LONDON.- Bonhams celebrates Asian Art Week in London with six exceptional sales of Chinese and Asian ceramics and works of art to include Asian Art, Fine Chinese Art, The Marsh Collection: Art for the Literati (Part II) and Devotion: Culture, Country and Charity - Chinese Art sold for the Benefit of a Charitable Foundation. The auctions, both live and online, will run from 27 October to 7 November.
Asaph Hyman, Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art commented, “As the leading auction house in Europe for Chinese art, and the only one holding bi-annual sales in London, it is a pleasure to celebrate once again Asian Art Week in London with a series of exciting sales featuring extraordinary private collections formed over many decades.”
FINE CHINESE ART
2 November, New Bond Street
An outstanding selection of Chinese Imperial porcelain, musical instruments, paintings, bronzes, jades, and works of art from important collections from the UK and Europe will feature in the Fine Chinese Art Sale, including an exceptionally rare famille rose ‘pomegranate fruits’ vase. Two guqins will also be offered, belonging to the sinologist Robert Hans van Gulik (1910-1967) and Cecilia Lindqvist (1932-2021). R.H. van Gulik, former Dutch ambassador to Japan, was famous not just as a musician of the guqin, but also as the writer of the Judge Dee detective fiction series, and scholar of gibbons and erotic art. Cecilia Lindqvist too was one of the few foreigners to study in mainland China in the early 60s with a recommendation from the King of Sweden. A special performance by Dr Cheng Yu playing R.H.van Gulik's guqin along with a performance on the flute by Dennis Lee will be held at Bonhams New Bond Street on Monday 30 October at 6.15pm.
Three works of art, previously exhibited in the important Chinesische Kunst Exhibition of 1929 in Berlin will also be offered. Lot 382, a magnificent and large green jade mythical beast, Qing Dynasty, was loaned by Milly von Friedländer-Fuld to this seminal exhibition, one of the first major exhibitions of Chinese art in Europe. Following the rise of Nazi Germany to power, the mythical beast was seized by the authorities amongst many other works of art and sold in 1941 in the The Hague at Marle & Bignell to a Dutch dealer. It subsequently made its way to the UK and sold through London dealers Spink & Son and Bluett & Sons to a British collector. It is now sold with the agreement of the British collector's family and the heirs of Milly Antonie von Friedländer-Fuld.
A highlight of the sale is one of the most important paintings of luohan of the Qing Dynasty by an Imperial Court artist of the Kangxi period. The painting of Two Luohan by Xu Conglong (active circa 1700), painted between 1706 and 1712, is a remarkable re-discovery. Of the 200 original paintings, only 113 survive, all in museums. This is the first time this painting is known to have been offered.
Highlights of the sale include:
• A very fine and extremely rare Imperial Famille Rose and underglaze-blue decorated ‘pomegranate fruits’ vase, meiping, Qianlong seal mark and of the period (1736-1795). This exceptionally rare vase encapsulates the very highest standards of elegance and craftsmanship that existed during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Estimate: £200,000-300,000.
• A rare and important ‘Wu Wing’ lacquered and zitan Guqin, late Ming Dynasty (1573-1644). This guqin was acquired in Beijing by the famous Dutch diplomat, musician, writer and sinologist, R.H. van Gulik in 1936 and was played by him at many diplomatic events. Estimate: £180,000-240,000.
• A rare 'crane-cry autumn moon' style lacquered 'hundred-patch' guqin, Ming Dynasty. Superbly constructed and made with wutong and zimu wood with inlaid mother-of-pearl studs. Estimate: £30,000-50,000. This instrument was owned by the celebrated Swedish sinologist Cecilia Lindqvist.
• A remarkable painting by Xu Conglong (c.1700) Two Luohan, Kangxi, ink and colour on paper, painted between 1706 and 1712, depicts two luohan in a mountainous landscape framed by rocks to the side and below. The long and illustrious tradition of Luohan, or Arhat, painting in China can be traced even before its Imperial sponsorship by the Song Emperor Taizong. Both in scale and expressive character, Xu Conglong’s works are unsurpassed. Estimate: £80,000-120,000.
• A magnificent and large green jade mythical beast, Qing Dynasty. The imposing jade beast, weighing over 8kg, was exhibited in the seminal Berlin 1929 exhibition. Estimate: £6,000-8,000.
THE MARSH COLLECTION: ART FOR THE LITERATI (PART II)
Live sale: 2 November, New Bond Street
Online-only sale: 27 October – 6 November (All Lots Sold at No Reserve)
An exceptional collection of brushpots and other vessels and paraphernalia made for the scholar’s desk from the late Ming to the Qing Dynasty will be offered at New Bond Street on 2 November. An online-only sale will also run from 27 October to 6 November. All lots offered in the online-only sale will be sold without reserve.
The Marsh Collection was put together over a period of 40 years by Sam Marsh and his wife, Marion, who started collecting when they moved to Hong Kong in 1970. They were advised by their friend, the noted collector and dealer Adrian Joseph, and with his encouragement began collecting. Over the years they shared their knowledge with fellow collectors, the late Sir Michael Butler, and John and Julia Curtis, which resulted in them forming an exceptional collection. A scholar in his own right, Sam Marsh is the author of Brushpots: A Collector’s View, which features several of the pieces offered with Bonhams.
Highlights of the sale include:
• An exceptionally rare and important inscribed blue and white and copper-red ‘virtuous officials’ brushpot, bitong, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period (1662-1722), with an estimate of £250,000-350,000.
• A superb large blue and white 'birds' brushpot, bitong, Shunzhi (1644-1661), exquisitely painted in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue around the exterior with a continuous scene of three quails on a large rock with chrysanthemums and bamboo, together with other birds and butterflies, with an estimate of £50,000-80,000.
• A very rare blue and white ‘Spring Evening Banquet’ brushpot, bitong, Jiajing six-character mark, Kangxi (1662-1722). Painted around the exterior in vibrant tones of cobalt-blue is a continuous scene of an elegant gathering of scholars. Estimate: £50,000-80,000.
• A rare pair of wucai ‘Tang Emperor Visits the Moon Palace’ jars and covers, guan, Shunzhi (1644-1661). Each of elegant baluster shape, decorated around the exteriors in vibrant enamels with scenes of noble ladies, attendants, musicians, and noblemen with an estimate of £40,000-60,000.
DEVOTION: CULTURE, COUNTRY AND CHARITY - CHINESE ART SOLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF A CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
Live sale: 2 November, New Bond Street
Online-Only sale: 27 October – 7 November (All Lots Sold at No Reserve)
This very special collection was inspired by a family of collectors who were part of a tradition in Berlin of collecting Chinese art. The collector’s grandparents, Hans and Ludmilla Arnhold belonged to a distinguished family of bankers in Berlin and Dresden that played an important role in the rich cultural life of Weimar Germany and included numerous important art collectors and philanthropists. Berlin in the 1920s ranked alongside Paris and London as one of the most important centres of art collecting in Europe and of East Asian Art. The Society of East Asian Art in Berlin had more than 1200 members when, in 1929, it staged the greatest exhibition of Chinese art in Germany with over 1,000 exhibits lent by private collectors and museums. This collection includes pieces collected over three generations by an exceptionally cultured family of collectors and echoes the legendary collections of Chinese art formed in the golden era of art collecting in Berlin during the 1920s. All lots in the Online-Only sale will be sold without reserve.
Highlights of the sale include:
• A rare pair of turquoise-ground famille rose trompe l’oeil vases, Qianlong (1736-1795). Each vase is delicately potted with an ovoid body rising from a splayed foot to an elongated neck with a flaring mouth, the shoulders moulded with a beribboned coral-red sash at the centre. Beautifully embellished and highly decorated. Estimate: £80,000-120,000.
• A peachbloom-glazed beehive waterpot, taibo zun, Kangxi mark and of the period (1662-1722). The exterior, evenly applied overall save for the rim and base with a sumptuous crimson-red glaze, suffused with pink sprinkles imitating the skin of a ripening peach. Estimate: £60,000-80,000.
• A pair of fine Lavender-glazed bowls, Yongzheng marks and of the period (1723-1735). Exuding understated elegance through the elegant forms and the translucency of the ‘moonlight’ glaze, the present bowls are a superb example of wares produced during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor. Estimate: £60,000-80,000.
• A very rare famille verte model of foreigners aboard a ship, Kangxi (1662-1722). Exceptionally detailed models of Chinese ships in enamels on biscuit are rare, even more so when including representations of Europeans and details such as cannons and partially folded sails as superbly detailed as this lot. Estimate: £7,000-10,000.
ASIAN ART
30-31 October, Knightsbridge
The two-day sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge presents approximately 600 lots, including a large number of well-provenanced pieces of porcelain, jades, paintings and the decorative arts. This will include thirteen lots from the collection of Major-General Sir Ivor Philipps, K.C.B., D.S.O. (1861-1940) and twenty-two lots from the collection of Barry C Tattenhall (1907-1989), a selection of which are illustrated above.
Other highlights include a hardstone and mother-of-pearl inlaid ‘elephant and tribute bearers’ table screen from the collection of Edward Gordon Lowder (1862-1942) and Catherine Lucretia Dunster (1865-1940), a pair of massive, moulded famille rose vases 124cm high depicting ‘peerless’ figures from Chinese history, an album of paintings by the well-known artist Leng Mei (1669-1772) with accompanying calligraphy by Wu Xiu (1764-1827) from an English private collection formed prior to 1928 and a curated selection of 60 lots on the theme of ‘animals in Chinese art’.
Highlights of the sale include:
• A fine and rare hardstone embellished ‘Elephant and Tribute Bearer’ double sided table screen, Mid-Qing Dynasty. Attractively inlaid with shaped plaques of mother-of-pearl, variegated shell, red lacquer and hardstones, the reverse with a fourteen-character poem by Du Fu. Estimate: £15,000-20,000.
• A rare and extremely large pair of moulded 'Wu Shuang Pu' vases, late Qing Dynasty. Each vase moulded and painted with the four historical figures Liu Chen, An Min, Dong Fangshou and Yue Fei. Estimate: £20,000-30,000.
• A fine and rare album of paintings by Leng Mei (1669-1742) with calligraphy by Wu Xiu (1764-1827), the painting dated 1695. Comprising twelve leaves each illustrating a different lady, with accompanying calligraphy. Estimate: £10,000-15,000.
