23 novembre 2015

John Thomson, Example Of A Coiffure On A Tartar Or Manchu Female, Peking, Pechili Province, China, 1869. (restored) who is wearing a long sleeved quilted garment. The hair is wrapped around a flat strip of wood.  Here's another John Thomson classic (albeit with extensive restoration), found again within Wellcome's fantastic collection of his work. Thomson has continued to enthrall people after a century; his work has recently returned to China, where many Chinese for the first time are seeing the essence of... [Lire la suite]

Empress Gobele Wan-Rong, c. 1920-1940 by an unknown court photographer.  One of the sadder stories that arose from the end of the Qing monarchy was the story of Wan Rong, otherwise known as the Last Empress of China 婉容皇后. She was chosen at the age of 17 to marry a powerless monarch. This beautiful well educated girl from one of Manchuria's best families was to be turned into a wasted emotionally wrecked drug addict by her loveless marriage in 1922 to the last emperor of China, PuYi 溥儀. Cast by the same ill political winds that... [Lire la suite]

Frank Carpenter, Manchu ladies of the palace being warned to stop smoking, Peking, China, c. 1910-1925. (restored) (originals on repository with the Library of Congress can always be found by using its LC number in their number search engine). The photograph was cropped, spotted, and had several areas tonally adjusted to bring out hidden or obscure detail not easily seen with the original. One large scratch on the left was digitally retouched out, as were a few emulsion wrinkles and processing marks. Frank Carpenter and... [Lire la suite]

Chinese Family, c.1875.  Iin The Face Of China As Seen By Photographers & Travelers 1860-1912, authored by L. Carrington Goodrich, with historical commentary by Nigel Cameron. Knowing nothing at all of the actual people; that is, who they were or what social or political connections they had, we can only make educated assumptions and guesses about their milieu, based on what is believed or understood about Chinese culture during the late 1800's. From the outset, the viewer is particularly struck by the rather formal... [Lire la suite]

Afong Lai, Entitled Group Of Chinese Women With Fans, Canton China, c. 1880 (restored). Afong Lai was one of the rare breed of Chinese photographer whom was recognized by his European contemporaries as a professional equal. He was well thought of by the legendary John Thomson, who rated Afong's work of a caliber that would be successful even if offered to the English in London. As a Chinese working in what was then considered to be a strictly European field, Afong established and fostered contacts with many foreigners, allowing his... [Lire la suite]

A rare coral-red-ground famille rose yenyen vase and stand, Circa 1720. Estimate HK$240,000 - 340,000 (€29,000 - 41,000). Photo: Bonhams. The rich coral-red ground reserved with leaf-shaped and scroll-shaped cartouches on each side of the body, variously depicting sprays of vivid peonies and lilies enamelled in shades of pink, yellow, green and blue, with delicate branches of flowering prunus issuing from the leaf-shaped panel, the trumpet neck decorated with various scholar's objects including incense burners, flower... [Lire la suite]

Lot 9. A grisaille-decorated black-ground bottle vase, Late Qing Dynasty; 38cm (15in) high. Estimate HK$70,000 - 120,000 (€8,500 - 15,000). Sold for HK$ 85,000 (€ 10,098). Photo: Bonhams. Decorated en grisaille in a painterly manner with a continuous scene depicting a dignitary on horseback in a garden setting surrounded by attendants holding branches of plum blossoms, all beneath scrolling clouds, the upper and lower registers divided by an intricate floral border.  Provenance: An... [Lire la suite]

A rare doucai 'dragon' moonflask, bianhu, 19th century. Estimate HK$100,000 - 150,000 (€12,000 - 18,000). Photo: Bonhams. The flattened globular body rising from a short splayed foot to a waisted gourd-shaped neck flanked by a pair of curved ruyi handles, each side vividly painted and enamelled with a roaring front-facing five-clawed dragon writhing amidst undulating cloud scrolls between two bats hovering around the foot and a stylised shou character on each side of the neck. 19cm (7 1/2in) high ... [Lire la suite]

A rare imperial ru-type glazed bulb bowl, Qianlong seal mark and of the period. Estimate HK$ 350,000 - 500,000 (€42,000 - 61,000). Photo: Bonhams. The compressed body raised on three short ruyi-head feet, the shallow rounded sides applied with a band of spaced bosses encircling the body, applied overall with a finely-crackled glaze of pale sea-green tone, the underside of the foot unglazed and dressed in a brown wash, the base with eight spur marks. 25cm (9 7/8in) diam. Provenance: Acquired from Alfred... [Lire la suite]

Lot 4. A small rare copper-red-glazed waterpot, taibo zun, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period (1723-1735); 5.2cm (2in) diam. Estimate HK$ 240,000 - 340,000 (€29,000 - 41,000). Sold for HK$ 1,600,000 (€ 190,095). Photo: Bonhams. The domed vessel deftly modelled in the form of a beehive surmounted by a slightly everted rim with a tiny indentation, covered overall in a rich copper-red glaze of crushed raspberry-red tone, thinning to white at the rim, interior glazed white.  ... [Lire la suite]