20 Auction Previews NEW YORK Asian Sales


monochromatic 18th-century prints of genre scenes,


present a rare


opportunity since they almost never appear on the market. Tese prints were probably made in Suzhou and most likely for export as they only turn up in Europe, Japan, or the US. Each has an estimate of $30/50,000. Tere


are huanghuali


about 20 furniture,


lots of including


various boxes and mirror stands. Among the nice group of cloisonné pieces is a mirrored pair of Jiaqing/ Daoguang-period,


rhombus-shaped


cloisonné vases decorated with vases of flowers flanked by archaic bronzes and antiques. An inscription on the rim in Spanish is dated 5 December 1885, and there is an impressed two- character relief mark on the foot, Decheng (est $30/50,000).


BONHAMS Ancient Skills, New Worlds Twenty Treasures of Japanese Metalwork


from a Private Collection Wednesday, 12 September, 1pm, 20 lots, $800,000-1, 200,000


Large bronze Incense-Burner by Kiryu Kosho Kaisha (Te Pioneering Craft And Commerce Company), Meiji era (1868-1912), circa 1880, height 86.5 cm, with stand, est $90/120,000, Bonhams


By Margaret Tao


BONHAMS Chinese Works of Art


and Paintings Monday, 10 September, 10am, 300 lots, $2,000,000-3,000,000


Classical and contemporary paintings compose a large part of the sale (60 lots) and several important lots are from this category. A hanging scroll in ink on paper of a landscape, Summer Mountain, 1710, by Huang Ding (1660-1730) with three seals of the artist and one from a collector, is noteworthy (est $30/50,000). So is another hanging scroll in ink and very light colour on paper of a ferry by Gao Qifeng (1889-1933). Two Suzhou prints,


very large


Tis is a fine collection of Meiji era (1868-1912) metalwork dating from 1880-1910 with examples made by all the major craftspeople of the period. One highlight is a large documentary bronze incense burner,


Pair of bronze hoo bird and tortoise okimono ornaments by Muroe Kichibei (1841-1903), circa 1880, Meiji era (1868-1912), est $60,000- 80,000, Bonhams


published woodblock print (in 1889) by Yoshitoshi.


BONHAMS Fine Japanese and


Korean Art Wednesday, 12 September, 2 pm, 310 lots, $800,000-1,200,000


circa 1880,


made by Kiryu Kosho Kaisha (Te Pioneering Craft and Commerce Company). A caparisoned winged horse richly inlaid with gold and silver is featured on the cover. It is one of the rare examples where the original design for this work appears in Onchi zuroku, a collection of the 2,500 designs for the various arts and crafts to be exhibited at the great international exhibitions of the late 19th century (est $90/120,000). A mixed metal model of a hawk with a lacquer stand upon which he is resting, signed Tomonobu and dated 1898 (est $100/125,000) is also very fine. Although not much is known about the artist, the craftsmanship strongly resembles that of a set of 12 hawks made by master metalsmith Suzuki Chokichi (1848-1919), making it likely that Tomonobu may have trained under him. A very large charger decorated in


mixed metal (shakudo, gold, copper, and silver) after the famous artist, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) from the well-known Miyao Company of Yokohama and depicting Takashima Oiko and Saeki Ujinaga, circa 1890-1900, is very impressive (est $50/60,000).


Te Miyao


Company made few chargers, and this is one of the few examples of metalwork inspired by a recently


Chinese longquan celadon covered jar, Yuan/Ming dynasty, height 11 inches, est $10/15,000, Doyle


About one third of the sale is prints (90 lots), and those by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) from a private collection are very good impressions. Te 15 lots of paintings and screens cover several genres. A pair of six-panel screens, from the first part of the 18th century, depicting scenes from Te Tale of Genji from an old US collection stands out (est $50/70,000). So does an 18th-century, Edo period (1651- 1868), Zen painting in ink on paper by Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1768) of Hotei holding his treasure sack in his teeth (est $15/20,000). A late Kamakura/early Muromachi period (14th/15th


century) Buddhist


sculpture of Kichijoten is another interesting example (est $30/50,000). Te sale is very varied. Tere are 10 baskets from various sources, inro from the estate of collector Jeffrey Kaufman, and 12 pieces of modern


ceramics (the collection of Joel Barash, exhibited at the Nevada Museum in 2008) by such artists as Shoji Hamada (1894-1, Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) and Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959). Te small Korean section (10-15 lots) includes a 19th-century, Choson dynasty two-panel screen in ink and slight colour on paper of a city landscape (est $8/10,000).


Asian Works of Art Monday, 10 September, 10am, 310 lots, $450,000-700,000


DOYLE


For the first time in many years Japanese works of art will form a significant proportion of the lots in an Asian works of art sale in these rooms. Te 90 lots are Meiji period (1868-1912) Satsuma wares, mixed metal inlaid bronzes and a small group of cloisonné pieces from a private collection in Baltimore. In good condition and of good quality, they are mid-range in value, and have conservative estimates.


A pair of


Meiji, mixed-metal, inlaid bronze vases, signed Miyabe Atsuyoshi are very attractive (est $3/5,000). Te second significant grouping is of 42 Chinese snuff bottles, from the estate of Mary Ann Bresee in Georgia. Among the other pieces to be offered are numerous Kangxi blue and white porcelains, jades, and a few Indian paintings. A Chinese Yuan/Ming- dynasty Longquan celadon covered jar is one of the earlier ceramics (est $10/15,000).


Fine Chinese Paintings Tuesday, 11 September, 10am, 132 lots, $1,607,600-2,621,000


CHRISTIE’S


Te majority of the works are modern, including the top lot, Horses, a very large and dramatic painting in ink and colour on paper by the contemporary artist, Ma Xinle (b 1963), dated 2012, from the collection of Steven C Rockefeller, Jr. Te first version of the painting is in the main conference room at the International Conference Center in Huairou, Beijing, where numerous important events have been held such as the APEC Forum. Ma painted this slightly different version for his friend, Steven C Rockefeller, Jr, who has collected his work for 10 years (est $250/350,000). Among the group of about 15 classical works is an album of 13 leaves, Landscape in Ancient Styles, attributed to Mei Qing (1623- 1697) (est $40/60,000).


Eight are


landscapes, and the rest commentaries by artists, including Huang Binhong (1865-1955). It is from the collection of Stephen Junkunc III (see below).


The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese


CHRISTIE’S


Snuff Bottles: Part VI Wednesday, 12 September, 10am, 152 lots, $758,000-1,067,400


Tis is another instalment from this excellent and very comprehensive snuff bottle collection. Carl and Ruth Barron,


from Cambridge,


A granite figure of a boy attendant (dongja) Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 18th/19th century, est $20,000-30,000, Bonhams


ASIAN ART SEPTEMBER 2018


Hotei with a Treasure Sack, by Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1786), Edo period, 18th century, est $10/15,000, Bonhams


Massachusetts collected avidly for just over 20 years and acquired their bottles from the top dealers in the field. Tis group, the sixth to be sold in these rooms after a gap of a year and selected from within the family, includes a few higher value bottles than were included in Part V. A carved agate Zhiting School bottle from Suzhou, 1750-1850 with a carnelian stopper leads the


hardstone bottles (est $30/50,000). Tese bottles were much admired for the carver’s skilled use of dark and light areas of the stone to depict figural motifs. Te Barron collection is known for the many fine inside- painted bottles by Beijing master of the genre, Ma Shaoxuan (1867-1939). One of these, dated yiwei (1895) is painted with the auspicious motif of butterflies and flowers (est $10/12,000). Overlaid glass bottles were also strongly represented in the collection. A white-overlay blue glass snuff bottle, probably Imperial, from the Palace Workshops


in Beijing,


1760-1820 is one of the better ones (est $12/15,000).


Contemporary Art Wednesday, 12 September, 10am, 75 lots, $7,000,000-9,000,000


CHRISTIE’S South Asian Modern and


Preceding the opening of the exhibition at Asia Society, Te Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India, of works by the Progressive artists by one day, the sale, alone in this category this week, features major works by several of these artists. Rooftops, a very large work in oil on canvas dated 1959, by Akbar Padamsee (b 1928), one of the first of only 10 published from his grey period, which has never been on the market before, is the top highlight – the artist himself has no colour reproduction of it (est $800/1,200,000). Te most colourful of a strong group of paintings by Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002), is Untitled (Still-life with Flowers) in oil on canvas, signed and dated 1964 (est $180/250,000). A work by Sayed Haider Raza (1922-2016), Untitled (Paysage), an oil on canvas from 1958 in radiant colour is also very fresh to the market,


from a Canadian


collection and acquired at the Gallery Dresdnere in Montreal (est $120/180,000). A major oil on canvas, Untitled (Krishna and Cow) by Manjit Bawa (1941-2008), dated 1997, from an Indian private collection and acquired directly from the artist should be sought after (est $250/350,000).


Works of Art Wednesday, 12 September, 2pm, 94 lots, $2,800,000-3,400,000


CHRISTIE’S Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian


An important 13th-century, Chola- period bronze group of seated Shiva and Parvati late Chola from South India, Tamil Nadu is the most


catching lot in the sale. Part of the Pan-Asian Collection and the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, it was sold in these rooms on 23 March 1999, lot 35 (est $600/800,000). Tree quarters of the sale is devoted to Himalayan art (paintings, and 40 gilt bronzes and ritual objects). Among the best of the 15 thangkas is of scenes from the life of Milarepa, from Eastern Tibet, 18th century, from the Collection of David Nalin – another painting from the same set but owned by a different collector is now on loan now to Te Rubin Museum of Art. Tis thangka was used as the cover for the English translation by Andrew Quintman of the 17th-century book by Tsangnyon Heruka, Te Life of Milarepa, published by Penguin Classics in 2010 (est. $250/350,000). Te gilt bronzes are good quality, but none are


eye-


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