London – Bonhams celebrates Asian Art Week in London with four exceptional sales of Chinese and Asian ceramics and works of art featuring distinguished collections from leading collectors and dealers including Martyn Gregory and Ben Janssens. The sales, both live and online, will run from 1-12 November to include Fine Chinese Art, Ben Janssens Oriental Art: From Spink to Maastricht, Asian Art, and Collector's Treasures: Asian Art Online.

Leading the sales are two exceptionally rare and magnificent works depicting the dragon, the most celebrated mythical creature in Chinese culture and the ultimate symbol of imperial authority, together with a resplendent and rare gilt-bronze figure of Green Tara, 'The Mother of all Buddhas', made in the Imperial Workshops, during the early Ming dynasty's Yongle reign (1403-1424).

Asaph Hyman, Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, commented, "We are proud to offer the selection of Imperial and export paintings from world-authority dealer Martyn Gregory, as well as a special sale devoted to Ben Janssens, famously of Spink & Son and former president of the TEFAF. It is also a great pleasure to offer wonderful highlights such as the amazingly-provenanced Yongzheng dragon charger, with nearly 200 years of western collecting history, and the mesmerising gilt-bronze figure of Green Tara of the Yongle reign, as well as a fine Danish private collection of huanghuali furniture and scholar's works of art."

FINE CHINESE ART
7 November, New Bond Street

Harnessing the power of the dragon, two outstanding works star in the Fine Chinese Art sale to include a magnificent and very rare large famille-rose Dragon dish, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period, offered with an estimate of £250,000-400,000. This remarkable lot is one of the earliest pieces of Imperial porcelain ever to come to the west. Owned by the distinguished politician and diplomat, Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty (1767-1837) it may have been a diplomatic gift acquired during one of several notable diplomatic missions to China in the 1790s or 1810s. The removal of the dragon's fifth claw signifies its official downgrading as a gift to someone below the rank of emperor or king. In imperial China, only items intended for the emperor bore five-clawed dragons. Rich with auspicious symbolism, the dish exemplifies the pinnacle of craftsmanship from the brief yet illustrious reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, a period celebrated for its stringent standards of quality and precision. Its massive size demonstrates the exceptional skills of the potters in the Imperial kiln.

Equally rich with auspicious symbolism is an extremely rare and large (78.5cm high) gilt-decorated grisaille and iron-red Dragon rouleau vase, Kangxi (1662-1722) offered with an estimate of £100,000 – 200,000. One of the largest known rouleau vases from the Kangxi period, it is hugely ambitious both in its scope and scale and serves as a remarkable synthesis of Chinese artistic tradition and Imperial authority. A monumental ink panoramic gilt-embellished painting of two imperial five-clawed dragons is transposed onto the large-scale vase, whose form is used as canvas. The painting style makes an explicit connection to the heritage of Song dynasty painting inspired by Chen Rong's (c.1200-1266) iconic painting Nine Dragons, dated to 1244 AD, now in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Much of the work of transforming the evolving and eclectic Qing dynasty Imperial style was done by Liu Yuan, best known as a pivotal designer for the newly reorganised Imperial Porcelain Manufactory and a master craftsman at the mid-Kangxi Court in the 1680s. This magnificent and rarest of vases comes from the collection of Edward Varley Kayley (d.1974), an English collector of Chinese ceramics and works of art.

Lending her grace and beauty to the sale is an exquisite finely cast, gilt-bronze sculpture of Green Tara. This exceptional and rare gilt-bronze figure (25cm high) was created in the Imperial workshops during the Yongle reign (1403-1424), a highpoint for bronze Buddhist sculpture. Tara, revered as a goddess of compassion and swift action, is celebrated as a protector and saviour. Adopting stylistic influences from Nepalese and Tibetan traditions, Tara is depicted with the status of an enlightened buddha, yet her form remains that of a youthful and graceful female bodhisattva, embodying both serenity and power. The goddess Tara held a particularly prominent place at the Yongle court and at least ten Imperial gilt-bronze figures of Green Tara are known to survive outside of Tibet, many held in museums around the world, including The Palace Museum in Beijing. The work, offered with an estimate of £150,000-200,000, was published in 2003 and has been with an English private collector since 2005.

Remarkable collections also showcased

The Fine Chinese Art sale offers several remarkable collections from distinguished collectors and authorities in Asian Art, most notably the Martyn Gregory Collection, which will feature 30 artworks from port views to Imperial portraits. Martyn Gregory is the world's leading dealer in China Trade paintings and works relating to China by both Western and Eastern artists.

In addition, important private collections of exceptional Chinese ceramics and classical furniture will feature, to include a curated selection of highly sought-after huanghuali pieces from the 17th and 18th century.

Highlights from these collections include:

• A blue and white fishbowl, Wanli six-character mark and of the period (1573-1620). Estimate of £100,000-120,000.

• Attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining,1688-1766), Portrait of Prince Guogong (1733-1765), sixth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, from the Martyn Gregory selection. Offered alongside two other 18th century Imperial oil paintings in the sale, painted by Jesuits in the Chinese Imperial court. They are some of the earliest oil paintings to have ever been painted in China. The Portrait of Prince Guogong is offered with an estimate of £80,000-120,000.

• A rare huanghuali recessed-leg giant's arm braces table, 17th/18th century. Estimate £50,000-80,000.

BEN JANSSENS ORIENTAL ART: FROM SPINK TO MAASTRICHT
1-11 November, online

Ben Janssens is a leading dealer in Asian Art. He was director of Spink & Son Ltd and Chairman of TEFAF Maastricht for seven years. His gallery was established in 1996, specialising in Chinese, Tibetan and Japanese works of art. The sale celebrates his decades of dealing in Chinese, Tibetan and Japanese Art and will feature approximately 80 curated lots, with the vast majority offered without reserve.

Highlights include:

• A Mughal Jade vase and cover, Qianlong/Jiaqing. Mughal and Mughal-style jades were one of the great passions of the Qianlong Emperor. Estimate: £40,000-60,000.

• Tibetan Gilt Bronze Figure of Vaishravana Riding a Lion, 15th century. Estimate: £15,000-20,000.

• An Imperial Cinnabar Lacquer Tao Yuanming Lobed Box and Cover, Qianlong six-character mark and of the period. Estimate: £12,000-15,000.

ASIAN ART
4-5 November, Knightsbridge

The two-day sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge presents approximately 400 lots including exquisite ceramics and works of art alongside a unique collection from Arthur Probsthain's bookshop. Such a large collection of Chinese books including Imperial volumes is extremely rare to see on the market. Founded in 1903, this iconic London bookshop has been a fixture at 41 Great Russell Street, opposite the British Museum, since 1905. For three generations, Probsthain's has been considered one of the foremost dealers in Chinese books in the Western world. The collection offered includes rare and remarkable pieces including a rime dictionary (an ancient genre of Chinese dictionary that records pronunciations for Chinese characters by tone and rhyme) compiled on Imperial command under the supervision of politicians and scholars, Yushu Zhang (1642 1711), Tingjing Chen (1639 1712) and others. It has a vocabulary of 10,258 characters distributed among 106 rhymes and was named after the Kangxi Emperor's library Peiwenzhai. This work is still the standard reference for scholars of classical Chinese poetry up to the present day. The dictionary, encased in two large rectangular wooden boxes is offered with an estimate of £4,000-6,000.

Rare volume from the Imperial Korean library in Changdeokgung Palace

A further significant lot in this remarkable collection includes Illustrations of Subjects in the Three Divisions of The Universe (sancaituhui), First edition, 1609. The volume was originally held in the Imperial Korean Huijeongdang library in the Changdeokgung Palace, recorded in palace documents in 1663. Estimate: £2,000-3,000.

Further highlights from the Asian Art sale include:

• A famille rose baluster vase, Qianlong seal mark and of the period. Estimate: £10,000-15,000.

• A fine and large export silver tray, Mark of Hung Chong & Co (1830- 1925), Shanghai. Estimate: £4,000-6,000.

• A boxed Imperial album of sixteen rubbings and woodblock prints from the Imperially inscribed Illustrations of Cotton, Yuzhi Mianhua Tu, Qianlong, circa 1770s. Estimate: £4,000-6,000.

COLLECTOR'S TREASURES: ASIAN ART ONLINE
4 – 12 November

This 165-lot sale features a wide selection of porcelain, jade carvings, glass ceramics and decorative arts. Collector's Treasures includes additional pieces from the Ben Janssens Oriental Art collection.

Talks and events

Two lectures will be held to coincide with Bonhams sales during London Asia Week.

Monday 4 November at 17.30: 'Searching for Knowledge'. Professor Christiaan Jörg will review his decades-long career, exemplified by his observations on a Tang-style cup from a Viking Tomb. This will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session.

Tuesday 5 November at 17.00: Dr Patrick Conner - 'From China to the West: Martyn Gregory and the World of Chinese Export Paintings'.

4 October 2024