George Frederick “Fritz” Jewett, Jr. and his wife, Lucy McIntyre Jewett, were celebrated as passionate collectors and spirited philanthropists—a couple who, across over half a century of marriage, wholeheartedly dedicated themselves to art, family, and helping others.Born in 1927 in Spokane, Washington, Fritz Jewett was the great-grandson of the pioneering German-American timber magnate Frederick Weyerhaeuser, and would go on to further his family’s long association with forestry and conservation. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School, Fritz Jewett began his career at a Washington pulp mill. While working in Tacoma, he reconnected with Lucille McIntyre, a woman whose family had been closely acquainted with the Jewetts and Weyerhaeusers. The couple were married in 1953, and the following year Fritz Jewett joined the Potlatch Corporation, a forestry firm that his father was then Chairman of. Fritz Jewett would go on to spend over forty years at Potlatch, rising to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board before retiring in 1999.True partners in every sense of the word, Fritz and Lucy Jewett raised two children, George and Betsy, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The couple’s success allowed them to build a life centered on art and philanthropy: the Jewetts were unwavering patrons of causes in California and beyond. The Jewetts held a shared belief in the power of art and culture to elevate communities.One of the Jewetts’ more notable achievements as patrons of the arts, was their instrumental role in securing the celebrated Avery Brundage Collection for the City of San Francisco. In the late 1960s, Fritz was named chairman of the city’s Asian Art Commission. The committee worked hard to secure the Avery Brundage Collection for the City of San Francisco. As part of the campaign, the Jewetts’ hosted Mr. Brundage several times at their home with politicians and influencers of the day. The pair of white jade Chinese snuff bottles in this sale (lot 873) were a gift from Avery Brundage to the Jewetts’ as an expression of gratitude for the counsel and the guidance that led to the successful donation of one of the most significant Asian Art collections in the United States to the City of San Francisco.Today the Jewett children, continue to grow their family’s legacy in culture and philanthropy—a commitment to beauty and inspiration embodied in the historic art and jewelry collection that bears the Jewett name.

Lot 1047. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A large Longquan celadon 'Twin Fish' dish, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 36.3 cm diam. Estimate USD 12,000 – USD 18,000. Price Realised USD 23,940. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Saray Kuyumcusu, Istanbul, 1969.
Mary Cooper Jewett Gaiser (1901-1996) Collection.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1048. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A very rare 'numbered' Jun tripod 'narcissus bowl', Yuan-Ming dynasty, 14th century; 25.5 cm diam, hardwood stand. Estimate USD 300,000 – USD 500,000. Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

The base is incised with the numeral yi (one) and covered with a thin olive-brown glaze interrupted by a ring of small spur marks.

Provenance: G. T. Marsh & Co., Monterey, California, 1970.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Note: The fascination with Jun ware lies in its remarkable glaze, with its lustrous and opalescent qualities, as evident in the present bowl. The bowl belongs to a group of Jun vessels comprising narcissus bowls, flower pots and stands, where each vessel has been incised or stamped with a Chinese numeral on the base before firing. The numbers range from one to ten, and judging from the examples in museums and those examined from the excavations at Juntai, Yuxian, the numbers appear to have a proportional relationship with the sizes of the vessels, with ten representing the smallest and one the largest. Recent research by Chinese scholars has tended to support the idea that these fine quality numbered Jun vessels should date to the Yuan or early Ming dynasty, late 14th to early 15th century.

It may be significant that Jun wares do not appear to have been mentioned in Chinese literature before the Ming dynasty but are mentioned with increasing frequency in the latter part of the Ming dynasty. Interestingly, comparisons with ceramics from other kilns, including some excavated from the imperial Ming kilns at Jingdezhen, suggests that these well-made numbered Jun vessels may have been made for the court in the early Ming dynasty, which would account for the high proportion of extant examples being preserved in the imperial collection. Some of these Jun ware flower vessels have inscriptions incised through the glaze on their bases in addition to the numbers, which indicate the location in which they were used within the Palace during the Qing dynasty.

The Qing court has preserved several similar Jun narcissus bowls incised with the numeral yi (one). Four examples in the Palace Museums, Beijing, are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996; one in purple, no. 24 (24.3 cm.), and no. 25 (23.5 cm.), the latter incised with two additional inscriptions recording its use in Jingxixuan in Yingtai, one in moon-white, no. 27 (26.5 cm.) with inscriptions recording its use in Hanyuandian in Yingtai, and one in blue, no. 28 (25.2 cm.) with inscriptions recording its use in The Studio of Forever Spring in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Four narcissus bowls incised with the numeral yi (one) in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, are illustrated in Panorama of Ceramics in the Collection of the National Palace Museum: Chün Ware, Taipei, 1999; no. 27 (25.4 cm.) in moon-white with inscriptions recording its use in Xiangchendian in Yingtai, no. 28, like the present example in lavender-blue (25.5 cm.), no. 29 in grape-purple (27 cm.), and no. 30 in moon-white (25.6 cm.) with inscriptions recording its use in the Changchun shuwu in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts, holds the largest and finest assemblage of numbered Jun wares outside the imperial collections in Beijing and Taipei. All 60 of these pieces were given to the museum in 1942 by Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane. Three number yi (one) narcissus bowls of similar shape to the present example are in the group, accession nos. 1942.185.42 (24.1 cm.), 1942.185.43 (24.3 cm.), and 1942.185.44 (24.4 cm.).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has a narcissus bowl of similar shape incised with the number yi (one), accession no. 29.100.205, from the H.O. Havemeyer Collection.

Lot 1049. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A small blue and white 'lança characters' bowl, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1573-1619); 12.8 cm diam, softwood stand. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price Realised USD 81,900. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: G. T. Marsh & Co., Monterey, California, 1970.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1050. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A blue and white rectangular cushion-cut box and cover, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double rectangle and of the period (1573-1619); 19.4 cm wide. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price Realised USD 22,600. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1051. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A blue and white 'lotus' bowl, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double cercle and of the period (1662-1722); 19.2 cm diam. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Price Realised USD 30,240. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Hugh M. Moss (according to label).
E. G. Kostolany Collection (according to label).

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1052. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A doucai 'peach and shou' dish, Kangxi six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double cercle and of the period (1662-1722); 21 cm diam. Estimate USD 30,000 – USD 50,000. Price Realised USD 73,080. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1976.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1053. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A very rare pair of doucai and famille rose 'sanduo' bowls, Yongzheng six-character marks in underglaze blue within a double cercle and of the period (1723-1735); 16 cm diam. Estimate USD 60,000 – USD 80,000. Price Realised USD 453,600. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1976.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1054. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A very rare celadon truncated bottle vase, Yongzheng six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 15.8 cm diam. Estimate USD 200,000 – USD 300,000. Price Realised USD 655,200. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: G. T. Marsh & Co., Monterey, California, 1978.

Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Lot 1055. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A small blue and white lobed jar, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1735); 6.1 cm high. Estimate USD 15,000 – USD 25,000.  Price Realised USD 69,300. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Lot 1056. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A blue and white 'dragon' bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double circle and of the period (1723-1735); 16.9 cm diam. Estimate USD 20,000 – USD 30,000. Price Realised USD 88,200. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: The Daibutsu, San Francisco, 23 December 1986.

Lot 1057. Property from the Collection of Fritz and Lucy Jewett. A green-enamelled 'dragon' dish, Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795); 17.5 cm diam. Estimate USD 10,000 – USD 15,000. Price Realised USD 16,380. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York, 1979

.Literature: M. A. Clark, Jade & Other Arts: The Collection of Mr. & Mrs. George F. Jewett, Jr., San Francisco, 1983.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 19-20 September 2024