Alain.R.Truong

Van Cleef & Arpels‘s latest 'Cerfs-Volants' collection

Van Cleef & Arpels‘s latest 'Cerfs-Volants' collection.

A faithful interpreter of lightness and movement, the Maison today pays homage to kites fluttering in the breeze. Symbols of protection in Asian culture, they offer their vitality to a brand-new collection: Cerfs-Volants.

Van Cleef & Arpels, Cerfs-Volants Large Model Earrings. Pink gold, Sapphire. 

These asymmetric earrings in pink gold, pink and mauve sapphires, white gold, white and grey mother-of-pearl and diamonds are surprising, bringing together two distinct representations of a kite. 

Van Cleef & Arpels, Cerfs-Volants 2-motif Between the Finger Ring. Pink gold, Sapphire. 

This Between the Finger Ring is surprising, bringing together two distinct representations of a kite: one in white and gray mother-of-pearl, the other set with diamonds and colored stones. 

Van Cleef & Arpels Cerfs-Volants Bracelet, Small Model.Pink gold, Sapphire.

Virtuoso jewelry techniques embellish a lively, bold and poetic aesthetic on this bracelet in pink gold, pink and mauve sapphires, white gold, white and grey mother-of-pearl and diamonds.

Van Cleef & Arpels Cerfs-Volants Clip. Pink gold, Sapphire.

On this chatelaine clip, the kite motif is accompanied by a cloud: it seems to fly amid drops of rain, represented by delicate mobile gems. The two motifs are connected by a diamond-set chain and can be positioned however their wearer desires; an ingenious mechanism also enables them to be worn separately.

Van Cleef & Arpels Cerfs-Volants Necklace. Pink gold, Sapphire.

Virtuoso jewelry techniques embellish a lively, bold and poetic aesthetic on this necklace in pink gold, pink and mauve sapphires, white gold, white and grey mother-of-pearl and diamonds.

Photos courtesy Van Cleef & Arpels

Chinese Famille Verte Glazed Porcelain Dragon Charger, Kangxi Six-Character Mark and of the Period

Chinese Famille Verte Glazed Porcelain Dragon Charger, Kangxi Six-Character Mark and of the Period. Estimate $4,000-6,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The interior with a single sinuous forward facing five-clawed dragon chasing a flaming pearl amid wispy clouds and flames, the exterior sides with two further dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls, all on a bright green ground, the base with opposing dragons in pursuit of a pearl on a yellow ground surrounding the six-character Kangxi mark in underglaze blue within a double blue circle on a white ground. Diameter 14 inches. 

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

Chinese Famille Verte Glazed Porcelain Charger, Shunzhi-Kangxi Period

Chinese Famille Verte Glazed Porcelain Charger, Shunzhi-Kangxi Period. Estimate $3,000-5,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The open form painted on the interior base with four horses leaping around a central flaming pearl and divided by rockwork and splashing waves, all on a swirling ground and within green band borders, the rim with further crashing waves and auspicious symbols on a swirling ground. Diameter 13 inches.  

Provenance: Vallin Galleries, Wilton, CT 

Estate of Peter K. Warren 

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

Two Chinese Famille Verte Enameled Porcelain Dishes, Kangxi Period

Two Chinese Famille Verte Enameled Porcelain Dishes, Kangxi Period. Estimate $4,000-6,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

Each shallow form with everted rim, painted on the interior with a spotted stag gazing at a crane flying above, shaded by pine and amid rockwork and lingzhi sprigs, within a border of shaped vignettes of floral sprays reserved on an iron red diaper ground, and a band of six cranes in flight on the rim, the exterior with further floral sprays. Diameter of larger 15 1/8 inches. 

Please note these two dishes are different sizes: the larger is 15 1/8 inches diameter, the smaller is 8 3/4 inches. The larger has Santos, London provenance, the smaller has Elinor Gordon, Pennsylvania provenance. 

Smaller: A few scattered pinholes, some light wear to red enamel. Base with further scattered pinholes and a few underglaze firing cracks within rim, the longest is 1/3 inch. 

Larger: very nice strong enamel colors. Light surface scratches on a few areas of surface, base with scattered pinholes. 

Provenance: Santos, London 
Elinor Gordon, Villanova, PA

Estate of Peter K. Warren 

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

Pair of Chinese Famille Verte Enameled Porcelain Covered Vases, Kangxi Mark and of the Period

Pair of Chinese Famille Verte Enameled Porcelain Covered Vases, Kangxi Mark and of the Period. Estimate $6,000-9,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

Of hexagonal section, each side painted with a naturalistic scene of blossoming trees and flowers from behind garden fences and rockwork and from archaic style planters, all below diaper and foliate bands at the shoulder, the domed lid with similar floral cartouches below a bud-form knop. Height 12 1/2 inches. One with two small shallow glaze chips at rim, one lid with repair to tip of one corner. Small areas of light enamel wear. Some scattered pinholes and glaze gaps.  

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

Two Similar Chinese 'Egg and Spinach' Glazed Porcelain Bowls, Kangxi Period

Two Similar Chinese 'Egg and Spinach' Glazed Porcelain Bowls, Kangxi Period. Estimate $6,000-8,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

ach of deep form with flared sides, worked overall with a splashed brown, yellow, green and buff mottled pattern, base with a single loosely drawn character in underglaze blue within a double blue circle, fitted wood stand.Height 3 1/2 inches, diameter 7 1/2 inches. 

Provenance: Vallin Galleries, Wilton, CT

Estate of Peter K. Warren 

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

Chinese Famille Verte Yellow Ground Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Kangxi Mark and of the Period

Chinese Famille Verte Yellow Ground Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Kangxi Mark and of the Period. Estimate $12,000-18,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc.

The large deep form flaring at the rim, painted and incised on the interior with a green foliate border below the rim and a stylized dragon medallion below the exterior worked with sprays of prunus, chrysanthemum, lotus and peony in green, brown and white, base with six-character Kangxi mark in underglaze blue within a double blue circle on a white ground. Height 8 inches, diameter 15 1/2 inches. Broken through with old restoration.

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

Chinese Green and Blue Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Kangxi Six-Character Mark and of the Period

Chinese Green and Blue Glazed Porcelain Bowl, Kangxi Six-Character Mark and of the Period. Estimate $12,000-18,000. 2015 © William Doyle Galleries, Inc

he deep form set on a low foot rim, the exterior sides executed with two green striding dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls, all on a deep blue ground above a band of overlapping lappets at the foot, with a single rearing dragon on the interior base. Diameter 5 1/4 inches. Light enamel wear to interior base.

Provenance: S. Marchant & Son, London 

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

A rare and important iron-red and gilt rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period

A rare and important iron-red and gilt rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of cylindrical form, slightly tapering towards the base, the canted shoulders rising to a tall neck with an everted mouth and galleried rim, finely enameled in varying tones of iron red with detailing in green, black and gilt one side depicting the Three Gods (Happiness, Wealth and Longivity) with young boys, the other side with a two-line inscription and three seals, the neck with four varying shou characters in zhuanshu style, the base painted with a single peony blossom in green, yellow and aubergine each petal striated and outlined in black. Height 18 1/4  in., 46.4 cm

Provenance: Private Collection San Francisco.
Sotheby's New York, 19th March 1997, lot 314.
Severin Fayerman (1922-2015), 'Boonecroft' Pennsylvania.
Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd., New York, 2004.

Exhibition: The Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 1939-1940.

Literature: The Fayerman Collection, Boonecroft, Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd., New York, 2004, cat. no. 13 and illustrated on the cover.

Notes: The inscription may be translated as:

In the time of great prosperity, we forget what to say;
The Three Elders of the Han court came together, correcting the classics

Signature: Master of the Half Window
Seals：Yunshan Cloud Mountain), Zhushi (Bamboo and Stone), Banchuangzhuren (Master of the Half Window)

Building on the late Ming dynasty aristocratic taste for inscriptions on varying types of two dimensional screens, the innovative artisans of Jingdezhen during the late 17th century incorporated calligraphy into the pictorial decoration of three-dimensional porcelain wares. Long considered a significant art form, calligraphy communicates not only through the meaning of the character but also through the gesture used to paint it and the sound it evokes. The addition of inscription on porcelain transformed cylindrical surfaces to three dimensional scrolls infusing them with a rarefied scholarly aura. The creation of these literati-style wares was generated as much by the rise of a wealthy merchant class (many of whom were Ming loyalists with a marked preference for Ming literati themes) as by the dearth of imperial commissions as the Kangxi emperor sought to quell rebellion and assert Manchu authority. The lack of orders from Beijing allowed the most skilled potters and artisans to turn their attention to non-imperial wares. Porcelain forms bearing Bamboo, Wood or Rock studio and seal marks, such as the present vase, emerged and appear to be associated with a particularly high quality of potting, enameling and a painterly style of calligraphy more closely in keeping with literati values. While much research remains to be done on this group of porcelains, a blue and white vase in the Curtis Collection, painted with scenes of Jingdezhen and literati poems bears the mark of the owner of the kiln, Shang Tong; a known historical figure with close ties to literati figures of the era such as Shang Ancun, an official and scholar known to produce paintings for ceramics. For further discussion see Wang Qingzheng, Kangxi Porcelain Ware from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, fig 10, p. XXIX and Wang Qizheng and Sir Michael Butler, Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from thh Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections, London, pp. 50-54. The large scale and confident inscription on the present vase can be related to a brushpot painted with bamboo and poetic inscription from the palace museum illustrated in China, The Three Emperors 1662-1795, ed. Evelyn S. Rawski and Jessica Rawson, London, 2005, cat. no. 130. 

This present example is unique. Its decoration, being the traditional Three Gods of Happiness, Wealth and Longevity, which in addition to the shou-characters (longevity) suggests that it was a special birthday present. The inscription however conveys a different message. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, Chinese intellectuals were obliged to serve the new Manchu government, but in their hearts they harbored resentment towards the new regime and nostalgia for past dynasties. But censorship was strict, and expressions of political dissatisfaction had to be subtle and concealed. The inscription here can be read at face value, or decoded to reveal a deeper meaning. The term "Three Elders" (San Lao) first appeared in the Book of Rites (Li Ji, written in the 5th century BC). When the Han dynasty was established in 221 BC, the new government summoned all learned elders to the Han court to write down the classical texts that had been destroyed by the Qin dynasty, the legendary burners of books. In the 17th century, the inscription on this piece would have been understood and appreciated by any educated and disaffected Chinese, who regarded themselves as men of virtue of the former dynasty. As the inscription infers, they could meet, but could not speak out; they could only dream of preserving the culture of the past. The poem is signed by the Master of the Half Window. A half-window was an architectural feature of Chinese garden pavilions. Thus, the signature was more than a poetic nom-de-plume; it indicated that the author was from a high social background, and had probably been an official at the court of the previous, Ming, dynasty. Frustrated intellectuals would have felt the kindred spirit in this beautiful, yet bold, inscription. 

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

Major exhibition of works by Dutch photographer Marie Cécile Thijs opens in Maastricht

Marie Cecile Thijs, Flowers, Tulips in Vase, 2011. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

MAASTRICHT.- ‘Museum aan het Vrijthof’ in Maastricht opened a major exhibition of works by Dutch photographer Marie Cécile Thijs during and around the TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s greatest art and antiques fair (13-22 March). Almost 20 years ago, in front of the current museum, she took photographs of the seven yearly ‘Procession of Sacred Relics’ in Maastricht, in the south of Holland. In 2015 she returns for her first retrospective exhibition 'Lust for Light', which can be seen from March 1 until May 31. 

Marie Cecile Thijs, Flowers, Black Jack, 2014. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

The exhibition ‘Lust for Light' shows different series of photographs made by Marie Cécile Thijs, including White Collar, Food Portraits, Cooks, Horses, Majestic, Human Angels and her previous photographs of the ‘Procession of Sacred Relics’ in Maastricht. 

Marie Cécile Thijs, Horses, Salinero, 2011. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Marie Cécile Thijs is an art photographer with a distinctive signature. Her portraits are still lifes and her still lifes become portraits. Topics become characters. They move away from their daily destination, away from time and space. That provides intriguing creations, where elements like tranquility, dynamics and sometimes also humor meet. You would almost forget that cats normally do not wear collars or that chickpeas are usually located on a plate in stead of floating through the air. In her work the unusual is natural.

Marie Cécile Thijs, Successor To The Throne, 2012, Majestic series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Photographs of Marie Cécile Thijs - in terms of light and color - are reminiscent of the Golden Age. The old masters in painting are a major source of inspiration. At the same time her work is totally contemporary. For the serie White Collar (since 2009) she photographed an authentic seventeenth century ruff (also called millstone-ruff) from the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, which she later processed in her portraits using digital techniques. 

Marie Cecile Thijs, Girl with White Collar at Table, 2010, White Collar series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Marie Cecile Thijs, Cat with White Collar V, November 2014, White Collar series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Marie Cécile Thijs gained fame with her autonomous work. In addition, she has portrayed many writers, politicians and artists. The in Southern Limburg born photographer has been fascinated by photography since her youth, but began her career as a lawyer. In her late twenties, she rediscovered the camera and a few years later made the shift to life as a photographer. "For me it was love at second sight," says Marie Cécile Thijs. Meanwhile, she has many exhibitions and has received international awards. In 2014 she won the first prize in the International Photography 

Marie Cécile Thijs, Angel Boy, 2012, Human Angels Series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Masters Cup with her photograph ‘Chickpeas’. In 2010, the photograph ‘Girl with White Collar at Table’ was selected for a photo prize by the curator of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. Her work is included in several museum collections, among those are the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Rotterdam Museum. Recently her book 'Characters' with an overview of her work over the past fifteen years was published.

Marie Cécile Thijs, Chick Peas, 2013, Food Series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.

Marie Cécile Thijs, Citrus & Parkiet, 2014, Food Series. Photo: Courtesy Galerie Eduard Planting.