A rare ivory and tortoiseshell hand screen & two tortoiseshell brisé monogrammed fans

A rare ivory and tortoiseshell hand screen in the shape of a butterfly. Late 19th century. photo Bonhams

The wings of tortoiseshell carved with four butterflies within scrolling flowers and leaves, so elaborately carved that the butterflies are loose and only held in place by fronds of plants, the body and handle of ivory, fitted case, lucite stand. The guardstick 25cm (10in) high (3). Estimate: £8,000 - 12,000, HKD 100,000 - 150,000, $ 13,000 - 20,000

A tortoiseshell brisé monogrammed fan. Mid 19th century. photo Bonhams

Finely and delicately pierced and carved, the central escutcheon with initials CSB above a warrior on a horse, forming part of an elaborate procession, the guardsticks carved with a dragon. The guardsticks 18.5cm (7¼in) long. Estimate: £2,500 - 4,000, HKD 32,000 - 51,000, $ 4,100 - 6,500

Note: A similar tortoiseshell fan, of slightly larger size, and without the more unusual unique monogram at the centre of the leaf, is in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Salem, illustrated by C.L.Crossman, The Decorative Arts of the China Trade, Suffolk, 1997, pl.195. See also A.G.Bennett, Unfolding Beauty, the Art of the Fan, Boston, 1998, p.79 for an example from the collection of Esther Oldham in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and also N.J.Irons, Fans of Imperial China, Hong Kong, 1982, pp.51,53,55 and 105 for similar brisé fans.

A small tortoiseshell brisé monogrammed fan. Circa 1820. photo Bonhams

Finely and delicately pierced through the sticks on one side with a shallow-relief elaborate pine landscape dotted with figures and furniture on terraces, all around an oval carefully carved with the interlaced initials CC, the reverse of the fan plain flat. The guardsticks 17cm (6 5/8in) long. Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HKD 32,000 - 44,000, $ 4,100 - 5,700

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 12 May 2011, New Bond Street www.bonhams.com