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A PINK SANDSTONE BUST OF A CELESTIAL DEITYIndia, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, 12th century. Finely carved with prominent, voluptuous breasts, adorned with beaded jewelry, the serene face with almond-shaped eyes below gently arched eyebrows and full lips forming a gentle smile, the hair in fine rows parted by a beaded headdress.Provenance: From the collection of Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold. Ted Newbold (1930-2018) was a broker and civic leader in Philadelphia, with a lifelong passion for art. In 1984, he married Helen Cunningham, who shared his love for the arts and collecting. Newbold was one of the founders of the “Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art” and a 50-year trustee of the Museum itself. He was a board member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Fleisher Art Memorial. Works of art donated by Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the Fleischer Art Memorial, among others.Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive weathering, wear and losses, small nicks here and there, few structural cracks.Weight: 4,353 g (incl. base)Dimensions: Height 20.8 cm (excl. base) and 29 cm (incl. base)Mounted on a modern base. (2)Auction result comparison: Compare a related sandstone bust of a celestial deity, of slightly larger size (30 cm high) and also dated c. 12th century, at Christie's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 19 March 2014, lot 1080, sold for USD 25,000.

A SANDSTONE RELIEF OF A VYALA, INDIA, 11TH-12TH CENTURYFinely carved, the beast with a powerfully curved chest, fierce eyes, and bared teeth. Encircling the neck is a beaded collar, the tail terminating in a flame-like element indicating its ferocity. A figure attempts to tame the beast, trying to keep its mouth open with one hand as the other arm is trapped in its jaw.Provenance: Collection of a French diplomat, assembled in the 1960s and thence by descent.Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, losses, nicks, structural cracks. Dimensions: Height 59 cm (excl. stand) and 67 cm (incl. stand)Mounted on a modern stand. (2)A vyala is a mythical beast with the body of a lion and a horned, chimeric head. These figures are among the most common features of Indian temple architecture and usually act as brackets, set into the recesses of the exterior walls, typically supporting overhanging cornices. The composite figure of lion and a mythical head is a symbol of both royalty and the force of nature, and their placement within temple architecture often serves as an element of protection.Literature comparison: Compare the present sculpture to a vyala from V. Desai and D. Mason, Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India A.D. 700-1200, New York, 1993, cat. 15. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related sandstone relief depicting a vyala, 68.6 cm high, dated 11th century, at Sotheby's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Works of Art on 23 March 2007, lot 13, sold for USD 13,200.

AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF AN EPIC BATTLE SCENE, PROBABLY FROM THE RAMAYANA, EARLY 19TH CENTURYIndia, Kangra or Garhwal, c. 1810-1820. Ink, watercolors, and gold on wasli. Finely painted with a dense battle scene depicting Rama probably at the top right and again below, as well as various other deities and human figures engaged in vicious fights with many severed limbs, flying spears, and blood, one man riding an elephant and another a horse-drawn carriage, all wearing elaborate robes and jewelry, brandishing swords and other weapons. To the left and right of this scene are white buildings filled with peaceful figures and deities.Inscriptions: To reverse, a lengthy inscription of thirteen lines in black ink.Provenance: From the collection of Karl Stirner, and thence by descent. Karl Stirner (1923-2016) was a German-born American sculptor known internationally for his metalwork. His art has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and the Delaware Art Museum, among other places.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, little soiling, and few minuscule losses to edges. Matted and framed behind glass.Dimensions: Image size 37.3 x 23.8 cm, Size incl. frame 50 x 36 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a closely related miniature painting from a dispersed Ramayana series, depicting the battle between Rama and Ravana, at Christie's New York Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 19 March 2014, lot 1105, sold for USD 15,000, and another depicting Rama and Sita participating in rituals at Sotheby's New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art on 20 September 2021, lot 396, sold for USD 25,200.

A RARE AND MASSIVE LIMESTONE 'PIG-DRAGON' CARVING, ZHULONG, HONGSHAN CULTUREChina, Neolithic period, c. 4000-3000 BC. Of generous proportions, the iconic coiled body further accentuated with a superbly rendered wrinkled snout, the neck drilled for suspension. Provenance: Collection of Oliver Reginald Hoare (1945-2018). A prominent English art figure, described as arguably the most influential dealer in the Islamic world, Hoare joined Christie's London in 1967 where he was initially overseeing Russian art. After spotting some carpets left lying in a corridor and recognizing them as Persian, Hoare used them as the basis of a successful auction, which led to the launch of the Islamic Art Department, the first of its kind in a major auction house. He left Christie's in 1975 and opened Ahuan, a gallery in Pimlico, in partnership with David Sulzberger. In 1994, he negotiated the return of a Persian 16th-century manuscript to Iran, the Houghton Shahnameh (the most important illustrated manuscript ever created in Persia), in exchange for Willem de Kooning's Woman III which had been in Iran since the Islamic revolution. In the 1990s, he was famously liaised with Diana, Princess of Wales. Published: Oliver Hoare, Every Object Tells a Story, 2017, London, page 26, number 14. Condition: Good condition, presenting well, commensurate with age. Several hairline cracks and structural fissures. Distinct areas of erosion and general surface alteration. Small bruises. Fine, naturally grown patina, with an unctuous worn feel overall, due to extensive handling over decades, or even centuries, indicating the present zhulong was excavated long time ago. Weight: 3,087 g (excl. stand) Dimensions: Height 20 cm (excl. stand) With an associated metal stand. (2) Notable for its large size, this carving depicts a zhulong, or pig-dragon, a modern term that describes the animal's upturned snout, prominent bulging eyes and coiled body. Considered to represent the prototype of depictions of mythological dragons in later Chinese art, zhulong are some of the most iconic creations of the enigmatic Hongshan culture, and evidence the existence of a complex system of belief in supernatural forces. Auction result comparison: Compare a related calcified yellow jade zhulong, 10 cm high, also attributed to the Hongshan culture, at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Monochrome II on 9 October 2020, lot 21, sold for HKD 2,520,000. 紅山文化罕見石灰岩雕豬龍中國，新石器時代，公元前約 4000-3000 年。通體呈牙白色，肥首大耳，嘴部平齊，三角形切口不切透內圓，身體首尾相連，成團狀捲曲，背部對鑽圓孔，面部以陰刻線表現眼圈、皺紋。來源：Oliver Reginald Hoare (1945-2018) 收藏。Hoare是一位著名的英國藝術人物，可以說是伊斯蘭世界最有影響力的經銷商，他於 1967 年加入倫敦佳士得，最初負責監督俄羅斯藝術。 他發現一些放在走廊上的地毯是波斯地毯後，Hoare將它們進行了成功的拍賣，以此爲基礎成立了伊斯蘭藝術部，這是大型拍賣行中的此方面第一個部門。他於 1975 年離開佳士得，與 David Sulzberger 合作在 Pimlico 開設了 Ahuan 藝廊。1994 年，他通過談判將一份十六世紀的波斯手稿《Houghton Shahnameh》（波斯有史以來最重要的插圖手稿）歸還給伊朗，以換取自伊斯蘭革命以來一直在伊朗的Willem de Kooning《女人III》。 1990 年代，他與威爾士王妃戴安娜有過交往。出版：Oliver Hoare, Every Object Tells a Story, 2015, 倫敦, 頁26, 編號14。 品相：狀況及保存良好，與年齡相稱。幾處細小裂縫和結構裂縫。不同的侵蝕區域和一般的表面變化。微小擦傷。細膩自然的包漿，表面光滑潤澤，這説明它是很久以前出土的。 重量：3,087 克 (不含底座) 尺寸：高20 厘米 (不含底座) 配置金屬底座 (2) 拍賣結果比較：比較一件鈣化的黃玉豬龍，高10 厘米，紅山文化，見香港蘇富比Monochrome II 2020年10月 9日 lot 21, 售價HKD 2,520,000。

A LARGE AND MASSIVE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF A CHAURI BEARER, 10TH CENTURYNorthern India, Rajasthan. Superbly carved from buff sandstone standing in a restrained tribhanga pose, the celestial attendant holding a luxurious flywhisk (chauri) in his right hand held in front of the torso, the neatly carved hairs of the whisk elegantly falling over his right shoulder, the left hand is lowered at his thigh with the palm facing downward. He is wearing a short dhoti and a tall crown centered by a foliate design. His serene face is marked by almond shaped eyes below gently arched eyebrows, full lips forming a calm smile, and long pendulous earlobes.Provenance: Michael Macmillan Ltd., 12a Cadogan Place, London, June 1976. Collection of Denis O'Brien, acquired from the above. A copy of a letter written and signed by Denis Kerjean, General Manager of Michael Macmillan Ltd., addressed to Denis O'Brien, and dated 12 July 1976, accompanies this lot. Denis O'Brien (1941-2021) was an American attorney, best-known as the business manager of George Harrison of the Beatles and co-founder (along with Harrison) of the film studio HandMade Films, which produced Monthy Python's Life of Brian among many other films. He was introduced to Harrison by Peter Sellers, another financial client of O'Brien.Expert Authentication: According to the Michael Macmillan letter, there also once was “a letter of authentification signed by the V.A.M., to further prove the age of the statue”. Although this second letter has not survived, this remark by Macmillan clearly indicates that the present lot was authenticated by the Victoria & Albert Museum prior to 1976.Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, signs of weathering and erosion, few structural cracks, small nicks, light scratches.Weight: 78 kgDimensions: Height 102 cm (excl. stand) and 118 cm (incl. stand)Mounted on a modern stand. (2)Literature comparison: Compare a related figure of a male attendant, attributed to Rajasthan, dated 9th-10th century, in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (inv. no. A1970.262), illustrated by Balraj Khanna and George Michell, Human and Divine: 2000 Years of Indian Sculpture, Hayward Gallery, London 2000, no. 68, p. 17.Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related sandstone figure of a chauri bearer, 52.6 cm high, also dated to the 10th century and attributed to Rajasthan, at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 19 March 2019, lot 838, sold for USD 40,075.

A MONUMENTAL BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA, CHIENG SEN STYLELan Na Kingdom, Northern Thailand, 15th century. Finely cast, the serene face with downcast eyes, heavy eyelids under arched eyebrows, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair finely worked in rows of curls, pulled together at the top towards the separately cast ushnisha, which is surmounted by a jewel.Provenance: Collection of Giovanni Testori and Alain Toubas, acquired in the Italian antiques trade in the 1990s or earlier. Collection of Leonardo Vigorelli, Bergamo, acquired from the above. Giovanni Testori (1923-1993) was an Italian writer, journalist, poet, art and literary critic, dramatist, screenplay writer, theatrical director, and painter. His screenplays were directed by Luchino Visconti during the 1960s. Testori had met Alain Pierre Toubas (1938-2021), his long-time companion, at the end of the 1950s.Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, small dents, minuscule nicks and cracks. Fine, naturally grown patina, the bronze almost entirely covered with a thin and consistent layer of verdigris, as typical for cast bronzes that have been exposed to exterior weather conditions over an extended period of time. Dimensions: Height 47 cm (excl. stand) and 66 cm (incl. stand)Mounted on a modern stand. (3)This larger than life-size and superbly cast head of the historical Buddha shows him with a sublime inner calm resulting from his deep spiritual compassion. This is enhanced by the remarkably fine, deep-green patina of the bronze. The voluminous face, with its snail-shaped curls, is a solid testimony of the casting workshops of the city of Chieng Sen in the Lan Na kingdom in North Thailand.Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze statue of Buddha at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2018, lot 241.Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bronze head, 41 cm high, also dated to the 15th century, at Christie's London in The Dani & Anna Ghigo Collection, Part I: South East Asian, Himalayan and Indian Works of Art on 11 May 2016, lot 102, sold for GBP 40,000.

A KASHAN TURQUOISE-GLAZED ZOOMORPHIC POTTERY EWERPersia, 12th-13th century. The compressed globular body rising from a short spreading foot to a slightly tapered cylindrical neck terminating in a bull's head top with bulging eyes, an open tubular mouth, and paired horns forming loop handles at the top, a vertical spout rising from the shoulder and terminating in a cup-shaped mouth.Provenance: From the collection of Karl Stirner, and thence by descent. Karl Stirner (1923-2016) was a German-born American sculptor known internationally for his metalwork. His art has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and the Delaware Art Museum, among other places.Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age, with old wear and some firing flaws, including several massive firing cracks, some of which have developed into splits sometime after the firing, the deepest of which are found to the base and to the small section between the vertical spout and neck, partially with remnants of old filling. Further with glaze recesses, malachite-discoloration to the glaze due to misfiring, intentional glaze crackling, few small nicks, and minor losses.Weight: 754.7 gDimensions: Height 27.7 cmThe body is decorated in relief with a continuous band of frolicking deer amid foliate scroll. Covered overall in a rich turquoise glaze thinning at the edges and attractively pooling and darkening in the recesses.Literature comparison: Compare a related piece illustrated in Ernst Grube, Islamic Pottery of the 8th to the 15th Century in the Keir Collection, 1976, p. 171, no. 120.Auction result comparison: Compare a related Kashan turquoise-glazed zoomorphic pottery bottle, also dated 12th-13th century, at Sotheby's London in A Princely Collection: Treasures From The Islamic World on 05 October 2010, lot 81, sold for GBP 25,000.

AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF A MUGHAL COURTIERMughal India, 17th-18th century. Ink, watercolors, and gold on wasli. The courtier standing in a palace terrace, wearing a white jama with gold hems and details, adorned with beaded and emerald-set jewelry, holding his cane in one hand and a flower in the other, the elaborate headdress crowned by a feather, the face with a fine expression. The lower margin with an old inscription.Provenance: From the collection of Karl Stirner, and thence by descent. Karl Stirner (1923-2016) was a German-born American sculptor known internationally for his metalwork. His art has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and the Delaware Art Museum, among other places.Condition: Good condition with minor wear, soiling, water stains, possibly microscopic touchups.Dimensions: Image size 20.5 x 13 cm, total size 33.5 x 23.5 cm (including frame). Framed behind glass.Auction result comparison: Compare a related Mughal portrait of Baqir Khan, dated circa 1635, at Sotheby's London in The Khosrovani-Diba Collection on 19 October 2016, lot 6, sold for GBP 50,000. Compare also a related Mughal portrait of a nobleman, dated circa 1780, at Christie's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 17 September 2003, lot 128, sold for USD 5,975.

A SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, KUSHAN PERIODAncient region of Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century. Standing clad in a long flowing sanghati, the folds of the drapery finely carved, adorned with various necklaces and earrings, the face with almond-shaped eyes, centered by an urna, the hair in long wavy locks pulled into an elaborate topknot and secured with a beaded tiara.Provenance: Collection of Jean-Marc Andral, acquired between 1991 and 1994 in the local trade in Miami, Florida, USA. Jean-Marc Andral is a Belgian manager based in Brussels and active in the healthcare industry for over 25 years. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, weathering, losses, erosion, cracks, encrustations.Weight: 6,938 (excl. stand)Dimensions: Height 44 cm (excl. stand) and 48.7 cm (incl. stand)Mounted on a modern metal stand. (2)Auction result comparison: Compare a related schist figure of Maitreya, 55.6 cm high, also dated 2nd-3rd century, at Christie's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 23 March 2010, lot 144, sold for USD 68,500.貴霜帝國片岩雕彌勒佛像健陀羅地區，二至三世紀。彌勒佛身披飄逸長袍，衣紋流暢，綴以項鍊及耳環，杏眼臉，雙眉之間有白毫，長捲髮束成精緻的發髻，串珠頭飾固定。 來源：Jean-Marc Andral收藏，於1991 至1994 年間購於美國佛羅裡達邁阿密當地古玩市場。Jean-Marc Andral是布魯塞爾的比利時經理，活躍於醫療保健行業超過 25 年。 品相：狀況良好，與年齡相稱。 廣泛磨損、風化、缺損、侵蝕、裂紋、結殼。 重量: 6,938 (不含底座) 尺寸：高 44 厘米 (不含底座) ，總 48.7 厘米 現代金屬支架。(2) 拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的片岩雕彌勒佛，高55.6 厘米，二至三世紀，見紐約佳士得Indian and Southeast Asian Art 2010年3月23日lot 144, 售價USD 68,500。

Oil on canvas. Measurements: 92 x 79 cm (framed) and 77 x 64 cm (canvas). Provenance: important private collection, Spain. After the death of the great painter Ribalta (1628), he became the absolute ruler of the Valencian art scene from a young age, where he preferably worked for numerous convents and religious orders. The large number of commissions that he received has served as a documentary source for the knowledge of his biography. The only period from which we lack news of him is between 1640 and 1647, which has given rise to various speculations about trips to Madrid and Seville. His passage through the Andalusian capital, above all, has become a helpful argument to explain his stylistic concomitance with Zurbarán. His training was developed together with his progenitor, a humble painter from Valladolid established halfway between Cocentaina and Valencia, although the success of Ribalta's achievements would leave a permanent mark on our artist. The family's move to Valencia must have taken place during Jerónimo Jacinto's childhood, probably around 1612. The first known work by him is dated that same year, which shows his precocity. In 1616 he appears registered in the College of Painters of the Mediterranean city, declaring that he had been working with his father for a year. In Valencia he developed the rest of his existence -if we exclude the possible trips mentioned-, painting for the local environment and, as far as we know, leading a comfortable and quiet life. His extensive production reflects the scant evolution of his art. His painting, like his characters, appears out of time, arrested in solemn and symmetrical compositions. His monastic series are the ones that are closest to Zurbarán's work and, as in this one, the monumental verticality of the religious dominates, the meticulous reflection of the fabrics and the intensity and naturalism of the faces, as if illuminated. When painters throughout Spain adhered to the most fully baroque formulas, Espinosa still appears static in the strictest tenebrism, using a strong directed light that illuminates the scene with powerful contrasts. All this speaks to us of a style that is out of date, isolated, self-absorbed, but that responds to the demand for pious art requested by the local clientele. His fervent naturalism also enabled him to make a handful of vivid and analytical portraits. There are nine canvases by Espinosa present in the Prado Museum. Among them, it is worth highlighting La Magdalena penitente, as it is a reflection, not only of Espinosa's painting, but also of the path that her works have traveled in the Prado. His work in the local Valencian environment meant that none of them reached the royal collections until the time of Ferdinand VII, his presence in the Museum being due to modern purchases. Thus, La Magdalena penitente was acquired in 1992 after passing through various collectors. Previously, in 1838, it had been part of the collection of Luis Felipe de Orleans. It is an eloquent testimony to the aesthetics of the painter, with the saint in full ecstasy, illuminated by a harsh overhead light that leads to the stiffness of fabrics and flesh, and is a sign of a piety as simple as it is devout, very much from the 17th century.

In cedar wood, with ebony and stained bone inlays, measurements: 13 x 27.5 x 15 cm. Provenance: private collection, Paris, Export permit attached. The piece that we present stands out for it's quality and the use of inlay marquetry, an Andalusian technique characteristic of the Spanish Late Middle Ages as an ornamental procedure for furniture and household items. The term inlay, whose origin is found in the Arabic word tarsi (inlay), traditionally applied to the ornamentation of pieces of furniture with fine fragments of different colors and textures, as well as with other materials such as bone and ivory. We find the origin of this industry in Córdoba, during the Omeya al-Andalus, it will not be until the time of the Nasrid sultanate, when its use becomes popular in noble and courtly environments as a procedure to ennoble objects of the wealthiest classes. After the capture of Granada, even before the conquest, we find pieces produced with the same Moorish influence. As a synonym, the Spanish word “marquetry” is usually used. Already in the Caliphate period, an excellent cabinet-making workshop located in the Umayyad Córdoba was active in al-Andalus. A technique that consists of gluing small prismatic portions (triangular and/or trapezoidal) of ivory or bone – in natural color or dyed, together with small polygonal pieces of selected woods, often of exotic origin (aloe, ebony, sandalwood, boxwood). , lemon Tree…), to which fragments of tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl and even small metallic silver or bronze points were added. To achieve the green color of the inlays, the most used technique was to obtain it based on copper compounds impregnated in the bone. Even after the capture of Granada, Moorish artisans ran inlay workshops located in places like Seville, Aragon or Catalonia. These converted masters would be in charge of keeping this production alive throughout the Modern Age, even exporting it to the New Continent. Also noteworthy is the use of inlay since the 14th century in workshops in northern Italy, applied to pieces of ivory or bone. Far from disappearing, in the 18th and 19th centuries the marquetry of the Moorish tradition acquired a great diffusion in the Peninsula, deeply rooted in the artisan practice of southern Spain, in such a way that even today it is possible to acquire in Granada both modern souvenirs executed in this technique and interpretations and reproductions of furniture in marquetry emulating the mastery of Mudejar artisans. Works in comparison: Nazarí casket in marquetry, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid, inv. nº 4862 Reference bibliography: “GALÁN, Medieval Ivories of Islam, p. 483” ; “Yes. CALVO CAPILLA, “Two inlaid chests”, in IG BANGO TORVISO (coord.), Wonders of medieval Spain. Sacred treasure and monarchy, Valladolid, 2001, vol. I, p. 120, no. 36; Art and cultures of al-Andalus, cat. No. 156”. in such a way that even today it is possible to acquire in Granada both modern souvenirs executed in this technique and interpretations and reproductions of furniture in marquetry emulating the mastery of Mudejar craftsmen. Works in comparison: Nazarí casket in marquetry, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid, inv. nº 4862 Reference bibliography: “GALÁN, Medieval Ivories of Islam, p. 483” ; “Yes. CALVO CAPILLA, “Two inlaid chests”, in IG BANGO TORVISO (coord.), Wonders of medieval Spain. Sacred treasure and monarchy, Valladolid, 2001, vol. I, p. 120, no. 36; Art and cultures of al-Andalus, cat. No. 156”. in such a way that even today it is possible to acquire in Granada both modern souvenirs executed in this technique and interpretations and reproductions of furniture in marquetry emulating the mastery of Mudejar craftsmen. Works in comparison: Nazarí casket in marquetry, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid, inv. nº 4862 Reference bibliography: “GALÁN, Medieval Ivories of Islam, p. 483” ; “Yes. CALVO CAPILLA, “Two inlaid chests”, in IG BANGO TORVISO (coord.), Wonders of medieval Spain. Sacred treasure and monarchy, Valladolid, 2001, vol. I, p. 120, no. 36; Art and cultures of al-Andalus, cat. No. 156”. nº 4862 Reference bibliography: “GALÁN, Medieval Ivories of Islam, p. 483” ; “Yes. CALVO CAPILLA, “Two inlaid chests”, in IG BANGO TORVISO (coord.), Wonders of medieval Spain. Sacred treasure and monarchy, Valladolid, 2001, vol. I, p. 120, no. 36; Art and cultures of al-Andalus, cat. No. 156”. nº 4862 Reference bibliography: “GALÁN, Medieval Ivories of Islam, p. 483” ; “Yes. CALVO CAPILLA, “Two inlaid chests”, in IG BANGO TORVISO (coord.), Wonders of medieval Spain. Sacred treasure and monarchy, Valladolid, 2001, vol. I, p. 120, no. 36; Art and cultures of al-Andalus, cat. No. 156”.

Binding.- Jones (Trevor, bookbinder).- Arnold (Sir Edwin, translator) The Chaurapanchâsika: An Indian Love-Lament, colour illustrations, 2 colour slides and binders notes loosely inserted, modern buff Nigerian goatskin with onlays of white, red and foil, tooling in blind, gold, vapco and various colours, g.e., decorative silk backed felt-lined drop-back box, original boards housed in small compartment, wrapped in binders original cardboard packaging, rubbed, oblong 8vo, [1896].⁂ This binding was completed by Trevor Jones in 1985, for T. V. Sathyamurthy, who suggested that it would be interesting to see an English designer's response to Indian art, on a book which is and English translator's response to Indian poetry.

Works of art and curios including an ormolu roundel with Zeus mask, Franco / Italian, first half of 19th century 10.5 cm high; small 20th century bronze of the dancing Faun, 11cm high; two furniture mounts in brass and silvered metal with panther masks, 4.5cm diam; Austrian cold painted lion skin rug by Bergmann, Amphora mark, 10cm long; Blue John style mineral cross pendant with inset compass, 2.5cm high, brass medallion with classical female profile, plaster infill to reverse, 9.3cm high; a small iron bell, modern brass pocket compass etc Provenance: The Simon Neal Collection Condition Report: Fragmentary and worn- some damages and losses Condition Report Disclaimer

Mario Barbaglia and Marco Colombo for PAF Studio, Dove pattern, modern, in matt red and black colourway, 93cm high erect, the bases impressed with maker's and designer's details Provenance: The property of a lady and gentleman, removed from a Cheshire country house The pattern of this lamp was originally designed in the 1980s by Barbaglia and Colombo for PAF studios, Milan Condition Report: Marks, knocks, scratches and abrasions consistent with age and use, the red elements with some knocks and surface dirt/marks and some gaps developing to the sides Please note these are sold as a decorative work of art only and would need to be re-wired and tested by a professional prior to use in a domestic setting. Please refer to additional images for visual reference to condition Condition Report Disclaimer

Follower of Max BarrettA carved serpentine stylised head, from a pebble, on socle base, height 23cm.The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.

Follower of Max BarrettAn anthropomorphic green marble beast with tribal style head, length 17cm, together with a braised copper rectangular vessel, both apparently unsigned (2).The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.

Hugh WEST (b.1950) A Carnon Downs Studio Pottery tall vaseImpressed with potter's seal to neckHeight 44.5cm The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.Condition report: No condition issues.

A Troika St Ives pottery dish, painted by Sylvia Vallence, together with two Troika pottery mugs (3).The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.

Norman Stuart CLARKE (b.1944)An iridescent art glass perfume bottle with stopper Signed & dated (20)02Height 11cmTogether with two other art glass vases by the same hand, both signed and dated (19)86 and (19)92Both approximately 12cm high(3)The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.

Henrik ALLERT (Swedish, b. 1937)Two pottery sculptures - sheep and birdInscribed marks to bases Heights 9.5cm and 7.5cm(2)The Personal Collection of Jonathan Grimble.Jonathan Grimble (1942 - 2021) was well known in Cornwall as an art dealer and collector. Jonathan started collecting Cornish art in the mid-1980s with his wife Ann.Ann passed away in 2000, and Jonathan moved to Marazion where he successfully ran the Market House Gallery and brought many modern and contemporary artists to further prominence. He later ran the Porthminster Gallery and Westcotts Gallery in St Ives.Jonathan was heavily involved in the modern British and Cornish art scene and was an agent for the executors of Sandra Blow’s estate, which he ran from Sandra’s studio in St Ives.During his time as an art dealer, Jonathan put together his own incredibly impressive collection of Cornish and contemporary art, featuring artists such as Sandra Blow, Terry Frost, Alexander Mackenzie, Paul Feiler, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Fred Yates, Jack Pender, Trevor Bell, Paul Mount, John Milne, Denis Mitchell, Peter Lanyon and many more.David Lay Auctions were honoured to be asked by the executors of Jonathan’s estate to catalogue, market and sell Jonathan’s remarkable collection of Cornish and modern British art.

A German porcelain figure of a swan, circa 1900, with outstretched wings, height 14.5cm, together with a pair of modern porcelain figures of rabbits and a box and cover, of duck form (4).Provenance:Alan Bennett (1930-2021) was an enormously respected, Cornwall-based antiques dealer.Alan Bennett started working in the antiques trade in the early 1950s for Parker’s of Blackheath before joining Harrod's Antiques Department. He moved to Cornwall in 1954 and opened his own shop, gradually expanding and offering one of the largest selections of antiques in Cornwall. He was assisted in the business by his wife Winifred, son Justin, and a team of restorers. He retired in April 2007.He was a man of refined manners, always impeccably dressed and he bought pretty, elegant things across the board, Dresden china and pierced silver Bon-Bon baskets but also brightly coloured Staffordshire figures, although it was the furniture that really fed his passion and he specialised in good quality Georgian and later furniture.David Lay reminiscences: "He would sit in the front row bidding with awesome discretion. Nothing as vulgar as a nod or wink. His demeanour told me he was bidding but of course, I knew his taste. I knew when he “should” be bidding. Often Winifred would view with Alan, the perfect couple.Happy memories of a different age. "Through his 50 years in the trade, he amassed an eclectic collection of very good quality art and antiques, many of which we are delighted to be offering here at Lays Auctions across various sales.Condition report: The duck box broken and restored.The swan and rabbits with no condition issues.

AN ORDOS 'WOLF HEAD' BRONZE PLAQUE, WARRING STATES PERIODChina, Inner Mongolia, 5th-3rd century BC. Finely cast as a wolf's head, with pierced eyes and ears, the reverse set with a loop for attachment. Provenance: Grays Antique Center, London, 1999. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above (invoice not available). 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.Condition: Good, original condition, remarkable considering its age. With some wear, minuscule nicks, and scratches. Minor encrustations to the reverse.Weight: 3.6 g Dimensions: Height 2.7 cmLiterature comparison: For a related plaque, see E.C. Bunker, Ancient Bronzes of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, New York 1997, p. 247, no. 205. 戰國鄂爾多斯狼頭銅件中國，内蒙古，公元前五至三世紀。鑄造成狼頭狀，眼睛和耳朵為圈狀，背後有一個環。 來源：倫敦Grays Antique Center藝廊，1999年。Dr. Koos de Jong收藏，2004年購於紐約亞洲藝術博覽會（發票已遺失）。Drs. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家，幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。品相：良好的原始狀態。有一些磨損、微小的劃痕，背面有輕微的結殼。 重量: 3.6 克 尺寸：高 2.7 厘米

AN EXTREMELY RARE GROUP OF FIVE POTTERY MUSICIANS AND DANCERS, HAN DYNASTYChina, 202 BC - 220 AD. The group comprised of three musicians, one with a flute, one with a qin, and the third blowing a sheng (free reed), as well as a dancing lady with an elaborate floral headdress and a listener. All in animated poses with smiling expressions and dressed in long flowing robes. (5)Provenance: From the collection of Dr. Mons Fischer, a seasoned private collector of modern and contemporary art, who has also acquired fine Chinese works of art since the 1980s, eventually building one of the most important collections of its kind in Austria. Copies of three old invoices accompany this lot:Dancing ladyAcquired by Dr. Mons Fisher at the price of ATS 55,000, which in today's currency amounts to ca. EUR 6,295 after inflation. A copy of the original invoice, dated 15 October 2001, from Auktionen Zacke & Co KEG, Vienna, Austria, describing the dancer as 'Taenzerin' (engl.: dancer), accompanies this lot.Qin playerAcquired by Dr. Mons Fisher at the price of ATS 39,930, which in today's currency amounts to ca. EUR 4,695 after inflation. A copy of the original invoice, dated 2 June 2000, from Auktionen Zacke & Co KEG, Vienna, Austria, describing the dancer as 'Musikant' (engl.: musician), accompanies this lot.FlutistAcquired by Dr. Mons Fisher at the price of ATS 40,000, which in today's currency amounts to ca. EUR 4,970 after inflation. A copy of the original invoice, dated 91 April 1998, from Galerie Zacke, Vienna, Austria, describing the dancer as 'Floetenspieler' (engl.: flutist), accompanies this lot.Condition: Some repair as generally expected from Han dynasty excavations. Losses, fissures, wear, weathering, some dents, cracks, and encrustations. Drilled holes from sample-taking. Overall, good condition and fully commensurate with the age of this ensemble.Scientific Analysis Reports: Dancing lady: A Thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Oxford Authentication, sample no. C121n78, dated 11 November 2021. It sets the firing date of the samples at 1500 to 2400 years ago. A copy of the thermoluminescence analysis report accompanies this lot.The Sheng player: A thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Institut fuer Kulturwissenschaften und Restaurierung - Technologie an der Universitaet fuer Angewandte Kunst in Wien, Austria, sample no. VHTL-P472, dated 8 November 2000. It sets the firing date of the samples taken at ca. 1700 years ago (+/- 25% accuracy). A copy of the thermoluminescence analysis report accompanies this lot.The flutist: A thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Labor Ralf Kotalla, Haigerloch, Germany, sample no. 980610, dated 1 July 1998, and sets the firing date of the samples taken at ca. 1900 (+/- 200 years) years ago. A copy of the thermoluminescence analysis report accompanies this lot.Dimensions: Height of the dancing lady 72 cm, the flutist 39.5 cm, the sheng player 37 cm, the qin player 40.5 cm, the listener 30 cm Auction result comparison: Compare a related group of pottery musicians, dated to the late eastern Han dynasty, at Christie's New York in Fine Chinese Furniture, Ceramics and Works of Art on 16 October 2001, lot 339, sold for USD 49,350.漢代罕見五陶俑組中國，公元前202年至公園220年。樂隊陶俑組由三位樂者組成，一位吹簫，一位彈琴，一位吹笙，還有一位戴著精美花冠的舞女和一位聽眾。所有人都帶著微笑，穿著飄逸的長袍，姿勢生動歡悅。 來源：Dr. Mons Fischer 私人收藏。他是一位經驗豐富的現代和當代藝術私人收藏家，從1980年代開始收藏中國藝術品，最終在奧地利建立了此類藏品最重要的收藏之一。隨附購買發票副本。 舞女 Dr. Mons Fisher 購於奧地利維也納Zacke & Co KEG 拍賣行，當時的價格為ATS 55,000, 相當於現在約 EUR 6,295。隨附原始發票副本，2001年10月15日。 琴者 Dr. Mons Fisher 購於奧地利維也納Zacke & Co KEG 拍賣行，當時的價格為ATS 39,930, 相當於現在約 EUR 4,695 。隨附原始發票副本，2000年6月2日。 吹簫者 Dr. Mons Fisher 購於奧地利維也納Zacke & Co KEG 拍賣行，當時的價格為ATS 40,000, 相當於現在約EUR 4,970。隨附原始發票副本，1998年4月19日。 品相：漢代考古發掘中普遍預期的一些修復。損失、裂縫、磨損、風化、一些凹痕、裂痕和結殼。取樣鑽孔。總體狀況良好，完全符合其年齡。 科學檢測報告: 舞女: 隨附牛津熱釋光測試副本， 樣本編號C121n78, 2021年11月 11日。結果認爲此陶俑爲1500 – 2400年前所製。 吹笙者: 隨附維也納應用藝術大學Institut für Kulturwissenschaften und Restaurierung – Technologie 熱釋光測試副本， 樣本編號VHTL-P472, 2000年11月 8日，其結果認爲此陶俑爲 1700 前所製 (+/- 25% 可能性)。 吹簫者: 隨附德國海戈儸和市Labor Ralf Kotalla實驗室熱釋光測試副本，樣本編號 980610, 1998年7月 1日，結果認爲此陶俑為 1900 (+/- 200 年) 前製。 尺寸： 舞女高72 厘米, 吹簫者 39.5 厘米, 吹笙者 37 厘米, 琴者 40.5 厘米，聽者30 厘米 拍賣結果比較：比較相近的一組東漢樂人陶俑，見紐約佳士得Fine Chinese Furniture, Ceramics and Works of Art 2001年10月16日 lot 339, 售價USD 49,350。

A LARGE PAINTED STUCCO HEAD OF A GUARDIAN KING, SONG TO MING DYNASTYChina, 12th-16th century. Wearing an elaborate headdress, centered by a scrolling and floral design, the mouth closed, the bulging eyes with black glass pupils within the deep sockets below furrowed brows, the full lips painted in pale pink, the brows, mustache, and beard are detailed in black against the beige-brown skin.Provenance: Austrian private collection. Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 12 October 2007. Dr. Mons Fischer, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice, dated 12 October 2007, 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 repair and touchups with modern polychromes, all exactly as expected from a piece of this age and size. Old wear, natural age cracks, minor nicks and scratches, small losses here and there, wear to pigments, minor touchups, drilled holes from sample-taking. Overall still in outstanding condition.Scientific analysis report: A detailed pigment and gilding analysis report, issued by Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P. SARL, Sciences des Materiaux Anciens et du Patrimoine - Etude des objets d'art, Nr. MSMAP 20-038 OA, dated 13 March 2020, is accompanying this object (please also see detailed scans of the report). The study reveals the presence of an ancient gilding and remains of an ancient polychromy on the sculpture. Repaints of a modern polychromy have been detected as well, see condition report.Weight: 30 kg Dimensions: Height 68.5 cmWith an associated base. (2) Literature comparison: Compare to a guardian figure retaining the original body, similarly modeled in stucco and painted in red, preserved in the Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong county, Shanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo siguan diaosu quanji - 3 - Lioa Jin Yuan siguan zaoxiang, Heilongjiang, 2005, no. 186. Compare also to a number of large stone guardian figures carved with similar grimaces and bulging eyes below a furrowed brow, dating to either the Northern Song or Southern Song dynasty, illustrated in Dazu shike diaosu quanji-Nanshan, Shimenshan, Shizhuanshan den shiku juan (The Complete Collection of the Stone of Sculpture of Dazu), Chongqing, 1999, pp. 19, 69-72, and 98, pls. 20, 72-75, and 104.Auction result comparison: Compare with two closely related stucco heads, offered in one lot, one dated to the Northern Song dynasty (50 cm high) and the other dated Ming dynasty or earlier (56 cm high), at Christie's Hong Kong, in Buddhist Art Under the Empire, on 9 July 2020, lot 2701, sold for HKD 812,500.宋至明彩繪灰泥護法神頭像中國, 十二至十六世紀。頭戴著精緻的冠盔，雙唇緊閉，眉毛下黑色玻璃瞳孔。精細彩繪眉毛、鬍鬚和嘴唇，生動形象。 來源：奧地利私人收藏。維也納 Zacke藝廊, 2007年10月12日。 Mons Fischer博士購於上述藝廊。隨附發票副本。Mons Fischer博士是一位經驗豐富的現代和當代藝術私人收藏家，從1980年代開始收藏中國藝術品，最終成爲奧地利中國藝術品重要收藏之一。 圖片：Dr. Mons Fischer 和他的妻子 品相：使用現代彩色塗料進行了一些修飾，完全符合其年齡。舊磨損，自然裂紋，輕微的划痕和缺口，局部小缺損，顏料磨損，少量補漆，因取樣產生的鑽孔。 總體而言，比較出色的。 科學檢測報告：隨附一份法國Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P 研究所顔料和金彩檢測報告副本，MS20-038號（請看報告細節），2020年3月13日，研究發現雕塑上存在古代金彩和古代顔料遺留， 還可以檢測到現代多色塗料的重塗，請參閱品相報告。重量：30 公斤 尺寸：高68.5 厘米 底座。拍賣結果比較：一組兩件非常相近的北宋 (高50 厘米)和明代或更早（高56厘米）的灰泥頭像見香港佳士得 Buddhist Art Under the Empire拍場2020年7月9日 lot 2701, 售價HKD 812,500.

A CARVED WOOD FIGURE OF A MONGOOSETibet, 17th-18th century. Boldly carved in a dynamic posture with the limbs stretched out, the mouth wide open showing teeth, with large bulging eyes.Provenance: From the collection of Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold. Ted Newbold (1930-2018) was a broker and civic leader in Philadelphia, with a lifelong passion for art. In 1984, he married Helen Cunningham, who shared his love for the arts and collecting. Works of art donated by Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the Fleischer Art Memorial, among others.Condition: Condition commensurate with age and as expected, overall with old wear, age cracks, chips, minor losses, remnants of ancient pigment, nicks and scratches, two segments of the tail reattached. Fine, naturally grown patina. Presenting remarkably well.Weight: 592.5 g (excl. stand)Dimensions: Height 25 cm (excl. stand) and 26.5 cm (incl. stand)With a modern metal stand. (2)Expert's note: The present figure of a mongoose was most likely once part of a larger sculpture depicting Kubera or Jambhala, two deities associated with wealth in Hinduism and Buddhism, respectively. Often, these mongooses are held in the deity's hand and spew jewels.Literature comparison: Compare a related gilt-bronze figure of a mongoose, 11 cm long, dated circa 16th century, at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2013, lot 76.木雕貓鼬西藏，十七至十八世紀。木雕貓鼬（吐寳鼠），四肢伸展，大嘴張開，露出尖利的牙齒，大眼凸出。 來源：Helen Cunningham 與 Ted Newbold收藏。Ted Newbold (1930-2018) 曾是費城的經紀人和公民領袖，對藝術充滿熱情。1984 年，他與和他一樣熱愛藝術和收藏的Helen Cunningham結婚。Helen Cunningham 和 Ted Newbold 捐贈的藝術品被費城藝術博物館、Woodmere Art博物館和Fleischer Art Memorial藝術紀念館等收藏。 品相：狀況與年齡相稱，總體上有磨損、老化裂縫、碎屑、輕微缺損、古代色素殘留和劃痕，尾巴的兩段重新連接。包漿精細自然。 重量：592.5 克 (不含底座) 尺寸： 高25 厘米 (不含底座) 與 26.5 厘米 (含底座) 現代金屬底座 (2)

AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF KRISHNA AND LAKSHMINorth India, late 18th to early 19th century. Ink, gouache and gold on paper. Finely painted with Krishna and Lakshmi seated against a pillow on a terrace, sharing a romantic moment while holding hands, two small vessels on the ground in front of them. Provenance: From a South German private collection, assembled during the 1970s. Condition: Good condition with minor wear, traces of aging, soiling, few minor losses, and touchups. Dimensions: Sheet size 18 x 24 cm, size incl. frame 28 x 35.5 cm Lakshmi is both the wife and divine energy (shakti) of the Hindu god Vishnu, the Supreme Being of Vaishnavism. She is also the Supreme Goddess in the sect and assists Vishnu to create, protect and transform the universe. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar, Lakshmi accompanied him as consort. Auction result comparison: Compare with a related miniature painting at Christie's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 14 September 2010, lot 193, sold for USD 10,000, and another at Sotheby's New York in Indian Art Including Miniatures and Modern Paintings on 22 March 2007, lot 166, sold for USD 9,000.

A SMALL ORDOS BRONZE PLAQUE, 7TH-6TH CENTURY BCChina, Inner Mongolia. Of circular form, cast in openwork with a coiled beast, the animal's front and hind quarters with short bent legs tucked underneath the curled body, the head defined by two large eyes, all within a beaded border.Provenance: Michel Pasiello, Venice, 2001. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above (invoice not available). 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.Condition: Good, original condition, remarkable considering its age. With extensive wear, small nicks and scratches. Areas of malachite and soil encrustations to the reverse.Weight: 14.8 g Dimensions: Diameter 3.3 cmAuction result comparison: Compare a related gold plaque at Sotheby´s London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold And Silver; Early Chinese White, Green And Black Wares on 14 May 2008, lot 3, sold for GBP 14,900 (part lot, together with a small Ordos gold fitting). 公元前七至六世紀鄂爾多斯小銅牌中國，内蒙古。圓牌，鏤空鑄盤繞的野獸，彎曲的短腿藏在捲曲的身體下方，兩隻大眼睛，邊框珠紋。來源：倫敦Grays Antique Center藝廊，1999年。Dr. Koos de Jong收藏，2004年購於紐約亞洲藝術博覽會（發票已遺失）。Drs. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家，幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。 品相：良好的原始狀態。 有一些磨損、微小的劃痕，背面有輕微的結殼。 重量: 14.8 克 尺寸：直徑3.3 厘米 拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的金牌，見倫敦蘇富比Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork, Early Gold And Silver; Early Chinese White, Green And Black Wares 2008年5月14日 lot 3, 售價GBP 14,900 (2件鄂爾多斯拍品中的一件)。

'INSECT AND GOURD' BY ZHAO SHAO'ANG (1905-1998)Ink and watercolors on paper. Superbly painted with lotus and a small insect on a double gourd, executed in bold and vivid brushstrokes with expressive splashes of warm colors.Inscriptions: Upper left, signed 'Shao'ang'. Seal 'Shao'ang'. Provenance: Collection of Dr. Lubor Hajek (1921-2000), who was a Czech art historian. In 1952 he founded the Oriental Art collection of the National Gallery Prague, which he ran until 1986. From a noted Czech private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition with minor wear, some foxing, soiling and three small touchups. Dimensions: Image size 30 x 67 cm, Size incl. frame 39.5 x 77 cmFramed behind glass.Zhao Shao'ang (1905-1988) is considered one of the Four Great Masters of the Lingnan School. In the late 19th century, scholars in China broke through entrenched conservative thought schools and began to create and promote new styles of art. This not only cultivated ideological progress within social elites but also gave birth to the eclectic fusion of the Han Chinese and Western styles, as advocated by the Lingnan School, which today is considered - along with the Beijing and Shanghai schools - as one of the three pillars of modern Chinese painting. 趙少昂《葫蘆昆蟲》紙本水墨設色。葫蘆掛在藤上，一隻小甲殼蟲正趴在葫蘆上，筆觸極富表現力。 款識: 左上角"少昂"鈴印：少昂 來源：Dr. Lubor Hajek (1921-2000) 收藏，他是捷克藝術史學家，1952 年，他在布拉格國家美術館創立了東亞藝術收藏，並直到 1986年。來自捷克私人收藏，購於上述收藏。 品相：狀況良好，有輕微磨損、一些污垢和三處小修飾。 尺寸：畫面尺寸30 x 67 厘米, 總39.5 x 77 厘米 玻璃裝框。

A SILVER WIRE-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF A QILIN, ATTRIBUTED TO SHISOU, QING DYNASTYChina, 1644-1912. Finely cast seated on its haunches, the front legs braced, the head with sharply cast, elegantly curved antlers, large ears, bulging eyes, a ruyi-shaped nose, the mouth open revealing teeth, sharp fangs, and tongue. The furcated tail curling to one side, the spine neatly articulated.Provenance: From a private collection in northern Germany, acquired before 2000.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and casting flaws, few losses to inlays, occasional light scratches, few minuscule nicks. Fine, naturally grown, dark patina.Weight: 2,439 g (incl. base)Dimensions: Height 18 cm (excl. base) and 19 cm (incl. base)The bronze is finely inlaid with silver wire to depict the wavy fur, spirals to the spine and head, and a scroll design to the collar. The beast wears a collar around its neck attached with two small double-gourds and a drop-shaped ornament as well as a loop to the back.Mounted to a modern base.Little is known about the historical figure Shisou. The earliest reference in the Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian ('Dictionary of Chinese Artists') comes from the Luochuang xiaodu and is presumably from the same source as published in Zhongguo yishujia zhenglue ('Brief Introduction of Chinese Artists'). Shisou is listed there only as a late Ming dynasty monk without any further biographical information. A number of vessels and sculptures from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century bear his name, sometimes in combination with a hall name, Jinyu tang ('Hall of Prosperity'). Although the present piece is unsigned, the high quality of the casting and intricate silver-wire inlays make an attribution to Shisou or a related workshop more than reasonable.Auction result comparison: Compare a related bronze lion-form censer, with similar silver-inlaid wavy fur and spirals to the spine, also dated to the Qing dynasty (50.2 cm high), at Christie's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 30 November 2016, lot 3246, sold for HKD 300,000. 清代石叟款銅錯銀麒麟擺件中國，1644-1912年。銅麒麟作昂首挺立的姿勢，身形修長，儀態優雅，微展雙角立於頭之上，以陰線雕刻眼眶，突出一對圓鼓的雙目，嘴微微張開，面部用陰線簡單勾勒表現五官，頸部略靠後，胸脯前突。來源：德國北部私人收藏，購於2000年之前。品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損和鑄造瑕疵，少量鑲嵌缺損，局部有輕微劃痕，少量微小刻痕。包漿細膩且自然生長。重量：總2,439 克尺寸：高18 釐米 (不含底座)，總 19 釐米現代底座。拍賣結果比較：比較相近的清代銅獅香爐，毛與脊椎部位有著相近的錯銀紋理，高50.2釐米，見香港佳士得Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2016年11月30日 lot 3246, 售價HKD 300,000。

AN IRON RITUAL STAFF, KHATVANGA, 16TH-17TH CENTURYTibet. Well cast, the handle surmounted by a vajra above three citipati skulls in openwork, the octagonal shaft incised with plain linear decoration and tapering to a vajra tip.Provenance: Austrian private collection.Condition: Very good condition with extensive old wear, traces of use, and small nicks here and there.Weight: 539.5 g Dimensions: Length 34.5 cm With a fitted modern metal stand. (2)Expert's note: A tantric staff, or khatvanga, is a ritual instrument held in the crook of the left arm of advanced Buddhist practitioners during ceremonies. It symbolizes the triumph of wisdom over illusion. The shaft terminates in a vajra, the thunderbolt of instant enlightenment.Auction result comparison: Compare a related Danda at Bonhams Hong Kong in The Presencer Collection of Buddhist Art on 2 October 2018, lot 174, sold for HKD 75,000.十六至十七世紀祭祀鐵天杖西藏，鑄造精良，杖頭由三顆骷髏頭、一隻寶瓶、一個直立的金剛杵或一個噴焰三股叉組成。 來源：奧地利私人收藏。 品相：狀況極好，有大量磨損、使用痕跡和小刻痕。 重量: 539.5 克 尺寸：長 34.5 厘米 現代金屬底座 (2) 拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的Danda，見香港邦翰思 The Presencer Collection of Buddhist Art 2018年10月2 日 lot 174, 售價HKD 75,000。

A SUPERB INDIAN STONE LINGAM, LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURYDeemed the purest embodiment of Shiva, the lingam serves as the primary emblem of worship for this Hindu deity. Its aniconic form symbolizes a phallus or a pillar of light. Self-manifested or svayambhu lingas are spawned in the bed of the sacred Narmada River in Western India. Occurring through natural rock formations and erosions, ovoid boulders such as the present lot are considered remarkably propitious.Provenance: From a private collection in southern Germany, mostly assembled between the 1960s and 1980s.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Dimensions: Height 50 cm (excl. stand)With a modern wood stand. (2)Auction result comparison: Compare a related stone lingam, 129.5 cm high, at Sotheby's New York in Indian & Southeast Asian Works of Art on 19 March 2014, lot 21, sold for USD 17,500. A related stone brahmanda, 46 cm high, dated to the 19th century, with a matching bronze tripod stand, was sold in these rooms in Fine Chinese Art, Buddhism & Hinduism on 6 March 2021, lot 748, sold for EUR 16,432.

Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu (Nigerian, 1921-1996)Dancers signed and dated 'Etso C Ugbodaga Ngu '65' (lower right)oil on board46 x 35.8cm (18 1/8 x 14 1/8in).Footnotes:ProvenanceAcquired by Ambassador Elbert G. Mathews in Nigeria in the mid-1960s;A US collection.Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu (1921-1996) is an iconic figure in Nigerian art history. An influential artist and educator, she played a substantial role in the structural advancement of the postcolonial modernist art scene that emerged around the country's independence in 1960. Born in Kano, Ugbodaga-Ngu taught art in mission schools in the North before receiving a scholarship from the colonial administration to study art at the Chelsea School of Art and train as a teacher at the London Institute of Education. On her return to Nigeria, she began work as an art teacher with the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria (NCAST) becoming the first Nigerian - and furthermore, the first female - teacher in the department. This appointment was hugely significant as it placed an African woman in one of the key art institutions of the time.Ugbodaga-Ngu taught the students who went on to form the Zaria Art Society. Popularly described as the 'Zaria rebels', this group of artists played an integral part in the development of the Nigerian art canon, rejecting European modes of art production to develop a unique hybrid art-making practice. Describing her as a 'doyen of the artists, a painter and sculptor', Nigeria Magazine stated that 'she taught most of the leading Nigerian contemporary artists' and Ugbodaga-Ngu herself remarked that the 'majority of the young men who were my students are Nigeria's main source of manpower in institutions of higher learning, museums, industries and the private sector' (N. Akande, 2019). Ugbodaga-Ngu therefore made a vital contribution to the development of the Nigerian art canon as her students went on to play founding roles in nurturing later generations of artists, setting up art schools and influencing the shape of Nigerian art into the present day.Ugbodaga-Ngu was defiant of the one-point perspective or formal representational style adopted by early modernist artists working in Nigeria such as Aina Onabolu (1881-1963). Moving away from a figurative style, she produced completely abstract work early in her career, blending Western and Nigerian traditions, forms, techniques, and ideas to create fresh modernist work. To adopt the language of Modernism was a rebellious act because 'any claim from an African to be a modern artist in [the eyes of the West was] unthinkable and impudent' (E. Nicodemus, 1993: p. 32). The portrayal of local concerns and everyday life made her work distinct in a period where Nigerian modern artists were often preoccupied with producing imagery of 'woman' as the symbol of postcolonial rebirth or presenting versions of a romanticised precolonial past. In 1958, Ugbodaga-Ngu held a solo exhibition at the Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London — the first art exhibition by a Nigerian female artist in the UK —followed by an exhibition in Boston, USA (1963). Her work was featured in group shows such as Independence Exhibition (1960), Lagos; Contemporary Nigerian Art (1968), London; and FESTAC '77 (1977), Lagos, where she was one of only seven women among the sixty-three participating artists. Although Ugbodaga-Ngu and her contemporary female artists have been obscured by the colonial, patriarchal biases of art history, recent academic exploration into globalised historical perspectives has prompted scholars to revisit her oeuvre, to highlight, complicate and destabilise orthodox understandings of female Nigerian artists and their contributions to Modernism. For example, her oil painting Abstract (1960) was recently shown as part of Museum global. Microhistories of an Ex-centric Modernism at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany — a project which problematised the centring of Modernism on the Western art canon. Dancers is an exceptional example of Ugbodaga-Ngu's interest in blending Nigerian motifs and subject matter with a semi-abstract style. The painting portrays two dancers within a complex architectural composition, the figures integrated into angular, tapering shapes whose sharp edges, flattened surfaces and geometric elements burst with movement. The rich, vibrant colour palette presents individuals with strength, confidence and purpose: the characters are dancing, engaged in the moment and not performing for the viewer. Ugbodaga-Ngu's recognisable geometric diamond shaping and open contouring of the human form is evident in this painting, which indicates the development of her style from earlier works such as Market Women (1961). These works sit alongside Beggars (1963) or Man and Bird (1963) as fascinating portrayals of the social, cultural and political history of Nigerian people in the moment following Nigerian independence.Dancers was acquired by Elbert G. Mathews in the mid-1960s while he was serving as the United States Ambassador to Nigeria. Appointed to the position by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Mathews remained in the diplomatic role until 1969.We are grateful to Stacey Kennedy for the compilation of the above footnote.BibliographyN. Akande, Uncovered Female Nigerian Artists, exh. cat., FEAAN (London, 2019)E. Nicodemus, 'Meeting Carl Einstein', Third text: Third World perspectives on contemporary art and culture, 23 (1993): 31-38Nigeria Magazine, vol 96 (1968).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

Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo (Nigerian, 1934-2021)The Dancing Bride, circa mid-1960s signed 'Y Adebayo Grillo' (verso)oil on board122 x 81cm (48 1/16 x 31 7/8in).Footnotes:ProvenanceA private collection, UK.With a career extending over six decades, Yusuf Grillo (1935-2021) is one of the most significant figures in Nigerian art. As a young man, he belonged to the influential Zaria Art Group formed by pioneering artists including Uche Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Demas Nwoko while studying together at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria in the 1950s. These artists challenged the hegemony of the European canon in the landscape of contemporary African art. They embraced their West-African cultural heritage to establish a modern Nigerian aesthetic at a time when the country was fighting for its independence from British colonial rule. Elements of Western art history were fused with themes, techniques, and mediums indigenous to Nigeria in a process that Okeke termed 'Natural Synthesis'. While Grillo proactively engaged with the ideas propagated by the Zaria Art Group, he distinguished his approach to artmaking by privileging the role of the individual artist in this process of synthesisation. Working across diverse media including painting, sculpture, mosaic, and stained glass, he asserted that this fusion of European and Nigerian references ought to be seen 'in the light' of individual experience 'knowing that you are part of the system' (Grillo quoted in Sike and Oyelola, 1988: p. 64). Grillo's conviction in the significance of the artist's creative vision led to his own formulation of a distinctive painterly style and subject matter, as evidenced in The Dancing Bride. Thematically, Grillo painted the people he encountered in Lagos. He favoured female subjects and had a particular interest in the Yoruba heritage which he believed to be at the heart of the city in which he was born and lived most of his life. In the present work, he captures a moment of celebration. A sense of movement is conveyed through the energetic brushstrokes used to depict the dynamic stance of the female figure: her weight rests on one leg while her hips are cocked to the side as if anticipating the next step of the dance. Executed in the cool blue and purple tones synonymous with Grillo's paintings, The Dancing Bride evidences the influence of both Pablo Picasso's Blue Period (which the artist had encountered as a student in Zaria) and abide (the indigo-dyed cloth of the Yoruba people). While Grillo primarily takes the human figure as his subject, Chika Okeke-Agulu argues that this 'subject matter is meaningful only to the extent that it permits him to engage enduringly and passionately with form, colour and painting' (C. Okeke-Agulu, 2020: p. 41). The female figure is elongated in a process of stylization. Reflecting Grillo's enduring interest in mathematics, her body is expressed through flattened planes that echo the geometric shapes that comprise the non-representational background. The drapery of the bride's dress is transformed into curved forms which are carefully balanced against the jagged triangles that frame the figure. As in his other paintings from the mid-1960s depicting stylised women such as Two Women (1965) and Ayi and Tayi (1965), Grillo's engagement with the female form can be conceived as much a formalist experiment as a representational exercise. Fusing mathematics, Western art historical references, and Yoruba culture, through The Dancing Bride Grillo synthesises a distinctive approach to painting which stands as a powerful contribution to postcolonial modernism within the canon of Nigerian art.BibliographyPaul Chike Dike and Pat Oyelola (eds.), The Zaria Art Society: A New Consciousness (Lagos, 1998)Chika Okeke-Agulu, Yufus Grillo: Painting. Lagos. Life (Milan, 2020).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu M.B.E (Nigerian, 1917-1994)My Mama at 80 titled, signed and dated 'MY MAMA/AT 80/ Ben Enwonwu/ 1973' (lower right)oil on canvas72 x 49.5cm (28 3/8 x 19 1/2in).Footnotes:ProvenanceThe artist's family.Painted in 1973, My Mama at 80 offers a striking portrait depicting the mother of the renowned pioneer of African modernism Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE, better known as Ben Enwonwu (1917-1994). The artist's mother, Ajie Iyom Nweze Enwonwu, was born and lived in Onitsha on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Nigeria. She used the city as the base for her successful business trading textiles. While the demands of the textile trade frequently took Iyom Nweze away from the family when Enwonwu was a young child, they developed an exceptionally close relationship in her later years. The depth of this bond is illustrated through the intimate quality of the artist's approach to his subject. His expressive handling of paint is applied using individuated brushstrokes. The tactility of the strokes convey the psychological complexity of the subject through visceral passages of blue-green, creamy white, and deep brown, all juxtaposed with flushed pinks to great effect.Enwonwu's depiction of his mother conveys the matriarch's reputation as a formidable force in family and business matters alike. The composition of the portrait is closely cropped to her head and shoulders to focalise her direct gaze and stoic expression. Her command of authority is further expressed through Enwonwu's decision to paint Iyom Nweze in her Òtù Ọdụ title regalia (also referred to as Omu regalia in S. Ogbechie, 2008: p. 194). The Ọdụ title was granted to Onitsha women who were deemed to be important contributors to the progress, development, and peace of the local community. They were understood to constitute the elite women's socio-political and economic group and were accordingly granted the title Iyom. In the portrait, Enwonwu depicts Iyom Nweze in the official dress of the Òtù Ọdụ: two white loin cloths tied over each other, a white head tie, and a coral bead necklace. These were worn in addition to bangles and anklets made from elephant tusk - a valuable material which symbolises wealth, beauty, royalty, and authority in Onitsha culture. As the only known painting of his mother by the artist, the portrait is exceptional within Enwonwu's oeuvre. The highly personal subject matter situates the work within a broader lineage of artists who sought to represent close family members through their artmaking – a trope particularly prevalent in the Western painterly traditions that constituted a significant part of Enwonwu's training in Nigeria and at the Slade School of Fine Art in London where he studied in the 1940s. The non-representational dappled blue background and passages of pink paint applied to the cheeks of the subject particularly evoke Paul Cézanne's portraits of his wife, Marie-Hortense Fiquet, created in the 1880s. The French artist's experimental approach to painterly technique was of great inspiration to Enwonwu. During his lecture tour in the United States in 1949, he declared, 'Cézanne was a bad technician but he is among the greatest of the Impressionists' (Enwonwu quoted in S. Ogbechie, 2008: p. 107). Taking a similarly experimental approach to his own portraiture, Enwonwu fused such references to Western modes of figurative representation with traditional Igbo tropes to formulate a distinctly modern Nigerian aesthetic. He argued for the importance of embracing Western techniques while retaining the traditions of African art: 'Whatever the neo-African culture is today, art should express it and should employ all the native and acquired means that are possible' (Enwonwu quoted in Ogbechie, 2008: p. 79). This impetus to cultural hybridity championed by Enwonwu was shared by other influential pioneers of Nigerian modernism who were similarly responding to figurative Western traditions including Aina Onabolu (1881-1963) and Akinola Lasekan (1916-1974).Portraiture occupies a significant place in Enwonwu's oeuvre. He developed a signature stylistic approach to the human form as evidenced by the acclaimed portraits of women he created contemporaneously to My Mama at 80 in the early 1970s. Tutu (1974), Christine (1971), and Portrait of Marianne (1972) all feature women with elongated features. Such stylisation was understood by Enwonwu to physicalize the impetus he observed in postcolonial Nigerian society for growth 'in politics, in trade, in art, in every aspect of life' following the country's independence in 1960 (Enwonwu quoted in S. Nkwagu).Enwonwu's portrait of his mother consequently stands as a striking point of distinction. He does not employ his typical stylised elongation of the body, but rather depicts her faithfully with realist proportions to express the intimacy of their relationship. The work therefore stands as a testament to the importance of his mother's role throughout his life, while simultaneously offering a powerful example of the artist's contribution to the emergent aesthetics of a transnational Nigerian modernism.We are grateful to Osa Dahlton Ozigbo-Esere for their assistance researching Òtù Ọdụ title regalia. BibliographySylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist (Rochester, NY: 2008)Solomon Nkwagu, 'Ben Enwonwu', Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art and Google Arts & Culture, online.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

Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu M.B.E (Nigerian, 1917-1994)Ife Men Dancing signed, initialled and dated 'Ben Enwonwu 75/ B E 75' (lower right)watercolour and pencil on card100 x 65cm (39 3/8 x 25 9/16in).Footnotes:ProvenanceA private collection, UK.Ben Enwonwu created Ife Men Dancing in 1975 during his final year serving as a Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Ife. The first Nigerian to hold the post, he actively participated in discussions concerning the nature of postcolonial African culture following the country's independence from the United Kingdom in 1960. Enwonwu championed the anticolonial ideologies associated with the Negritude movement, particularly the value of a Pan-African aesthetic advocated for by Léopold Sédar Senghor to formulate a black cultural identity rooted in indigenous traditions.Enwonwu embraced the theme of dance to foreground traditional West-African culture in the emergent canon of postcolonial Nigerian art. His pursuit of the theme encompassed a range of dance forms including masquerade, traditional ceremonies, and modern dance. In the 1970s, contemporaneously to the creation of the present work, he produced a series of Negritude paintings illustrating stylised African women using lyrical lines and punchy colour palettes. The figures were intended, not as portraits, but archetypes that symbolised both the feminine force of the earth in Igbo worship and an image of Mother Africa aligned with Negritude iconography. The 1970s also saw Enwonwu return to his Africa Dances series begun in the 1940s while an art student in London. The series, largely executed between 1972 and 1975, took its name from the title of Geoffrey Gorer's 1935 book which recounts the author's journey through Western Africa with Féral Benga, a Senegalese dancer and sought-after model of the Harlem Renaissance. Executed in the 1970s, Ife Man Dancing represents another body of work on the dance theme created contemporaneously to the Africa Dances series. During his tenure at the University of Ife, Enwonwu frequently took sketching trips to the rural suburbs of the city. He was particularly interested in capturing local people engaged in the activities of daily life. It was on one of these trips that he first met Adetutu Ademiluyi, the granddaughter of a previous Ooni (king) of Ife, who became the subject of three portraits – the finest of which set the artist's record at auction when offered by Bonhams in 2018. It is likely that the male dancers captured in the lyrical lines of the present work were also encountered during one of the artist's sketching trips. Enwonwu depicts three figures in dynamic crouched poses. Each dancer raises a single arm which meet towards the upper centre of the watercolour, creating a broadly symmetrical composition that frames the central figure. The movement of the dance is captured through Enwonwu's kinetic mark-making. Overlapping lines articulate the limbs and billowing clothing of the performers, while a sweep of orange-brown pigment to the right of the composition echoes the curved lines established by the dancing bodies. S. Ogbechie identifies the 1970s as a period of transformation in Enwonwu's practice. It was when the artist first began to 'perceive the essence of dance as a conceptual structure (as opposed to a material form)'. This essence was materialised 'by tracking the body in its motions through space, using fractal surfaces and many figures to convey the idea of vigorous movement which carried the eye in quick jumps to multiple points of focus' (S. Ogbechie, 2008: p. 190). In Ife Men Dancing, Enwonwu semi-abstracts the dancers' environment to focalise the gestural performance of their bodies. The stances of the three figures echo one another, referencing the unison of practiced movement associated with dance or perhaps even illustrating an experimentation with pictorial perspective. Appropriating a Cubist representational strategy, the repetition of form might be interpreted as multiple representations of a single body in motion. The present work consequently offers a conceptual and stylistic investigation of the dance theme at a pivotal moment in Enwonwu's practice. BibliographySylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2008).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba 'Aboudia' (Ivorian, born 1983)Untitled, 2016 mixed media on canvas178.5 x 182.5cm (70 1/4 x 71 7/8in).Footnotes:ProvenanceThe artist's studio, Brooklyn, NY;Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2016.Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, known as Aboudia, stands at the forefront of the landscape of contemporary art with his energetic paintings rendered in oil stick and acrylic. Born in Abidjan, the major urban centre of Côte d'Ivoire, Aboudia trained at the School of Applied Art in Bingerville before graduating from the Abidjan Institut des Arts in 2005. Aboudia recognises the influence of his experience growing up in Abidjan as central to his artistic practice. His canvases and works on paper fuse imagery drawn from the local street culture of his hometown with traditional West-African sculpture and voodoo iconography. Lines of brightly coloured oil stick articulate figures, traffic and animals atop ghostly passages of semi-opaque acrylic paint that, in places, reveal the layers of newspaper pages, magazine cut-outs, and educational materials typically pasted beneath. The gestural application of pigment and large-scale format favoured by the artist recall both the graffiti murals of Abidjan and the avant-garde formalist experimentations of artists central to the Western canon such as Cy Twombly, whose work Aboudia had greatly admired when visiting the permanent collection at the Tate Modern, London. Recognising the fusion of diverse cultural and artistic references in his work, Aboudia names his stylistic approach Nouchi – a term more typically used to describe the colloquial language spoken in urban Abidjan which blends several Ivorian languages with French. Now working between his studios in Abidjan and Brooklyn, Aboudia employs his artmaking as a vehicle to convey the experiences of the Ivorian youth following the violence of the 2011 civil war. 'As an artist, my contribution is to tell our story for the next generation. Writers will write, singers will sing. I paint' (Aboudia quoted in O'Reilly, 2011). He conceives of the figures that populate his work as representative of this next generation of children who he believes to be central to the future success of the country. Aboudia has achieved global appeal through his kinetic canvases bursting with colour. Since 2007 the artist's work has been widely exhibited in international solo and group exhibitions and is held in major collections including that of the Saatchi Gallery (London), the Nevada Museum of Art (USA), and the Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art.BibliographyFinbarr O'Reilly, 'Ivorian artist paints as bullets whizz overhead', Reuters, 29 April 2011, online.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

RICHARD VAN BLEECK (Holland, 1670-1733); circa 1712."Esther Faints before Ahasuerus".Oil on canvas.Retains its original canvas.Signed on the back.Measurements: 46 x 55 cm; 65,5 x 75 cm (frame).The author of this canvas has chosen the most dramatic moment of the biblical story that narrates the life of Esther. In the centre of the scene, a group of people are holding a young woman who is fading away. This is Esther, who appears to be losing consciousness, captured by the artist in a realistic and somewhat scenographic manner, as the young woman's eyes are narrowed, one of her knees is bent in an attempt to support her own weight, her arms are open and drooping, and her extreme whiteness contrasts with the rest of the figures in the scene, indicating the degree of Esther's weakness before the king. Ahasuerus is holding Esther in a foreshortened pose that shows the momentariness of the image, as it seems that he has just risen from his throne with the intention of preventing the young woman from fading away. On the other side, assisting and supporting the sitter, are two women, one standing, wearing an elegant dress and a bejewelled headdress, and the other crouching down, holding part of Esther's dress. The group is completed by a figure in the left corner of the composition, standing at a distance from the group. His clothing suggests that he is a person of religious rank, as if he were the king's adviser, as his position is close to the throne. One of the most notable characteristics of this figure is that he is the only one who looks away from the events that are happening to Esther and turns his eyes towards the viewer, establishing a connection with him and making him a participant in the contemplation of the religious event, although not in an accomplice but in an authoritative manner, as he raises his face and points towards the scene with one of his hands, while with the other he holds a parchment. The work is set in an interior that follows classical canons, centred on perspective and depth, with the usual red curtain and the space open in the background to the landscape through an opening. The scene of the painting presents a narrative from the Book of Esther, which is part of the Old Testament. The painting depicts Esther, the Jewish wife of King Ahasuerus, sometimes referred to as Xerxes in modern texts. After the king ordered the execution of all the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, Esther went to him, without being summoned, to beg him to spare her people. This broke court etiquette and Esther risked death in doing so. She ended up fainting before the king, which led to a change in the king's decision, allowing the Jews to defend themselves from his attack, preventing them from being killed.Richard van Bleeck (1670-1733) was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age. He was born in The Hague. According to the Netherlands Institute of Art History, he was a pupil of Theodor van der Schuer and Daniel Haringh.S e became a portraitist and painted the portrait of the engraver Coenraet Roepel, before moving to London in 1733, where he remained. He was the father of Pieter van Bleeck, who was born in The Hague, possibly moved with him to London, where he also became a portraitist.

Paoletti (Bartolome, 1757-1834, & Pietro, 1801-1847). A collection of 52 plaster cameos (or intaglios), presented in a leather-bound double-sided faux book box, Rome, circa 1820, 52 white plaster intaglios, or impronte (miniature impressions in relief of ancient gems, cameos, coins and medals, as well as modern sculptures and portraits), each bordered with pale yellow paper (with manuscript numbers added in ink), and edged in gilt, generally between 2 and 5 cm in diameter, (but some between 6 and 9 cm), carefully arranged and mounted in recessed double-sided book-boxes, lined with dark blue paper, manuscript list of contents in brown ink to front and rear pastedowns of each volume, giving the subject, artist or location, with the address of the manufacturer added at foot of front pastedown 'Si fanno in Roma da Bartomomeo Paoletti, e Pietro Figlio, dimoranti di Studio in Piazza di Spagna numo. 49', marbled paper outer edges, original brown half calf over marbled paper boards, spines gilt, and lettered PAOLETTI, 3 and 'Uomini Illustri, Villa Albani, Museo di Firenze', rubbed and scuffed with a little wear to extremities, 8vo (24.5 x 15.5 cm)Qty: (1)Footnote: A collection of early 19th century plaster intaglios, known in Italian as 'impronte', manufactured by the Paoletti family, which became highly popular amongst aristocratic and fashionable travellers on the Grand Tour during the early part of the 19th century, especially from England. The Paolettis numbered amongst their clients Catherine the Great of Russia, Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Lord Elgin, and are listed in Heinrich Keller's contemporary directory of artists and craftsmen working in Rome in 1824 (Elenco di tutti i pittori, scultori, architetti miniatori...di Roma) at the same address as given in the present examples (page 70).Designed to form a kind of miniature museum of the history of art and classical mythology, this collection covers the collections of three museums in Rome: Uomini Illustri nel Museo Capitolino, Villa Albani, and the Museo de Firenze. Individual subjects include: Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, Petrarch, Correggio, Michelangelo, Galileo, Leonardo, Palladio, Titian, Poussin, Angelica Kauffmann, Winkelman; from the Villa Albani: Bacchante, Antinous, Agrippina, Aesop and Cupid; and from the Museo di Firenze: Venus, Minerva, Three Graces, Medici Venus, Raphael's Madonna della Sedia, Titian's Venus, Hercules defeating the Centaur, Mercury by Giambologna, Machiavelli, Niobe, and her four daughters.

Macnab (Iain, 1890-1967). Snow on the Radnor Hills, circa 1945, black and white woodcut, depicting a picturesque rural snowy landscape, featuring the rolling hills of Radnor, a man and dog standing in a cottage garden, signed, titled and numbered 32/50 in pencil to lower margin, laid down at edges onto later card, image size 22.2 x 17.6cm (8 6/8 x 7ins), sheet size 32.5 x 25cm (12 6/8 x 9 7/8ins), Alfred Styles & Sons Ltd framing label to verso, mounted, framed and glazed (45 x 38cm) Qty: (1)Footnote: Born in the Philippines, Macnab studied at Glasgow and Heatherley's art schools and served in both wars. An influential art teacher of the interwar period, he was founder and principal of the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, to which he recruited as teachers Claude Flight, Sybil Andrews and Cyril Power. Macnab specialised in wood engraving, linocut, lithography and painting. He was part of the printmaking revival of the 20th century and his school pioneered the linocut. His work is represented in the British Museum, V&A, Ashmolean, Fitzwilliam and the Government Art Collection.

Macnab (Iain, 1890-1967). Southern Landscape, circa 1941, woodcut, depicting a view looking from a window onto a Mediterranean village by the sea, signed, titled and numbered 52/75 in pencil to lower margin, laid down at edges onto later card, image size 20 x 25cm (7 7/8 x 9 7/8ins), sheet size 25 x 32.5cm (9 7/8 x 12 6/8ins), Alfred Styles & Sons Ltd framing label to verso, mounted, framed and glazed (42.2 x 45.4cm) Qty: (1)Footnote: Born in the Philippines, Macnab studied at Glasgow and Heatherley's art schools and served in both wars. An influential art teacher of the interwar period, he was founder and principal of the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, to which he recruited as teachers Claude Flight, Sybil Andrews and Cyril Power. Macnab specialised in wood engraving, linocut, lithography and painting. He was part of the printmaking revival of the 20th century and his school pioneered the linocut. His work is represented in the British Museum, V&A, Ashmolean, Fitzwilliam and the Government Art Collection.

Hale (Kathleen, 1898-2000). My First Love, circa 1921, linocut portrait of Frank Potter, signed and numbered 4/10, mount aperture 19.8 x 13.8cm (7 7/8 x 5 1/2ins), framed and glazed (39.7 x 32.2cm), verso with red ink number '33', relating to Kathleen Hale Memorial Exhibition held at the Redfern Gallery in 2001, together with: Aquarium, or, Mediterranean Blues, 1920s, linocut in colours, signed and numbered 1/15, mount aperture 19.4 x 22 cm (7 5/8 x 8 5/8ins), framed and glazed (41.7 x 43.1cm), verso with printed label giving artist and title, plus: Sleeping woman in attic, linocut, pencilled number '150' to upper right, mount aperture 18.3 x 21.2cm (7 1/4 x 8 1/4ins), framed and glazed (36.5 x 37.5cm), and 14 unframed linocuts, comprising: Farmyard in Étaples (1); Owl and mouse (3); Aquarium (3 printed in colours, 1 in green only); Sweet Corn (mice and corn - 1 printed in shades of brown/yellow); Scratching hen (1); My First Love (4)Qty: (17)Footnote: 'My First Love' is reproduced in Kathleen Hale's autiobiography A Slender Reputation on p.78. 'Scratching hen' is reproduced on p.159. Several of the linocuts are listed in the catalogue of the Kathleen Hale Memorial Exhibition held at the Redfern Gallery in 2001, with 'My First Love' also appearing in the Michael Parkin exhibition Modern British Art, works on paper, 20-30 June 2001.

A collection of miscellaneous silver to include, a cased set of Victorian fruit knives and forks, AH, Sheffield 1892, in an Art Nouveau style; a cased composite set of Dutch and Dutch-style gilt spoons, a Continental card case, unmarked; a collection of mother of pearl handled butter knives; a modern twin handled trophy, Charles Boyton 1936 with stylised unicorn and lion handles and another twin handled trophy of vase form; various cased sets of spoons and christening sets, a collection of brushes and dressing table accessories and other flatware

A collection of vintage and modern postcards and greeting cards. To include Edwardian examples and RP's. Subjects include British holiday destinations, boats and ships and fantasy art.

ANDRÉ BRETON (1896-1966)Minuit juste carved wood and garter belt84.6cm (33 5/16in). highExecuted in 1959Footnotes:ProvenanceAndré Breton Collection; his sale, Calmels Cohen, Paris, 15 April 2003, lot 4135.Private collection, Paris (acquired at the above sale).ExhibitedParis, Galerie Daniel Cordier, EROS, Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, December 1959 – January 1960. Frankfurt, Schirn Kunsthalle, Surreal Objects, Three-Dimensional Works from Dalí to Man Ray, 11 February – 29 May 2012, no. 3.Halmstad, Mjellby konstmuseum, Surrealistiska ting, Surreal objects, 16 June - 30 September 2012.What one hides is worth neither more nor less than what one finds.-André Breton, Le Surréalisme et la peinture, 1928.Seeking magic in the everyday, André Breton transformed ordinary objects into pathways between the physical world and the imagination. Today's art-consuming society is well familiar with objects lacking discernible meanings or narratives, that are found, combined and metamorphosed into mysterious, humorous and erotic enigmas. But it was Breton and his band of Surrealists that forged the conceptual and creative foundations for this timeless gesture of art. Minuit juste (also titled 'The stroke of midnight') stands as a waystone upon the shifting crossroads of art history, linking Dadaism and Surrealism with Conceptualism, Abstract Expressionism, Fluxus, and the artists of today.Objects were the quintessence of Breton's Surrealist dogma. His second Manifesto of Surrealism (1929) built upon the 'pure psychic automatism' of his first manifesto (1924), calling on Surrealists to access the inner recesses of the subconscious via the 'mystique of the object'. By stripping objects of their regular functions and placing them into surprising contexts, objets surrealists could spark an explosive reaction between reason and intuition, releasing the mind from the constraints of reality. With this, the Surrealists – among them Man Ray, Méret Oppenheim and Joan Miró – applied the Surrealist ethics of combination, alienation and metamorphosis to a dazzling array of objects. Their mantra was the poet Isidore Ducasse's (Comte de Lautréamont) oft-cited simile: 'as beautiful as an accidental encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table.' The resulting assemblages sought, in the words of René Magritte, to 'make everyday objects shriek out loud', achieving comical, erotic or gruesome subtexts. Breton preferred the term 'object' over 'sculpture', as the former evokes not just a physical entity but also an 'objective', while the latter seemed overburdened with outmoded notions of beauty and authorship. Marcel Duchamp's readymades directly influenced this Surrealist subgenre. In revolutionary acts of 'non-art', Duchamp selected mass produced objects, inscribing them with artistic signatures and elevating them to the status of art. The project began with his Bottle Rack (1915) and culminated in the iconic Fountain (1917), a commercially manufactured urinal signed 'R. Mutt.' Duchamp's subsequent 'assisted readymades' juxtaposed multiple banal objects in seemingly random yet carefully orchestrated tableaux. His goal, which transformed the course of twentieth century art, was to deconstruct core notions of art, talent and genius. Breton echoed this with his use of objets trouvés, whose forgotten lives miniaturised the drama of modern Paris and evoked fragmented narratives. These were incorporated into his poèmes-objets, two-dimensional and three-dimensional collages that united the poetic and the visual in destabilising fusions of fantasy and reality.The present work stands as such a juxtaposition. A log of dense hardwood has been directly carved with aggressive motions, exhibiting a rough-hewn, dappled surface revealing its natural properties. The resulting phallic totem emanates a raw, lustful impulse, inviting a tactile response (as signalled by the work's innuendo-laden title). Indeed, the apparently discarded ladies' garters punctuate the otherwise minimal composition with whispers of an erotic backstory. Ironically delicate and submissive, the criss-crossed garters both temper and rupture the bombastic phallus, the nails with which they are attached generating a perverse crucifix. Breton's poem-object therefore forms a variegated mise-en-scène with gruesome, comical and erotic connotations. With its grotesque religiosity, the present work evokes the Surrealist notion that objects can possess certain magical and talismanic powers. Minute juste additionally incorporates Breton's approach of organic abstraction, which fuses modern material goods (the garters) with wider forces of nature (the unfinished hardwood). Breton's direct wood carving builds upon the materials and methods of the indigenous Pacific Island, African and North American creators he revered. The present work's verticality and stature evokes the gravitas of the totem poles which formed part of Breton's Wunderkammer-atelier. Breton's diverse trove of treasures reflected not only his rebellion against the Western world's cultural imperialism, but also his reverence toward a collective ideal of creativity – one inextricably linked with magic and mythology. Across Pacific cultures, for instance, carving is treasured not just for its aesthetic and practical uses, but also for its spiritual significance and connection to one's divine ancestors. Having published L'Art magique (1957) two years before the present work, Breton was then subsumed with the notion of 'magic', positing that objects become magical when their meanings and associations transcended their formal properties. By juxtaposing a timeless mode of magic with a readymade object, Breton generated in the present work an abstract archaeology of the everyday.Indeed, Breton's art-making practice was indistinguishable from his collecting practice. The trinkets he trawled for in the Parisian flea market of Saint-Ouen were as significant to Breton as his connoisseurship of fine art and ethnographic objects. In his wanderings, he crafted his own semi-mythologised artistic persona, merging two popular archetypes of Modern Paris, the first being the Chiffoniers (ragpickers) who were frequently portrayed in artworks, cartoons and songs, sifted through the debris of modern Paris, identifying reusable materials and objects for resale in the flea market. The second was the flaneur of Charles Baudelaire's writings, a marginalised character who merged with the urban landscape and observed the frenetic and fragmentary realities of Modern society. Enhancing these identities with instincts of automatism and objective chance, Breton utilised the flea market as an urban studio, seeking shock and awe in the everyday. He would select indeterminate objects that provoked the imagination in some way, later assembling them with disparate companions in order to reveal surprising networks of association. For Breton, the random occurrences he experienced with such objects were creative activities in themselves. In Le Surréalisme et la peinture, he opined: 'Every piece of flotsam and jetsam within our grasp should be considered a precipitate of our desire' (p. 283). The discarded garters in the present work stand as a relic of such wanderings, a symbol of desire, and a conduit to the subconscious.The present work was conceived for the 1959 Exposition inteRnatiOnale du Surréalisme ('EROS') – its Dada underpinnings marked by its playful typograp... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

VALENTINE HUGO (1887-1968)Portrait d'Arthur Rimbaud signed and dated 'Valentine Hugo 12/33' (upper left); signed 'Valentine Hugo' and extensively inscribed (on the reverse)oil on panel with rhinestones and collage100 x 75cm (39 3/8 x 29 1/2in).Painted in December 1933Footnotes:ProvenancePaul & Lise Deharme Collection (acquired directly from the artist, by 1947); her collection sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 6 March 1953, lot 56.Suzanne Chatelard Collection, Paris (by 1954).Maïta Desmarais Collection, Antibes (by 1984).Anon. sale, Catherine Charbonneaux, Paris, 17 December 2007, lot 143.Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.ExhibitedBrussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Exposition Minotaure, May – June 1934, no. 56.Avignon, Palais des Papes, Exposition de peintures et sculptures contemporaines, 27 June – 30 September 1947, no. 68.Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Arthur Rimbaud, 1954, no. 1104.Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Le Surréalisme, Sources, histoire, affinités, 1964, no. 175.Bayonne, Entretiens de Bayonne, April - May 1967.Vitry-sur-Seine, Galerie Municipale, La Part des femmes dans l'Art contemporain, 3 March - 13 April 1984, no. 54.New York, The Grey Art Gallery and Study Centre, Cocteau generations, Spirit of the French Avant-Garde, 15 May – 23 June 1984, no. 117 (later travelled to Miami and Austin).LiteratureH. Read, Surrealism, London, 1936, no. 40 (illustrated).A. de Margerie, Valentine Hugo 1887-1968, Paris, 1983 (illustrated pp. 78-79; incorrect dimensions).'Rimbaud', in Grands Écrivains, Choisis par l'Académie Goncourt, no. 22, 1984 (illustrated on the back cover).C. Bernheim, Valentine Hugo, Paris, 1990, p. 268.B. Seguin, De Valentine Gross à Valentine Hugo, Boulogne-sur-Mer - Paris (1887-1968), Boulogne-sur-Mer, 2000 (illustrated p. 131).'Valentine Hugo, l'égérie des surréalistes', in Le Figaro littéraire, 23 January 2003.Exh. cat., Valentine Hugo, Le Carnaval des Ombres, Boulogne-sur-Mer, 2018, fig. 113 (illustrated p. 130).Portrait d'Arthur Rimbaud by Valentine Hugo is one of the artist's rare oil paintings and arguably the most important. Transcending the border between visual arts and literature, it celebrates another definition of beauty in the unexpected. Valentine Hugo was a painter, illustrator, and costume and set designer for the opera and the theatre. After her studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and a brief passage in Dadaism, she strayed from Dada's nihilistic, anti-rational ideas to devote herself entirely to Surrealism from 1925. Contrary to Dada, André Breton wrote in the first Surrealist Manifesto (1924) that art gives sense and meaning to life, and insisted on the influence of Freud, psychoanalysis, and the interpretive power of dreams which, according to Breton, were the paradigm of artistic inspiration. Trusting the freedom of imagination, the Surrealists did not explore nature but rather an inner, intimate world. Although Valentine Hugo's entourage already included some important artistic figures of the early 20th century such as Jean Cocteau, Marcel Proust, Erik Satie and Pablo Picasso, her circle widened with the Surrealists. She became close to André Breton, Nusch and Paul Éluard, René Crevel, René Char, Gala and Salvador Dalí, Dora Maar, Man Ray, Yves Tanguy, Tristan Tzara and Max Ernst, who painted a compelling portrait of her. Hugo joined the group as an artist in her own right and not as a muse: she was part of the Bureau of Surrealist Research and she was the first to draw 'exquisite corpses' on dark paper. She often took part in this collaborative artistic game, in which each participant took turns drawing on a sheet of paper before concealing their contribution and passing it to the next player. At the request of André Breton, she also participated in her first Surrealist exhibition at the Loeb Gallery in 1925. Afterwards, she was included in Surrealist exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in 1933, the Salon des Surindépendants in Paris in 1933, the Minotaure Exhibition at the Palais des Expositions in Brussels in 1934, the Gaceta de Arte de Tenerife exhibition in 1935, and the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1936.The present work is part of a very limited body of works, painted between 1932 and 1936, when Valentine Hugo focused on large formats in oil. Hugo reportedly told André Breton that she had dreamed about Rimbaud and he had encouraged her to complete the portrait. It was painted contemporaneously to her other great masterpiece, Les Surréalistes (1932), which was photographed by Man Ray before it was damaged at the MoMA exhibition in 1936. Her portrait of the Surrealists (including André Breton, Paul Éluard, René Crevel, and Tristan Tzara) follows the same structure as Portrait d'Arthur Rimbaud, laying the composition out from the lower left corner and focusing on the faces emerging from the dark, like an apparition. Valentine Hugo never met Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), but the French poet was well-known in the 1930s and celebrated for his oneiric poetry, which seemed to dissolve dream into reality. Accordingly, he was an important influence for the Surrealists and a dazzling figure who wrote all his poetry in a span of just four years. His career ended abruptly at the age of twenty, following the breakdown of his tumultuous affair with the Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine. Both men were passionate but violent, and Rimbaud left France to travel after the breakup. He became a merchant and travelled across continents, only returning to France after falling ill. He died in hospital in Marseille at age 37, in 1891, thus ending an extraordinary life worthy of myth.In the present work, the poet's face emerges from the dark in the lower centre, below two birds that seem to emanate from his mind. One is an eagle, whose feathers blend into Rimbaud's hair and end in sharp blades. These are covered in red, green, white, and black droplets, showing Valentine Hugo's masterful draughtsmanship and her eye for detail. The other bird is white, resembling a swan, but with red feathers. The two birds intertwine in a fight, in which the eagle seems to protect Rimbaud from the sharp beak of the white bird. Five crows, which are a notorious harbinger of death in Rimbaud's poetry The Crows (Les Corbeaux) (1871), are hidden in the white bird's feathers. Nevertheless, this white bird of ill omen crowns Rimbaud with a laurel wreath, a symbolic attribute given to poets. The glory of the poet comes at a price however: one of the thorns pierces Rimbaud's forehead and causes glistening blood to drip from the wound. The blood stains his lips with red, which contributes to the poet's androgynous appearance. This could be a metaphorical allusion to Rimbaud and Verlaine's violent love affair. Verlaine had been the first to recognise Rimbaud's talent for poetry and invited him to Paris in 1871, but their story ended in blood, when Verlaine shot Rimbaud in 1873. In Portrait d'Arthur Rimbaud the poet's face floats in murky, green water populated by strange sea creatures. A flat sea urchin lies on the foreground, and another spiny sea urchin hides behind the poet's right ear. The latter opens to reveal a soft, slimy, dripping interior surrounded by tentacles. This putrefying marine environment was likely inspired by Rimbaud's most famous poem, The Drunken Boat / (Le Bateau Ivre) (1871), which describes a similar settin... 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LEONOR FINI (1907-1996)Personnage (Horned figure) signed 'Leonor Fini' (lower right)pen and ink on paper31.5 x 24.5cm (12 3/8 x 9 5/8in).Executed circa 1935Footnotes:The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Richard Overstreet.ProvenanceMax Ernst Collection, Paris (by 1935).Galerie 1900-2000, Paris.Private collection, New York (acquired from the above on 18 July 1985).ExhibitedNew York, Museum of Modern Art, Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism, December 1936 - January 1937, no. 375.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

MARCEL MARIËN (1920-1993)Le rêve traversé signed and dated 'Mariën 1969' (lower left, within the box)assemblage in the artist's box15 x 16.4 x 7.4cm (5 7/8 x 6 7/16 x 2 15/16in).Executed in May 1969Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate collection, Italy (a gift from the artist in the late 1960s).Thence by descent to the present owner.Literature'Le surréalisme au-delà des alternances', in Clés pour le spectacle, no. 18, February 1972 (illustrated on the front cover & p. 21).M. Mariën, 'To the unhappy few', in Les Lèvres Nues, no. 21, May 1969 (illustrated).M. Mariën, Trattato della pittura ad olio e aceto, Milan, 1972 (illustrated p. 21).M. Mariën, Crystal Blinkers, Sidmouth, 1973 (illustrated p. 28).X. Canonne, A. Nounckele, C. Sohie & J. Waseige, Marcel Mariën catalogue raisonné, online catalogue, no. MM-O-288 (illustrated).Born in Antwerp in 1920, Marcel Mariën swiftly became one of the most prolific members of the Belgian Surrealist movement.Mariën discovered Surrealism in 1935 through two paintings by fellow Belgian René Magritte during a contemporary art exhibition organized at the Antwerp community centre. He met Magritte two years later in 1937 and subsequently joined the Surrealist group - the youngest member at only 17 years old. It was this year that he made and exhibited his very first surrealist object and his most famous work: L'introuvable, a set of single-lens glasses.His works play and distort the accepted norm, creating bridges between language, image and object, all concurrently playing with the viewer's perception of reality. His experimentation with different media is testament to his versatility as an artist and member of the movement. Aside from his involvement with the Surrealists as an artist, Mariën was a writer, poet and theorist. He penned the first monograph of René Magritte, published in 1943; in 1954 he founded the magazine Les Lèvres Nues with Jane Graverol and Paul Nougé and in 1979 he authored the first reference book on Surrealism in Belgium titled L'activité surréaliste en Belgique (1924-1950), to name just a few.His works are housed in some of the world's most prominent modern art institutions such as Tate Modern in London, The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, MoMa in New York, and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

CRUZEIRO SEIXAS (1920-2020)A noite sem fim indistinctly signed (lower left)gouache, watercolour, brush, pen and India ink and pencil on paper30.5 x 42.9cm (12 x 16 7/8in).Executed in 1977Footnotes:ProvenanceThe artist's collection.Acquired from the above by the present owner.ExhibitedLisbon, Perve Galeria, Homenagem a Cruzeiro Seixas, 9 February – 24 March 2012.Lisbon, Freedom House - Mário Cesariny, Real-Surreal, 27 June – 21 July 2013.Lisbon, Freedom House - Mário Cesariny, Colaborativamente, 25 April – 30 June 2018.Lisbon, Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, Núcleo Cadávre Exquis, 3 – 31 December 2020.Lisbon, Freedom House - Mário Cesariny, Construir o Nada Perfeito, 19 September 2020 – 15 May 2021.Surrealism is a truly global movement, albeit one with localised offshoots that are enlightened by their own indigenous mythologies, natural phenomena and national politics. For Os Surrealistas, the Surrealists of Portugal, Cruzeiro Seixas was of central significance. An artistic shapeshifter possessing innumerable skills across painting, sculpture, drawing, poetry, scenography, curation and collage, Seixas delivered to the movement unique and diverse invocations of André Breton's philosophies. Beyond Portugal, Seixas also lived a peripatetic life, travelling throughout Africa, India and Asia while enlisted in the merchant navy from 1950 – 1964. Momentous in this regard was his period in Angola, during which he collected indigenous artworks, contributed fervently to his own practice (see, for example, lot 36), and curated landmark exhibitions of Modern Portuguese art.Seixas' work has been described as a 'poetics of the fantastic', as he weaves together central Surrealist paradoxes: dream and nightmare, sacred and profane, sex and death, body and soul. His works achieve atmospheres that strike both tranquillity and anxiety, overlaying sublime nocturnal environments with alien vegetation, hollow architecture, celestial phenomena, ghosts, monsters, and youthful human bodies with zoomorphic heads. In tone and imagery, his influences from Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, William Blake, Arthur Rimbaud and Hieronymus Bosch ring true. Like his forebears, Seixas was able to deftly hint at the existence of some narrative, while at the same time obscuring it beneath eerie layers of outlandish imagery. Yet despite this disquiet and distortion, Seixas generates tonal harmonies with bold and comforting colour fields, such as the seductive midnight blue in A noite sem fim (lot 34) and the shining golden feathery flame in Untitled (lot 37). The jagged, re-worked and highly expressive cut-outs of his collaging practice (as in Untitled, lot 35) display his overarching fascination with exploring the subconscious potential of the unexpected. Seixas was not only a hero to Os Surrealistas but was also the last of his movement. In the late 1990s he established the Portuguese Surrealism Centre in collaboration with the Cupertino de Miranda family, to whom he donated his collection. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 99, after which he was honoured in a resplendent array of global exhibitions, including in 2021 at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ARAR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

JOHN ARMSTRONG (1893-1973)On the Promenade signed with initials and dated 'JA/47' (lower right); inscribed 'Struggle by the Sea' (on the reverse)tempera on board41 x 33.5cm (16 1/8 x 13 3/16in).Painted in 1947Footnotes:ProvenanceLefevre Gallery, London (1947).Prof. G.E. & Mrs. A. Blackman Collection (acquired from the above).A gift from the above to the previous owner (circa 1977); their sale; Bonhams, London, 14 June 2017, lot 1.Private collection, UK (acquired at the above sale).ExhibitedLondon, Lefevre Gallery, New Paintings by John Armstrong and William Crosbie, April 1947, no. 14.LiteratureA. Lambirth, John Armstrong, The Paintings, London, 2009, no. 343, p. 190.The 1931 exhibition at Arthur Tooth & Sons, Recent Development in British Painting, included six artists who would go on to form 'Unit One': John Armstrong, Edward Burra, Ben Nicholson, Paul Nash, John Selby Bigge and Edward Wadsworth. In a letter to The Times on 2 June 1933, Paul Nash outlined their doctrine, part of which stated, 'The formation of Unit One is a method of concentrating certain individual forces, a hard defence, a compact wall against the tide, behind which development can proceed and experiment continue.'This short-lived group of like-minded artists only staged one exhibition, at the Mayor Gallery in April 1934 (which toured to Liverpool, Manchester, Henley, Derby, Swansea and Belfast), before it broke up, but it has become a seminal moment in the history of modern British art. As the surrealist scholar Michel Remy remarks, 'It was in its readiness to take new initiatives that Unit One paved the way for surrealism: the part played by the figurative artists of the group, Armstrong, Bigge, Hillier and Wadsworth, cannot possibly be underestimated. What they shared was a fascination with the lines and forms of nature, whether mineral, animal or vegetable, and with the intrinsic force of growth that these suggested. Expanded and hypertrophied, this or that leaf, corolla or seashell is given a presence, which, made overwhelming, endows the object with an oneiric quality, a pulsating hesitancy, and casts doubt on how one can judge the reality of what one sees. (M. Remy, Surrealism in Britain, Aldershot, 1999, pp. 37-38).By 1938, the Tate Gallery purchased their first John Armstrong painting, Dreaming Head (1938), and other works of his from this year make references to sleep and dreaming, such as The Heaviness of Sleep (collection of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and Dream at Dawn. It was at this time T.W. Earp wrote in The Daily Telegraph, that Armstrong's first one-man show at the Lefevre Gallery, 'confirms his title as our foremost surrealist painter.'Shortly after World War II had ended, Armstrong left London in October 1945 and moved to Oriental Cottage, in Lamorna, Cornwall. As his biographer Andrew Lambirth remarks, 'He did not associate with the St Ives school of abstraction local to him in Cornwall, but continued to plough his lonely furrow. In fact, this paid dividends, and this period was productive of an exceptionally high number of fine works. All the hypnotic post-war tempera leaf and feather paintings were made here, and the lush fantastic landscapes of giant plants, which reflected Lamorna's balmy climate.' (A. Lambirth, John Armstrong, The Paintings, London, 2009, pp. 85-86).On the Promenade (1947) was included in John Armstrong's critically acclaimed and commercially successful, third one-man exhibition at Lefevre Gallery in London, during 1947. It is a painting of immense beauty and sensuality, as two elegant feathers of slightly differing colours take on anthropomorphic qualities as they face one another and interact. Indeed, the title of the work indicates that one of these beings has been escorting the other in a public place for purposes of display, and to be admired by others. The austere background serves to heighten their lusciousness of form and texture. As a wind blows from behind the upper character, the edges of its feather separate into surreal, delicate white tendrils that seek out its companion in a moment of intimacy. Although their narrow and pointed bases appear fragile, balanced precariously on the promenade, their posture and solidity communicate they are in fact grounded and secure.A handful of other paintings from the period, and included in the same Lefevre Gallery show, used feathers and also leaves as a metaphor for the human form; The Pink Feather (1946), Encounter and The Embrace of the Shadow (both 1947), along with On the Promenade formed what the artist's biographer, Andrew Lambirth, described as 'a group of superb tempera paintings'. But only in the present work does the artist employ the curvaceousness of form with the highly charged richness of colour that lends it such extraordinary appeal.As Andrew Lambirth notes, 'Maurice Collis, writing in April 1947 in The Observer, had this to say of Armstrong's third show at the Lefevre: 'In the past I had to take to task John Armstrong – one of our little galaxy of original artists – for the rigidity of the manner in which he was then enfolding himself. He has abandoned that rigidity, and in the present exhibition displays what I imagine must be not only the most attractive work he has ever shown, but also what I conceive to be more germane to his essential self'. Collis writes of the 'spectral mortality' of Armstrong's objects, the vast wind that seems to be 'blowing from the void', and the perfection of his technique' (op. cit. p. 112).This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ARAR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

FABRIZIO CLERICI (1913-1993)Le grand théâtre signed 'Fabrizio Clerici' (lower left and lower right)gouache on paper, diptych41 x 33.5cm (16 1/8 x 13 3/16in). eachExecuted in 1947Footnotes:The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Archivio Fabrizio Clerici.ProvenanceM. Lesage Collection, Paris; their sale, Finarte, Rome, 24 April 2008, lots 144 & 145.Private collection, Paris.Private collection, Rome (acquired from the above).ExhibitedSan Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honour Museum, Fabrizio Clerici, February 1956.Santa Barbara, The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Paintings and Watercolors by Fabrizio Clerici, 17 April – 6 May 1956.LiteratureArchivio Fabrizio Clerici (eds.), Fabrizio Clerici, nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, Milan, 2013 (illustrated p. 169).'Isn't Fabrizio Clerici perhaps one of the champions of the surreal realism that is a distinctive sign of the twentieth century? Akin to nature itself, Clerici achieves simplicity by means of countless details. Not a single pin is missing from this legion of angels and archangels that guard over his home. No object is admitted therein that isn't sublime, and whose presence does not burst with secrets.' - Jean Cocteau Bonhams is delighted to present four exceptional works by the Italian artist Fabrizio Clerici encompassing his most iconic surrealist motifs and tropes recurring throughout his œuvre and providing an overview to his work. A tall and strikingly handsome man, with a collection of the finest Borsalino hats, Clerici was born in Milan in 1913 but lived in Rome for most of his life, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1937. His trained architectural eye for spatiality and perspective influenced his work as an artist, further finessed by witnessing the Eternal City's layered history and ancient ruins reminiscent of a grand romanticised past. The vestiges of Roman Renaissance and Baroque splendour somewhat imbued his works with an aura of timelessness. His unique visual language developed in art not only through his book illustrations, first begun in 1941, but also through the creation of set and costume designs, collaborating amongst others on George Bernard Shaw's 1947 adaptation of Mrs. Warren's Profession and Stravinsky's Orpheus in 1948 to huge acclaim, and forming a strong friendship with influential Hungarian choreographer Aurel Milloss. London's Daily Telegraph noted Clerici's eccentric sets as 'in fact, spaceless and timeless in their fantastic and exotic splendour' when referring to his work on Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1961 at Milan's La Scala theatre (quoted in Fabrizio Clerici, Nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, 2013, p. 92).Clerici's art nods to both Surrealist and Metaphysical theories, marked by his close friendships with Salvador Dalí, Leonor Fini and Alberto Savinio amongst others. Befriending Jean Cocteau and Tristan Zara in Rome and Milan, he was an assiduous reader of the Surrealist publication Le Minotaure, Andrè Breton's brainchild. 'Surrealism', for Clerici 'must be seen as a continuation of metaphysical painting, which, by the way, is one of the most extraordinary expressions of painting in the XX century, an expression which is mostly Italian, that of De Chirico, Savinio, Carrà, and a certain Morandi. I adhered to that school' (ibid., p. 73). Desolate landscapes and solitary figures coexist in Clerici's universe. Desolated and almost dystopian, elongate, landscapes on the brink of destruction are evoked in Le grand théâtre dated 1947 and L'isola from 1974 (lots 44 and 47). Figures from the 1944 series Too seen, too much felt and La grande fame, (lots 45 and 46) appear in a state of despair, reflecting the horrors of war. The present works are emblematic of Clerici's skill as a fine draughtsman and painter marking him as one of the most iconic artists carrying the legacy of Surrealism in Italy.The two exquisite drawings dated 1944 were included in Julien Levy's exhibition held at his gallery in New York the following year. The drawings were brought to New York by Peter Lindamood, a Peace Corps volunteer enlisted in the US Army and recruited in the 'Psychological Warfare Branch', a branch reserved for journalists, photographers and literary men, who sought out the Italian artists tied to Surrealism, both Giorgio de Chirico and Leonor Fini, and it was the latter with whom Clerici had a decade-long friendship and considered the leader in the Italian Surrealist movement who introduced him to Lindamood. These drawings, recalls Lindamood, are the 'few that I was able to nurse through the crushing intimacy of my barracks bag' which would be 'shown for the first time anywhere' at Levy's Gallery (op. cit., p. 44).The roman art critic Mario Praz discusses the drawing Too seen, too much felt in his book dedicated to Clerici and his chapter on these Capricci series, to be 'the most potent expression of a mass state of mind that I have found in recent years. The assuredness of the line, akin to those of the greatest masters, makes this work a memorable document of the post-war phase of life and art in Italy' (quoted in Bellezza e Bizzarria, Milan, 1960, p. 167). Both drawings can be interpreted as touching reminders of the frailty of human life.With characters appearing to reflect on the state of mankind, the drawings act today as a strong reminder that on 4 June 1944 the American troops entered Rome, finally liberating the city. Empty sardine cans and a ripped intense portrait by Sicilian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, Condottiero, (Louvre, Paris) permeate the scenes. The series represents Clerici's skills as a draughtsman, so much so that a work in the series, Duet for Harp and 'Cello, was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Le grand théâtre diptych, executed in 1947 in tempera, showcases another of Clerici's recurring motifs, the empty theatre, dominated by uneasy hovering scaffoldings eerily threatening to topple at any moment. Painted in Milan, it is part of a series of works called Processi, which had been admired by Dalí at Clerici's Roman studio. L'isola from 1974 acts as an homage to Swiss Symbolist artist Arnold Bocklin's series of masterpieces The Isle of the Dead, painted between 1880 and 1901. Of Bocklin, Clerici would expand 'resuming Bocklin, after De Chirico, was a way for me to prolong the cult of metaphysical art, beyond the recognised names. I always thought that metaphysics is a characteristic of Italian painting [...] my formation as an architect fatally brings my painting to the metaphysics of space' (op. cit., 2013, p. 56). This ensemble of works provides a fascinating overview of some of the most iconic periods of Clerici's work, one of the most interesting intellectuals and artists of the 20th Century in Italy.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

FABRIZIO CLERICI (1913-1993)L'isola signed 'F Clerici' (lower centre)oil on canvas79.7 x 79.7cm (31 3/8 x 31 3/8in).Painted in 1974Footnotes:The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by the Archivio Fabrizio Clerici.ProvenanceGalleria Il Gabbiano, Rome.Anon. sale, Finarte, Milan, 15 April 2021, lot 62.Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.ExhibitedReggio Emilia, Ridotto del Teatro Comunale, Fabrizio Clerici, October – November 1974.Ivrea, Centro Congressi La Serra, Fabrizio Clerici, April 1984.Isn't Fabrizio Clerici perhaps one of the champions of the surreal realism that is a distinctive sign of the twentieth century? Akin to nature itself, Clerici achieves simplicity by means of countless details. Not a single pin is missing from this legion of angels and archangels that guard over his home. No object is admitted therein that isn't sublime, and whose presence does not burst with secrets. - Jean Cocteau Bonhams is delighted to present four exceptional works by Italian artist Fabrizio Clerici encompassing his most iconic surrealist motifs and tropes recurring throughout his oeuvre and providing an overview to his work. A tall and strikingly handsome man, with a collection of the finest Borsalino hats, Clerici was born in Milan in 1913 but lived in Rome for most of his life, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1937. His trained architectural eye for spatiality and perspective influenced his work as an artist, further finessed by witnessing the Eternal City's layered history and ancient ruins reminiscent of a grand romanticised past. The vestiges of Roman Renaissance and Baroque splendour somewhat imbued his works with an aura of timelessness. His unique visual language developed in art not only through his book illustrations, first begun in 1941, but also through the creation of set and costume designs, collaborating amongst others on G. B. Shaw's 1947 adaptation of Mrs. Warren's Profession and Stravinskij's Orpheus in 1948 to huge acclaim, and forming a strong friendship with influential Hungarian choreographer Aurel Milloss. London's Daily Telegraph noted Clerici's eccentric sets as 'in fact, spaceless and timeless in their fantastic and exotic splendour' when referring to his work on Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1961 at Milan's La Scala theatre (quoted in Fabrizio Clerici, Nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, 2013, translated from Italian, pg. 92).Clerici's art nods to both Surrealist and Metaphysical theories, marked by his close friendships with Salvador Dalí, Leonor Fini and Alberto Savinio, amongst others. Further befriending Jean Cocteau and Tristan Zara in Rome and Milan he was an assiduous reader of the Surrealist publication 'Le Minotaure', Andrè Breton's brainchild. 'Surrealism', for Clerici 'must be seen as a continuation of metaphysical painting, which, by the way, is one of the most extraordinary expressions of painting in the XX century, an expression which is mostly Italian, that of De Chirico, Savinio, Carrà, and a certain Morandi. I adhered to that school' (quoted in Fabrizio Clerici, Nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, 2013, translated from Italian, pg. 73). Desolate landscapes and solitary figures coexist in Clerici's universe. Desolated and almost dystopian, elongated, landscapes on the brink of destruction are evoked in Le Grand Theatre dated c. 1947 and L'Isola from 1974 (lots XX). Figures from the 1944 series Too seen, too much felt and The Great Hunger, (lots XX) appear in a state of despair reflecting the horrors of war. The present works are emblematic of Clerici's skill as a fine draughtsman and painter marking him as one of the most iconic artists carrying the legacy of Surrealism in Italy.The two exquisite drawings dated 1944 were included in Julien Levy's exhibition held at his gallery in New York the following year. The drawings were brough to New York by Peter Lindamood, a Peace Corps volunteer enlisted in the US Army and recruited in the 'Psychological Warfare Branch', a branch reserved to journalists, photographers and literary men, who sought out the Italian artists tied to Surrealism, both Giorgio de Chirico and Leonor Fini, and it was the latter with whom Clerici had a decade-long friendship and, considered the leader in the Italian Surrealist movement who introduced him to Lindamood. These drawings, recalls Lindamood, are the 'few that I was able to nurse through the crushing intimacy of my barracks bag' which would be 'shown for the first time anywhere' at Levy's Gallery (Fabrizio Clerici, Nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, 2013, translated from Italian, pg. 44).The roman art critic Mario Praz discusses the drawing Too seen too much felt in his book dedicated to Clerici and his chapter on these Capricci series, to be 'the most potent expression of a mass state of mind that I have found in recent years. The assuredness of the line, akin to those of the greatest masters, makes this work a memorable document of the post-war phase of life and art in Italy' (quoted in Bellezza e Bizzarria, Il Saggiatore, Milano 1960, p. 167, translated from Italian). Both drawings can be interpreted as touching reminders of the frailty of human life.With characters appearing to reflect on the state of mankind the drawings act today as a strong reminder that on 4th June 1944 the American troops would enter Rome finally liberating the city. Empty sardine cans and a ripped intense portrait by Sicilian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, Condottiero, permeate the scenes. The series represents Clerici's skills as a draughtsman, so much so that a work in the series, Duet for Harp and 'Cello, was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York (Caption 1).Le Grand Theatre diptych (lot XX), executed c. 1947 in tempera, showcases another of Clerici's recurring motifs, the empty theatre, dominated by uneasy scaffoldings eerily seeming to hover and topple at any moment. Painted in Milan, it is part of a series of works called 'Processi' which had been admired by Dalí at Clerici's Roman studio. L'Isola from 1974 acts as an homage to Swiss Symbolist artist Arnold Bocklin's series of masterpieces The Isle of the Dead, painted between 1880 and 1901. Of Bocklin, Clerici would expand 'resuming Bocklin, after de Chirico, was a way for me to prolong the cult of metaphysical art, beyond the recognised names. I always thought that metaphysics is a characteristic of Italian painting [...] my formation as an architect fatally brings my painting to the metaphysics of space' (quoted in Fabrizio Clerici, Nel centenario della nascita 1913-1993, 2013, translated from Italian, pg. 56).This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

MAYO (ANTOINE MALLIARAKIS) (1905-1990)Invitation à la valse signed 'Mayo' (lower right); signed, inscribed and numbered 'A138 Invitation à la valse Mayo Rome' (on the reverse)oil on canvas55 x 46cm (21 5/8 x 18 1/8in).Painted in Rome in 1972Footnotes:ProvenanceGalleria Annunciata, Milan.Private collection, Milan.ExhibitedMilan, Galleria Annunciata, Mayo, 15 November – 4 December 1972, no. 39.Athens, Institut Français de Grèce, Mayo, 1983.LiteratureE. Yeatman-Eiffel, Antoine Malliarakis, dit Mayo, Venice, 2012 (illustrated p. 268).Antoine Malliarakis was born in Egypt in 1905 to a Greek father who worked as an engineer for the Suez Canal Company, and a French mother. He moved to France in 1914 and studied architecture in Paris, before being accepted at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1924. He frequented Parisian avant-garde circles and attended the Surrealists' meetings from 1924, where he met André Breton, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Yves Tanguy. He first exhibited alongside De Chirico, at the Galerie des Quatre Chemins in 1929, and also made a living as a costume and set designer. The present paintings are emblematic of his Surrealist work. Focusing on the human figure, Mayo explored the communion between beings and nature. Depicting volumes and depths through a masterful and bold use of colour, Mayo painted mosaics composed of fragments and reflections taken from nature and the human body. Playing with anthropomorphic cut-outs, these paintings give freedom to the mind's perception and invite the viewer to explore the dual nature of the world. Mayo's oeuvre is gaining increased recognition from major museums in the world, and his work is included in the current exhibition organised by Tate Modern in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Entitled Surrealism Beyond Borders, this exhibition explores the internationalism of the Surrealist movement beyond its Parisian epicentre and foregrounds artists who were historically overlooked because they were on the wrong side of the map.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * AR* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com

ARTHUR SEGAL (Romania, 1875 - 1944).Untitled, 1918.Oil on cardboard.Signed and dated in the lower right corner.Measurements: 60 x 50 cm.With his characteristic synthetic style in this piece Arthur Segal forms a geometrical composition, where he combines different lines arranged through different strokes, thus creating an image that is somewhat reminiscent of cubism. However, despite the prominence of the forms, it is necessary to mention the artist's use of colour, fusing complementary tones, as a slight reminiscence of Orphic Cubism. Segal, an absolute reference point for Dadaism, established a personal language based on works such as this one, known as primatics, in which he structured an entire contemporary landscape. In fact, although this piece does not seem to represent a specific landscape, from the 1920s onwards his prismatic compositions became clearer and more synthesised, as can be seen in several of his works such as Regenbogen (prismatisch), which belongs to the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Heloland, painted in 1923.Segal was born of Jewish parents in Ia?i, Romania, and trained academically at the Berlin Academy from 1892. He studied with Schmid-Reutte and Hölzel in Munich in 1896, and later continued his artistic training in Paris and Italy, places he visited in the early 20th century. After studying in Paris and Italy, he finally moved to Berlin in 1904, where he exhibited his work with Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter, two important German expressive groups. In 1910 he co-founded the Neue Sezession, a group of artists whose work was rejected by the Berliner Sezession. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he moved to Ascona, Switzerland with his family, and remained there until 1920. During the war, Switzerland became a refuge for many artists like Segal, and while there he exhibited some of his work with Arp at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, the nerve centre of the Dada movement. In 1920 he returned to Berlin, where years later he founded his own art school, Novembergruppe. He was offered a teaching post at the Bauhaus in Dessau, but turned it down. His Jewish background prevented him from exhibiting his work in Germany, so in 1933 he moved to Palma, Majorca, and then to London, where he set up another school with his daughter Marianne. Segal's early works were strongly influenced by Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism. Around 1910 he began a more expressionist and Dadaist style, and around 1916 he found his own modern style. In addition to painting, he also produced woodcuts from 1910 onwards, many of which had as their main theme criticism of the war. Segal was also the author of many books, articles and often gave lectures which influenced many students.

SALVATORE GARAU (Italy, 1953)."Pressione sul paesaggio", Gandía, 1990.Oil on canvas.Signed, dated, titled and located on the back.Size: 140 x 140 cm.Italian artist born in Santa Giusta (Sardinia), Salvatore Garau trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, graduating in 1974. After an initial period devoted to music, he focused his career on visual art. He held his first solo exhibition in 1984, and since then has shown his work in various European cities. In 2003 he participated in the Venice Biennale and held an exhibition at the European Parliament (Strasbourg). Six years later he held a major solo exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain in Saint-Étienne (France). He is currently represented in the Museo del Novecento and the Pablleon of Contemporary Art in Milan, the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Saint-Étienne, the MACAM in Maglione, the Museum of the Italian Embassy in Seoul, the Sala Parpalló in Valencia and other important collections.

MARTÍN CHIRINO LÓPEZ (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1925- Madrid, 2019)."Atlántica III- The sea", 1988.Wrought iron.Attached certificate issued by the artist.Work reproduced: in the catalogue raisonné of the artist. Nº 295 P.367.- Martín Chirino. Retrospective MNCARS (1991), p.104.- Martín Chirino. Recent sculpture Grace Borgenicht, New York (1988).-Guadalimar, nº 112 Madrid (1991), p.35.-Work exhibited at Grace Borgenicht Gallery. New York (1988).Provenance: Juana Mordó Gallery; Grace Borgenicht, New York.Size: 21 x 204,5 x 32 cm.Through this sculpture Chirino turns the rotundity of wrought iron into a metaphor for the concept of the wave. The work belongs to the Atlántica series, which dealt with concepts of the Mediterranean and the culture of the sea as the guiding thread of a series of sculptures that were conceived without a pedestal, with monumental dimensions. The piece was exhibited at the Grace Borgenicht gallery, which had been very interested in the sculptor's work since his participation in the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1960.Approximately from 1959, shortly after joining "El Paso", Martín Chirino began to produce pieces that elude an enclosed space and gain in dynamism, evoking materialised gestures. It is in this context that we find his first approaches to the theme of the wind, which the sculptor would often address over the next two decades, and which in fact became one of the fundamental themes of his work. Chirino sculpts the wind in a spiral that points to infinity, an element that the artist himself associates with an Atlantic as well as Mediterranean sign, which emulates the nature of the Canary Islands, his place of origin. Thus, Chirino works the spiral due to its inexhaustible character, stating "You don't know where it begins and where it ends" "A broken spiral in itself is a mystery. It has something of a hypothesis and of reality. It happens with it as with dreams, that what remains when you wake up is not what you felt, but its rumour". In his first steps as a sculptor, Chirino took on the forge, the forge, fire, metal, as an extension of his own, a territory from which to investigate a language, that of abstraction, his artistic role marking a before and after. The works are always based on similar elements, although arranged with different nuances. At the beginning, the line formed by the sculpture is more open and clearly violent, while as time progresses it becomes more concentrated. In these works Chirino plays with wrought iron or bronze, materials that give a certain telluric aspect to the pieces, which provides the gravity in the balance established with the immaterial. Also key to his winds is the work of hammering, marked on the piece as scars of a struggle. The sculptor Martín Chirino trained at the Escuela de San Fernando in Madrid and at the School of Fine Arts in London. After a first series of sculptures, "Reinas Negras" (Black Queens), and exhibitions such as the group show at the Museo Canario, Chirino moved to Madrid in 1955, accompanied by his friends Manolo Millares, Elvireta Escobio, Manuel Padrono and Alejandro Reino. He also spent a month in London, where he saw first-hand the Sumerian and Egyptian sculptures in the British Museum. Only a year later, in 1956, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid acquired two of his works. He then held his first solo exhibition at the Ateneo de Madrid, after which he became a member of the recently founded El Paso group. His recognition grew, and only two years later he was given a special room in the Spanish pavilion at the São Paulo Biennial. In 1960 he took part in a group exhibition at the MOMA in New York, where he presented four pieces, one of which already featured the spiral, the most recurrent theme in his work from those years onwards.

JOAN MIRÓ I FERRÀ (Barcelona, 1893 - Palma de Mallorca, 1983).Untitled, 1965.Watercolour on paper.Enclosed certificate of authenticity issued by Jacques Dupin.Signed and dated in the lower right-hand corner.Measurements: 39 x 36 cm; 70 x 67 (frame).The staircase was a recurring device in Miro's work, and his paintings were imbued with a personal, syncretic iconography that introduced and still introduces the viewer to a dream world, ethereal, immutable, yet unpredictable. In fact, in 2011, the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona together with the Tate Modern Gallery in London promoted the exhibition "The Staircase of Evasion". In the acclaimed work "Dog Barking at the Moon", which was very well received in New York, Miró presents a staircase that is supported in an indeterminate space, as in his painting "Blue II" and in the present work. It is a staircase suspended in space, which seems to be the tool needed to escape and reach another world, that of the imagination, but without forgetting its starting point, which is based on a material reality, as if the staircase were a metaphor for artistic creation. Joan Miró developed a characteristic atmosphere in his works, impregnated with primary impulses left over from his contacts with Dadaism and Surrealism. Thus, his paintings function as microcosms, symbolic models of the world that seek an understanding of the universe through the coexistence of atavistic impulses and artistic space, full of cultural reminiscences. Thus, his works should be considered as an expression of his sense of life, which is concretised plastically through the symbolism that he himself confers on the representation of certain beings and objects. By turning objects into symbols, Miró broke with the historical-narrative aspect, perspective and other traditional and realistic aspects of painting, leaving aside the description of reality. It is in this context that we can understand works as essential as this "Star and large signature", where the absolute protagonist is the message conveyed in a resounding manner, with nothing to diminish its impact. The star is a constant element throughout Miró's production; at times it is depicted as a stellar element per se, and at other times it symbolises the male presence, so that it is an ambivalent code, as a poetic expression of the vastness of the cosmos and the attraction that brings living beings together. On the other hand, his presence exemplifies the omnipresence in Miró's work of sublime forces, associated with a feeling of grandeur and cosmic mystery that has always impressed human beings.Joan Miró trained in Barcelona and made his individual debut in 1918 at the Galeries Dalmau. In 1920 he moved to Paris and met Picasso, Raynal, Max Jacob, Tzara and the Dadaists. There, under the influence of the surrealist poets and painters, he gradually matured his style; he tried to transpose surrealist poetry to the visual, based on memory, fantasy and the irrational. His third exhibition in Paris in 1928 was his first great triumph: the Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired two of his works. He returned to Spain in 1941, and that same year the museum devoted a retrospective exhibition to him which was to be his definitive international consecration. Throughout his life he received numerous awards, such as the Grand Prizes at the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Foundation in Venice, the Carnegie Prize for Painting in Venice, the Gold Medals of the Generalitat de Catalunya and of the Fine Arts, and was awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Harvard and Barcelona. His work can currently be seen in the most important museums in the world, such as the MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Reina Sofía.

EDUARDO ÚRCULO FERNÁNDEZ (Santurce, Vizcaya, 1938 - Madrid, 2003)."Before me I saw clusters of wandering life shining". 1973.Oil on canvas.Signed, titled and dated on the back.It carries a label of the Biennial of Paris, in the frame.Measurements: 162 x 140 cm.; 166 x 144 cm. (frame).A young woman of voluptuous body is lying down, hiding her face under a wavy mane, on a bed covered with quilt printed in red and white. The full moon shines behind the arch of the terrace that opens her room to an exterior of violet lights. This color tinges all the objects in the room, giving them a dreamlike look: intense mauves, cerulean and burgundy tones predominate in Úrculo's palette, varnishing even the woman's naked body. A black and yellow striped curtain provides a studied chromatic contrast, as do the fluffy cushions. These take the form of a female breast, with buttons that simulate nipples, thus accentuating the erotic charge of the composition. Úrculo prints a suggestive turn to American pop art, achieving a work of singular aesthetics, finding a language of his own.Painter and sculptor, one of the best exponents of pop art in Spain, Eduardo Úrculo began painting as a child, without any artistic training, and in 1957 he published his first illustrated strips in the Oviedo newspaper "La Nueva España". Shortly after, he moved to Madrid and began taking classes at the Círculo de Bellas Artes. During these years he earned his living as an illustrator and set designer, and cultivated a painting marked by social expressionism. In 1959 he went to Paris, where he furthered his training at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In the French capital he worked as a graphic designer and met Eduardo Westerdahl, whose influence made his painting evolve towards abstraction. However, four years later he returned to figuration and social criticism. In 1967 he made a trip to Northern Europe, and it was then that he first came into contact with American pop. From then on, Úrculo's work will be marked by a realism based on a very vivid coloring and, well into the seventies, by erotic, satirical and critical themes. In the eighties he lived in New York, where he carried out important projects. In 1992 he returned to Paris. In this last period he added to his repertoire the theme of the traveler confronted with the great modern city, an ironic variant of the figure of the romantic overwhelmed by the landscape. This formal evolution could be seen through the numerous individual exhibitions he held around the world since 1959, as well as in anthologies (Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid, 1997, and Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo de Marbella, 2000). Úrculo is currently present in numerous museums and collections of modern art, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderno in Rome, the Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, the AENA, Testimoni and Fundesco collections, the Museo del Dibujo Castillo de Larrés, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vilafamés and others.

MATTEO BASILÉ (Rome, 1974)."Trans- Avanguardía Series", 2006.Mixed media print on aluminium.Work referenced on the artist's website.Signed and dated on the back.Sizes: 150 x 100 cm; 154.5 x 104.5 cm (frame).Matteo Basilé began his career in the early 1990s, establishing himself as one of the first artists in Europe to fuse art and technology. Reconciling opposing ideas such as beauty and the grotesque, the real and the surreal, natural and artificial. Exploring the nature of humanity, the artist developed his own narrative, which crystallised in artistic serias such as transavanguarde (2006), los santos vienen (2007), este orientado (2009), thishumanity (2010), aterrizaje (2012), invisible (2014), pietra santa (2016), viaje al centro de la tierra (2017), stardust (2018), memento (2019), and mnemosyne (2021). Basilé's research can be seen as an interface between East and West (in fact, he lived and worked for almost 8 years in Southeast Asia), a dialectic that works in collision between tradition and modernity, between the professional and sacrifice. Only based on multicultural and timeless (timeless and multicultural) signs or values, because it instead includes visually a more global language where the connubial between dream, fantasy and real, is no longer the predominant real character. His anti-eroes stand out as meticulous, realistic portraits, recalling classical history yet always incorporating the spirit of the present time. Basilé's poetics is an iconographic universe, the result of a combination of technological mannerism and surrealism.Matteo Basilé's (Rome 1974) solo exhibitions include: Matteo Basilé-Utopia, Vittoria Colonna Museum of Modern Art, Pescara, 2006; No Man's Land, Guidi & Schoen, Genoa, 2006; Alchemical Primordiality, Galleria Pack, Milan, 2005; Lord of the Flies, Galerie Beukers, Rotterdam, 2004. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including On the edge of vision - New idioms in contemporary Indian and Italian art, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata / National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi / National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai; Arterritory. Art, Territory, Memory, Centrale Montemartini, Rome, 2006; Nature and Metamorphosis, Urban Planning Exhibition Centre, Shanghai / Creative Art Centre, Beijing, 2006; Sound & Vision, City Museum / Palazzo della Penna, Perugia; Evil. Exercises in Cruel Painting, Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, Turin, 2005; Italian Six, Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, 2003. Basilé was the winner of the New York Price, Columbia University, 2002/2003.

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012)."Als Mestres de Catanlunya".Lithography. Copy H.C.Signed and justified in pencil.Size: 100 x 70 cm.This work belongs to the album "Als mestres de Catalunya", made up of eight lithographs and a silkscreen, including the one on the cover, published by Sala Gaspar in Barcelona and printed by Damià Caus (Barcelona, lithographs) and Alexandre Tornabell (Girona, silkscreen).Co-founder of "Dau al Set" in 1948, Tàpies begins to exhibit at the Salones de Octubre in Barcelona, as well as at the Salón de los Once held in Madrid in 1949. After his first solo exhibition at the Galerías Layetanas, he travels to Paris in 1950, with a grant from the Institut Français. In 1953 he had a solo exhibition at Martha Jackson's gallery in New York. From then on, he exhibited his work, both in group and solo shows, all over the world, in leading galleries and museums such as the Guggenheim in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Since the 1970s, anthologies have been devoted to him in Tokyo, New York, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Venice, Milan, Vienna and Brussels. Self-taught, Tàpies created his own style within the avant-garde art of the 20th century, combining tradition and innovation in an abstract style full of symbolism, giving great importance to the material substratum of the work. It is worth noting the marked spiritual sense given by the artist to his work, where the material support transcends its state to signify a profound analysis of the human condition. Tàpies' work has been highly valued internationally, being exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Throughout his career he has received numerous prizes and distinctions, including the Praemium Imperiale of Japan, the National Prize for Culture, the Grand Prix for Painting in France, the Wolf Foundation for the Arts (1981), the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1983), the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts (1990), the Picasso Medal of Unesco (1993) and the Velázquez Prize for the Plastic Arts (2003). Antoni Tàpies is represented in major museums all over the world, such as the foundation that bears his name in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim in Berlin, Bilbao and New York, the Fukoka Art Museum in Japan, the MoMA in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.

DON FINK (Duluth, USA, 1923 - Barcelona, 2010).Untitled, 1961.Acrylic on canvas.Signed and dated in the lower right corner.Size: 98 x 130 cm; 108 x 141 cm (frame).A painter born in Duluth, Minnesota, Don Fink settled in Paris in the 1950s, together with the painter Paul Jenkins. There he became part of the French school of lyrical abstraction, with the result that his work was strongly influenced by European Informalism. From 1977 he lived and worked in Barcelona, and continued to hold exhibitions in Europe and the United States, in prominent galleries such as the Lors in London, the Sidenberg and Joan Prats in New York, the Rayuela in Madrid, the Sebastià Jané in Barcelona, and so on. He is currently represented in the Withney and Brooklyn Museums in New York and the Georges Pompidou Museum of Modern Art in Paris, as well as in other public and private collections.