We found 350105 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 350105 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
350105 item(s)/page
Lot 255
A Chinese bronze archaistic gui, with dragon handles, the bodies cast in relief with bands of stylized mythical beasts and with a further band to the flared foot, the interior cast with three characters, probably 17th century, old damage and casting faults, 31cm. Provenance: the Earl of Clanwilliam.
Lot 340
A Fine and Rare Chinese Imperial Lapis Lazuli Vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1736-95, with a later gilt bronze stand,19.2cm (23.5cm including the stand). The body diamond-shaped, crisply carved with a wide band of taotie around the middle. From one corner luscious boldly sculptured Rhodea japonica leaves rise covering two sides of the vase. The ormolu stand well cast as a leafy pomegranate branch growing from rocks and issuing a single ripe fruit. Exhibited; The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935/6 catalogue no. 2906. Chinese Jade Throughout The Ages, an exhibition organised by the Arts Council of Great Britian and the Oriental Ceramic Society, May-June 1975, Victoria and Albert Museum, no. 495. Provenance Prince Henry, the 1st Duke of Gloucester. The collection of Miss H. E. Ionides, London. The Hon. Mrs Mary Anna Marten OBE, Crichel House, Dorset. Purchased prior to 1953. Illustrated; Chinese Art: The Minor Arts II, Soame Jenyns, p.238, no.162, where it is described as of `superlative colour and important size`, and also Chinese Jade Throughout The Ages, The Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, July 1975, catalogue number 495. Catalogue Note; In China, lapis lazuli is known as qing jin shi (blue-gold stone). Although lapis beads have been excavated which date to the Han dynasty, there are no records of the use of lapis before the Qing dynasty. Cf. Ming Wilson, The Colour of Stones, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1997-98, vol.62. p.34. Soame Jenyns notes that the stone was imported from Tibet, and that the Emperor officiating at the Temple of Heaven wore a rosary of lapis lazuli beads. In reference to the use of Rhodea japonica, Terese Tse Bartholomew, in her book, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, writes: "The Chinese name for this sturdy evergreen is `ten thousand year green` (wannianqing). It is thus a pun for `ten thousand years` or `ten thousand`. Another name for this plant is `auspicious grass` (jixiang cao). The bright green leaves symbolize continued growth and happiness, while the clusters of berries - which are red, an auspicious colour - stand for numerous descendants. All these qualities make Rhodea japonica an auspicious plant for the household, especially during the Chinese New Year. It is still a favourite houseplant, and a welcome gift for house-warmings, birthdays, weddings and new business ventures." Ionides Family; The Ionides were a Greek merchant family who lived in London. They were generous patrons of artists. The father Alexander Constantine Ionides (1810-1890) and his children Constantine (1833-1900), Aglaia Coronio (1834-1906), Lucas (`Luke`) Ionides (1837-1924) and Alexander (1840-1898) were all art collectors.
Lot 344
A Fine and Rare Chinese Archaic Bronze Inscribed Gui, Western Zhou Dynasty, c.1100-771 BC, 26cm wide, 13.6cm high. The gui, or ritual food vessel with a rich surface patina. The deep basin with an elegant S-form profile supported on a tall sloping foot, the body with two C-shaped handles cast with animal masks at the tops with protruding eyes and wide noses above large hooked pendants. Below the lip is a narrow frieze cast with mythical birds on a leiwen ground, and with two animal heads cast in relief. The foot cast with a band of similar stylized motifs, the base with circular design in thread relief and the interior with a five character inscription, bo zuo bao zun yi (Marquise made this precious sacrificial vessel). Provenance The Hon. Mrs Mary Anna Marten OBE, Crichel House, Dorset. Purchased from John Sparks Ltd., 128 Mount Street, 8th June 1960 for £2,000.This lot is provided together with three X-ray films showing the internal condition.
Lot 349
The Son of Heaven`s Jade Elephants. An Exceptional and Highly Important pair of Chinese Imperial Jade Elephants from a Throne-room group of the Emperor Qianlong. Each with a Qianlong four character reign mark and of the period 1736ð95, each 19cm long, 17cm high (total weight 12kg approx.) Each beast stands four square and with its head turned slightly to the side, the ears incised with veining, the eyes crisply incised above trunks which extend about their feet. The grey-green stone flecked with golden-brown striations. Provenance The Hon. Mrs Mary Anna Marten OBE, Crichel House, Dorset. Catalogue Note; An almost identical pair of Qianlong jade elephants from the Forbidden City, but with cloisonne saddle fittings and carrying vases, were exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Australia in 2007 and are illustrated by Liu Yang in the exhibition catalogue Translucent World, no.109. These examples are also illustrated by Ho & Bronson, cf. Splendors of China`s Forbidden City, the Glorious Reign of the Emperor Qianlong, p.51, where Hu Desheng, describing Qianlong`s thrones, states: `The set usually consists of a throne in the centre, a screen at the back; and on either side of the throne, an elephant statue with a vase on its back (symbolizing peace), a standing fan, a luduan unicorn statue, and a vertical censer. This assemblage is commonly referred to as the `throne-room group.` See also: China, The Three Emperors 1662ð1795, p.391, where throne furniture and settings are also discussed. In China, the elephant is a symbol of strength, astuteness and happiness. They existed in China during the bronze age, but like the rhinoceros, soon were hunted to extinction. In the Ming dynasty, there were stables in the Forbidden City for the elephants that were given as gifts to the Ming emperors from the rulers of Burma. During the Qing Dynasty elephants carrying vases on their backs appeared in processions to celebrate the Emperor Qianlong`s birthday, and so these massive quadrupeds continued to be a popular subject for portrayal in the decorative arts. The Qing rulers commissioned jade elephants in formal standing poses, which were paired and placed flanking the Imperial thrones. For other examples of jade elephants, cf. Chinese Jade, Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1998, no. 23 for a spinach-green jade elephant, from the Estate of Empress Friedrich, Schloss Friedrichshof, and Alex Kerr, Immortal Images. The Jade Collection of Margaret and Trammell Crow, Dallas, 1989, p. 41. For another elephant from The Concordia House Collection, cf. Sotheby`s New York, 19th March 2007 lot 9, and Stanley Nott illustrates a grey elephant dated to the Qianlong period in the collection of Oscar Raphael Esq. pl. LXX. Stanley Charles Nott, in his Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, records: `an exceptional pair of such carvings in the private collection of Her Majesty Queen Mary` and comments: `These specimens are obviously the work of the Imperial workshops of the Ch`ien Lung period`. Cf. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, The Royal Academy of Arts, London 1935/6 catalogue no. 2328, where these elephants were illustrated.
Lot 485
A massive Indian bronze figure of Shiva Nataraj, dancing on Apasmara Purusha, the demon of ignorance, holding a damaru (drum) representing the five rhythms of manifestation, 20th century, 132.5cm. This figure, surely the most iconic image in Hindu art, illustrates Shiva performing the Tandava, the dance of bliss which is a pictorial allegory of the true manifestations of eternal energy - creation, destruction, preservation, salvation and illusion.
Lot 486
A Chinese bronze brush washer, cast with a leafy pine branches, one forming the handle, with a large cicada and a squirrel climbing upon the rim, probably 19th century, 16cm. Cf. Masterpieces of Chinese Miniature Crafts in the National Palace Museum, no.3, for a similar example in bamboo dated to the Ming dynasty.
Lot 1004
An Egyptian bronze figure of Neith, seated on a square-section throne, the eyes inset with gold, the back chased with the outspread winged vulture figure of Mut, mounted on a marble plinth, late dynastic period, c.600BC, some losses, the throne perhaps later, 15cm excluding stand. Provenance: the Ernest Ohly collection.
Loading...-
350105 item(s)/page