Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art

A rare coconut snuff bottle, 19th century. photo courtesy Sotheby's . of rounded square form with convex faces, below a waisted neck and a flared foot, one face carved in relief with three columns of calligraphy in archaic bronze script, set on a textured ground, adjacent to a two-column inscription lightly incised followed by a seal, Yuanyin, the reverse occupied by a poetic inscription filled with red pigment;  height 2 in., 5.1 cm. Estimate 10,000—15,000 USD. Lot Sold  7,500 USD PROVENANCE: Hugh... [Lire la suite]

A pair of Ding molded bowls. Song Dynasty. photo courtesy Sotheby"s each with deep rounded sides resting on a short straight foot, the interior molded with a central floret encircled by leafy floral sprigs, all below a keyfret border at the mouthrim, the exterior left plain, covered overall in a greyish creamy glaze save for the rim (2); diameter 3 1/8 in., 7.9 cm. Estimate 5,000—7,000 USD. Lot Sold 5,000 USD Sotheby's. Fine Ceramics and works of Art. 15 Sept 2010. New York www.sothebys.com

A molded porcelain snuff bottle, 1821-1850. photo courtesy Sotheby's of bulbous pear shape with shoulders sloping to an enlongated cylindrical neck, molded with the 'Eighteen Luohans', one side with nine figures seated around a long table, the other with nine figures discoursing, details of the robes and cloud scrolls around the slender neck picked out in glaze, and the features of the figures enamelled in black and red, the porcelain stopper original to the bottle; height 2 3/4 in., 7 cm. Estimate 6,000—9,000 USD.... [Lire la suite]

An archaic bronze ritual wine vessel (Zun). Late Shang Dynasty-Early Western Zhou Dynasty, 11th century BC. photo courtesy Sotheby"s of tall circular form with a wide trumpet mouth and raised splayed foot, the long flared neck plain, the central bulb cast in low relief with a frieze of confronting dragons, divided and interspersed with notched vertical flanges, between narrow bands of circles, the lower bulb cast with a similar design frieze, the bronze a warm golden-brown patina with patches of green malachite and red... [Lire la suite]

A fine white jade rhyton. Qing dynasty, 18th century. photo courtesy Sotheby"s of characteristic trumpet form and oval section rising from three short feet, finely carved to the flattened sides with four archaistic zoomorph bearing phoenix heads, with a sinuous chilong climbing up one side peering over the mouthrim, the opposite side carved in high-relief with a chilong head, its flaring openwork wings and scrolls flattening to low-relief from the beast's head to the vessel's side, interwoven with a pair of keyfret... [Lire la suite]

A carved aquamarine snuff bottle, 1750-1795. Possibly Imperial, attributed to the Palace workshops, Beijing. photo courtesy Sotheby's . of slender tapering rectangular form, with shoulders sloping to a waisted neck, and supported on a concave oval foot, finely carved in low relief with archaistic motifs of confronting qilong, a taotie mask at the center of each face, the striated crystal of an even sky-blue color; height 2 3/4 in., 6.9 cm. Estimate 25,000—35,000 USD. Lot Sold 59,375 USD PROVENANCE: Phillips... [Lire la suite]

A jadeite snuff bittle, 1760-1830. Imperial, attributed to the Palace workshops, Beijing. photo courtesy Sotheby's . well hollowed, of flattened ovoid form with a cylindrical neck and concave mouth rim, resting on an oval recessed foot, beautifully carved in low relief on each face with a central panel comprising an archaistic taotie mask, below a formalized foliate motif, above a band of lappets and raised bosses, the shoulders set with animal masks suspending mock ring handles, above a vajra-shaped motif on each... [Lire la suite]

Falangcai Porcelain Pear-shaped vase, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, 1723-1735; Height 30cm. photo courtesy Eskenazi Limited Eskenazi Limited, one of the world’s most respected dealers in Chinese art, is celebrating its golden jubilee with an exhibition of twelve exceptional pieces which have been acquired over the past ten years and set aside especially for this event.  Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition:  Twelve Chinese Masterworks will be held at 10 Clifford Street, London W1, from Thursday 4 to... [Lire la suite]

A molded and enamelled porcelain figural snuff bottle, 1796-1820. photo courtesy Sotheby's molded and decorated in famille-rose enamels as Liu Hai stepping forward with one leg raised and wearing an iron-red gilt-decorated robe over turquoise enamelled trousers, strings of cash in his hands, and with his three-legged toad perched on his shoulder; height 2 1/2 in., 6.4 cm. Estimate 8,000—12,000 USD. Lot Sold 10,000 USD PROVENANCE: Nelly Davies. NOTE: Lui Hai appears to have been a popular subject for... [Lire la suite]

An enamelled porcelain reclining lady snuff bottle, 1795-1820. Attributed to Jingdezhen. photo courtesy Sotheby's painted in famille-rose enamels, the bottle molded in the form of a reclining lady, her head resting on her right hand, while her left arm extends to reach her upraised left leg, both wrists with gilt bangles, her pale face gazing upward, her hair pulled high into a chignon and accessorized with two flowers, dressed in a yellow-ground robe decorated with floral medallions, over loose white pants cascading... [Lire la suite]