Six highlights from upcoming online Asian art auctions including a Kangxi monteith
06 November 2020 From Chinese ceramics to Islamic tiles, there is a wealth of interesting items coming up at auction across the Asian art spectrum this month. Here are six selected highlights.Chinese porcelain monteith dating from the end of the reign of the emperor Kangxi is for sale at Duke’s on November 9 estimated at £40,000-60,000.
1. Shang dynasty ritual food vessel
Albert (1927-2018) and Leonie van Daalen-Roell (1930-2018) were descendants of Dutch families who followed family tradition in amassing an extensive art collection.
On November 11 Roseberys of West Norwood is offering around 50 lots from their estate, ranging from archaic bronzes to Tang ceramics and later export porcelain. This late Shang dynasty ritual food vessel (Yu) - pictured above - was used for making offerings of grains and vegetables during religious ceremonies or ancestral rituals.
These Bronze Age vessels were popular during the Yinxu Period (13th-11th centuries BC) with excavated examples suggesting that this particular type, with rounded protrusions emanating from a diamond cartouche, hails from Shaanxi province. Bought by Albert and Leonie van Daalen-Roell from London dealer Ben Janssens Oriental Art in 2001, it has expectations of £50,000-80,000.
View and bid for this ritual food vessel via thesaleroom.com.
2. Chinese zodiac animal burial figures
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Pottery burial figures set featuring 12 animal figures, modelled as the signs of the Chinese zodiac - estimate £4000-6000 at Pax Romana Auctions in London on November 8.
A sale titled Masterpieces of Ancient Asia held by Pax Romana Auctions in London on November 8 includes a large number of Ming and earlier pottery burial figures.
This set features 12 animal figures, the largest 9in (22cm) high, modelled as the signs of the Chinese zodiac dressed in court robes, painted in a range of blues, greens, yellows and reds. They come for sale from the collection of an Oxford professional, formed in the 1970s-90s on the UK art market.
Estimate £4000-6000.
View and bid for this group of zodiac figures via thesaleroom.com.
3. Chinese porcelain monteith
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Chinese porcelain monteith dating from the end of the reign of the emperor Kangxi is for sale at Duke’s on November 9 estimated at £40,000-60,000.
It is thought that the earliest Chinese porcelain monteith appeared c.1715, coinciding with the establishment of the East India Company’s factory in Canton.
The design of these, first made in silver in the 1680s, was perfectly suited to the cooling of wine bottles or wine glasses with the bottle necks or stems held securely within the shaped rim. The deep base could then be filled with chilled water. The large size of this example dating from the end of the reign of the emperor Kangxi (1661-1722) suggest it was most likely to have been made for bottles rather than glasses.
The exotic famille verte decoration of flowers and leaping carp combined with the European form would have made these extremely desirable among the high society of the time. A similar pair thought to have been acquired by George IV for Brighton Pavilion, now reside in the dining room at Clarence House.
This one comes for sale at Duke’s of Dorchester from the family of Major Sir Alfred Hammond Aykroyd 2nd Baronet of Lightcliffe, Yorkshire (1894-1965). Duke’s expects it to bring £40,000-60,000 on November 9.
View and bid for this Kangxi monteith via thesaleroom.com.
4. Pair of famille rose vases
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Pair of famille rose vases decorated in mirror image with scattered characters from the Wu Shuang Pu, the ‘Table of Peerless Heroes’ - estimate £20,000-30,000 at Dreweatts on November 11.
This 4ft 5in (1.32m) high pair of famille rose vases is decorated in mirror image with scattered characters from the Wu Shuang Pu, the ‘Table of Peerless Heroes’. Each figure is accompanied with a title and panels shaped as auspicious objects enclosing inscriptions identifying the characters.
The pair, on carved gilt wood stands from a country house collection in Hampshire, has a guide of £20,000-30,000 at Dreweatts’ sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Part 1) in Newbury on November 11.
View and bid for these famille rose vases via thesaleroom.com.
5. Collection of Islamic tiles
The European and Asian Works of Art sale at Olympia Auctions on November 18 includes, courtesy of specialist Arthur Millner, a fine collection of Islamic tiles. They were acquired by a European collector from auctions and antiques dealers in London and Paris between 1997-2008 and were artfully displayed around a fireplace in a central London home.
Most are from Damascus and together form a comprehensive archive of the range of designs produced in Ottoman Syria from the mid-16th to early 18th centuries.
As detailed in Millner’s 2015 book, Damascus Tiles, these Ottoman period wares took their cue from the ceramics produced in the imperial workshops in Iznik, western Anatolia, but are characterised by a different colour palette, with fresh greens and blues, and a more free-flowing style.
The collection consists of 40 lots valued at around £60,000, with the single tile pictured from c.1570-90 estimated at £700-900.
6. Qing vase
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Qing teadust glazed vase, with a six-character Daoguang mark and of the period - estimate £2000-3000 at Chiswick Auctions on November 18.
This Qing teadust glazed vase, 13in (33cm), has a six-character Daoguang (1820-50) mark and is of the period.
It comes for sale from a European private collection with a guide of £2000-3000 as part of a sale titled The Chinese Art of Monochrome at Chiswick Auctions on November 18.
View and bid for this Qing teadust glazed vase via thesaleroom.com.