Eyes focused on China
31 October 2022 Timed to coincide with the influx of dealers and collectors for the annual Asian Art in London initiative, many London and regional auctioneers hold sales dedicated to Asian works of art this month. Pictured here are some highlights from the large array of Chinese works of art on offer.
Standing 6½in (16.5cm) tall, this 15th century Ming dynasty cinnabar lacquer tiered box has an estimate of £8000-12,000 at Chiswick Auctions’ Asian Art sale on November 16.
Transitional blue and white ‘drunken scholar’ incense burner - £1500-2000 at Lyon & Turnbull.
The Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art sale at Lyon & Turnbull on November 4 features this blue and white ‘drunken scholar’ tripod incense burner (tonglu). It was made in the Transitional period during the reign of Chongzhen (1627-44), the last emperor of the Ming dynasty.
It comes by descent from the family of Lawrence Edward Coleman. The sides of the vessel are finely painted, showing an inebriated scholar reclining and napping on a cloth mat with an overthrown cup aside while an attendant fans a wine ewer on the stove.
Kangxi figures of recumbent horses - £3000-5000 at Dreweatts.
Dreweatts’ sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works o Art on November 9-10 includes a group of porcelain and hardstone carvings previously owned by Anthony de Rothschild (1887-1961). The pieces had been gifted to his daughter Renée Louise Marie de Rothschild (1927-2015) in 1948 when the family home, Ascott House in Buckinghamshire, was given to the National Trust and the contents dispersed to several museums and family members.
This particular selection of a dozen or so works had been packed away and only recently brought to the family’s attention. They bear notes, antiques dealers’ labels and numbers that correlate with the meticulous inventory kept by Anthony de Rothschild. Beginning his collecting odyssey following a trip to China in 1911 (he was an early lender to exhibitions held by the Oriental Ceramics Society founded in 1921), he amassed the majority of his works throughout the 1920s-30s.
This pair of figures of recumbent horses modelled as if about to stand date from the Kangxi period and the estimate is £3000-5000. To the bases are labels for the De Rothschild Collection (number 392) and the New Bond Street dealership S Gorer & Son.
Pair of yellow ground Jiaqing mark and period ewers - £80,000-120,000 at Woolley & Wallis.
This pair of imperial yellow ground Jiaqing (1796-1820) mark and period Tibetan-style altar ewers or penba hu will be offered by Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury as part of a sale of Chinese Works of Art on November 15.
This distinctive form with its curved spout issuing from the gaping jaws of the head of marks was originally produced in metalwork with porcelain vessels such as these made across the Qing period. Each is brightly enamelled with the Eight Buddhist emblems (Bajixiang) arranged in two registers among lotus blooms. Formerly in an American private collection, the pair has an estimate of £80,000-120,000.
Porcelain plaque in the style of Wang Qi - £10,000-15,000 at Sworders.
Sworders’ Asian Art sale in Stansted Mountfitchet on November 4 includes this 20th century polychrome-enamelled porcelain plaque in the style of Wang Qi (1884-1937). It is painted with a wealthy man and his son clutching tightly to a cash coin inscribed 'Xing Ming zhi Bao' (Treasures of Life) with a poor man by their side reaching out.
It is inscribed with a poem describing the danger of greed plus a dedication to commemorate the anniversary of the Jingdezhen School of Fine Art, the signature of Wang Bizhen and two seals reading ‘Wang Qi Hua Yin’ and ‘Zengcai Duoli shi Kong Kong’ (Being aggressive for wealth and profit will end in nothing).
The plaque was acquired at auction in Singapore in 1980 and brought to the UK on retirement in the 1990s. Estimate £10,000-15,000.
Kangxi blue and white ‘384 shou’ bitong - £80,000-120,000 at Bonhams.
Bonhams’ Chinese works of art offering includes The Marsh Collection: Art for the Literati – a collection of brushpots and other paraphernalia made for the scholar’s table put together over decades.
The sale on November 3 includes this Kangxi (1662-1722) mark and period blue and white ‘384 shou’ bitong. The design, with continuous rows of shou (longevity) characters in different forms of seal script, is extremely rare and believed to have been made to mark an important imperial birthday. Estimate £80,000-120,000.
Qianlong famille rose porcelain plaque - £20,000-30,000 at Roseberys.
This piece of Qing famille rose porcelain is unmarked but is of imperial quality. From the Qianlong period, the 17in (42cm) square plaque is decorated with a series of highly auspicious symbols. To the central roundel are nine peaches (symbolising longevity) encircled by four bats (representing happiness) while among lotus scroll and ruyi heads are the Eight Buddhist Emblems.
A yellow-ground border decorated with archaic chilong dragons is a homage to ancient ancestors. It comes for sale at Roseberys’ auction of Chinese, Japanese & South East Asian Art on November 8-9 with a guide of £20,000-30,000.
Olympia Auctions’ Asian Works of Art sale on November 9 will include this large 18th century Chinese blue and white charger painted to the interior with a river landscape medallion. Measuring 22in (54cm) across, it is estimated at £600-800.