This November, Asian Art in London returns to Bonhams with a series of four sales celebrating centuries of Asian artistry and ingenuity. The four sales comprise: "Asian Art" on 2 November (Knightsbridge), "Fine Netsuke from a French Private Collection" on 4 November (New Bond Street), "Fine Chinese Art" on 5 November (New Bond Street), and "Fine Japanese Art" on 5 November (New Bond Street).
Asian Art
London Knightsbridge
2 November 10:30am GMT
Opening the series, Bonhams Knightsbridge Asian Art sale will feature a fine selection of more than 500 lots of porcelain, jade, scholar's objects, Buddhist art, furniture and textiles, all from China, Japan, Tibet and the Himalayas. Highlighting the sale is the Robert Stanley Hope Smith Collection of Chinese ceramics ranging from the Han to the Qing Dynasties.
Mr. Smith was an avid collector of famille rose and famille verte porcelain, having made his first purchase at auction in October 1950 and becoming a member of the Oriental Ceramics Society in London in 1959. However, he did not shy away from forays into earlier periods of Chinese ceramics production, such as pottery, stoneware and porcelain from the Han, Tang, Song and Ming periods, as well as occasional Korean pieces. Part of this collection will also be offered in the Fine Chinese Art sale in London, New Bond Street, on 5 November.
Other highlights include an impressive famille rose baluster vase from the Yongzheng period (estimate: HK$10,000-15,000; imaged right), beautifully painted in rich enamels with a landscape scene on one side, and a domestic scene on the other; and a blue and white rouleau vase from the Chongzhen period (estimate: HK$8,000-12,000; imaged left), painted in vibrant washes of cobalt blue with an auspicious scene expressing the wish for a successful career within the civil service.
The sale will also feature a European private collection of huanghuali scroll and brush pots, as well as a private collection of painted storage chests and furniture from Tibet, whose designs beautifully illustrate the lively exchange of goods, ideas and motifs between the areas.
Fine Netsuke from a French Private Collection
London New Bond Street
4 November 2:00pm GMT
Few Asian miniature objects captivate Western audiences as powerfully as the toggles called 'netsuke' in Japanese. Netsuke rapidly developed from utilitarian objects into miniature sculptural masterpieces and today they are sought after by enthusiasts worldwide. Bonhams is delighted to offer another single-owner sale of netsuke, collected with passion and discernment by a French gentleman over some three decades. The 152 charming and diverse lots encompass fauna (including many zodiac animals), amphibians, and insects, as well as heroes and deities from East Asian myth and religion.
Headlining the sale are 15 examples by Tametaka Kitaemon, who is best known for animal sculptures carved in a bold, compact style, and is one of 57 individuals featured in Soken Kisho, an authoritative listing of leading netsuke artists published in 1781. Tametaka is also the founder of a school of carving based in the central city of Nagoya.
• A wood netsuke of two shishi, by Tametaka, Nagoya, 18th century (estimate: £15,000-20,000, Lot 144)
• A wood netsuke of a long-eared rabbit, attributed to Ranko, 19th century (estimate: £3,000-4,000; Lot 57)
• A wood netsuke of a recumbent boar, by Tanaka Minko (1735-1816), Tsu, Ise Province, late 18th /early 19th century (estimate: £3,000-3,500; Lot 97)
• A wood netsuke of a wasp in a rotting pear, by Gekko, late 18th /early 19th century(estimate: £4,000-5,000; Lot 135)
• A wood netsuke of a kappa on a tortoise, by naito toyomasa (1773-1856), tanba province, early 19th century (estimate: £8,000-10,000; Lot 147)
Fine Chinese Art
London New Bond Street
5 November 10:30am GMT
The flagship New Bond Street sale of Fine Chinese Art will present an exceptional selection of Chinese furniture, ceramics and works of art from collections across the UK and Europe. Leading the Chinese classical furniture category is a remarkable collection of huanghuali furniture from the former Assistant Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Police between 1919 and 1928. This includes an exceptionally rare low-back armchair, 17th century, exquisitely decorated with a pair of confronted "chilong" on the back panel and side struts shaped as "Shou" characters. A nearly identical chair is in the Qing Court Collection, Forbidden City, the Palace Museum, Beijing. This lot carries an estimate of £50,000-80,000 (Lot 88).
Also sharing the museum reference is a pair of very rare iron-red and green-enamelled ovoid jars Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period, from a European private collection (estimate: £120,000-150,000; Lot 55), which has an identical example in the Palace Museum, Beijing; as well as a fine Court painting of ladies playing chess, dating to the Yongzheng/Qianlong period (estimate:£60,000-80,000; Lot 101) . The painting is notable for the striking similarity of style with the famous Screen of the Twelve Beauties at Leisure, in the Qing Court Collection in the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum, Beijing, and may have indeed been executed by the same Court artists.
Also on offer is a strong selection of jade carvings dating from the Yuan to the late Qing dynasty. A notable example – from a distinguished Swiss collection – is a very rare pale green jade Imperial-inscribed 'tea of three purities' tea bowl and cover, Qianlong four-character mark and of the periodThe vessel is incised and gilt with a poem composed by the Qianlong emperor, dated to 1746. The lot is estimated at £30,000-50,000 (Lot 138).
The sale will feature a rare selection of archaic bronzes as well, including a rare archaic bronze ritual food vessel, gui, Early Western Zhou dynasty, 11th-10th century BC, from a UK private collection. Boasting an impressive pre-1978 provenance with eminent names, such as Earl Morse and Richard and Jean D. Salisbury, the vessel was included in the Spirit and Ritual exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, in 1982. This lot carries an estimate of £80,000-120,000 (Lot 4).
Other highlights include a fine selection of Chinese dragon robes, such as a rare Imperial yellow-ground Twelve-Symbol 'dragon' robe, 19th century. Formerly owned by American socialite and philanthropist Anne Moen Bullitt (1924-2007), it is estimated at £40,000-60,000 (Lot 115).
Fine Japanese Art
New Bond Street
5 November 11:00am and 2:00pm GMT
The Fine Japanese Art sale, 400-lot strong, offers works in a variety of media and styles, from the Zen minimalism of iron sword fittings to the Victorian maximalism of decorated ceramics made for export. The works on paper section is anchored by a private collection of 50 woodblock prints designed by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), whose tranquil, evocative landscapes earned him immense popularity in the United States and Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. Highlights include a woodblock print depicting Yumoto Spa, Nikko, dated 1937 (estimate: £1,000 – 1,500; Lot 374).
Also featured is a rare enamelled porcelain tripod dish (circa 1700) with a design of cherry blossoms (estimate: £20,000 – 30,000; Lot 201), made exclusively for the wealthy Nabeshima family of feudal lords. The world of the samurai is represented by several fully-mounted and matching sets of long and short swords, such as a gold-lacquer and Shibayama-inlaid tanto koshira-e (ornamental mounting for a short sword), Meiji era (1868 – 1912), late 19th / early 20th century (estimate: £8,000 – 12,000; Lot 120) as well as other imaginatively-carved and decorated toggles, incense cases, and accessories which capture the lively, mercantile ethos of traditional Japan's townspeople.
At the dawn of globalism towards the end of the nineteenth century, numerous rare masterpieces were produced for the Western markets, including in this sale a recently discovered finely etched brass miniature pagoda by Fujii Yoshitoyo (estimate: £8,000 – 12,000; Lot 278), who rose to fame for a scale model of a Japanese temple shown in London in 1910 – it took him four years to complete. The current miniature served as a blueprint to his final work.
Representing the prestigious craftsmanship during the Meiji era (1868–1912) are an elegant cloisonné-enamel large rounded rectangular tray decorated with irises (estimate: £15,000 – 20.000; Lot 252), created by Namikawa Sosuke of Tokyo; and a cloisonné-enamel saucer dish with a busy design of butterflies and chrysanthemums (estimate: £4,000 – 6,000; Lot 249) by Namikawa Yasuyuki of Kyoto. Both are the very first individuals to be ranked as Artist-Craftsmen to the Imperial Household – ¬equivalent to today's Living National Treasures – and it is somewhat rare that their works become simultaneously available to the market.