A TURQUOISE MINIATURE PENDANT OF A CICADAChina, presumably Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The stone of a beautiful blueish hue and some darker inclusions, finely carved and incised to represent a cicada of an oblong shape and bulbous eyes. Central drilling showing ancient toolmarks. The cicada is a very important symbol of rebirth in Chinese culture. Amulets shaped as cicadas were used in burial rituals, as they symbolize hope for rebirth and immortality.Publication: This lot will be catalogued in the book about the turquoise collection of Dr. Zelnik which is expected to be published in 2022. Condition: Good condition with some minor, age-related wear. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 6.7 g Dimensions: Height 0.8 cm, Length 2.8 cm
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TWO FINE JADE BEADSChina, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1912) or earlier. Different in size, opaque and biconical in shape spinach jade beads. The surface is neatly polished and nice to touch. Central drilling showing ancient toolmarks.Condition: Very good condition with calcification and wear. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 34.9 g (Total) Dimensions: 3.4 - 2.8 g
A MOTTLED PAIR OF JADE BOWLSChina, late Qing to Republic period (1880-1950). The thin rounded sides rising from a straight ring foot to a slightly everted rim. The translucent and mottled stone is brilliantly polished and shows attractive natural inclusions.Condition: Very good condition. One bowl with a tiny chip to the rim. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 131.3 g in total Dimensions: Diameter 10 cm each
AN IRON-RED AND GILT-DECORATED PORCELAIN CANDLESTICKChina, late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The domed base supporting a sprawling dish tray which holds a tapered cylinder with a smaller dish tray resting on its top, designed to carry the candle. Overall decorated in iron-red with two sinuously coiled dragons, chasing the magical pearl amid clouds and flames, the edges and dragons with gilt lining, the foot rim and dish rim with a band of crashing waves. This lot is accompanied by a beautiful antique candle carved with a similar design.The present lot would have originally served as a part of a garniture set for ritual or ancestral altars. The most popular set was the five-piece wugong, which besides two candlesticks also included a censer and two gu vases.Condition: Good condition with minor wear and firing flaws as well as remnants of filling material between the joints. The candle with minor losses. Provenance: The Dons family, Erik Dons (1915-2002) and Cecilie Margrethe Dons (1925-), Oslo.Weight: 2830 g (the candlestick), 361 g (the candle) Dimensions: Height 39 cmAuction comparison: For a candlestick with similar decoration see Bonhams Hong Kong, in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 2 June 2016, lot 6, sold for HK$ 3,040,000.Literature comparison: Compare to a related candlestick, but with different decoration in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, accession number 21.175.20.
A HEAVILY CAST BRONZE FIGURE OF BALAKRISHNA, 18TH-19TH CENTURYIndia. Depicting Krishna as the Divine Baby, known as Balakrishna, crawling on his hands and knees with a ball of butter stolen from his mother Yashoda's churn. The massive bronze is decorated with fine incisions forming the facial features, dress and limbs.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and a fine patina.Provenance: From the collection of Georg Weifert (1850-1937). Thence by descent in the same family. Weifert was a Serbo- Austrian industrialist and the first governor of the Federal Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.Weight: 2,394 gDimensions: Height 15.3 cmLiterature comparison: Compare with a similar but slightly older copper alloy figure of Balakrishna at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.5% or 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.
FIVE GANDHARAN INTAGLIO SEALSAncient region of Gandhara, 4th-5th century. Consisting of four rock crystal seals with busts and one green glass seal with a human silhouette.Condition: With traces of age and wear as well as few chips. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 49.5 g in total Dimensions: Lengths 3 - 3.5 cm
A BRONZE INTAGLIO RING DEPICTING A MYTHICAL BEASTAncient region of Gandhara, 7th - 8th century. The top with a beautifully worked intaglio depicting a mythical beast reminiscent of a guardian lion.Condition: Very good condition with traces of wear of age. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 12.4 g Dimensions: Inner diameter 2.5 cm
SUKETADA: A RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF A KAPPA ON A HAMAGURIBy Eguro Suketada, signed Suketada 亮忠Japan, Takayama, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)The naked kappa, lacking its carapace, seated on a large clam, facing ahead, its eyes inlaid with dark horn. Amusingly, its trailing foot is caught in the shell's jaws. The underside with two asymmetrical himotoshi ringed with bone, one stained green, as well as the signature SUKETADA.HEIGHT 4 cm, WIDTH 4 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear. Few minuscule nicks and light scratches. Fine, dark patina.Provenance: European collection.This netsuke motif is one of the best known by Eguro Suketada (1852-1915), a student of Matsuda Sukenaga (1800-1871) from Takayama in Hida (Gifu Prefecture), who also depicted this theme.Usually, the kappa has a turtle-like carapace, making this a rare variation of a well-known motif.Literature comparison: A closely related netsuke of a kappa on a large hamaguri clam is illustrated in Meinertzhagen, Frederick / Lazarnick, George (1986) MCI, Part B, p. 829.Auction comparison: Compare a closely related netsuke by Suketada of a kappa on a large hamaguri clam at Bonhams, The Harriet Szechenyi Sale of Japanese Art, 8 November 2011, London, lot 54 (sold for 8,125 GBP).
A BRASS REPOUSSE BEER EWERTibet, late 19th century. The cylindrical body rising from a flat base to a partially reticulated crown, all finely executed in repousse. Applied with lobed plaques enclosing lion masks and geometrical forms inlaid with hardstones, on a ground of scrolling foliage. Set to one side with a curved upright spout rising from the open mouth of a dragon and to the other with an intricately detailed handle also in the form of a dragon.Condition: Good condition with minor wear and casting irregularities, dents, and minuscule nicks here and there, few of the applied repousse plaques missing. Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above.Weight: 1886 g Dimensions: Height 37 cmLiterature comparison: For a related beer ewer see the Global Nepali Museum, Accession No. 1930-102-14a,b.
A SMALL WHITE JADE CONG, QIJIAJade. China, Qijia Culture, c. 2200-1600 BCThe geometric simplicity of this miniature cong renders it extremely contemporary in form. Unlike the Liangzhu culture cong which were decorated with masks motifs, this small plain Qijia cong totally lacks surface decoration. Carved to almost pure perfection with only some slight variation in surface width on the collars, the jade exhibits all the essential features of Qijia jades: purity of form and exploitation of the natural inherent qualities of the stone.The cong, in a white variety of jade found in deposits in Qinghai province, presents some white speckles and striations as well as a couple of areas where the jade is dark brown, mostly located on one of the collars. The stone is polished and fairly smooth, but not shiny, and the core is rougher with the usual central ridge. There are also some deposits of calcification in the nicks on the top edge of one of the collars.Compare a related Qijia culture cong of a similar jade at Christie's New York in Dongxi Studio- Important Chinese Jade and Hardstone Carvings from a Distinguished Private Collection on 17 March 2016, lot 909, sold for USD 27,500, and another at Christie's Hong Kong in Chinese Archaic Jades from The Yangdetang Collection on 29 November 2017, lot 2713, sold for HKD 937,500. See also another but smaller cong from the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth at Christie's Hong Kong in The Pavilion Sale - Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 5 April 2016, lot 1, sold for HKD 93,750. Furthermore, a cong carved from a very similar jade is published in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, no. 103.HEIGHT 7.7 cm, WIDTH 5 cmProvenance: Collection of Prof. Filippo Salviati, acquired in a Nanjing antique shop in the late 1990s.
A RARE ANDESITE STATUE OF BUDDHA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURYStanding on a rectangular base, backed by a large, towering aureole and halo. His right hand is raised toward the chest and the left is lowered and holding the hem of his long flowing robe. The serene face with full lips and heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by an urna, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair arranged in tight curls with an ushnisha.Provenance: La Balaustra, Archeologia Classica Orientale e Precolombiana, Bologna, 1980. An important Italian private collection, acquired from the above.Condition: Superb condition, commensurate with age. Expected losses, erosion, wear and extensive weathering.Weight: 73.3 kg Dimensions: Height 80.5 cmA Buddha image of ineffable quiet and stillness has been carved from rough volcanic rock. The profile and dome of the head are broad, allowing for a round tapering of the forehead, cheeks, and chin that, once finished with a polish, produce an overall impression of smoothness, belying the porous nature of the stone, which has resisted over a millennium of weather exposure with a stunning ease. The sculptors working on the great stone monuments of 9th century Central Java produced some of the most beautifully proportioned Buddhist sculptures of any period or medium.The present statue is almost certainly from Borobudur or a related temple site, such as Sewu or Ngawen in Central Java. Built by the Shailendra dynasty around 825 CE, Borobudur is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments of all time, having one of the largest and most complete ensembles of Buddhist narrative relief panels in the world. Structured as a mandala of stacked platforms representing the three planes of existence in Mahayana cosmology (the world of desire, the world of forms, and the world of formlessness), Borobodur invites pilgrims circumambulating its didactic panels and sculpture to shuck the trappings of their perceived reality and realize their true inherent formlessness.Literature comparison: Three examples in the British Museum collected by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in the early 19th century demonstrate that not all Borobudur heads were created equal (1859,1228.175; 1859,1228.176; & 1859,1228.177). Some have softer, more delicate brows while others show harder features and more pronounced monobrows. Some have spire-like ushnishas, while others are broader and more pleasing. Of the three British Museum heads, it is the most celebrated and widely exhibited one (1859,1228.176) that bears the closest resemblance to the present lot, illuminating its quality.Auction result comparison: Compare a related andesite statue of Buddha, from Borobudur, dated to the 9th century, and of similar size, sold in these rooms, in Fine Chinese Art, Buddhism and Hinduism, on 25 April 2020, lot 461, for EUR 30,000.
A LARGE RESIN NETSUKE OF AN ISLANDERThe large netsuke depicting a strong islander standing on one foot hefting a large pearl. The backside with himotoshi and signed.HEIGHT 9 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear. Provenance: Ex-collection Richard R. Silverman. Richard R. Silverman (1932-2019) was a renowned Asian art collector with one of the largest private collections of netsuke outside of Japan. He lived in Tokyo between 1964 and 1979 and began to collect netsuke there in 1968. Since the 1970s, he wrote and lectured about netsuke and was an Asian art consultant for Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. His gift of 226 ceramic netsuke to the Toledo Museum of Art constitutes perhaps the largest public collection of these miniature clay sculptures in the world. After moving to California, Silverman became a member of the Far Eastern Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1984. In 1993, he joined LACMA's Executive Board. He served on the board of directors for the International Society of Appraisers from 1986 to 1994 and served nine years as chair for the City of West Hollywood Fine Arts Commission. Richard Silverman was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his decades-long promotion of Japanese culture.
A MELON-SHAPED, WHITE-GLAZED CERAMIC JARLETChina, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century. The lobed body raised on a short ring foot and with a thick-lipped neck applied with two lug handles, covered with a creamy white glaze, the underside left unglazed revealing the buff.Condition: Excellent condition with old wear and minor firing flaws. Provenance: Fai Kei Ferros Velhos, Macao, 1998. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in "Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond". Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch.Weight: 229 g Dimensions: Height 9.5 cmLiterature comparison: Compare to a similar jarlet in R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyingtang Collection, London 1994, Vol. 1, no. 328, p. 190 [C.30 doc. a].
A TURQUOISE MINIATURE PENDANT OF A THUNDERBOLT SCEPTREChina, presumably Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The turquoise of a beautiful bluish hue and natural, darker inclusion, carved in a simplistic form of miniature thunderbolt sceptre, vajra, - a ritual weapon symbolizing the indestructibility and irresistible force of it's holder. The Vajra is an inseparable symbol of a Vajrayana, one of the three major schools of Buddhism. Central drilling showing ancient toolmarks. Publication: This lot will be catalogued in the book about the turquoise collection of Dr. Zelnik which is expected to be published in 2022. Condition: Good condition with some age-related wear and minor material losses. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 5.5 g Dimensions: 3.5 cm
A LARGE BRONZE MIRRORCambodia, Khmer Empire (Angkor culture), ca. 12th to 14th century CE. Of circular form with a smooth and simplistic design.Condition: With surface wear and extensive patina rich in fine malachite-green, brown, and blue hues. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 634 g Dimensions: Diameter 20 cm
A TURQUOISE PENDANT OF A BIRDChina, Shang Dynasty (1600 - 1046 BC) or later. Simplistic depiction of an oval and flattened bird. The wings, beak and circular eyes are indicated with carved lines. Large, central drilling as well as vertical drilling showing ancient toolmarks. The turquoise of a nice, blueish hue, thoroughly polished and smooth to the touch. Publication: This lot will be catalogued in the book about the turquoise collection of Dr. Zelnik which is expected to be published in 2022. Condition: Good condition with some age-related wear, natural cracks and minor material losses. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 7.7 g Dimensions: 3.3 cm x 2.3 cm
A KHMER SANDSTONE HEAD OF BUDDHAKhmer Empire, Angkor period, 12th-13th century. Sensitively carved with a serene expression, the rounded face shows outlined broad lips and a connected brow, all framed by large ears with pendulum earrings. The hair densely incised.Condition: Very good condition commensurate with age, extensive weathering, wear, and some losses Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 2808 g Dimensions: Height 20 cm
A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF GREEN TARATibet, 18th-19th century. Finely cast seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus base, the right foot resting on an individual lotus issuing from the base. The hands held in varada and vitarka mudra. The face rendered with a benevolent expression accentuated with downcast eyes and a gentle smile, framed by a pair of pendulous earlobes adorned with ornate wheel-shaped earrings and an elaborate crown enclosing a high chignon.Provenance: From a Belgian private collection, by repute acquired from an antique shop in Brussels, Belgium, circa 1995.Condition: Excellent condition with some old wear and casting irregularities. The base is sealed and pierced in the center.Weight: 330 gDimensions: Height 10.7 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a closely related Tibetan-Chinese gilt bronze figure of Green Tara, of identical size and dated to the 18th century, at Christie's New York in Himalayan, Indian and South East Asian Art on 15 March 2017, lot 205, sold for USD 6,250.
A GOOD TALL IVORY NETSUKE OF A STANDING SARUMAWASHI WITH MONKEYUnsignedJapan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Published: Barry Davies Oriental Art, Netsuke and Inro from European Collections (London, 2002), no. 100, & Galerie Gemini & Ichimonji Art (Munich, 2004), no. 199.An ivory netsuke of a sarumawashi (monkey trainer) standing and laughing with large glaring eyes inlaid in black lustrous horn. He is wearing a cap with an incised peach branch, has a food basket tied to his obi in front of him and is holding a taming stick in one hand and the monkey's paw in the other. The monkey is seated on his shoulder. Himotoshi through the back.HEIGHT 8.8 cmCondition: Good, worn condition with expected age cracks and good patina. A section of the taming stick with an old and worndown loss. Provenance: Barry Davies, then Galerie Gemini & Ichimonji art, then Luxembourg private collection.This item contains or is made from elephant ivory and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Please note that in compliance with EU regulation effective January 19th, 2022, all items carved from elephant ivory before 1947 must carry a legal trade permit issued by the Austrian ministry of trade, or any other appropriate authority within the European Union. For this reason, any sale of such item can only be concluded after such permit has been granted. All payments made prior to the issuance of the respective permit will be held in escrow until the application for the permit has been approved. Please note that according to EU regulation it may take up to 3 months until the permit has been granted. In case the permit is declined, or not granted after 3 months, the payment will be returned to the client immediately.
A SILVER REPOUSSE BUDDHA FIGURECambodia, 16-17th century. A silver repousse statue of Buddha with serene facial expression, sitting on a low pedestal in a single lotus position with hands folded in a gesture of 'Varada Mudra', which symbolizes the gift or offering. Remains of gilt and cold paint visible.Condition: Good condition with expected wear to the surface, the casting core in place.Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 133 g Dimensions: Height 11 cm
A THANGKA DEPICTING PALDEN LHAMOTibet, 19th to early 20th century. Distemper and gold on cloth. The fierce blue goddess seated on her mule striding over a sea of blood and engulfed within a fiery aureole, surrounded by numerous retinue deities, holding a kapala and scepter, richly adorned in jewelry, the flaming hair behind a skull tiara.Provenance: French private collection. Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, creasing, soiling, minor tears to edges, and few minuscule losses.Dimensions: Size 76 x 54 cmA myth surrounding this goddess tells of how, moved by compassion for sentient beings, she threatened to kill her own son if her husband would not cease from performing human sacrifices. Forced to carry out her ultimatum, she used her son's flayed skin as a saddle whilst fleeing the kingdom, as seen on the present lot.Auction result comparison: Compare a related but smaller (42 x 29 cm) thangka depicting Shri Devi (Palden Lhamo), dated to the 19th century, at Christie's Paris in Art d'Asie on 22 June 2016, lot 75, sold for EUR 8,750, and another of larger size (105.7 x 75.5 cm) dated to the 19th century at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 19 March 2019, lot 938, sold for USD 37,575. 吉祥天母唐卡 西藏，十九至二十世紀初。布面金彩膠畫。兇猛的藍色守護女神騎在她的騾子上，大步跨過血海，籠罩在熾熱的光環中，周圍環繞著眾多神靈，手持嘎巴啦碗和權杖，裝飾著華麗的珠寶，火紅頭髮上戴著頭骨發冠。 來源：法國私人收藏 品相：品相極好，輕微磨損，摺痕、污跡、邊緣有輕微水跡，微小缺損。 尺寸：76 x 54 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一件相近但更小 (42 x 29 厘米) 吉祥天母唐卡，十九世紀，見巴黎佳士得 Art d'Asie，2016年6月 22日，lot 75, 售價EUR 8,750；另一件大尺寸 (105.7 x 75.5 厘米) ，十九世紀，見紐約邦翰思 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art，2019年3月19日，lot 938, 售價USD 37,575。
A LARGE SHISOU SILVER INLAID BRONZE TRIPOD CENSERChina, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Of bombe-shape, flanked by Kirin-shaped ring handles, the body finely inlaid with silver wire depicting dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst swirling clouds, below a band of ornamental designs and Chinese characters. The shoulder with two lobed apertures and the reticulated neck worked in openwork with stylized floral motifs, both the Kirin handles and the neck enriched with further inlaid decor. The base with a partially visible Shisou mark.Condition: Good condition with some wear, traces of use, casting flaws, small nicks, dents, and occasional scratches. With areas of verdigris, mostly on the interior. The mark to the underside partially with traces of soldering. Provenance: Hungarian private collection, according to the current owner acquired from a British private collection.Weight: 7.3 kg Dimensions: Height 26.5 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a Shisou censer, of very similar shape, at Sotheby's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works Of Art on 20 March 2012, lot 75, sold for 80,500 USD.
RYUMIN: A LARGE IVORY MANJU NETSUKE OF HANASAKA JIJIBy Ryumin, signed Ryumin Japan, Edo/Tokyo, second half of 19th centuryThe thick manju netsuke is carved in shishiabori (sunken relief), depicting Hanasaka-jiji sitting on his resurrected tree stump, in his hands a basket of ashes which he scatters around bringing the cherry blossoms to bloom. The blossoms and mouth are colored in red and the patterned robe and facial features are finely incised and inked. Cord attachment through the peg in the middle. The reverse with the signature RYUMIN.DIAMETER 5.5 cm, THICKNESS 2.3 cmCondition: Very good condition with few age cracks. Provenance: French private collection.Auction comparison: Compare to an almost identical manju netsuke by Ryumin in Christie's, Japanese Works of Art, 12 November 1996, London, lot 173.This item contains or is made from elephant ivory and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Please note that in compliance with EU regulation effective January 19th, 2022, all items carved from elephant ivory before 1947 must carry a legal trade permit issued by the Austrian ministry of trade, or any other appropriate authority within the European Union. For this reason, any sale of such item can only be concluded after such permit has been granted. All payments made prior to the issuance of the respective permit will be held in escrow until the application for the permit has been approved. Please note that according to EU regulation it may take up to 3 months until the permit has been granted. In case the permit is declined, or not granted after 3 months, the payment will be returned to the client immediately.
AN ARCHAISTIC DING-FORM BRONZE TRIPOD CENSERChina, the bronze vessel dating to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); the wooden lid and jade knob dating to the 19th century.. The bronze censer in the form of an archaic ding vessel, the rounded bowl-shaped body supported on three curved legs, the flat, lipped rim is applied with two U-shaped handles. The exterior and legs with a band of archaistic motifs against a leiwen ground. With a matching hardwood cover carved in openwork and set with a jade finial incised with the Ying Yang symbol.The design of the present censer is copied from Chinese Shang and Zhou-dynasty ding censers, which were admired by many scholars of the period and were used for cooking and ritual offerings originally. Condition: Good condition with wear and casting flaws, minor losses and nicks here and there. The wood with two cracks. The interior with encrustations. Provenance: German private collection. Acquired at Nagel Auktionen in Asian Art on 16 June 2017, lot 381.Weight: 2838 g Dimensions: Height 28 cm (incl. cover) and 20.3 cm (the censer), width 22.5 cm (handle to handle)
A FINE ENAMELED PORCELAIN 'LANDSCAPE' VASE, ATTRIBUTED TO ZHANG ZHITANGAttributed to Zhang Zhitang (1893-1971). The baluster vase finely painted in bright enamels with a continuous landscape of lofty peaks towering around a broad river, trees, and houses, followed by an inscription reading 'In the autumn of Wuzi year (1948) in Xinjiang River, signed Zhang Zhitang', and a seal `Zhitang'. With maker's mark in overglaze iron-red reading Yitao Zhai.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and minimal firing flaws. Provenance: German private collection.Weight: 945.1 cmDimensions: Height 29.5 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a pair of related vases attributed to Zhang Zhitang at Christie's London in Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles on 13 May 2011, lot 1272, sold for GBP 12,500. Another vase attributed to the artist was sold at Bonhams San Francisco in Asian decorative Arts on 13 March 2012, lot 3457, sold for USD 1,500.
A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A HORSE WITH OXFORD TESTChina, Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). Standing foursquare, the face with the mouth ajar, ears pricked alertly, the body painted in a brownish gray color with a bridle in red and white pigment. Two seal marks on the lower chest and a hole on the underside.Condition: Some repair and touchups as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations. Losses, fissures, and encrustations. Extensive wear to pigments. Drilled holes from sample-taking have been covered and retouched. The front right leg was reattached. Provenance: Private Dorset Collection, acquired in Hong Kong in 1997 from Art Treasures Gallery. British private collection, according to the current owner acquired in the British auction market. Scientific analysis report: A thermoluminescence report issued by Oxford Authentication on 10 December 2019, based on sample no. C119t38, sets the firing date of both samples taken at 1500 - 2400 years ago. A scan of the report, issued by Oxford Authentication, accompanies this lot.Weight: 1797 gDimensions: Height 33.4cm (incl. stand), 32 cm (horse)With an associated modern plastic stand (2).
A PAIR OF BRONZE CYMBALS, BO, XUANDE MARK AND PERIOD, DATED 1431China, 1426-1435. Each with a broad, flat rim that is slightly curved upward, and domed top finely incised with two sinuously coiled four-clawed dragons chasing a flaming pearl. The other side of the top is neatly incised with a seven-character mark da Ming Xuande wu nianzhi (made in the fifth year of the Xuande reign of the Great Ming, corresponding to 1431) and of the period.Inscriptions: To each cymbal, 'da Ming Xuande wu nian zao' (made in the fifth year of the Xuande reign of the Great Ming)Provenance: From a noted Swiss private collection.Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive old wear and casting flaws, minor dings and dents, shallow surface scratches, soiling, and warping. The textiles with significant traces of use, wear, soiling, and losses.Weight: 800 g and 805 g (the cymbals)Dimensions: Diameter 31.5 cm and 31.7 cmWith leather straps, two textile paddings, and a textile bag, all probably dating from the later 19th to the earlier 20th century. (5)Bo is the generic name for pairs of cymbals that come in a variety of sizes, all with rims that curl upward at the edges. Bo are used together with gongs and drums for military music and play a prominent role in opera productions, where they accent the actors' movements. Several playing techniques may be employed: the discs may be clashed together or held horizontally, with one raking across the other to produce a sustained rolling sound. In Tibetan processions and dance, drums and cymbals set up basic rhythmic patterns for wind instruments, and in temple settings are used with bells to accompany chant.Literature comparison: A pair of bronze cymbals from the Xuande period is in the Tibet Museum in Lhasa. A pair of bronze cymbals from the Jin dynasty is in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Compare a pair of bronze cymbals dated to the late 17th century in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2003.465a-d.Auction result comparison: Compare a bronze ghanta, also with a Xuande mark and of the period, at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art on 9 October 2012, lot 3111, sold for HKD 980,000, and another at Christie's Hong Kong in The Perfect Countenance - Fine Buddhist Works of Art on 31 May 2017, lot 2809, sold for HKD 687,500. 大明宣德五年一副銅鈸，宣德款及年代 中國, 1431年。銅鈸一對，落款自右至左為"大明宣德五年造"，刻款，德字少一橫，鈸腹刻有雙龍戲珠圖案，一大一小。 款識：大明宣德五年造 來源：瑞士知名私人收藏。 品相：狀況極佳，與年齡相稱。 大面積磨損和鑄造缺陷、輕微的凹痕、表面淺劃痕、污跡和翹曲。布料有明顯使用痕跡、磨損、弄髒和丟失痕跡的紡織品。 重量：分別800 克與 805 克 尺寸：直徑分別為 31.5 厘米 與 31.7 厘米 皮革肩帶、兩個紡織襯墊和一個紡織袋，應爲十九世紀末至二十世紀早期。(5) 鈸是各種尺寸的鑔片的通用名稱，是一種常見的打擊樂器。所有镲片的邊緣都向上捲曲。銅鈸與鑼鼓一起用於軍樂，在歌劇製作中扮演重要角色，它們強調角色的動作。可以採用幾種演奏技巧：可以將圓盤碰撞在一起或水平放置，其中一個在另一個上傾斜以產生持續的滾動聲音。 在藏族遊行和舞蹈中，鼓和鈸為管樂器決定了基本的節奏模式，在寺廟中用鐘聲伴隨著誦經。 文獻比較：一副宣德銅鈸可見拉薩西藏博物館；一副金代銅鈸見陝西省博物館；比較一幅銅鈸，十七世紀，見大都會博物館，編號2003.465a-d。 拍賣結果比較：比較一宣德款及年代的銅鈴，見香港蘇富比Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 2012年10月9日 lot 3111, 售價HKD 980,000；另一件見香港佳士得The Perfect Countenance - Fine Buddhist Works of Art 2017年5月31日 lot 2809, 售價HKD 687,500。
A RARE QINGBAI 'GRANARY' VESSEL, SOUTHERN SONG TO YUAN DYNASTYChina, 1127-1368. The bulbous body of this rare funerary grain storage vessel rises from a spreading foot to a domed top with a prominent bud finial. The front with a rectangular aperture surrounded by applied strap work, covered in a thin and finely crackled straw glaze stopping unevenly above the foot, revealing the buff ware.Provenance: From a private collection in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, by repute acquired at a local estate sale.Condition: Good condition with minor wear and firing flaws, small losses to strap work on the cover and around the opening, significant glaze flakes to some areas, one side with prominent soil encrustation. Presents well and overall commensurate with age.Weight: 2,290 gDimensions: Height 33 cmLiterature comparison: Chinese Ceramics Song-Yuan, Taipei 1997, p. 388. Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong 1994, no. 96, p. 229.Auction result comparison: Compare with a closely related Longquan shrine at Christie's New York on March 22, 2019, in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, lot 1618, sold for USD 18,750. Compare also a related Qingbai-type model of a granary and cover, also dated Southern Song to Yuan dynasty and with a similar bud finial, at Christie's New York in The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part IV - Chinese Works of Art: Metalwork, Sculpture and Early Ceramics on 20 March 2015, lot 839, sold for USD 37,500. 南宋至元罕見青白釉糧倉 中國，1127-1368年。極爲少見的喪葬糧食儲存器皿，球根狀體，底足外撇，圓頂。 正面有一個矩形孔，周圍可見飾帶，全身覆蓋著一層薄薄且開片的褐色釉，底足露胎。 來源：美國亞利桑那州鳳凰城私人收藏，據説購於當地遺產轉賣。 品相： 品相良好，有輕微的磨損和燒製缺陷，蓋子和開口周圍的裝飾帶有小缺損，一些區域有明顯的釉面剝落，一側有明顯的土壤結殼。 狀況很好，整體上與年齡相稱。重量：2,290 克 尺寸：高33 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一件相似的龍泉龕見紐約佳士得2019年3月22日 Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art lot 1618, 售價USD 18,750. 同樣是南宋至元的青白釉糧倉見紐約佳士得 The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part IV - Chinese Works of Art: Metalwork, Sculpture and Early Ceramics 于2015年3月 20日 lot 839, 售價USD 37,500。
A BASTAR BRONZE OF GODDESSES ON A SWINGIndia, 19th-20th century. Swings are among the strangest but at the same time the most desired from the tribal art of the Bastar. They are usually made of several parts: in this case, the presentation consists of two parts: the goddesses on the swing and the base with the frame where the swing is attached. The goddess that is sitting on the left side of the swing is holding with its left arm the swing and with the spare arm a vessel. The other goddess is holding with the left arm a sceptre and a sword in the right hand. On top of each pillar holding the swing can be seen birds which act as guardians to protect the goddesses.Condition: A slight damage can be seen on the left pillar and a tiny hole to the left goddess that is sitting on the swing. Otherwise in excellent condition.Provenance: Collection of an Indian Gentleman.Dimensions: Height 24 cm
A GREEN AND PINK OVERLAY GLASS SNUFF BOTTLEChina, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The tapering elongated ovoid body rising from a thick oval foot to an everted lip. Finely carved through the translucent layer of green to the bubble-suffused pink ground with a phoenix and blooming peonies amid swirling clouds. With an associated glass stopper in imitation of coral.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, microscopic nibbling to mouth. Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above.Weight: 52.4 cm Dimensions: Height including stopper 7.2 cm
A TURQUOISE PENDANT DEPICTING A HAREChina, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) or later. Very fine miniature depiction of a crouching hare, the fourth animal in Chinese zodiac, known to be the luckiest out of all the twelve. The head with large round eyes and pierced through the mouth and back for suspension.Condition: Good condition with wear, signs of weathering and erosion. Few small nicks around the piercings. The stone with natural fissures. Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above.Weight: 13.9 cm Dimensions: Length 3 cm
A CERAMIC VASE WITH SNAKELaos, 19th century. The globular body with a tall neck, applied with a coiled snake clambering towards the flaring mouth, the shoulders with incised leaf design.Condition: Good condition, with expected abrasions and wear. Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dimensions: Height 17 cm
A SILK WEAVING WITH DRAGONSChina, late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) or early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Finely woven with a repeated alternating dragon and phoenix motif.Condition: With soiling, wear, faded colors, two tears, and very few loose threads, otherwise good condition. Provenance: German private collection, according to the current owner acquired from the Sophus Black collection. Sophus Black (1882-1960) was a Danish telegraph manager and art collector; he was for twenty-nine years stationed in China and was collecting distinguished Chinese art and antiques.Dimensions: 132 x 69 cm
A CELADON-GLAZED FIGURE OF BUDAISouth China/ Northern Vietnam, c. 1900. Seated in dhyanasana on a two-tiered base, the hands supporting his huge belly, the face with a meditative yet slightly humorous expression, flanked by pendulous ears, the hair in tight curls. Covered overall in a crackled celadon glaze darkening in the recesses and stopping unevenly above the foot, revealing the reddish ware.Condition: Good condition with some wear and firing flaws as well as glaze erosion and minor encrustations. Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above.Weight: 2062 g Dimensions: Height 21 cm
A KHMER SANDSTONE RELIEF OF A DEITYKhmer Empire, Angkor period, 13th-14th century. The deity carved wearing a short vertical striated sampot, a crown surrounding his hair and surmounted by an ushnisha, the neck and ears adorned with jewelry and in the right hand holding a club.Condition: Very good condition commensurate with age, extensive weathering, wear, and some losses. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 4400 g Dimensions: Length 27 cm
A HAN JADE RING ORNAMENT WITH COILED CHILONGJade. China, Han dynasty, 1st century BC - 1st century ADThe strong impact of this disc is given by the twisting and turning of the sculptural dragons carved in high relief. The top is decorated with two dragons that encircle and overlap the surface of the disc. Their tails, bodies, and heads form a series of curves that cover the entire surface in such a way that it is difficult to discern where one dragon ends and the other begins: in fact, the neck and appendages of one attach to the other's curled, wavy tail. Their turned back heads curve into the center of the disc and face their bodies that are decorated with a simple carved line that runs along the entire length. Tear-drop incisions, parallel lines and double lines define the limbs, tails, and other details of the bodies, while the two carved parallel lines that define the snout curve outwards to describe the eyes. Engraved lines create a thin border along the circumference of the disc and the internal hole, and the surface of the back is filled in with a pattern of raised carved curls.Visible transition of the alteration of the stone, from the top carved area through towards the bottom, is evident by the changes in color: about half of the bottom and all the carved decorations on the top have turned white, grayish, and opaque. The disc is heavily encrusted with black and turquoise deposits in all the grooves and carved areas which are due to contact with iron and bronze, respectively. The corrosion has given way to multiple nicks around the exterior of the disc and in a few places on the outer area of the carving. The jade retains its smooth, shiny texture and some of its translucency, mostly on the bottom part of the disc.The presence of small metal encrustations suggest that this ring was used as a sword fitting, most likely as a pommel.Compare with a round sword fitting from the Arthur M. Sackler collection at Christie's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 16 September 2010, lot 984 (part lot), sold for USD 10,625, and another, also carved with chilong, at Christie's Hong Kong in Adorning the Kings - A Private Collection of Archaic Jade Ornaments on 31 May 2017, lot 2711 (part lot), sold for HKD 8,460,000. DIAMETER 6.5 cmProvenance: Collection of Prof. Filippo Salviati, formerly from the estate of a Roman diplomat, acquired at Babuino auction house in March 2018 (copy of acquisition receipt available).
CHOKAN: A LACQUER KOGO AND COVER OF AN OX-HERDER AND OXBy Sano Chokan (1794-1856), signed ChokanJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of circular shape with a domed cover, the gold-sprinkled roiro ground superbly decorated in iro-e takamaki-e, depicting the sixth poem of the Ten Ox Herding Pictures (jugyu), with the young ox-herder playing the flute while seated in a relaxed pose atop the massive bull, with eyes inlaid in mother-of-pearl and horns inlaid with shell, his long flowing robe neatly decorated with stylized flowerheads. The countersunk base signed CHOKAN.DIAMETER 7.9 cmCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Provenance: Ex-collection Okimoro Gen'ichi (according to the wood storage box). Okimoro Gen'ichi (1899-1951) was a politician who served as governor of Saga Prefecture between 1947-1951.With a wood storage box inscribed Saga ken chiji, Okimori Gen'ichi shi yori torai, fujin Takuyo sama (This work belonged to Mr Okimori Gen'ichi, who was governor of Saga Prefecture, and his wife Takuyo).On succeeding his father at age 21, the eccentric Kyoto-based artist Sano Chokan undertook an extensive countrywide tour of centers of the lacquer industry, returning home in 1822 to revive the family business, specializing in tea-ceremony wares, trays, and other tableware. Chokan called himself a lacquer artisan and was a master who held absolute confidence in the quality of his works. The artist is listed in Wrangham, E. A. (1995) The Index of Inro Artists, p. 40.Ten Bulls or Ten Ox Herding Pictures (jugyu) is a series of short poems and accompanying drawings used in the Zen tradition to describe the stages of a practitioner's progress toward enlightenment, and their return to society to enact wisdom and compassion.Auction comparison:Another work by this artist was sold at Bonhams, The Misumi Collection of Important Works of Lacquer Art and Paintings, 5 November 2014, London, lot 16 (sold for 13,750 GBP).
A PAINTED POTTERY FIGURE OF A BACTRIAN CAMEL, TANG DYNASTYChina, 618-907. Standing foursquare atop the shaped base, the baying camel with an elegantly curved neck and raised head, the bulging pack in the form of two monster heads fitted between the humps, the tail swept to one side.Provenance: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 1 October 1996. Dr. Mons Fischer, acquired from the above, sold for ATS 68,000 (approx. EUR 7,774 today after inflation). A copy of the invoice, dated 1 October 1996 and stating the aforementioned purchase price, accompanies this lot. A seasoned private collector of modern and contemporary art, Dr. Mons Fischer has also acquired fine Chinese works of art since the 1980s, eventually building one of the most important collections of its kind in Austria.Condition: Some old repair as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations. Extensive wear, soiling, losses, chips, holes, cracks and encrustations.Weight: 3,744 gDimensions: Height 40.3 cm, Length 33.5 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a closely related painted pottery figure of a camel, also dated to the Tang dynasty and with a similar monster-head pack, at Sotheby's New York in Asian Art on 14 September 2019, lot 1627, sold for USD 13,750. 唐代彩繪駱駝俑 中國, 618-907年。駱駝俑站在四方基座上，它引頸張口，後肢直立，前腿略彎，彷彿剛從臥姿直身而起，仰天長嘶。 來源：維也納Zacke藝廊，1996年10月1日。Dr. Mons Fischer購於上述藝廊，ATS 68,000 (通貨膨脹后換成今日歐元大約 EUR 7,774)。隨附一份1996年10月1日出具的發票 顯示了當時的價格。Mons Fischer 博士是一位經驗豐富的現代及當代藝術私人收藏家，自 1980 年代以來，他還收藏了衆多精美的中國藝術品，建立了奧地利最重要的一個藝術品收藏。 品相：一些從漢代考古發掘中普遍預期的舊修復。磨損嚴重，污跡，缺損，缺口、小孔、裂紋和結垢。 重量：3,744 克 尺寸：高40.3 厘米, 長 33.5 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一件唐代相近駱駝陶俑見紐約蘇富比Asian Art 2019年9月14日 lot 1627, 售價USD 13,750。
SECLUDED VILLAGE BY THE RIVER BY LÜ SHI BINChina, dated 1940. Ink on segmented paper. The fan-shaped painting depicts a river encircled by mountains and trees, with a remote village on one end and a waterfall on the other. Calligraphy and two seals on the right.Inscriptions: Upper right (translated): 'In May of Gengchen year (1940)'. Signed 'Lü Shibin' (1883-1962). Two seals 'Lü In Shi Bin' and 'Yun Tian'.Lü Shibin, a talented writer and painter, was known for his calligraphy and Chinese paintings, especially landscapes. During the 1940s and 1950s, he worked in Academia Historica and wrote various inscriptions of Chinese calligraphies and paintings, which were a part of the collections of The Palace Museum.Provenance: From the collection of Professor Jan Wirgin (1932-2020). Jan Wirgin studied Classic Chinese and History of Art at Stockholm University. Later, he joined the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, first as a curator and then between 1981-1998 as the director of the museum. Further, he published numerous articles during his work as the editor of the Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. One of his most famous works is the book "Chinese Art history" (1972), which is still one of the most read books for students of Chinese art history in Sweden.Condition: Excellent condition. The painting with little abrasion, only visible along the folds and little staining.Dimensions: Image size 51 x 22.5 cm, paper 63.5 x 32.5 cmLaid down on paper.
A LARGE 'BIRD SHAPE' BRONZE KHMER CONCH SHELLKhmer, Angkor period, late 12th - early 13th century. Large and well-cast conch shell with an impressive flaring tip in a form of a bird head, bordered by flaming leafy scrolls. Spiral base molded with lotus leaf borders. An interesting relief depiction of Hevajra flanked by dancing attendants and placed above the head of Kala (kirtimukha), the demon of passing time, is decorating the central panel, neatly bordered with flaming mandorla. The inside of the shell filled with the original casting core.Condition: Overall still fine condition with expected wear and an old, green patina. Some cracks to the back side. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 2370 g Dimensions: 30 x 12 x 12.5 cm
A BLACK LACQUER SQUARE TRAYJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of square form, supported on four bracket feet, the everted rim with indented corners. The roiro ground finely decorated in gold and iro-e hiramaki-e, togidashi-e, and kirigane with bamboo, leaves, thread, and tanzaku papers on a bamboo fence - alluding to the Tanabata Festival. The underside with a leafy branch with two flowerheads and the rim with a continuous band of scroll.LENGTH 21.5 cmCondition: Good condition, some minor wear and soiling to lacquer. Provenance: Ex-collection Edward A. 'Ted' Wrangham (1928-2009), who formed one of the most important collections of Japanese Art in modern times. His reference book 'The Index of Inro Artists' (1995) is considered one of the most important English-language studies on Japanese lacquer ever published.Tanabata (meaning 'Evening of the seventh'), also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar.
A KHMER BRONZE FIGURE OF VISHNU, ANGKOR PERIODKhmer Empire, 12th - 13th century. The deity standing in samapada on a yoni, his four arms radiating around him holding four attributes, wearing a sampot secured with a decorative sash. The face with wide smiling features flanked by long foliate earrings. The hair secured into a high chignon.Provenance: De-accession of The Dr. István Zelnik Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. The statue with wear, signs of erosion, miniscule nicks here and there, a hole on the upper side of the base. Fine, naturally grown malachite-green patina.Weight: 576.8 gDimensions: Height 18.4 cm, width 7.7 cm Vishnu is a deity of Vedic origin and along with Brahma and Shiva, forms part of the Trimurti or Triad in Hinduism. He represents the principle of preservation and, thanks to his various avatars, is able to intervene when the universal order is threatened.Auction result comparison: Compare a related, yet more refined and larger, bronze figure of Vishnu, dated to the 13th century, at Christie's New York in The Doris Wiener Collection on 20 March 2012, lot 168, sold for USD 12,500.
AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF A NAYIKA AND HER SAKHIPahari, early 19th century. Ink, gilt, and watercolors on paper. The heroine holding fly-whisk in her left hand and raising her right, looking toward her sakhi, the two standing face to face in a palace terrace setting. Both wearing elaborate robes and richly adorned with fine jewelry. The background with a mountain landscape.Provenance: Old Swiss private collection, acquired before 1965, probably during the 1940s and 1950s at Arcade Gallery, London, and thence by descent.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Dimensions: Image size 20 x 16.5 cm, Size incl. frame 41.3 x 36.3 cmMatted and framed behind glass.Auction result comparison: Compare a related Indian miniature painting of a nayika and her sakhi at Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works Of Art on 15 March 2017, lot 282, sold for USD 5,000.
A LARGE CARVED WOOD PANEL DEPICTING BUDDHACambodia, Oudongk, Post Angkor period (1618-1863). Deeply carved with Buddha seated in dhyanasana, the hands lowered in dhyanamudra holding an offering, richly adorned with jewelry and flanked by a halo of flowers and flames. All above dense floral patterns and a depiction of Garuda. Overall painted in polychrome colors.Condition: Good condition with minor surface scratches and wear to paintwork. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Acquired by Dr. Zelnik directly at a monastery in Cambodia.Weight: 13.5 kg Dimensions: c. 206 x 50 x 2 cm
A SMALL AND FINE BUFFALO HORN STELE OF VAJRAPANISino-Tibetan, 19th century. Vajrapani, "holder of the thunderbolt" is lively displayed in typical wrathful iconography, holding his eponymous vajra upright in his right and snake in his left hand. Standing in pratyalidhasana, with the skull-crown and snakes for jewelry. Vajrapani is depicted as a terrifying guardian able to subdue the most dangerous of creatures. Framed by a flaming mandorla with small perforations to the sides.Condition: Good condition with expected surface wear, some minor notches and scratches. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 100 g Dimensions: Height 8.4cm, Width 5.5 cm
AN OLD ELEGANT AND LONG 'CHUNG DZI' DARK CHOCOLATE AGATE BEADHimalayan region, presumably Tibet or India, around 500-1000 CE or later. Long and half translucent bead of a tubular shape in a beautiful dark-chocolate color. Well-polished and with central drilling showing ancient toolmarks. 'Chung dzi' beads are believed to have been created in ancient times by bead makers from agate or chalcedony and were worn as protective amulets. The prefix chung in this instance refers to a specific type of stone material that has unique healing properties. Condition: Good condition with some notches and minor weathering commensurate with age. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 7.4 g Dimensions: 6.6 cm
HASHIMOTO GAHO (1835-1908): A SCROLL PAINTING OF A GOISAGI (NIGHT HERON)By Hashimoto Gaho (1835-1908), signed Gaho and sealed KokkiJapan, Meiji period (1868-1912)Painted with ink on paper and mounted as a hanging scroll with a silk brocade frame and black-lacquered wood rollers (jiku), depicting a night heron (Gorsachius goisagi) with a leafy bamboo stalk in the background. Signed lower right GAHO with one seal reading Kokki.SIZE 66 x 28 cm (image) and 161 x 47.3 cm (incl. mounting)Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, little soiling, and minor creasing.Provenance: From a US private collection in New York. Hashimoto Gaho (1835-1908) was a Japanese painter, one of the last to paint in the style of the Kanō school. He was one of the first five painters to be appointed as an Imperial Household Artist and was one of the most authoritative painters in Japan at that time. He opened his own studio in 1860, but the political and economic upheavals surrounding the Meiji Restoration forced Gaho to seek income in other ways than by selling fine art. He produced maps for the Naval Academy, painted on fans, and used his skills in a number of other ways to earn a living. Gaho was invited in 1884, by Okakura Kakuzō, to become the chief professor of painting at the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (now the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music), which would open five years later. In 1898, Gaho joined Okakura in leaving the Bijutsu Gakko and founding the Japan Fine Arts Academy (Nihon Bijutsuin). He would teach there until his death in 1908.With a wood storage box inscribed to the cover Gaho-o suiboku goisagi zu (Ink painting of a night heron by Gaho), the interior of the cover with an inscription by Mizuta Chikuho (Nanga painter, 1883-1958) dated mid-February 1930.
AN YIXING 'FROG AND LOTUS' TEAPOT AND COVER BY WANG YINCHUN (1897-1977)China. Finely and naturalistically modeled, the body in the form of overlapping lotus leaves, forming five round feet to the base. The spout also in the form of a lotus leaf while the handle is modeled as a gnarled branch, the circular cover in the form of a lotus pod with partly movable seeds and surmounted by a central knop in the form of a frog.Inscriptions: To the interior of the cover, oval seal 'Yinchun'. To the base, square seal 'Made for the Imperial Court of the Great Qing Dynasty'.Provenance: Old private villa estate in Bonn, Germany. German private collection, acquired from the above.Condition: Good condition with extensive wear and some firing irregularities, occasional light scratches, microscopic nibbling to edges. Some of the movable seeds are stuck.Weight: 418.2 gDimensions: Height 10.5 cm, Width 18.5 cmWang Yinchun (1897-1977), one of the Six Old Masters chosen to teach in the main factory when Yixing ware was revived in the 1950s, is well-known for his efficient yet high standard production of teapots in various forms. It is said that Wang used to make more than ten pieces each day without any compromise on the quality of a single teapot.Auction result comparison: For a teapot and cover by the same artist, see Sotheby's New York in Important Chinese Art on 15 March 2017, lot 725, sold for USD 13,750. Compare a related teapot by Jiang Rong, another of the Six Old Masters, at Christie's New York in Contemporary Clay: Yixing Pottery from the Irving Collection on 19-26 March 2019, lot 15, sold for USD 37,500.王寅春宜興青蛙蓮蓬茶壺 中國。壺身以重疊的荷葉形式出現，底部形成五足。壺嘴也呈荷葉形，而手柄則為樹枝狀。壺蓋呈蓮蓬狀，蓮子可活動，上面蓋鈕為青蛙。 款識：壺蓋内見"寅春"二字。壺底有四方印一枚"大清宮廷監造"。 來源：德國波恩私人別墅遺產。德國私人收藏，購於上述收藏。 品相：狀況良好，有大量磨損，並有一些燒製不規則現象，偶有輕微划痕，微小的邊緣磨損。 一些可活動的蓮子有點卡住。 重量： 418.2 克 尺寸：高10.5 厘米, 寬18.5 厘米 拍賣結果比較：同一藝術家的另一件茶壺見紐約蘇富比Important Chinese Art 拍場2017年3月15日 lot 725, 售價USD 13,750. 一件蔣蓉六字款蓮蓬茶壺見紐約佳士得Contemporary Clay: Yixing Pottery from the Irving Collection拍場2019年3月19-26日lot 15, 售價USD 37,500.
A VERY LARGE POTTERY FIGURE OF A COURT LADY WITH OXFORD TESTChina, Han dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). Wearing a long, flowing robe flaring at the base, with hands clasped together, long sleeves, in red, orange and white pigments. The separate head is modeled with delicate facial features and hair which is drawn up in the back. The reverse with an aperture.Condition: Some old repair as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations. Extensive wear, particularly to pigments. Signs of weathering. Small losses and cracks, a larger crack on the front and the side. Drilled holes from sample taking. Provenance: Private Dorset Collection, acquired in Hong Kong in 1997 from Art Treasures Gallery. British private collection, according to the current owner acquired in the UK auction market.Scientific Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 10 December 2019, based on sample number C119t39, sets the firing date of two samples taken at 1500-2400 years ago. A scan of the report, issued by Oxford Authentication, is accompanying this lot.Dimensions: Height 74 cm
A BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' SCENT BOX AND COVERChina, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The rectangular porcelain box decorated in underglaze blue with a reticulated lid depicting two coiled dragons playing with the magic pearl, decorated with flowers and ornamental designs. The lid with irregular piercings that allow the emittance of scent. The sides also decorated with dragons and magic pearls, below a stylized lingzhi band. On the underside an apocryphal six-character Wanli reign mark.Provenance: A notable private collector in Kensington, London, United Kingdom.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, firing flaws, and few tiny chips.Weight: 4420 gDimensions: Height 11 cm, Length 28.5 cm, Width 18.3 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a related but smaller (23.9 cm long) blue and white rectangular box and cover with Wanli mark and of the period, depicting two dragons playing with a magic pearl, at Christie's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 1 December 2010, lot 3115, sold for HKD 980,000.5% or 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.
AN EMBELLISHED SILVER SNUFF BOTTLEChina, 19th century. Decorated in high relief to one side with a dragon and inlaid with coral, lapis lazuli and filigree work to the other. Matching stopper applied with a coral cabochon and spoon.Condition: Good condition with expected surface wear. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 85.3 g Dimensions: Height 7 cm incl. stopper
A LARGE CHAM SILVER REPOUSSE PLAQUE DEPICTING VISHNU AND CHILDChampa, 15th-16th century. The plaque finely executed in repousse depicting Vishnu, one of the principle deities of Hinduism, four-armed and holding the Sudarshana Chakra (war disk), a conch, a mace, and a divine jewel in his hands, wearing a high crown, richly adorned in jewelry, the face with a fine expression with arched brows, almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose, and slender lips, a halo behind his head, the attendant child to Vishnu's side holding a lotus flower high above his head.Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above.Condition: Good condition with some minor bending and tears, some small losses, and minor traces of age and wear.Weight: 98.0 gDimensions: Size 33.9 x 19 cmPublished: The Zelnik Istvan Southeast Asian Gold Museum, page 40, Budapest 2013.
MASAYOSHI: AN EBONY NETSUKE OF A RECUMBENT OXBy Masayoshi, signed Masayoshi 正義Japan, Nagoya, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Lying with its head turned to the side and its legs drawn in for compactness, the eyes double-inlaid with pale and dark horn. The underside with two symmetrical himotoshi and the signature MASAYOSHI.LENGTH 4.8 cmCondition: Very good condition with minor wear, few light scratches, and minute natural age cracks.Provenance: Ex-collection Richard R. Silverman. Richard R. Silverman (1932-2019) was a renowned Asian art collector with one of the largest private collections of netsuke outside of Japan. He lived in Tokyo between 1964 and 1979 and began to collect netsuke there in 1968. Since the 1970s, he wrote and lectured about netsuke and was an Asian art consultant for Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. His gift of 226 ceramic netsuke to the Toledo Museum of Art constitutes perhaps the largest public collection of these miniature clay sculptures in the world. After moving to California, Silverman became a member of the Far Eastern Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1984. In 1993, he joined LACMA's Executive Board. He served on the board of directors for the International Society of Appraisers from 1986 to 1994 and served nine years as chair for the City of West Hollywood Fine Arts Commission. Richard Silverman was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his decades-long promotion of Japanese culture.Auction comparison: Compare a related ebony netsuke of a recumbent ox by Ikkan, also dated to the 19th century, at Bonhams, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art Part I, 9 November 2010, London, lot 130 (sold for 10,200 GBP).
REIGEN: A WOOD NETSUKE OF A DRAGON HATCHLINGBy Geijo Reigen (born 1935), signed ReigenJapan, c. 1970Published: Lazarnick, George (1981) Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures, Vol. 2, p. 866.An attractively compact netsuke, finely carved and stained as a dragon emerging from an egg and baying its head. The scales and flaming body are finely incised, the tail at the back sweeps to the side. Large, asymmetrical himotoshi underneath and signed REIGEN.HEIGHT 3.6 cmCondition: Excellent condition.Provenance: Ex-collection Richard R. Silverman, purchased from Wakayama, Tokyo, in 1976. Richard R. Silverman (1932-2019) was a renowned Asian art collector with one of the largest private collections of netsuke outside of Japan. He lived in Tokyo between 1964 and 1979 and began to collect netsuke there in 1968. Since the 1970s, he wrote and lectured about netsuke and was an Asian art consultant for Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams. His gift of 226 ceramic netsuke to the Toledo Museum of Art constitutes perhaps the largest public collection of these miniature clay sculptures in the world. After moving to California, Silverman became a member of the Far Eastern Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1984. In 1993, he joined LACMA's Executive Board. He served on the board of directors for the International Society of Appraisers from 1986 to 1994 and served nine years as chair for the City of West Hollywood Fine Arts Commission. Richard Silverman was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his decades-long promotion of Japanese culture.
A ROCK CRYSTAL 'ELEPHANT' TALISMANBurma/ Myanmar, 19th century or earlier. Well-polished and translucent talisman carved in the shape of an elephant with a short and lowered trunk. Central drilling showing ancient toolmarks and allowing for suspension as a pendant. The holes are handmade, irregular, funnel shaped. Simple, geometric carvings indicate the animal's collar, legs and tusks. Stone with natural inclusions. Condition: Good condition with some minor flaws and usual traces of age and wear. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 42.6 g Dimensions: Height 2.6 cm, Length 3.8 cm
A LOT WITH FOURTY-FOUR LAPIS LAZULI BEADSHimalayan region, Tibet or Nepal, 19th century or earlier. Circular and flattened beads carved from indigo blue colored lapis lazuli. Most of the beads with etched decoration. With central drilling. Condition: Good condition with expected traces of age and wear. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 26.2 g Dimensions: Diameter 1 - 1.4 cm
AN AMAZING LOT OF TWENTY-FIVE ANTIQUE ROCKCRYSTAL BEADSBurma/ Myanmar region, late Pyu city states, 10th-11th century. A beautiful lot consisting of twenty-five melon-shaped, varying in size beads, carved from translucent rock crystal with some natural inclusions. Central drilling showing ancient toolmarks. Condition: Good condition with some expected wear and minor weathering commensurate with age. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe. Weight: 240 g (Total) Dimensions: 2.4 cm -1.7 cm
TWO GLAZED CERAMIC 'SHIPWRECK' POTSSouthern China, 12th-14th century. Two brown glazed ceramic pots on a ring base, globular bodies, one with handles.Condition: With expected surface wear, chipping and few sea life incrustations. Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.Weight: 147 g in total Dimensions: Heights 4 - 4.5 cm
KAJIKAWA AND MASAYOSHI: A SUPERB AND VERY RARE GOLD LACQUER AND METAL-INLAID SEVEN-CASE INRO DEPICTING THE KACHI-KACHI YAMA STORYBy a member of the Kajikawa family (for the lacquerwork) and by Ishiguro Masayoshi (for the metalwork), signed Kajikawa 梶川 saku 作 with red 'tsubo' seal Ei 榮 and Masayoshi 政美 with kakihanJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868) Published: Eskenazi (1984) Japanese Netsuke, Ojime, Inro, Lacquer-ware, pp. 54-55, no. 114. The seven-case inro of upright form with rounded edges, featuring a gold kinji and mura nashiji ground, beautifully lacquered in gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, as well as masterfully inlaid in shakudo, silver, and gold, depicting the Kachi-Kachi yama legend. The front shows the rabbit standing triumphantly towards the prow of his metal-lined boat, raising its oar about to striking down the tanuki, who clings on to the barge of his mud-boat, which is inlaid in pewter. The reverse with the full moon inlaid in silver, rising above the turbulent sea and the interior of rich gyobu; signed for the lacquer KAJIKAWA saku with a red 'tsubo' (pot) seal Ei and for the metalwork, MASAYOHI with a kakihan within a rectangular gold reserve. With a black horn ojime.HEIGHT 8.8 cmCondition: Excellent condition with hardly any wear.Provenance: Ex-collection Gretchen Kroch Kelsch. Then Ex-collection Ted Wrangham, collection no.1839, purchased from Eskenazi Ltd., London, in 1987. Edward A. 'Ted' Wrangham (1928-2009) formed one of the most important collections of Japanese Art in modern times. His reference book 'The Index of Inro Artists' (1995) is considered one of the most important English-language studies on Japanese lacquer ever published.A masterfully lacquered and metal-inlaid inro, not only featuring a very rare design but also with seven compartments (!). The Kachi-Kachi yama story, also known as the Farmer and the Badger, is one of the few Japanese folktales in which a badger (tanuki) is a murderous villain rather than the boisterous, corpulent alcoholic. The episode depicted here is when the tanuki challenged the rabbit to a life and death contest to prove who was the better creature. They were each to build a boat and race across a lake in them. The rabbit carved its boat out of a fallen tree trunk, but the foolish tanuki made a boat of mud. At first, the two competitors were evenly matched, but the badger's mud boat began to dissolve in the middle of the lake and instead of saving the badger, the rabbit strikes him with an oar, and proclaimed his friendship with the innocent human couple whom the wicked badger had earlier inflicted its horrible deeds - thus revealing his revenge.The name Kachi-Kachi yama (meaning fire-crackle mountain) comes from the especially painful trick that the rabbit played, prior to the scene depicted on the inro. While the tanuki was carrying a heavy load of kindling on his back to make a campfire for the night, he was so burdened that he did not immediately notice when the rabbit set fire to the kindling. Soon, the crackling sound reached its ears and it asked the rabbit what the sound was. "It is Kachi-Kachi Yama" the rabbit replied. "We are not far from it, so it is no surprise that you can hear it!". Eventually, the fire reached the tanuki's back, burning it badly, but without killing it.
GYOKUSAI: A FINE INLAID WOOD NETSUKE OF A KAPPA WITH CUCUMBERBy Gyokusai, signed Gyokusai 玉齋Japan, Tokyo, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)Published: Euronetsuke, vol. 23, Winter 2003, p. 18, no. 21.Well carved seated with the knees bent, holding a large cucumber of green-stained stag antler in its lap, the emaciated rib cage and turtle-like carapace neatly detailed, the grimacing face expressing the yokai's ravenous hunger, the eyes double-inlaid with pale and dark horn and the fangs inlaid with bone. Signed to one leg on the underside GYOKUSAI. Himotoshi through the back.HEIGHT 4.1 cmCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Provenance: Estate of Günther Kauth (1946-2016), Frankfurt am Main. Acquired at Klefisch, Cologne, 30 November 2002, lot 668, and thence by descent.According to folklore there are two ways to escape a kappa-encounter unharmed. One is to feed it with a cucumber, which is the kappa's favorite food and the other is to bow, as kappa are exceedingly polite creatures and find it difficult to resist returning a bow. This is a problem for the kappa as the cavity on top of their head retains water, and if this is damaged or its liquid is lost (either through spilling or drying up), the kappa is severely weakened.Auction comparison:Compare a closely related wood netsuke by Jugyoku, dated mid-19th century, at Lempertz, Japanese Art, 5 December2015, Cologne, lot 746 (sold for 3,968 EUR).
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