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Click here to subscribeMêne (Paul Jules, 1810-1879). A bronze sculpture modelled as a recumbent goat, the oval base signed, 12cm long, together with an 18th century ormolu wall plaque modelled as a classical female standing by a peacock, some damage, 17cm high, a Chinese bronze candlestick modelled as a dog of fo, 12cm long and other itemsQty: (5)
Pitcairn Island. A souvenir of Pitcairn Island, carved as a flying fish by Fred Christian on 5 September 1956, the intricately detailed fish with wings stamped 'Made by Fred Christian great grandson of Fletcher Christian of the Bounty who was killed by the natives in the year 1796' the other wing stamped 'From Pitcairn Island the home of the mutineers of the Bounty arrived on the 23rd of Jan. 1790 with 26 people on board', the sculpture displayed on a turned support and the square wooden base stamped 'Pitcairn Island September 5 1956', 23cm high x 26cm longQty: (1)
A LARGE PAINTED STUCCO HEAD OF A GUARDIAN KING, SONG TO MING DYNASTYChina, 12th-16th century. Wearing an elaborate headdress, centered by a scrolling and floral design, the mouth closed, the bulging eyes with black glass pupils within the deep sockets below furrowed brows, the full lips painted in pale pink, the brows, mustache, and beard are detailed in black against the beige-brown skin.Provenance: Austrian private collection. Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 12 October 2007. Dr. Mons Fischer, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice, dated 12 October 2007, accompanies this lot. A seasoned private collector of modern and contemporary art, Dr. Mons Fischer has also acquired fine Chinese works of art since the 1980s, eventually building one of the most important collections of its kind in Austria.Condition: Some repair and touchups with modern polychromes, all exactly as expected from a piece of this age and size. Old wear, natural age cracks, minor nicks and scratches, small losses here and there, wear to pigments, minor touchups, drilled holes from sample-taking. Overall still in outstanding condition.Scientific analysis report: A detailed pigment and gilding analysis report, issued by Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P. SARL, Sciences des Materiaux Anciens et du Patrimoine - Etude des objets d'art, Nr. MSMAP 20-038 OA, dated 13 March 2020, is accompanying this object (please also see detailed scans of the report). The study reveals the presence of an ancient gilding and remains of an ancient polychromy on the sculpture. Repaints of a modern polychromy have been detected as well, see condition report.Weight: 30 kg Dimensions: Height 68.5 cmWith an associated base. (2) Literature comparison: Compare to a guardian figure retaining the original body, similarly modeled in stucco and painted in red, preserved in the Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong county, Shanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo siguan diaosu quanji - 3 - Lioa Jin Yuan siguan zaoxiang, Heilongjiang, 2005, no. 186. Compare also to a number of large stone guardian figures carved with similar grimaces and bulging eyes below a furrowed brow, dating to either the Northern Song or Southern Song dynasty, illustrated in Dazu shike diaosu quanji-Nanshan, Shimenshan, Shizhuanshan den shiku juan (The Complete Collection of the Stone of Sculpture of Dazu), Chongqing, 1999, pp. 19, 69-72, and 98, pls. 20, 72-75, and 104.Auction result comparison: Compare with two closely related stucco heads, offered in one lot, one dated to the Northern Song dynasty (50 cm high) and the other dated Ming dynasty or earlier (56 cm high), at Christie's Hong Kong, in Buddhist Art Under the Empire, on 9 July 2020, lot 2701, sold for HKD 812,500.宋至明彩繪灰泥護法神頭像中國, 十二至十六世紀。頭戴著精緻的冠盔，雙唇緊閉，眉毛下黑色玻璃瞳孔。精細彩繪眉毛、鬍鬚和嘴唇，生動形象。 來源：奧地利私人收藏。維也納 Zacke藝廊, 2007年10月12日。 Mons Fischer博士購於上述藝廊。隨附發票副本。Mons Fischer博士是一位經驗豐富的現代和當代藝術私人收藏家，從1980年代開始收藏中國藝術品，最終成爲奧地利中國藝術品重要收藏之一。 圖片：Dr. Mons Fischer 和他的妻子 品相：使用現代彩色塗料進行了一些修飾，完全符合其年齡。舊磨損，自然裂紋，輕微的划痕和缺口，局部小缺損，顏料磨損，少量補漆，因取樣產生的鑽孔。 總體而言，比較出色的。 科學檢測報告：隨附一份法國Laboratoire M.S.M.A.P 研究所顔料和金彩檢測報告副本，MS20-038號（請看報告細節），2020年3月13日，研究發現雕塑上存在古代金彩和古代顔料遺留， 還可以檢測到現代多色塗料的重塗，請參閱品相報告。重量：30 公斤 尺寸：高68.5 厘米 底座。拍賣結果比較：一組兩件非常相近的北宋 (高50 厘米)和明代或更早（高56厘米）的灰泥頭像見香港佳士得 Buddhist Art Under the Empire拍場2020年7月9日 lot 2701, 售價HKD 812,500.
A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS, 14TH CENTURYTibet. Seated in dhyanasana on a high double-lotus base, with hands folded in dhyanamudra, wearing a shawl and dhoti, the loose folds falling over his crossed legs in undulous folds. With a billowing celestial scarf around his shoulders and arms, richly adorned with elaborate inlaid jewelry, the face with a benevolent expression and surmounted by an elaborate diadem in front of a high chignon.Provenance: London private collection. Sotheby's London, Important Chinese Art, 9 November 2016, lot 279, bought-in at an estimate of GBP 6,000-8,000. Hungarian private collection, acquired from the above.Condition: Good condition with old wear and casting irregularities, extensive wear to gilt, some losses to inlays, few minuscule nicks and light scratches, small dents, the base unsealed, the interior with areas of malachite-green patina. Overall exactly as expected and fully commensurate with age.Weight: 177.7 gDimensions: Height 9.7 cmLiterature comparison: The robust physiognomy and broad lotus leaves are characteristic of 14th-century Tibetan sculpture produced by expert Newari casters. This bronze compares favorably to a closely related though slightly larger example published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, page 364, no. 98B.Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related but larger (15.5 cm high) Tibetan gilt copper alloy figure of Amitayus, also dated to the 14th century, at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 19 March 2019, lot 902, sold for USD 12,075. 十四世紀銅鎏金無量壽佛坐蓮像西藏。無量壽佛結跏趺坐坐於雙層蓮座上，手結禪定印平行曡放在雙膝上，頭戴寳冠，身披長袍，散散地垂在他交叉的腿上。肩上和手臂上挂著一條飄帶，上面裝飾著精美的珠寶。無量壽佛臉上表情慈祥，髮髻高聳，頭戴寳冠。 來源：倫敦私人收藏。倫敦蘇富比 Important Chinese Art 2016年11月9日 lot 279, 估價 GBP 6,000-8,000. 匈牙利私人收藏，購於上述收藏。 品相：品相良好，舊磨損和鑄造不規則，鎏金磨損嚴重，遺失一些鑲嵌物，有些微小的刻痕和划痕，小凹痕，底座未密封，內部有孔雀石色包漿。 總體上與其年齡相符。 重量：177.7 克 尺寸：高9.7 厘米 文獻比較：造像健壯的躰貌和寬闊的蓮葉是十四世紀西藏造像的特徵，由原住民内瓦爾人製作。 這個青銅器與另一個稍大的造像相比毫不遜色，見Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, page 364, no. 98B. 拍賣結果比較：一件相似但稍大 (高15.5 厘米) 的西藏銅鎏金無量壽佛造像，同樣為十四世紀，于紐約邦翰思 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art 2019年3月19日 lot 902, 售價USD 12,075。
A LARGE DRY-LACQUERED WOOD HEAD OF A LUOHAN, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTYChina, 1127-1279. Finely modeled, the expressive face with a prominent brow above almond-shaped eyes, wide open and inset with black glass bead pupils, the nose slightly hooked above the open mouth showing teeth and forming a benevolent smile, applied overall with dark-brown lacquer.Provenance: From the private collection of Paul Bentley, Wisconsin, USA. Paul M. Bentley was an executive at the advertising firm Cramer-Krasselt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. After his retirement he became also known as the owner, together with his wife Judith, of the world-famous 'Crayola House' on the edge of Lake Michigan, which was designed by Margaret McCurry. The Bentleys were lifelong collectors of folk art, American furniture, and Asian works of art.Condition: Overall well preserved and commensurate with age, presenting nicely with extensive wear, crackle and flaking to lacquer, multiple layers of pigments of various dating, minor old repairs and touchups, small losses here and there, minor structural fissures, old traces of use, and weathering. Fine naturally grown patina.Weight: 4,540 gDimensions: Height 35 cm (excl. stand) and 52 cm (incl. stand)Mounted on an associated wood stand. (2)Naturalistic and realistic qualities in Buddhist sculpture were particularly sought-after during the Song dynasty. The 'dry lacquer' technique, as seen on the present head, lends itself to expressive sculpture, and was capable of producing religious statues and portrayals with unprecedented levels of realism that no other material or technique could evoke. The dry lacquer process involved first sculpting the figure in clay above a wooden model. Patches of lacquered hemp were then pasted onto the clay. These were then covered with further lacquer layers, which could be sculpted in greater detail and carved to give expressive qualities. Finally the surface was painted in polychrome pigments. In some examples, the original construction of wood and clay were hollowed out and removed after completion, leaving only the fragile skin of hemp and lacquer. Others, such as the present lot, were left to retain their wooden body. The number of extant Song dynasty religious images made in this complex and sophisticated technique is relatively low, largely due to the time-consuming and demanding production process as well the vulnerability of the lacquer material.Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related dry-lacquered head, also dated to the Southern Song dynasty but slightly smaller (28 cm) and with the wood core removed to leave only the hollow head, at Sotheby's New York in Junkunc: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture on 12 September 2018, lot 18, sold for USD 87,500.南宋大型乾漆木雕羅漢頭像中國，1127-1279年。刻畫細膩，杏仁狀眼上方眉毛突出，瞳孔內嵌黑色玻璃珠，鼻尖微勾，嘴巴張開露出牙齒，笑容慈祥，整體上深褐色漆。 來源：美國威斯康辛州Paul Bentley私人收藏。Paul M. Bentley 是美國威斯康辛州密爾沃基市廣告公司 Cramer-Krasselt 的一名高管。 退休後，他與妻子 Judith 一起成為世界知名的位於密西根湖邊、由 Margaret McCurry 設計"Crayola House"的主人。 Bentley家族一直是民間藝術、美國傢俱和亞洲藝術品的收藏家。 品相：整體保存良好並與年齡相稱，大面積磨損，漆面有裂紋和剝落，來自不同年代的多層顏料，輕微的舊時修補，多處缺損，輕微的結構裂縫，使用痕跡與風化。細膩的包漿。 重量：4,540 克 尺寸：高35 厘米 (不含底座)，總52 厘米 (含底座) 木底座。 (2) 拍賣結果比較：比較相近的南宋乾漆頭像 (28 厘米) ，去除木芯，見紐約蘇富比Junkunc: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture 2018年9月12日 lot 18, 售價USD 87,500。
A CARVED WOOD FIGURE OF A MONGOOSETibet, 17th-18th century. Boldly carved in a dynamic posture with the limbs stretched out, the mouth wide open showing teeth, with large bulging eyes.Provenance: From the collection of Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold. Ted Newbold (1930-2018) was a broker and civic leader in Philadelphia, with a lifelong passion for art. In 1984, he married Helen Cunningham, who shared his love for the arts and collecting. Works of art donated by Helen Cunningham and Ted Newbold are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Woodmere Art Museum, and the Fleischer Art Memorial, among others.Condition: Condition commensurate with age and as expected, overall with old wear, age cracks, chips, minor losses, remnants of ancient pigment, nicks and scratches, two segments of the tail reattached. Fine, naturally grown patina. Presenting remarkably well.Weight: 592.5 g (excl. stand)Dimensions: Height 25 cm (excl. stand) and 26.5 cm (incl. stand)With a modern metal stand. (2)Expert's note: The present figure of a mongoose was most likely once part of a larger sculpture depicting Kubera or Jambhala, two deities associated with wealth in Hinduism and Buddhism, respectively. Often, these mongooses are held in the deity's hand and spew jewels.Literature comparison: Compare a related gilt-bronze figure of a mongoose, 11 cm long, dated circa 16th century, at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2013, lot 76.木雕貓鼬西藏，十七至十八世紀。木雕貓鼬（吐寳鼠），四肢伸展，大嘴張開，露出尖利的牙齒，大眼凸出。 來源：Helen Cunningham 與 Ted Newbold收藏。Ted Newbold (1930-2018) 曾是費城的經紀人和公民領袖，對藝術充滿熱情。1984 年，他與和他一樣熱愛藝術和收藏的Helen Cunningham結婚。Helen Cunningham 和 Ted Newbold 捐贈的藝術品被費城藝術博物館、Woodmere Art博物館和Fleischer Art Memorial藝術紀念館等收藏。 品相：狀況與年齡相稱，總體上有磨損、老化裂縫、碎屑、輕微缺損、古代色素殘留和劃痕，尾巴的兩段重新連接。包漿精細自然。 重量：592.5 克 (不含底座) 尺寸： 高25 厘米 (不含底座) 與 26.5 厘米 (含底座) 現代金屬底座 (2)
A ROOT WOOD SCHOLAR'S ROCK, QING DYNASTYChina, 1644-1912. The gnarled and weathered specimen of warm brown color, the uneven surface stretching horizontally, with interlocking knots and projections creating a sense of vitality and dynamism.Provenance: From an old German private collection.Condition: Good condition with extensive wear, traces of use, natural weathering and erosion. Few small losses. Weight: 3,289 g Dimensions: Height 45.5 cm Mounted to a modern wood base. (2)Expert's note: Like the stones used for garden and scholar's rocks, objects made of root wood, such as the present sculpture, embody the Daoist concept of qi, the spirit-energy of which all things are made. The organic forms of these materials were appealing as they conveyed a sense of humility and a connection to nature. Although initially chosen for their natural shape, these pieces were often enhanced or worked by hand in order to emphasize or clarify certain characteristics in the material, all while aiming to retain the inherent authenticity. 清代癭木文人石中國，1644-1912年。暖棕色的風化標本，奇形怪狀，褶瘤交雜，野趣盎然。來源：德國私人老收藏。品相：狀況良好，有大量磨損、使用痕跡、自然風化和侵蝕。少量小缺損。 重量: 3,289 克 尺寸：高 45.5 厘米 現代木底座。(2)
A CARVED WOOD PANEL, PAIWAN, 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURYTaiwan. Of rectangular form, carved in high relief with standing and seated figures under the crescent moon, as well as birds and other animals, including an ibex. Fine, naturally grown patina of deep burgundy color and a smooth feel overall.Provenance: Old British private collection, by repute acquired before 1980. Hungarian private collection, acquired from the above.Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, some weathering and age cracks, small chips and nicks, light scratches, few small losses to edges, the wood slightly warped.Weight: 1,998 gDimensions: Size 43 x 60.5 cmThe Paiwan (Payuan) are an indigenous people of Taiwan, who live in the Central Mountain Range, from Damumu Mountain and the Wuluo River in the north to the Hengchun Peninsula in the south. According to a myth, Paiwan ancestors lived in a location on Dawu mountain (Tawushan) that was called Paiwan, where heaven was said to exist. Paiwan people have spread out from this location, so the name of the original place was assumed as their group name. According to some group members, Paiwan also means 'human being'.The social system of the Paiwan consists of three levels: the nobility (aristocrats and landowners), the second-rank nobility, and the ordinary people. Only members of the first rank have the privilege of owning works bearing the sacred motifs of the serpent or the human figure, both considered as representing ancestors. Sculpture is the privileged way for Paiwan aristocrats to distinguish their houses, perceived as the incarnation of the social status, authority, privileges, and existence of a fundamental entity of society.Literature comparison: Compare a related Paiwan carved wood architectural ornament, 23 by 80 cm, also dated 19th to early 20th century, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.453.4.Auction result comparison: Compare a related Paiwan carved wood container lid, 45.1 cm diameter, at Sotheby's New York in Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas on 18 May 2021, lot 35, sold for USD 37,800. 十九至二十世紀木雕排灣族祖靈牌台灣。長方形，高浮雕或站或坐的月下人物，之間有鳥與其他動物，包括一隻山羊。包漿自然細膩，通體表面光滑。 來源：英國私人老收藏，購於1980年前；匈牙利藏家，購於上述收藏。 品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損，一些風化和老化裂縫，小磕損和刻痕，輕微劃痕，邊緣少量缺損，木材略微翹曲。重量：1,998 克 尺寸：43 x 60.5 厘米 拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的木雕排灣族祖靈牌，直徑45.1 厘米，見紐約蘇富比Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas 2021年5月18日 lot 35, 售價USD 37,800。
A MONUMENTAL WOOD STATUE OF GUANYIN, QING DYNASTYChina, 1644-1912. Finely carved standing, wearing a loose flowing robe falling in graceful folds to just above the bare feet, open at the chest to reveal a floral necklace, the eyes with black glass inlays, the hair swept up into a high chignon and centered with a figure of Amitabha seated on a lotus-form base. Traces of red, white and black pigments.Scientific Analysis Report: A 14C measurement report was completed by Antiques Analytics Laboratory, Germany, Dr. R. Neunteufel, on 14 December 2020, number AA 21-06102. The report states a date of 1687 - 1730 (24% probability) or 1806 - 1925 (71,4% probability). A copy of the report accompanies the lot. Provenance: From a noted private collection in Poland. Acquired ca. 1990 in the local market. Condition: The statue with losses, worm holes, remnants of pigments, natural age cracks, all as expected and commensurate with age.Dimensions: Height 158 cm (excluding the plexiglass base) Mounted to a fitted plexiglass base (2).This finely carved figure retains all of the robust power and majesty seen in figures of Tang, Song and Jin dynasty date. The folds of the drapery in the shawl, scarves and dhoti worn by this figure are reminiscent of that seen in painted wood figures of Song date, but the small, pursed mouth, the slender nose and oblique eyes, combined with the crown are more similar to those found in Ming painted sculpture.Literature comparison: Another figure of this type, dated Song dynasty, is in The National Gallery, Prague and is illustrated in Lubor Hajek and Werner Forman, A Book of Chinese Art, plate XIII. The long scarf draping over the shoulders and trailing to the base appears to be a characteristic of sculpture of the Yuan to Ming dynasty. See, for example, two large painted wood figures of bodhisattvas, each measuring 220 cm., from the Liang-sheng T'ang Collection, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Sculpture II, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, 2000, pp. 94-7, nos. 37 and 38. Similar treatment of the drapery can be found on a smaller figure (measuring 166 cm. high) from the same collection, illustrated ibid., p. 102-3, no. 41.Auction result comparison: Compare a related wood figure of Guanyin, at Sotheby's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works Of Art on 16 September 2014, lot 503, bough in at an estimate of USD 30,000 to 50,000. Compare also a related wood figure of Guanyin, dated 17th-18th century, at Christie's New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 29 March 2006, sold for USD 66,000. 清代木雕觀音立像中國，1644-1912年。木雕觀音菩薩跣足立於石座上，菩薩面頰飽滿，眼睛鑲嵌著黑色玻璃，雙唇微啟，頭戴高冠，上原有化佛阿彌陀佛坐像。束髮高髻，餘發自兩側垂落。左右手前肢遺失。菩薩肩覆披帛，頸飾精緻華美佩飾。雕像表面依然多處可見白色、紅色以及黑色殘彩。科學檢測報告: 一份碳14定年檢測，2020年12月14日，德國古玩檢測實驗室Dr. R. Neunteufel，編號 AA 21-06102. 檢測結果認爲時間約爲 1687 - 1730 (24% 可能性) 或1806 - 1925 (71,4% 可能性)，隨附檢測報告副本。來源：波蘭知名私人收藏，約於1990年購於當地市場。 品相：雕像有缺損、蟲洞、顏料殘留和自然年代裂縫，與年齡相稱。 尺寸： 高158 厘米 (不含底座) 有機玻璃底座 (2) 拍賣結果比較：比較相近的木雕觀音，見紐約蘇富比Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works Of Art2014年9月16日 lot 503, 估價USD 30,000 to 50,000；另一件十七至十八世紀的木雕觀音，見紐約佳士得Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2006年3月29日 售價USD 66,000。
A RARE LACQUER-GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF AN ARHAT, AYUTTHAYA PERIODThailand, 16th-17th century. Heavily cast seated in dhyanasana with his right hand lowered in bhumisparsa mudra and the left resting on his lap and holding a small vessel, wearing a monastic robe draped over the left shoulder, the serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below elegantly arched brows, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the hair arranged in tight curls.Provenance: Collection of Peter Salomon. Peter Salomon (1942-2020) was a Danish designer who developed a passion for Asian art at a young age. He purchased his first Buddhist figure at the age of 12 with his own pocket money. Planning to sell antiques for a living, he traveled to London when he was 19 and purchased many objects around Portobello Road, which he found very hard to part with, however. In the end, Salomon pursued a different career path which was nonetheless inspired by his early passion, and began to design decorative objects himself, while his love for Asian and Buddhist art lasted his entire life.Condition: Good condition, as expected and commensurate with age, with wear and casting flaws, minor losses, small nicks, warping, dents, few structural cracks, extensive wear and flaking to lacquer gilding. Fine, naturally grown patina with a good, unctuous feel overall.Weight: 52.9 kg Dimensions: Height 67 cmThis rare bronze sculpture of an arhat depicts the monk seated in meditation with his right hand extending towards the ground to call on the Earth to bear witness to his enlightenment. An arhat in Theravada Buddhism, which predominates throughout Southeast Asia, represents the spiritual paradigm for ordinary beings to emulate. The highest spiritual goal for followers of Theravada Buddhism is to perfect Shakyamuni's teachings over many lifetimes, which results in becoming an arhat: an enlightened being freed from the cycle of rebirth (parinirvana).Paintings and sculptures of arhats frequent Thai temples. Their depiction largely imitates Buddha images, though without possessing certain key physical characteristics (lakshana) that distinguish Buddha as a supernatural being. As represented in this sculpture, these are the absence of an ushnisha and the orientation of the arhat's left hand. Rather than the back of the hand resting in his lap, it is turned frontally toward the viewer.Auction result comparison: Compare a related copper alloy figure of an arhat, 83 cm high, also dated 16th-17th century, at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 23 September 2020, lot 638, sold for USD 47,575.
A CLOISONNE ENAMEL VASE AND COVER, JIAQING TO DAOGUANG PERIODChina, 1796-1851. The compressed globular body rising from a tall foot to a short cylindrical neck with everted rim, surmounted by a domed cover with a bud finial, the rims gilt. Finely decorated with colorful scrolling lotus above a lappet band and below a ruyi-head band. The shoulder and neck with bands of foliate scroll, the foot with geometric designs, all against a bright turquoise ground save for the dark-red-ground shoulder band.Provenance: Collection of Asbjorn Lunde. Asbjorn Lunde (1927-2017) was a New York lawyer and devoted art collector. Over more than 60 years, he built a substantial collection featuring Old Masters, landscape paintings, prints, European sculpture, South Asian painting and sculpture, and Asian decorative arts. Throughout his life, Mr. Lunde supported more than forty museums in New York City, across the United States, and in Europe with loans, gifts, and funding. He was a Fellow and Benefactor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Condition: Good condition with minor old wear and manufacturing irregularities, such as expected pitting. A shallow and small, hardly visible bruise to the body with associated flaking to enamels. The lower interior rim of the cover is bent. Few minuscule nicks and occasional light scratches.Weight: 1,850 gDimensions: Height 26.4 cmThe cover similarly decorated with lotus scroll, below a black-ground band of similar design to the one at the foot, and above a ruyi-head band encircling the finial. 嘉慶至道光時期掐絲琺琅纏枝蓮紋蓋瓶中國，1796-1851年。罐唇口，短直頸，豐肩圓腹，圈足。拱形瓶蓋，蓮花寶珠頂。景泰藍地，瓶蓋和瓶身施纏枝蓮紋，頸部卷葉紋，肩部如意紋。造型高貴典雅，製作精美。 來源：Asbjorn Lunde收藏。Asbjorn Lunde (1927-2017) 是一位紐約律師和忠實的藝術收藏家。 六十多年來，他建立了龐大的收藏，涵蓋古代大師、山水畫、版畫、歐洲雕塑、南亞繪畫和雕塑以及亞洲裝飾藝術。在他的一生中，他通過貸款、禮物和資金支持了紐約市、美國和歐洲的四十多家博物館。他是大都會藝術博物館的研究員和捐助者。 品相：狀況良好，有輕微的磨損和製造瑕疵，例如預期的點蝕。瓶身有一處淺而小、幾乎看不出的擦傷，並有琺琅剝落。 蓋子的下內緣是彎曲的。少量細小的刻痕和輕微劃痕。 重量：1,850 克 尺寸：高26.4 厘米
A VERY LARGE GILT AND DRY-LACQUERED SCULPTURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, SHAN STATES, KONBAUNG PERIODBurma, 1752-1885. Seated in dhyanasana with his right hand lowered in bhumisparsa mudra and the left held above his lap, wearing a samghati draped over the left shoulder, the serene face with downcast eyes, gently arched eyebrows, and full lips forming a calm smile, flanked by elongated earlobes, the hair arranged in tight spikes with a high ushnisha surmounted by a jewel.Provenance: Danish trade.Condition: Presents magnificently overall. The flame jewel above the ushnisha is possibly a replacement. Some losses to the hair spikes. Old wear and weathering, nicks, surface scratches, age cracks, losses, flaking to lacquer, minor old repairs, extensive wear to gilt. Nevertheless, dry lacquer sculptures of significant age are usually heavily damaged, hence it must be concluded that this piece is in good condition commensurate with age.Dimensions: Height 122 cmThe founding of Shan States inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the Pagan Kingdom in the Shan Hills and accelerated after 1287, when the Pagan Kingdom fell to the Mongols. The Tai people, who came south with the Mongols, stayed, and quickly came to dominate much of the northeastern arc of Burma. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic, and included minorities such as the Chin, the Kachin, the Wa, the Ta'ang, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Pa O, and the Kayah. Although Burmanized Shans founded the Ava Kingdom that ruled central Burma, other Shan States, Mohnyin in particular, constantly raided Ava territories throughout the years. A Mohnyin-led Confederation of Shan States finally conquered Ava in 1527.In 1555, King Bayinnaung dislodged Shan king Sithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan States under his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those in Kachin and Shan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan States, Mohnyin and Mogaung. The Shan States were reduced to the status of governorships, but the Saophas (rulers) were permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their fathers and to receive training in Burmese court life. Burmese kings continued this policy until 1885 when the kingdom fell to the British. In the mid-18th century, the Burmese Konbaung dynasty's reassertion of the easternmost boundaries of Burmese Shan States led to war with China, following which eight of the Chinese Shan States were briefly occupied by the Kingdom of Burma. The Burmese success in repelling Chinese forces laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between Burma and China.Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related Shan-style lacquer Buddha, 201 cm high, dated to the 18th century, at Bonhams London in Fine Asian Art on 10 July 2006, lot 374, sold for GBP 18,000.
A BRONZE 'LUDUAN' CENSER, EARLY QING DYNASTYChina, 17th-18th century. Finely modeled as a mythical beast standing foursquare, detailed with neatly delineated mane and tail above a stout body with stylized markings, the head forming the cover with bulging eyes, ruyi-shaped nose, and mouth agape revealing tongue and teeth.Provenance: Austrian trade, by repute from a private estate.Condition: Good condition with old wear and casting flaws, tiny losses, minuscule nicks, and light scratches, the underside with a minor old fill, few small drilled holes.Weight: 1,822 gDimensions: Length 19 cmThe throne of the Emperor of China in the Hall of Supreme Harmony has two incense burners shaped as Luduans, the legendary Chinese auspicious creatures who can travel 18,000 li (9,000 km) in a single day and speak all world languages. A legend says that a Luduan once appeared to Genghis Khan and convinced him to abandon his efforts to conquer India. The auspicious nature of luduan was particularly appropriate for the purpose of these censers. Cast with hinged or removable heads, they were made for burning incense and smoke would emerge from the beast's mouth, animating and empowering the sculpture. As Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson note in their discussion of a pair of Qianlong cloisonne enamel examples from the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition 'Splendors of China's Forbidden City, The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong' by The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, these burners were traditionally valued at the Imperial Court, as with their open mouths and smoke billowing forth, they were a reminder to the emperor that he should always be receptive to honest advice (see page 37).Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bronze luduan censer, 7.5 cm high, bearing a Xuande mark, dated to the 17th century, at Sotheby's London in Menagerie: An English Private Collection of Chinese Animal Carvings on 10 May 2017, lot 29, sold for GBP 13,125.清初甪端銅香薰爐中國，十七至十八世紀。昂首傲立，雙目圓瞪，如意鼻，髮鬚盤結，頭部與身體相分開，便於燃香，腹部中空，口齒鏤空，以利香散，設計巧妙。體態飽滿圓潤。全器包漿厚實凝重，形制古樸。 來源：奧地利古玩市場，據説購於私人收藏。 品相：狀況良好，磨損和鑄造瑕疵、微小的缺損和刻痕以及劃痕，底部有少量舊填充物，有小孔。 重量：1,822 克 尺寸：長 19 厘米 拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近的甪端銅爐，高 7.5 厘米，有宣德款，十七世紀，見倫敦蘇富比Menagerie: An English Private Collection of Chinese Animal Carvings 2017年5月10日 lot 29, 售價GBP 13,125。
A GANDHARA STUCCO RELIEF OF BUDDHAAncient region of Kushan, 300 - 500 AD. Finely sculpted standing, holding the collar of his sanghati in his right hand and the lower hem in his left, the serene face with almond-shaped eyes and full lips forming a subtle smile, the slightly roughened surface on the top of the head indicates the Buddha's curls, backed by a halo.Provenance: From a private collection in Belgium, by repute acquired at Galerie du Carre, Versailles, c. 2000.Condition: Good condition with old wear, few restored vertical breakages to neck and back plate as well as losses as seen on the images, remnants of old pigment. Presenting very well and overall commensurate with age.Weight: 5.6 kg (total)Dimensions: Height 34.5 cm (excl. base) and 39.5 cm (incl. base)In addition to schist, stucco was a popular medium for sculpture in the ancient Gandhara region. A lightweight, malleable ware, stucco readily lends itself to delicate detailing and sensitive modeling, conveying a sense of emotional presence.Mounted to a recent metal base. (2)Literature comparison: Compare a related head of Buddha from a stucco figure, dated to the 2nd - 4th century, in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number IM.106-1939.Auction result comparison: Compare with a larger (81 cm high) stucco figure of Buddha displaying the same posture at Bonhams London in Fine Asian Art on 8 November 2004, lot 458, bought in at an estimate of EUR 14,000-18,000. 健陀羅灰泥浮雕佛像貴霜帝國，公元300 - 500 年。佛陀立像，右手扶衣領，左手托著下擺，安詳的面部，杏仁狀的眼睛和豐滿的嘴唇形成微笑，頭頂略顯粗糙的表面象徵了螺髻，身後有光背。 來源：比利時私人收藏，據説2000年購於 凡爾賽Galerie du Carre藝廊。 品相：狀況良好，磨損，頸部和背面的缺損處有少量修復，舊時顏料殘餘。整體狀況非常好，與年齡相稱。 重量：總5.6 公斤 尺寸：高34.5厘米(不含底座) ，總39.5厘米 拍賣結果比較：比較一件更高 (高81厘米) 的灰泥佛像，見倫敦邦翰思Fine Asian Art 2004年11月 8日 lot 458, 估價EUR 14,000-18,000。
El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944)Uli, circa early 1980s carved and incised wooden panels96 x 287 x 2.5cm (37 13/16 x 113 x1in).(in 11 pieces)Footnotes:ProvenanceGifted by the artist;By descent to the present owner.Born in Ghana in 1944, El Anatsui has achieved international success as one of the most highly acclaimed artists working globally today. While perhaps best known for the distinctive cloth-like forms he creates from interlinked bottle caps, wooden sculpture remains at the heart of the artist's practice. The present work, Uli, exemplifies the multi-panelled wooden pieces that El Anatsui has created throughout his career. He typically carves into the surface of the wood to create decorative patterns which extend across the individual panels to produce a unified design. El Anatsui recalls that he created the present work in the 1980s '[a]fter meeting and interacting with Uche Okeke and imbibing some uli aesthetic strategies'. Uche Okeke was a pioneer of Nigerian art who founded the influential Zaria Art Society in the 1970s with fellow students at the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology including Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Demas Nwoko (all artists represented in the present auction). The society championed the fundamental role of indigenous African themes, techniques, and materials in the construction of a contemporary Nigerian aesthetic following the country's independence from colonial rule in the 1960s. Okeke was preoccupied with the uli aesthetic of the Igbo people from southeast Nigeria. Traditionally practiced by female members of the community and employed as a decorative scheme for murals or stained onto the body, uli design is characterised by curvilinear and abstracted forms which are frequently asymmetrical and painted in a spontaneous manner. Ukeke asserted his belief that engagement with this traditional form of mark-making 'will help liberate as well as enrich contemporary thinking in Africa. One can only be oneself, I think, through deeper understanding of one's local traditions' (Uche Okeke, 2019 [1982]: p. 25).In the present work, El Anatsui interprets the uli aesthetic championed by Ukeke through the incised design on the surface of the wooden panels. A rounded form is created using intersecting lines arranged at different angles and with different degrees of curvature. The larger circle encompasses a smaller, heavily incised circle, giving the impression of a biomorphic organic form. A broken line sweeps across the top of the two passages of incisions to unite the design of the work and create a sense of fluidity across the individual panels. The design is both evocative of uli decorative traditions and El Anatsui's own distinctive language of mark-making exemplified in his other wooden sculptures. This reimagining of the indigenous Nigerian aesthetic within his own practice evidences the Ghanian artist's interest in drawing links between contemporary artmaking and the canon of West-African art history. Awarded the Venice Biennale Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2015, El Anatsui has exhibited his works widely in prestigious institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Hayward Gallery in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. In 2019, he received his largest retrospective to date at Munich's Haus der Kunst.BibliographyUche Okeke, Art in Development – A Nigerian Perspective (Germany, 2019 [1982]).This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo (Nigerian, 1934-2021)The Dancing Bride, circa mid-1960s signed 'Y Adebayo Grillo' (verso)oil on board122 x 81cm (48 1/16 x 31 7/8in).Footnotes:ProvenanceA private collection, UK.With a career extending over six decades, Yusuf Grillo (1935-2021) is one of the most significant figures in Nigerian art. As a young man, he belonged to the influential Zaria Art Group formed by pioneering artists including Uche Okeke, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Demas Nwoko while studying together at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Zaria in the 1950s. These artists challenged the hegemony of the European canon in the landscape of contemporary African art. They embraced their West-African cultural heritage to establish a modern Nigerian aesthetic at a time when the country was fighting for its independence from British colonial rule. Elements of Western art history were fused with themes, techniques, and mediums indigenous to Nigeria in a process that Okeke termed 'Natural Synthesis'. While Grillo proactively engaged with the ideas propagated by the Zaria Art Group, he distinguished his approach to artmaking by privileging the role of the individual artist in this process of synthesisation. Working across diverse media including painting, sculpture, mosaic, and stained glass, he asserted that this fusion of European and Nigerian references ought to be seen 'in the light' of individual experience 'knowing that you are part of the system' (Grillo quoted in Sike and Oyelola, 1988: p. 64). Grillo's conviction in the significance of the artist's creative vision led to his own formulation of a distinctive painterly style and subject matter, as evidenced in The Dancing Bride. Thematically, Grillo painted the people he encountered in Lagos. He favoured female subjects and had a particular interest in the Yoruba heritage which he believed to be at the heart of the city in which he was born and lived most of his life. In the present work, he captures a moment of celebration. A sense of movement is conveyed through the energetic brushstrokes used to depict the dynamic stance of the female figure: her weight rests on one leg while her hips are cocked to the side as if anticipating the next step of the dance. Executed in the cool blue and purple tones synonymous with Grillo's paintings, The Dancing Bride evidences the influence of both Pablo Picasso's Blue Period (which the artist had encountered as a student in Zaria) and abide (the indigo-dyed cloth of the Yoruba people). While Grillo primarily takes the human figure as his subject, Chika Okeke-Agulu argues that this 'subject matter is meaningful only to the extent that it permits him to engage enduringly and passionately with form, colour and painting' (C. Okeke-Agulu, 2020: p. 41). The female figure is elongated in a process of stylization. Reflecting Grillo's enduring interest in mathematics, her body is expressed through flattened planes that echo the geometric shapes that comprise the non-representational background. The drapery of the bride's dress is transformed into curved forms which are carefully balanced against the jagged triangles that frame the figure. As in his other paintings from the mid-1960s depicting stylised women such as Two Women (1965) and Ayi and Tayi (1965), Grillo's engagement with the female form can be conceived as much a formalist experiment as a representational exercise. Fusing mathematics, Western art historical references, and Yoruba culture, through The Dancing Bride Grillo synthesises a distinctive approach to painting which stands as a powerful contribution to postcolonial modernism within the canon of Nigerian art.BibliographyPaul Chike Dike and Pat Oyelola (eds.), The Zaria Art Society: A New Consciousness (Lagos, 1998)Chika Okeke-Agulu, Yufus Grillo: Painting. Lagos. Life (Milan, 2020).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Anton van Wouw (South African, 1862-1945)The Bushman Hunter signed and dated 'A.v.Wouw 1902' (base); further inscribed 'G. NISINI-FUSE - ROMA -' (base)bronze49 x 30 x 33cm (19 5/16 x 11 13/16 x 13in).Footnotes:ProvenanceA private collection, UK.LiteratureUniversity of Pretoria, Anton van Wouw en die van Wouwhuis (Pretoria, 1981), p. 27 (another edition illustrated)A.E. Duffy, Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works (Pretoria, 2008), pp. 36-38 (another edition illustrated)J Ernst, Anton van Wouw: 'n Biografie deur J. Ernst (Vanderbijilpark, 2006), p. 66 (another edition illustrated)A.J. Werth, PIERNEEF/VAN WOUW: Paintings and sculptures by two South African masters (Cape Town, 1980/81), plate 43 (another edition illustrated).Exemplifying the expressive detail and finely wrought textures associated with Anton van Wouw's masterly sculptural practice, The Bushman Hunter has become one of the artist's most admired works. The small-scale sculpture depicts a male figure in a contrapposto stance, his weight resting on his front leg. The hunter's head is thrust forward as if searching ahead, while his tensed muscles engage in the interplay of action and reaction characteristic of the sculptural scheme. Declaring '[n]ature is the only method that endures', van Wouw pursued a naturalistic mode of representation rooted in his European art training (van Wouw, 1926: p. 9). Indeed, the artist's treatment of the male nude has garnered comparisons to Auguste Rodin's John the Baptist (preaching) (1877-1878), asserting the influence of the French sculptor on van Wouw who had encountered his work while a student at the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten in Rotterdam. Such impetus towards realism represented by The Bushman Hunter positioned the artist at the forefront of the Western sculptural tradition in South Africa. The artist's pursuit of realism is further evidenced in his decision to use highly skilled European foundries to produce his bronzes. He favoured two workshops based in Rome that had developed strong reputations for fine craftsmanship: Galileo Massa and Giovanni Nisini. An inscription to the base of the present sculpture asserts that it was produced by the Nisini foundry. The accomplished casting process highlights van Wouw's masterly approach to capturing the minutiae of the subject's physicality: each forehead wrinkle, fold of skin, and curl upon the head of the hunter are finely articulated in bronze. Van Wouw worked from life, exercising a keen perceptiveness that allowed him to powerfully capture his subjects in diverse moods and situations. Following his emigration from the Netherlands to South Africa in 1889, the artist found himself compelled to represent the indigenous peoples he encountered. The present work depicts Korhaan (also known as Kiewiet) who worked for a year as a servant in van Wouw's household. During this time, he modelled for several works by the artist including a large bust and a body cast of the Bushman made for the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria. Demonstrating the precarity of the lives of the indigenous population in this period, Korhaan was subsequently enslaved and taken to America where he was exhibited in the P T Barnum & Bailey Circus for thirty years.Contextualising small-scale works such as The Bushman Hunter within van Wouw's wider oeuvre, A.E. Duffy opines that they 'do not only attest to Van Wouw's meticulous workmanship but also his profound knowledge of his subject matter' so that 'each individual work of art not only possesses minute detailing but also inner power and monumentality' (A.E. Duffy, 2008: p. 77). Indeed, Van Wouw understood his small sculptures to be a vital part of his oeuvre. It was this aspect of his practice that he chose to foreground in his first solo show which took place in Johannesburg in 1908, following the first presentation of The Bushman Hunter in November 1904 at the premier exhibition of the Pretoria Art Association. Van Wouw's best known sculpture remains central within the artist's body of work, with other Roman casts held in the collections of South African House in London, the Van Wouw Museum in Pretoria, and the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch.BibliographyA.E. Duffy, Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works (Pretoria, 2008)Anton van Wouw, 'Sculpture', in The Common Room Magazine (Summer, 1926), pp. 8-11.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Wim Botha (South African, active 1974)Prism 18, 2015 signed and numbered '2/3' (bronze verso)bronze with wooden pedestal, edition of 3 + 2APbronze 71 x 35.5 x 33cm (27 15/16 x 14 x 13in)overall 173 x 35.5 x 33cm (68 1/8 x 14 x 13in).Footnotes:ProvenanceStevenson, Cape Town;A private collection (acquired from the above in 2016).Prism 18 (2015) belongs to an ongoing series of semi-abstracted busts created by South African artist, Wim Botha. Botha, who lives and works in Cape Town, has gained a reputation for reconfiguring art historical tropes through his use of unconventional materials including stacked books and government documents. The present work is formed from a polystyrene block which has been roughly shaped using a chainsaw and wire cutter before being cast in bronze. The face of the figure never fully emerges from the carved block. The features remain unarticulated and are further obscured by the intersecting cuts that crisscross the surface of the blackened bronze. The violent treatment of the bust is carried through to the wooden plinth which features a jagged incision to its right side. The angular lines and blackened quality of the bronze sculpture destabilise the meanings traditionally granted to a portrait. Rather than identifying a subject, the bust stands as an index of process, prompting us to reconsider the role of artmaking in the formation of identity and power.Botha's confrontational practice has granted him a number of prestigious awards including the Helgaard Steyn Prize for sculpture in 2013, the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 2005, and the first Tollman Award in 2003.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Abdoulaye Diarrassouba 'Aboudia' (Ivorian, born 1983)Untitled, 2016 mixed media on canvas178.5 x 182.5cm (70 1/4 x 71 7/8in).Footnotes:ProvenanceThe artist's studio, Brooklyn, NY;Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2016.Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, known as Aboudia, stands at the forefront of the landscape of contemporary art with his energetic paintings rendered in oil stick and acrylic. Born in Abidjan, the major urban centre of Côte d'Ivoire, Aboudia trained at the School of Applied Art in Bingerville before graduating from the Abidjan Institut des Arts in 2005. Aboudia recognises the influence of his experience growing up in Abidjan as central to his artistic practice. His canvases and works on paper fuse imagery drawn from the local street culture of his hometown with traditional West-African sculpture and voodoo iconography. Lines of brightly coloured oil stick articulate figures, traffic and animals atop ghostly passages of semi-opaque acrylic paint that, in places, reveal the layers of newspaper pages, magazine cut-outs, and educational materials typically pasted beneath. The gestural application of pigment and large-scale format favoured by the artist recall both the graffiti murals of Abidjan and the avant-garde formalist experimentations of artists central to the Western canon such as Cy Twombly, whose work Aboudia had greatly admired when visiting the permanent collection at the Tate Modern, London. Recognising the fusion of diverse cultural and artistic references in his work, Aboudia names his stylistic approach Nouchi – a term more typically used to describe the colloquial language spoken in urban Abidjan which blends several Ivorian languages with French. Now working between his studios in Abidjan and Brooklyn, Aboudia employs his artmaking as a vehicle to convey the experiences of the Ivorian youth following the violence of the 2011 civil war. 'As an artist, my contribution is to tell our story for the next generation. Writers will write, singers will sing. I paint' (Aboudia quoted in O'Reilly, 2011). He conceives of the figures that populate his work as representative of this next generation of children who he believes to be central to the future success of the country. Aboudia has achieved global appeal through his kinetic canvases bursting with colour. Since 2007 the artist's work has been widely exhibited in international solo and group exhibitions and is held in major collections including that of the Saatchi Gallery (London), the Nevada Museum of Art (USA), and the Jean Pigozzi Collection of African Art.BibliographyFinbarr O'Reilly, 'Ivorian artist paints as bullets whizz overhead', Reuters, 29 April 2011, online.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * TP* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.TP Lot will be moved to an offsite storage location (Cadogan Tate, Auction House Services, 241 Acton Lane, London NW10 7NP, UK) and will only be available for collection from this location at the date stated in the catalogue. Please note transfer and storage charges will apply to any lots not collected after 14 calendar days from the auction date.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Italian school, 17th century."Vanitas".Carved and polychrome wood. Brass, bronze and silver.Measurements: 22 x 38 x 11,5 cm,A sculpture is presented in the form of a coffin with the front dominated by a glass that allows the spectator to see inside. In the centre of the piece, a skeleton lies dead on a red and gold bed. Death is not represented in a peaceful way, showing the corpse's passage to eternal life, but is presented in an exacerbated and dramatic way, with a skeleton whose skull has a gesture of terror with its mouth wide open. The body, which is turned so that the viewer can contemplate it more easily, is infested with maggots that crawl all over the bone, coiling around them, even on the face. The presence of the worms, as devourers of flesh, warns the viewer about the temporality of life and of his body as matter, thus delivering a reflection related to eternity and the correct way of life with which the faithful can attain glory.This completely detailed sculptural work, both in the conception of the skeleton and the coffin that preserves it, is part of the genre of vanities, which was so important during the Baroque period. The transience of life was one of the themes that most preoccupied Baroque artists. Vanities denounced the relativity of knowledge and the vanity of the human race subject to the passage of time and death. This genre was particularly popular during the Baroque period, and its title and conception are related to a passage from Ecclesiastes: "vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas" ("vanity of vanities, all is vanity"). In the 17th century, these moralising still lifes became very frequent as an indispensable complement to preaching and devotion in Europe, in forms and with slightly different intentions in Catholic and Protestant areas.
Spanish reliquary, ca. 1600."Saint".Carved and polychromed wood.Polychromy from the 18th century.It presents damages by xylophages and flaws in the polychromy.Measurements: 34 x 20 cm.Bust made of carved and polychromed wood which is supported by a rectangular base with a marble appearance. On this base is a carved sculpture representing a saint with long hair, adorned with rich jewels that decorate her hairstyle, her shoulders and her ears. Devoid of any identifying attributes, the saint would most probably be holding a palm branch that would distinguish her as a martyr.Reliquaries of this type were somewhat common from the Gothic period onwards, usually referred to as "testas" in documentation contemporary to their production and used to contain relics of the head, as carvings of arms, etc. were used for relics of other parts of the saint's body. It should be remembered, however, that at that time practically any item that had been in contact with the saint or his mortal remains (cloths, burial soil, etc.) was considered to be a sacred relic. The best examples were made of precious metals, but specimens such as the present one were also highly valued, both for their container and, above all, for their content. The evolution of the centuries can be seen in the details of the carvings.
Spanish or Italian school; 17th century."Bust of the Virgin.Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.The canvas of this work has been cut out.It presents repainting.Measurements: 39 x 32 cm.This devotional work presents us the face of the Virgin Mary, in the foreground and captured at great size, occupying most of the pictorial surface. It is a monumental figure, worked with great delicacy and directly illuminated by a clear, uniform, classical light. Mary stands out against a neutral, ethereal background, illuminated around her head by the halo of golden light. The Virgin is dressed in a red tunic, alluding to the Passion of Christ and her own grief at the death of her Son, and a blue cloak, common in Marian iconography as a symbol of the concepts of truth and eternity.Baroque painting is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and their deepest feelings. With the economy of the state in ruins, the nobility in decline and the clergy heavily taxed, it was the monasteries, parishes and confraternities of clerics and laymen who encouraged its development, with the works sometimes being financed by popular subscription. Painting was thus obliged to express the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when Counter-Reformation doctrine demanded a realistic language from art so that the faithful could understand and identify with what was depicted, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervour and devotion of the people. Religious themes were therefore the preferred subject matter of Spanish sculpture during this period, which in the early decades of the century was based on a priority interest in capturing the natural world, gradually intensifying throughout the century in the depiction of expressive values.
A Royal Worcester metal and porcelain waterlily sculpture, a Royal Worcester Dartford Warbler sculpture, Albany Worcester porcelain birds Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Crested Tit & Blackbird, Condition Report:Dartford warblers flowers are broken and waterlily has been reglued into place but loose
A late 19thC Meerschaum pipe, with carved figure of a lady, with white metal collar and amber coloured holder, in a fitted case, 15cm long, a Land Leamington briar wood pipe, with a silver collar, in a fitted case, Birmingham 1898, 13cm long, and a bronzed resin sculpture of a mouse, on apple, indistinctly signed, 11cm high. (3)
Hepworth (Barbara, 1903-1975). Three autograph letters signed, and one handwritten postcard signed, by Barbara Hepworth to James Archdale of Edgbaston, Birmingham, July 12th-August 16th 1950, all on headed paper or card with the artist's name and address Trewyn Studio, St Ives, Cornwall, comprising a single sheet handwritten on one side only, dated 12/7/50, a five-page letter written on one side of each sheet, dated Aug 13th [1950], a small handwritten card, written to both sides, dated Aug 16th [1950], and a single sheet, handwritten to both sides, dated Oct 3rd [1950], together with6 photographs by Studio St Ives Ltd., one showing the artist in her studio, the others showing different views of the sculpture Cosdon Head (1949), all but one inscribed by the artist, two additional photographs by Studio St Ives Ltd., one showing Barbara Hepworth on a platform outside her studio beside two large stones for an Arts Council commission, dated April 1950, the other depicting Bicentric Form (1949-50), plus a typewritten letter signed by Mary Woodall to James Archdale, dated 11th October 1951, with four further photographs of the Cosden Head, and a printed woodblock Christmas card from Frank and Mary Dobson, circa 1950, depicting a resting deerQty: (15)
Barye (Antoine Louis, 1796-1875). Lion Assis, bronze sculpture, dark brown patina, modelled sitting, tail curled around haunches, head raised with curled flowing mane, late recasting, with previous catalogue label underneath, 20cm high including socle x 16cm long, together with an unrelated 20th century bronze of a Lion resting, modelled lying down, tail curled around his haunches, front paws stretched in front, head raised with curled flowing mane, mounted on marble plinth, 8cm high including plinth x 15.8cm longQty: (2)
Full title: A Chinese jade bi disc, a jade•te censer and a Wei-style sculpture, 20th C. and/or earlierDescription: H 31,5 cm (the sculpture)ÊH 12,2 cm (the incense burner)Ê Dia. 16,8 cm (the bi-disc)Condition:The absence of a condition report does not imply that a lot is in perfect condition. Please contact us to let us know which lots are of interest, so we can make the requested reports for you.Once complete, they will be published on our website (www.coronariauctions.com)High resolution pictures are already available on our website at www.coronariauctions.com. Further questions are always welcome at info@coronariauctions.com
Full title: Frits Vandenbussche (1942): Two partly glazed stoneware teapots and covers with wood handles, 20th C.Description: H 21,5 - L 33 cm (the largest teapot and cover with handle)ÊH 16 - L 54 cm (the smallest teapot and cover with handle)Ê "Frits Vandenbussche (1942, Veurne) is a seperate case. His training as an industrial designer and his apprenticeship in ceramics in Japan have led him to face the problems of the handle and the spout of the teapot, which he reverses. He first looks for a special branch and remodels it into a handle for which he then designs a teapot. In this way, he makes handy, ergonomically well-thought out utensils: they are a naturally curved extension to the arm. The wooden handle and stoneware teapot form at the same time a self-willed sculpture, which cannot really be classified in a category with other work." (J. Walgrave, Ceramique contemporaine en Belgique - Contemporary ceramics in Belgium - Hedendaagse keramiek in Belgie, Liege, 1992)Condition:The absence of a condition report does not imply that a lot is in perfect condition. Please contact us to let us know which lots are of interest, so we can make the requested reports for you.Once complete, they will be published on our website (www.coronariauctions.com)High resolution pictures are already available on our website at www.coronariauctions.com. Further questions are always welcome at info@coronariauctions.com
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