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Click here to subscribeChinese School scroll paintingpainted with a Guardian figure, on a white ground, with red seal inscription, image size 33cm x 24cmAt present, there is no condition report prepared for this lot, this in no way indicates a good condition, please contact the saleroom for a full condition report
A Chinese pale celadon bi disc pendant, 18th/19th century, one side finely carved in low relief with a dense pattern of raised bumps neatly arranged in a hexagonal grid pattern between plain inner and outer borders, the other side carved with scroll patterns, 6cm diameter.十八/十九世纪 青玉璧Please refer to department for condition report
A pair of Chinese rosewood horseshoe backed armchairs, quanyi, 20th century, with horseshoe top rail terminating in scroll ends, supported by a pierced and carved back splat in scrolling foliage set on top of a square seat supported by four bracket legs, 54cm x 87cm x 96cm(2)二十世紀 花梨圈椅Please refer to department for condition report
A pair of Chinese 'chilong' hongmu scholar's stands, Republic period, each with a single-plank top with raised central area set within a rectangular frame with curved ends further joined at the corners with openwork scroll-form feet, each apron carved with a pair of stylised chilong chasing a flaming pearl, 49 x 30.7 x 10cm. (2)民國 紅木雕螭龍紋小几一對 品項報告 Condition report Glued repair and a crack to the joints of one stand, with a long scratch to the right bottom of the top surface. Some unnoticeable stains to the other. Surface ware commensurate with age.
A Chinese huali scroll-form stand, Republican period, carved from a single piece of wood, the stand with flat top and elegant curved feet, 50.5 x 30 x 10.8cm.Cf. For a similar stand see The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part II, Christie's New York, 18th March 2015, lot 113民國 花梨雕書卷式小几Please refer to department for condition reportOne foot chipped, an old chip to the edge.
A Chinese hongmu and brass mounted travelling vanity box, 19th century, the hinged top enclosing hinged mirror and pair of hinged compartments which encloses an arrangement of three drawers above a base drawer, raised on plinth carved to the front with a flowering lotus scroll, 20cm high, 34cm deep, 25cm wide.十九世紀 紅木鑲銅梳妝盒
Property of a Gentleman (Lots 55-80)A Chinese dark green jade 'bird' amulet, late Shang/early Western Zhou dynasty, carved with slender neck and elongated beak, decorated to both sides in low relief with archaic scroll motifs, 10x6cm, later metal standProvenance: Ex. Spinks, London (label)商晚期/西周早期 青玉鳥形佩來源：Ex. Spinks標籤；紳士私人收藏Some natural cracks to the stone. A dent to the tail. Ware commensurate with age.
Property of a Gentleman (Lots 55-80)A Chinese spinach jade water pot, 18th/19th century, of lobed ovoid form, carved in low relief with six panels of lotus flowers beneath stiff leaves and scroll motifs, raised on a straight foot carved with ruyi, 8cm high, carved wood stand十八/十九世紀 碧玉雕蓮紋瓜形水盂來源：紳士私人收藏A small dent near the foot with a crack runs all the way to the mouthrim. A 2.5 cm scrach to the mouth. General ware commensurate with age.
A Chinese zitan 'er lang sou shan' brush pot, 18th/19th century, finely carved with demons and warriors hunting in a pine forest, 14cm highThis “searching for demons” theme became popular and were depicted very often in scroll paintings during Ming and Song dynasty. The a seated figure dressed as a court official is Erlang, the god of hunting, who was credited with defeating the vicious floodcausing dragon and other demonic creatures on Mount Guankou. 十八/十九世紀 紫檀“二郎搜山” 筆筒Two small areas of carving lost. One small split to top rim. Circular insert to base missing, and two old cracks to this area of the base.
A collection of 20th century Oriental Chinese metal ware & brass items. The lot to include a brass etched dish, a set of miniature serving plates of various shapes, an horse shaped metal statuette, together with a metal scroll way / incense burner with a sitting down figure with basket. The lot together with a wooden lacquered vase with gold fish decorations. The vase measuring approx. 26cm tall.
Pair Chinese hardwood armchairs, the backs with mother of pearl inlays depicting naturalistic scenes, decorated with carved and pierced scroll work, the supports carved with dragons and scrolled terminals (W69cm, H101cm, D69cm), together with matching lamp or side table, inlaid with floral decoration (57cm x 52cm, H59cm)
HOGYOKU: A LARGE IVORY MANJU OF EGUCHI NO KIMI AS FUGEN BOSATSUBy Hogyoku, signed Hogyoku 法玉 saku作 with kakihanJapan, Edo (Tokyo), mid-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Of circular form, the two-part manju finely carved to one side in shishiaibori (sunken relief), stained and with details in sumi, depicting the courtesan seated on a recumbent elephant while reading a Buddhist scroll, beautifully coiffed, and dressed in a fine robe with elaborate floral design. The reverse with a Chinese table and censer with plumes of smoke arising from it, as well as two butterflies, and signed HOGYOKU saku with kakihan. The artist was a pupil of Meikeisai Hojitsu.DIAMETER 5.4 cmCondition: Very good condition, only very minor wear to the sumi-stained details. One small age crack to the side. Provenance: Collection Gabor Orszagh, Budapest, Hungary. An inventory number '251.' to the interior.According to legend, Kimi was a courtesan in the village of Eguchi and was so devoted to Buddhist scripture that she became the incarnation of Fugen Bosatsu (Boddhisattva Samantabhadra). The imagery satirizes the Bodhisattva Fugen (Samantabhadra), whose mount is the elephant, by replacing the deity with a beautifully coiffed modern courtesan. Such a visual pun (mitate) was an artistic trope, popular in the Edo period.Auction comparison:Compare a near identical ivory manju of Eguchi no kimi as Fugen Bosatsu by Meijitsu, second half 19th century, at Lempertz, Netsuke-Sammlung Kolodotschko II, Cologne, lot 882 (sold for 1,736 EUR).Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 22-B-0462). This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood 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. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.
A FINE TSUISHU FOUR-CASE LACQUER INRO WITH CHORYO AND KOSEKIKOUnsignedJapan, 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)The four-case inro of upright form and oval section, lacquered in tsuishu (carved red lacquer) and finely worked in high relief depicting Choryo with his sword drawn, standing atop a water dragon amidst crashing waves, and presenting the fallen shoe to Kosekiko who is shown on the other side mounted on his horse striding across a bridge and holding a scroll. The scene is set beneath a neatly carved pine tree, the sides of the inro are incised with key fret borders, the top and bottom beautifully incised with floral designs. The interior lacquered in red. HEIGHT 8.2 cm, LENGTH 4.6 cmCondition: Very good condition, some tiny losses to lacquer.Provenance: German private collection. The interior with some old Japanese labels and remnants of incense.Zhang Liang (known as Choryo in Japanese) was a Chinese military strategist and politician who lived in the early Western Han dynasty. The present inro depicts the legend of when Choryo met the old man Kosekiko (Huang Shigong) on a bridge. The old man began to teach the art of war to Choryo and one day Kosekiko wanted to test Choryo and threw a shoe into the river where a powerful water dragon lived. The dragon seized the shoe and Choryo defeated it and gave the shoe back to Kosekiko.
AN IVORY NETSUKE OF FUKUROKUJU AND KARAKOUnsignedJapan, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Finely carved and stained, depicting the long-bearded lucky god Fukurokuju with a scroll in his hands, a Chinese boy hiding behind him, the lucky god wearing a finely engraved robe incised with a diapered pattern, his amusingly large head covered by a cowl with brocade design, his joyous face flanked by pendulous earlobes. 'Chimney himotoshi' through the back and underneath the robe.HEIGHT 5.6 cmCondition: Very good condition, minor wear, few natural age cracks, fine honey-yellow patina.Provenance: Collection Gabor Orszagh, Budapest, Hungary.Fukurokuju (福禄寿) is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Star Gods (Fu Lu Shou) embodied in one deity. Similar in appearance to the Chinese star god Shou, he symbolizes wisdom and longevity.Trade Certificate: The trade certificate for the sale of this lot within the EU has been granted (permit number AT 22-B-0488). This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood 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. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.
A Chinese hanging scroll,Qing dynasty (1644-1911), of a number of red seals forming a shou character, surrounded by Shou Lao, Queen Mother of the West and Eight Daoist Immortals among clouds, ink and colour on paper,168 x 89.5cm清 佚名 群仙祝寿图 设色纸本 立轴Condition ReportCreasing and cockling throughout. Foxing, staining and dirt marks in various locations.Small tears and holes to edges, upper left corner repaired with tape to the back.
A Chinese blue and white ewer, Chongzhen (1628-1644), the pear-shaped body rising from an everted circular foot to a flared rim, with a loop handle and scroll spout attached to the neck, painted with a literatus, possibly Li Bai, lying in a rocky landscape, the reverse with an attendant holding a wine jar, 18cm high 明崇祯 青花李白醉酒图执壶Condition ReportSpout, handle and mouth fully restored.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, painted with Buddha seated cross-legged on an elaborate lotus pedestal, wearing a long robe, his hands in dharmachakra mudra, ink and colour on silk,148.5 x 78.5cmCondition ReportFoxing and staining throughout. Paint losses, colours faded. Silk stretched, tears in various locations.Creasing and cockling.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, painted with a mountainous landscape, inscribed, ink and colour on silk,117.5 x 33cmCondition ReportCreasing and cockling in various locations.Silk stretched with tears and holes, signs of old repairs. Colours faded. Foxing and staining marks throughout.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, printed with two boys playing with watermelons, with a dedication, signature of Puru (1896-1963) and an artist's seal, dated year of Dingchou, ink and colour on paper,68 x 40.5cmCondition ReportOverall 180 x 53cm. Printed. Creasing and cockling, foxing and dirt marks in various locations.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, painted with crabs by a basket of chrysanthemum, inscribed with the signature and artist's seals of Qi Baishi (1864-1957), ink and colour on paper,77.5 x 37.8cmCondition ReportCreasing and cockling throughout. Mounting stretched with small tears and holes. Some foxing and staining marks.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, of a lady, inscribed with the signature and artist's seals of Fu Baoshi (1904-1965), ink and colour on paper,42 x 37.3cmCondition ReportInvoice not included. Creasing and cockling. Was ripped in half and taped together just below the image. A hole to the upper left section of the mounting. Stained, some foxing, dirt and mold marks.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, of an eagle, with a dedication and signature of Xu Beihong (1895-1953) with three artist's seals, ink on paper,59 x 97cmCondition ReportMounting with foxing and small tears to edges. A hole to the upper left corner. Cut off to the lower section.Paper cockled with creases, stain and foxing marks.
A Chinese hanging scroll,20th century, of a bodhisattva standing on a lotus flower in front of a flame-shaped mandorla, with the signature and three artist's seals of Zhang Daqian (1898-1983), ink and colour on paper,120.5 x 59.5cmCondition ReportInvoice not included with the lot.Mounting tired with tears and stretched silk, loose threads.Cockling and creasing, staining and foxing marks in various locations. Some paint losses.
Two Chinese famille rose plaques,Republic period (1912-1949), each of rectangular form, painted with ladies practising various pursuits in a sitting room, surrounded by precious objects, planters with flowers and scroll-shaped screens, each panel 24 x 37.5cm, now fitted as a table screen,54cm wide29cm deep84.5cm high 民国 嵌粉彩仕女图瓷板桌屏Condition ReportDid not examine outside of the frame, the backboard fixed with screws. Wood stretched with cracks and splits to edges and corners, surface scratches, small knocks and stain marks in various locations.
LONGQUAN CELADON RELIEF-DECORATED DOUBLE-GOURD VASE YUAN DYNASTY OR LATER 元或以後 龍泉青釉貼花葫蘆瓶 finely potted with a globular lower section rising to a narrow waist surmounted by a pear-form upper bulb and an upright splayed rim, both the lower and upper bulbs decorated in the round with a lively display of crisply moulded and slip relief decorated scrolling leafy stems issuing luxuriant flower blossoms and tender buds, covered overall with a lustrous, thick sea-green glaze stopping neatly at the foot, the foot rim burnt russet-orange in the firing, with a Japanese wood boxDimensions:24cm highProvenance:Provenance: Formerly in a Private Japanese collection, acquired in 2003Note: Note: There are few Longquan celadon relief-decorated double-gourd bottles of this type are known. Two illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. I, nos. 202 and 203, p. 222 (col. pl.), and pp. 287-8. One in the Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art, Tokyo, is published in Hatakeyama Hisato, Tsutaetai, bi no kioku, Tokyo, 2011, pl. 32. See also a similar vase from the Dexingshuwu Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 679A and again in Sotheby's New York, 18th March 2008, lot 106; a vase of similar form but decorated with scroll of chrysanthemum on the lower bulb and the top with chrysanthemum heads, in the Datong Municipal Museum, Shanxi province, is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 10, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 34.
ATTRIBUTED TO GU JIANLONG (1606-AFTER 1687) LARGE INK PAINTING OF THE GOD OF LONGEVITY, SHOULAO AND BOY, QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 顧見龍款 《長壽仙芝》紙本設色 鏡框款識：時己未之秋/仿唐子畏筆/意寫於深柳讀書草堂/雲臣顧見龍製鈐印：顧見龍印、雲臣 ink and colour on paper, framed, titled 'Changshou Xianzhi' (The Magical Fungus of Longevity) on central upper left, further inscribed stating painted in the year to Ji Wei in Autumn, correspondent to 1679 , in the manner of Tang Ziwei (also known as Tang Yin, 1470-1523), painted in the Studying Straw Hall of Deep Willow, signed 'Yun Chen Gu Jian Long, applied two red seals 'Gu Jian Long Yin' and 'Yun Chen'Dimensions:216cm x 107cmProvenance:Provenance: From the collection of the late James Kedzie Penfield (1908-2004), who joined the American Diplomatic Corps to China in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1954, Penfield became United States' High Commissioner for Austria with the mission to re-establish an independent, neutral and democratic Austria. In 1961, he was appointed American Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iceland; thence by direct family descent.James was born in NYC in 1908. His mother was one of the first women to drive a car by herself all the way across the United States within a week. James must have inherited her pioneering spirit, because as a young Stanford graduate, he joined the small hand-picked team who travelled to China to work for the American Diplomatic Corps in the 1930s and 1940s. Although his diplomatic career later took him to posts all around the world, his daughter remembers him speaking fondly of "the best years of his life in Peking, Canton and Chunking". Whilst in China, James established friendships with prominent local artists, he was gifted a painting, as a token of farewell, by and from Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), one of the most celebrated 20th-century Chinese artists. The painting, which is dated 1944, subsequently sold in this saleroom, 08 November 2017, lot 87.Note: Note: There is little known about the painter Gu Jianlong, except that he served as a court artist in the 1660s-70s. He was born in Suzhou Taichang, and painted portraits of Qing emperors and imperial family members. His works are in the collection of The British Museum, see a portrait of Guanyin, museum numbers 1910,0212,0.486. Other extensive works are in The Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum of Art, see a portrait of Ma Shiqi (1650–1714), illustrated in Wai-Kam Ho, et al., Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and The Cleveland Museum of Art. (The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, c1980), 347-348, no. 255. For similar theme to this lot, compare with a smaller ink and colour on silk scroll painting, attributed to Gu Jianlong, depicting related subject matter 'Shoulao on White Deer', was sold at Christie's New York, 19 March 2021, lot 852; Another slightly smaller ink and colour on silk, with the signature of Gu Jianlong, was sold at Christie's New York, 19 Mar 2021, lot 852.
A Chinese famille rose Budai,20th century, wearing a garment painted with brickwork and florets with scroll borders, his right hand with a rosary and his left hand with a sack, impressed square seal mark 'Zhu Mao Ji zao',27cm high二十世纪 粉彩布袋坐像 《朱茂记造》篆书模款 Condition ReportGlaze cracked and chipped in various locations. Possibly missing items from both hands.
AN IMPORTANT AND EXCEPTIONALLY RARE IMPERIAL TIANQI AND QIANGJIN LACQUER RECTANGULAR TABLE, PINGTOU'ANChongzhen incised eight-character mark, cyclically dated to the Gengchen year, corresponding to 1640 and of the periodThe large table intricately incised and coloured in varying shades of red, green and burnt amber shading to black, all picked out with traces of gold filling the incisions, the long rectangular top with a pair of confronted sinuous five-clawed dragons riding the heavens above crashing waves, contesting a treasure vase supported on a cluster of cruciform clouds, issuing precious jewels, 'Auspicious Emblems' and Wan symbols fluctuating above a pair of flaming pearls amidst vaporous clouds, all on a dense diaper ground, the curving edge, apron, spandrels and double stretchers with further clusters of cruciform clouds, the straight legs with floral scrolls. 81.9cm (32 2/8in) high x 189.5cm (74 1/2in) wide x 47.5cm (18 1/2in) deep.Footnotes:明崇禎，一六四〇年 填漆戧金龍紋平頭案「大明崇禎庚辰年製」楷書刻款Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 19 March 2013, lot 491來源：蘇富比紐約，2013年3月19日，拍品491Impressive in size and lavishly decorated with polychrome qiangjin and tianqi lacquer designs, the present table displays a remarkable degree of labour, which together with the presence of five-clawed dragons conveying an extraordinary sense of dynamism and power, demonstrates it was made for use in the Imperial Court.It is extremely rare to find lacquer pieces with a Chongzhen reign mark and of the period. The present lot is even rarer not just for the Imperial reign mark, but the unusual combination of two imposing five-clawed dragons with Buddhist symbols. A similar depiction of dragons displaying a spotted mane, combined with elaborate Buddhist iconography such as on the present example, is on a Chongzhen-marked qiangjin lacquer Luohan bed luohanchuang 羅漢床 decorated with clouds and dragons, in the Qing Court Collection, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Shanghai, 2002, pl.8. A further rare example of Chongzhen-marked furniture pieces is an Imperial tianqi and qiangjin lacquer incense stand, illustrated by Lee Yu-kuan, Oriental Lacquer Art, Tokyo, 1972, p.323; and another tianqi and qiangjin lacquer incense stand, similarly inscribed and dated as the one mentioned above, formerly in the Kaisendo Museum, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 3227. Each of these pieces is a rare extant example of the lavish Imperial setting during the late Ming period.Polychrome lacquer became popular in the late Ming dynasty, either brush painted or gold-engraved and coloured in the more onerous qianjin and tianqi technique as displayed on the present table. The qiangjin (incised lines filled with gold) technique was developed as early as the Warring Sates period. The history of tianqi however, a subtype of the caiqi technique of colour lacquering, can be traced back to as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. When combined together, the gold lines and polychrome lacquer created a rather colourful and dazzling effect. A number of furniture pieces such as tables, stools, incense stands were made during the Jiajing and Wanli periods, testifying to the Court's great interest in lacquered furniture at this time. The Ming dynasty is regarded as the zenith of Chinese furniture making. One of its main achievements was the craftsman's thorough understanding of the natural strength and weaknesses of all types of wood. Complex joinery was used to piece furniture together without the use of glue or nails. As seen from the present table, the elegant form belies its strength, complexity and tenon structure which has allowed it to survive for over four centuries. Furniture from this period closely followed earlier prototypes manufactured from as early as the Song period and forms did not change significantly for hundreds of years; see Wang Shixiang, 'Development of Furniture Design and Construction from the Song and the Ming', Chinese Furniture. Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999, Hong Kong, 1999, p.42.Recessed-leg tables were historically referred to as 'character one' tables (yi zi zhuo shi), as the single horizontal stroke of the Chinese character for the numeral 'one' (yi 一) resembles their linear form. This design appears to have derived from standard wood building construction employed from as early as the Han dynasty. This particular design with side stretchers is known from as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279), when tables with bridle and tenon joints, a continuous apron with small spandrels, and double stretchers at the sides were produced. See for instance, the two recessed-leg tables depicted in 'Country Boys Playing in Class', a painting attributed to the Song period, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, 'Development of Furniture Design and Construction from the Song to the Ming', Chinese Furniture: Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999, Hong Kong, 1999, p.55, pl.35. Because of their light and simple form, recessed-leg tables could be easily moved from one location to another. They were usually placed against the wall in the main hall of the family compound where important visitors were received and family ceremonies took place; hence these tables became representative of their owner's status and level of refinement and functioned as surfaces on which to display cherished antiquities, artefacts, scroll paintings, to practice calligraphy and painting, and even play the qin; see S.Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp.224-238.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * TP* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.TP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE TIANQI AND QIANJIN LACQUER RECTANGULAR CHESTLate Ming Dynasty The chest with a detachable front panel concealing a shelf; the top, rear, two sides and front panels each carved through layers of red and black lacquer with a barbed cartouche enclosing magpies hovering over convoluted and pitted rocks issuing sprigs of blossoming lotus flowers and peonies, the base decorated with a vine and lotus scroll border band of lotus petals.39.5cm (15 1/2in) wide x 23cm 9in) deep x 40cm (15 6/8in) high. (2).Footnotes:明晚期 戧金填漆開光花石圖長方匣Lacquer chests of similar design dating to the Ming dynasty are rare. They were usually referred to as menchu, literally meaning 'cabinets with a sealed door'. It may have been used as a dressing case by both men and women alike to store toiletries, jewellery and other valuables; they could have also been used on desks for storing stationery and writing implements; see S.Handler, The Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Hong Kong, 2001, p.46, and G.Wu Bruce, The Best of the Best: The MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, Hong Kong, 2017, vol.2, p.472.Compare with a similarly-shaped lacquer cabinet, Ming dynasty, engraved with polychrome dragon and phoenix designs, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by N.De Bisscop in Chinees Lakweerk, Zutphen, 1982, p.92, fig.102. Another cabinet, decorated with dragons and phoenixes, Jiajing mark and of the period, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pp.202-203, no.160. Compare with a related tianqi and qiangjin lacquer chest, Jiajing mark and of the period, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 November 2016, lot 26.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A PAIR OF TIANQI AND QIANGJIN LACQUER ARMCHAIRS17th/18th centuryEach with a shaped top rail supported by an openwork shaped back panel incorporating the design of two phoenix among scrolling lingzhi stems, each arm's side panel carved with a cloud-scroll edge, the seat panel decorated with large lotus and birds, the square-section legs joined by rectangular-section stretchers. 11cm (43 3/4in) high x 63cm (24 3/4in) wide x 48cm (19in) deep. (2).Footnotes:十七/十八世紀 戧金填漆花鳥紋扶手椅一對Meticulously incised and coloured in the qianjin-and-tianqi (gold-engraved and filled-in) lacquer technique with vibrantly-coloured dynamic designs of phoenix and floral scrolls, these remarkable chairs may have been made for the use of one of the highest-ranking ladies of the Imperial household.Lacquer wares and furniture worked in polychrome palettes became popular in the late Ming dynasty. The Xiushi lu, a manual for lacquer manufacture compiled during the early 17th century, mentions two types of filled-in lacquer: the 'carve and inlay' type, loukan, according to which certain areas were cut out of the otherwise finished lacquer surface and inlaid with variously coloured lacquer, and the 'filled-in' or 'polish-reveal' method, moxian, when certain portions of the design were raised through multiple layers of lacquer as the ground was filled with additional lacquer and the boundaries between the different colour fields defined by engraved and gilt lines.Compare with a related tianqi lacquer chair, Ming dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, vol.3, Hong Kong, 2002, p.54, no.44. Also see a related pair of lacquered armchairs, Wanli, in the Lord Fairhaven collection in Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, illustrated by S.Jenyns, Chinese Art, London, 1980, pl.176.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: † TP† VAT at the prevailing rate on Hammer Price and Buyer's Premium.TP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A FINE POLYCHROME LACQUER RECTANGULAR TABLE17th century Finely incised and coloured in varying shades of red, green and burnt amber shading to black, the large rectangular top depicting a central shaped cartouche decorated with a flock of long-tailed birds hovering above a shrub issuing flowering peonies, pomegranates and magnolias, all above a large pitted rock, the straight edges decorated with geometric designs above the recessed waist defined by reticulated narrow panels, all above a cusped, shaped and barbed apron depicting a continuous scroll of blossoming lotus and peonies, the design continuing onto the four curling legs ending in upturned acanthus feet connected by rectangular stretchers. 58cm (22 3/4in) high x 95cm (37 1/2in) wide x 63cm (24 3.4in) deep. Footnotes:十七世紀 填漆花鳥紋帶托泥供桌Compare with a related red lacquer kang table, decorated with clouds, bats and wan symbols, early Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p.182, no.155. See also a related small brown kang table, 16th century, with an incised and coloured design of dragons on the top, illustrated by Lee Yu-kuan, Oriental Lacquer Art, New York and Tokyo, 1972, p.321. See also a huanghuali table, of similar shape, Ming dynasty, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol.2, Hong Kong, 1990, p.64, no.B6.The design of flowers and birds on the present lot, appears to be related to woodblock prints of flowers and birds, such as in the Jiezi yuan huazhuan (Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting), circa 1679, and the Shizhuzhai shuhua pu (Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Calligraphy and Painting), published by Hu Zhengyan (1584-1674) and printed between 1619 and 1633. The increasing availability of illustrated woodblock printed books, including pharmaceutical literature dealing with plants and their medicinal properties helped facilitate their design on lacquer such as the present lot.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * TP* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.TP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
AN IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL AND GILT-BRONZE CIRCULAR 'CHUN' BOX AND COVERQianlongOf compressed globular form resting on a wide foot, exquisitely decorated in bright enamels on a turquoise ground, the cover with a central medallion enclosing a large Chun character centred by a medallion enclosing Shoulao and his deer below a pine tree, flanked by a pair of writhing five-clawed dragons amidst cloud scrolls and above a large quatrefoil bowl issuing rainbow coloured rays centred by the flaming pearl, Endless Knot and other Auspicious Emblems, encircled by a classic scroll border, the sides of the box and cover with eight lobed cartouches each vividly depicting different scenes with a scholar and boy engaged in various leisurely pursuits in landscape scenes filled with rockwork and lush vegetation including willow, bamboo, pine and paulownia, divided by the Babao, all reserved against floral honeycomb blue and turquoise diaper ground, with a further zigzag band and a border of continuous foliate lingzhi fungus scroll, the heads of Shoulao and the figures delicately modelled in relief as gilt-bronze appliqués, the base decorated with prunus blossoms on a 'cracked-ice' ground. 21.5cm (8 1/2in) diam. (2).Footnotes:清乾隆 鎏金銅胎掐絲琺瑯「春壽」寶盒Provenance: Sir Michael Oppenheimer (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020) and Lady Helen Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022), and thence by descent來源：Michael Oppenheimer 爵士（三代從男爵，1924-2020年）與Helen Oppenheimer爵士夫人（1926-2022年）舊藏，並由後人保存迄今The collection belonged to Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020). Sir Michael's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire. The Chinese art collection can be, at least in part, traced back to Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, home to the Harvey Baronets from 1788 until 1945, as demonstrated in a pre-1945 photograph showing Lot 122, the cloisonné enamel tripod 'elephant' incense burner, Qianlong.Sir Michael Oppenheimer's paternal family was the well-known South African mining family. The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Bernard Oppenheimer, Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The family has been involved with De Beers over many decades. Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relationships.This remarkable box and cover was previously part of a set likely numbering eight or nine boxes, of which to-date only five similar cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze 'Chun' boxes and covers with relief gilt-bronze 'face' appliqués, Qianlong, appear to have been published. These include, in addition to the present lot, the two which were sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1323; one from the T.B. Kitson collection, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 21 February 1961, lot 263, and is now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (museum no.M.73.74a-b); and the fifth, from the Pierre Mercier collection, was published by Poly Art Museum, Beijing, The Exhibition of Chinese Bronze and Cloisonné Enamel Wares from the Pierre Mercier and Overseas Collections, Beijing, 2011, no.52, and was later sold at Poly Beijing, 5 December 2013, lot 7169. See also a pair of closely related but larger cloisonné and champlevé enamel and gilt-bronze Chun boxes and covers, Qianlong, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3653. The design of the God of Longevity, Shoulao, centred within a Chun ('Spring') character, appeared during the Qianlong period also on carved lacquer boxes and covers, known as Chun Shou baohe, 'Precious box of Spring and Longevity'; see one box in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by R.Zhang, Yangxindian zaobanchu shiliao jilan-dierji Qianlong chao (Historical Materials Relating to the Imperial Workshop in Yangxing Dian: Part II Qianlong), Beijing, 2012, p.136, pl.137, and another similar box, in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, p.88, pl.61. The design, however, was first introduced during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1522-1566). Compare with a polychrome lacquer carved 'Chun' box, Jiajing, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, p.176, no.134; and see also another similar box, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colours: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p.97, pl.87. The design of Shoulao, his deer, and the depiction of cranes are all symbolic of the wish for long life. The character Chun, Spring, is a metaphor for youth and fertility. Combined, they impart auspicious wishes to the emperor of long life and eternal youth. The cartouches alternate with the Eight Treasures (Babao), the wish-granting pearl, double lozenges, stone chime, pair of rhinoceros horns, cash, ingot, coral, and ruyi. The box and cover are decorated with eight ruyi-shaped cartouches, each enclosing a figural scene with a sage and attendant within landscape. They each represent a different renowned literatus, who was a scholar, poet or calligrapher, shown in the form of a scholar-official or sage with his attendant and in a scene depicting an attributable feature of anecdotal story unique to the person. They share the characteristic of pursuing a particular devotion, often leading a life of a recluse in preference over civic duties.In the context of the Qing Manchu Court, referencing these highly renowned Han literati on a vessel specially commissioned for the Imperial Court, exemplifies the Manchu emperors' and specifically the Qianlong emperor's intellectual ambitions and endeavours to formulate their image as learned scholars sustaining the values embodied in China's past. The Qianlong emperor wrote thousands of poems, practiced calligraphy and played the qin. He also formed one of the most important collections of art. Therefore the reference to the famous literati, the values they held and their artwork, would have held a special meaning to him. These are on the cover: 1. A scholar and attendant are shown in front of two cranes below a willow tree. Cranes are symbolic of long life. The sage depicted may be Lin Hejing also known as Lin Bu (967-1028 AD), a Northern Song dynasty renowned poet, calligrapher and scholar who lived as a recluse by the West Lake in Hangzhou. Although he was offered prestigious government positions, he refused all civic duties to pursue poetry. He is known to have loved plum blossoms and to raise cranes. It was said that the plum tree was his wife and the cranes his children. 2. A male attendant is offering a goose to a sage seated under bamboo. This scene could be identified as depicting the story of Wang Xizhi catching the goose. Wang Xizhi, regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher, was a writer and politician who lived during the Jin dynasty (265–420 AD), and known for his hobby of rearing geese.3. A sag... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'DRAGON' EWERQianlong, the Persian metal cover and mounts 19th centuryElegantly potted of flattened pear-shape rising from a short spreading foot, moulded and painted in a vibrant cobalt blue on either side with a tear-drop-shaped panel depicting a writhing five-clawed dragon amidst clouds and flames, reserved on a dense floral meander between key-fret pattern and lappets around the neck and a classic scroll around the foot, the tapered spout with florets and cloud scrolls, and connected to the neck with a ruyi-cloud strut, the metal mount forming the arched handle, the flaring neck and the high domed cover engraved with Arabic calligraphic roundels alternating with rabbits and birds between scrolling arabesques, the finial inset with green glass. 36.9cm (14 1/2in) high.Footnotes:清乾隆 青花雲龍紋執壺 配鑲十九世紀波斯壺柄及蓋Provenance: Christie's London, 12 July 2005, lot 169來源：倫敦佳士得，2005年7月12日，拍品編號169The roundels on the upper and lower parts of the mount are invocations: ya ghafran (O Forgiving One)ya sultan (O Sovereignty)ya Hanan (O Compassionate One)ya musta'an (O Requiter)ya 'azum (O Mightly One)The inscribed band on the rim is the basmallah (invocation in the name of Allah) followed by the Qur'anic text of Surah 68, verse 51:Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim wa an yakad al-din kafaru al-yuzliqunak bi-basrihim lama sami'ua al-dhikaru wa yaqulun innhu lamajnun - 'When they hear Our revelations, the unbelievers almost devour you with their eyes. 'He is surely possessed', they say. (Translation from The Koran by N.J.Dawood, Harmondsworth, revised edition, 1979, p.63.)The present lot is extremely rare, and there are only two known blue and white ewers of this type with decoration of dragons and Qianlong mark published. One is in the collection of the Topkapi Saray, Istanbul, illustrated by J.Ayers and R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, vol.3, London, 1986, pp.1106-1107, no.2566. See also a ewer from the Roemer-Museum in Hildesheim illustrated by U.Wiesner, Chinesisches Porzellan: Die Ohlmer'sche Sammlung im Roemer-Museum, Mainz am Rhein, 1981, no.70. Pear-shaped ewers, such as the present example, appear to be based on an earlier round sectioned prototype produced during the Yuan and early Ming dynasties, which in turn were inspired by Central Asian and Middle Eastern metal vessels. See, for example, a blue and white ewer, Yongle, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, vol.1, Hong Kong, 2000, p.43, no.41. Similarities can also be drawn with a group of tianbai ewers, Yongle, excavated from the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen despite these specimens display a wider neck and a square spout; see Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp.96-97, no.7. Although the shape of this ewer does not appear to have been made in the following reign periods, it was revived in the Jiajing reign on both monochrome white and with underglaze blue wares; see for example, a blue and white ewer with a design of children playing, Jiajing, in the Percival David collection in the British Museum, illustrated by R.Scott and R.Kerr, Ceramic Evolution in the Middle Ming Period, London, 1994, p.30, no.51. The Western Asian metal mounts on the present ewer vessel suggest that the ewer was previously in a Western Asian collection. The chased decoration on the mounts is Qajar Persian dating to the 19th century. Compare with a blue and white ewer, Kangxi, which displays a similar mount and cover, from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (acc.no.476.18-6). See also a 15th century blue and white ewer from the Topkapi Saray museum, Instanbul, fitted with a related but lesser rounded metal cover; see ibid., p.519, no.618. A pair of similar ewers with handles and covers, Qianlong, was sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 1 May 2001, lot 537.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE IMPERIAL ZITAN 'DRAGON' CABINET, KANGGUI18th century The cabinet of rectangular shape with square corners, inset on front and sides with well carved panels, each enclosing a writhing five-clawed dragon amidst swirling clouds, fitted with a pair of doors to the front opening to reveal the interior fitted with a shelf above two drawers and a covered storage well, the conforming upper section similarly constructed, the interior plain, all supported on four gilt mounted short legs joined by cloud-scroll spandrelled aprons. 60.5cm (25 6/8in) high x 35cm (13 6/8in) wide x 17cm (6 5/8in) deepFootnotes:十八世紀 御製紫檀雕雲龍紋炕櫃 Provenance: an English private collection, and thence by descent; the cabinet is illustrated in an old family card showing an interior來源：英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今 It is highly likely that the present cabinet was acquired by Captain Stephen Bowles - Evans RN (1876-1918). It is known that he made voyages to Asia and was an extremely keen collector of Chinese and Japanese works of art. In 1911 he served on H.M.S. Hindustan, at the same time as the then Prince of Wales, later H.R.H Edward VIII. In 1918 he died from Spanish Flu.Superbly carved with ferocious scaly five-clawed dragons among tumultuous waves, the present cabinet is constructed from the finest quality zitan wood, a material reserved for the Imperial Court. The subject matter of five-clawed dragons, and the high quality of the carving, point strongly to it being made for the Imperial family.Compact cabinets such as the present example were constructed of two matched cabinets stacked on top of each other, each fitted with a pair of doors. This type, was known as a kanggui, as it was suitable for use on the kang, a hollow brick platform where hot air is driven through to create a warm living space.The manufacturing process of this cabinet involved the complex blend of five essential fields: symbolism of the imagery, aesthetic taste, design, material and craftsmanship. The entire composition symbolises the emperor's rule of the earth and the sky. Such imagery, historically popular among, and exclusive to, the Imperial family, thus places the present cabinet in the highest class of Chinese furniture. The design of confronted dragons - primary representation of the emperor's supremacy - reflects how the emperor wished to present himself: a benevolent ruler and ultimate authority of the empire. The cabinet encapsulates the exacting taste of the Qianlong emperor, who created a legacy of great Imperial splendour and he surrounded himself with furnishings, object and artefacts that represented his passion for sumptuous display demonstrating the prosperity of the empire at its peak. Compare with a pair of similar zitan cabinets of similar size and design, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 3 May 1977, lot 24. See also a larger compound cabinet carved with dragons, in the Qing Court Collection, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, vol.2, Hong Kong, 2002, pl.211. Compare also the dragon carving on a zitan chest illustrated in Splendour of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1992, no.309. See also a related zitan cabinet, Qianlong, decorated with dragons amidst clouds, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, no.1929-91-3b.A similar carved zitan 'dragon' cabinet, 18th century, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2018, lot 1318.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
ATTRIBUTED TO QI BAISHI (1864-1957)PumpkinsHanging scroll, ink and colour on paper, inscribed and bearing signature of Baishi Laoren, with two artist's seals Qi Da, Wushier nian Bashiba. 102cm (40 1/4in) long x 33cm (13in) wide.Footnotes:傳齊白石 南瓜與蚱蜢 設色紙本 立軸Provenance: Mrs Hazel Elfwendahl (1923-2018), and thence by descent來源：Hazel Elfwendahl夫人（1923-2018）舊藏，並由後人保存迄今Hazel Elfwendahl (1923-2018) was wife of Bo Elfwendahl (1928-2004) Sweden's Vice Consul with the Royal Swedish Consulate in Hong Kong 1957-1962. During their diplomatic posting to Hong Kong, Mrs Elfwendahl took great interest and acquired during these years a deeper knowledge into Chinese art, and also an opportunity to peruse painting and calligraphy studies for the Chinese Master, Mrs Chow Leung Chen Ying. Mrs Elfwendahl's keen interest established several friendships with Hong Kong art collectors.Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is perhaps the most famous Chinese artist of the 20th century. He is noted for his whimsical, playful, and seemingly simple style of painting. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. When he came across the 'Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting', that sparked his interest to paint. He did not start learning painting and calligraphy until he was 27. After he turned 40, he travelled, visiting various scenic spots in China. After 1917 he settled in Beijing. Qi is known for the freshness and spontaneity that he brought to the familiar genres of birds and flowers, insects and grasses, hermit-scholars and landscapes.Compare with a similar painting of pumpkins and grasshopper, by Qi Baishi, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 8 July 2020, lot 1081.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
ANONYMOUSGokei Monju Bosatsu Muromachi (1333-1573), Momoyama (1573–1615), or Edo (1615–1868) period, 16th/17th centuryHanging scroll; ink, colours, and gold on silk within brocade mounts. Overall: 191cm x 65cm (75 3/16in x 25 9/16in); image: 98.5 x 42.2cm (38 13/16in x 16 5/8in).Footnotes:Provenance:Henri Vever (1854-1942) Collection.The bodhisattva Monju (Sanskrit, Manjusri) in his manifestation as Gokei (Five Topknots) Monju Bosatsu, depicted as a youth mounted (as usual in Japan) upon a fierce, dark-blue lion, without his customary attribute of a sword in his right hand but still holding in his left a stem of lotus on which is balanced a copy of the Hannya-kyo sutra.For an earlier example of this Monju iconography (but including the sword) in the Miho Museum, see miho.jp/booth/html/artcon/00000002.htm. The five topknots identify the deity as the 'ocean-crossing' form of Monju (as also indicated by waves in the background of this painting) that owes its origins to the Chinese cult of Manjusri at Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, with its cluster of five or more flat-topped peaks. The Wutai (Japanese, Godai) cult was introduced to Japan by the monk Ennin who visited Mount Wutai during his travels in China from 838 to 847.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
SHOKASAI AND SHIBAYAMA LINEAGEAn Inlaid and Gold-Lacquer Four-Case Inro Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th century The lenticular kinji ground decorated in gold and slight-coloured takamaki-e, gold hiramaki-e, kirikane, and Shibayama style with Kosekiko (Chinese: Huangshigong) kneeling on rocks and holding up a fallen shoe towards Choryo (Zhang Liang) shown on the other side, crossing a bridge on horseback and holding a rolled scroll, the dragon that saved Choryo from a river looking up at him from the waves, signed on the base in gold lacquer Shokasai and Shibayama within a shell-inlaid rectangular reserve; with a circular lacquered and inlaid metal ojime and a gold-lacquer two-part domed circular netsuke embellished with a meandering, flowering plum branch; unsigned. The inro: 8cm (3 1/8in) high; the netsuke: 3.2cm (1¼in) diam.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL 'LOTUS SCROLL' BRUSHPOT, BITONG17th centuryFinely cast of cylindrical form and supported on a flat base, brightly enamelled around the exterior with a broad band of scrolling lotus picked out in blue, green, yellow and white enamels against a turquoise-blue ground, enclosed within chevron and segmented floret borders, the base enamelled with a yin-yang motif to the centre, framed within lingzhi-form petals and encircled by prunus sprays and cloud scrolls, the foot ring and rim gilt. 16cm (6 1/4in) high.Footnotes:十七世紀 銅胎掐絲琺琅洋蓮紋筆筒Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 732來源：蘇富比紐約，2017年3月15日，拍品732號Published and Illustrated: S.Marsh, Brushpots: A Collector's View, Hong Kong, 2020, pp.152-153.錄著：S.Marsh, 《Brushpots: A Collector's View》，香港，2020，頁152-153.Cloisonné brushpots dating to the late Ming or early Qing dynasty period are particularly rare. Compare, however, a related slender cylindrical vase or brushpot, Kangxi, in the Brooklyn Museum (acc.no.09.457). Compare also the decoration of lotus with those on a large hu vessel, first half 17th century, illustrated by H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, no.127. A related cloisonné enamel brushpot but with decoration of flowers and insects, 17th century, is illustrated in ibid., no.135.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'MASTER OF THE ROCKS' JARShunzhi/early KangxiOf elegant baluster form, painted around the exterior with a continuous scene of craggy mountains in pencilled line around a lake with fisherman on a sampan, pavilions with scholars dotted throughout, all amidst various trees, the sky with V-shaped flocks of geese, all beneath a border of pine trees on the shoulder, the neck with a border of lotus. 27.8cm (11in) high. Footnotes:清順治至康熙早期 青花山水紋罐Provenance: Professor Desmond R. Laurence (1922-2019)S. Marchant & Son, London, 17 October 2003Marchant, London, 6 December 2010Published, Illustrated and Exhibited: Marchant, Selected Chinese Porcelain from the Collection of Professor D.R. Laurence, London, 2010, pp.20-21, no.12來源：Desmond R. Laurence 教授 (1922-2019)倫敦古董商 S. Marchant & Son，2003年10月17日倫敦古董商 Marchant，2010年12月6日展覽及錄著：《Selected Chinese Porcelain from the Collection of Professor D.R. Laurence》，倫敦，2010年，頁20-21，編號12The present jar is decorated with a landscape in the so-called 'Master of the Rocks' style. This style, which seems to have developed towards the mid-17th century in the final years of the Ming dynasty, continued to be popular in the early years of the Kangxi reign, with a very few examples being made as late as the turn of the century. The 'Master of the Rocks' style was by no means limited to the brush of a single artist, and appears in a number of versions on porcelains from about 1640 to 1700. It was used on porcelains decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and also those decorated in underglaze blue and copper red. There are even very rare examples where the style has been combined with famille verte enamels. The style itself is characterised by the use of 'hemp-fibre' strokes to produce rocky landscapes full of movement and drama, often combined with the use of fluid dots to depict scrub and foliage.This development in porcelain painting reflected elements seen in the landscape painting of certain artists working on silk and paper. The use of 'hemp-fibre' brush strokes can be seen in the work of the famous late Ming dynasty literatus Dong Qichang (1555-1636), for example in his hanging scroll 'Autumn Landscape' in the Nü Wa Chai Collection illustrated by J.Cahill, Chinese Painting, Lausanne, n.d., p.150. The dramatic, almost writhing, rock forms as well as the 'hemp-fibre' brush strokes can also be seen in paintings such as 'Returning Home from Gathering Fungus' painted in 1628 by Wang Jianzhang (fl.1628-1644), illustrated by S.Little, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century: Landscapes, Scholars' Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, p.36, fig.2. The influence of such paintings on the porcelain decorators at Jingdezhen was not necessarily direct. This style of painting was not only well-regarded, it also lent itself to translation into woodblock printing, and it is quite possible that it was through this medium that aspects of style, such as 'hemp-fibre' strokes were transmitted to the ceramic artists of Jingdezhen. See for example 'hemp-fibre' brushstroke mountain landscape in the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, circa 1679, illustrated by T.Canepa and K.Butler, Leaping the Dragon Gate: The Sir Michael Butler Collection of Seventeenth-Century Chinese Porcelain, London, 2021, p.404.For a blue and white brushpot with this 'master of the rocks' style landscape, Kangxi, see Ibid., p.404; other pieces including a gu vase, and dish, Kangxi, all with related decoration, are in ibid., pp.406-417. Compare with a related large blue and white 'master of the rocks' style landscape vase, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2015, lot 107.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'SAAGATA' SLEEVE VASEChongzhenThe tall elegantly potted cylindrical vessel brilliantly painted around the exterior in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue with a continuous scene of an Arhat in cascading robes holding a staff with concerned expression beneath long eyebrows and wrinkled brow, gazing at a boy-attendant carrying a meditation mat through a pole, both facing an elderly woman carrying a large jar with cracked-ice glaze, all amidst plantain, craggy rocks and billowing clouds, all between finely incised scroll borders at the foot and shoulder, pendant plantain-leaves beneath the mouth. 47cm (18 1/2in) high.Footnotes:明崇禎 青花「莎伽陀」筒瓶Provenance: William James, prior to 1905 (a photograph of circa 1905 illustrated in Country Life).Christie's South Kensington, 15 December 2016, lot 120Published and Illustrated: C.Aslet, 'West Dean Park, Sussex - II', Country Life, 29 October 1981, p.1462, fig.1.來源：William James, 1905年前入藏（《Country Life》雜志刊有一約攝于1905年的舊照）佳士得肯辛頓，2016年12月15日，拍品120Saagata is the Tibetan name of the Arhat Shajiatuo (莎伽陀). Numbered 239 out of the 500 arhats, he was known for his fondness for liquor. However, before inebriation he was said to be powerful enough to subdue a dragon. His story is documented in the Upasakasilasutra 'Sutra of the Upasaka Precepts' (優婆塞戒經) no.5, the fifth precept prohibiting intoxication through alcohol. According to the legend, after subduing a dragon, the people were grateful to Saagata and a poor woman who respected him greatly offered him wine. Saagata became drunk and fell to the ground near the gate of the temple. Buddha and Ananda walked by and noticed Saagata on the floor, and thereupon forbade all Buddhist disciples from consuming alcohol.In the context of late Ming culture, when 'passion' (qing 情) and 'obsession' (pi 癖): unswerving commitment and genuine fondness towards something was celebrated, the depiction of Sagataa's fondness for alcohol would have been less a genuine condemnation, and more a tacit nod of his affable humanity. Late Ming attitudes towards Saagata therefore, would not be unlike an Elizabethan audience's attitudes to Shakespeare's larger-than life character Falstaff: a rogue, yet loved by all. The literati's approval of certain elegant 'vices' can be seen in the famous late Ming scholar Zhang Dai's 張岱 (1599-1684) writings:'One cannot befriend a man without obsessions, for he lacks deep emotion, nor can one befriend a man without faults, for he lacks integrity'.Indeed, late Ming culture celebrated another Monk known for his love of alcohol - Lu Zhishen - from the novel Outlaws of the Marsh (水滸傳) published in the 16th century. Lu's love of alcohol, and enormous consumption of it, also gets him into trouble, yet in the novel he is a loveable character that attains enlightenment. Seen within this context, Saagata would have been well-received by Ming dynasty literati.Stylistically as well, the depiction of the Arhat on the present lot tallies with paintings of Arhats by Wu Bin (c.1573-1620) and Ding Yunpeng (1547-1621). Ding Yunpeng excelled in painting religious figures which were meticulously executed with fine 'iron-wire' lines. Wu Bin too in his Five Hundred Arhats depicted an enormous number of Arhats in a variety of postures and gestures. Their facial expressions are also almost comical such as in the present lot. Ding and Wu's work were both reproduced in woodblock printed books such as the Lidai minggong huapu (歷代名公畫譜), published in the Wanli period, and it is primarily through printed matter that they influenced porcelain painters. See Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting, New Haven and London, 1997, pp.236-238. See a related blue and white sleeve vase, dated to 1641, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, illustrated by R.S.Kilburn, Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners, Hong Kong, 1981, p.35. Compare with a related blue and white sleeve vase, Chongzhen, but decorated with horsemen, which was sold at which was sold at Christie's New York, An Era of Inspiration: 17th Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis, 16 March 2015, lot 3532.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A RARE BLUE AND WHITE 'DESCENDING GEESE' OVOID JAR AND COVERChongzhenHeavily potted of ovoid form, rising from a short foot to a waisted neck, painted around the exterior with a continuous scene of a lotus pond, one goose flying towards another swimming in the water, all beneath a border of pendant foliage, the domed cover with incised scroll-border surrounding a rabbit gazing at the moon amidst rockwork, bamboo and floral sprays. 28.3cm (11 1/8in) high. (2).Footnotes:明崇禎 青花寳鴨穿蓮紋蓋罐Provenance: a Leipzig private collection, purchased in 1990, by reputeSotheby's London, 15 May 2007, lot 503來源：萊比錫私人收藏，於1990年入藏（擬）蘇富比倫敦，2007年5月15日，拍品503號Lotus were beloved by the literati since the Neo-Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073) wrote his essay 'On Loving Lotus' (Ai lian shuo). In his essay, Zhou likened the scholar-gentleman to the lotus who 'remains pure despite growing from the mud' ('出淤泥而不染'). In the context of venal late Ming Court politics of the Chongzhen era when the present lot was made, the pure lotus that rises from the mud would have resonated strongly with scholar-officials and encapsulated a hopeful attitude. The depiction of the geese are also particularly interesting. Geese descending is a theme which has strong poetic associations with Autumn and has been extolled by both painters and musicians alike in the well-known song for the guqin 'Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank' (平沙落雁). This theme attained renown within Chinese literary and artistic circles during the Song period and continued from then on. See also for example, a painting of geese descending by Bian Shoumin (1683-1752), in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (acc.no.90.513). the painting 'Wild Geese and Hibiscus' by Bian Wenjin (ca.1356-1428), in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Hou-mei Sung, Decoded Messages: The Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting, New Haven, 2009, p.68. The painting (though with five birds) shows wild geese on a river shore in the four aspects of flying, calling, sleeping and eating, a traditional grouping. Geese over time had many different meanings from orderliness in flight, to their ability to come and go as they pleased, to their apparent busyness and friendship. During the Yuan dynasty, wild geese appear to have symbolised the self-enforced leisure and freedom of retired Han Chinese scholars, indignant at their treatment under Mongolian rule. It could be perhaps, that Han Chinese scholars felt the same with impending foreign Manchu rule. It is likely that the present's lot design was based on the woodblock printed book Tuhui zongyi (圖繪宗彝), juan 8, which also shows geese descending, and was published in 1607. The cover depicts a rabbit gazing at the moon. This is a reference to the Goddess of the Moon's companion, the moon rabbit, sometimes also known as the Jade rabbit, who constantly pounds herbs into an elixir of longevity for Chang'e. In time, the rabbit became synonymous with the moon. Compare with a similar blue and white ovoid jar, but without cover, Jiajing six-character mark but Shunzhi, with very similar decoration, illustrated by T.Canepa and K.Butler, Leaping The Dragon Gate: The Sir Michael Butler Collection of Seventeenth-Century Chinese Porcelain, London, 2021, p.309, no.III3.60. See also a related blue and white ovoid jar and cover, Chongzhen, but decorated with flowers and antiques, illustrated in Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections: Beauty's Enchantment, Shanghai, 2005, pp.90-91, no.13.See a related blue and white ovoid jar and cover, circa 1640-1650, similarly decorated with a lotus pond, which was sold at Christie's New York, An Era of Inspiration: 17th Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis, 16 March 2015, lot 3513.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
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