The Stenbeck Collection of Ming, Transitional & Kangxi Porcelain @ Bonhams

11 novembre 2010

The Stenbeck Collection of Ming, Transitional & Kangxi Porcelain @ Bonhams

During the early/mid seventeenth century in China, for some fifty years the absence of Imperial patronage meant non-Imperial kilns played a leading role in ceramic production. This resulted in one of the most dynamic and fascinating periods in China's porcelain history. The withdrawal from Jingdezhen's potters of Court patronage led to a dramatic diversity of production, as the kilns turned their attention to selling both into the non-Imperial domestic market, and into newly-emerging export markets, notably the Dutch and Japanese markets. Much evidence suggests that the Jingdezhen potters and painters specifically designed porcelains to appeal to certain new markets, and developed decorative strategies to meet the demands of customers from varying sociological backgrounds. For example, porcelains for use in the 'tea ceremony' were produced for the Japanese market, and wares decorated with 'tulip' motifs were produced for the Dutch market. In order to meet the commercial demands of the domestic market, potters for the first time regularly and systematically began incorporating woodblock prints illustrating domestic literature and artistic fashions into porcelain design. The Stenbeck collection is unusual in comprising a wide range of Chinese porcelains produced primarily between 1620 and 1683, for the domestic, Japanese and Dutch markets. I first met Ove Stenbeck in the late 1970s, when I was working at the Östasiatiska Museet (Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities) in Stockholm, Sweden. His collection, whilst concentrating on porcelain produced during these Interregnum years, became increasingly focused on the interesting and often amusing and quixotic developments of the free methods of expression, both in decoration and shapes, which began to appear during this era. By the year 2000 he had amassed over 160 porcelains illustrating a ceramic industry in transition, which were exhibited in the Heinola Museum in Finland that year. The exhibition was entitled 'The Liberated Brush', alluding to the withdrawal of Court patronage and the greater artistic freedom enjoyed by artisans as they responded to changing commercial pressures at a time of economic and political uncertainty in China. Having collected, studied and exhibited these splendid 'Transitional' Wares for almost thirty years, Ove Stenbeck now feels that it is time to offer part of his collection at auction, and to concentrate his current scholarship on studying late Ming 'kraak' wares. Professor Jan Wirgin Former Director of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm.

The slender cylindrical body finely painted in rich tones of cobalt blue depicting four legendary characters from the classic novel 'The Water Margin', each figure with their name and nickname inscribed to one side, amidst rocky outcrops and swirling clouds, with mountain peaks in the background, enclosed by incised borders at the shoulder and foot, the waisted neck with a band of pendent lappets; 45.1cm (17¾in) high Estimate: £25,000 - 35,000, HKD 310,000 - 430,000, USD 39,000 - 55,000. Sold for £90,000

Provenance: purchased in Amsterdam in the early 1980s
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.42

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The figures are identified by their inscriptions as four of the 108 Liangshan heroes from the novel 'The Water Margin', Shuihu zhuan. They are Tao Zongwang, known as 'Nine-tailed turtle'; Suo Chao, 'Impatient Vanguard'; Xie Bao, 'Two-tailed scorpion'; and Xiao Rang, nicknamed 'Scholar with the Sacred Hand'.

The fourteenth century semi-historical novel 'The Water Margin' is loosely based on the lives of Song Dynasty historical outlaws Song Jiang and his companions. Illustrated woodblock print editions of the novel are believed to have been published from the mid-16th century onwards and became a popular source of decoration on porcelain during the Transitional period. It has been suggested that the popularity of the Water Margin outlaws in print and as a decorative motif lay in the turbulent political situation of the time, with bands of outlaws wreaking havoc across China as the Ming Dynasty crumbled. The glorification of the outlaws and their relevance to the unstable situation at the time were enough for the Chongzhen Emperor to forbid its reprinting in 1642, see J.B.Curtis, Chinese Porcelains of the Seventeenth Century. Landscapes, Scholar's Motifs and Narratives, New York, 1995, p.29.

Given the controversial nature of the novel by the 1640s, some examples of blue and white porcelain painted with scenes taken from the novel attempt to make subtle, covert suggestions as to their source. See a brush pot illustrated in ibid, Catalogue no.56 which has omitted the figure of the hero Wang Qing seen on the original woodblock print. The current vase makes no such attempts to disguise its seditious source, with the names and nicknames of the outlaws proudly displayed beside them. This therefore suggests that the vase was produced prior to 1642.

Other examples of Chongzhen period porcelain painted with figures or scenes taken from the novel include a very similar rolwagen, with the four characters identified by name, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 7 July 2003, lot 653; and a waisted vase painted with four of the bandits sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 30 June 2010, lot 224. A jar painted with a scene from the novel in the Phoenix Art Museum is illustrated by S.Little, Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, New York, 1984, Catalogue no.16.

The term 'rolwagen', which means nothing in 17th century Dutch, has recently been considered by C.Sheaf, Reflections on Transitional Blue and White, Arts of Asia, Vol.39, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2009, pp.91-99. The author proposes that with the introduction of these splendid simple cylindrical vases, designed to be viewed around by rolling them, a simple hand-writing mistake in the letter 's' in a VOC ledger recording the purchase of 'rolvasen' (vases which rotated for viewing) was crystallised into the meaningless name 'rolwagen' by which collectors now know these.

The very slightly waisted sides finely painted with a continuous scene of a scholar seated in an open pavilion watching a woman seated on the ground beneath, both observed by a demonic figure and an elderly sage, supported on dense, swirling clouds over the water, all amidst a mountainous riverscape with overhanging willow and wutong trees, the composition bisected on one side by cliffs and swirling cliffs, enclosed above and below by bands of incised clouds, the slightly recessed base unglazed; 20.cm (8in) high - Estimate: £15,000 - 25,000, HK$ 180,000 - 310,000, USD 24,000 - 39,000. Sold for £36,000

Provenance: Purchased in Amsterdam in the early 1980s
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.41

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The cylindrical brushpot appears to have been introduced into the repertoire of Chinese ceramic forms in the late 1620s and continued to be produced in large quantities into the late Kangxi period. The current example displays the strong characteristics distinctive of brush pots produced during the Chongzhen period, such as the incised borders above and below the painting, the very slightly waisted sides and the recessed unglazed base with concentric lines. The category and evolution is discussed and illustrated by C.Sheaf, Reflections on Transitional Blue and White, Arts of Asia, Vol 39, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2009, pp.91-99.

As with the majority of 'Transitional' wares, it is useful to compare this example to one of the few extant examples of this type bearing a cyclical date. A related blue and white brush pot in the Shanghai Museum, painted with the eighteen luohans enclosed by incised borders, is dated by inscription to 1643. See Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collections, Shanghai, 2005, Catalogue no.9.

Whilst the particular scene shown on the current brush pot does not appear to be used on any other published examples of Transitional blue and white porcelain, several examples from the same period are similarly painted with demonic figures supported by clouds. A jar and cover exhibited in Hong Kong in 1981 depicts two demons, one holding a trident, battling a Daoist scholar, see Transitional Wares and their Forerunners, Hong Kong, 1981, Catalogue no.74. A slightly waisted brush pot in the Ashmolean Museum (dated in the catalogue to circa 1690-1705, though current scholarship would suggest an earlier dating) is similarly painted with a figure, identified as Xu Xun with demons, see Eastern Ceramics and other works of art from the collection of Gerald Reitlinger, Oxford, 1981, no.68.

A slightly narrower cylindrical brush pot in the Phoenix Art Museum is painted with a complex depiction of a series of figures crossing violently swirling waves towards a pavilion. Three of the figures are demon Gods, one of whom is holding a trident similar to that depicted on the current example. In the catalogue entry the author proposes two possible narrative sources of the scene; 'The Legendary Marriage at Dongting', the Tang Dynasty tale by Li Chaowei, and 'Zhang Boils the Sea', the Yuan Dynasty play by Li Haogu. In both stories, a young scholar falls in love with the daughter of an aquatic dragon king, see S.Little, Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, New York, 1984, Catalogue no.19.

The deep rounded bowl rising from a slightly splayed hollowed foot, painted around the exterior with four carp swimming amidst water-weeds and aquatic plants, all above wave motifs at the foot, the interior painted with a central medallion enclosing a single fish amidst weeds, 11cm (4⅜in) high - Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000, HK$ 120,000 - 180,000, USD 16,000 - 24,000. Sold for £18,000

Provenance: Alfred and Ivy Clark, no.274
Spink & Son, London, no.31
Purchased at the Ceramic Art Fair, London, in the 1980s
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.40

Exhibited: Spink & Son, Blue and White Porcelain from the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, London, 1974, Catalogue no.31.
Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The sturdily potted vase painted around the exterior with a continuous scene of a military general seated by a large table, addressed by two soldiers, enamelled in tones of green, iron-red, black and yellow, with a 'cracked-ice' border at the shoulder and floral sprays at the neck, wood cover; 29.6cm (11½in) high (2). - Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000, HK$ 49,000 - 74,000, USD 6,300 - 9,500. Sold for £5,040

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.18

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

With deep rounded sides, the interior painted with a central medallion enclosing a pair of monkeys and a pair of deer, within a garden with three birds and insects in flight above, framed by a ruyi-head border, scrolling foliage at the rim, the underside with Buddhist emblems and lotus flowers; 30.8cm (12in) diam.- Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000, HK$ 49,000 - 74,000, USD 6,300 - 9,500. Sold for £7,440

Finely painted around the exterior with a scholar, followed by two attendants approaching a young attendant carrying a bundle on his back, set within a typical landscape of plantain trees, scattered rockwork, shrubbery and patches of grass, the design bisected by rolling clouds, all above a band of pendent lappets, below a border of eight petal panels at the shoulder, each enclosing a lotus spray.
30.8cm (12in) high - Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000, HK$ 37,000 - 61,000, USD 4,700 - 7,900. Sold for £8,400

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.15

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Each finely moulded with upright petal rims with a brown-dressed edge, delicately painted with a crouching hare by rockwork with a bird in flight above, the undersides with three leaves and clouds, the bases with apocryphal Chenghua marks; 14.5cm (5¾in) diam. (2). Estimate: £3,000 - 5,000, HK$ 37,000 - 61,000, USD 4,700 - 7,900. Sold for £2,880
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Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.53

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Compare a similar pair of dishes illustrated by S.Marchant and Son, Exhibition of Transitional Wares for the Japanese and Domestic Markets, London, 1989, Catalogue no.100.

With gently rounded sides and an everted rim, painted with a narrative scene from 'Romance of the Western Chamber', illustrating three figures within a garden setting, painted in green, aubergine, yellow, black and iron-red enamels, the bevelled foot unglazed; 27.cm (10¾in) diam. Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HK$ 31,000 - 43,000, USD 3,900 - 5,500. Unsold

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck collection, no.68

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Compare another larger enamelled dish depicting another scene from 'The Romance of the Western Chamber' in the Butler Family Collection, illustrated in Seventeenth Century Jingdezhen Porcelain from the Shanghai Museum and the Butler Collection, Shanghai, 2005, Catalogue no 89.

The sturdily-potted cup with well-rounded sides and slightly everted rim, supported on a partly-hollowed spreading stem imitating a section of bamboo, the interior incised with a central floral medallion, covered overall in a thick, unctuous green glaze; 10.3cm (4in) high - Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HK$ 31,000 - 43,000, USD 3,900 - 5,500. Sold for £3,600

Provenance: The Gulbenkian Museum, Durham, L27
Bluett & Sons, London
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.62

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Rising from a straight foot ring, the pear-shaped body incised with vertical ribs, rising to a tall similarly ribbed cylindrical neck, and wide everted rim, covered overall with a pale olive-green glaze; 13.7cm (5½in) high - Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HK$ 31,000 - 43,000, USD 3,900 - 5,500. Sold for £2,400

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck collection, no.63

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The shallow rounded sides rising from the foot ring to the everted rim, well painted on the interior in the typical 'Master of the Rocks' style in pencilled line and blue wash, with a mountainous river landscape and a lone fisherman, the rim with three fruit sprigs enclosed by concentric rings, the underside with four further scattered sprigs; 28.3cm (11in) diam. Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HK$ 31,000 - 43,000, USD 3,900 - 5,500. Sold for £3,120

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.31.

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The term 'Master of the Rocks' was introduced by the collector and author Gerald Reitlinger, and describes the distinctive style of depicting landscapes on a diagonal, with thick curvilinear strokes providing the outlines and thinner, parallel contours used to create the depth of the rockwork. Such landscapes represent one of the most important developments in ceramic decoration of the seventeenth century.

Stylistically, the current dish can be dated more accurately to the early Kangxi period, displaying the completion of the evolution of the landscape style. Compare a brush pot dated by inscription to 1667 in the Butler Family Collection, illustrated by M.Butler, J.B.Curtis and S.Little, Shunzhi Porcelain. Treasures from an Unknown Reign, Virginia, 2002, Catalogue no.53, with similarly painted rockwork contours.

Each with steep rising sides, painted at the centre with a fish or crustacean, with aquatic plants at the well, Japanese box 7.7cm (3in) square; together with a blue and white dish painted with a pair of leaping fish, 20.7cm (8in) diam.; a blue and enamelled hexagonal mukozuke, painted with fruiting pomegranates, 14cm (5½in) wide; and a blue and white square dish, painted at the centre with a turtle swimming in a lotus pond, 18.1cm (7in) diam. (10). - Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500, HK$ 31,000 - 43,000, USD 3,900 - 5,500. Sold for £2,640

Provenance: Butler Family Collection (the hexagonal mukozuke)
Ove Stenbeck Collection, nos.28,46,47 and 51

The cylindrical sides slightly waisted, rising from a flaring base, set to one side with a loop handle, finely painted with a scholar and his attendant within a fenced garden with a lappet border below, the base and rim and Dutch silver mounts incised with floral scrolls; 22.4cm (8¾in) high - Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000, HK$ 25,000 - 37,000, USD 3,200 - 4,700. Sold for £1,920

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.37

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Vibrantly enamelled around the sides of the jar with three horses in flight amidst rocky outcrops and turbulent waves and scattered floral segments, on a dense iron-red swirling ground, with ribboned objects such as chimes, qing, in underglaze blue, the neck with a border of upright lappets in underglaze blue and alternating enamels, the domed cover similarly painted with waves and rocks against a swirling ground; 36.8cm (14½in) high (2). - Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000, HK$ 25,000 - 37,000, USD 3,200 - 4,700. Sold for £4,560

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck collection, no.24

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000.

This jar was selected to be used on the front cover of the Exhibition catalogue Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, and the Museum invitation to the Exhibition preview.

Boldly painted around the exterior with a court scene depicting ministers and attendants, framed above by cloud scrolls, with a plantain tree and ornamental rockwork to the reverse, the shoulder with a border of pinks below scholar's objects at the rim; 27.4cm high (10¾in) high - Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000, HK$ 25,000 - 37,000, USD 3,200 - 4,700. Sold for £1,920

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.13

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The deep sides rising to a slightly everted brown-dressed rim, finely painted with a riverscape depicting a scholar accompanied by his attendant holding a qin, both observing a fisherman seated on his boat, the scene bisected by swirling clouds, the interior with a central medallion depicting a mountainous landscape, the base with apocryphal Jiajing six-character mark within a double square; 17cm (6¾in) diam. - Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000, HK$ 25,000 - 37,000, USD 3,200 - 4,700. Sold for £4,800

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.27

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

The heavily potted cup rising from a slightly splayed, hollow foot to an everted rim, painted around the exterior with a single bird in flight beside a gnarled pine tree, blossoming prunus and sprouting bamboo, with stiff pendent lappets at the foot and a chevron band at the rim; 14.9cm (6in) high - Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, HK$ 18,000 - 25,000, USD 2,400 - 3,200. Sold for £2,640

Provenance: The Butler Family Collection
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.72

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Painted around the exterior with the Eight Horses of Muwang in a landscape frieze, the interior with a central medallion enclosing a landscape, the rim edged in brown, the base with apocryphal Jiajing six-character mark; 17.7cm (7in) diam. Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, HK$ 18,000 - 25,000, USD 2,400 - 3,200. Sold for £1,560

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.25

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Each heavily potted dish with gently rounded sides with brown-dressed rims, incised at the centre with prunus, peony and bamboo, all beneath a clear celadon glaze, apocryphal Chenghua six-character mark to the bases; 14.7cm (5¾in) diam. (2). - Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, HK$ 18,000 - 25,000, USD 2,400 - 3,200. Sold for £1,800

Provenance: S.Marchant and Son, London
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.57

Exhibited: S.Marchant and Son, Exhibition of Transitional Wares for the Japanese and Domestic Markets, London, 1989, Catalogue no.128.
Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Each with angled sides flaring to an everted rim with brown-dressed edge, painted at the centre with a crouching white hare against a fukizumi 'blown blue' ground, apocryphal Chenghua six-character marks to base; 14.1cm (5½in) diam. (2). - Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000, HK$ 18,000 - 25,000, USD 2,400 - 3,200 . Sold for £1,440

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.44.

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Compare a similar pair of dishes from the Ira and Nancy Koger collection, sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2006, lot 266.

The sturdily potted dish with steep rising sides and an everted rim, bound in metal, centrally painted with a landscape depicting a fisherman by a pavilion, all before rising mountains and beneath ten-character poem; 24.8cm (9¾in) diam. - Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, HKD 15,000 - 18,000, USD 1,900 - 2,400. Sold for £1,440

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck collection, no.29

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Of pear-shaped form, the body painted with a seated scholar and his attendant divided by swirling clouds, the neck with stylised tulips, set to one side with a high loop handle and to the other with an S-shaped spout attached to the neck with a scroll strut, 17.2cm (6¾in) high; together with a small blue and white ovoid jar painted with a continuous landscape, 16.2cm (6¼in) high. (2). Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, HKD 15,000 - 18,000, USD 1,900 - 2,400. Sold for £1,680

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, nos.35 and 36

Both painted in deep shades of underglaze blue, the first with a central medallion enclosing various floral sprays with the Eight Buddhist Emblems, bajixiang, at the well, 27.2cm (10¾in) diam.; the second painted at the centre with a lady seated by a plantain tree, with petal-shaped panels at the rim, 15.8cm (6¼in) diam. (2). Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, HKD 15,000 - 18,000, USD 1,900 - 2,400. Sold for £1,440

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, nos.6 and 7

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Raised on three circular feet, modelled in the form as a partially-closed fan, the interior painted with a riverscape scene, 23.5cm (9¼in) long; together with a blue and white saucer dish, Tianqi, painted with stylised mythical sea creatures and crustaceans, framed by a border of segmented florets in reserve against a wave ground, 15.9cm (6¼in) diam. (2). - Estimate: £1,200 - 1,500, HK$ 15,000 - 18,000, USD 1,900 - 2,400. Sold for £1,440

Provenance: Butler Family Collection (the saucer dish)
Ove Stenbeck Collection, nos.1 and 58.

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Painted around the exterior with a fisherman in his boat in conversation with another fisherman with his rod, seated on the bands of the river, all amidst a large overhanging willow tree, rockwork and misty mountain peaks in the background, the scene bisected by scrolling clouds, the interior painted with a central medallion depicting a single seated scholar within a similar landscape, the base with apocryphal Chenghua mark; 21.6cm (8½in) diam. - Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, HK$ 12,000 - 18,000, USD 1,600 - 2,400. Sold for £1,920

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.32

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Modelled as a crab crouched on a lotus leaf, with a circular aperture on its back, and a short spout emerging from under the leaf, covered overall with a milky white glaze; 13.8cm (5¼in) wide - Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500, HK$ 12,000 - 18,000, USD 1,600 - 2,400. Unsold

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.64

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

A small blue and white sleeve vase. Circa 1640

Painted around the body with a continuous scene depicting a scholar receiving an attendant bearing a vase containing three arrows, with incised border at the foot and shoulder with a band of upright lappets on the waisted neck; 21.7cm (8½in) high - Estimate: £1,000 - 1,200, HK$ 12,000 - 15,000, USD 1,600 - 1,900. Sold for £6,600

Provenance: Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.22

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

A blue and white dish. Tianqi (1605-1627)

The deep sides moulded in the form of overlapping petals rising to the brown-dressed foliate rim, painted at the interior with a landscape scene, the underside with three scattered leaves, the base with apocryphal Chenghua mark; 14.6cm (5¾in) diam. - Estimate: £600 - 800, HK$ 7,400 - 9,800, USD 950 - 1,300. Sold for £960

Provenance: Butler Family Collection, no.64B
Ove Stenbeck Collection, no.56

Exhibited: Den Befriade Penseln. 300 År av Kinesiskt Porslin och Konsthantverk. Collection Stenbeck, Heinola, Finland, 4 June - 3 September 2000

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 11 Nov 2010. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com

Posté par Alain Truong à 18:31 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]