An Important Blue and White Porcelain Jar with Dragons and Tigers Joseon Dynasty (18th century). Estimate on request. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

NEW YORK, NY.- On March 21, Christie’s will offer 190 works in the spring sale of Japanese and Korean Art, including screens, ceramics, lacquers, bronzes and armors. Japanese highlights include a pair of six-panel screens from the Momoyama period and an incense burner dating to the Edo period. A 19th century eight-panel screen, porcelain jar, and porcelain water dropper from the Joseon period will lead the Korean lots. The sale is expected to realize in excess of $4.8 million. 

Japanese Art Highlighting the Japanese works of art are a pair of six-panel screens of Scenes in and around the capital (Rakuchu rakugai zu) (estimate: $700,000 – 900,000). Painted in the late 16th-early 17th century, during the Momoyama period, these panels depict a variety of daily occurrences in and around the capital city, including an archery contest on the verandah of the Sanjusangendo, a pilgrim entering the Great Buddha Hall, and an Okuni kabuki performance. The anonymous artist has taken some artistic liberties, depicting both the Kitano Shrine, erected in 1607, and the Great Buddha Hall, which was burned down in 1602.

A pair of six-panel screens of Scenes in and around the capital (Rakuchu rakugai zu). Estimate: $700,000 – 900,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, gold and gold leaf on paper. 60 5/8 x 139¾in. (154 x 355cm.) each (2). Estimate $700,000 - $900,000

Provenance: Yabumoto Soshiro, Tokyo

Kyotaru Co., Ltd., Tokyo 

Kobe City Museum, ed., Momoyama jidai no sairei to yuraku (Festivals and amusements in the Momoyama period) (Kobe: Kobe City Museum, 1986), pl. 13. 

Kobe City Museum, "Momoyama jidai no sairei to yuraku" (Festivals and amusements in the Momoyama period), 1986.1.15-2.23 

Notes: On the right screen, from top to bottom, right to left, we see: Fushimi Castle prior to its dismantling in 1623 and Tofukuji in the first panel; archery on the veranda of Sanjusangendo in the second panel; the Hokoku Mausoleum and Great Buddha Hall of Hokoji Temple (prior to destruction by fire in 1602) in the third panel; Kiyomizu Temple, Yasaka Pagoda and Gion in the fourth and fifth panels; and Chion-in and Nanzenji on the sixth panel.

On the left screen, from top to bottom, right to left, we see the imperial palace in the first two panels; Okuni kabuki in the second panel; the Golden Pavilion at the top of the third panel; Kitano Tenjin Shrine (after the 1607 restoration by Toyotomi Hideyori) in the fourth and fifth panels; Tenryuji and the Kobaiden Red Plum Hall (the residence of Michizane) in the fifth panel; the Moon Crossing Bridge (Togetsukyo) at the top of the sixth panel, and Ninnaji (or perhaps Toji) shown below.

Unusual features on the right screen are the emphasis on Fushimi Castle (first panel) and the selection of scenes located primarily along the eastern edge of the city, "outside" the city proper (rakugai). On the left screen, Nijo Castle, which is almost always featured at the center, is omitted altogether. Instead, the imperial palace is foregrounded across the lower half of panels one and two. The artist has taken liberties with historical accuracy: he shows both the Great Buddha Hall, which burned in 1602, and Kitano Shrine, erected in 1607.

Details of special interest are the archery contest on the verandah of the Sanjusangendo in the second panel of the right screen, and, just above, the spectacle of six young dandies with fans dancing beneath cherry blossoms at the foot of the steps leading to the Hokoku Mausoleum. A woman carries a display table on her head. A pilgrim entering the gate of the Great Buddha Hall has the number "'thirty-three," for the thirty-three temples sacred to Kannon, on the back of his plain cotton jacket. There are several Kannon pilgrimage circuits, but the pilgrim here is likely following the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage route, visiting each of the thirty-three designated temples in the Kyoto-Osaka region. In the street, a wealthy young man enjoys the sights from inside a palanquin.

On the left screen, singular details added by the anonymous town painter (machi-eshi) include the portrayal of the women's quarters within the imperial palace compound: two women are shown seated inside a room in the second storey of a structure labeled "Takakiya." Women's kabuki is performed on a stage at the center of the second panel. A woman performer named Okuni introduced kabuki to Kyoto in 1604, when she was granted a stage near Kitano Shrine in the northwestern section of the capital. Women's kabuki was prohibited in 1629, to be replaced by performances by young boys. By mid-century the boys were replaced by older men, who were considered less promiscuous.

For a revealing portrait of Yabumoto Soshiro, the former owner of these screens and of the screen in lot 997, see Leighton R. Longhi, "Yabumoto Soshiro: The Way of an Art Dealer,"Impressions 32 (2011): 65-81 (www.japaneseartsoc.org). 

Also among the Japanese highlights is an iron and slip-decorated and incised stoneware incense burner by Ogata Kenzan (estimate: $150,000 – 200,000) Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012.  This burner is dated 1715, making it a precious document of the early years of the artist’s socalled Chojiyamachi period, as few pieces by the artist can be dated. The burner has a jewelgrasping lion on the knob of the lid and is decorated in the style of Chinese Cizhou ware with a geometric band, clouds, and a chrysanthemum arabesque motif.  

Decorated in sgraffito style in the manner of Chinese Cizhou ware in iron-oxide and white slip as a Chinese lion seated in a square enclosure raised on a stepped base supported on three stump feet, the square lower section of the censer painted in iron-oxide with three rectangular panels of chrysanthemums and a fourth panel of calligraphy in Chinese characters taken from a Tang-dynasty poem, the sides of the two stepped sections of the vessel painted with bands of clouds and a geometric band, the lion seated within the fenced top section forming the knop of the square cover of the censer, pierced to allow the incense smoke to rise from the deep interior, the exterior additionally decorated by a transparent glaze. 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 8in. (13 x 13 x 20.3cm.) 

Provenance: Baron Ikeda Masayasu (Sadahiko) (1853-1912), by repute Jane Stanford (Mrs. Leland Stanford; 1828-1905), acquired in 1903 The Art Gallery and Museum of Stanford University

Dr. John D. La Plante, the owner from 1976 to 2009 

Literature: Mitsuoka Tadanori, "Daijishi koro Kenzan saku" (Incense burner with lion by Kenzan), Yamato Bunka 33 [journal of the Yamato Bunkakan, Nara] (1960): pl. 13 and pp. 41-42. 

Idemitsu Museum of Arts, ed., Rinpa sakuhin The World of Rin-pa School (Tokyo: Idemitsu Museum of Arts, 1985), p. 94. 

Richard L. Wilson, The Art of Ogata Kenzan: Persona and Production in Japanese Ceramics(New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, Inc. and Tanko-Weatherhill, 1991), figs. 299 and 300. 

Richard L. Wilson and Ogasawara Saeko, Kenzanyaki nyumon (Primer on Kenzan ware) (Tokyo: Yuzankaku, 1999), p. 75, fig, 1, and p. 79, fig. 1. 

NHK Promotion, ed., Kenzan no geijutsu to Korin Art of Kenzan and His Brother Korin (Tokyo: NHK Promotion, 2007), p. 234 (no illustration).  

Idemitsu Museum of Arts, ed., Rinpa The Art of Rimpa from the Idemitsu Collection (Tokyo: Idemitsu Museum of Arts, 1993), p. 133. 

Notes: Dated works by Kenzan are extremely rare. This incense burner is dated 1715, making it a precious document of the early years of the artist's so-called Chojiyamachi period (1712-31). In 1712, Kenzan closed his kiln in the secluded outskirts of Kyoto--his earlier client base may have dried up--and moved to the thriving, downtown commercial area west of Teramachi on Nijo Street, the major business thoroughfare. Here, in the center of the city, he was supported by newly wealthy townsmen. In 1711, his brother, Korin, the painter, moved to a location a few blocks away. The two brothers--both celebrity artists--collaborated on ceramics. In this convenient downtown area, known as Nijo-Chojiyamachi, Kenzan maintained a highly successful ceramics business using rented kiln spaces. Contemporary sources list Kenzan wares among the prominent Kyoto products of the second decade of the eighteenth century. 

Considering that the corpus of ceramics with Kenzan signature stands at about 3,000, it is notable that Richard L. Wilson, the authority on Kenzan ceramics, judged the piece offered here to be authentic Kenzan ware made in the year 1715. It is very close to an incense container in Montreal with the same date. 

This incense burner, formerly in a daimyo collection, was purchased in 1903 in Japan by Jane Stanford (1828-1905), widow of Leland Stanford (1824-1893), with whom she co-founded Stanford University. She was on an extended trip to Australia, Asia and the Middle East. It was "rediscovered" by the scholar Yashiro Yukio (1890-1975) when he was at Stanford University giving lectures. Yashiro became the founding director in 1960 of the museum Yamato Bunkakan in Nara. That same year the incense burner was published in his museum journal, Yamato bunka, by Mitsuoka Tadanari, who called attention to a nearly identical example, undated, now in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo. For the Idemitsu example, see Kenzan no geijutsu to Korin Art of Kenzan and his Brother Korin (Tokyo: NHK Promotion, 2007), pl. 150. Both have the jewel-grasping lion on the knob of the lid, surrounded by a balustrade. They are decorated in the style of Chinese Cizhou ware with a geometric band, clouds, and chrysanthemum arabesque motif painted in iron-oxide over a white slip, and with delicate sgraffito scoring, all covered with a clear glaze. Both pieces have a poem inscribed in Chinese on the back of the lowest platform, eulogizing the heroic ferocity of the lion. The inscription on the work shown here is by the mid-Tang poet Gao Shi (700-765), from his Praise for the Lion in Officer Fan's Chamber (Fan shao fu ting shizi zan). The poet had seen Fan's portrait, and praises him by comparing him to a powerful lion. 

Of the hundred beasts, none approaches the ferocity of the lion.
His indigo eyes are like suspended stars, his red tail like rising flames
His bronze claws and steel armor, his saw-toothed fangs and chisel teeth
Look back at rhinos and elephants fleeing by the droves into the hills. Behold the thousand packs of bears laying low in the fields
And by this know his majesty!

The inscription on the Idemitsu work, which Mitsuoka judged to be slightly later in date than this example, also betrays Kenzan's appreciation of the lion:

Its anger combines that of grizzlies and bears,
Its awesomeness makes one shiver with fright
Its valor puts tigers and leopards to flight
Its spirit is heroic as can be.

A Shiwakawatsumi Nimai Do Gusoku (leather-clad two-piece Curiass armor) made during the Edo period of 18th century Japan will be offered, as well (estimate: $150,000 –200,000) Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012. The elaborate armor is comprised of sixty-two plates and is of koshozan form. It is adorned with embellishments of butterflies, a phoenix, a russet iron menpo with a detachable nose, as well as various flora and fauna.

The armor comprising the sixty-two-plate suji kabuto (ridged helmet) of koshozan form (the rear part higher than the front), four-tiered iron chrysanthemum-form hachimanza (decorative ring at the crown), with a manju-jikoro (neck guard) of four tiers of itazane (sheets simulatingkozane scales), the top three lacquered black, and the lower leather-clad with green and white lacing and red hishinui, having double fukigaeshi (turn-backs) clad with gilt-leather embossed with scrolling clematis, applied shakudo mon of a butterfly within a circle, the mabisashi (brim) also gilt-leather clad and embossed with a phoenix and stylized scrolling clematis, the maedate(forecrest) of a gilt circle pierced with a cusp, gilt-copper kuwagata (stylized horns), themaedate fixture of shakudo pierced with scrolling clematis, russet iron menpo with detachable nose and bushy moustache signed Kashu ju Munetaka saku, the ase-nagashi (sweat hole) pierced with the five double-gourds mon, three-section yodarekake (throat guard), the nimai-do(two-piece cuirass) clad with black-lacquered wrinkled leather, the tate-age (upper part) with two tiers of itazane, the munaita (breast section) also clad with gold-lacquered leather embossed with clematis, munatori and koshitori of itazane, the kusazuri (skirt) in five sections,sode (shoulder guards) of six tiers, the top tier with gilt leather, each with two shakudo butterflymon, the kote (sleeves) with iron shino (splints) embossed with leafy fruiting double-gourd vines, the upper part of the sleeves with iron hexagonals embossed with the itsutsu hisago (five radial double-gourds mon) and opposed holly leaves, the iron shoulder pieces signed Kashu junin andKojima saku, with hinges in the form of butterflies, the tekko (hand covers) with iron butterflymon, the armor all matching pieces of itazane with an undulating profile laced in white kebishi-odoshi (close lacing) with red hishinui (rows of cross-knotting) throughout, kawara haidate(thigh protectors) with black-lacquered plates on blue silk with gold hishi, the suneate (shin guards) having close-linked shino (splints) embossed with double-gourds, mounted on blue silk, with leather portions having the white triple-tomoe (comma shape) motif, with its double box and saihai (commander's baton)

Accompanied by a certificate of registration as a Juyo bunka shiryo (Important cultural material) no. 520 issued by the Nihon Katchu Bugu Kenkyu Hozon Kai (Japanese Armor Preservation Society), dated 2003.11.30 

Provenance: Ikeda family, by repute 

Also featured in the sale is Ike Taiga’s calligraphy book of Tang poetry, known as “Suiryujo,” which means “Flowing Water Album” (estimate: $150,000 – 200,000) Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012. The accordion-style folding album was lost until 2005, when it was rediscovered and exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum. The book features poems drawn from the Complete Poetry of the Tang Dynasty (Quantangshi) and is written in five different calligraphy scripts.

Signed on page 151 Mumyo; sealed Zenshin Soma Ho Kyuko and Kasho. Folding album in accordion style of 180 pages with 36 stanzas of 5-character-line couplets and colophons; ink on paper, with brocade covers with title slip Suiryujo (Flowing water album); 10 5/8 x 4¾in. (27 x 12cm.) each page, total length 855 1/8in. (2,172cm.) 

Provenance: Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727/28-1784)

Yuzaki Takuho, Kyoto 

Literature: Felice Fischer with Kyoko Kinoshita, Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran: Japanese Masters of the Brush, exh. cat. (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2007), no. 205.

Maruyama Naokazu, "Suiryu-jo by Ike Taiga and Compilation of Its Colophons," Museum 606 (Feb. 2007): 23-61. 

Kawai Hiroshi, "Ike Taiga no sho: Shinseki-bon Suiryu-jo sono 1," NHK Gakuen kiyo 28 (2005): 1-37. 

Exhibited: Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran: Japanese Masters of the Brush," 2007.5.1-7.22

Tokyo National Museum, "Karayo no sho" (Calligraphy in Chinese style), 2006.7.11-8.6

Notes: Taiga had originally intended to publish the text of this album of calligraphy in a printed volume, but changed his mind. One of his students did eventually publish it on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Taiga's death. In the meantime, however, the original was lost and all that remained was a partial copy in the form of a rubbing in black ink. 

The album, titled "Flowing Water Album" (Suiryujo), was rediscovered around 2005. It was examined and authenticated by the staff of the Tokyo National Museum and placed on exhibition at the museum in 2006. The main text consists of 108 pages. There are thirty-six stanzas of five characters each, with no more than two characters per line, or page. The poems, drawn from the Complete Poetry of the Tang Dynasty (Quantangshi), are by Du Fu, Li Bo, Cen Can, Cui Yuanhan, Wang Bo, Song Zhiwen, Yuan Jen, Zhang Nanshi, Liu Deren and one unknown author. They are written in five different calligraphy scripts: seal, clerical, standard running and grass. These are poems Taiga particularly enjoyed reciting: they appear in other works of calligraphy from his hand. According to Maruyama Naokazu, "this album gives us a glimpse of his daily life, rich in the pure refinement of a man educated in the classics and the arts. Based on the maturity of the brushwork, the album is thought to date from his late years, prior to 1775." (Maruyama, in Fischer and Kinoshita, Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran: Japanese Masters of the Brush, exh. cat. (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2007), p. 473.)

Some forty percent of the album's total of 180 pages consists of commentary by thirteen contemporary scholars and Buddhist priests, including Minagawa Kien (1734-1807) on pp. 152-56 of the album, and one of Taiga's students, Ueda Kunzan. It was Kunzan who gathered the colophons after receiving the album as a gift from Taiga. 

Korean Art

Leading the Korean portion of the sale is an important blue and white porcelain jar with dragons and tigers (estimate on request). Executed during the Joseon Dynasty of the 18th century, the jar is a true masterpiece, decorated with a rare confrontation between dragons and tigers, which are both prevalent in Korean mythology. The dragon rules the oceans, rivers, lakes, rains, and floods, while the tiger is invested with the power to repel evil spirits. The depiction of both creatures together corresponds to the Daoist duality of yin (active, masculine principle of nature) and yang (passive, feminine principle of nature). 

An Important Blue and White Porcelain Jar with Dragons and Tigers Joseon Dynasty (18th century). Estimate on request. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Decorated with the rare combination of confronted dragons and tigers framed by two flaming jewels and scalloped clouds within a wide panel occupying the upper half of the jar, the lower body painted with four auspicious-character roundels representing longevity, good fortune, well-being and peace separated by attenuated clouds within narrow line borders, the short neck painted with foliate scroll between blue lines; the jar of ovoid form with broad shoulders sloping inward toward the foot, the unusually expressive painting rendered in underglaze cobalt blue in controlled lines of medium and deep blue and even washes below a transparent overglaze of conspicuous smoothness and sheen; 13½in. (34.1cm.) high 

Notes: The impressive dragons and tigers on this jar confront each other in a dynamic celestial dance. Painted with both exuberance and whimsical charm, the rare pairing of dragons and tigers is choreographed amidst flaming pearls and clouds across the broad, sloping shoulders of the jar. Superbly decorated and well-proportioned for its large size, this important jar projects an elegant monumentality.

The lower section of the jar is painted with four large medallions containing the Chinese characters for longevity, good fortune, well-being and peace. The dragon and tiger occupy important places in Korean mythology. The dragon rules the oceans, rivers, lakes, rains and floods. The flaming pearl that accompanies the dragon represents wisdom and immortality, which complement the auspicious character medallions below. Here, the flame rises from the jewel like a charmed snake. The dragons appear to rear back, in open-mouthed surprise at the approach of a playful tiger, more puppy-dog than beast of the jungle. The dragon lives at the bottom of the sea in the Dragon Palace or among the clouds in the heavens, as pictured here. Shamanistic rituals implore the dragons to bring rain by ascending to the skies. Dreaming of the dragon augurs success or male offspring. In the Neo-Confucian ideology adopted by the Joseon-dynasty court, the dragon represents the authority and the wisdom of the king. Tigers roamed the mountains of Korea and the animal remains a strong symbol of the Korean nation. In the Joseon dynasty, the tiger was associated with the warrior elite, whereas the dragon represented the scholar elite.

Together, the pairing of dragon and tiger corresponds to the Daoist duality of yang (active, masculine principle of nature) and yin (passive, feminine principal of nature). By extension, the imagery can be emblematic of important male and female junctions, such as groom and bride and king and queen. The quality of the decoration here indicates it was entrusted to a master painter, likely from the imperial workshops. The expressive brush strokes retain stylistic aspects of paintings of the earlier eighteenth century that were blended into the mid-century aesthetic. Against the boldly potted contours of this outstanding vessel, the overall effect is of both delicacy and power. 

Also of the Joseon Dynasty is a 19th century blue and white octagonal porcelain water dropper, featuring the head of a dragon (estimate: $50,000 – 60,000). Despite the fact that the diameter is less than five inches, the rather elaborate piece has been executed with the utmost attention to detail. The skilled artist was able to create a powerful and dynamic scene, in which the fierce dragon seems to protect a coveted flaming pearl.

A Blue and White Porcelain Water Dropper. Joseon dynasty (19th century).  Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012 

Compressed and hexagonal, painted in underglaze blue on the top with a hexagonal panel within double lines of a dragon with flaming pearl amongst clouds, the sides painted with trigrams separated by scalloped clouds, the vessel additionally decorated with a glossy clear glaze save the inset ring foot, moulded with a short, cylindrical spout at the top edge; 2¾in. (7.2cm.) high; 4 3/8in. (11.4cm.) diameter. Estimate $50,000 - $60,000 

Literature: Rhee Byung-chang, Richo toji Yi Ceramics, in Kankoku bijutsu shusen Masterpieces of Korean Art (Tokyo: privately published, 1978), no. 481.  

From a private American collection is Daoist Immortals on their Way to Xiwangmu’s banquet, a 19th century eight panel screen. Over eleven feet wide, the sophisticated screen depicts the spacious and elegant palace of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West. Elaborate smaller scenes are depicted throughout the screen, including the fairy maidens preparing for the banquet, Xiwangmu and her consort, Dongwanggong, enthroned at the center, and immortals arriving for the banquet. 

Anonymous (19th century), Daoist Immortals on Their Way to Xiwangmu's Banquet. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012  

Eight-panel screen; ink, color and gold on silk; 45½ x 17in. (115.5 x 43.2cm.) each. Estimate $60,000 - $80,000 

Property from a Private American Collection 

Notes: Xiwangmu (Korean: So Wang Mo) is the mythical Queen Mother of the West, chief of the Daoist fairies (female Immortals). Eternally young and beautiful, she lives in a remote fairyland as queen of Mount Kunlun, the sacred mountain of immortality. The peach trees in her orchard bear fruit every three-thousand years. Anyone fortunate enough to eat a Peach of Immortality will live forever. 

Xiwangmu's palace is spacious and elegant; its pavilions and nine-storey towers are built of jasper and marble. Her palace gardens are vast and splendid, with sparkling streams and trees bearing precious jewels. Her five principal handmaidens are named for the five colors associated with the five directions of the compass. Cranes and azure-winged phoenixes are Xiwangmu's mounts and messengers. Her consort is Dongwanggong, Lord of the East. One of his duties is to keep a register of all the Daoist Immortals. Xiwangmu and Dongwanggong have nine sons and twenty-four daughters. 

When the peaches ripen in her garden, Xiwangmu gives a banquet for the Daoist Immortals. In panel 2 (counting from the right), an attendant brings peaches in a bowl. Fairy maidens in panel 3 prepare the banquet; juicy peaches hang ripe on tree branches throughout. Xiwangmu and her consort are enthroned at the center, in panels 4 and 5, surrounded by attendants, and entertained by musicians and dancing phoenixes. Panels 3 through 6 depict the entire, elevated banquet terrace. Beyond and below the terrace, immortals arrive for the banquet. 

Daoist Immortals descending from the distant heavens at the upper left include Shoulao (Shouxing), the God of Longevity, riding a flying crane at the top of the sixth panel. The Buddha and guardians of the four quarters arrive at the top of the seventh panel. Below the Buddha are the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Manjushri in the guise of celestial maidens mounted on an elephant and lion respectively. Immortals walking on water in the seventh panel include Cao Guoqiu, in official court dress holding castanets, together with Han Xiangzi holding the flute that gives life. At the bottom of the panel, the wizard Zhao Zhenren rides on a tree trunk. In the eighth panel, Qingao rides a carp and the immortal Liu Haichan arrives with his three-legged toad. He Xian'gu, the only female in the core group known as the Eight Immortals, may be one of the women descending from the heavens at the top of the eighth panel. 

Auction: Japanese & Korean Art 21 March 2012 - Viewing: Christie’s Rockefeller Galleries 16-20 March 201