Lot 1210. A pair of incised Qingbai 'boys' bowls, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 20cm diam each (2). Sold for US$5,120. © Bonhams

Provenance: Acquired in 2001, by repute

Lot 1212. A black glazed teacup and a black glazed cupstand, Song dynasty; cup 11.2cm diam; cupstand 8.6cm diam (2). Sold for US$1,920. © Bonhams

Provenance: From the Collection of Pauline B. and Myron S. Falk

Christie's New York, 21 September 2001, lot 443

Lot 1213. Property from The Collection of. Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes. A Henan black-glazed russet-painted bottle vase, yuhuchunping, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234); 30.7cm high. Sold for US$6,400. © Bonhams.

Provenance: Flores & Iva, New York, 15 February 1997

Note: Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes have been enthusiastic collectors and patrons of Asian art for over 50 years. The couple met in Brooklyn in 1964 and immediately recognized their shared interests in East Asian culture, lifelong learning, and serving their community.

Dr. Richard Dickes (1942-2023) was a graduate of Columbia College and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He was a clinical psychiatrist who served in that capacity for the U.S. Navy, and then practiced in Morristown, NJ for 45 years, including roles at the Morristown Medical Center as the Interim Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and on the Credentials Committee. Dr. Dickes was recognized for his extraordinary level of care to patients and their families, and for his dedication to teaching colleagues and future generations of practitioners. Ruth Dickes attended Cornell University and Brooklyn College before earning a Master of Science in Social Work at Columbia University. She was actively engaged in her community through volunteer work at local schools and the Morristown Medical Center. She served on the Collections Committee at the Brooklyn Museum for many years. From 2008 to 2020 she also worked at her husband's medical practice.

In their free time, Ruth and Richard pursued their passion for Asian art by traveling to Asia, frequenting museums, visiting galleries, attending lectures, and reading voraciously on the subject. They were involved in patron groups at numerous cultural institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, China Institute, Asia House, American Friends of the Shanghai Museum, and later, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Through these associations they built lifelong friendships with curators, museum directors, dealers, and collectors. The Dickes eventually donated parts of their collection to the Brooklyn Museum, the Princeton University Art Museum, and LACMA.

The couple embarked on their collecting journey in the 1970s, encouraged by Richard's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Dickes (1912-2009 and 1912-2010, respectively), who themselves collected Asian art, with an emphasis on religious art, Japanese ceramics, and East Asian ink painting. Ruth and Richard started their collection with Japanese ceramics and paintings, and ultimately expanded the scope to include Chinese, Korean and Indian works of art and paintings. They principally acquired pieces from dealers in New York City, including Fernando Flores, Frederick and Joan Baekeland, James Lally, and Joan Mirviss. At its height, the Dickes Collection encompassed hundreds of artworks spanning from the Neolithic period to the 20th century. While the couple maintained a deep appreciation of artistic traditions from across Asia, Chinese paintings, Tang dynasty tomb pottery, and Song dynasty ceramics held special significance for them.

Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes

Bonhams is pleased to present a selection of exquisite Chinese works of art from the Dickes Collection which reflect the quality, taste, and discernment that informed the couple's vision.

Lot 1214. Property from The Collection of. Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes. Two black-glazed russet-splahed vessels, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234); 21.6cm and 15.2cm high (2). Sold for US$5,120. © Bonhams.

Provenance: Jar: Acquired before 22 July 1998

Vase: Flores & Iva, New York, 10 September 2001

Lot 1215. Property from The Collection of. Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes. A black-glazed russet-splahed bowl, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 14cm diam. Sold for US$3,840. © Bonhams.

Provenance: Flores & Iva, New York, 19 February 2001

Lot 1216. A Yaozhou celadon-glazed carved 'foliate' tripod censer, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234); 9.1cm diam (openwork metal cover). Sold for US$7,040. © Bonhams

Lot 1225. An unusual Longquan 'guan'-type 'bubble bowl', Southern Song-Yuan Dynasty 1127-1368); 4cm high; 8.9cm diam. Sold for US$25,600. © Bonhams.

Note ; For another small Longquan guan-type bowl with very slightly in-turning rim (3 1/2in diam), see Christie's, Hong Kong, The Pavilion Sale, 4 October 2018, lot 28.

Bonhams. Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Online, New York, 16-26 March 2025