Written by: Zhao Zhihan Ryan Chiu
In the antique world, the source is particularly important. In addition to helping to judge the authenticity, it also allows us to learn to follow the eyes and tastes of the famous masters of the predecessors, and to go to a higher level in collection cultivation.
At this season's Hong Kong auction, Sotheby's brought a number of famous old or existing elegant objects, including Swiss brothers who dominated the pharmaceutical agency industry, elders of the top antique collectors' organizations, real estate tycoons who had been in the limelight, guangdong scholars, Hong Kong's first generation of pediatric saints, brigadier generals of the UNITED States Army and so on.
Value Point Network selected eight of the lots, and then took stock of the batch of ancient art with a total valuation of HK$120 million.
Editor's note: This topic is published in two articles, this is the first article.
Lot 3656
Qing Yongzheng Pastel Peach Dedication Life Picture Round Lid Box "Great Qing Yongzheng Year System" model
Size: 19.2cm
Source (value point network collation):
Frederick J. and Antoinette H. Van Slyke 伉俪收藏
Sotheby's New York, May 31, 1989, number 211
Mei Yin Tang Collection
Sotheby's Hong Kong, No. 3036, 7 April 2013 (SOLD AT HK$43,800,000)
Estimate: HK$35,000,000 - 45,000,000
Mei Yin Tang is truly unknown in the antique collection industry, perhaps because of its fame, everyone rarely talks about its identity. Taking this opportunity, I will allow the author to talk about it in detail.
The owner of The Hall is the Yuli brothers of Yuli Pharmaceutical (Stephen Zuellig, 1917-2017; Gilber Zuellig, 1918-2009). Yuli is a Swiss family business, but the main business is to sell products to Asia for European and American pharmaceutical companies, so the Yuli brothers were born in Manila, long-term contact with Asian culture, and later became a collector of Chinese antiques.
With the efforts of Yuli Brothers, Yuli Group is in charge of the global pharmaceutical agency industry, providing marketing, logistics, publicity, education and other services. Pfizer, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline and other major pharmaceutical companies are all its customers, with annual turnover of more than 10 billion US dollars.
A photograph of the Yuri brothers when they were young
Yuli Group dominates the pharmaceutical agency industry
The bone dealers who guard the eyes of the Yuli brothers are all leaders in the industry, including Qiu Yanzhi, Dai Runzhai, Christian Deydier (Dai Kecheng), Giuseppe Eskenazi (Escanazzi), J.J. Lally (Lan Lijie) and so on.
In the antique collection, the brothers have their own love: the older brother Stephen loves the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty official kiln porcelain and ancient bronze, and the younger brother Gilbert is especially good at the neolithic to the Tang and Song dynasties.
As for the name of the So elegant Tibetan Dou, "Mei Yin Tang", it means "full of roses, like in the bloom", and it is also a harmonic sound of Meienberg, the Swiss hometown of the Yuli brothers.
Looking at the global private collection, Meiyintang's Chinese antiques are undoubtedly the top ranks. Despite this, Mei Yin Tang has long been unheard of in the Asian world. It was not until the death of his younger brother Gilbert and the collection was successively listed on the auction hall that the three words of Mei Yin Tang became known to everyone.
One of the most familiar is the "Ming Cheng Hua Doucai Chicken Bowl Cup", which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong for HK$281 million in 2014 and is still a legend in the industry today.
This season's auction of pastel peach dedication to life picture round lid box, yongzheng dynasty, for the old collection of Mei Yin Tang, later appeared in Hong Kong Sotheby's auction in 2013. At that time, it was estimated at HK$35 million - 45 million, and the commission was HK$43.8 million.
Eight years later, the pastel lid box came back to Sotheby's, with an estimated value of HK$35 million - 45 million.
This Yongzheng lid box dome, flat round, circle foot slightly, glazed smooth and green, decorated with pastel, the lid of the box as a peach offering life pattern, peach branches and leaves surrounded by eight Yan red shou peach fruit, five petals pink peach blossom, heavy petal white peach blossom, embellished in between, yellow color dot flower buds, the bottom of the box as a lotus petal pattern, the bottom blue and white double circle book "Great Qing Yong Zheng Nian System" six-character double line book model.
The pastel porcelain with exquisitely painted peaches is a famous art of the Manchu Qing court. Because the Yongzheng Dynasty painted more eight peaches, and Qianlong painted more nine peaches, there is a saying of "Yong Eight Dry Nine". In the nearly two hundred years from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty to Guangxu, the Qing Palace produced many peach pastels, and the Forbidden City in Beijing believes that when the Yongzheng Dynasty pattern is colored with the most vivid and diverse, the painting level is also the highest.
In Chinese culture, the peach has been an auspicious and longevity sign since ancient times, especially the Grand Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, which is a legend and story familiar to the Chinese. Pastels are glazed colours derived from European art. This kind of pastel peach porcelain is a masterpiece of art in the Qing Palace.
Lot 3641
Qing Yongzheng furnace jun glazed garlic head bottle a pair of "Yongzheng year" model
Size: 26 .6cm
Source: Zhuang Guilun Collection
Estimate: HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Not long ago, the Hong Kong Museum of Art held the "Special Exhibition on the 60th Anniversary of Min Qiu Jingshe", which unveiled the Chinese Antiques and Oceans, which impressed the general public with this collector's organization.
Founded in Hong Kong in 1960 by banker Hu Huichun, Li Xishen's fourth son, Li Rongsen, and The founder of Shanghai Commercial Bank, Min Qiu Jingshe is the leading collector's organization in the antique industry, and the initial core members are the rich merchants in the city, including Li Guowei, Dong Haoyun, He Tian, Xu Zhantang, Guo Bingxiang, etc., and later invited professionals from all walks of life to join.
Zhuang Guilun is the Elder of Minqiu, and friends who like classical furniture will not be unfamiliar with his name.
Promotional poster for the 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition of Min Qiu Jing She
Zhuang Guilun, a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, born in Shanghai, is the honorary chairman of Hong Kong Fumao Co., Ltd. His father Zhuang Zhichen and his uncle Zhuang Zhigang were famous industrialists in Shanghai during the Republic of China, and carpentry was a lifelong common hobby of the brothers.
In 1992, zhuang Guilun negotiated the purchase of Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture treasured by Wang Shixiang in the "Living Forbidden City" in honor of his father and uncle, and donated it to the Shanghai Museum. Wang Shixiang, who had done a good deed, promised to sell all 79 pieces of treasures compiled into the "Ming-style Furniture Treasures" to Zhuang Guilun at a symbolic price of US$1 million, which led to the establishment of the "Zhuang Zhichen, Zhuang Zhigang Ming and Qing Furniture Museum" in Shangbo, which has since become a beautiful talk in the collection industry.
Several pieces of the Zhuang Guilun Collection were auctioned this season, led by a pair of Yongzheng Dynasty glazed garlic vases and Xuande Dynasty's blue and white lion play ball jars, which were estimated at HK$20 million - 30 million and HK$15 million - 18 million respectively.
Furnace glaze porcelain, which began in Yongzheng and flourished in Qianlong, was derived on the basis of imitation jun glaze. The glaze has small, droopy patches, if flowing. There are more red spots in the Yongzheng furnace glaze, and after Qianlong, the glaze flow is smaller, and more blue dots are seen. The preciousness of the furnace glaze lies in the fact that it is difficult to control by manpower alone, and the subtle changes in each small link in the kiln will affect the kiln change effect.
The so-called kiln change, in general, refers to the unexpected changes produced during the firing of the kiln, and sometimes has an effect that cannot be sought. The kiln is a defective product, but the unexpected finished product has a unique and flexible beauty. Kiln change was once an uncontrollable technical defect, and in the Qing Dynasty, experienced craftsmen gradually grasped the law of kiln change, although they still could not fully control the effect, but it had greatly improved the ratio of finished products. The craftsmen skillfully turned the kiln into their own use, changing it into a unique ornament.
The glaze of the furnace is varied and reverie, some such as the flying cloud waterfall, some like the mountain lanqi, and some like the peacock tail feather. Overall, this glaze color seeks uniformity or not. Uniform and pure, light and smooth, is the best product. If the kiln firing is not good, the color will be bright and dark.
Lot 3635
Ming Xuande Blue and White Lion Play Ball Jar "Daming Xuande Year System" model
Size: 22 .8cm
source:
Collection of Major Lindsay Fitzgerald Hay (1891-1946), Bath
Sotheby's London, 16 June 1939, lot 88
Collection of Lionel Edwards (died circa 1944).
Sotheby's London, 8 February 1945, lot 81 (£145)
Bluett & Sons, London
Sotheby's London, 25 June 1946, lot 28 (£92)
Richard Edmund Relfe Luff, CBE (1887-1969) collection
The RER Luff Will Trust is in possession of the collection
Sotheby's London, 26 June 1973, No. 23 (£47,000)
Hugh M. Moss Ltd(Moss), London
Shao Weixi Collection, Hong Kong and Vancouver
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29 november 1976, No. 468 (HK$135,000)
Zhuang Guilun Collection
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 18,000,000
The reason why the blue and white porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande dynasties of the Ming Dynasty (collectively known as Yongxuan in the industry) has become a generation of famous utensils has a great relationship with its blue hair color.
The Yongxuan and Yongxuan dynasties used the import pigment "Su Ma Li Qing" from West Asia, and the blue and white flowers fired were brilliant and vivid, and the phenomenon of dizziness was common. In the case of black and blue or dark blue, naturally formed black-brown crystal spots and deeply concave fetal bones can be seen at the place of condensation.
Based on this feature of "Su Ma Li Qing", although Yongxuan Qinghua rarely depicts characters, the rendering of flowers, birds, seawater, and garden scenery has received unexpected effects, just like the brushstrokes and ink marks left in the rice paper painting, which is very charming.
Lions are not Chinese wild animals, but foreign envoys have paid tribute to live lions before the Han Dynasty. In India, the lion symbolizes strength and has deep roots in Buddhism, and is regarded as the guardian of the Dharma. In the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, with the popularization of Buddhism, the front of the Buddhist temple was decorated with pairs of lions to defend the solemnity of the holy place.
Under the rule of the Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty re-established diplomatic relations with foreign countries and sent Zheng He to the West, which allowed him to contact wild exotic animals and exotic flowers and plants everywhere. At that time, the lion must be a rare treasure, because even though Timur's envoys had already made offerings and Zheng He's fleet had occasionally received tribute, but they still did not meet their needs and had to be purchased during the journey to be transported back to China.
Lion play ball patterns are most common in the early 15th century, and the ornaments are mostly believed to be related to Buddhism, which is the "Buddha lion". Legend has it that when Shakyamuni was born, one finger to the sky, one finger to the ground, as a lion roared: "Heaven and the world, only I respect", and there is also the saying that "Buddha is the lion among men", most of the Ming Dynasty court believed in Buddhism, so the lion pattern theme was also common in the decoration of court utensils.
Ming Xuande Qinghua Palace Lion Play Ball Jar | Shanghai Museum
Ming Yongle Blue and White Ruyi Shoulder Lion Play Ball Picture Jar | Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2011, estimated at HK$40 million - 60 million
In recent cases, the Shanghai Museum has a blue and white lion play ball jar that is also for the Xuande Dynasty, and the ornamentation is basically the same, but the blue hair color is different, and Zhuang Guilun is obviously more dizzy.
In 2011, Sotheby's Hong Kong had a Yongle Dynasty Blue and White Lion Ball Jar, which was in the old collection of Mei Yin Tang, and was grandly displayed at the evening auction of "Mei Yin Tang Collection - Selected Important Chinese Imperial Porcelain", estimated at HK$40 million - 60 million, but it was not sold, and it was likely that the auction had been withdrawn before the hammer was lifted.
Zhuang Guilun's Xuande drama ball jar was auctioned at Sotheby's in London as early as 1939, and has since been handled by many famous antique dealers and collectors, including Bluet & Sons and Shao Weixi (the father of Shao Village, Shao's second brother), etc., and the source is very reliable.
Lot 3662
Ming Hongwu Red Floral Pattern "Daming Yongle Year System" and "Daming Xuande Year System"
Size: 21.4cm
Sotheby's London, 13 December 1983, lot 56
Collection of Li Jingze
Hold a collection
Estimate: HK$7,000,000 - 9,000,000
"Holding a Fast" is the nickname of Hu Shichang (1924-2006), the experience of a generation of pediatric saints in Hong Kong is legendary.
In 1941, after the fall of Hong Kong, Hu Shichang took refuge in Shu, originally studying engineering, then switching to medicine, and then signing up for the army, not only once serving as a medical officer on the minesweeper Yongning, but also personally going to the United States for training.
After the war, Hu Shichang returned to Hong Kong to study, and after graduating from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, he interned in the Pediatric Department of Queen Mary Hospital, and later won a scholarship to study in the UK. At that time, Hong Kong was in the midst of a post-war baby boom, but there were only a few pediatricians. In 1963, Queen Elizabeth Hospital was opened, with Hu in charge of pediatrics. Later, he left the hospital to set up a private clinic, and because of his fame, many Macao people even brought their children to Hong Kong to seek medical treatment.
In addition to the famous doctor, Hu Shichang is also a well-known lacquerware collector, who not only was keen on research in his youth, but also worked tirelessly even after a stroke in his later years, continuing to write articles on this art. As for Li Jingze, who had previously collected this cup, he was also an important lacquerware collector, and his father was the famous archaeologist Li Rukuan.
Lacquered cup holder, Song already has it. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of official forms have been conceived and born. For the purpose of cup holder, it can be fixed to the cup and dish, and can be free of scalding. A bowl of hot tea, put on top, friends appreciate the tea, and suddenly show the charm. The art of carving lacquer began in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Yuan. The meta instrument is rough and powerful. After entering the light, it gradually becomes finer, the knife is hidden, and the flowers are moist.
This red cup, the Yongle model first, the Xuande model overturned, but Hu Shichang and Li Jingze both believed that it was actually the production of Zhu Yuanzhang Hongwu Dynasty.
The carving and painting technique is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and it often takes years to produce. After analyzing the factors such as style, falling style, and ornamentation, Hu and Li judged that the cup was made by the Hongwu Dynasty, and then it was paid by the Yongle court, and when it came to the Xuande Dynasty, perhaps because it was not long after they ascended the throne, the imperial lacquerware of the dynasty had not been successful, so they chose the old tools of the previous dynasty and continued to use them.