Sotheby's New Bond St. 4 November 2009 - During the Asian Art Week in London, Sotheby's Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art sale is offering 261 lots of very finely chosen works of art for sale. The predominant categories of art work on offer are ceramics and jade carvings. This sale is replete with high quality smaller jade carvings discerningly chosen by Sotheby's Specialists for the sale and it is developing into sale room known for providing top quality small jade carvings that used to forms parts of the personal accoutrement of every Chinese gentlemen in imperial China.
The top lot of this sale is an imperial seal made for the Qianlong Emperor, (lot no. 136 estimate 400,000-600,000 GBP). It was made not only on the 55th year of his reign, but also marks his 80th birthday. According to imperial convention, every birthday that is a multiple of five is a milestone year and the particular occasion marked the grand celebration.
Lot 89 (estimate 300,000-500,000 GBP) is a impressive and finely carved large grey jade buffalo. The reclining water buffalo, symbolic of strength and tranquillity, is a classic icon of Chinese painting. Its bucolic aspect evokes the simple and true life in the countryside and, as the reputed mount of the philosopher Laozi, has strong Daoist connotations. Animal sculptures, however, which were created for pleasure rather than for ritual or burial, are extremely rare in any medium in China.
As a jade artefact, a figure such as this is among the most impressive pieces produced in China since prehistoric times. The almost eccentric choice of material for this and similar buffaloes, distinctly coloured and veined, might fit in best with a late Ming (1368-1644) date, while the masculine strength, elegance and simplicity of the carving are in tune with stylistic principles of the Kangxi reign (1662-1722).
The present piece is notable for its naturalistic rendering, with the textured rich grey colour of the stone being reminiscent of the animals' actual coat of fur while the russet inclusions on the head have been cleverly incorporated to draw attention to the confident facial features. A larger black and grey jade example, from the collection of Somerset de Chair and the Mrs. Parsons Collection, was sold in these rooms, 18 .(.th.). July 1952, lot 50, and again in these rooms, 9 .(.th.). June 2004, lot 151; and the Lord Gladwyn buffalo, offered in these rooms, 1 .(.st.). November 1966, lot 47, and now in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, is illustrated in Jessica Rawson, .Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 26:19;
Comparable figures carved from spinach-green jade are known from several fabled collections of the past, many of which are said to have come from the Yuanmingyuan (Summer Palace) in Beijing, such as the slightly later Pelham water buffalo, sold at Woolley and Wallis, Salisbury, 20 .(.th.). May 2009, lot 388. Further examplesfrom this group, but of larger proportions, include the Jacob Goldschmidt buffalo, included in the exhibition .Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, Gesellschaft fur Ostasiatische Kunst and Preussische Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, 1929, cat. no. 1085; the Oscar Raphael buffalo, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in James C.S. Lin, .The Immortal Stone, Cambridge, 2009, pl. 36; one from the collection of Somerset de Chair; the Baron Lionel de Rothschild buffalo, later in the Eckstein Collection, sold twice in these rooms, 19 .(.th.). April 1937, lot 47, and 9 .(.th.). December 1948, lot 111; the Alexander Ionides buffalo, later in the Hotchis Collection, sold in these rooms, 20 .(.th.). May 1954, lot 101; and one from the Mrs James Cromwell Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 30 .(.th.). November 1983, lot 275, and again, 19 .(.th.). March 2008, lot 436, from the Estate of Leona M. Helmsley.
Lot 163 is another impressive and massive archaistic jade vase and cover from the Qianlong period (estimate 100,000-150,000 GBP). It is rare to find jade vases of this impressive size; compare an example of similar size, of .hu form and with ringed handles, carved with a band of archaistic .taotie, but of slightly broader proportions and lacking a cover, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in .The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 5. For an undecorated vase of related form, but of smaller proportions and angled shoulders, see one sold at Christie's London, 1 .(.st.). December 1997, lot 17.
Jade carving reached its pinnacle under the Qianlong emperor, and his fondness for antiquarianism saw a concentrated revival of archaic forms and designs. The large-scale works, such as the present piece, represent the height of a long tradition of jade carving and exemplifies not only fine carving skills but the ability to design and plan the overall composition.
There is also a pair of magnificent soldier’s vase on offer in this sale well worth looking into (lot 239, estimate 80,000-120,000 GBP). Magnificent soldier vases of this elegant form and finely enamelled decoration display the technical virtuosity of potters and painters of the Qianlong period. The present pair of vases is an impressive example of the expensive, extravagant garnitures that were fashionable and in high demand at the time.
The ruyi-shaped collar surrounding the rims of the present pieces is unusual, however a pair of vases similarly decorated with a phoenix amongst trees of blossoming peonies and band of vertical panels at the foot, but with an elaborate scroll on the shoulders and shaped landscape panels to the neck, in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is illustrated in Christian J.A. Jorg, .Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1997, pl. 255; and a single vase from the Greville Collection, is published in George C. Williamson, .The Book of Famille-Rose, London, 1927, pl. LV11.
Lot 120 is a very rare Ru-type bottle vase from Yongzheng reign marked and of the period (estimate 80,000-120,000 GBP). The present vase is an extremely rare and impressive example of the remarkable development in technique designed to meet the specific predilections of the Yongzheng emperor, among which imitation of the antique and innovation were prominent features. Only one other example appears to have been published, but with broad and darker crackles in the glaze, in the Baur Collection, illustrated in John Ayers, .Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 274. Both pieces possess an internal pierced porcelain armature of cylindrical form to support the heavily potted structure, as vessels of this impressive size stood the risk of collapsing during firing, and highlights the technical virtuosity of potters of this period. The rarity of such a piece is not surprising given the high technical and aesthetic standards demanded of the potters in the imperial manufactories.
From the first year of his reign, the Yongzheng emperor commissioned items from the Palace Workshops, whose output changed in nature as a result. Simplicity of form and absence of decoration were stylistic trends introduced by Tang Ying (1682-1756), Superintendent of the Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen. Under his supervision, research into celebrated Song glazes such as .Guan and .Ge wares saw the re-emergence of monochrome porcelain covered in luminous pale glazes to simulate the earlier wares on contemporary and unique forms.
In form this piece appears to be an amalgamation of porcelain and bronze vessels. The lobed body with tall trumpet neck appears to have been inspired by Ming dynasty bronze vases, such as one included in the exhibition .The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1991, cat. no. 66. The curling fronds seen on the shoulder and base of the Yongzheng vase may also have their origins in the .ruyi lappets found on the bronze vase which have been stylised to endow it with a contemporary twist. In its lobed globular body and stalk-like neck, this piece also resembles contemporary vessels in the shape of fruit such as melons and pomegranates; for a melon-shaped jar covered in a teadust glaze, see one in the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in .The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 253; and a vase in the shape of a pomegranate glazed to simulate .Ru ware, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in the .Illustrated Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1980, pl. 126.
All in all, this is a sophisticated sale that continues the fine tradition of providing refined works for sale coming out of Sotheby’s London salesroom.
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Date:01/Nov/2009
