NEW YORK, NY.- On Saturday, December 10, Gianguan Auctions celebrates China’s heightened artistic standards with an exceptional sale of antiquities and paintings. The emphasis is on Neolithic to Qing Dynasty works of art, jade carvings and classical paintings. Highlights of the early works of art follow.

Kwong Lum, Gianguan’s Founder and President, said the carefully curated collections emphasize rarity, aesthetics and craftsmanship at every price point, from top tier to mid-range and entry level.

A pair of diamond encrusted, gold wine vessels with original covers, is the day’s marquee item. Of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the hexagonal Zun are decorated with gold long-tailed phoenixes with raised wings amidst other scrolling birds, a base that features dragons and lids covered with deer. Inlays include turquoise, agate and gold. The vessels The Sun pair is Lot 172, estimated at $800,000—$1,500,000.

Another Tang rarity is a gilt silver kundika, or water sprinkler, and vase set. The short spout of the 5-inch tall kundkia protrudes from an ovoid body encrusted with gold and coral triangles, diamonds and mythical beasts. The 7-inch vase repeats the geometrics and is also inlaid with mythical beasts. Lot 170 carries a value of $400,000-$600,000.

Leading the carved jades is a Qing Dynasty cabbage with string bean tendrils a cluster of leaves. It can be compared to a similar item in the Taipei National Museum. Lot 149 carries an estimated value of $280,000-$380,000.

Several carved jades from the earlier Han Dynasty stand out. Lot 171 is a pair of ornamental axes, valued at $6,000-$8,000. Lot 166 is a white hetian jade lion and cub group, estimated at $8,000-$15,000. Lot 17 is a large jade duck, valued at $5,000-$8,000.

The catalog cover lot is a rare Eastern Han blue-glass model of a courtyard surrounded by four buildings with a front entrance. Delicately worked with ribs and bricks, the ceremonial ornament is 12-inches wide by 5 inches-tall. Possibly unearthed near Huangnigan Hepu County, Guangx, as were similar glass items in the Guangxi Museum, Lot 152, is valued at $400,000-$500,000.

Rare Neolithic (6500-1700 BCE) cultures are represented too. Lot 163 is an Ouija ritual jade spade with 14-inch blade of greenish white jade and a handle inlaid with turquoise tesserae in the form of a taotie mask. It weighs nearly 4-pounds and is estimated at $50,000-$80,000. From the Liangzhu culture of the Yangtze River Delta, Lot 151, is a highly prized white jade hexagonal cylinder, known as a zong. Each of its ten segments is decorated with zoomorphic masks and eyes. At 19-inches tall, it weighs eighteen pounds and is valued at $30,000-$40,000. The Hongshan peoples of Northwest China are represented by Lot 178, a curvilinear white jade carving of a dancer with dragon motifs. It is 15-inches tall, weighs about four pounds, and is estimated at $20,000-$30,000.

At the entry level, three small Liangzhu jade zongs comprise Lot 65. Further, Lot 160 is a Liangzhu ceremonial ax with circular hole and taotie mask of opaque stone. Lot 64 is a Hongshan jade gui in the shape of a cicada is adorned with zoomorphic carvings. Estimates run from $800-$1,000.

The Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty produced Lot 168, a mythical beast of gilt-silver and gold inlaid bronze standing foursquare. The inlays are cloud scrolls and geometrics embellished with hardstone. Pre-sale estimate for the 10” beast is $50,000-$60,000.

For details on these and the complete catalog, please visit www.gianguanauctions.com. The New York preview opens December 2 and continues through Friday, December 9. The sale starts at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 10th. It will be conducted live at Gianguan Auctions, 39 W. 56th Street and on liveaucitoneers.com. For details, please contact Gallery Director, Gianguan Auctions at info@gianguanauctons.com or call 212 867-7288 212 867-9388 .