Six Dynasties, (420-518 A.D.) Wu Zhu - Reverse Da Quan Wu.
Six Dynasties, (420-518 A.D.) Wu Zhu - Reverse Da Quan Wu.
750 USD @ lindascoin
Note: It is the treasure of the Six Dyn. coin. The similar coin is sold to over $1500 in China.
'Terra Incognita, Italy's Ceramic Revival' @ The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), Spatial Concept, c. 1964. 45 x 16.8 x 16.8 cm. © Bernd and Eva Hockemeyer Collection
LONDON.- The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art presents the exhibition Terra Incognita: Italy’s Ceramic Revival from 30 September to 20 December 2009. This is the first time that the Hockemeyer Collection has been exhibited in the UK and promises to be a revelation to modern art and ceramic enthusiasts alike.
The Bernd and Eva Hockemeyer Collection of 20th century Italian ceramics has been formed over the past twenty-five years as an expression of the collectors’ interest in Mediterranean – and especially Italian – art from antiquity to the present day. Although individual pieces have been exhibited before, this is the first time that such work has been the subject of an exhibition in Britain. It presents a selection of some fifty key works dating from the late 1920s to the mid 1980s by twenty-three of Italy’s most celebrated artists and ceramists including sculptors such as Arturo Martini, Marino Marini, Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Leoncillo Leonardi and Giuseppe Spagnulo, the painters Roberto Crippa, Gianni Dova and Emilio Scanavino and ceramic masters Pietro Melandri, Guido Gambone, Marcello Fantoni, Pompeo Pianezzola and Carlo Zauli.
The works on show – sculptures, panels, vases and plates – illustrate sixty years of Italian artistic development in the historic medium of clay. The exhibition presents a wealth of different styles, aesthetic ideas and concepts, underlined by the diversity of techniques and scale of the objects on show: terracotta, maiolica and lustrewares ranging in size from a girl’s head by Marino Marini (only 21.6 cm high) to the suspended maiolica sculpture of 2.16 meters by Salvatore Meli, which was presented at the XXIX Venice Biennale in 1958.
The exhibition begins with early classical works by Italy’s most important sculptors of the first half of the 20th century: Marino Marini and Arturo Martini. The latter was represented by works in terracotta at the seminal exhibition XX Century Italian Art at MoMA, New York, in 1949. The exhibition shows works of the same period by the ceramist Pietro Melandri who, with outstanding technical expertise, created both prestigious decorative art objects and sculptures, winning the Grand Prix for Sculpture at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition.
Another important period in Italy’s 20th century ceramic history is extensively represented by the many works of Lucio Fontana dating from the 1930s to the 1960s. The Hockemeyer Collection boasts some of his early figurative and neo-baroque sculptures in terracotta and maiolica from 1931 and 1936, as well as a range of his famous Concetti spaziali which the artist first executed in ceramic in 1959 before he transferred the concept to canvas.
The exhibition also includes works by the sculptor Leoncillo Leonardi, charting the passage from his neo-Cubist period of the late 1940s to his participation in Italy’s explosion of Arte Informale, which was to have considerable influence in Europe and America. His large-scale San Sebastiano Bianco (White Saint Sebastian) (1962) makes a particular impact in its merging of Informale aesthetics with the ‘cut’ – a central element of Fontana’s theory of the Concetto spaziale. Works such as these occupied a central position in Leoncillo’s one-man show at the XXXIV Venice Biennale in 1968.
The works of Fontana’s lifelong friend Fausto Melotti, on the other hand, reflect an entirely individual sculptural approach to the material, exploring the technical limits of manipulating the textural qualities of clay, glazes and firing techniques in pursuit of poetic, formal compositions.
The explosion of Arte Informale in post-war Italy was only one of many creative outbursts that encouraged experimentation in ceramics by artists and artisans alike, resulting in new forms of – and decoration on – the classical vase or plate. One of the galleries will focus on pieces from the 1950s by ceramists such as Guido Gambone and Leandro Lega, whose work was strongly inspired by Italian and international contemporary art. Of great interest are the works of Salvatore Meli and Giuseppe Civitelli, whose painterly abstraction was influenced by the conceptual and aesthetic ideas proclaimed by such groups as Forma I and Gruppo Origine, internationally known through their main protagonists, the painters Giuseppe Capogrossi and Piero Dorazio.
Also in this section are Marcello Fantoni’s modern interpretations of the vase-object which excel in their originality, merging the angular shapes typical of the period with elements that appear reminiscent of the Etruscans or other pre-historic civilizations.
This extraordinary selection of works from the Hockemeyer Collection illustrates the great affinity with the materiality of clay that distinguishes Italy’s artistic panorama of the inter-war and post-war period from those of other European countries during the same era. At a time when many contemporary artists use clay as a means of expression to push the established academic boundaries between art, craft and design, this exhibition represents a long overdue consideration of Italy’s 20th century ceramic culture which, at its high point, was distinguished by a contempt for the divisions between the fine and decorative arts.
Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, 1960/65 © Lucio Fontana/SIAE/DACS, London 2009
The Collection of William F. Reilly to Be Offered at Christie's New York
A Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Emprero Antoninus Pius Reign 138-161 A.D. 13½ in. (34.3 cm) high. Estimate: $400,000 - 600,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2009.
NEW YORK, NY.- This October, Christie's presents a special collection of fine art and furnishings from the Manhattan residence of the late Mr. William F. Reilly, a prominent philanthropist, collector, and former chief executive officer and chairman of the publishing firm Primedia. This superb collection of important 18th and 19th century furniture, rare antiquities, Old Master paintings, and decorative items was primarily housed in Mr. Reilly's Sutton Square townhouse, located in one of Manhattan's most fashionable neighborhoods. The three-story house with its dramatic river views and impeccably-designed interiors has been profiled in House & Garden and Architectural Digest, among other publications. The complete collection of over 230 items is expected to realize in excess of $5 million.
To build the collection, the late Mr. Reilly worked with top New York antiques consultant and interior designer Timothy Whealon. Over the course of 12 years, Whealon scoured auction houses, dealers, antiques fairs, and art galleries to create a refined collection of rare works of art and antiques. For the sale preview, Christie's will re-assemble the bulk of the collection just as it appeared in the main rooms of Mr. Reilly's home, even using a similar color palette as the one that Whealon chose for the walls.
"The overall design aesthetic was conceived as a modern take on the great English country houses," said Whealon. "Mr. Reilly was an educated connoisseur with a deep interest in European history and the classics. To reflect that, we grounded the collection with excellent examples of English, Irish, and Continental furniture and complimented them with Greek and Roman antiquities, and paintings by the early 18th century Italian masters. Modernist touches in the form of lamps, occasional tables, and small decorative items kept the whole looking fresh and relevant, and remarkably easy for someone to live with."
Exceptional Provenance
The Reilly collection is highlighted by several extraordinary furnishings from prominent British houses, including a Regency Ormolu and Black Slate Mantel Clock, no. 538 (estimate: $40,000-60,000) by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy, London’s pre-eminent luxury goods producer in the early 19th century. The clock was ordered by the Prince of Wales for his Royal residence at Carlton House, St. James’s, London and delivered in 1815. A George III Mahogany Cabinet-On- Chest (estimate: $200,000-400,000) features an arched cornice, paneled doors and four graduated drawers accented with carved ionic columns and a Greek key design on the façade. This extraordinary 18th century cabinet bears the penciled signature of William Hallett, one of the most well-regarded cabinetmakers to England’s royal families. It is believed this magnificent cabinet was commissioned by Sir Charles Kerneys Tynte, 5th Baronet, for Halswell Park, Bridgwater, Somerset.
From Hamilton Palace, the largest and most majestic of Scotland’s country houses, comes a pair of English Ormolu-Mounted Satinwood-Inlaid Walnut Stools (estimate: $60,000-100,000) that were once part an extensive marquetry suite. Based on inventories of palace furnishings, it is believed that one stool dates from the original suite that was likely commissioned by James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, or by his son James, circa 1710-1720. The second stool was likely commissioned in the early 19th century by the 10th Duke to extend the suite. In later years, the pair was purchased by Sunlight Soap magnate William Lever, the 1st Viscount Leverhulme, and became part of his storied collection at The Hill, his residence in Hampstead.
A pair of George II Walnut and Figured Walnut Open-Armchairs from circa 1730 (estimate: $250,000-400,000) bears the ducal coronet of the Astley family, and are part of a set believed to have been ordered by Sir Phillip Astley, 2nd Baronet (d.1739) or his son Sir Jacob Astley, 3rd Baronet (d. 1760). A Regency Brass-Mounted Ebonized and Specimen Marble Side Table (estimate: $70,000-100,000) features a top veneered with a grid of multi-colored Italian marble specimens. This unique table from circa 1800 is believed to have been acquired on the Grand Tour by the notable art patron and connoisseur Edward, Viscount Lascelles (d. 1814).
Among the excellent examples of Continental furniture in the collection is a Pair of Italian Giltwood Side Tables (estimate: $150,000-250,000) made in Rome circa 1775 in the manner of the influential architect and designer Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778). These exquisite tables with their unique curved legs and medallion friezes are similar to those formerly housed in the Palazzo Rezzonico and Palazzo Borghese.
Antiquities
Mr. Reilly’s deep knowledge of Roman history fueled the acquisition of several important antiquities for his collection, led by a Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Emperor Antoninus Pius (estimate: $400,000-600,000), who became emperor at the age of 52, and reigned from 138-161 A.D. – a period of relative calm, security, and religious piety in the Roman empire. Other portraits in the collection include a Colossal Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Emperor Trajan (estimate: $100,000-150,000) who reigned from 98-117 A.D., and a Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Youthful Marcus Aurelius, circa 138 A.D. (estimate: $150,000-250,000). The latter was one of the first purchases Mr. Reilly made as a collector; he had such high regard for the celebrated young emperor that he named his company Aurelian Communications upon its founding in 2001.
Perhaps the most dramatic item to feature in the Reilly collection is a Greek Marble torso of the goddess Aphrodite (estimate: $200,000-300,000) from the Hellenistic period, circa 1st century B.C. Nearly two-thirds life sized, the partially-draped torso stands with left knee bent and right hip thrust at an angle, forming a sensuous pose.
Old Master Paintings
Leading the collection’s offering of Old Master paintings is a massive 16th century festival scene by a Flemish artist known only as the Monogrammist ‘MO’. Populated with scores of brightly costumed acrobats, A view of a villa with acrobats and gentlefolk; estimate: $600,000-800,000) is a sweeping, jubilant scene of a court festival on the grounds of an Italianate villa. As elegantly dressed courtiers look on, troupes of acrobats in red jumpsuits and ancient military uniform perform elaborate dances and complicated balancing acts. This vibrant celebratory scene, which measures nearly eight feet wide, was the focal point of the dining room at Reilly’s Sutton Square home.
Two important Italian Old Master landscapes from the living room of the Reilly home will be offered as highlights of the Important Old Masters and 19th Century Art sale on January 27, 2010: View of Piazza del Popolo, Rome (estimate: $600,000-800,000) by Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691/2-1765) and Extensive Landscape with Figures at a Shrine (estimate: $300,000-500,000), a rare collaboration between Alessandro Magnasco, Il Lissandrino (1667-1749) and Antonio Francesco Peruzzini (1643/46-1724).
Decorative Highlights
A devoted collector of Irish as well as English furnishings, Mr. Reilly’s collection is highlighted by an exceedingly rare example of Dublin scagliola inlay work attributed to Pietro Bossi, the most accomplished artisan working in Dublin towards the end of the 18th century. This Irish George III White Marble and Scagliola Chimneypiece; estimate: $100,000-150,000) is accented with beautifully-drawn leaf work and ribbon-hung Etruscan medallions in vivid hues of red, blue and green that remain remarkably unfaded. Less than 50 chimney pieces of this type are believed to have been created, and only two or three pieces of comparable quality have appeared on the market in recent years.
Among the more whimsical items within the Reilly collection is a Pair of George II Giltwood Dolphin-Form Wall Carvings from the mid-18th century (estimate: $20,000-40,000). These grimacing fish-like figures with scrolling tails once adorned the Sutton Place apartment of Marietta Tree, the New York society doyenne. They are believed to have been purchased initially by Nancy Lancaster, the legendary designer (and the first Mrs. Ronald Tree), for Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire, one of England’s greatest country houses.
Rounding out the selection of decorative accents is a large selection of mirrors from a variety of periods and styles, including a Louis XIV Ormulu-Mounted Boulle Marquetry Mirror from circa 1710 (estimate: $60,000-100,000); and a pair of five-foot high English Giltwood Mirrors (estimate: $60,000-90,000), one George II, circa 1740, and the other created to match by Carvers and Gilders of London. Also among the offerings is a selection of English silver, including salvers, salt cellars, utensils, and a complete coffee and tea service (estimates range: $500-35,000); and an array of blue and white Chinese export porcelain items, including vases, plates, and urns from the Kangxi period (estimates range: $3,000-30,000).
Flemish artist active in Northern Italy, 16th Century - identified as the Monogrammist 'MO', A view of a villa with acrobats and gentlefolk, signed with monogram and dated 'M D/LXVI' on pedestal (lower left) oil on canvas, 67¼ x 93 in. (170.8 x 236.2 cm.) Estimate: $600,000 - 800,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2009
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, "Priimitive" @ MAMVP, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Apichatpong Weerasethakul Primitive, 2009. Courtesy Kick the Machine Films, Bangkok. Crédits : 2009 Kick the Machine Films. Photo: Chaisiri Jiwarangsan
L’exposition présentée à l’ARC s’articule autour de Primitive, un projet qu’Apichatpong Weerasethakul, artiste et cinéaste thaïlandais, mène depuis un an en vue de son prochain long- métrage.
Imprégnées de références diverses, de la pensée bouddhiste à la culture populaire, des soap operas aux contes traditionnels, ses vidéos explorent la mémoire comme une matière fluctuante, non linéaire, sujette aux aléas des questionnements et du désir. Au-delà de leurs aspects purement artistiques et visuels, elles posent aussi un regard critique sur le système actuel de la culture thaïlandaise.
Exposition du 1er octobre 2009 au 3 janvier 2010.
Primitive, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, image © Chayaporn Maneesutham, courtesy of Kick the Machine Films
L’exposition propose huit films courts tournés par l’artiste à Nabua. Village du nord-est de la Thaïlande, il fut occupé par l’armée thaïe entre 1960 et 1980 pour contrôler les insurgés communistes.
Inspiré du livre The Man Who Could Recall His Past Lives racontant l’histoire d’un homme appelé Boonmee qui se souvient de ses vies antérieures, Primitive est une exploration de ce lieu, de ses fantômes et de ses mythes. Divers tableaux relatent les activités des adolescents du village impliqués dans des scénarios semi fictionnels : la construction d’un vaisseau spatial en bois, un match de football avec un ballon en feu... L’artiste réalise ainsi le portrait d’une jeunesse inaltérable, aujourd’hui affranchie de son passé.
Comme dans ses longs métrages, la nature, idyllique et menaçante, est au centre de l’oeuvre. La narration passe au second plan, au profit d’une immersion dans un paysage énigmatique, irréel, où les frontières se dissipent. Tourné dans une région d’Asie où la vie des habitants est dominée par les croyances animistes et la réincarnation, Primitive célèbre les forces destructives de la nature appelées à renaître et à se transformer.
L’installation sera associée à des photographies réalisées durant le séjour de l’artiste à Nabua ainsi qu’à une œuvre inédite intitulée Phantoms of Nabua.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Né à Bangkok en 1970, Apichatpong Weerasethakul vit et travaille à Bangkok et à Chiang Mai, en Thaïlande. Fils de médecins, l’artiste a passé son enfance à Khon Kaen, au nord-est de la Thaïlande. Il a obtenu une licence d’architecture à l’université de Khon Kaen puis un master de cinéma à l’Institut des Arts de Chicago en 1994.
Il réalise des courts-métrages dès 1994 et un premier long- métrage en 2000 (Mysterious Object at Noon). En 1999, il crée Kick the Machine, une entreprise de production et de promotion de vidéos et de films indépendants. Ses projets artistiques lui ont valu une large reconnaissance internationale et de nombreuses récompenses, notamment au festival de Cannes (prix du jury en 2004 pour Tropical Malady)
Longs-métrages
2006 : Syndromes and a Century
2004 : Tropical Malady
2003 : The Adventure of Iron Pussy
2002 : Blissfully Yours
2000 : Mysterious Object at Noon
Courts-métrages et installations (sélection)
2008 : Vampire
2007 : My Mother’s Garden, Unknown Forces
2006 : Faith
2006 : The Anthem
2005 : Wordly Desires
2001 : Haunted Houses
L’installation Primitive et le film Phantoms of Nabua ont été commandés par le Haus der Kunst (Munich), FACT (Liverpool) et Animate Projects (Londres) et produits par Illuminations Films (Londres) et Kick the Machine Films (Bangkok).
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Uncle Boonmee: A Man Who Can Recall His Past Lives, 2009
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, A letter to Uncle Boonmee, 2009
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Primitive Installation, 2009
Exceptional Self Portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck to Feature in Sotheby's Sale
Sir Anthony van Dyck, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, est: £2-3 million. Photo: Sotheby's
LONDON.- Sotheby’s announced this morning that its forthcoming Evening Sale of Old Master and Early British Paintings in London on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 will include an outstanding self portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck, one of the most important artists to have worked in England. This masterpiece, which is van Dyck’s last portrait of himself, was painted in London in 1641 in the final months of his life. It is one of only three self portraits that the artist painted in England and it captures him grandly attired in a black and white silk doublet. The painting has been in the same family collection since 1712, a period of almost 300 years. It was one of the star exhibits of the recent Van Dyck & Britain show at Tate Britain and comes to the market with exemplary provenance and an estimate of £2-3 million. It ranks among the most important paintings by van Dyck ever to come to the auction market.
The painting last appeared on the market in 1712, when it left the collection of Richard Graham and entered that of the family of its current owners. Prior to that - towards the latter part of the 17th century - it is understood to have belonged to Sir Peter Lely. A favored pupil of van Dyck, Lely subsequently established himself as the leading painter at the Court of Charles II. He succeeded van Dyck as the most fashionable portrait artist in England.
Talking about the portrait David Moore-Gwyn, deputy Chairman , UK and Senior Specialist in Early British Paintings at Sotheby’s, comments: “This is by far and away the most important portrait by van Dyck to come to auction in my 35-year career at Sotheby’s. It is an exceptional painting by one of the most important artists to have worked in Britain . We are delighted to be offering collectors the opportunity to acquire such a rare and unparalleled work by an artist who revolutionized the English portrait.”
Born in Antwerp in March 1599 and a highly accomplished talent from a young age, Sir Anthony van Dyck first travelled to England in 1620. He later settled in England in 1632, where he became the court painter of King Charles I and he single-handedly defined the image of the Stuart monarchy. His influence over portraiture in Britain was and continues to be profound, not only within his own lifetime but on successive generations of artists, including Reynolds and Gainsborough. His sophisticated and elegant style was widely copied and developed by future generations of artists, who admired his work, and as a result he was responsible for setting portrait painting in Britain on an entirely new course. Talking about van Dyck’s influence in the catalogue for the recent Van Dyck & Britain exhibition at Tate Britain, Stephen Deuchar, the former Director, Tate Britain stated: “Sir Anthony van Dyck was the most profoundly influential of that succession of European-born artists who were to work in England and so notably nurture its artistic growth from the 16th to the 18th centuries.”
