9 novembre 2022

Table piece, Wenzel Jamnitzer, 1549. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam AMSTERDAM - This autumn the Rijksmuseum will be teeming with more than a thousand colourful butterflies, hairy spiders and shiny toads. People once associated these crawly creatures with death and the devil, but later on their beauty gripped the imagination of artists and scientists such as Albrecht Dürer, Wenzel Jamnitzer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and Maria Sibylla Merian. Crawly Creatures, the exhibition, sheds light on the changing perceptions of... [Lire la suite]

Lot 15. A rare inscribed cypress wood brushpot, bitong, Xuantong seal mark and Fuchen zhi mark, early 20th century; 16.5cm (6 1/2in) diam. Sold for £2,550 (Estimate £2,000 - 4,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022 The vessel with numerous gnarled and hollowed 'eyes, the wood of amber-honey tone, the base incised with seal mark and maker's signature.  Provenance: Adrian M. Joseph (d.2010), Hong Kong, 1978. Published and Illustrated: S.Marsh, Brushpots: A Collector's View, Hong... [Lire la suite]

  Lot 14. A fine burlwood brushpot, bitong, 18th century; 13cm (5in) diam. Sold for £3,825 (Estimate £2,000 - 3,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022 The cylindrical vessel smoothly carved revealing a lustrous surface with densely knotted grain and attractive 'eye figures', the wood of chocolate-brown tone, the base with pine plug in the centre.  Provenance: Thomas Navratil, ZurichSydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 12 November 1999. Published and Illustrated: Sydney L. Moss... [Lire la suite]

Lot 13. An exceptionally rare blue and white '384 shou' brushpot, bitong, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722); 17cm (6 3/4in) diam. Sold for £277,500 (Estimate £80,000 - 120,000). © Bonhams 2001-2022 The cylindrical vessel rising from a grooved foot ring, painted around the exterior of the straight walls in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue with 384 Shou ('longevity') characters in various calligraphic styles of seal script.  Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co.... [Lire la suite]

Lot 35. A painted pottery figure of a lady, Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD); 33cm (13in) high. Sold for €4,845 (Estimate 200 € - 300 €). Courtesy Bonhams. The figure modelled standing with her arms folded beneath the long shawl draped over her shoulders and worn over her low-bodiced dress with long, red skirt falling over her upturned slippers, her round face modelled with a demure expression, framed by the almost geometrical hairline of the coiffure, with traces of orange, red and black pigments. ... [Lire la suite]

Lot 34. A straw-glazed pottery figure of a court lady, Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD); 22.4cm (8 6/8in) high. Sold for €10,837.50 (Estimate 200 € - 300 €). Courtesy Bonhams. The slender figure attired in long and voluminous robes falling in folds above the slippers, holding a large hu vase, the hair pulled up and bound in wide bun on top of the head. Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired prior to 1935.Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021). Note: Compare the hairstyle and... [Lire la suite]

Lot 33. A painted pottery figure of a Central-Asian groom, Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD); 31cm (12 2/8in) high. Sold for €3,570 (Estimate 250 € - 350 €). Courtesy Bonhams. Standing with legs braced and hands positioned to hold a lead rope, wearing a fur-lined coat with open collar and left sleeve pushed up to the elbow and a soft cloth cap, the face well modelled with high cheeks, with traces of dark brown, red, beige and black pigments. Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired prior to... [Lire la suite]

Courtesy Hindman. CHICAGO, IL.- Step into a cabinet of curiosities this November 10th with Hindman’s Ancient Art & Natural History: A Cabinet of Curiosities auction. Highlighting the auction is a rare and completely preserved iridescent ammonite fossil from 75 million years ago. Fast forwarding in history to another monumental moment, the auction concludes with the manual used by NASA to put a man on the moon in 1966. Presented alongside these items are works from ancient civilizations that reveal a better... [Lire la suite]