, 18 mars 2015, 04:00 PM

Balthasar van der Ast (Middelbourg entre 1590 et 1593 - 1657 Delft), Nature morte à la corbeille de fleurs avec fruits et coquil

Balthasar van der Ast (Middelbourg entre 1590 et 1593 - 1657 Delft), Nature morte à la corbeille de fleurs avec fruits et coquillages (Still life with fruit basket, fruits and shellfish). Estimation 80,000 — 120,000 EUR. Photo Sotheby's.

Trace de signature en bas à droite sous le coquillage. Huile sur panneau; 45,5 x 65,5 cm ; 17 7/8 by 25 3/4 in.

Notes: Cette somptueuse nature morte du maître néerlandais  Balthasar Van der Ast, savamment agencée autour d’une corbeille de fleurs  fraiches, est une œuvre très délicate.

Sujet très en vogue en Hollande au XVIIe siècle, la nature morte et sa symbolique forte deviennent le sujet principal de grands artistes nordiques tel qu’Ambrosius Bosschaert l’ancien. Proche de ce dernier dont il est le beau-frère, Van der Ast est un membre imminent de la dynastie des Bosschaert, artistes reconnus pour leur prédilection pour les natures mortes aux fruits et aux fleurs. Cependant Van der Ast se démarque par son originalité ; il insère dans ses compositions des coquillages qui deviennent très vite sa spécialité et qui peuplent la plupart de ses compositions.

L’obscurité émanent de l’arrière-plan et de l’entablement met en valeur les douces couleurs pastels des fleurs et des fruits disposés sur la droite de la corbeille. Un lézard, une abeille ainsi qu’un papillon viennent équilibrer et donner vie à cette nature silencieuse. L’immuable enveloppe des coquillages s’oppose à l’éphémère beauté des fleurs et des fruits dont on devine déjà les premiers signes de déclin. Ceci n’est pas sans évoquer un Memento mori .

Sotheby's. Les Dillée : Une dynastie d’experts et de collectionneurs Paris, 18 mars 2015, 04:00 PM

Chinese Yellow Glazed Porcelain Dish, Yongzheng Six-Character Mark and of the Period

Chinese Yellow Glazed Porcelain Dish, Yongzheng Six-Character Mark and of the Period. Estimate $10,000-12,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The shallow form with rounded sides resting on a low foot rim, the exterior covered in a bright lemon yellow, the interior glazed white. Diameter 5 1/2 inches. Light wear to interior. 

Doyle New York, Asian Works of Art, Monday, March 16, 2015 at 10am

Chinese Sky Blue Glazed Porcelain Vase, Yongzheng Mark and of the Period

Chinese Sky Blue Glazed Porcelain Vase, Yongzheng Mark and of the Period. Estimate $10,000-15,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The shouldered form tapering to a spread foot and rising to a tall neck with two ribs on the mid-section, the mouth with a cup-form rim, glazed overall in a medium light blue glaze, base with Yongzheng seal mark. Height 7 3/4 inches. Very good condition.

Provenance: P.C. Lu, Hong Kong

Estate of Peter K. Warren 

Doyle New York, Asian Works of Art, Monday, March 16, 2015 at 10am

Chinese Wucai Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Yongzheng Six-Character Mark and of the Period

Chinese Wucai Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Yongzheng Six-Character Mark and of the Period.  Estimate $8,000-12,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The exterior painted with fruiting and blossoming pomegranate on leafy stems above bands of single and double blue lines at the foot and below a double blue line at the rim. Diameter 6 inches. Very good condition. 

Doyle New York, Asian Works of Art, Monday, March 16, 2015 at 10am