A Fine Blue and White ‘Peach’ Moonflask, Seal mark and period of Qianlong. 24.3 cm Estimate: HK$1,800,000 - 2,500,000/US$230,000 - 320,000. Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family. Courtesy Sotheby's

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s will stage two mid-season sales of Chinese works of art at its Hong Kong Gallery: An Asian Collection of Jade Carvings (30 November) and Chinese Art including Selected Works of Art from the T.Y. Chao Family Collection (30 November – 1 December). All works will be exhibited for public viewing from 24 – 29 November 2017. 

Vivian Tong, Acting Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Mid-Season Sales, comments, “Following our successful Chinese Works of Art autumn sales, we are pleased to wrap up the season with two well-curated auctions featuring various distinguished private collections. Encompassing exquisite jade carvings from the post Han period, an era which observed unprecedented innovation, An Asian Collection of Jade Carvings showcases the influential stylistic canon which remained pertinent even to later Qing jades. The Chinese Art auction features fine Chinese works of art of outstanding provenance; among them are pieces of imperial porcelain from the T.Y. Chao family collection, as well as paintings by Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi and Wu Guanzhong from a Hong Kong private collection. Together, the sale series spans across multiple categories, offering collectors a wonderful opportunity to acquire works for their new and existing collections.” 

SALE HIGHLIGHTS 
AN ASIAN COLLECTION OF JADE CARVINGS | 30 NOVEMBER 
An Asian Collection of Jade Carvings comprises selected exquisite jade carvings spanning from Liao to Qing dynasties. Highlights include a Song-dynasty brown and celadon jade buffalo and a Song-Jin dynasty white jade ‘trumpet vine’ plaque. 

A Finely Carved White Jade ‘Trumpet Vine’ Plaque, Song – Jin dynasty, 8.1 cm. Estimate: HK$300,000 - 400,000/US$38,000 - 51,000. Provenance: C.C. Teng & Co., Taipei. Courtesy Sotheby's

This plaque is notable for its skillfully rendered trumpet vines, which are sensitively modelled in openwork to capture the softness of the petals and detailed with finely incised veins on the leaves and flowers. 

A Brown and Celadon Jade Figure of a Buffalo, Song dynasty, 4 cm. Estimate: HK$100,000 - 150,000/US$13,000 - 19,000. Courtesy Sotheby's

The current jade buffalo is finely worked from a pebble of celadon colour, suffused with patches of darker brown which have been skilfully incorporated to denote the natural colour of the animal. 

CHINESE ART INCLUDING SELECTED WORKS OF ART 
FROM THE T.Y.CHAO FAMILY COLLECTION | 30 NOVEMBER - 1 DECEMBER 
The Chinese Art sale encompasses a carefully curated selection of early ceramics, Ming and Qing porcelain, jades and works of art from various distinguished private collections, including the T.Y. Chao family collection. 

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF CHAO SZE KWONG GEORGE 

A Fine Blue and White ‘Peach’ Moonflask, Seal mark and period of Qianlong. 24.3 cm Estimate: HK$1,800,000 - 2,500,000/US$230,000 - 320,000. Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family. Courtesy Sotheby's

This moonflask has been finely executed to imitate the celebrated wares of the early fifteenth century through both its form and the use of the 'heaped and piled' technique to render the design. Qing craftsmen skilfully manipulated the cobalt pigment to simulate the uneven blue tones of early Ming underglaze blue designs. 

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF CHAO SZE KWONG GEORGE 

A Rare Blue and White Ingot-Shaped ‘Dragon’ Box and Cover, Mark and period of Wanli. 21.6 cm. Estimate: HK$400,000 - 600,000/US$51,000 - 77,000. Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1981, lot 695 Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999), and thence by descent in the family. Courtesy Sotheby's

The form of the present box, modelled after ingots, is highly unusual. The production of wares of this shape began in the Jiajing period (1522-1566) and continued in the Wanli reign (1573-1620), but extant examples are relatively rare. 

PROPERTY FROM A HONG KONG PRIVATE FAMILY COLLECTION 

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), White Phoenix on Rock. Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 1939. 127.3 x 48.8 cm. Estimate: HK$700,000 – 900,000/US$90,000 – 120,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.

PROPERTY FROM AN EAST ASIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION 

A Rare Bronze Figure of Canda Vajrapani, Yunnan, Nanzhao Kingdom, Circa 9th Century, 13.2 cm. Estimate: HK$150,000 – 200,000/US$19,000 – 26,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.