A ‘Ding’ ‘Lotus’ Lobed Bowl Northern Song Dynasty Diameter 21.6 cm Est. HK$300,000 – 500,000 / US$38,800 – 65,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong December series of Chinese Works of Art sales will take place on 3 and 4 December 2015. The series will feature a dedicated sale of Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Mr and Mrs Gerard Hawthorn, and the Chinese Art sale, encompassing Song ceramics, classical Chinese furniture and carefully curated private collections from Hong Kong and Europe. 

Christian Bouvet, Director and Head of Mid-Season Sales, Chinese Works of Art Department, says, “We hope that collectors will appreciate the selection of works we curated in our December auctions. The collection of later Chinese bronzes assembled by Gerard and Ellie Hawthorn over 50 years in Europe is of impressive quality. The twoday Chinese Art sale brings a special focus on works from the Song dynasty, including collections of classic ceramics and a rare sculpture of a luohan from the collection of the legendary explorer and art dealer Arthur S. Vernay.” 

LATER CHINESE BRONZES FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR AND MRS GERARD HAWTHORN 10am│3 December 2015 
Collected over five decades by London-based specialist Chinese Oriental art dealer Gerard Hawthorn, this scholarly collection includes incense burners, archaistic vessels, water droppers, hand warmers and religious figures. Comprising over 100 lots, the sale is highlighted by two outstanding Imperial reign-marked vessels, a Yongzheng jue, dated 1730 and a Qianlong lian, both ranking alongside the greatest examples from the Qing court collection preserved in Beijing and Taipei. 

Highlights: 

Lot 30. A Bronze Ritual Vessel, Jue, Mark and Period of Yongzheng, dated 1730. Height 25 cm. Est. HK$600,000 – 800,000 / US$77,500 – 104,000* 

of archaistic jue form, the deep 'U'-shaped body raised on three splayed legs of triangular section tapering towards the feet, with a broad flaring mouth surmounted by a pair of capped posts decorated in whorl circles, one side set with a loop handle issuing from an animal head, decorated to the main body with a band of taotiemasks on a leiwen ground, the mask centered below an inscription reading Da Qing Yongzheng gengxu nian zao, with a rich chocolate-brown patina - 25 cm., 9 7/8  in.

Provenance: Phillip Turner Antiques, London, 1982.

Notes: This outstanding bronze vessel is of exceptional quality and rarity, comparable to the finest early Qing dynasty incense burners preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Elegant in form, derived from a Shang dynasty ritual bronze vessel, its rare mark is outstanding on all surviving vessels. The mark reads Da Qing Yong Zheng gengxu nian zhi, which is accordance with 1730. The only other published vessel cast with a Yongzheng mark in a rectangular line is found on a bronze 'table-form' incense burner in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Splendors from the Yongle and Xuande Reigns of China's Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2012, p. 265, pl. 145. 

Only a small number of Yongzheng reign-marked bronze vessels has ever been offered at auction. Two 'alms-bowl' form bronze incense burners were recently sold in these rooms, a larger one 1st/2nd June 2015, lot 718, and a smaller example from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, 8th April 2014, lot 203. For other Yongzheng-marked bronze vessels sold at auction, see also a rectangular bronze incense burner of fang ding form from the collection of Soame Jenyns, sold at Christie's London, 12th July 2005, lot 47, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st June 2011, lot 3619; a tripod incense burner from the collection of Ronald Longsdorf, sold at Christie's New York, 15th/16th September 2011, lot 1160; and a gui-shaped incense burner sold at Bonham's San Francisco, 13th December 2010, lot 5146. All these examples are cast with six-character reign marks in three columns on the base, as opposed to the mark cast in a rectangular line found on the current example and the aforementioned Palace Museum 'table-form' incense burner.

After: Xiqing Gujian, Chinese Ritual Bronzes in the Collection of the Qianlong Emperor.

A smaller Qianlong reign-marked bronze incense burner of similar jue form in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p. 33, pl. 19.

Lot 8. A Bronze Cylindrical Incense Burner, Lian, Mark and Period of Qianlong. Diameter 12 cm. Est. HK$400,000 – 600,000 / US$52,000 – 77,500. Photo: Sotheby's.

of archaistic lian form, the cylindrical body supported on three cabriole feet, the exterior centred with a band of three raised ribs, all between two raised bands of triple-ribs encircling the rim and above the feet, the base cast with a six-character reign mark within a recessed panel, the surface with an attractive reddish-brown patina suffused with light brown speckles - diameter 12 cm., 4 3/4  in.

Provenance: Pat Bedford Antiques, London, 1970s.

Notes: It is extremely rare to find Qianlong reign-marked bronze incense burners of this form, designed for daily use, as opposed to the more commonly found garniture vases produced for temples. Its rich reddish-brown patina and exquisite tactile quality rank it amongst the finest examples of its type in private hands. For two other incense burners of gui form cast with closely related Qianlong six-character kaishu marks in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see Classics of the Forbidden City. Splendors from the Yongle and Xuande Reigns of China's Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2012, pp. 268-269, pls. 148-9. See also a burner of fangding form, also from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Chan Hou Seng (ed.), Views of Antiquity in the Qing Imperial Palace, Macau Museum of Art, Macau, p. 52, pl. 1. An almost identical lian vessel cast with a Xuande six-character reign mark, from the collection of Ulrich Hausmann, was sold in these rooms, 8th October 2014, lot 3306. 

(fig.1). After: Xuande Yiqi Tupu, The illustrated register of vessels from the Xuande era.

The specific form of this lian vessel appears to derive from the Xuande Yiqi Tupu ('The illustrated register of vessels from the Xuande era')(fig.1), the Ming dynasty work on Xuande bronzes that was widely available in the Qianlong period. The prototype for all lian is from Han dynasty cosmetic boxes found in tombs of high ranking members of the aristocracy. For a gilt-bronze prototype of similar form, with the same horizontal fillets, see the example in the Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.341a-b. The aesthetic of the current vessel is more restrained, lacking the ring-handles and cover, and with plain, cabriole feet where the Han dynasty example has separately cast miniature bears comprising the feet.

Lot 105. A Bronze Stem Bowl, Seal Mark and Period of Qianlong. Height 19.5 cm. Est. HK$150,000 – 250,000 / US$ 19,400 – 32,300. Photo: Sotheby's.

of circular form raised on a splayed foot encircled by a central raised rib, with shallow rounded sides rising to a lipped everted rim, the bronze patinated to a rich coppery-brown colour mottled with golden undertones, the interior of the stem cast with a six-character horizontal seal mark within a recessed panel - 19.5 cm., 7 5/8  in.

Provenance: Acquired at Bermondsey Antiques Market, London, 1987.

Notes: It is extremely rare to find a bronze stembowl of this ritual form cast with a Qianlong reign mark, and of the period. Skilfully formed with shallow rounded sides and a raised rib on the foot, it is a shape more commonly found in porcelain; see for example two copper-red stembowls with Qianlong marks and of the period, the first illustrated in Gordon Lang, The Powell-Cotton Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Birchington, 1988, pl. 12, no. 101, and the second, from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold in our London rooms, 6th December 1994, lot 192; and two celadon-glazed examples, one from the collection of E.G. Kostolany, sold in our London rooms, 13th November 1990, lot 185, and the other, in our London rooms, 20th May 1986, lot 95. Stemcups of this type derive from the form of stemcups produced in porcelain in the early Ming dynasty for use at court or as presentation gifts to high lamas in Tibet. A Xuande reign-marked blue and white porcelain stem cup inscribed with a prayer was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1671, the counterpart to one preserved in the Potala Palace collection, included in the exhibition Treasures from Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 96.

CHINESE ART 
Session I: 2 pm, 3 December│Lots 201 – 387 
Session II: 10 am, 4 December│Lots 388 – 529 
Session III: 2 pm, 4 December│Lots 530 – 670 
Ceramics of the Song dynasty (960 – 1270) have long been praised among collectors for their refinement and understated elegance. This season’s Chinese Art sale highlights this field by presenting to the market several collections all carefully assembled and preserved by their owners. Together with selections from Hong Kong private family collections, the coming sale will also feature Chinese works of art from a private European collection, a group of jade carvings assembled in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as notable examples of classical huanghuali furniture and sculpture including a Song dynasty sculpture of a Luohan from the collection of the legendary explorer and dealer, Arthur S. Vernay (1877 – 1960). 

Highlights: 

Lot 220. A ‘Ding’ ‘Lotus’ Lobed Bowl, Northern Song Dynasty. Diameter 21.6 cm. Est. HK$300,000 – 500,000 / US$38,800 – 65,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

finely potted with flared sides rising from a flat base to a six-lobed rim, the interior swiftly incised with a full-bloom lotus supported on a slender stalk, applied with a transparent ivory-coloured glaze pooling in characteristic teardrops to the sides, the unglazed mouthrim bound with copper - 14 cm., 5 1/2  in.

Provenance: Collection of George de Menasce (1890-1967).
Spink & Son, London Ltd., 1972.

Exhibited: The George de Menasce Collection, part II, Spink & Son, London, 1972, cat. no. 258.

Note: This elegant bowl is representative of classic Ding designs of the Northern Song dynasty. The restrained yet flowing lines of the decoration successfully capture the spirit and grace of the lotus flower while accentuating the refined quality of the porcelain body. Symbolic of purity and integrity because it rises clean from muddy water, the lotus was a popular motif throughout the Song dynasty and frequently featured on white-glazed Ding ware. 

Lot 228. A Superb ‘Jizhou’ ‘Prunus’ Meiping, Southern Song Dynasty, 19.5 cm. Est. HK$500,000 – 700,000 / US$65,000 – 90,500. Photo: Sotheby's.

with a tapered body rising to round shoulders, a slightly tapered neck and lipped rim, applied overall save the footring with an opaque glaze of dark brown colour, reserved in the biscuit with two prunus branches decorated to opposite sides of the vase - 19.5 cm., 7 5/8  in.

Notes: This charming meiping is notable for the vibrant rendering of the prunus branches, which are in striking contrast to the dark brown-glazed ground. Wares decorated with this resist technique, achieved through the application of papercuts that were removed to reveal the design after the vessel was immersed in the dark glaze, were probably made at the kilns in Yonghezhen, Ji’an, Jiangxi  province, where similar vessels have been excavated; see three vases illustrated in Jizhou Kiln, Beijing, 2007, pls. 23, 24 and 25.

Similar meiping are held in important museums and private collections worldwide; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 217; another in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is published in John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl. 110; and a third in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated in Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 115. Further related examples include a vase from the Sir Alan Barlow collection, illustrated in Mary Tregear, Song Ceramics, London, 1982, pl. 261; another sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 253; and two vases with a slightly shorter neck published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, pl. 1557.

Lot 584. A Rare Painted Pottery Figure of a Seated Luohan, Southern Song Dynasty. Height 43.5 cm. Est. HK$300,000 – 400,000 / US$38,800 – 52,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

seated in padmasana, his head slightly inclined in a meditative attitude with hands interlocked in front of his chest, his face set in a meditative expression, garbed in robes falling in naturalistic folds, the square-toed shoe on his left foot protruding below the hem, with traces of polychrome green, red, and black paint on the garment and a pale slip originally applied on the face and hands - 43.5 cm., 17 1/8  in.

Provenance: Collection of Arthur Vernay, Nassau.
Sotheby's London, 10th June 1986, lot 88.
Christie's Hong Kong, 2nd November 1999, Lot 766.

Notes: Seated in a meditative post with eyes slightly downcast, this figure is notable for its naturalistic yet serene modelling which captures a sense of deep contemplation. It follows in the tradition established during the Tang dynasty (618-907) when highly realistic sculptures of meditating Luohans were produced in a variety of materials to be displayed in temples, where they encouraged devotees to reach a state of deep meditation.

A similar painted pottery sculpture of a seated luohan in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, is illustrated in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese. Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1974, pl. 147. Further related sculptures include two from Zijin’an temple, Wu Xian, Jiangsu province and now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wan-go Weng and Yang Boda, The Palace Museum, Peking. Treasures of the Forbidden City, London, 1982, pls 145 and 146; one in the Baerwald collection, included in the exhibition Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 494; and another, once in the Sun Zi temple, Shanxi province, sold in our New York rooms, 4th December 1984, lot 116, from the collection of Mrs James Cromwell. Although dated to the Ming dynasty, compare also two related sculpture from the collections of C.T. Loo and J.T. Tai, sold in our New York rooms, 22nd March 2011, lots 271 and 272. 

Lot 303. A Fine Huanghuali Square Table, Fangzhuo, 17th Century; 87.2 x 90 x 90 cm. Est. HK$1,800,000 – 2,500,000 / US$233,000 – 323,000. Photo: Sotheby's.

the top of standard mitre, mortise and tenon frame construction, comprising a four-board floating panel supported on two traverse braces underneath, with a recessed waist above a plain apron leading to straight legs of rounded square section, the legs further secured by humpbacked-shaped stretchers, with an unusual compressed bulb of hexagonal section above the foot, the wood of a warm amber brown colour - 87.2 by 90 by 90 cm., 34 1/4  by 35 3/8  by 35 3/8  in.

Provenance: Alan Fung, Hong Kong, in the late 1970s, by repute.
A private German collection.

Notes: Masterfully crafted and finished to highlight the outstanding translucent golden honey colour of the huanghuali, this table is extremely rare for the unusual octagonal ball feet terminals. Only one other example with such feet appears to have been published, but constructed from rosewood with a recessed top and spandrels instead of humpback stretchers, in the Qing Court collection, and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 67. A slightly larger huanghuali table of this form, but with horse-hoof feet, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26th May 2013, lot 337; and another, but possibly with reduced feet, from the collection of C.M. Skepper, is illustrated in Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, Mineloa, 1986, pl. 48.

Tables of this type are known with slight variations’ see two slightly larger huanghuali tables of related form, but with spandrels extending under to the centre of the table and legs terminating in the more typical horse-hoof feet, also from the Qing Court collection, published ibid., pls 64 and 71; a table of similar size and humpback stretchers, but with dragon-carved roundel struts, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in A Treasury of Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2007, pl. 165; and another pair, with ruyi­-shape struts, illustrated in Karen Mazurkewich, Chinese Furniture. A Guide to Collecting Antiques, Rutland, 2006, pl. 237.

Square tables have a long history and ancient association with food, drink and games. The cuisine and eating habits of China developed during the Song dynasty continued in the Ming dynasty, when craftsmen constructed elegant hardwood square tables, which became the central piece of furniture in the home. Also known as baxian zhou (‘Eight Immortals table’) the name associates it with auspicious and convivial activity centred around food and drink. The name ‘Eight Immortals Table’ has created some confusion about how many people were intended to sit around the table, as more than four people would not fit comfortably around the table. Furthermore, the illustration of an Eight Immortals Table in The Plum in the Golden Vase, reproduced in Sarah Handler, in Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, London, 2001, p. 192, fig. 12.12, depicts only four people seated around one, with there being no further room for diners. Handler notes that a possible explanation for the name is that it refers to the immortals as a single entity rather than as eight separate entities, and that it references their fun, food and drink-loving tendencies. Hence, ‘dining at an eight immortals table increases the simple happiness of eating by the comparison to immortals dining and enhances the enjoyment of food by having the immortals join in’ (p. 193). For an in depth discussion on square tables, see Handler’s chapter ‘A Square Table Where the Immortals Dine’, ibid., pp. 180-202.