8 août 2018

Three-case inro with dragon and cloud design, Edo period–Meiji era, mid to late 19th century. Carved and stained boxwood; interiors of compartments black lacquer. Overall: 8 x 5.4 x 2.5 cm (3 1/8 x 2 1/8 x 1 in.), William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.23750a. © 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Three-case inro in the form of a tortoise, Edo period–Meiji era, mid to late 19th century. Carved and stained boxwood; eyes inlaid in horn; interiors of compartments black lacquer. Overall: 9.2 x 6 x 2.9 cm (3 5/8 x 2 3/8 x 1 1/8 in.). William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.23751a. © 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Four-case inro with design of ho-o and kirin, Edo period–Meiji era, mid to late 19th century. Carved boxwood; eyes inlaid in gilt metal and horn. Overall: 8.2 x 5.3 x 2.7 cm (3 1/4 x 2 1/16 x 1 1/16 in.). William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.23752a. © 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hokyudo Itsumin, Three-case inro with design of a demon releasing a storm and a magic fox, Edo period–Meiji era, mid to late 19th century. Carved and stained ivory. Carved and stained ivory. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 11.23753a. © 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Steelyard, bronze with engraved inscription, Middle East, 8th-9th century, L (arm): 52.5 cm, Inv. no. 12/1994. © The David Collection. The use of steelyards dates back to before the Christian era in the Mediterranean region. A counterweight is moved along the arm until it and the object to be weighed are in balance. The arm can typically be turned, since it has several balance points and their scales, making it possible to weigh both heavy and light objects. Steelyards were used since the advent of Islam, and the earliest datable... [Lire la suite]

Incense burner, cast and engraved bronze, later chain, Syria or Palestine, 8th century, H: 11; Diam: c. 10 cm, Inv. no. 7/1994. © The David Collection. In the first centuries after the hijra, the Muslims conquered extensive territories inhabited by Jews and Christians. They were largely allowed to live in peace and to keep and practice their religions as long as they paid poll taxes to the Muslim authorities. The Christian incense burner – with quite primitive depictions in relief of the Annunciation, Christ’s birth and... [Lire la suite]

Ewer, cast, engraved, and punched bronze, Near East or Iran, 8th century. H: 35 cm, Inv. no. 27/2004. © The David Collection. Not many metal objects have been preserved from the early Islamic period, making it difficult to determine their age and place of origin. This ewer belongs to a transitional type in which the features began to emerge that became typical of early Islamic metal ewers, etc. The little zoomorphic legs that imitate animal hoofs are characteristic examples. The handle with beads and especially the elegant... [Lire la suite]

Fragmentary plaque, carved ivory, Egypt or Syria, 1st half of 8th century. H: 11.5; W: 8 cm, Inv. no. 20/1978. © The David Collection. The ivory plaque was probably mounted with similar ones as a decoration on a piece of furniture. The plaque’s vines, which grow from a little vase and enclose flowers and deer, are characteristic of the forms of decoration used by the Umayyads. A closely related decoration was used on the facade of the Mshatta palace complex built in the Syrian Desert by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid II in the 740s.... [Lire la suite]

Lot 3716. A small ovoid doucai vase, Mark and Period of Yongzheng (1736-1795); 8.7 cm., 3 3/8  in. Estimate 1,000,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. Lot sold  2,320,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby’s of circular form, delicately potted with an ovoid body rising from a short tapered foot to a square-sectioned neck and slightly everted mouthrim, delicately painted to the exterior with a continuous scene of peony blossoms issuing from pierced rockwork interspersed with floral buds and a knotty branch bearing prunus... [Lire la suite]

Lot 3646. A fine pair of famille-rose ‘Balsam Pear’ bowls, Seal Marks and Period of Qianlong (1736-1795); 10.8 cm., 4 1/4  in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold  1,240,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby’s each delicately potted with deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to an everted rim, the exterior finely enamelled with leafy bamboo shoots and a butterfly fluttering over a branch of blossoming and fruiting balsam pear, the branch extending over the rim and onto the interior,... [Lire la suite]