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Click here to subscribeVictoria, Visit of the Shah of Persia to London, 1873, bronze medal, by A.B. Wyon for the Corporation of the City London, bust of Nasr-ed-Din three-quarters left, rev., Londinia standing between the arms of Persia and the City of London, 77mm (BHM 2951; Welch 13; Eimer 1623), in case of issue, extremely fine
Miscellaneous, medals in gold (1), silver (3) and base metal (4), including Alexander Davison`s Medal for Battle of the Nile 1798 in bronze, by C.H. Küchler, 47mm. (BHM 447; Pollard 15), George IV, 1820, official coronation medal in copper (BHM 1070), and Victoria, Diamond Jubilee, 1897, official gold medal, small size (25.5mm), 12.91g (BHM 3506), the last with minor obverse graze, otherwise nearly extremely fine, others about very fine (8)
Greek silver (15), comprising tetradrachms of Athens (obv. pitted), Antiochus VIII, Philip Philadelphus and Ptolemy IV; stater of Leucas and smaller silver (10); with Greek bronze (22); Roman colonial bronze (8); Byzantine bronze (11); and cast copies of Cavino sestertii (2), fair to fine, some better (58)
Sestertii (15), of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius (4), Faustina I (2), Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Lucilla, Commodus, Severus Alexander (2), Philip I (rev., stag) and Otacilia Severa; other Roman bronzes (14) including dupondius of Antonia (damaged), as of Antoninus Pius, rev., Britannia; Alexandrian billon tetradrachm of Salonina; and Artuqid bronze dirhams (3), fair to fine, some better (32)
A MINIATURE WHITE-METAL CRICKET BAT, the handle enclosing an extendable pen, 2.3/4in. (7cm) long; a miniature ivory cricket bat, 3.1/2in. (8.8cm) long, a yellow-metal cricket medal; two bronze examples; a Robertson`s Golly Cricket lapel badge; and a commemorative 20 cents Sir Donald Bradman coin (7)
A Large Chinese Imperial Lapis Lazuli Boulder Carving, incised with a poem, Qing Dynasty, 18th century, with a later gilt bronze stand, 23cm (26cm including the stand).One side depicts a Luohan sitting amongst rocks with a squirrel on his lap, and with a gnarled tree clinging to a ledge across from a waterfall. The summit beneath clouds inscribed with a poem in five lines, the characters gilded. The reverse with a large knotty pine tree and water cascading from rocks also beneath clouds. The stone flecked and speckled with gold. The ormolu stand well cast with three fruiting leafy pomegranate branches.The poem reads:`Yu Ti Luo Han Zan,Wan Wu Wo Bei He Shu He Qin,Shou Fu Shan Wu Xi Qi Xing Xun,Xun Ze Bu Rao Xi Ze Wu You,Yu Zhu Zhong Sheng Fo Tu You You.`which can be translated as: `Imperial inscription in praise of the Luohan,The ten thousand things are complete in me; all comers are like the family,In my hand I hold a squirrel; I rejoice that it is good-natured.Being good-natured, it is not disturbed; being joyful it has no regrets,And together with all sentient beings, we wander in the land of Buddha.`ProvenanceThe Hon. Mrs Mary Anna Marten OBE, Crichel House, Dorset. Purchased prior to 1953.Catalogue NoteIn 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 Ceramics Society 1997-98, vol.62. p.34.Cf. Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, for another lapis lazuli carved boulder in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1993, pls. 262 and 263. and another in the Le Shou Tan, (Hall of Joyful Longevity). See also Sotheby`s Paris, 18th December 2009, lot 206 for a smaller example.With thanks to Professor Roderick Whitfield and Ching-Yi Huang of SOAS their help in cataloguing this lot.
A Chinese mottled jade blade or ge, with a meridian ridge running along the length of the blade, well worked on either side and with one drilled fastening hole, the greyish stone mottled with brown inclusions, Shang dynasty c.1600 - 1100BC, 25.5cm. Provenance: Sackville, 5th Earl of Yarborough. Jade blades of this type were ceremonial reproductions of bronze ge blades, used as infantry weapons in the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties.
A fine and large rare gilt copper figure of Aksobhya, seated in dhyanasana, a vajra lying in front of him on his lotus throne, his hands in bhumisparsa and dhyanamudra, his hair with blue pigment and his lips and the flowerhead he touches with his right hand with red pigment, 15th/16th century, 36cm. The detail of Aksobhya`s middle finger touching a flower is unusual on figures of this type, but is a detail echoed in a similar bronze in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 60, Buddhist Statues of Tibet, no. 153.
A rare Tibetan or Bhutanese gilt bronze figure of a Lama, seated on a lotus throne in dhyanasana, his hands in dharmacakra, wearing a long pleated robe, bracelets, anklets and a five leaf crown, the base sealed and engraved with a triple-whorl, 16th/17th century, 13.5cm. The unusual iconography of this figure makes certain identification difficult. The characterful face combined with the robes suggest a portrait figure of a monk, but the crown, bracelets and position of the hands are attributes of Maitreya. Cf. Arts of Asia, September-October 2009, where this piece is discussed on p.10.
A fine Chinese gilt bronze model of a Buddhist acolyte, standing with his hands held together and leaning slightly forwards, his hair tied in three top knots and wearing a large earring, his robes are elaborately decorated with lotus on a matted ground and with traces of original pigment to his head, late Ming dynasty, 17th century, 31cm. (2) Cf. d`Argence, Chinese Korean and Japanese Sculpture, The Avery Brundage Collection, no.115, pp.294-5 for a related Qing example and Spink & Son Ltd., The Minor Arts of China IV, pp.58-59, nos.67 & 68 for related examples.
A Tibetan gilt bronze repousse figure of the Bodhisattva Padmapani, standing in tribanga, wearing a dhoti with sashes and jewellery, surrounded by a pierced flame aureole, traces of red pigment, 16th/17th century, mounted on a gilt rectangular stand, 52.5cm. (2) Provenance: Sotheby`s, London, 4th July 1983, lot 81.
A pair of Chinese gilt bronze and cloisonne enamel bowls and covers, with onion-shaped finials and widely flaring rims, decorated with lotus and strapwork reserved on a rich turquoise ground, unmarked, 17th/18th century, 15.5cm. (4) Cf. Chinese Cloisonne, The Clague Collection, p.94, Pl.40 and Sotheby`s London, 4 Nov 2009, Lot 152 for a similar Qianlong examples.
A pair of Chinese cloisonne and gilt bronze models of lion dogs, with removable heads, each standing four square, baring their teeth and with their tails raised, and with floral appliques to their chests, their coats decorated with simulated hair in shades of blue and turquoise, 18th/19th century, 15cm long. (4) Cf. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts 1935-36, p.176, No. 1861 for similar examples.
A large Thai Ayutthaya style bronze figure of Buddha Sakyamuni, standing in samabhanga and dressed in a samghati and sampot, his right hand in abhaymudra, wearing armlets and a necklace, 17th century, Ketumala finial missing, 104cm. Provenance: an English private collection. Cf. Christie`s, Amsterdam, Important Buddhist Art, 19th November 1997, lot 111.
A rare Thai bronze figure of the Emaciated Buddha, Ratanakosin, seated in dhyanasana with hands in dhyana mudra and wearing a long dhoti and sash, his hair formed as spiky curls and with a domed usnisa finial, raised on a base decorated in relief with birds and animals in a rocky landscape frieze, late 19th/early 20th century, 89cm. Provenance: by repute, commissioned by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Thailand, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab,Thailand, Dr Johan Moger, Netherlands, Jean Thomassen, Netherlands, Purchased, Sotheby`s, New York, 26th March 1998, lot 211. Images of the Emaciated Buddha are unusual in Thai tradition, but depict Prince Siddhartha in his ascetic period. Despite his father`s attempts to deny the existence of the sick, aged and suffering, Siddharta`s discovery of their struggles led him to a life of denial, where he allowed himself just one grain of rice a day in order to purify his body and rid himself of earthly temptations. After reaching near starvation, he realised that he should follow a middle path, exercising moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Thereafter, aged 35, he reached Enlightenment to become Gautama Buddha.
A massive and rare pair of Chinese bronze ornamental sculptures, in Venetian style based on candelabra or andirons. Each cast with male and female satyrs surmounted by urns decorated with four winged herms, the triform bases heavily cast with baroque scrolls and each with oval cartouches, three inscribed with two Chinese characters `ge deng`, c.1860s, 76cm. (2) `Ge-Deng` is the personalised name for Gordon in Chinese, and also relates to the Gordon Clan heraldic device, where `ge` means spear or lance and `deng`, to mount or enter. Cf. Oriental Art, Spring 1988, Vol XXXIV No.1, pp.4-19 where Dr Eldon E Worrall argues a strong case that the bronzes originate in Southern China, c.1860s, probably in Canton or Macao, and as a gift to General Gordon from an Oriental rather than a European. The evidence for this relies on a combination of factors, including the examination of stylistic and technical details, chemical analysis, and the link to China through Nils Anderson-Westergren. A number of Chinese objects, including Gordon`s seal, have identical calligraphy and are now housed in the Royal Engineers Museum at Brompton Barracks, Chatham, Kent. Provenance: discovered inside a dumb waiter in the house of a Liverpool merchant and formerly in store at a shop premises in Park Road, Liverpool where they were owned by the grandson of Nils Anderson-Westergren, (a seaman believed to be in China just prior to 1864). Previously on loan and exhibited at the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, (formerly Liverpool Museum). Charles Gordon (Chinese Gordon) General Charles George Gordon died at the siege to Khartoum in 1885. Previously he served in China, arriving at Tianjin in 1860; he was present at the occupation of Beijing and the destruction of the Summer Palace. The British forces occupied northern China until April 1862, then under General William Staveley, withdrew to Shanghai to protect the European settlement from the rebel Taiping army. In 1863, he took command of the `Ever Victorious Army`. Later, the Emperor promoted Gordon to the rank of titu, meaning: `Chief commander of one province`s military`, one of the highest grades in the Chinese army, and decorated him with the Yellow Jacket, and raised him Qing`s Viscount of second class. The British Army promoted Gordon to Lieutenant-Colonel and he was made a Companion of the Bath. He also gained the popular nickname `Chinese Gordon`.
A very large Chinese landscape painting of the Yihe Yuan Summer Palace. Illustrating views including the camel hump bridge, pavilions on the Wanshou hill and with the famous bronze bull in the right foreground. Ink and colour on paper, 18th/early 19th century, 164cm high, 285cm wide. Provenance: by repute, brought back from Beijing in 1861 by a member of the Castle family, listed as an officer of the Royal Engineers Corps, who was present at the sacking of the Palace. Previously on loan and exhibited at the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, (formerly Liverpool Museum). Cf. Illustrated by William Watson and Chuimei Ho, The Arts of China after 1860, p.218, pl. 274. `The Summer Palace or Yihe Yuan literally `Gardens of Nurtured Harmony` is a palace in Beijing. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres, three quarters of which is water. Kunming Lake was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. The Summer Palace started out life as the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750. Artisans reproduced the architecture styles of various palaces in China. Kunming Lake was created by extending an existing body of water to imitate the West Lake in Hangzhou. The palace complex suffered two major attacks. The first during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860 (when the Old Summer Palace was destroyed), and during the Boxer Rebellion in an attack by the eight allied powers in 1900. The garden survived and was rebuilt in 1886 and 1902. In 1888, it was given the current name, Yihe Yuan. It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who diverted 30 million taels of silver, said to be originally designated for the Chinese navy, into the reconstruction and enlargement of the Palace. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage list. It declared the Summer Palace `a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design`. It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.
A good Chinese bronze model, probably of Lƒ Dongbin, standing with his right hand held before him and his left hidden in his sleeve, he wears flowing robes with floral decorated borders, late Ming dynasty, 17th century, 27.4cm. Cf. Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, Nos. 64 & 65 for a related figures.
A rare Chinese gilt bronze official seal, dated the 14th year of the 5th month of Qianlong (corresponding to 1750), incised with Chinese and Manchu characters, 10.5cm. By repute, this is the seal of the Qing official in charge of the garrison troops opening up wastelands to grow grain, from the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Rites and Ceremonies.
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.
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