40 New York Auctions
Qianlong-period, Qing-dynasty, circa 1740, famille-rose ‘Soldier’ vases and covers. Tese were originally part of collection of Alfred Morrison (1821- 1897),
Fonthill House, Tisbury,
Wiltshire, one of the most renowned Chinese porcelain collections in the West, followed by the collection of the Rt Hon Te Lord Margadale of Islay, TD, JP, DL (1906-1996), sold at Christie’s London, 31 May 1965, lot 72 and subsequently at Chait (est $250/400,000). Judith Leiber’s affection for animals is evident in a very different but equally decorative piece, an unusual Jin dynasty ‘cizhou’ pillow in the form of a tiger painted in an orange and black glaze (est $12/15,000). She made a handbag in the shape of a tiger,
closely
& Southeast Asian Art Tuesday, 20 March, 6:30pm 40 lots, $3,000,000-5,000,000
The Maitri Collection of Indian, Himalayan
resembling it. BONHAMS
Te pieces in this collection,
assembled from the 1990s until recently, are bound by the theme of ‘Maitri’
(benevolence incarnate,
embodying the primary Buddhist virtues of friendship and kindness) and were chosen for their uplifting and charming qualities. Sculpture predominates, but it is an eclectic mix of pieces from many of the areas covered by this field with a full range of sculptural styles from Southeast Asia,
notably Sukhothai and
Ayutthaya. Indian miniatures, early Tibetan thangkas from the 14th and 15th centuries are some of the two dimensional works. Among the exceptional group of
Nepalese bronzes is a very rare gilt copper figure of Manjusri Namasangiti, circa 14th century, with a very complex and detailed array of arms, and Heeramaneck provenance (est $200/300,000). A joyful 12th- century Chola-dynasty bronze dancing figure of Krishna, which was formerly in the John D Rockefeller III collection is beguiling (est $300/500,000).
BONHAMS The Arno Ziesnitz
Collection Wednesday, 21 March, 10am, 80 lots, $109,800-166,800
Arno Ziesnitz was a collector and dealer. He was also an amateur magician, who mentored young people through the outreach programme of Te International Brotherhood of Magicians. One of his collecting interests was both Western and Japanese accessories for smoking, and his collection is quite extensive. Te smoking culture in Japan dates back to the 16th century, when it came into the country by accident with the Portuguese sailors. Smoking became all the rage among courtesans and young dandies in the 17th century. Sumptuary laws were passed to regulate it, so smoking became even more glamorous as a form of rebellion. All manner of pipes, pipe
cases, tobacco pouches a with
mixed metal clasps, smoking sets made of lacquer are in the sale as well as
few netsuke and inro. Te
estimates are in the $1,000/1,500 and $1500/2500 range.
+ Contemporary Art Wednesday, 21 March, 10am 75 lots,
CHRISTIE’S South Asian Modern
Tis sale comprises some of the best ASIAN ART MARCH 2018
Rock, Orchids and Bamboo by Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481), Muromachi period (1336-1573), est $150/250,000, Bonhams
Two Figures by Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009), painted in 1994, acrylic on canvas, 150.3 x 90.3 cm, est $1.2/1.8 million, Christie’s
works by the very sought after Modernist painters that have ever been handled in this category at Christie’s. Tapovan, (Forest
of
Meditation) a large acrylic on canvas painted in 1972 by Syed Haider Raza is a masterpiece painted when he visited India after many years in Paris. Te forest is shown at night with flickers of light coming through the trees and foreshadows his later geometric work. Te estimate unpublished, but it is expected to
is
Ten-panel screen of Pyongyang and its environs, Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), 19th century. Ink and slight colour on silk, showing a bird’s eye view of the city, inscribed and sealed. 144.7 x 313.7 cm overall, est $35/45,000, Bonhams
fetch in excess of $3,500,000. Two other major paintings are likely to be very much in demand. One is Untitled, by Vasudeo S Gaitonde (1924-2001), a calligraphic work in oil on canvas, painted in 1980 (est 2,200,000/2,800,000). Another is Two Figures, an acrylic on canvas by Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009) (est $1,200,000/1,800,000). One of the more thought-
provoking works in a selection of six from Francis Newton Souza’s London period (1950s and 1960s), widely considered his highest period of achievement, is Young Ladies of Belsize Park, which mirrors Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon. A sculpture by Ranjani Shettar, who has a work currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of 10 contemporary works on offer.
Important Chinese Art Wednesday, 21 March, 10am & 2pm Approximately 225 lots, $12,200,000-18,300,000
SOTHEBY’S
Although ceramics predominate, the sale has a wide selection of works of art. Te top lot is a Shang-dynasty, Yinxu-period, archaic bronze ritual wine vessel and cover (you). Tis is not only a very rare form, but it is very well cast and still has the original cover and handle. Te provenance is early and extensive: it was formerly in the Collection of Huang Jun (1880-1952), in Beijing, where it was published in an illustrated catalogue in 1937; the Collection of Dr AF Philips (1874- 1951), and the Collection of JT Tai (1910-1992).
$1,500,000/2,500,000. Tere are several
Te estimate is collections on
offer. Te group of 16 lots of Ming and Qing porcelain from the Cook Family Collection acquired from London dealer John Sparks in the 1950s and 1960s includes a pair of Kangxi mark and period famille-verte cups depicting scenes from the novel, Te Romance of the Western Chamber (est $100/150,000). Qing porcelain and Imperial works of art from the previously mentioned Detring/ Hanneken collection are part of this sale, too.
BONHAMS Fine Japanese and
Korean Art Wednesday, 21 March, 1pm
Approximately 250 lots, $1,079,800-1,585,200
Te 100 Japanese prints from several collections
form the sale’s largest
category. Tose include another group of prints from a Mid-Western museum, Jacoulet prints from the descendants of a collector, who lived in Japan and was a lifelong friend of the artist’s and bought almost his
Te Bernat ding ‘Partridge Feather’ ,an important russet-splashed, black-glazed conical bowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), diam. 19 cm, estimate on request, Christie’s
entire output, and a group of landscape prints by Hiroshige and Hokusai. Paintings
and screens feature
prominently, too. Te top lot is a hanging scroll in ink on paper with a calligraphic couplet of Orchids, Rocks and Bamboo by the eccentric Zen monk, painter, calligrapher and poet Sojun Ikkyu (1394-1481). He was very influential in infusing Japan’s culture with the teachings of Zen, resulting in his painting and calligraphy being very sought after in Japan. Formerly in the collection of George Gund and with the Kataoka family until it was sold in 1927, this work was exhibited at the Cleveland Museum in 2000 in their show Ink Paintings and Ash-glazed Ceramics, Calligraphy, Painting and Ceramic Art from Japan and Korea, the estimate is $150/250,000). Several screens are also noteworthy. From a private collection in Denver comes a six- panel Tagasode (‘Whose sleeves?’) screen in ink, colour and gold on gold leaf depicting kimonos draped over a clothing stand from the Edo period (1615-1868), second half of the 17th century (est $25/35,000). Te Korean section numbers about
25 lots composed of ceramics, works of art,
folk paintings and several
screens including a Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), 19th century 10-panel screen of Pyongyang and its environs in ink and slight colour on silk, inscribed and sealed (est $35/45,000).
CHRISTIE’S Indian, Himalayan and
Southeast Asian Art Wednesday, 21 March, 2pm
53 lots
Although not a large sale, there is a good showing in many areas, particularly Indian sculpture and painting. Te front cover lot is a silver-inlaid gilt bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha from Tibet, circa 1400. Te influence of Newari artisans from Nepal is still visible (est $1,000,000-2,000,000). Acquired in Hong Kong in the 1990s the bronze is an old friend, as it was sold in these rooms in the early 2000s. Te star among the Indian bronzes is a large 14th-15th-century, Vijayanagara period figure of Parvati from Tamil Nadu, formerly in the Pan Asian Collection (since 1972), on loan to Te Los Angeles County Museum of Art and sold in these rooms in the early 2000’s (est $250/350,000). Te most interesting of the Indian paintings are four from the Prince Salim series,
illustrations to the
Dvadasa Bhava. Tere were originally twelve paintings in this rare manuscript, dated 1600-1605, done by a Mughal court artist at Allahabad. Tey are examples of very early Mughal
painting with the text
translated into Persian and they were sold at Sotheby’s in London in 1972. Stafford Elias bought these four, and the rest were dispersed. Te estimates for each painting range from $20/30,000 to $60/80,000.
CHRISTIE’S The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: The Linyushanren
Collection, Part III Thursday, 22 March, 10am 42 lots
Two sales have already been devoted to this very comprehensive Japanese private collection of Song ceramics, assembled over three decades (the first was at Christie’s in Hong Kong in December 2015, the second in their New
York saleroom in
September 2016). Te collection reflects Japanese taste and a profound admiration for the refinement of Song ceramics. Te emphasis in this selection is on cizhou and ding wares. One of the rarest examples is a very elegant Northern-Song (960-1127), black, ding bowl with russet splashes (‘partridge feather’). Te glaze is rich and dark. Previously in the Eugene and Elva Bernat Collection and the 1980
sale subsequently at in Sotheby’s, it was the Manno Art
Museum in Osaka and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2002. It has
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
