Two Qianlong blue and white porcelains @ Nagel Auctions

A good pair of blue and white porcelain dragon dishes, China, Qianlong seal marks and of the period

D. 16,9 cm - Est. 8 000,00 €

One dish with two tiny chips to stand.

A  good pair of blue and white porcelain vases, China, Qianlong period

Good condition. H. 34,2 cm - Est. 2 500,00 €

Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. 30 October 2009 http://www.auction.de/

Deux photos de Colette par Sanford H. Roth & Janine Niepce

Sanford H. Roth (1906-1962) Colette et Louis XIV. Circa 1950.

Tirage argentique ca. 1960, tampon "Please Credit Sanford H. Roth", titré au crayon d'une main anonyme au dos. 21,8 x 34,9 cm. Estimation : 600 / 800 €

Note: Sanford Roth vient à la photographie en autodidacte.
Il s'installe à Paris en 1946 où il commence à travailler pour un grand nombre de magazines internationaux parmi les plus réputés : Life, Harper's Bazaar et Elle.
Il se spécialise dans le portrait, accordant une telle importance à l'atmosphère que les traits fondamentaux de la personnalité du sujet se dégagent ainsi d'eux-mêmes.
Sanford Roth s'est particulièrement intéressé aux artistes, et a portraituré quasiment toutes les célébrités des années 1950.
Colette pose ainsi pour lui dans son appartement du Palais Royal ; dans cette image, Sanford Roth recrée une véritable nature morte combinée avec un portrait, jouant avec de nombreux jeux de lumière.

Janine Niepce (1921-2007) Colette, dans son appartement du Palais-Royal. Paris, 1953.

Deux tirages argentiques d'époque ; tampon « Photographie de Janine Niépce », titrés « Colette n°11 » et « Colette n°12 » à l'encre au dos. 21,2 x 20,2 cm et 25,5 x 20,1 cm. Estimation : 300 / 500 €

Note: En 1944, Janine Niépce obtient une licence d'histoire de l'art et d'archéologie à la Sorbonne.
A la même époque, elle développe des films pour la Résistance et participe à la Libération de Paris comme agent de liaison.
Elle est l'une des premières Françaises à exercer le métier de journaliste reporter-photographe.
En 1946, elle parcourt la France et ainsi pendant plusieurs années, elle témoigne de ce qui disparaît et de ce qui évolue dans la société (la première télévision en 1963, les moyens de transports rapides, etc.) avec leurs différences à la campagne, en province, à Paris.
Vêtue en touriste étrangère, elle couvre les évènements de mai 68.
Entre 1970 et 1980, elle consacre toute son activité aux témoignages de la lutte de certaines femmes.
De 1984 à 1986, elle fait des reportages sur les chercheurs et les techniciens pour le Ministère de la Recherche.
C'est à l'exposition Visa pour l'image en 2000 que Janine Niépce est présentée comme la seule photographe qui a suivi pendant un demi siècle l'évolution des femmes et leur histoire.
Membre de l'association Gens d'Images, Janine Niépce a longtemps présidé le jury du Prix Niépce.
Depuis 1955, Janine Niépce travaille avec l'agence Rapho qui diffuse ses photographies dans la presse française et internationale.

Bibliographie : Janine Niepce, Images d'une vie, Ed. de la Martinière, Paris, 1995, p.165 (même séance de pose).

Lafon - Paris. Vente du Lundi 9 novembre 2009. Photographies Anciennes et Contemporaines. Photographies. Drouot Richelieu - Salle 4 - 9, rue Drouot - 75009 Paris. Pour tout renseignement, veuillez contacter à la maison de ventes Me Christophe Castandet, commissaire-priseur au 01 40 15 99 55

Two Jiaqing blue and white porcelains @ Nagel Auctions

A very fine pair of blue and white dragon porcelain bowls, China, Jiaqing seal marks and of the period -

D. 17,2 cm - Est. 19 000,00 €

For a pair bowls of this type from the Yongzheng reign see 'Exhibition of Ch'ing Porcelain from the Wah Kwong Collection', Hongkong, 1973, no. 59

A rare inscribed blue and white buddhist porcelain bowl, China, Jiajing six-character mark and of the period

D. 14,8 cm - Est. 4 000,00 €

Property from an old German private collection - Few fine hairline cracks to well and base, small chip under the rim

Nagel Auctions. Asian Art. 30 October 2009 http://www.auction.de/

Importante commode de forme galbée en laque du Japon,

Importante commode de forme galbée en laque du Japon,

elle présente en façade et sur les deux côtés des paysages animés d’oiseaux exécutés en laque or sur fond noir avec quelques incrustations de Burgau. Le décor sur le devant forme trois panneaux dans des encadrements de bronze ciselé et doré à volutes et feuilles d’acanthe. Elle ouvre par deux tiroirs sans traverse et repose sur quatre pieds cambrés. La très riche ornementation de bronzes ciselés et dorés se compose d’un large encadrement à motifs de rocailles bordant les tiroirs et les côtés, de moulures contournées de guirlandes de feuillages et d’un tablier à motif de coquille centrale encadré de rinceaux et de rocailles. Adjugé 1 350 000€

Vendredi 2 octobre – Giafferi, Paris

Japanese 'Cloisonné Enamels from the Stephen W. Fisher Collection' @ The Walters Art Museum

Pair of Vases Decorated with Japanese Bush Warblers Perching on Blossoming Wisteria, Goto Seizaburō, standard cloisonné enamel over metal, 36.5 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.13, FE 14)

BALTIMORE, MD.- The Stephen W. Fisher collection of Japanese cloisonne enamels is one of the finest in the world. Comprised largely of pieces created during Japan's "golden age" of decorative art production, the special exhibition at the Walters, Japanese Cloisonne Enamels from the Stephen W. Fisher Collection, will feature many intricately adorned vases, boxes and trays worked in gold, silver and dazzling colored enamels. On view from February 14 - June 13, 2010, the exhibition features over 130 objects that have been chosen to illustrate the wide range of forms, styles and techniques that have come to define the high point in the production of Japanese enamel.

Vase Decorated with a Dragon Rising from Waves, Kumeno Teitarō, opaque and transparent enamels over sculpted silver, 36.4 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.45)

Cloisonne is a method of enameling an object using fine wires to outline decorative areas within which enamel paste is applied before the object is fired and polished. These enamels played an important role in Japan?s assertion of its own modernity in newly opened international markets. Reaching artistic maturity in the 1870s and being aggressively produced through the first decades of the 20th century, production of these brightly colored works was stimulated by worldwide demand fed by Japan's participation in international expositions and world's fairs. Masterworks of cloisonne were sent as showpieces to the expositions where they served both to meet European expectations of Asian exoticism and inspired the development of international modern decorative styles. Many of the distinctive styles that emerged during this period are represented by outstanding examples in the Fisher collection, including works by the masters Namikawa Yasuyuki, Namikawa Sōsuke and Andō Jubei.

"Steve Fisher is generous in his dedication to sharing superb objects with our museum visitors," said Walters Director Gary Vikan. "By partnering with the Walters, his collection has the ability to reach out and inspire visitors with the power of its beauty and intricate detail."

Vase with Scrolling and Floral Decoration Imitating Patinated Bronze, Ōta Hiroaki silver wire cloisonné with opaque and transparent enamels over metal, 31.2 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.135)

"Cloisonne enamel has only a few precedents in pre-modern Japanese art but rose rapidly to become synonymous with the best of Japanese design, decoration and technical refinement during the liberalizing tenure of the Meiji government," said Walters Associate Curator of Asian Art Robert Mintz. "The works selected for this exhibition were produced at the very peak of innovation and creativity for this art form during the forty years or so surrounding the turn of the 20th century." With the feudal control of the Tokugawa shogunate gradually losing its grip on society and seaports opening to foreign trade at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japanese enamellists pushed the limits of their craft both domestically and internationally to much acclaim.

Owari cloisonne, named for a pre-Meiji Japanese province centered in the city of Nagoya, was the first and longest-lived of the 19th-century Japanese enameling traditions. Owari cloisonne artists introduced new techniques, including "wireless" cloisonne, relief enamel and transparent enamel cloisonne that led to their continued success during this period. Artist Andō Jubei formed the Andō Cloisonne Company and began production in Nagoya. In the exhibition, Tripod Incense Burner Decorated with Japanese Sweetfish illustrates the Andō Company's aesthetic. This company is the only remaining Meiji-era Japanese cloisonne production studio still producing enamels today.

Tripod Incense Burner with Sweetfish, The Andō Company, opaque and translucent enamels, 20 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.127)

Hattori Tadesaburō and his artisans worked in competition with the Andō Cloisonne Company. They developed a distinctive style inspired by keen observations of nature. For example, Hattori's Vases Decorated with Calla Lilies and Camellias capture the essence of their floral subjects. When vessels like these reached the European markets they had a profound impact on the development of modern Art Nouveau decoration.

Vases Decorated with Calla Lillies and Camellia, Hattori Tadasaburō, low-relief opaque and transparent enamels over metal, 15.8 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.16, FE.17)

Artist Namikawa Sōsuke's work emerged directly from the Owari tradition. He led the Nagoya Cloisonne Company's factory in Tokyo, and his work revels in the potential of "wireless" cloisonne. The painterly effects this technique enabled can be see in his Pair of Vases Decorated with Ducks Among Snowy Reeds. His skill helped to elevate cloisonne enamel from an industrial craft to fine art.

Pair of Vases Decorated with Ducks among Snowy Reeds, Namikawa Sōsuke, dard and wireless cloisonné enamel over metal with shakudo rims, 52 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.73, FE.74)

Pair of Covered Urns Decorated with Scenes of Minamoto Yoritomo's 1193 Excursion to Mt. Fuji, Attributed to Namikawa Sosuke, Standard cloisonné enamel over metal with gold and silver wire and bronze mounts, 44 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.87, FE.88)

One of the most famous cloisonne artists in Japan, Namikawa Yasuyuki, worked in the city of Kyoto, known for its elegant if somewhat conservative style of decoration. Namikawa's pieces exhibit refined workmanship and extremely rich decorative schemes. While his works were thematically restrained, his use of sculpted wires to accent his designs reveals his mastery of cloisonne techniques and his willingness to innovate, as demonstrated in his Incense Burner Decorated with Hydrangea.

Incense Burner Decorated with Hydrangea, Namikawa Yasuyuki, standard cloisonné enamel over metal with silver wires, height 6.9 cm. Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.48)

Vase with Bamboo and Birds, Namikawa Yasuyuki, standard cloisonné enamel over metal, 15.4 cm, Stephen W. Fisher Collection, Baltimore (FE.49)