3 octobre 2011

A gem-set gold pendant in the form of a bird, probably Deccan or Southern India, 17th-18th Century. Photo Bonhams depicted with open wings, the back engraved with naturalistic feather details, set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, holding a pearl in each claw, a row of pearl suspensions on the tail, the upper wings with suspension loops: 7.5 cm. high (excl. pearls). Estimate: £30,000 - 50,000 Provenance: English private collection.A larger and probably later variation of the previous lot and sharing the same iconography, a... [Lire la suite]

A fine gem-set gold pendant in the form of a Bird, Mughal India or Deccan, 17th Century. Photo Bonhams depicted with open wings and holding a pearl in its beak, the front set with rubies, diamonds and emeralds, a large emerald on the breast, the gold work with finely chased detail, the back engraved with naturalistic feather markings, four pearls attached to the wings with wire, the trilobed tail with an emerald bead suspension, the upper wings with suspension loops the pendant; 5.2 cm. high (excl. beads). Estimate: £30,000... [Lire la suite]

A rare and important gem-set gold Cruciform Pendant . Mughal India or Deccan, 17th Century. Photo Bonhams comprising three perpendicular rectangular sections and a pointed section, all set with diamonds, centred on an oval medallion with a large central diamond within a band of cabochon rubies, the gold borders finely engraved with a trailing foliate vine; the reverse engraved with lions and lionesses hunting gazelles, against a dense ground of fruit and flower-bearing foliage, the bottom with an emerald bead suspension, the... [Lire la suite]

The Empress Dowager Cixi, China, Qing dynasty, 1903-1904. Glass plate negative. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, SCGR 251 WASHINGTON, DC.- The life of China’s Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) was anything but conventional. She rose in power from a low-ranking imperial concubine to Grand Empress Dowager of the Qing court, reigning as sovereign to more than 400 million people for more than 45 years. “Power | Play: China’s Empress Dowager” is on view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery through Jan. 29,... [Lire la suite]

Danh Vo, We the People. Photo: Nils_Klinger. With JULY, IV, MDCCLXXVI, Danh Vo shifts the focus of his  artistic investigations to the concept of freedom. The title designates 4  July 1776, the date of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of  Independence from Great Britain. The writing in Roman numerals is taken  from the tablet that the figure of New York’s Statue of Liberty is  holding in her left hand. Since 1886, Miss Liberty has symbolized the  hope of a better life for refugees and immigrants... [Lire la suite]

A Fine and Unusual Pair of Famille-Rose Cups. Marks And Period Of Yongzheng. Photo Sotheby's each delicately potted with everted sides, a flared rim, and a slightly tapering foot, deftly painted in soft pastel tones with a mirror image design of lilies and pinks growing by rocks and one tall lily extending onto the interior, the base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue within a single ring;; 8.5 cm., 3 3/8 in. ESTIMATE 6,000,000-8,000,000 HKD PROVENANCE: Collection of H.M. Knight (died 1970), The Hague ... [Lire la suite]

An Exquisite Famille-Rose Gourd Flask. Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong. Photo Sotheby's elegantly potted with a globular body rising to a waisted neck and a small bulbous mouth, flanked by a pair of strap handles in the form of ruyi sceptres extending from the mouth to the shoulders at the top, the neck collared by a raised ring with iron-red floral scrolls above floral sprays and a ruyi-head band draping the shoulder, delicately painted in a vibrant array of colours with butterflies hovering among sprays of morning glory,... [Lire la suite]

Lot 22. A Superb Large Famille-Rose Prunus and Rose Charger, Mark and Period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 50.2 cm., 19 3/4 in. Estimate 15,000,000-20,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold: 49,940,000 HKD (6,416,291 USD). Photo Sotheby's finely painted on the interior with two gnarled intertwining prunus branches reaching around the left side following the curve of the dish, the petals of the white flowers tinged with green and with yellow-tipped pink stamens and green sepals, a pink-blossomed branch growing to the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 16. An Exquisite and Very Rare Famille-Rose 'Peach' Bowl, Mark and Period of Yongzheng (1723-1735); 14.3 cm., 5 5/8 in. Estimate 20,000,000-30,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 23,060,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's delicately potted with deep rounded sides resting on a short straight foot, finely painted in bright tones of rose pink, shades of green, yellow, iron red, brown and black, with two varieties of flowering and fruiting peach springing from the foot and extending around the outside and over the rim onto the interior, one... [Lire la suite]

Lot 15. A Magnificent Famille-Rose 'Peach' Vase, Tianqiuping, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 51 cm., 20 in. Estimate 80,000,000-120,000,000 HKD. Lot sold 90,260,000 HKD (11,596,605 USD). Photo Sotheby's the bottle-shaped vase with a globular body rising to a cylindrical neck flaring slightly at the rim, masterfully painted with an asymetric design of two peach branches growing halfway around the vase and wrapping around the neck, one gnarled branch depicted with brown bark and pink blossoms,... [Lire la suite]