On the afternoon of May 11, Beijing time, Sotheby's London will hold an auction of "Chinese Art Treasures", bringing together a number of royal treasures.
A total of 126 antique crafts were auctioned at the auction, covering porcelain, lacquerware, jade, classical furniture and Buddhist statues, and John Sparks, Lan Lijie, Eskenazi, Rockefeller and other famous collections, from which you can understand the collection orientation of early overseas collectors and show the aesthetic interest of the ancient Chinese court. The porcelain section of this session is particularly eye-catching, with the focus on a rare Qingqianlong Doucai seawater cloud bat Nine Dragon pattern amphora bottle from a private collection in Scotland, and a group of famous British Chinese ceramic collectors, Mrs. Nellie Ionides, led by the Qing Kangxi Five-Colored Banquet Dance Plate.
A list of the best in this exhibition
Lot 13 Qingqianlong Doucai seawater cloud bat nine dragon pattern amphora
"Qianlong Year system of the Great Qing Dynasty"
Dimensions: H 67.3 cm
Lot estimate: £100,000 - £150,000
Source: Ancestors from current collectors in the 19th century, and have been passed down by the family ever since
This bucket is huge in size, decorated with nine dragon clouds, dazzling color, extremely rare. Only one bottle of similar ornamentation is extant in the Dresden State Art Collection (collection number PO 5981) (fig. 1), whose ornamentation is symmetrical with this one, indicating that the two bottles should have been a pair.
Figure 1.Dresden State Art Collection PORZELLANSAMMLUNG, STAATLICHE KUNSTSAMMLUNGEN DRESDEN. PHOTO: ADRIAN SAUER.
The dragon is the representative of the power of the Son of Heaven, and the nine is in harmony with the long, so the nine dragon ornaments mean the longevity of the country. Similar Kowloon ornaments can refer to several Qianlong Dynasty examples, including blue and white jars, underglaze blue flowers and pink plum vases, etc., collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing, in the complete collection of cultural relics and treasures collected by the Palace Museum: Blue and White Glaze Red (Part 2), Hong Kong, 2000, plates 118 and 230. The red bat ornament on the sea is blessed like the East Sea, with colorful colors, adding auspicious meanings.
Doucai, that is, underglaze blue and white with glaze on the glaze, popular in the Ming Dynasty, most of them made of small porcelain, a wide variety, of which the Chenghua chicken bowl cup is particularly classic. The Qing Dynasty regarded Doucai porcelain as a representative of Chenghua zhen porcelain, and liked its elegance and beauty, but those with large size and complex ornamentation such as this bottle were only seen in the Qianlong period.
In addition to the above-mentioned Dresden example, two smaller flat pots can be seen, both painted with yunxiang dragon ornaments, also decorated with dragon ears, the original Qing Palace old collection, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, the picture is contained in the "Palace Museum Collection of Cultural Relics and Treasures." multicolored. DouCai", Hong Kong, 1999, nos. 241 and 254.
Lot 4 Qingqianlong eggplant skin purple glazed plum bottle
"Qianlong Year system of the Great Qing Dynasty"
Dimensions: H 22.6 cm
Lot estimate: £20,000 - £30,000
Lot 14 Qing Kangxi Colorful Koi Dragon Figure Holding Moon Bottle
Dimensions: H 26 cm
Lot estimate: £30,000 - £40,000
source:
1. John Sparks Ltd., London (Biography)
2. British Private Collection
3. Sotheby's New York, September 11, 2019, number 899
Lot 24 Qingqianlong White Jade Dragon Head Live Ring Wash
Size: W 23 cm
Lot estimate: £40,000 - £60,000
Source: European Private Collection
Lot 33 Qing Jiaqing and Khotanese Jade Cross Dragon Niu Renxiao Empress Honored Baoxi
Dimensions: 9.5 × 13 × 13 cm
Lot estimate: £100,000 - £150,000
Lot 34 Qingqianlong Pick red Wufu Bou Shou flower pattern book box
Size: L 42 cm
Lot estimate: £30,000 - £50,000
Lot 35 Qingqianlong Red Seawater Kowloon Pattern Celestial Ball Bottle
Dimensions: H 61.5 cm
Lot estimate: £50,000 - £70,000
Lot 38 Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln blue glaze plastic dragon pattern lid jar
Dimensions: H 27.2 cm
Lot estimate: £30,000 - £50,000
exhibit:
1. "Collection of Cultural Relics from Past Dynasties: Exhibition of the 30th Anniversary of Min Qiu Jingshe", Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990-91, No. 112
2. "Song Dynasty Ceramics collected by Kwan", Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, No. 57
source:
1. Sotheby's Hong Kong, 21st May 1985, Lot 73
2. Mu Wentang Collection
3. Sotheby's London, 12 November 2003, no. 79
Lot 41 Northern Song Dynasty/Jin Jun kiln blue glazed purple spot small bowl
Size: Dia 12.7 cm
Lot estimate: £80,000 - £120,000
exhibit:
1.The Gordon Collection: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, J.J. Lally & Co. Oriental Art, New York, 2009, cat. no. 28.
2.J.J. Lally & Co. Oriental Art，《The Gordon Collection: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art》，纽约，2009年，编号28
source:
1. The Collection of Dr. Marvin L. Gordon, San Francisco
2.J.J. Lally & Co. Oriental Art, New York, September 2009
Lot 42 Song/Jin Cizhou kiln white glazed floral pattern jade pot spring bottle
Dimensions: H 34.4 cm
Lot estimate: £45,000 - £55,000
Lot 43 Song Yaozhou kiln green glaze engraved floral pattern amphora
Dimensions: H 25.7 cm
Lot estimate: £35,000 - £45,000
Lot 45 Southern Song Dynasty Built a kiln rabbit
Size: Dia 11.5 cm
Lot estimate: £20,000 - £40,000
Lot 48 yuan glaze red sprinkled jade pot spring bottle pair
尺寸:H 22 cm;H 22.2 cm
Lot estimate: £100,000 - £150,000
Record: Photographed at Sotheby's Hong Kong, October 29, 1991, number 25
Lot 51 Tibetan Tradition XVIII/19th Century Silver Pounding Partial Gilded Red Copper Bull Head
Size: L 26.5 cm
Lot estimate: £40,000 - £60,000
source:
1. Christie's London, 13 June 1977, number 77
2. Gisèle Croes, Brussels
Lot 54 Ming 16th/17th century Gilded bronze seated statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva
Dimensions: total H 43.3 cm
Lot estimate: £60,000 - £80,000
Source: Sotheby's London, 12-13 July 2006, no. 466
Lot 55 Ming 16th/17th century Gilded bronze seated Buddha statue
Dimensions: Total H 43.5 cm
Lot estimate: £60,000 - £80,000
Lot 57 Ming 16th/17th century Gilded bronze seated statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva
Dimensions: Total H 31.8 cm
Lot estimate: £50,000 - £70,000
Source: Sotheby's London 7 november 2012, no. 351 (part 1)
Lot 58 Ming 15th century gold carved cloud dragon pattern accessories
Size: L 13.6 cm
Lot estimate: £12,000 - £15,000
Lot 75 Seventeenth/eighteenth century Agarwood wood carvings of immortals holding peach ornaments
Dimensions: H 10.5 cm
Lot estimate: £12,000 - £15,000
Lot 76 Qing Kangxi Colorful depicts seated figures of Golden Taoist figures
Size: H 39.3 cm
Lot estimate: £120,000 - £150,000
publication:
1.J. F. Blacker, Chats on Oriental China, London, 1919, pl. 75.
2.Fong Chow, 'Symbolism in Chinese Porcelain: The Rockefeller Bequest', The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 21, no. 1, 1962, pg. 19, pl. III.
source:
1. Little John. Davidson. Rockefeller (1874-1960) Collection
2. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Lot 77 Qing Kangxi Colorful Character Story Picture Fengwei Zun
Dimensions: H 77 cm
Lot estimate: £40,000 - £60,000
source:
1. Christie's New York, 22 March 1995, lot 293
2. Christie's London, 16 November 1998, number 232A
Lot 80 Qing Kangxi Colorful Feast Dance Chart Plate
Size: Dia 52 cm
Lot estimate: £500,000 - £700,000
source:
1. Collection of Nellie Ionide (1883-1962).
2. Sotheby's London, 18 February 1964, 230
3. Private collection in Europe
4. Sotheby's London, 19 June 2002, 128
5. Escanazi, London
Lot 81 Qing Kangxi Inky Su Sancai Flower bird pattern Phoenix Tail Zun
Dimensions: H 70 cm
Lot estimate: £220,000 - £280,000
source:
1. Collection of Lawrence Rockefeller (1910-2004).
2. James Garland Collection, No. 1111 (label)
3. Sotheby's New York, October 11-12, 2005, number 18
Lot 85 Qing Kangxi A pair of multicolored Buddha lions
Dimensions: up to 44.5 cm
Lot estimate: £180,000 - £220,000
source:
1. Charles Wrightsman Collection (1919-2019)
2. Sotheby's London, 6 December 2006, number 5
Lot 86 Qing Kangxi Colorful skeleton carved open light character story picture lantern pair
Dimensions: H 28.6 cm
Lot estimate: £60,000 - £80,000
Lot 102 Lin Fengmian "Autumn"
Colored frames on paper
Dimensions: 35 × 35 cm
Lot estimate: £35,000 - £45,000
Source: Former British diplomat Jane Monier-Williams from the artist himself during his tenure (1964), family lineage since then (biography)
Lot 115 Late Ming/Early Qing Dynasty Huanghuali has a square table with a corset dragon pattern
Dimensions: 105.5 × 105.5 × 88.2 cm
Lot estimate: £120,000 - £160,000
Lot 116 Qing 18th century Huanghuali has a corseted horseshoe foot rectangular stool
Dimensions: 80 × 42.5 × 44.7 cm
Lot estimate: £50,000 - £70,000