Song ceramics @ Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 16 - 17 September 2010. New York, Rockefeller Plaza
A very rare Geyao octagonal archaistic hu-form vase. Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Made in imitation of a Shang dynasty bronze and of octagonal form raised on a tall foot of conforming shape, the tapered neck flanked by a pair of lug handles, covered all over and on the base in a pale creamy glaze suffused with a network of black crackle ('iron wire') interspersed with golden-brown crackle ('golden threads'), stopping above the foot to expose the dark grey ware burnt pale brown in the firing; 5¾ in. (14.7 cm.) high, box - Estimate $50,000 - $70,000
Provenance: A Private Japanese Collection.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York.
Notes: Ge ware, along with Guan, Ru, Ding and Jun, comprise the 'five famous wares of the Song dynasty'. The problems of distinguishing the two crackled southern wares, Guan and Ge ware, were discussed at length during a three-day conference held at the Shangahi Museum in October 1992, and while no unanimity of opinion was reached, it was generally thought that those wares with a double jinsi tiexian ('gold thread and iron wire') crackle should be designated 'Ge'. See R. Scott, "Guan or Ge Ware?", Oriental Art, Summer 1993, pp. 12-23. The source of this name has been the subject of much research. Professor Wang Qingzheng noted, in his paper, "Some questions concerning Ge ware", presented to the London Oriental Ceramic Society in 1990, that the term Ge ware seems to first appear as 'Gegedong ware' and 'Gege ware' in Kong Qi's fourteenth century text Zhi zheng zhi ji. Both Lu Shen, in his early 16th century text, Qun feng tang sui bi, and the late Ming writer Gao Lian, recount the story of two Zhang family brothers who produced different types of ceramic wares. The elder brother is supposed to have produced fine crackled ware, hence the name Ge (elder brother).
The interest in archaism was popular during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the shape of the present vase, known as a fanghu, is based on a ritual bronze prototype of the Zhou period. Compare a similar Geyao vase of nearly the same size (14.3 cm.), in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Ko Ware of the Sung Dynasty, Book I, Hong Kong, 1962, pp. 32-3, pls. 4, 4a and 4b. Two further Geyao fanghu-form vases in the National Palace Museum, of similar size and date, are illustrated by Liu Liang-yu in A Survey of Chinese Ceramics - 2 - Sung Wares, Taipei, 1991, pp. 200-1.
A rare carved Dingyao dish. Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The body widely angled above the ring foot before flaring outwards to the rim, the interior expertly carved with leafy stems bearing three large lotus blossoms, all under a glaze of ivory tone falling in pale olive tears on the exterior and continuing over the neatly finished foot to cover the base; 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm.) diam. Estimate $40,000 - $60,000
The Dr. William L. Corbin collection of chinese ceramics and works of art
Dr. William L. Corbin, like many prominent collectors, was a man of varied interests. His passion for gardening, shared by his wife Winifred, was evident to anyone visiting their home in the wooded hills of Portland, Oregon, where numerous pathways rambled amidst rare Japanese maples, flowering cherries, magnolias and conifers. Bill Corbin was also a collector and connoisseur of rare vintage wines. The legendary Michael Broadbent remembers him as one of the first American clients of Christie's wine department when it was formed in 1966, and we were pleased to include his fine wines in Christie's "Millennium Sale" in May of 1999.
The Dr. and Mrs. William L. Corbin Collection of fine and rare Chinese ceramics and works of art, formed over four decades in the mid-twentieth century, is a ic example of American taste in Chinese Art. The Corbins carefully and methodically amassed an extraordinary group of pottery and ceramics from the Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) through the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911). Buying from auction houses, dealers and collectors worldwide, Bill corresponded with renowned specialists and other like-minded collectors, including Sir Harry Garner, Sir Percival David, Edward T. Chow, Lawrence Sickman, Avery Brundage, John Ayers, Sir John Figgess, Roger Bluett, Myron and Pauline Falk, Helen and Eugene Bernat, and many others. Exchanging news of recent purchases and scholarly discoveries, they formed long-standing friendships and a worldwide fraternity of passionate connoisseurs of Chinese art.
The Corbins welcomed into their home all with a serious interest in the field, Bill enjoying both the exchange of views with the connoisseur and the mentoring of the aspiring collector. At each visit to their tree-shaded hilltop house, just one or two select pieces would be removed from a display case in the "porcelain room" or brought out of storage for examination and appreciation. There would be lunch or dinner, accompanied by a choice wine from the Corbin cellar, the table often adorned with a piece from the collection displaying an arrangement from the garden. One particularly significant visit was that of Dr. T.T. Tsui, the late prominent Hong Kong collector and philanthropist. Bill had heard of the T.T. Tsui Museum in Hong Kong, and the T.T. Tsui Galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and was delighted to show his ceramics to this influential member of the new generation of enthusiastic collectors of Chinese art.
It is with great privilege that Christie's is able to offer the Dr. and Mrs. William L. Corbin Collection. Through the wide range of material offered, with its impeccable and long-standing provenance, collectors representing a variety of tastes and interests will have an opportunity to acquire rare porcelains and works of art from this renowned collection, thereby passing along the tradition of connoisseurship and scholarship so treasured by Bill and Winifred Corbin.
Literature: H. Garner and M. Medley, Chinese Art in Three-Dimensional Colour, Vol. III, London, The Gruber Foundation, Oregon, 1969, p. 129.
Notes: A smaller (16.5 cm.) Dingyao dish carved with a similar design of freely scrolling lotus was included in the exhibition, Ting and Allied Wares, Percival David Foundation, London, 1980, no. 36, where it was dated 12th century. Unlike the present dish, the David dish bears an inscription and date reading, Shaoxing Yonghe Shu jia zao, 'Made by the Shu family of Yonghe in the Shaoxing period' (1131-62). Another Dingyao dish of smaller size (16.6 cm.), with similar carving, is illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, p. 205, no. 362.
A Yaozhou celadon carved dish. NorthernSong-Jin Dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of shallow form with slightly everted rim, freely carved in the interior with a leafy stem bearing one blossom, with combed details, covered all over in a greyish-green glaze stopping short of the foot burnt orange in the firing; 7¼ in. (18.3 cm.) diam., box - Estimate $20,000 - $30,000
Provenance: Mottahedeh Collection; Sotheby 's, New York, 8 November 1980, lot 149.
Notes: A Yaozhou dish, of similar shape, size and decoration, was included in the exhibition, The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, p. 37, no. 42, where it is dated Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century
A molded Yaozhou celadon bowl. Song-Jin Dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With shallow, flared sides, molded in the center with a large leafy peony stem surrounded by six panels of leaves below a narrow band of classic scroll, covered all over in a green glaze continuing over the unglazed foot rim to cover the base, burnt slightly orange in the firing; 7¼ in. (18.4 cm.) diam., box - Estimate $20,000 - $30,000
Provenance: Christie's, London, 10-11 April 1984, lot 141.
Notes: A very similar, though smaller (13.5 cm.) dish, with the same design in the collection of the Yaozhou Ware Museum in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, is illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci Quanji: Yaozhou Yao, Shanghai, 1985, no. 51, where it is dated Song dynasty.
A green Junyao shallow dish. Song Dynasty, 11th-12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The shallow, widely flared body rounding upwards at the rim, covered inside and out with a glaze of even soft grey-green color thinning at the rim and ending at the knife-cut foot, which has fired to a reddish-brown color, the inside of foot similarly glazed; 6 1/16 in. (15.3 cm.) diam. Estimate $15,000 - $18,000
Exhibited: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 14.
On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A rare green Junyao bud-form waterpot. Song-Jin Dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of lotus bud form, covered inside and out with a thick glaze of greyish-green tone thinning to mushroom at the mouth rim and where it ends in an irregular line above the low, waisted foot to expose the buff stoneware body; 3 3/16 in. (8.2 cm.) high - Estimate $15,000 - $25,000
Provenance: Sotheby & Co., London, 10 November 1959, lot 58.
Bluett, London.
Exhibited: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 12.
On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: Junyao water containers of this elegant form, apparently inspired by a lotus bud, are well known, although examples in green Junyao appear to be quite rare. Those with the more usual blue glaze are well represented in public and private collections, including some with their original covers, such as the example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 242, no. 218, and one in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by S. Valenstein, Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989 rev. ed., p. 87, no. 79.
A rare Longquan guan-type shallow dish. Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of shallow form, carved around the exterior with a band of petals, above the low foot rim, covered all over and on the base with an icy, crackle-suffused glaze of blue-green color; 9¼ in. (23.5 cm.) diam. Estimate $15,000 - $20,000
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: It is possible that the fine, icy crackle in the glaze of this lovely dish was a deliberate attempt to imitate Guan wares, as a number of Song dynasty vessels from the Longquan kilns were made in the style of Guan wares. Some of these were made with a dark colored body, while others had a pale body similar to that seen of the present dish. This dish is not only distinguished by its beautiful glaze, but also by its relatively large size, with most dishes of this type, carved with a band of petals on the exterior and undecorated on the interior, being generally of smaller size, ranging typically from approximately 13.7 cm. to 16.3 cm. in diameter. A dish of the same size as the current example and carved with petals on the exterior, but with an even, uncrackled glaze, excavated at Jianyang City, Sichuan province, and now in the Sichuan Museum, is illustrated by Zhu Boqian, Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 169, no. 140. Smaller Longquan dishes of this type include one discovered in 1963 amongst a cache of celadon, black-glazed and other ceramic wares in a Song dynasty well near Majiaqiao, Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. See 'Zhejiang Shaoxing Majiaqiao Song qu fa qu jianbao', Kaogu, 1964:11, p. 558, fig. 11:5. Other examples of this smaller type were more recently unearthed in Zhejiang, and are illustrated in Newly Discovered Southern Song Ceramics, A Thirteenth-Century "Time Capsule", Tokyo, 1998, nos. 46-8.
A Yaozhou celadon carved bowl. Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of rounded conical form, with a bow-string band below the rim on the exterior, the interior well carved with a curving lotus spray that fills the center below an incised line border, all under a crackled glaze of olive-green color; 7½ in. (19 cm.) diam. Estimate $12,000 - $18,000
Provenance: Christie's, New York, 5 June 1986, lot 156.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: A Yaozhou celadon bowl carved with this design, in the Tokyo National Museum, is illustrated by J. Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, vol. II, Stockhom, 1970, pl. 9c, along with a bowl, formerly in the Eumorfopoulos Collection, pl. 9a, and another example, pl. 9b.
A rare Ding-type russet-glazed deep bowl. Northern Song dynasty, 12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of deep U-shape, the exterior covered with a lustrous russet glaze with dark brownish-black tones at the rim, stopping above the knife-cut foot to expose the buff ware: 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm.) diam. Estimate $10,000 - $15,000
Provenance: The Late Chingwah Lee Collection; Sotheby's, Los Angeles, 8 June 1981, lot 294.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: A similar russet-glazed porcelain bowl and cover, described as "Ding ware", is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 94, no. 85.
See, also, the Dingyao russet-glazed bowl and cover, of slightly smaller size (10.8 cm.), dated 12th century, sold in these rooms, 26 March 2010, lot 1331.
A rare longquan celadon zhadou. Song-Yuan dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With compressed globular body rising to a tall neck and flared rim, covered overall, and on the base, with an unctuous glaze of sea-green tone, the foot rim left unglazed exposing the buff grey ware; 3¾ in. (9.5 cm.) high, wood stand - Estimate $10,000 - $15,000
Provenance: Acquired in Japan, 1940s.
Notes: A very similar, though larger (15.9 cm. high), Longquan celadon zhadou, dated to the Song dynasty, was sold Sotheby's, New York, 31 March 2005, lot 33. See, also, the smaller (8.6 cm. high) example dated to the late Northern Song dynasty, illustrated by Zhu Boqian in Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 171 no. 143.
A rare longquan guan-type cup. 13th/14th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With rounded sides supported on a ring foot, one side applied with a loop handle surmounted by a shaped thumb rest, covered all over in a crackled greenish-brown glaze; 4½ in. (11.4 cm.) diam. Estimate $8,000 - $10,000
Exhibited: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 25.
On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: Compare a Guanyao cup of similar shape, referred to as a brushwasher, included in the exhibition, The Arts of the Sung Dynasty, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1959-60, vol. 32, pl. 63, no. 164. See, also, the slightly smaller (10.5 cm.) example sold in these rooms, 15 September 2009, lot 322.
A molded Longquan celadon baluster vase. Southern Song-Yuan dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With rounded midsection decorated in relief with lotus scroll above upright petals and beneath a bow-string band and leafy lotus sprays on the neck that flares slightly towards the reduced, metal-bound rim; 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm.) high - Estimate $8,000 - $12,000
Provenance: Roland Moore, New York.
Herbert D. Robbins, New York.
The Late Bertram S. Boggis; Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 16-17 October 1958, lot 36.
Exhibited: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 20.
On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: At its finest, as on the current vase, Longquan celadon glaze is thick, translucent, and has a rich texture reminiscent of jade. The glaze on the current vase also displays the ideal soft bluish-green color, which was so difficult for potters to achieve, but has always been greatly admired by connoisseurs. This particularly fine glaze type is often known by the Japanese name 'kinuta', which in fact is the term for a mallet, but which refers to mallet-shaped vases, which were imported into Japan in the Southern Song (1127-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, and became associated with this, the most desired, glaze color.
A Longquan celadon vase of larger size (65.7 cm.), but of similar proportions and with similar floral sprays applied in relief around the shoulder and on the neck, from The Art Institute of Chicago, is illustrated by Y. Mino and K. R. Tsiang in Ice and Green Clouds - Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1986, p. 201, fig. 81, where it is dated Yuan dynasty, 14th century. Also illustrated, fig. 81b, is a baluster vase very similar to the current example, which was among five porcelain vessels contained within a pair of large cisterns unearthed east of Huhehot, Inner Mongolia. One of the other five vessels, a Junyao incense burner, bears an incised inscription, which Chinese archaeologists concluded corresponds to the year 1309.
See, also, the Longquan celadon vase of similar form and decoration, but of smaller size (25 cm.), and with cut horizontal ridges on the neck, recovered from the cargo of a trading vessel that sank off the coast of Sinan, South Korea, in the 1320s, included in the Special Exhibition of Cultural Relics Found off the Sinan Coast, National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 1977, col. pl. 10.
Two Junyao deep bowls. Song-Jin Dynasty, 1th-12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Both with flared sides rounding upwards to the upright rim, covered inside and out with a milky blue glaze thinning to mushroom on the rim and falling in a slightly irregular line onto the neatly cut foot to expose the grey ware burnt pale brown in the firing, the interior of the foot similarly glazed; 7 1/8 and 7 in. (18 and 17.7 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $8,000 - $12,000
Provenance: The first: Samuel T. Peters Collection.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Two Junyao vessels. Song dynasty (960-1279). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The first a dish of shallow form with widely flared sides rising to the upright rim, the second a small 'bubble bowl' with steep, rounded sides, both covered inside and out with a milky blue glaze thinning to mushroom at the rim and stopping above the foot; 6 3/8 and 3 11/16 in. (16.2 and 9.4 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $8,000 - $12,000
Provenance: The bubble bowl: Estate of the Late Mrs. Samuel T. Peters; Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 15 - 16 October 1943, lot 81.
Exhibited: The bubble bowl: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Both: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A 'kinuta' longquan celadon 'twin fish' dish. Southern Song dynasty, (1127-1279). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The interior relief-decorated in the center with two fish, and the exterior carved with a band of petals below the everted rim, covered overall with a lustrous glaze of sea-green color thinning on the raised areas; 8 7/8 in. (22.4 cm.) diam., box - Estimate $7,000 - $9,000
Provenance: The Late Chingwah Lee Collection; Sotheby's, Los Angeles, 8 June 1981, lot 309.
A Jizhou 'tortoiseshell'-glazed bowl. Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With conical sides rounding up towards the rim, covered inside and out with a rich dark brown glaze liberally splashed in translucent golden glaze in imitation of mottled tortoiseshell, the glaze ending short of the knife-pared foot to expose the buff-colored granular ware; 6¼ in. (16 cm.) diam., box - Estimate $7,000 - $9,000
Notes: The 'tortoiseshell' glaze was perfected at the Jizhou kilns in Jiangxi province during the Song dynasty. These kilns, and the 'tortoiseshell' glaze, discussed by R. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Black-and-Brown-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, 1996, where a very similar bowl is illustrated, p. 226, no. 87.
Two rare small guan-type vessels. Song-Yuan dynasty, 13th-14th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The first a zhadou of compressed form with flared rim, the second a bud-form ewer with curved spout and strap handle, both covered in a pale greyish-olive, crackle-suffused glaze stopping above the foot to expose the grey ware. 2 5/8 and 2¾ in. (6.7 and 7 cm.) high (2) - Estimate $6,000 - $9,000
Provenance: Both: Richard B. Hobart Collection.
Exhibited: The zhadou: Ju and Kuan Wares: Imperial Wares of the Sung Dynasty, Related Wares and Derivatives of Later Date, Oriental Ceramic Society, London; 12 November - 13 December 1952, no. 55.
Both: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, nos. 23 and 26.
Both: on loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Two Xingyao shallow dishes. Late Tang-Song dynasty, 10th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Comprising a shallow quadrilobed dish raised on a thin, flared foot, and a dish with flared sides rising to the lipped rim, both covered in a creamy white glaze stopping in an irregular line above the foot rim; 6 and 5¼ in. (15.3 and 13.4 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000
Provenance: The first: Bluett, London, 1966.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: Compare a similar lobed dish illustrated by G. Lindberg, "Hsing-Yao and Ting-Yao: An Investigation and Description of Some Chinese T'ang and Sung White Porcelain in the Carl Kempe and Gustav Lindberg Collections", BMFEA 25, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 35, no. 29. See, also, the larger pair sold in these rooms, 24 March 2004, lot 147.
Two Yaozhou celadon molded vessels. Northern Song-Jin dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The first a shallow dish molded in the interior with a leafy peony scroll, the second a small petal-rimmed bowl molded in the interior with three ducks swimming amidst lotus beneath a border of leafy foliate scroll; 6 3/16 and 4 1/8 in. (15.6 and 10.5 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000
Provenance: The first: Dr. Keith Kirkland; Sotheby & Co., London, 23 July 1963, lot 67.
Bluett, London.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A pair of Zhejiang celadon carved five-spout jars and covers. Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The ovoid body carved above the foot with rows of overlapping petals rising towards the ribbed upper body carved with diagonal striations and demi-foliate sprays on the top rib of one between the five upright tubular spouts, the domed cover with everted rim and carved with narrow overlapping petals below the bud-form finial, covered with a glaze of sea-green color. 11¼ in. (28.6 cm.) high (2) - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000
Provenance: One: Sotheby's, New York, 8 November 1980, lot 152 (one of two).
Exhibited: One: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 4.
Both: on loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A longquan celadon carved vase. Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Fluidly carved around the midsection with a leafy scroll above a band of incised lines and overlapping petals above the low foot, the narrow neck incised with further leafy sprays and rising to a bulbous mouth, encircled by a pair of lines beneath the unglazed rim; 7 in. (17.8 cm.) high - Estimate $6,000 - $8,000
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Bernat; Sotheby's, New York, 7 November 1980, lot 151.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Two longquan celadon vessels. Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The first a 'twin-fish' dish of shallow form with rounded sides carved with a band of petals rising from the foot to the flat everted rim, the interior decorated in the center with two molded fish, the second a deep bowl, with upright sides carved in low relief with a broad band of overlapping petals, both covered inside and out with a glaze of soft sea-green tone with a slight bluish hue; 5 5/16 and 5 1/16 in. (13.5 and 12.9 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $5,000 - $8,000
Provenance: The first: Edna Helen Bahr, Ridgefield, Connecticut; Sotheby & Co., London, 30 June 1959, lot 20.
The second: Mathias Komor, 4 October 1948.
Georges deBatz Collection; Christie's, New York, 30 November 1983, lot 338.
Exhibited: The dish: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 43.
Both: on loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A rare and unusual small guan-type tripod water pot . Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Of globular form with narrow, rounded mouth rim, covered all over in a crackled glaze of pale greyish-green tone stopping short of the bottom of the tapered feet to expose the buff grey ware; 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm.) high - Estimate $4,000 - $6,000
Provenance: Warren E. Cox.
Exhibited: Selections from the William and Winifred Corbin Collection of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, Portland Art Museum, 1 - 29 March 1964, no. 24.
On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Notes: Compare two similar waterpots of this unusual footed form, called Guanyao, and dated Southern Song: one with a short neck, illustrated by B. Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, p. 60, no. 134, and subsequently sold at Sotheby's, London, 14 May 2008, lot 307; the other from the collection of Mrs. Walter Sedgwick, also with a short neck, as well as a waterdropper, sold Sotheby's, London, 2 July 1968, lot 109.
A brownish-black-glazed cizhou-type box and cover. 11th-12th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
The box flaring widely from the flat foot to the upright sides, with domed cover, covered all over in a dark brownish-black glaze thinning to brown on the edges and stopping short of the rims and base to expose the buff ware, the sides of the interior of the box glazed brownish-black; 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm.) high, box - Estimate $4,000 - $6,000
Provenance: Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 18-19 May 1982, lot 108.
Two brownish-black and white-glazed pottery bowls. Song dynasty, 12th-13th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
Both with steep sides rising to an unglazed rim and glazed white on the interior, the larger bowl of Ding type and covered on the exterior with a glaze of blackish tone which covers the foot and footrim, the smaller covered in a glaze of mottled blackish tone stopping in an irregular line above the foot, which is covered in a brown wash partially revealing the buff ware; 8 1/8 and 5 in. (20.7 and 12.6 cm.) diam. (2) - Estimate $3,000 - $5,000
Provenance: The larger: John Platt/Warren E. Cox Collection.
Judge Edgar Bromberger Collection.
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Bernat; Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 7 November 1980, lot 124.
The smaller: Christie's, New York, 5 June 1986, lot 203 (not illustrated).
Literature: The larger: Warren E. Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, New York, 1944, fig. 348 (published as black Dingyao).
Exhibited: The larger: Brooklyn Museum, prior to 1944.
Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Bernat, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 9 September - 9 October 1947, no. 73.
Early Chinese Ceramics of the Sung Dynasty, Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire, 11 April - 31 May 1959, no. 88.
Both: on loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
A Yaozhou celadon carved petal-rimmed bowl. Northern Song dynasty, 11th century. Photo: Christie´s Images Ltd 2010
With widely flared sides, the interior freely carved with a leafy stem bearing a large peony blossom, with combed details, covered inside and out with a bubble-suffused glaze of greyish-green color pooling in the recesses and thinning to mushroom at petal-notched the rim; 7½ in. (19 cm.) diam. Estimate $3,000 - $5,000
Provenance: Christie's, New York, 29-30 November 1984, lot 88.
Exhibited: On loan to the Portland Art Museum, 1 June 2006 - 22 June 2010.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 16 - 17 September 2010. New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com
Andrew Bush, Vector Portraits @ Le Bleu du ciel, Lyon 4e
Andrew Bush, Man traveling southbound at 67 mph on U.S. Route 101 near Montecito, California, at 6:31 p.m. on or around the 28th of a summer month on a Sunday in 1994, 1994. Photographie. Courtesy Galerie Yossi Misso à New-York, © Andrew Bush
.La ville de Los Angeles est connue pour ses kilomètres d'autoroutes, ses rues immenses et son trafic légendaire. En raison du temps passé dans les voitures, un espace ambigu se créait, ni public ni privé.
Andrew Bush décrit cet espace de conduite flou comme «la fusion de la manoeuvre, de la direction et de la vitesse ne faisant qu'un; on dirait qu'ils sont intouchables, contrôlant leur destin, dans un monde privé d'eux-mêmes».
Avec son moyen format installé sur le siège passager, accompagné d'un flash et d'un déclencheur, Andrew Bush parcourt les rues et les autoroutes de la Ville à allure constante, et parvient à se placer parallèlement à son sujet afin de «pénétrer dans son monde», et déclencher l'appareil.
«Comme si les conducteurs de bolides et les patrouilles d'autoroute ne suffisaient pas, désormais les automobilistes de Californie du Sud (et d'ailleurs) doivent faire avec Andrew Bush. M. Bush, au volant d'une petite voiture Japonaise avec un appareil photo de 10 par 13cm sur le siège passager et un petit flash à l'arrière, se
place à côté de voitures et photographie leurs conducteurs alors qu'ils roulent.
Sans surprise, certaines personnes se sentent menacés par cette invasion de l'espace semi-public semi privé de leur voiture. Un automobiliste fut tellement outré qu'il a suivi M. Bush pendant des kilomètres, et quand il le rattrapa à un feu tricolore il s'empara de ses clés de voitures et exigea qu'il lui remette la pellicule de son
appareil.
Même si la méthode de M. Bush peut sembler discutable du point de vue de la sécurité routière, les images qu'il ramène (…) sont à la fois drôles et fascinantes.
Avec son approche peu orthodoxe, M. Bush a trouvé un moyen efficace d'enregistrer un aspect important de la culture contemporaine. Fréquemment, il saisit les gens dans cet étrange état de transe que la conduite sur de larges axes routiers provoque (…).
En même temps, ses larges impressions en couleur révèlent les connections visuelles entre ce à quoi les gens ressemblent et ce à quoi leurs voitures ressemblent, dans l'idée que tu es ce que tu conduis.
Pour la plupart, M. Bush photographie ses sujets lorsqu'il est exactement parallèle à eux, pour qu'ils apparaissent cadrés dans la fenêtre conducteur. Les gens présents dans les images sont d'un genre tellement affirmé qu'ils ressemblent à des personnages de cinéma.
Le réel intérêt des photographies de M. Bush est l'opportunité qu'elles offrent d'observer d'autres gens en imaginant –en se basant sur leur aspect physique, sur la façon dont ils s'habillent, et sur les voitures qu'ils conduisent- qui ils pourraient être.
C'est une source majeure de l'intérêt de la photographie: cela nous offre une chance de contempler le monde visuel et de supposer de son possible sens.» (Extraits de l'article de Charles Hagen, paru dans le New York Times le 27 Mars 1992).
15 sept.-24 nov. 2010. Vernissage le 11 sept. 2010.
Le Bleu du ciel. 10 bis, rue de Cuire 69004 Lyon 4e - infos@lebleuduciel.net - http://www.lebleuduciel.net
Andrew Bush, Beverly Hills high school students (?) cruising west at 38 mph along Sunset Boulevard on a weekend in February 1997, 1997. Photographie Courtesy Galerie Yossi Misso à New-York, © Andrew Bush.
Asian Works of Art @ Doyle New York
Imperial Chinese Zitan Side Table, 18th Century. The three-sectioned rectangular-form top set within a wide frame and carved along the outer edge with dragons amid swirling clouds, above a narrow plain waist and a band of bats flying amid stylized clouds, bordered below by lotus petal lappets, the straight sided apron with a central ruyi-shaped scroll densely carved with two opposing dragons chasing a flaming pearl and further dragons amid clouds extending down the exterior sides of the four square sectioned legs all terminating in hoof feet with rockwork and resting on two later floor stretchers. Height 35 3/4 inches, width 63 1/2 inches, depth 16 3/4 inches. C Property from the Estates of Walter and Sonja Caron Stein. Estimate $500,000 - $700,000. Photo: Courtesy Doyle New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- Doyle New York, one of the world’s leading auctioneers and appraisers, will hold an auction of Asian Works of Art on Monday, September 13, 2010 at 10am (EST). The sale offers over 430 lots showcasing the arts of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia dating from the Neolithic Period through the 20th century. Offerings include porcelain and pottery, jade, ivories, scholar's objects, bronzes, swords, textiles, screens and paintings. The public is invited to the exhibition on view from Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12. Doyle New York is located at 175 East 87th Street in New York City.
Highlighting the auction is an 18th century Chinese Imperial zitan side table from the Estates of Walter and Sonja Caron Stein of Long Island, New York. Estimated at $500,000-700,000 USD, this exquisitely carved table, or changzhuo, is crafted of rare zitan wood -- a commodity so expensive and highly-prized that existing stores of it were safeguarded in the Imperial warehouse and restricted for use by the Imperial Palace Workshop. An Imperial provenance is also suggested by the table’s carved borders of five-clawed dragons, a symbol of the Emperor. The table is additionally decorated with borders of bats, representing happiness.
“Early Chinese furniture of zitan wood is highly sought-after, because of its rarity and its Imperial connections, “ said Marley Rabstenek, Doyle New York’s specialist in charge of the sale. "A table such as this is certain to generate excitement among the world’s most important collectors of Chinese furniture.”
Chinese porcelains in the September 13 auction are highlighted by a Chinese blue and white glazed Meiping bearing the Qianlong Seal Mark and of the Period (1736-1795). In a private collection since the 1950s, the Meiping measures 9.75 inches in height and bears an estimate of $150,000-200,000 USD. Exceptional artistic and technical talent is evidenced in this piece, as it emulates designs of early Ming blue and white wares. The use of the heaping and piling of the brilliant cobalt blue on the bright white ground is further testimony to the precision of the craftsmen who worked the Imperial kilns during the Qianlong Period, most likely under the watchful eye of Tang Yin. Tang Yin supervised the Imperial kilns during the Yongzheng and Qianlong Periods, during which time indisputably the finest wares were produced.
Chinese Blue and White Glazed Meiping, Qianlong Seal Mark and of the Period. Estimate $150,000 - $200,000. Photo: Courtesy Doyle New York. Delicately drawn with a wide band of foliate lotus and leafy vines between upright overlapping plantain leaves at the foot and pendant lotus panels on the shoulder, the neck with four stylized flowerheads, above a small border of stylized double peach and scrolls. Height 9 3/4 inches. The selection of Chinese jades in the sale features an Qing Dynasty white jade diminutive pouring vessel of rounded form decorated with a carved bat and estimated at $30,000-50,000 USD. Chinese White Jade Pouring Vessel. Qing Dynasty Of rounded form, on three bracket feet, the spout partially covered by a bat with spread wings, two figures grasping the rim to form the handles. Diameter 4 1/2 inches. Estimate $30,000-50,000. Photo: Courtesy Doyle New York. The fully-illustrated auction catalogue may be viewed online at http://www.doylenewyork.com. 
For a similar example see Christie's, Hong Kong, Master Works of Chinese Art, November 5 & 6, 1997, lot 977
Provenance:
Purchased in the 1950s, then passed by descent to the current owner.
The combined shape and decoration of this vase is very rare. The closest example is the meiping worked in red and white sold at Christie's, Hong Kong which is cited above. Other related examples are an oviform jar from the Jingguantang Collection sold at Christie's on November 3, 1996, lot 552 and the H.Q. Havemeyer Collection Qianlong marked covered ewer with similar lotus scrolls, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York which is illustrated by Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, p. 259. Exceptional artistic and technical talent is evidenced in this piece as it emulates designs of early Ming blue and white wares. The use of the heaping and piling of the brilliant cobalt blue on the bright white ground is further testimony to the precision of the craftsmen who worked the imperial kilns during the Qianlong Period most likely under the watchful eye of Tang Yin. Tang Yin supervised the imperial kilns during the Yongzheng and Qianlong Periods during which time indisputably the finest wares were produced.
C Property of a Private Collector 
Hommage à Alain Corneau
Hommage à Alain Corneau
R.I.P.
