Alain.R.Truong

A bronze 'Mythical Beasts' mirror with inscription, Sui-Early Tang dynasty

A bronze 'Mythical Beasts' mirror with inscription, Sui-Early Tang dynasty. Estimation 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

cast in the central field with four mythical beasts encircling the hemispherical knob, within a dogtooth border, the outer border with a twenty-character inscription written in kaishu style. Diameter 4 3/4  in., 12 cm

Provenance: Private Asian collection, circa 1980-90, by repute. 

Notes:  Translation of the inscription: 

(The mirror) is like a water caltrop growing in the sunshine, the full moon appears in the pond.  Officials check if their headgear is in the way, and ladies gaze at the mirror to perfect their make-up.

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

Two bronze 'Dragon' and 'Mythical Beast' mirrors, Han dynasty and Tang dynasty

Two bronze 'Dragon' and 'Mythical Beast' mirrors, Han dynasty and Tang dynasty. Estimation 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the first from the Han Dynasty, cast around the central knob with dragons emerging from clouds, the inscription written in lishu (Han clerical script) style; the second, Tang Dynasty, cast with four mythical beasts chasing each other, the inscription written in kaishu (Tang standard script). Diameter of larger 5 1/2  in., 14 cm

Provenance: Collection of Mackenzie Gordon, Jr., Washington D.C. 

Notes:  Translation of the inscription:

Han mirror

I, Mr Long, produced this mirror at the time alien tribes in four corners were being subjugated.
Let us praise our Lord, for the people are given respite.
After quelling the Hu and Qiang barbarians, peace is restored on earth.
In the season when wind and rain regulate the five grains (grow).  May you reach the high office and receive your just reward, and to protect your parents from harm, and may your joy be endless.

Tang mirror

(The mirror) is like a water caltrop growing in the sunshine, the full moon appears in the pond.  Officials check if their headgear is in the way, and ladies gaze at it to perfect their make-up.

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

A bronze 'Mythical Beasts' mirror with inscription, Sui-Early Tang dynasty

A bronze 'Mythical Beasts' mirror with inscription, Sui-Early Tang dynasty. Estimation 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

the pierced central knob surrounded by four mythical beasts in pursuit of one another, encircled by an inscription written in kaishu, enclosed by raised borders of various geometric designs. Diameter 5 1/8  in., 13 cm

Provenance: Private Asian collection, circa 1980-90, by repute.

Notes:  Translation of the inscription:

(The mirror) is bright like the floating moon, and the material is embedded with the dark spirit. The clear sky reflects in the water, and the sunshine returns with solidified clarity.  Forever lasting, the mirror will purify your heart.

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

An important bronze 'Zodiac' mirror with inscription, Sui dynasty

An important bronze 'Zodiac' mirror with inscription, Sui dynasty. Estimation  50,000 — 70,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of circular form, the central knob surrounded by a dragon and the 'animals of the four directions', the dragon representing the east, the phoenix representing the south, the tiger the west, and the snake-encoiled turtle the north, further surrounded by an inscription in kaishu, encircled with a band of the twelve zodiac animals. Diameter 8 1/2  in., 21.5 cm

Provenance: Private Asian collection, circa 1980-90, by repute. 

Literature: Uragami Sokyu-do, Co., Ltd., Bronze Mirrors from Sui to Tang Dynasty, Tokyo, 10th November 2010, cat. no. 1.

Notes:  Translation of the inscription:

The immortal peaks rise as twins, the wise river now has a rival.
Morning flowers are made bright and charming, at night, its light reflects the moon.
The dragon coils around the jade disc, a pair of fabulous birds dances in harmony.
It is said the Renshou era (601-4) was when the war began to end.

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

A rare bronze 'Double Phoenix' mirror with inscription, Tang dynasty

A rare bronze 'Double Phoenix' mirror with inscription, Tang dynasty. Estimation  70,000 — 90,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

cast in relief with two phoenix standing on lotus flowers flanking a pierced central knob, with long tasseled cords trailing up from their beaks, holding a banner with the X-sign, below is a flower and another banner with the character chun (spring), along the rim an inscription in kaishu-style  - Diameter 8 1/2  in., 21.6 cm

Provenance: Private Asian collection, circa 1980-90, by repute.

Notes: Translation of the inscription:

(The mirror) is bright like the floating moon, and the material is embedded with the dark spirit.  Forever lasting, the mirror will purify your heart.

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

« Fabriquer le dessin » au FRAC Haute-Normandie

Tom Molloy, Doubt (détail), 2012. Crayon sur papier. Courtesy Frac Haute-Normandie, © Tom Molloy

ROUEN - Dans le cadre de son cycle d'expositions consacré à la pratique, le Frac Haute-Normandie se penche en février 2015 sur le dessin. Articulée sur les deux étages du Frac, l'exposition «Fabriquer le dessin» propose une réflexion à partir d'un prisme technique qui permet de réunir des œuvres provenant d'époques et d'horizons variés et de révéler des ressemblances et filiations ou des oppositions franches et révélatrices entre les œuvres. 

Michel Blazy, sans titre, 1994. Courtesy Frac Haute-Normandie, © Michel Blazy

Les différents ensembles réunis dans l'exposition mettent en évidence le trait, le rendu, le support, l'importance du format ou l'essence du geste et soulèvent une série de questions sur des notions signifiantes pour ce médium, telles que l'espace de la feuille, l'importance du tracé, la persistance du lavis, l'omniprésence du fragment, l'enjeu de la tache, le rapport au modèle, le non-fini, etc. Cette approche technique permet d'interroger la ligne de partage entre esquisse, étude et œuvre et, au-delà des notions d'époques et de styles, le statut et le rôle esthétique de ce procédé d'hier et d'aujourd'hui. 

Samuel Martin, Extérieur nuit – 1, 2013, fusain sur toile. Collection du FRAC Haute-Normandie. Courtesy Frac HN, Rouen.

En réponse à l'idée d'un éclatement, d'une autonomisation et d'une libéralisation des pratiques contemporaines du dessin, l'exposition — comme le colloque — entendent mettre en question et relativiser l'évolution des enjeux et des stratégies en montrant des œuvres, anciennes et contemporaines, qui échappent aux catégories et aux idées que l'on se fait du dessin. L'exposition prend ainsi le parti de brouiller les pistes entre les époques, les styles afin de déstabiliser le regard dans la perception des œuvres et de leur contexte et d'interroger les systèmes de référence.

Javier Pérez, Hybrids XVI, 2015. Collection du FRAC Haute-Normandie. Courtesy FRAC HN, Rouen.

Pour chercher à sortir de la conception selon laquelle les dessins anciens sont attachés à une œuvre en devenir tandis que les dessins contemporains, affranchis, sont devenus des œuvres à part entière, l'exposition «Fabriquer le dessin» mêle les époques, les genres, les grands noms et les artistes plus confidentiels, s'attachant avant tout à montrer des dessins qui sortent de l'ordinaire dans la production d'un artiste ou d'une période.

14 fév.-03 mai 2015

Bachli, Sans titre n°4-12, 1996. Collection du FRAC Haute-Normandie. Courtesy Frac HN, Rouen.

Henri-Edmond Cross, Effet de soleil sur des toits. Fusain sur papier vergé filigrané. Collection Olivier Senn Le Havre, MuMa, musée d’Art moderne André Malraux © Florian Kleinefenn

A small blue and white stem cup, Late Ming dynasty, circa 1630-1640

A small blue and white stem cup, Late Ming dynasty, circa 1630-1640. Estimate $3,000 – $5,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The cup is decorated on the exterior with scholars seated in a landscape between a band of ruyi heads below the mouth and a chevron band between lappets on the stem, and scattered flowers on the foot. The flat base is unglazed. 3 ½ in. (8.9 cm.) high

Provenance:  Blitz Antiek, Amsterdam, 1987.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Notes:A similar stem cup is illustrated by Richard S. Kilburn, Transitional Wares and their Forerunners, Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, 1981, p. 98, no. 37.

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.

A blue and white 'Kraak Porselein' dish, Late Ming dynasty, circa 1610-1630

A blue and white 'Kraak Porselein' dish, Late Ming dynasty, circa 1610-1630. Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The dish is decorated in the center with a scene of ducks in a lotus pond enclosed by radiating lappets with fruit and floral groupings below the bracket-lobed rim. The reverse is decorated with stylized lappets. 12 in. (30.5 cm.) diam.

Provenance:  Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1983.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Julia B. Curtis, “Transitionware Made Plain: A Wreck in the South China Sea,” Oriental Art, Volume XXXI, No. 2, Summer, 1985, p. 172, fig. 23.

Notes: The motif of ducks in a lotus pond was a popular central theme on late Ming dynasty kraak wares. The subject also appears on earlier Yuan and Ming dynasty dishes, including a Yuan example from the Lenora and Walter F. Brown Collection, illustrated by Julia B. Curtis in “Tales told in Porcelain: Jingdezhen Blue-and-White Wares at the San Antonio Museum of Art,” Orientations, April 2005, p. 44, fig. 1, where the author notes, “Because mandarin ducks mate for life, in China they represent a wish for marital happiness. 

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.

A small blue and white 'Auspicious Characters' bowl, Wanli period, dated 1617

A small blue and white 'Auspicious Characters' bowl, Wanli period, dated 1617. Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The bowl is decorated on the exterior with four auspicious characters reading fu shou kang ning ('good fortune, longevity, health and peace´) within star-shaped panels formed by overlapping squares, surrounded by a leafy floral scroll and beneath a floret cell-diaper band. The interior is decorated with a central lotus medallion beneath a wide band of a cockscomb vine and a further cell-diaper band. The base bears a four-character cyclical date dingsi nian zao('made in the year of dingsi´) corresponding to 1617. A later-carved character, zheng, is in the interior, and another,bi, is on the exterior near the foot. 4 3/8 in. (11 cm.) diam. 

Provenance:  Heirloom & Howard, Ltd., London, 1985.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.

A molded blue and white 'Kraak porselein' dish, late Ming dynasty, circa 1610-1630

A molded blue and white 'Kraak porselein' dish, late Ming dynasty, circa 1610-1630. Estimate $4,000 – $6,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The dish has a bracket-lobed rim and is finely decorated in vibrant tones of cobalt blue with a central scene of a duck in a lotus pond enclosed by radiating lappets containing floral groupings and flying insects. The reverse is decorated with similar lappets and a small 'egret' mark on the base. 8 ½ in. (21.6 cm.)

Provenance:  Blitz Antiek, Amsterdam, 1989.
Collection of Julia and John Curtis.

Literature: Maura Rinaldi, Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade, London, 1989, p. 203, pl. h.
Julia B. Curtis, Trade Taste & Transformation: Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan, 1620-1645, New York, 2006, p. 21, fig. 4.

Notes: In her book Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade (London, 1989, p. 195), Maura Rinaldi classifies 45 known pieces of kraak porcelain with the 'egret’ mark, all of which were most likely produced in the same kiln. The author notes that this mark appears almost exclusively on kraak wares, and specifically those of above-average quality. This group, 'Border IV', in which this dish is classified, exhibits the greatest diversity of subjects in the central scene.

Another dish from this group with a central scene of birds in a garden was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 11-13 December 2012, lot 490, and another with an unusual scene of a horse was also sold at Christie’s Amsterdam, 20-21 May 2008, lot 9.

Christie's. AN ERA OF INSPIRATION: 17TH-CENTURY CHINESE PORCELAINS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JULIA AND JOHN CURTIS, 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.