Lot 110. An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435); Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate $600,000 — 800,000. Sold to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. © Sotheby's 2018

NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Week New York continued at Sotheby’s today with four auctions of Chinese Works of Art. Beginning with a sale dedicated to the Ming Dynasty and concluding with the Judith & Gerson Leiber Collection of Chinese Art, today’s offerings achieved $18.2 million, well within the total pre-sale estimate. Auctions of Chinese Works of Art continue tomorrow with over 200 lots of Important Chinese Art, with Classical Chinese Paintings and Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art still to come. 

Angela McAteer, Head of Sotheby’s Chinese Works of Art Department in New York, commented: “This season, we were entrusted with a number of significant private collections from Asia and the Americas. Today’s results are a testament to the appetite for works fresh to the market, and the global demand for rare, exceptional and beautiful Chinese art.” 

MING: LUMINOUS DAWN OF EMPIRE 
Sale Total: $9,394,500 
The first of this morning’s auctions, dedicated to the first century of the Ming Dynasty, climbed above its high estimate and totaled $9.4 million. The curated group was led by an Exceptionally Rare and Important Blue and White Ewer, Xuande Mark and Period. Appearing in public for the first time in nearly 600 years, this striking work of art from the Detring / von Hanneken Collection elicited bids from three eager telephones in the auction room. Over the course of four minutes, the work flew above its pre-sale estimate of $600/800,000, before selling to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. 

Lot 110. An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435); Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate $600,000 — 800,000. Sold to an private Asian collector for $3,135,000. © Sotheby's 2018

cf. my post: An exceptionally rare and important blue and white ewer, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

JINGYATANG: TREASURES OF CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE 
Sale Total: $3,033,000 
Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist sculpture from esteemed Asian private collection Jingyatang was highlighted by a Carved Limestone Head of Avalokiteshvara. From the Sui Dynasty, the bodhisattva of compassion founds bids in the room and on the telephone before selling for $843,500, above its pre-sale high estimate.

Lot 204. A Carved Limestone Head of Avalokitesvara, Sui Dynasty (581-618); Height 16 1/4 in., 41.3 cm. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot Sold 843,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

Cf. my post: Buddhist treasures from the Jingyatang Collection to be offered at Sotheby's

KANGXI: THE JIE RUI TANG COLLECTION 
Sale Total: $ 4,469,000 
Personally selected by collector Jeffrey P. Stamen, the Jie Rui Tang Collection of Kangxi porcelain offered earlier today achieved a total of $4.5 million. A Large and Important Famille-Verte ‘Investiture of the Gods’ Rouleau Vase from the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period attracted at least eight bidders on the telephone and in the salesroom. After seven minutes of bidding, the exemplary wucai-decorated vase, measuring 29 3/4 inches in height, sold for $1,575,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $400/600,000. 

Lot 322. A large and important famille-verte 'Investiture of the gods' rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722). Height 29 1/4 in., 74.2 cm. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 USD. Lot sold 1,575,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

Cf. my post: A large and important famille-verte 'Investiture of the gods' rouleau vase, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)

INSPIRED: THE GERSON AND JUDITH LEIBER COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART 
Sale Total: $1,305,563 
Curated over the course of seven decades, the Gerson and Judith Leiber Collection encapsulated the aesthetic vision of this artistic couple. The top lot of the auction was a Rare Blue and White ‘Luduan’ Censer and Cover from the Ming Dynasty, Wanli Period. A direct reference for one of Mrs. Leiber’s jewel-encrusted minaudières, the playful and majestic mythical creature soared past its pre-sale estimate of $60/80,000 before fetching $325,000.

Lot 451. A rare blue and white 'luduan' censer and cover, Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1573-1620). Height 13 in., 33 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 325,000 USD. © Sotheby's 2018

stoutly potted, the mythical creature modeled four-square, the body painted in inky tones of cobalt blue with a foliate meander interspersed with trailing flame wisps, the neck applied with a collar suspending a bell and tassels, a curled upswept tail at the rear, the cover in the form of the raised head with bulging eyes, mouth agape baring teeth, spiraling and straight tufts of hair, bearing a fierce demeanor, all supported on four scaly legs terminating in clawed feet (2) 

Provenance: Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York.

Note: This robustly potted and boldly decorated vessel belongs to a select group of wares modeled in the form of luduan that were produced during the Wanli period (r. 1573-1620). Both the playfulness and majesty of luduan, a legendary animal in Chinese mythology, are meticulously captured through the animated expression and bulging eyes. Luduan, an auspicious creature with the ability to traverse vast distances in a day and to master all languages, was said to appear only in areas where a virtuous leader was present. Censers modeled in the form of a luduan are known to have been produced in bronze as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC- 220 AD), such as one from the Bondy Collection, included in the Berlin Exhibition of Chinese Art, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 45. These bronze prototypes provided inspiration for numerous ceramic and porcelain interpretations, including the present.

Porcelain featuring such intricate modeling is prone to distortion during the firing process, and as a result few censers of this large size and form are known; a closely related example also decorated with a leafy scroll over the body, was sold in our London rooms, 10th May 1994, lot 2; and another painted with a floral scroll was included in the exhibition Chinesisches Porzellan der Mingdynastie. 14. Bis 17 Jahrhundert, Zwinger Museum, Dresden, 1987, cat. no 3767. These larger censers are particularly notable for their extensive detailed designs that emphasize the auspiciousness and other-worldliness of the creature.