A white nephrite double-gourd 'lingzhi' snuff bottle. Possibly Imperial, 1730–1800

A white nephrite double-gourd 'lingzhi' snuff bottle. Possibly Imperial, 1730–1800. photo Bonhams

sold with accompanying watercolour by Peter Suart, 6.73cm high. Sold for HK$264,000

Treasury 1, no. 63

白玉細腰葫蘆靈芝鼻煙壺
或為御製品，1730～1800

The Lingzhi Double Gourd

Nephrite; very well hollowed and carved in the form of a double gourd; with a sash tied in a bow around its waist and holding a double-headed lingzhi; a branch of leaves and tendrils from the vine also disposed across the two bulbs of the gourd
Possibly imperial, 1730–1800
Height: 6.73 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.59/1.20 cm
Stopper: glass; silver collar
Condition: miniscule nibble to the outer lip smoothed; otherwise workshop condition

Illustration: watercolour by Peter Suart

Provenance: Sydney L. Moss Ltd.
C. S. Wilkinson
Hugh M. Moss Ltd. (London, circa 1963)
Cyril Green
Hugh Moss
The Belfort Collection (1986)
Published:
The Connoisseur, February 1966, p. 11
Chinese Snuff Bottles No. 2, p. 27, fig. 1
Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty 1978, p. 100, no. 161
Jutheau 1980, p. 112, fig. 4
Kleiner 1987, no. 32
Bloch Collection Poster (1987), reproduction of watercolours by Peter Suart
Treasury 1, no. 63
Exhibited:
Hong Kong Museum of Art, October–December 1978
L'Arcade Chaumet, Paris, June 1982
Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, October 1987
Creditanstalt, Vienna, May–June 1993
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1997

Commentary: This extraordinary bottle is another of the great masterpieces of the fruit-, and vegetable-form group of bottles and another likely candidate to be from the hand of the 'Castiglione of jade carving' (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 62 and for another possible candidate, Treasury 1, no. 65). It is also linked through other examples to a possible imperial source, and perhaps the palace workshops, which is also endorsed by the slightly chalky white flaws around the shoulders which are in keeping with other known jade used in the palace (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 149). In common with so many of the group it is not made to stand but to be held in the hand. Another possibility if it is from the imperial output, whether at Beijing and the palace or some other workshop, is that it was designed originally to have a stand. There is ample evidence to suggest that the rule at court was for wood, ivory, or some other material to be carved as a stand for most works of art and it is possible that this also extended to some snuff bottles. On the other hand, the snuff bottle may have been a general exception since it was made for use primarily in the hand, whereas vases, bowls, small sculptures, objects for the scholar's desk, etc. were all made to be viewed as independent sculpture. To whatever extent these other works of art might also be handled, they were mostly not designed to function primarily in the hand.

The asymmetrical double gourd is superbly well carved. The loosely tied sash, with its calligraphic ends seemingly whipped in the breeze, encloses a double-headed lingzhi which simply knocks all other lingzhi on jade snuff bottles into a cocked-hat for style, execution and sheer visual impact. Simply gazing at it seems to breathe a little of the immortality symbolism it carries into the viewer, and by carving it so brilliantly, the artist who made this bottle certainly achieved for himself a level of immortality. The rest of the carving lives up to the same level of mastery, and the leaves of the severed vine also have some relief and some incised skeletal details, linking the bottle to other similar works (see discussion under Treasury 1, no. 65).

The meaning of the sash (shoudai) denotes longevity (shou), while the knot (jie) can be interpreted as a homophone of another character meaning vast, so together the knot and the sash (jieshou) signify a very long life, which is in keeping with the symbolism of the lingzhi and, when added to the wish for ample progeny of the double gourd, suggests longevity and many offspring.

綬帶葫蘆拴靈芝之扁腹壺

閃玉；掏膛非常規整，雕結綬帶、拴著靈芝的葫蘆、葫蘆藤枝

或為御製品，1730～1800
高：6.73 厘米
口經/唇經：0.59/1.20 厘米
蓋：玻璃，銀蓋座
狀態敘述：作坊狀態，唯唇外沿有已磨圓的細小咬痕

有彼德小話 (Peter Suart) 水彩畫
來源：
Sydney L. Moss Ltd
C. S. Wilkinson
Hugh M. Moss Ltd (倫敦, 約 1963)
Cyril Green
莫士撝
Belfort 珍藏 (1986)
文獻：
The Connoisseur, 1966年2月, 頁 11
Chinese Snuff Bottles 2, 頁 27, 圖 1
Snuff Bottles of the Ch'ing Dynasty, 頁 100, 編號161
Jutheau 1980, 頁 112, 圖 4
Kleiner 1987, 編號32
伯樂珍藏海報 (1987), 彼德小話 (Peter Suart) 水彩畫復製
Treasury 1, 編號63
展覽：
香港藝術館，1978年10 月至12月
L'Arcade Chaumet, 巴黎, 1982年6月
Sydney L. Moss Ltd, 倫敦, 1987年10 月
Creditanstalt, 維也納, 1993年5月至6月
Israel Museum, 耶路撒冷, 1997年7月～11月

說明：
本壺是果實、蔬菜形煙壺傑作之一，品質極高，很可能是我們稱為"玉工之郎世寧"的造辨處玉作高手無名玉工所琢製。肩部像白堊的微瑕與其他若干宮廷玉器是一致的。宮廷的寶器常常帶木座或象牙座，這個煙顯然也要架子或座，雖然煙壺本質上是手持物，不一定有足，但將本壺安放在座上而擺在宮殿裏供皇家、大官欣賞，跟其他宮廷玉器的情況也是一致的。

雕呈的一莖靈芝有兩頭，獨特的樣式、精巧的雕琢，都讓別的靈芝大為遜色了。視之有紫芝可採三山近之感；玉工呢，的確是遺物後人守，修成垂不朽。葫蘆葉葉脈有的是陰線刻的，有的是浮雕的， 這和伯樂珍藏中另外一些軟玉煙壺相同。

Bonhams. Snuff Bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part I, 28 May 2010 to 29 May 2010. JW Marriott Hotel www.bonhams.com

Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1966 & Concetto spaziale, 1954

Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale, Attese. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010

signed, titled and inscribed 'l. fontana/ATTESE/Concetto Spaziale Gimondi à conquistato la/maglia gialla' (on the reverse), waterpaint on canvas, 28 7/8 x 23¾in. (73.5 x 60.2cm.) Executed in 1965. Estimate £600,000 - £800,000 Price Realized £1,217,250 ($1,831,961)

Provenance: Stelio Tomei, New York.
Acquired by the present owner in the late 1970s.

Literature: E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogue raisonné des peintures, sculptures et environnements spatiaux, vol. II, Brussels 1974, no. 65 T 126 (illustrated, p. 167).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogo generale, vol. II, Milan 1986, no. 65 T 126 (illustrated, p. 583).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogo ragionato di sculture, dipinti, ambientazioni, vol. II, Milan 2006, no. 65 T 126 (illustrated, p. 768).

Notes: 'At a time when people were talking about planes (...) the plane of the surface, the plane of depth etc., making a hole was a radical gesture that broke the space of the picture and that said: after this we are free to do what we want. You cant confine the space of the picture to the limits of the canvas, but it has to be extended to the whole environment. I dont know how or in how many ways, because unfortunately I won't be alive in the year two thousand, but the important thing has been to testify to this need' (L. Fontana, quoted in D. Palazzoli, 'Intervista con Lucio Fontana in Bit, no. 5, Milan, October-November, 1967).

Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010

signed and dated 'l.fontana '54' (on the reverse) oil and coloured glass stones on canvas, 21½ x 65in. (55 x 165cm.) Executed in 1954  Estimate £750,000 - £950,000 Unsold

Provenance: Studio Marconi, Milan.
Toninelli Arte Moderna, Milan.
Private Collection, Milan.
Collection Curco, Rome.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Literature: E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogue raisonné des peintures, sculptures et environnements spatiaux, vol. II, Brussels 1974, no. 54 P 21 (illustrated, p. 35).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogo generale, vol. I, Milan 1986, no. 54 P 21 (illustrated, p. 127).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: catalogo ragionato di sculture dipinti, ambientazioni, vol. I, Milan 2006, no. 54 P 21 (illustrated, p. 270).

Exhibited: Milan, Galleria Medea, L'avventura spaziale di Lucio Fontana, October-November 1974.

Notes: Executed in 1954, Concetto spaziale is the third largest work in Lucio Fontana's revolutionary Pietre ('Stones') series. This work appears as an elegant, elongated frieze. Its surface sports a variety of textures and often earth-based colours, lending it an organic feel, the abstract forms of the composition revealing why Fontana occupied such an important position within the context of the Art Informel that was so important to the avant gardes in both the United States and Europe. At the same time, it recalls the Ceramiche which he had pioneered to such acclaim, the substantiality of the surface becoming reminiscent of clay and even of the Earth itself.

The organic palette and the variegated texture invoke nature, the primordial, and also ancient mark-making: the composition echoes the cave paintings in places such as Lascaux, those early traces of human activity. The paint has been applied in such a way that it fills the canvas with a sense of the artist's own gestures as he put brush to canvas. What marks Concetto spaziale out from the work of other Informel artists such as Burri, De Kooning or Dubuffet is the fact that our awareness of Fontana's own artistic activity is vividly augmented by the holes that punctuate the surface. The contrast between those punctures and the coloured pieces of glass, or 'stones' as Fontana referred to them, creates an intriguing interplay of space and of light. While Concetto spaziale has clearly disrupted the assumed two-dimensional nature of the picture plane by creating these voids and additions, he has also allowed the work to interact with its environment. The stones glisten, while the holes remain pools of darkness, of infinity, embedded in the surface. In this sense, Concetto spaziale pre-empts the Baroque nature of Fontana's subsequent Barocchi and in particular his famous 1961 series of Venice paintings.

Fontana had first made his great breakthrough, piercing the picture surface, in 1949 in a small group of works on linen paper. He soon saw the revolutionary potential of this idea and began to explore it in a range of works. The initial Buchi, or 'Holes', as the first series was known gradually evolved into the Pietri. The painterly surface in these works was more articulated and the holes embedded within it found their visual counterpoint in the addition of the gleaming stones. The painterly surface deliberately serves to highlight the very medium that Fontana was attacking, whose obsolescence he was trying to illustrate. As he explained, 'I make a hole in the canvas in order to leave behind the old pictorial formulae, the painting and the traditional view of art and I escape symbolically, but also materially, from the prison of the flat surface' (Fontana, quoted in T. Trini, 'The last interview given by Fontana', pp.34-36, W. Beeren & N. Serota (ed.), Lucio Fontana, exh.cat., Amsterdam & London 1988, p. 34). In Concetto spaziale, that escape is made all the more explicit by the emphasis on the surface which, through Fontana's use of the stones and the holes, has been surpassed.

Christie's. Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction. 30 June 2010. London, King Street www.christies.com

Trésors du coffre Vollard ont totalise 23 M€ @ Sotheby's Paris

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)), Le Repas Frugal, eau-forte, 1904; planche : 46 x 37,7 cm ; 18 1/8 x 14¾ in. Estimation 180,000 - 300,000. Prix réalisé 720,750 € (880,439 $) à un collectionneur européen. Record pour une gravure de Picasso en France. photo Sotheby's

Paris – Sotheby’s a dispersé hier une collection dont l’histoire et le parcours sont certainement parmi les plus fascinants du marché de l’art. Composé de tableaux, de gravures, de livres, de manuscrits, de dessins et de photographies d’artistes-clés de l’avant-garde de la fin du XIXème et du début du XXème siècle, ce trésor, qui dormait dans un coffre de banque depuis des décennies, appartenait à Ambroise Vollard.

Les amateurs ont partagé activement le goût du premier grand marchand d’art moderne pour les arts graphiques et l’édition de gravures de Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Renoir, Mary Cassatt et Picasso : 1500 visiteurs pendant quatre jours d’exposition, près de 200 enchérisseurs du monde entier propulsant le produit de la vente au-dessus de son estimation haute.

Arbres à Collioure, oeuvre phare du coffre Vollard, un des plus beaux tableaux d’André Derain et du Fauvisme en général à être jamais présenté aux enchères, a été vendu 16,281,250 £ (19,521,241€), doublant ainsi le record de vente pour une oeuvre de l’artiste et de réaliser la plus haute enchère jamais réalisée pour une toile fauve.

Selon Samuel Valette, directeur du département d’Art Impressionniste & Moderne de Sotheby’s à Paris, « Après le record obtenu pour le Derain la semaine dernière, la vente d’aujourd’hui qui réunissait des oeuvres intimes de la collection Ambroise Vollard a dépassé nos prévisions et atteste de la forte demande du marché actuel pour les meilleures oeuvres toutes spécialités confondues. »

Une extraordinaire épreuve du Repas frugal de Pablo Picasso a obtenu la plus haute enchère de la soirée à 720.750 € (1904). Cinq enchérisseurs se sont disputés l’épreuve qu’Ambroise Vollard s’était imprimée pour sa collection personnelle, après avoir acheté à Picasso la plaque originale du Repas frugal.

Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917), La fête de la patronne, monotype avec rehauts d'encre noire, vers 1878-80, motif : 24,7 x 29,7 cm ; 9 3/4 x 11 5/8 in. Estimation 200,000—300,000 €. Prix réalisé 516,750 (631,241$) à un collectionneur français. photo Sotheby's

Un remarquable monotype d’Edgar Degas, La Fête de la patronne, exécuté vers 1878-79 a été disputé jusqu’à 516.750 €. Cette scène au style photographique, par l'organisation du noir et du blanc distribués en valeur plus qu'en trait, est le regard objectif, un peu détaché, sur 'celles qu'on n'épouse pas', des femmes au corps nu, sans réel visage auquel Degas « donne la dignité d’un bas-relief égyptien », selon le mot de Renoir.

Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903), Trois têtes tahitiennes, monotype en ton bistre doublé sur une feuille de papier vergé, 26,5 x 21 cm ; 10 3/8 x 8 1/4 in. Estimation 100,000 - 150,000. Prix réalisé 312,750 (382,043 $) à un collectionneur français. photo Sotheby's

Le fantastique dessin empreinte, Trois têtes tahitiennes de Paul Gauguin a été adjugé 312.750 €. Cette oeuvre allie le délié d’un dessin à main levée à la vigueur expressive de la gravure sur bois, permettant à Gauguin de parvenir à une image d’un exotisme brut et d’un primitivisme poétique. Vollard avait choisi de la reproduire dans l’édition originale de son autobiographie Souvenirs d’un marchand de tableaux parue en 1937.

Man Ray (1890 - 1976), AUTOPORTRAIT SOLARISÉ, 1933 Tirage argentique, 24,1 x 16,6 cm. Estimation 60,000—80,000 €. Prix réalisé 168,750 (206,138 $) à un collectionneur européen. photo Sotheby's

Enfin, l’une des oeuvres les plus surprenants du coffre Vollard, l’autoportrait solarisé de Man Ray double à 168.750 € son estimation haute.

Selon Andrew Strauss, vice-président Sotheby’s France : « La vente de ce soir rendait hommage à Ambroise Vollard, son esprit visionnaire, ses certitudes et ses artistes. C’était une opportunité unique d’acquérir des oeuvres, provenant directement de la collection de ce marchand avant-gardiste, qui fut conservée à l’abri pendant 70 ans. Cette “capsule témoin” a attiré des enchères internationales, établissant de nouveaux records pour une gravure de Renoir, ainsi que de nombreuses enchères qui ont rendu hommage au père du marché de l’Art Impressionniste et Moderne”.

PARIS (AP).- The stash was hidden away in a Paris bank vault at the start of World War II and forgotten for decades. On Tuesday, the long-lost treasure trove of Renoirs, Cezannes, Degas, Gauguins and Picassos brought in €3.5 million ($4.3 million) at auction in Paris.

Sotheby's offering of 139 works amassed by visionary Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard, who turned unknown artists into stars, was a sale art lovers had awaited for years, partly because of the collection's history and mystique.

An Edgar Degas brothel scene — a monotype of prostitutes popping Champagne and wearing little besides their stockings — sold for €516,750. A Pablo Picasso print of an emaciated couple drinking wine and eating bread brought the highest price of the night, €720,750.

Many of the works sold are prints and drawings. They are in pristine condition, kept safe from light and damage in the bank vault, said Andrew Strauss, vice president of Sotheby's Paris.

"In a way, people are buying directly from Vollard, one of the greatest dealers," he said.

The tale leading up to the auction contains many twists and turns — and unsolved mysteries.

Vollard died in a car crash in 1939, two months before World War II broke out. Some of his collection came into the hands of a young Yugoslav acquaintance named Erich Slomovic, in circumstances still unclear.

Slomovic sent some of the collection home to Yugoslavia in diplomatic suitcases, and many of those works are held today by the National Museum in Belgrade. He put others in a vault at Societe Generale bank in Paris.

Then, Slomovic, a Jew, was killed by the Nazis in 1942. The bank vault was forgotten until 1979, when clerks opened it up, hoping to sell some of the contents off to recoup unpaid storage fees.

A sale was planned at Paris' Drouot auction house in 1981 but was canceled by court order once Vollard's heirs contested the sale. After a lengthy legal battle, a French court granted a small fraction of the works to Slomovic's heirs and gave most to Vollard's heirs. The dealer's family handed their collection to Sotheby's for sale.

The highest-profile piece was already sold in London last week. The 1905 painting "Arbres a Collioure" (Trees in Collioure) by French artist Andre Derain went for nearly 16.3 million pounds (nearly €20 million.)

One of the highlights of Tuesday's sale was a Paul Cezanne oil portrait of his childhood friend, the writer Emile Zola. But because of an error in the bidding process, it didn't actually sell, Sotheby's said.

The portrait is rare. Cezanne destroyed most of his portraits of Zola "because he didn't think they were good enough," said Samuel Valette, Sotheby's head of Impressionist and modern art in Paris.

Zola, whose friendship with Cezanne later soured, complained in a letter about the painter's perfectionism: "Maybe Paul has the genius of a great painter, but he'll never have the ability to become one. The slightest obstacle drives him to despair." Associated Press writer Rachid Aouli in Paris contributed to this report. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

An inscribed walnut-shell snuff bottle. Imperial, probably palace workshops, Beijing, Qianlong incised seal mark

An inscribed walnut-shell snuff bottle. Imperial, probably palace workshops, Beijing, Qianlong incised seal mark and of the period, 1736–1799. photo Bonhams

4.33cm high. Sold for HK$600,000

Treasury 7, no. 1517

刻銘胡桃核鼻煙壺
御製品，大概為宮廷作坊作，北京，乾隆御製款識，1736～1799

The Return

Walnut shell and wood; with no functional foot; carved on one main side with an illustration of Tao Qian's poetic composition, Home Again, with the poet walking away from the boat which has carried him home, gazing back at the boatman, as his wife and three children bow to greet him outside their country residence, at the garden gate of which a young servant awaits, and on the other main side with the entire text of Home Again engraved in regular script, one narrow-side rib engraved in seal script Qianlong nian zhi (Made during the Qianlong period), the neck and lip of wood extending down a little into the interior
Imperial, probably palace workshops, Beijing, 1736–1799
Height: 4.33 cm. (including original stopper)
Mouth: 0.57/0.82 cm
Stopper: jadeite, carved as a hand holding a peach, with integral collar
Condition: perfect condition; practically no wear from use.

Provenance: D. A. Ionides
Christie's, London, 12 and 13 June 1990, lot 527
Published:
Kleiner, Yang, and Shangraw 1994, no. 258
Kleiner 1995, no. 331
Chen Tao 2002, p. 65
Treasury 7, no. 1517

Exhibited: Hong Kong Museum of Art, March-June 1994
National Museum of Singapore, November 1994-January 1995
British Museum, London, June-October 1995
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, July-November 1997

Commentary: By far the most exciting imperial walnut-shell snuff bottle known, this so far transcends the humble nature of its material that no serious, scholarly collector would exchange it for far more valuable materials.
It is the largest walnut known among this miniature art form, so much so that it is no longer even close to miniature, but a normal sized snuff bottle. It also has a remarkably smooth surface for a walnut, although this varies with different types of nut, and with a nut this size there would have been plenty of room to reduce the worst of the naturally pitted surface, leaving only the deeper indentations, which the carver has then brilliantly incorporated into the illustration on one main side.
The carving is extraordinary, not only superbly achieved by a master of his carving tools but supremely artistic. The evocative scene is composed like a painting with a natural command of the balance between finely detailed areas and blank spaces; and between the horizontal, vertical and diagonal elements in which the figures strut upon their stage. The scene being played out illustrates the poignant moment when the reluctant official returns home to his family, preferring poverty to the enslavement of official duty and wealth.
And if this bounty of delights fails to fully convince you, it also bears, on one narrow side along the raised rib of the nut, a tiny, seal-script Qianlong reign mark that is of the finest type for such marks and unsurpassed.
Tao Qian (365 or 372 or 376–427) explained in his own words the situation behind the poem, in a preface dated to the eleventh month of 405 AD. Because he was poor and his fields could barely sustain his family, he took an official position thirty miles from his home. Unable to brook, as he said 'discipline or restraint' he was ashamed that he had compromised his principles, 'mortgaging himself to his mouth and belly.' A sister who died gave him the excuse to quit his post and return home after a mere eighty days in office. He determined never to do it again.

The poem reads:

To get out of this and go back home!
My fields and garden will be overgrown with weeds—I must go back.
It was my own doing that made my mind my body's slave
Why should I go on in melancholy and lonely grief?
I realize that there's no remedying the past
But I know that there's hope in the future.
After all I have not gone far on the wrong road
And I am aware that what I do today is right, yesterday wrong.
My boat rocks in the gentle breeze
Flap, flap, the wind blows my gown;
I ask a passerby about the road ahead,
Grudging the dimness of the light at dawn.
Then I catch sight of my cottage
Filled with joy I run.
The servant boy comes to welcome me
My little son waits at the door.
The three paths are almost obliterated
But pines and chrysanthemums are still here.
Leading the children by the hand I enter my house
Where there is a bottle filled with wine.
I draw the bottle to me and pour myself a cup;
Seeing the trees in the courtyard brings joy to my face.
I lean on the south window and let my pride expand,
I consider how easy it is to be content with a little space.
Every day I stroll in the garden for pleasure,
There is a gate there, but it is always shut.
Cane in hand I walk and rest
Occasionally raising my head to gaze into the distance.
The clouds aimlessly rise from the peaks,
The birds, weary of flying, know it is time to come home.
As the sun's rays grow dim and disappear from view
I walk around a lonely pine tree, stroking it.
Back home again!
May my friendships be broken off and my wanderings come to an end.
The world and I shall have nothing more to do with one another.
If I were again to go abroad, what should I seek?
Here I enjoy honest conversation with my family
And take pleasure in books and cither to dispel my worries.
The farmers tell me that now spring is here
There will be work to do in the west fields.
Sometimes I call for a covered cart
Sometimes I row a lonely boat
Following a deep gully through the still water
Or crossing the hill on a rugged path.
The trees put forth luxuriant foliage,
The spring begins to flow in a trickle.
I admire the seasonableness of nature
And am moved to think that my life will come to its close.
It is all over - So little time are we granted human form in the world!
Let us then follow the inclinations of the heart:
Where would we go that we are so agitated?
I have no desire for riches
And no expectation of Heaven.
Rather on some fine morning to walk alone
Now planting my staff to take up a hoe, or climbing the east hill and whistling long
Or composing verses beside the clear stream:
So I manage to accept my lot until the ultimate homecoming.
Rejoicing in Heaven's command, what is there to doubt?
(Tr. James Robert Hightower)

The stopper is far too ostentatious to be the original, which would have been a discreet one in another organic material, not a flashy, jadeite fist holding a peach. Such a stopper is rare, and quite delightful in its own right, and on the right bottle, perhaps a ruby fruit-form bottle, or some other naturalistic form, would be wonderful. It has been published with it twice, and so we have left it for the time being. The symbolic meaning, of course, is to clutch longevity, the peaches representing this popular desire.

僮僕歡迎，稚子候門

胡桃核；無足；壺身一面刻楷隸雜體陶淵明《歸去來辭》全文，另一面雕陶淵明棄舟登陸、一家人候迎的景況，題文後一棱脊上刻"乾隆年製"四字篆款，頸與唇為插進核內的木料部件。

御製品，大概為宮廷作坊作，北京，1736～1799
蓋高：4.33 厘米
口經/唇經：0.57/0.82 厘米
蓋：白底青的翠玉，雕拿著一個桃子的手，蓋、塞一體，原件
狀態敘述: 完整無缺，幾乎沒有磨耗

來源：
D. A. Ionides
佳士得，倫敦，1990年6月12、13日，拍賣品號257

文獻：
Kleiner, Yang, and Shangraw 1994, 編號258
Kleiner 1995, 編號 331
陳韜，《鑒識鼻煙壺》，頁 65
Treasury 7, 編號1517

展覽：
香港藝術館，1994年3 月～6月
National Museum of Singapore, 1994年11月～1995年1月
大英博物館, 倫敦, 1995年6月～10 月
Israel Museum, 耶路撒冷, 1997年7月～11月

說明：
在已知的胡桃核鼻煙壺中，這是最令人興奮的，材料簡陋而文化價值甚高，任何謹慎的、有學問的收藏家都會認為它和大多數材料較珍貴的煙壺不可同日而論矣。

這也是胡桃核鼻煙壺當中最大的，它並不是微小模型的，是煙壺普通的規模。因為核大，面層很平坦，或許也有刮削的地方，宜於刻題340字的賦文；同時匠工利用了坑坑窪窪的地方琢磨出情趣盎然的圖畫。工藝人的用意表現在線條的豎橫斜、布局的疏與密等等的對立結合。

《乾隆年製》四字篆款，字體結構嚴謹，蒼勁渾厚，清代煙壺篆款無出其右。

如此炫耀之蓋，大約不是原件。但它是罕見而悅目的，將它移置於紅寶石水果型或其他象形型的煙壺上，也許最適宜，可是因為這件煙壺已有兩次帶此蓋而發表，我們還是保留著吧。

Bonhams. Snuff Bottles from the Mary and George Bloch Collection: Part I, 28 May 2010 to 29 May 2010. JW Marriott Hotel www.bonhams.com

Edgard Maxence, Les Dernières fleurs du symbolisme @ Musée des beaux-arts de Nantes

Né à Nantes le 17 septembre 1871 dans une famille de propriétaires, Edgard Maxence grandit dans un univers où rien ne le prédestine à une vie d'artiste.

Rien ne permet de savoir, faute de documents, d'où vient la vocation de Maxence. On peut cependant penser que la proximité de sa mère, Estelle Boquien, avec le milieu culturel nantais est l'un des facteurs qui l'a mené vers la carrière artistique.

De plus au cours de sa scolarité à l'Externat des Enfants nantais, il suivit les cours de dessin de l'abbé Sotta (premier maître d'Élie Delaunay) qui a sans doute été à l'origine de sa vocation artistique.

C'est en 1891 que l'on retrouve la trace de Maxence, reçu au concours d'entrée à l'École des Beaux-arts de Paris. Il s'inscrit tout d'abord dans l'atelier d'Élie Delaunay puis, à la mort de ce dernier, dans celui de Gustave Moreau. La rencontre entre Maxence et Moreau est décisive pour l'artiste qui restera dans l'atelier de son maître jusqu'en 1896 et restera fidèle à ses enseignements jusqu'à sa mort.

Le parcours de Maxence à l'École des Beaux-arts est brillant: reçu Premier Logiste en 1893 puis premier prix de figure d'expression en 1894. Malgré tout, il est éliminé dès le premier tour du Prix de Rome en 1895; cet échec détermina certainement le chemin artistique qu'il choisit d'emprunter ensuite.

Très jeune Maxence se démarque de ses contemporains par son goût pour les portraits. A partir de 1893, il expose régulièrement au Salon des Artistes français et participe aux Salons Rose+Croix de 1895 à 1897.

Sa peinture est alors très liée au mouvement symboliste auquel il emprunte ses thèmes. Il choisit de s'inspirer des légendes bretonnes, de sujets ambigus et obscurs, de processions rêveuses, de visages oniriques…

Sa palette est variée: il utilise des rouges grenats, des verts émeraudes, des jaunes sourds. De plus, le médium l'intéressait particulièrement: il peignit avec de l'huile, de la cire, parfois les deux mêlées. La tempéra, la feuille d'or, la gouache et le fusain donnent un aspect singulier à ses oeuvres.

En 1900 il reçoit la médaille d'or de l'Exposition Universelle et est décoré de la Légion d'honneur. Pourtant après la guerre, il décide de s'orienter vers des thèmes plus rémunérateurs. Il poursuit alors une brillante carrière de portraitiste mondain, s'attachant également à des sujets plus spontanés comme les natures mortes ou les paysages.

L'exposition, regroupant une cinquantaine de peintures et de dessins appartenant à des collections publiques et privées européennes, se propose d'examiner l'oeuvre de Maxence dans sa diversité et de la replacer dans l'art de son temps.

Héritier de Gustave Moreau, ami des académiciens et artistes en vogue –comme Paul Chabas ou Henri Martin– Maxence sut aussi créer un style personnel qui reprit l'intérêt des Anglo-Saxons pour les légendes celtes et médiévales. Il fut ainsi sensible à l'art de Burne-Jones et de Rossetti, qu'il adapta selon sa fantaisie.

Sujets symbolistes, oeuvres religieuses et ésotériques, portraits, natures mortes et paysages sont présentés dans l'exposition. Entre le symbolisme et l'académisme, Maxence reste toute sa vie fidèle à son inspiration bretonne sans jamais se renier, ce qui le fit qualifier d' «archaïque moderne».

Cette exposition est coproduite avec le musée de la Chartreuse de Douai, où elle sera présentée du 16 octobre 2010 au 17 janvier 2011.

Projects 93: Dinh Q. Lê @ The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Dinh Q. Lê in collaboration with Tran Quoc Hai, Le Van Danh, Phu-Nam Thuc Ha, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen. Still from The Farmers and The Helicopters. 2006. Three-channel video (color, sound), 15 min., and helicopter. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist, Fund for the Twenty-First Century, and Committee on Media and Performance Art Funds. © 2010 Dinh Q. Lê. Courtesy the artist; P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York; Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica; and Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents Projects 93: Dinh Q. Lê, the installation of Dinh Q. Lê’s (Vietnamese American, b. 1968) recently acquired work The Farmers and The Helicopters (2006), on view June 30, 2010, through January 24, 2011. The first Vietnamese artist to have a solo exhibition at MoMA, Lê creates work that frequently refers to the Vietnam War—known as the American War in his native country—and presents both sides of the conflict, informed by his own personal history. The installation, in two adjacent galleries, comprises a three-channel video and a helicopter that was constructed by hand from scrap parts by two Vietnamese men: Le Van Danh, a farmer, and Tran Quoc Hai, a self-taught mechanic. The video, made in collaboration with artists Phu-Nam Thuc Ha and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, interlaces interviews and personal recollections of the war by Vietnamese men and women with clips from American blockbuster films and documentaries made during the war. Projects 93: Dinh Q. Lê is organized by Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator at Large, The Museum of Modern Art, and Director, MoMA PS1, and Cara Starke, Assistant Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, The Museum of Modern Art. The Elaine Dannheisser Projects series is coordinated by Kathy Halbreich, Associate Director, The Museum of Modern Art.

The helicopter played an important military role during the war and has become a resonant object for many Vietnamese. While many of the interviewees in the installation’s video relay childhood memories of the horrors associated with helicopters during the war, the helicopter-makers share their vision of this machine as a means to make a better life for the Vietnamese people and bring strength to their community. The collaboration between Lê and the other participants is an important part of The Farmers and The Helicopters, providing the work’s multilayered insight into the country’s complex associations with this charged object.

Lê, who lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1989, and in 1992 he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been shown at the Singapore Biennale, Singapore (2008); Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, Washington (2007); Arko Art Center, Seoul, Korea (2007); The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, Texas (2007); MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York (2006); Asia Society, New York, New York (2005); Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003); The RISD Museum of Art, Providence, Rhode Island (2002); and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (2001).

The KedsWhitney Collection by Jenny Holzer

Along with the Whitney Live festivities this summer, the Whitney Museum of American Art and Keds have collaborated to present a new limited-edition product series – the KedsWhitney Collection. The first release in the series features artist Jenny Holzer, whose bold statements of text have been etched and projected across tall buildings and other outdoor objects all over the world. Holzer’s LED signs remain among her most recognizable and influential pieces.

As the first artist to showcase her KedsWhitney Collection sneaker design, Holzer is in favor of making art more accessible. Printed on the canvas reads, “Protect Me From What I Want,” a line from her 1980s “Survival” series. The shoes will be sold exclusively at select Bloomingdale’s as well as bloomingdales.com and keds.com starting July 8, 2010. You’re going to have a hard time choosing among the black, white or gray, high-top ($75) or low-top ($70) versions of these iconic Champion styles. Once you take your pick, all Keds’ profits from Jenny Holzer’s line will benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art, so not only will you be wearing shoes that will undoubtedly turn the heads of passersby, but you will also be supporting the Whitney!

Wu Guanzhong, one of the fathers of modern Chinese art, died in Beijing on Friday

Wu Guanzhong 吴冠中 , born on August 29, 1919 in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China.

BEIJING (AP).- Wu Guanzhong, known as one of the fathers of modern Chinese art for combining western and Chinese elements in black and white oil paintings, has died. He was 90.

He died in Beijing on Friday.

"He was an inspiration for many Chinese artists, even to this day and one of the most important forces in modern Chinese art," Tan Ping, vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, said in an interview with the Associated Press on Monday. "This is a very sad loss for the art world."

Born in China's eastern province of Jiangsu in 1919, Wu left to study western painting at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-arts in Paris in 1947. He returned to China in 1950 to teach at Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He later became known for integrating traditional Chinese ink brush techniques with a contemporary western flair in both ink and oil paintings of landscapes, architecture, animals and people.

Wu's works have become very valuable in recent years. Earlier this month, his oil painting from 1974 depicting the Yangtze River sold for $8.4 million at a Beijing auction.

Despite selling his works for millions, Wu also wanted the public to enjoy his art, his son Wu Keyu was cited as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. Wu Keyu said that was why his father insisted on donating his best works to public museums instead of selling them.

In 2008, Wu Guanzhong donated 113 oil and ink paintings valued at $53 million to the Singapore Art Museum. Just shortly before his death, Wu donated five pieces to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, bringing to 52 his total contribution of works to the museum, Xinhua said.

Internationally, Wu gained attention in 1992 by becoming the first living Chinese artist to exhibit at the British Museum and was recognized by the French Ministry of Culture for his accomplishments in 1991. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Wu Guanzhong, Kites Seen Again 又见风筝, 2003, Oil on canvas, 61 x 46cm, National Heritage Board collection. Singapore Art Museum

BEIJING (CHINE) [29.06.10] – Le peintre Wu Guanzhong, considéré comme l’un des plus grands maîtres de la peinture chinoise moderne et contemporaine, est mort à Pékin à l’âge de 90 ans.

L’artiste Wu Guanzhong, une des figures les plus importantes de l’art chinois du XXe siècle, considéré comme l’un des fondateurs de la peinture contemporaine chinoise, est décédé à l’âge de 90 ans, a-t-on appris de l’agence presse Xinhua.

Né en 1919 dans la province du Jiangsu (est), Wu Guanzhong part étudier la peinture occidentale en France en 1947 à l’Ecole Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Alors que la plupart de ses contemporains restent en Occident, Wu décide de retourner en Chine où il enseigne à l’Académie des Beaux-Arts de Pékin et dans d’autres institutions comme l’Université de Tsinghua. En 1972, en pleine Révolution culturelle (1966-1976), l’artiste est envoyé en camp de travail. Il se remet à peindre à la fin de celle-ci, mais ne fera l’objet d’une première exposition qu’en 1978, à l’âge de 59 ans. En 1992, il est le premier artiste chinois exposé de son vivant au British Museum de Londres.

Son œuvre se caractérise par une innovation artistique permanente alliant maîtrise des techniques occidentales, culture et art traditionnel chinois. En témoignent ses nombreux paysages associant peinture à l’huile à l’encre de Chine. Ses œuvres, très prisées par les collectionneurs, ont atteint des records lors de nombreuses ventes aux enchères. En 2009, certaines de ses peintures ont été vendues pour quelques 37,7 millions de dollars.

L’artiste est également connu pour ses nombreux dons aux musées publics et autres institutions. Il a donné une centaine de tableaux au Hong Kong Museum of Art, dont la collection s’est enrichie de cinq nouvelles œuvres juste avant sa mort. En 2008, le Musée d’art national de Singapour reçoit 113 œuvres. Un don estimé à 53 millions de dollars, soit environ 43 millions d’euros. Et en 2009, Wu Guanzhong fait un don de 66 toiles au musée d’art de Shangaï.

De renommée internationale, Wu a reçu de nombreuses distinctions. En 1991, il est fait officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres par le ministre de la Culture, Jack Lang. En 2002, il est le premier artiste chinois à recevoir la Médaille des Arts et des Lettres de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Depuis le 26 mars dernier et jusqu’au 29 août prochain, le Hong Kong Museum of Art lui consacre une exposition intitulée « Lofty Integrity : Donation of Works by Wu Guanzhong » qui a déjà attirée plus de 90 000 visiteurs. www.artclair.com 

Wu Guanzhong, Cranes in Dance, 2002, Ink and colour on paper, 67x 135 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Pomegranate, 1992, Ink and colour on paper, 69x 138 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Households in Hainan, 2001, Ink and colour on paper, 68x 68.4 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Old Residence, 2001, Ink and colour on paper, 68x 136.5 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Composing Music in the Air, 2003, Ink and colour on paper, 69x 48 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Riverside Village, 1991, Ink and colour on paper, 69x 138 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Wilderness, 2000, Ink and colour on paper, 40x 48 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Weeds on the Top of Wall, 2002, Ink and colour on paper, 45 x 48 cm

Wu Guanzhong, Red Leaves on Fragrant Hills, 2001, Ink and colour on paper, 48x 45 cm

Sotheby's Contemporary Art Auction Realises $62 Million-Within Pre-Sale Expectations

Yves Klein (1928 - 1962), RE 49, 122.5 by 98cm. Estimate 4,500,000—6,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 6,201,250 GBP . photo Sotheby's

LONDON.- This evening, Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction realised the solid total of £41,091,800 ($61,806,176/€50,111,626) – within pre-sale expectations (est: £38,330,000- 52,830,000). This represents the third highest total for a Summer Sale of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s London and is a 60% increase on the equivalent sale last year. The sale established sell-through rates of 83% by lot and 87.3% by value, and saw 45.4% of the sold lots achieve prices in excess of their pre-sale high estimates.

Commenting on the sale tonight, Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s Chairman Contemporary Art Europe, said: “We assembled the auction with a focus on classic works from the 1950s and 1960s by blue-chip artists and carefully considered quality, provenance and pricing. Tonight’s solid results, well above the June 2009 total, build on the recent successes of New York and London and affirm the strength and trajectory of the market for Contemporary Art and the renewed confidence from both buyers and sellers alike. Blue-chip artists, such as Klein, Fontana, Richter, Auerbach and Warhol led the way tonight and we established an average sold lot value of £933,904 – the strongest at Sotheby’s London since July 2008.”

Discussing the results of the British Art collection Oliver Barker, Senior Director and Senior International Specialist, said: “We are pleased with the results overall tonight, in particular the British and School of London Art which triumphed and saw the works in this field from a private collection total £4,256,750, near the high estimate for the group. Frank Auerbach’s ‘Mornington Crescent – Summer Morning’ led the group, selling for £2.2 million - a new record for the artist in GBP - which means Sotheby’s has now established four of the top five prices for the artist at auction. These results further consolidate Sotheby’s strength in the field of British Art.”

Headlining the sale was Yves Klein’s work, RE 49, Relief Eponge Bleu, which saw competition from four bidders for around three minutes and sold for £6,201,250 (est. £4.5-6.5 million). The work was created at the height of the artist’s career and came to auction from the collection of HypoVereinsbank. The proceeds of the sale of this work - one of only a small number of large-scale blue Relief Eponge to have remained in private hands - will enable the bank to carry out future art-related and cultural projects. Further works by Yves Klein to sell well this evening included his gold leaf of panel, MG42, which fetched £481,250 ($732,848 / €586,886) above the pre-sale estimate of £200,000-300,000, almost six times the price the work sold for (£80,500) when it last appeared at auction, in June 2000; and the artist’s fire painting F124, which sold for £914,850 ($1,376,026 / €1,115,663) against an estimate of £800,000-1,200,000.

Yves Klein (1928 - 1962), MG 42. 21 by 12.1cm. Estimate 200,000—300,000 GBP Lot Sold 481,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Yves Klein (1928 - 1962), F 124. 130 by 97cm. Estimate 800,000—1,200,000 GBP Lot Sold 914,850 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Commanding £3,737,250 ($5,621,198 / €4,557,592), against an estimate of £3.5 4.5 million, Gerhard Richter’s monumental (145 by 200cm) oil on canvas Neger (Nuba), highlighted the works in the sale by the German artist. The painting, which achieved a sum over 12 times what it realised in 1995 (£298,500), is a masterpiece of Richter’s groundbreaking photopainting of the 1960s and is exceptional for its very early execution date, impressive scale (at two metres across), exquisite execution, and its extraordinary re-presentation of subject matter. The artist’s oil on canvas Abstraktes Bild (100 by 90cm) sold within estimate (est. £1-1.5 million) for £1,161,250 ($1,746,636 / €1,416,149).

Gerhard Richter (B.1932), Neger (Nuba), 145 by 200cm. Estimate 3,500,000—4,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 3,737,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Gerhard Richter (B.1932) Abstraktes Bild, 100 by 90cm. Estimate 1,000,000—1,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 1,161,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

The British/School of London Art Collection performed well realising a total of £4,256,750 ($6,402,578 / €5,191,125) against a pre-sale estimate of £3.35-4.54 million. Headlining the group was Frank Auerbach’s oil on canvas Mornington Crescent – Summer Morning, a sublime example of the landscapes for which Frank Auerbach is celebrated as one of the greatest British painters working today. The painting saw intense competition and commanded £2,281,250 ($3,431,228 / €2,781,994) above estimate (est. £1.5-2 million). Further works in the group that also sold well: Leon Kossoff’s oil on panel King’s Cross, March Afternoon brought £457,250 ($687,750 / €557,618) (est. £250,000-350,000) establishing a new record for the artist at auction; and Patrick Heron’s October Horizon: October 1957 realised £481,250 ($723,848 /€586,886) (est. £250,000-350,000).

Frank Auerbach (B. 1931), Mornington Crescent – Summer Morning, 132.4 by 134cm. Estimate 1,500,000—2,000,000 GBP Lot Sold 2,281,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Leon Kossoff (B.1926), King's Cross, March Afternoon, 147 by 198cm. Estimate 250,000—350,000 GBP Lot Sold 457,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Patrick Heron (1920 - 1999), October Horizon: October 1957, 121.9 by 55.8cm. Estimate 250,000—350,000 GBP Lot Sold 481,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Executed in 1963, Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio by Lucio Fontana (176 by 122cm) sold for £4,745,250 ($7,137,331 /€5,786,853) (est. £4.5-5.5 million). The iconic oval canvas, suggesting themes of birth and regeneration, spectacularly redefines the boundaries between sculpture and painting. A laceration and graffiti on copper, measuring 117 by 57cm, by the artist, Concetto Spaziale, New York 21, 1962, realised £914,850 ($1,376,026 /€1,115,663) against its estimate of £800,000-1,200,000.

Lucio Fontana (1899 - 1968), Concetto Spaziale, La Fine di Dio, 176 by 122cm. Estimate 4,500,000—5,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 4,745,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Lucio Fontana  (1899 - 1968), Concetto Spaziale, New York 21, 117 by 57cm. Estimate 800,000—1,200,000 GBP Lot Sold 914,850 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Bharti Kher’s celebrated sculpture The Skin Speaks a Language not its Own established not only a record for the artist at auction but also a new record for any work by a Contemporary female Indian artist at auction, when it sold for the remarkable sum of £993,250 ($1,493,947 /€1,211,273) (est. £700,000-1,000,000). The life-sized elephant is one of the most iconic and most talked-about works of art by a contemporary Indian artist and the masterpiece of the leading female artist of her generation.

Bharti Kher (B. 1969), The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own, 142 by 456.2 by 195cm.Estimate 700,000—1,000,000 GBP Lot Sold 993,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Leading the pieces in the auction by Andy Warhol was the artist’s Camouflage Self Portrait, which brought £1,721,250 ($2,588,932 / €2,099,072) (est. £1.5-2.5 million). The work belongs to the artist’s renowned series of 'Self-Portraits' and was executed in 1986, just months before his unexpected death on 22 February 1987.

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), Camouflage Self-Portrait, 101.6 by 101.6cm. Estimate 1,500,000—2,500,000 GBP Lot Sold 1,721,250 GBP. photo Sotheby's

Master Drawings from a Distinguished Collection @ Sotheby's London

Gaetano Gandolfi, Portrait of Emidio Gandolfi, est. £80,000-120,000. photo Sotheby's

LONDON.- Sales of important private collections have always been the lifeblood of the art market, returning long-hidden material into circulation and also serving as a fascinating permanent record of the taste and eye of an individual collector. In the Old Master field at least, such sales are rather less frequent now than in previous generations, so they are ever more eagerly awaited by private and institutional buyers alike. Formerly owned, in many cases, by leading collectors of the 18th and 19th centuries, several drawings in this exceptional and very personal collection also featured in great sales of the past – including the famous Chatsworth and Holkham Hall auctions.

Parmigianino, Study of a standing female figure, est. £120,000-180,000. photo Sotheby's

Assembled with great care and discrimination over a quarter of a century, this excellent collection consists primarily of Italian drawings from the 16th-18th centuries. One of the early highlights is the superb study of a standing female figure by Parmigianino (est. £120,000-180,000), made in 1531-9 in connection with the artist’s most famous scheme of painted decorations, the vault of the Parma church of Santa Maria della Steccata. A definitive example of Parmigianino’s powerful and elegant figure drawings, the sheet was for some two centuries in the illustrious collection of the Earls of Leicester at Holkham Hall. In the annals of celebrated Old Master Drawings sales, the 1992 Holkham sale – when this Parmigianino was last on the market – is second only to the legendary Chatsworth sales of the 1980s, which featured another drawing in the collection: the splendid The Hosts of Pharaoh Destroyed in the Red Sea (est: £40,000-60,000) by the outstanding, and very rare, German master, Hans Rottenhammer, executed in around 1600, when the artist was working in Venice.

Paolo Veronese, Figure study, est. £30,000-40,000. photo Sotheby's

Of the earlier Italian drawings, another that stands out in terms of quality and visual originality is a major figure study by Paolo Veronese (est. £30,000-40,000), in which the artist uses the blank surface of his fine, blue paper in an astonishingly modern way to help construct his figure.

Pier Francesco Mola, Venus Rescuing Aeneas, est. £60,000-80,000. photo Sotheby's

Perhaps the greatest strength of the collection lies, however, in the baroque period. There are magnificent sheets by artists such as Guercino and Salvator Rosa, and an unparalleled group of works by Baldassare Franceschini, called Volterrano (notably his intense Self-portrait, est. £40,000-60,000, illustrated left, and his shimmering Rest on The Flight into Egypt, est. £30,000-40,000), which together show that this relatively little known artist was actually one of the leading draughtsmen of his day. Arguably the two finest drawings of this period in the collection are, however, Pier Francesco Mola’s Venus Rescuing Aeneas (est. £60,000-80,000), and the Study of the Head of a Youth by Pietro da Cortona (est. £35,000-45,000). Combining pen and ink and red chalk in a bravura demonstration of the draughtsman’s art, Mola’s drawing must have been made as a study for a painting dating from the late 1650s, but no connected painting is known today. The immensely sensitive red chalk study by Cortona has all the appearance of a very personal portrait, but in fact served as a preparatory study for the head of the allegorical figure of Genius, who is shown leading Science forward in one of the artist’s highly important frescoed ceilings, painted between 1632 & 1637 in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome.

Pietro da Cortona, Study of the Head of a Youth, est. £35,000-45,000. photo Sotheby's

One of the greatest of all the drawings in the collection is, however, a rather later work: Gaetano Gandolfi’s stunning 1786 portrait of his six-year-old son Emidio, attired in a fanciful exotic costume (est. £80,000-120,000). Executed with total bravura in a brilliantly handled combinatin of red and black chalks, this remarkable drawing is both a dashing, romantic image and a deeply intimate portrait of a much-loved child. Gandolfi made a number of similar drawings of his children, but almost all of the most important examples are in museum collections, and this is by far the most beautiful drawing from the series to come on the market in recent times.

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Study of a seated woman, est. £120,000-180,000. photo Sotheby's

In addition to the superb selection of Italian drawings, the collection also includes smaller but meticulously chosen groups of French, Dutch and German drawings dating from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. The outstanding French drawing is an exquisite study of a seated woman by Jean-Antoine Watteau (est. £120,000-180,000), made in preparation for the artist’s 1717-19 painting known as Les Bergers, now in the collection at Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin. The drawing is executed in a combination of media that Watteau used only occasionally, but to striking effect: the majority of the figure is built up with a network of silvery strokes of graphite (a very rare medium in Old Master Drawings), while the accents in the face and hands are in a more typical red chalk, an extremely effective juxtaposition that creates a lively yet utterly elegant figure. Of the Dutch drawings, the most striking is a fine red and black chalk study of the head of an old man, by Adriaen van Ostade (est. £20,000-25,000), which displays an elegance and refinement that might come as a surprise to those who only know Ostade as a painter of ribald and rather crude peasant scenes. This drawing was previously in the collection of the great connoisseur and Harvard University benefactor, Philip Hofer.

Adriaen van Ostade, Study of the head of an old man, est. £20,000-25,000. photo Sotheby's

In his very personal forward to the sale catalogue, the collector who assembled this remarkable group of drawings wrote that he embarked on collecting “with the bold aim of looking over the artist’s shoulder”. There can be no question that he succeeded in this aim. The light that these extremely varied studies shed on the artistic creative process is both intense and wide ranging: we see every moment in the artist’s thought process revealed and illuminated. The richness, variety and sheer quality of the 80 drawings in the collection make this one of the most important drawings sales of recent decades.