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Lot 546. A finely carved 'tixi' lacquer box and cover, Ming dynasty (1368-1644).Diameter 8 3/8  in., 21.3 cm. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 USD. Lot sold 112,500 USD. Photo: Sotheby's. of circular form, the cover carved with fluid swirling ruyi cloud scrolls surrounding a six-cornered motif composed of four barbed curlicues, revealing alternating layers of red, black and yellow lacquers, the sides similarly carved, the countersunk base and the interior of the cover inscribed with a... [Lire la suite]

Jade Goose with Prunus, Mid Qing dynasty, Collection of The Tsui Art Foundation. Co-operating with The Tsui Art Foundation, the Heritage Museum has selected outstanding items from the Foundation's collection to share the late Dr T.T. Tsui's interests and tastes for public appreciation. Phase one features a painting album by Huang Yongyu and seven ceramics depicted in the album. Phase two features fine works of the applied arts. Foremost among them are two complete sets of porcelain Month Cups made in the imperial kiln... [Lire la suite]

Pottery horse with painted decoration, Western Han dynasty (BC 206 – 9 AD), Collection of The Tsui Art Foundation. In 1991, Dr T. T. Tsui invited his friend, famous artist Huang Yongyu to visit his first private Museum "The Tsui Museum" in Hong Kong and gifted Huang a copy of the collection catalogue as souvenir. While the artist opened the catalogue, he was captivated by nine lively antique potteries with a sense of humor among the many treasures. They inspired him to create an album for them as a return of the... [Lire la suite]

St. Jerome and St. Catherine of Alexandria. Bruges or Brussels ca. 1480-1490, oil on panel, 84.5x 61 cm. On loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation. AMSTERDAM.- Never before has the masterpiece Saint Jerome and Saint Catherine of Alexandria been on view in a museum. The painting arrived at the Rijksmuseum this week on long-term loan from the Broere Charitable Foundation, from which a number of works have been on display at the Rijksmuseum since 2012. The panel was painted between 1480 and 1490 in... [Lire la suite]

Miniature from a copy of Kitab al-hashaish, an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica. “An English Catchfly and a Gazelle”, Iraq, Baghdad (?); 1224. Leaf: 32.5 × 23 cm, Inv. no. 19/1988. © The David Collection. Illustrations for the Arabic translation of De Materia Medica have been considered by many to be among the first efforts by Muslim illustrators to add figurative elements that were not necessary for an understanding of the scientific text.The plant that is shown is Silene gallica (the English catchfly). One... [Lire la suite]

Miniature from a copy of Kitab al-hashaish an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica. “Viper’s Bugloss”, Iraq, Baghdad (?); 1224. Leaf: 32.5 × 23 cm. Inv. no. 18/1988. © The David Collection. Pharmacology in classical Arab culture can be said to have drawn on three major sources: popular medicine (both local Arab medicine and knowledge acquired from the peoples of conquered lands),translations of works about medicines from earlier cultures, and Arab physicians’ own observations and experiences. This fragment, from a... [Lire la suite]

Miniature from a copy of Kitab al-hashaish, an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica. “A Ferry Crossing the Gagos River”, Iraq, Baghdad?; 1224. Leaf: 32.2 × 24 cm. Inv. no. 5/1997. © The David Collection. Like another miniature, which shows a doctor’s office (4/1997), this is one of the both unnecessary and revolutionary illustrations in Abdallah ibn al-Fadl’s copy of Dioscorides’s medical treatise.The text states that on the shores of the Gagos River, jet can be found that is effective against pain in the uterus,... [Lire la suite]

Miniature from a copy of Kitab al-hashaish, an Arabic translation of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica. “The Doctor’s Office”, Iraq, Baghdad?; 1224. Leaf: 32.2 × 24 cm, Inv. no. 4/1997 © The David Collection. This miniature is a lovely example of the oldest preserved book painting from the Islamic world. It was made in Iraq by Abdallah ibn al-Fadl, who presumably was responsible for both copying and illustrating it. The style is an example of “Arab painting,” in which Byzantine and local Christian pictorial conventions were still... [Lire la suite]

Miniature from volume 20 of a copy of Abu’l-Faraj al-Isfahani’s Kitab al-Aghani, Iraq, Mosul; 616 H = 1219, 28.5 × 21.5 cm. Permanent loan from the Royal Library. Inv. no. D 1/1990. © The David Collection. The Book of Songs is an anthology of early Arabic poetry that not only has literary value, but is also important from a cultural historical point of view. This copy originally consisted of 20 volumes and was made by Muhammad ibn Abi Talib al-Badri, probably for the ruler of Mosul, Badr al-Din Lulu, whose name can be found on... [Lire la suite]

Lot 861. A Cizhou carved bean-shaped pillow, Song-Jin dynasty, 11th-12th century; 10 ¾ in. (27.5 cm.) wide. Estimate $20,000 - $3,000. Price Realized $17,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015 The top carved through the white slip with a large blossoming peony stem reserved on a finely mottled brown ground within a line border, all under a clear glaze. Christie's. THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT HATFIELD ELLSWORTH PART IV - CHINESE WORKS OF ART: METALWORK, SCULPTURE AND EARLY CERAMICS, 20 March... [Lire la suite]