DALLAS, TX.- Imperial porcelain, jade and hardstone carvings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and curated treasures from elite private collections will share the spotlight September 17 in Heritage’s Fine & Decorative Asian Art Signature® Auction.

“This auction is a celebration of artistry, legacy, and provenance,” says Charlene Wang, Heritage's Consignment Director of Asian Art. “From rare Qing imperial porcelain to private collections formed over generations, the breadth and quality of material we’re presenting on September 17 offers a remarkable opportunity for both seasoned collectors and new admirers of Asian decorative arts.”

Robert Crowder Collection

Also known by his Japanese artist name, Shoji Kuroda, Crowder was a pioneering Nihon-ga artist and notable collector who developed his painting style in Japan during the Meiji period. His work, which includes 28 lots that will be in play in this auction, exhibits both Eastern and Western influences. The American-born artist visited Pyongyang in 1934 and then visited Japan, where he immediately developed an affinity for the culture and the nation’s artwork. When he returned to the United States, he thrived as an artist by making Japanese culture accessible by painting folding screens and murals for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

A highlights from Crowder’s collection includes a Chinese yellow-ground blue and white 'Dragon' dish. The dish is finely painted in underglaze blue on a rich egg-yolk yellow ground. The central medallion depicts a five-clawed dragon striding amid swirling clouds in pursuit of a flaming pearl. This example, produced in the early Yongzheng reign, represents an extremely rare survival of its type. While related bowls occasionally appear at auction, dishes of this pattern and form are, to current knowledge, absent from both museum collections and auction records, underscoring its rarity and desirability among Qing Imperial porcelain.

General Julian Neil Frisbie

General Frisbie’s passion for and fascination with Chinese culture and art was anything but conventional: A distinguished veteran of tours with the U.S. Marines in World War I, World War II and the American military mission in post-war China, Frisbie helped liberate regions from Japanese occupation, and he grew to appreciate the culture of the people whose lives he helped change. After playing a key role as an executive officer and commander of the 7th Marine Regiment in the Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester campaigns, Frisbie oversaw the repatriation of Japanese troops and stabilizing key regions like Tianjin and Hebei Province — efforts that earned him American military honors as well as acknowledgement within Chinese communities for his service within Northern China. His magnificent collection, which was assembled during the aftermath of war and from which seven works are offered in this auction, reflects his years of service and his deep immersion into Chinese culture.

A highlight from General Frisbie’s collection includes a rare Chinese underglaze blue and iron-red decorated 'Dragon' bowl. Its exterior showcases twin dragons pursuing a flaming pearl amid rolling clouds. The base displays an underglaze blue six-character Kangxi reign mark. The technique of combining underglaze blue with overglaze iron-red began in the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty; the Xuande and Chenghua periods saw the maturation of this craft, while Kangxi era inherited the Ming style. This particular Kangxi blue-and-red ‘dragon and clouds’ bowl was produced under the supervision of An Shangyi and by craftsmen in Jingdezhen, it exhibits refinement and precision on par with imperial wares.

Howard Longyear Palmer

A collector born into one of the “First Families of America,” Howard Longyear Palmer followed his military career by earning a graduate degree and becoming a college history professor. A lifelong collector and scholar, he was celebrated for incorporating historical artifacts into his teaching. His collecting focused largely on Asian Art, coins and rare books. The inspiration for his Asian Art interest was his mother, Margaret Longyear Palmer, an artist who earned a blue ribbon at the World’s Fair for a floral arrangement displayed in an antique Asian vase. Palmer collection highlights in this auction include a Chinese archaic bronze ritual water vessel — a similar example is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.

Gentleman from the Bay Area

Of the 219 lots in the auction, 35 come from the Collection of a Bay Area gentleman, a second-generation Chinese immigrant who began his collecting journey in the 1970s thanks to a heartfelt loyalty to his cultural roots. He embraced a wide range of Chinese decorative arts, among which his favorites were jade and jadeite carvings, thanks to the purity and translucence of the stones and the remarkable artistry that transformed them into symbolic objects of beauty and meaning. A collection that began with the acquisition of jade in the San Francisco area grew over the years, thanks to his travels to Hong Kong, Singapore, and other parts of Asia. Highlights from his collection include a Chinese apple-green jadeite figural group, carved as a celestial maiden holding a peach, with her dress displaying a stylized Shou character accompanied by an attendant and a cat, and an intricate Chinese pale-celadon jade double-handled chained vase with cover, the body carved with a woven pattern throughout to imitate a basket.

Other highlights in the September 17 event include a Chinese blue and white ‘Lotus’ dish. “This exceptionally fine example of an imperial Wanli blue and white dish offers an eloquent representation of the cultural and aesthetic sensibilities of the late Ming period,” says Wang. The dish is molded in the form of a double-layered lotus bloom, with the underside adorned by sixteen stylized lotus petals, each inscribed with auspicious Sanskrit characters. The recessed base bears a six-character Wanli reign mark. “Its design draws inspiration from Yuan dynasty blue and white lotus dishes; however, under the Wanli Emperor, the form evolved into a double-layered lotus bloom, enhancing the three-dimensionality and visual richness of the piece.”

Also on offer is a fishing scene on silk by the artist Yuan Jiang. A native of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, Yuan Jiang emerged as one of the most accomplished landscape and architecture painters of the Qing dynasty. Drawing inspiration from the great traditions of Tang, Song and Ming court painting, his style is distinguished by its solidity, dexterity and convincing three-dimensionality. Renowned for his meticulous renderings of palatial architecture and natural scenery, Yuan was appointed as a court painter at the Yangxin Hall during the Yongzheng reign, where his refined brushwork and richly detailed compositions were especially esteemed. This early work, painted in 1689 when the artist was just eighteen, depicts an idyllic fishing village set among rivers, houses, trees and distant mountains.

Other highlights of the auction include a Chinese apple-green glazed cup, with a Yongzheng mark and of the period; a pair of Chinese pale celadon-glazed Cong-form vases, with a Guangxu mark and of the period; a very fine Chinese carved jadeite and coral bead court necklace, comprised of 108 beads including four large reticulated carved coral beads, each featuring Shou medallions surrounded by scrolling foliage; a group of five Chinese works on paper from the Late Qing and Republic period by the artist Yu Youren (1879-1964) and his circle; a rare Chinese molded Ding Ware 'Buffalo' dish (a similar example is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei); and a Chinese Huanghuali corner-leg table with a burl wood inset from the 17th/18th century.

“What makes this auction so special is not just the rarity of individual pieces, but the stories they carry — from scholars, diplomats, and artists to families who have treasured them for decades,” Wang adds. “It’s a privilege to bring these objects to market and share their cultural and historical significance with a global audience.”