A Large Imperial Portrait of Consort Chunhui (detail). Attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione and Studio, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period. Expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Autumn Sales 2015 will take place on 7 October at Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Autumn sales this year will be highlighted by exquisite court portraits of Imperial Consorts from the Qing dynasty including one by Italian court painter Giuseppe Castiglione. Other highlights include an extraordinary selection of objects that adorned the most elegant rooms in classical China – from understated and elegant Ming huanghuali furniture made to the scholarly taste to magnificent screens lavishly inlaid with precious material to decorate the palaces of the Qing emperors at the zenith of their power in the 18th century; Important Chinese Works of Art led by famille rose ‘peach’ ware from the early Qianlong period; and a private collection that retraces the evolution of Buddhist sculptures in the Vajrayana tradition. The series of five sales will offer more than 270 lots with a total estimate of approximately HK$800 million / US$103 million. 

Nicolas Chow, Deputy Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia, International Head and Chairman, Chinese Works of Art, said, “The coming season at Sotheby’s includes four extraordinary private collections spanning fields as diverse as Ming dynasty huanghuali furniture, lavish Qing dynasty Imperial panels, rarefied Qing dynasty Imperial portraiture as well as Buddhist sculpture. We will also offer a tight selection of Imperial porcelain fit for the most discriminating collectors.” 

Auction Highlights: 

I) IMPERIAL CONSORT 
The sale consists of three exquisite Imperial court portraits, including an exceptionally rare large Imperial portrait of Consort Chunhui by Italian court painter Giuseppe Castiglione. 

A Large Imperial Portrait of Consort Chunhui By Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) and Studio, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, 198 x 122 cm. Expected to fetch in excess of HK$60 million / US$7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's

This is the only full-length Imperial portrait by Giuseppe Castiglione outside of the Palace Museum, Beijing. The subject of the portrait, Consort Chunhui, officially became the Qianlong Emperor’s consort in 1737, at the age of 24, and was posthumously awarded the title ‘Consort Chunhui’ by the emperor after she passed away at the age of 48. This painting is currently the only example of her in full ceremonial costume, and the inscription of her posthumous title by the emperor himself demonstrates his remembrance of the deceased consort. 

A native of Milan, Giuseppe Castiglione served under three emperors, Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong for over 51 years. His true-to-life portraits were greatly admired by the Qianlong Emperor, who commissioned many imperial portraits by him. The European style and technique used in the present scroll gives his subject a beauty and gentility befitting a high ranking court lady. She looks young and beautiful, with a sensitive expression on her face achieved by the use of the European pictorial technique of light ‘shadowing’. Castiglione captured the inner vitality of his subject, producing a Chinese style portrait with Western influence. 

II) IMPERIAL INTERIORS 
The sale consists of nine outstanding works of art commissioned for the decoration of the inner rooms of Imperial palaces, and represents some of the finest quality Imperial Qing dynasty workmanship ever to appear on the private market. 

A Magnificent Twelve-Panel Inlaid Lacquer ‘Imperial Hunting’ Screen, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period. Each panel, 198.5 x 37 x 2 cm. Est. HK$20 – 30 million / US$2.6 – 3.8 million. Unsold. Photo Sotheby's

he truly magnificent twelve-panel inlaid lacquer screen, decorated with a theme of an Imperial hunt, is preserved in unusually good condition and is the counterpart to the famous example in the Ca’Pesaro Oriental Museum, Venice. 

Kangxi period (r. 1662-1722) lacquer screens produced for the Imperial court are extremely rare. The black lacquer on the panels is carved and decorated with inlaid tortoise shell and mother-of-pearl containing painted details, and further applied with gold and silver leaf and dust. The use of the precious mother-of-pearl, employed for its significance to the Manchu culture, lends a luxurious pictorial effect to the composition. Of great importance in early Qing political culture, Imperial hunts were not merely of a leisurely nature, but functioned as inspection tours and as a means of asserting Manchu authority over the empire, and as a physical exercise and a preparation for warfare and military training in the Manchu tradition. 

A Superbly Carved and Rare Embellished Lacquer Panel inscribed with Imperial Poem. Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong, dated 1753; 132 x 105 cm Est. HK$8 - 10 million / US$1 - 1.3 million. Photo Sotheby's

Superbly arranged with an array of auspicious motifs to welcome in the New Year, this panel reveals the wealth and abundance of the Qing empire under the Qianlong Emperor, both in terms of the precious material available and the availability of the most skilled of artisans to work with them. The ‘reverse trompe l’oeil’ technique was employed to recreate the various objects with their original materials in two dimensions.  

III) MING FURNITURE – THE DR S Y YIP COLLECTION 
The upcoming sale will offer 38 sets of Ming furniture from the collection of Dr S Y Yip. Admired by collectors worldwide, Dr Yip’s internationally acclaimed collection is the result of years of fervent acquisition of Ming furniture throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The great majority of the Collection came from leading Ming furniture expert and dealer Grace Wu Bruce. Widely respected by collectors, scholars and museum experts, her professionalism and rigour in maintaining the highest standards underlie the fame and success of the Collection.

Lot 111. A pair of large huanghuali high continuous yokeback armchairs, Late Ming dynasty; 124 by 58.5 by 45.3 cm., 48 3/4  by 23 by 17 7/8  in. Estimate 12,000,000 — 18,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 21,080,000 HKD (2,423,271 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

each elegantly proportioned with slender members, the top rail carved with a headrest in the centre and hidden mortised and tennoned into the stiles on both ends, the stiles extending through the seat frame and continuing as back legs, a plain S-shaped back splat tongue-and-grooved into the top rail and tennoned into the seat frame, the S-shaped arms hidden mortised and tennoned into posts extending through the seat frame and continuing as the front legs, each side with an S-shaped circular-sectioned support fitted in round sockets in the seat frame and the underside of the arms, the seat of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with exposed tenons, moulding inward and ending in a beaded edge with two transverse braces mortised and tennoned to the seat frame underneath, a wide flat-banded-edged spandrelled apron butt-joined to the underside of the seat and continuing tongue-and-grooved into the legs and tennoned into the curved foot rail, the aprons on the sides similarly shaped without bands and the one at the back left plain and high, the slightly splayed legs joined by square-sectioned stretchers rounded on the outside, the footrest and side stretchers supported on plain, humpback-shaped aprons - 124 by 58.5 by 45.3 cm., 48 3/4  by 23 by 17 7/8  in.

Exhibited: Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 3, pp. 26-27.
The Chinese Collections, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 1997-99.
Grace Wu Bruce presents Ming Furniture from the Collection of Dr. S. Y. Yip, Institute of Contemporary Art, London, 1999.
Grace Wu Bruce, Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr. S. Y. Yip collections, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 14-15.

Notes: "A pair of high back chairs can grace any living room with an air of nobility. The taller the back – the more senior the ranking."

Continuous yoke-back armchairs are a classic type of Ming chairs.  The ranking of chairs in the Ming period was hierarchical with large size and high back chairs being deemed more important seats reserved for the master of the house and senior guests.  The present examples with their extremely high backs must mean they were seats of great importance at the time.

Except for a beaded edge on the seat frame and a flat-banded edge on the front apron underneath the seat, this pair of chairs is completely plain. Consequently, its height and statuesque proportions are emphasised. The timber chosen for the back splats has whorl patterns, showing huanghuali wood at its best. While the design of these chairs is standard, their exceptional height and fine proportion places them among the best examples of their type.

 Comparable examples except for the inlaid material on the back splat are illustrated in Nancy Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th centuries, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996, p. 111. For a similar but single chair in the Vok Collection, see Pure Form: klassische Möbel aus China / Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture Vok collection, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln, Munich, 2004, pl. 10.

Lot 119. A huanghuali couch-bed, luohan chuang, Late Ming dynasty; 20.8 by 34.8 by 34.8 cm., 8 5/8  by 13 5/8  by 13 5/8  in. Estimate 1,800,000 — 2,800,000 Lot Sold 3,920,000 HKD (2,699,166 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of elegant proportions, the seat frame of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with exposed tenons on the short sides and supported by three transverse braces, mortised and tennoned into the long members of the frame, two additional braces mortised and tennoned into the short frame members and the transverse braces at each end for further support, drilled for soft seat (restored with coconut webbing and old mat seat), the edge of the frame completely flat above flat aprons mitred, mortise and tennoned into and half-lapped onto the straight legs ending in low hoof feet, rectangular stretchers mortised and tennoned into the top of the legs behind the aprons for further support, the back and arms made of a single piece of wood with breadboard ends and finishing in a graceful outward curve at the top - 91 by 202.5 by 86.4 cm., 35 3/4  by 79 3/4  by 34 in.

Exhibited: Grace Wu Bruce, Chan Chair and Qin Bench, The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 21, pp. 100-101.
The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, The Macao Museum of Art, Macau, 2003.

Note: "This luohan Couch bed excites me as much as my canopy bed, as it feels leisurely rather than formal."

Couch beds with original back and arms made of huanghuali wood datable to the classical period are extremely rare. The rarity of this type stems from the fact that the arms and back are easily removable and prone to become dislocated from their base.

This classic completely plain couch bed is a superb example of excellent modelling and elegant proportions. The strong linear lines of the seat, legs and low shaped hoof feet, combined with the very gently arched back and arms, convey the essence ofguzhuo, loosely translated as 'ancient and primitive' simplicity, evoking a sense of timelessness, harmony and calm.

See Laurence Sickman, 'Simplicity and Subtlety: The Decorative Arts in China', Apollo, March 1973, London, p. 270 for an example of a plain huanghuali couch-bed in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City and Nancy Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996 for another related example.

Lot 106. A large huanghuali painting table, hua zhuo, Late Ming dynasty; 83.4 by 213 by 76.3 cm., 32 7/8  by 83 7/8  by 30 in. Estimate 12,000,000 — 18,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 22,880,000 HKD (2,630,192 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of high rectangular form, the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with a flush and beautifully grained single-board, tongue-and-grooved into the frame, the floating panel supported by four dovetailed stretchers underneath, the edge of the frame gently rounded, the aprons moulded to appear as two rounded members with small rounded end pieces, the aprons made of one piece of wood and dovetailed into the rounded legs to join with each other, the rounded and humpback-shaped stretchers similarly dovetailed into the legs and probably hidden tennoned to the underside of the aprons, the round legs double tennoned into the frame top, S-shaped braces mortised and tennoned to the legs and half-lapped and woodpinned to the braces at the ends beneath the table - 83.4 by 213 by 76.3 cm., 32 7/8  by 83 7/8  by 30 in.

Exhibited: Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 24, pp. 72-73.
The Chinese Collections, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 1997-99.
Museum Für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, 2000-02.

Literature: Yip Shing Yiu, 'Collecting Ming Furniture of Huang Hua-Li Wood', Arts of Asia, May-June 1991, p. 120, fig. 6.

Notes; " I would regard this as the best painting table of its type in the world, an open challenge! Bamboo mouldings give it the edge."

Painting tables, large-scale pieces of a certain depth suitable to be used as desks, belong to the rarest type of tables in surviving examples of Ming furniture. Bamboo or cane furniture was often depicted in Song (960-1280) and Ming (1368-1644) paintings. Guotui or ‘wrap around the legs’ method of making furniture with precious hardwood was inspired by their bamboo counterparts. This table, with its rounded surfaces and round legs, was designed to imitate a bamboo table. The use of precious hardwood to simulate common materials illustrates the sensibilities of understatement considered high-form by the Ming elite.

This excellent example has all round or rounded members, drawing its influence from bamboo furniture design. The normally straight or humpback-shaped stretchers below the aprons are curved to join up with the aprons in order to make more legroom. The decrease in stability caused by this feature is compensated by S-shaped braces, mortised and tennoned to the legs and the transverse brace underneath the table.

There are few zhuo tables of sufficient depth to be called painting tables and there are no comparable published pieces of a similar design. A painting table of similar size but with a waisted and hoof-feet design is illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce,Sublime and Divine Chinese Ming Furniture, Hong Kong, 2014, pp. 114-119.

IV) IMPORTANT CHINESE WORKS OF ART 
The Important Chinese Works of Art auction is a tightly curated assemblage of fine and rare porcelain and works of art with a particular focus on the Ming and Qing dynasties. Highlights include an outstanding blue and white brushwasher from the Xuande period (1426 – 35), formerly in the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, painted with a fish pond design in brilliant tones of underglaze-blue; and a superb Yongzheng (1722-35) imperial famille rose ‘peach’ bowl formerly in the collections of the legendary dealer Edward T Chow. 

A Fine And Rare Famille-Rose ‘Peach’ Bowl, Mark and Period of Yongzheng. Diameter 11.4 cm. Est. HK$40 – 60 million / US$5.1 – 7.7 million. Photo Sotheby's

Yongzheng porcelain bowls with famille-rose peach-and-bat design are extremely rare, and the present bowl, with five peaches all rendered on the exterior, appears to be unique. The present bowl was formerly with Edward T Chow and then Mr Alan Chuang, whose outstanding collection of Chinese porcelain has been studied and published by Julian Thompson, the late Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia. 

An Exceedingly Rare Blue and White “Fish Pond” Brushwasher, Mark and Period of Xuande. Diameter 18.5 cm. Est. HK$20 – 40 million / US$2.6 – 5.1 million. Photo Sotheby's

Formerly in the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, this brush washer is painted with a fish pond design in brilliant tones of underglaze-blue. The radiant painting displays a freedom of the brush rarely seen in the official designs of China’s imperial kilns, which is echoed in the freedom of spirit symbolised in the subject of fish swimming freely in water. 

An Imperial White Jade ‘Zhoujia Yanxi Zhi Bao’ Seal, Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing Period, 9.5 x 9.1 x 9.1 cm. Est. HK$30 – 40 million / US$3.8 – 5.1 million. Photo Sotheby's

A modest and prudent ruler, the Jiaqing Emperor commissioned a group of Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao seals (‘Seal of Continual Joy on the 60th Birthday’) on the occasion of his 60th birthday in the place of lavish birthday celebrations. Court officials were invited to compose poetic couplets on the seals, narrating the Emperor’s major life experiences and ideas. The seals were thus of utmost significance to the Jiaqing Emperor, and amongst them the current seal is one of the most impressive in size and craftsmanship. It is also offered complete with its original well-preserved ribbon, which is extremely unusual amongst Qing imperial seals appearing at auction.  

A Rare Large Gilt-Bronze Figure of Avalokiteshvara, Mark and Period of Zhengtong, dated 1447. Height 34.9 cm. Est. HK$4 – 6 million / US$510,000 – 770,000. Photo Sotheby's

The only Zhengtong-reign marked example of its type outside of the Palace Museum, Beijing, this majestic and richly gilt sculpture portrays the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara seated with an attitude of ease and serenity indicated by the right foot extending over the pedestal to rest on a lotus bud emerging below. The altruistic nature of the bodhisattva is expressed in the subtle hand gestures, the mudras signifying the bestowal of charity, reassurance and fearlessness. It has distinguished provenance from the collection of Joseph Morak (1889-1969), Prague. 

A Rare Silver-Inlaid Copper Alloy Figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Kashmir, 7th Century. Height 23 cm. Est. HK$5 – 7 million / US$640,000 – 900,000. Photo Sotheby's

The bronze is one of a small corpus of statues of Buddha seated in this particular position surviving from the early Karkota period (600-855), and represents one of the most popular forms of Buddha found in early Kashmir art. The iconography relates to Shakyamuni Buddha’s first sermon after his enlightenment at Mrigadava. Originally in the collection of Professor Samuel Eilenberg (1913-98), this rare early Kashmir figure has been extensively published throughout the 20th century and is in extraordinarily good condition with an attractive and lustrous silvery patina. Works such as this made their way to Tibet upon the demise of Buddhism in Kashmir and had a significant influence on the art of the western regions of Tibet in the eleventh century.