New York Auctions 39


SOTHEBY’S Jingyatang: Treasures of Chinese Buddhist


Sculpture Tuesday, 20 March, 10:30am 4 lots, $3,400,000-4,400,000


Only four lots of stone sculpture from a larger Asian private sculpture collection make up this sale, and they are top notch. Te Northern Wei- dynasty limestone relief carving of an apsara has a particularly serene expression and a distinguished provenance. It had been part of the Collection of Tai Jun Tse ( JT Tai, 1910-1992) and was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 1997,


(est


Blue and white ‘Lotus Bud’ vase, Ming dynasty, Chenghua period, height 26.6 cm, est $1/1.5 million, Sotheby’s


Caro gallery in 1974, and in 1991 artist and collector Wang Jiqian (CC Wang, 1907-2003) inscribed and signed on the handscroll’s frontispiece. Te consignor purchased it at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2005 (est $800/1,000,000). Two paintings


from the private


collection of scholar and diplomat Luo Jialun (1897-1969) are included. A hanging scroll in ink on paper, Mountainous Landscape, by Wang Fu (1362-1416) has an inscription by his brother and numerous collectors’ seals (est $380/430,000). Collectors will focus on the Zhang Daqian (1899- 1993) paintings in the sale, but the several menus of what his chef was preparing for his dinner (the back cover lots) will probably be more talked about.


Luminous Dawn


SOTHEBY’S MING


of Empire Tuesday, 20 March, 10am 14 lots, $6,300,000-9,000,000


As last March’s Ming-themed auction was so successful, the formula is being repeated. All 12 lots, were made in the 15th century, the early Ming dynasty, which is widely recognised as the height of the dynasty’s artistic production. Te selection is varied: there is blue and white porcelain, longquan celadon, a Buddhist bronze, an embroidered thangka and a Yongle period book. One of the most identifiably Ming pieces is a Chenghua-period blue and white


‘lotus bud’ vase from a Pennsylvania private collection, published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1993, col pl 33] (est $1/1.5 million). Tere has only ever been one other on the market. Te provenance is an important


added attraction for a rare Xuande mark and period blue and white ewer (est $600/800,000) that was from the Detring/Von Hanneken Collection. Gustav Detring, a commissioner in the Chinese Maritime Service in Tianjin from 1867-1913 and Li Hong Zhang’s most important foreign advisor, and his son-in-law, Constantin von Hanneken, accumulated substantial collections of Chinese art. Part of the family came to the US in the 20th century. Property from the collection is spread among several sales this week, including Important Chinese Art and Saturday at Sotheby’s: Asian Art.


$1,200,000/1,500,000). It is not attributable to a particular site in China. Te provenance of an inscribed and dated Eastern Wei Dynasty huanghuashi (limestone) Buddhist stele, dated Xinghe Tird Year corresponding to 541 is equally impressive, having been at Yamanaka &


Co in Osaka


SOTHEBY’S KANGXI The Jie Rui Tang


in 1924 (est $1,200,000-1,500,000). Fine Art Auc tioneers & Valuers


ASIAN ART Inviting Consignments


Monday 21 May


Collection Tuesday, 20 March, 11am 91 lots, $2,600,000-3,800,000


Tis is a selection of pieces from the collection of Boston collector, Jeffrey Stamen, formed over the last 35 years. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Kangxi porcelain in the West in private hands. A book on the collection, A Culture Revealed: Kangxi-era Chinese Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, co-authored by Jeffrey P Stamen and Cynthia Volk with Yibin Ni was recently published. A range of blue and white porcelain, famille-verte, monochromes and enameled wares, made for the court and for domestic and export markets are included in the sale. Many came from auctions and leading dealers in the field. One of the most impressive is a large Kangxi famille-verte


‘Investiture of the Gods’ rouleau vase (est $400/600,000), which had been at Tonying & Company, New York followed by the St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, acc No 113.1916, and sold at Christie’s New York, 30 March 2005, lot 396. It is also published in the above-mentioned book, pl 1. Another famille-verte vase from the same period, sold at Christie’s London, 10 November 1983, lot 770 and acquired from D & M Freedman, London, 2000, is rare because it is relief-decorated (est $80/120,000).


SOTHEBY’S Inspired Chinese Art from the Collection of Gerson


and Judith Leiber Tuesday, 20 March, 2pm, 90 lots, $1,200,000-1,700,000


Te Leibers bought their first Chinese piece in the 1940s in Budapest and continued to collect until 2000. It was the intricate designs and decorative motifs that drew them to Chinese art, which in turn inspired Judith Leiber’s imaginative handbags. Practically the entire collection, on view in the Leiber’s East Hampton handbag museum, is in the sale. New York dealers Ralph M Chait Galleries acted as their guide, and the eclectic taste found in the collection is very indicative of US collections of Chinese art assembled between 1950 and 1980.


Te stars are a pair of large Continued on page 40


ZHANG RUITU (follower, of Chinese 1570-1644),


landscape, ink on silk, hanging scroll. Inscribed with part of the poem


by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei, signed and with artists seal. Sold December 2017 £123,000


+44 (0)20 8761 2522 70/76 Knights Hill, London SE27 0JD www.roseberys.co.uk


ASIAN - JAN 2018.indd 2 For a complimentary valuation


please contact Head of Department Bill Forrest


billforrest@roseberys.co.uk 13/02/2018 09:50:19


FINE CHINESE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART


EXHIBITION: WED. FEB. 28 - FRI. MAR. 9 (10AM - 7PM EST) AUCTION: MAR. 10, 2018 (10AM EST)


39 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019 USA || 1 212.867.7288 www.gianguanauctions.com || Info@gianguanauctions.com


MARCH 2018 ASIAN ART


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