An export style carved polychrome lacquer table with gilt metal mounts, 19th century. 33 x 50 x 17 1/2in (83.8 x 127 x 44.4cm). Sold for $797,000; Estimate $10,000-15,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- A standing room only crowd of committed Chinese buyers bid on lot after lot to multiples of their estimates at the Bonhams Fine Chinese Works of Art auction in San Francisco on December 17. This session, part of a two-day auction of Chinese and Asian Decorative Art, featured fine jades and scholar’s objects from the collection of Emmanuel Gran, textiles from an important American collection, along with bronzes, Ming and Qing porcelain, furniture and Chinese paintings from private collections and museums throughout the United States. 

Buyers pounced on the Emmanuel Gran jades from the opening gavel, bidding fiercely on each lot, driving prices consistently to more than 10 times their pre-sale estimates. The second lot of the sale, two rare white jade 19th century oval plaques, hammered at $85,000 to a determined bidder. Three lots later, a fine nephrite carving of a mythical beast, 17th/18th century, achieved $509,000 (est. $20,000-30,000) after a bidding war of multiple bidders, to be followed shortly after by another huge competition for a fine and rare white jade ruyi scepter, 18th century, ultimately selling for $281,000 (est. $20,000-30,000). Mr. Gran, a Russian architect who lived in China between 1917 and 1941, amassed a large and refined collection of Chinese art, which he brought to California after leaving Shanghai, and then he was on to New York, where he became the in-house architect for the Hilton hotels. Much of his collection was sold to major collectors before his death in 1969; the scholar’s objects and jades were kept by the family until now. 

Two rare white jade oval plaques, 19th century.  Photo courtesy Bonhams

The first exquisite plaque carved within a simple raised border on either side, the front depicting a delicate meirenholding an orchid sprig, her gentle face with a contemplative expression, the reverse with an one-line poem carved in subtle relief and a small incised cartouche reading Zi[yang], surmounted with a pair of facing chilong centered with a small aperture suspending a silk string tied with tiny pearl and coral beads, the stone of even white tone; the second delicately carved within a reserve to one side with a meiren sitting by a window looking at an orchid sprig held in her left hand, her gentle face framed by her hair rendered with carefully incised lines, reversed with a line of poetry echoing the carving and a small cartouche reading wenwan, the plaque further framed with a pair of chilong with elongated bodies; the semi-translucent white stone polished to a soft luster. 1 1/16 x 3/4in (2.7 x 2cm); 1 1/2 x 1 1/8in (3.9 x 2.9cm). Sold for US$ 106,250 (€77,810)

The carved inscription on the first piece reads Jiaren zuo pei you yuxiang. It is from a four-line poem by an anonymous Ming dynasty poet that was used in Chapter 15 of the novel Sanxu Jin Ping Mei to describe the muted elegance and beauty of the orchid flower.
The second piece is inscribed with the second line of the poem and reads: Zi shi danzhuang ren bu shi. The complete poem is:

Tian chan qiba zai kong gu
Jiaren zuo pei you yuxiang
Zi shi danzhuang ren bu shi
Ren ta hong zi dou fenfang 

Sanxu Jin Ping Mei is the third sequel of The Plum in the Golden Vase, also known as The Golden Lotus, a naturalistic novel by an anonymous author from the late Ming dynasty.  

A fine nephrite carving of a mythical beast, 17th-18th century. Photo courtesy Bonhams

Powerfully rendered as a recumbent chilong biting on the ribbon of a tied scroll box, his horns, mane and tail finely rendered from the pale greenish white stone with elegant details captured by the russet skin. 4 1/4in (10.8cm) long. Sold for US$ 509,000 (€372,757)

Property from the Collection of Emmanuel Gran, by Descent

A finely carved white jade ruyi scepter, Qianlong. Photo courtesy Bonhams

The gently convex head carved within a raised border with lingzhi and wannianqing (Rohdea japonica) on the top of an elegantly curved handle inscribed with raised jixiang ruyi characters, terminated with a bat above two small apertures suspending a brownish-yellow string braided with an endless knot; the well-polished white stone cast with cloud-like inclusions. 9 3/8in (23.9cm) long. Sold for US$ 281,000 (€205,785)

Property from the Collection of Emmanuel Gran, by Descent. 

An impressive gold and silver plated dragon decorated snuff bottle from the collection of Stephen Chase was the top lot of the day, bringing an astounding $965,000 in a tenacious battle between a buyer in the room and a telephone bidder. The ovoid bottle, bearing a Qianlong mark and worked with movable five-clawed dragons contesting flaming jewels surrounded by clouds, was acquired in 1978, and was, by repute, from the collection of Stephen Mille. Bonhams has a strong reputation for selling fine snuff bottles for world record prices, and this was no exception for its rare type. 

An impressive gold-plated silver and copper dragon snuff bottle, Qianlong mark. Photo courtesy Bonhams

The hu-shaped bottle heavily plated with 18 karat gold, elaborately decorated in high relief and reticulated to the front and reverse with two moveable five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amongst dense cloud scrolls between bands of lingzhi heads, the waisted neck flanked by two dragon-head handles each issuing a loop, the flat rim incised with additional cloud scrolls, all supported by a splayed oval foot ring with repoussé work of waves surrounding a slightly convex base, the four-character mark incised in regular script; the matching stopper surmounted with a ruby red beryl bead. 3in (7.6cm) high. Sold for US$ 965,000 (€706,700)

Provenance: James Miller Collection by repute, acquired before 1915 
Stephen Chase Collection, acquired 1978

A fine Ruyao–type vase, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period, brought $857,000 (est. $100,000-150,000) in a heated contest among multiple buyers which narrowed to two telephone bidders from Asia. The rare Song dynasty style vase, from a Pacific Northwest collector, by descent, purchased in Shanghai in 1941-43 and brought to the US in 1947, has a related example in the renowned J.M Hu family collection. A pair of sky-blue molded porcelain jardinières from a Northern California Private collection produced frenzied bidding, topping out at $581,000, to the same successful buyer. Two rare Republic period plaques depicting Buddhist figures, by the artist Wang Qi, (1884-19370) and dated to 1932, sold for a record-setting $581,000, a testimony to intense interest in this relatively recent collecting area among Mainland Chinese buyers. 

A fine Ruyao-type vase, Qianlong mark and of the period. Photo courtesy Bonhams

Raised on a straight circular foot, the globular body molded at the mid-section with three plain bands and tapering inward to a banded shoulder and cylindrical neck set off by two additional evenly spaced rings below the cup-shaped mouth, covered in and out with a delicate pale blue-grey glaze resembling that of Song period Ru wares, the six-character mark written in underglaze blue to the center of the recessed base. 10 3/8in (26.4cm) high. Sold for US$ 857,000 (€627,608) 

Provenance: purchased in Shanghai 1941-1944
brought to the United States in 1947

Qianlong pieces of this type and glaze are rare. For what may be an identical example from the J.M Hu Family collection, see Sotheby's Hong Kong sale HK0214, 2 May 2005, lot 687, previously sold at Sotheby's New York, 4 June 1985, as lot 57. The 2005 catalog notes that a Yongzheng vase of this type can be seen on a Castiglione painting, illustrated in Beurdeley and Raindre, Qing Porcelain, 1987, plate 216.

See also the Song prototype for this piece, illustrated in Grey, Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain London, 1952, plate 96.

A pair of sky blue glazed jars, 19th century. Photo courtesy Bonhams

Each molded with a rolled rim now covered with a metal mount and narrow vertical ribs on the exterior surface of the curving shoulder and body curving inward toward the flat, unglazed base, the pale blue cobalt wash and colorless glaze covering the interior and exterior walls; each supported on a pieced and carved display stand. 10 1/4in (26cm) outside diameter - 7in (17.7cm) high - 11 1/4in (28.5cm) height including stand. Sold for US$ 581,000 (€425,485)

Property from a Northern California Family Collection

An export style polychrome lacquer table with gilt metal mounts, late 18th/19th century, consigned by New York Fine Art Appraisers on behalf of a West Coast Estate was the star of the works of art section, bringing $797,000 after a battle by two telephone bidders. Exquisitely executed in cinnabar lacquer with a twisted rope and bat patterned apron flanked by ruyi headed corner brackets mounted by gilt metal double dragon pendant accents, the top is rendered in blue lacquer in a fine diaper patterned ground. A rare eagle-wood (chenxiangmu) ruyi scepter, Qianlong, acquired by the consignor from the great collector-dealer Alice Boney in the 1970s, brought $353,000 (est. $10,000-15,000). Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhist bronzes riveted the attention of collectors, with the top lot, an 18th century gilt bronze figure of Ushinishavijaya, selling for $389,000 (est. 20,000-30,000). Two paintings by the artist Liu Guosong, (b.1932), both exhibited at the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita States University in 1976 and acquired directly from the artist following the exhibition, were the top lots of the painting section, selling for $83,750 and $131,000. The day’s total was $11,332,000, with 86 percent sold by lot, and 96 percent sold by value. 

Two famille-rose enameled porcelain plaques depicting Buddhist figures, Wang Qi, dated by inscription to 1932. Photo Bonhams.

Both of tall rectangular shape, the first depicting the Budai Heshang in a valley setting seated upon his eponymous cloth sack weighing down a young boy struggling to escape from under the weight of the animatedly yawning old monk; the second depicting an arhat seated in a forest grove, grimacing in pain while he picks his ear, his attention completely distracted from the dragon head emerging from the water coupe at his right knee; both plaques inscribed with a long calligraphic inscription including a renshen date (1932), the artists signature, and two seals reading Xichang Wang Qi and Tao mi. 32 1/4in (82cm) approximate heights of plaque only; 38 1/4in (97cm) heights inclusive of frames. Sold for US$ 545,000 (€399,121)

The Budai Heshang was a Five Dynasties/Ten Kingdoms era monk whose preternaturally gleeful demeanor caused him to be identified in Chinese folk religion as a reincarnation of the future Buddha Maitreya. According to numerous depictions throughout the Buddhist world, his unusually joyful personality attracted a coterie of small boys wherever he went.

This theme of a merry Maitreya/Budai at play with small children was one ceramics painter Wang Qi (1884-1937) explored extensively late in his career. For a porcelain plaque of the same size and subject matter with nearly identical seals and calligraphic style dated to the summer of the same year as the present lot, see Kwan, Simon Chinese Porcelain of the Republic Period: the Muwen Tang Collection Series volume 6 Hong Kong, 2008, pp. 118-119, fig. 30. For another plaque by Wang Qi showing two small boys with a standing Budai, see Tie Yuan and Xi Ming, Minguo Ciqi Jianding: Wenshi Kuanshi Banwei Beijing, 2004, p. 255, fig. 13.

Xi and Tie point out that it was after a 1916 trip by Wang Qi to Shanghai with another of the Zhushan Bayou Wang Dafan that Wang started to adopt the style of 18th century painter Huang Shen in his work (p. 12). This influence can be seen in the present lot on both of these plaques: impressionistic, whimsical, and exaggerated depictions of folkloric and/or mythological figures juxtaposed with long and uninhibited caoshu calligraphic inscriptions. Between the early 1930s his death Wang Qi's work in the style of Huang Shen would 'set a new standard for the Jingdezhen art world' (jingdezhen yitan bieshu yi zhi) (p. 12), and 'influence even already well-established [porcelain] artists.' (jiu lian yi chengming de yiren shou qi yingxiang) (p. 28).

Other late works by Wang Qi that have come up for auction include a large porcelain plaque depicting the Daoist immortal Li Tieguai, offered in our New Bond Street showrooms as lot 585, November 10th, 2011. For a smaller work also of Buddhist subject matter done in the same Huang Shen influenced style, see Sotheby's New York,19 March 2013, lot 249.

The second day commenced with 100 lots of Japanese works of art and paintings, with the top lot, a monumental bronze exhibition koro, Meiji Period, by Suzuki Masayoshi, selling for $37,500 to a telephone bidder. The remainder of the 708-lot day was devoted to Chinese works of art, with the same buoyant interest by the buying public as the day prior, as bidders vied for jades, snuff bottles, porcelains, textiles and paintings. A group of eight hardstone seals comprising a partial set of zodiac figures brought a remarkable $118,000, and two archaistic jade decorations, consisting of an axe-head and a circular bi disc brought $68,750, sought after by numerous buyers in a packed room. A pair of polychrome enamel decorated porcelains, Qianlong mark, 20th century, was the top porcelain lot of the afternoon, selling for $68,750, and the star of the extremely buoyant textile section was a Tibetan chuba made from a yellow ground silk dragon robe, which sold for $40,000 (est. $2,500-4,000). The total for the second day was $2,793,000 with 80 percent sold by lot and 93 percent sold by value.