After 8 years, ‘Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art’ will be returning to TEFAF Maastricht with an exhibition showcasing some of the best Asian art from important private collections.
Two catalogues will each present an auspicious 8 works of art in all their splendour: 8 important works of ‘Chinese Lacquer’, as well as 8 ‘Archaic and Early Chinese Bronzes’.
A widely exhibited and published group of early and imperial lacquerware from an important private Asian collection, previously in ‘The Mike Healy Collection of Chinese Lacquer’, many of which were bought from Bluett & Sons and other important dealers.
This group consists of early lacquer from the Song and Yuan dynasty, including a rare octagonal red lacquer ‘bird’ plate (Yuan dynasty, 14th century) [image 1] marked ‘Zhang Cheng’, one of the most famous lacquer carvers of the Yuan period as well as imperial wares from the early Ming dynasty; a superbly carved red lacquer ‘peony’ box (Ming dynasty, Yongle mark and period, 1403-1424) [image 2] and an important carved red lacquer cup stand (Ming dynasty, Yongle mark and period, 1403-1424) [image 3], to name a few.
Image 1a & 1b
Image 2
Image 3
‘Archaic Chinese Bronzes & Metalwares’
Furthermore, the gallery will show a collection of archaic and early Chinese bronzes, including an important pagoda-shaped bronze food vessel, ‘Fang Yi’ (Shang dynasty, 11th century B.C.) [image 4], an inscribed bronze sword, attributed to the Son of the famous King of the Kingdom of Yue, Wang Goujian (early Warring States Period, 4th century B.C.) [image 5] and an inscribed bronze food vessel, ‘Fang Gui’ (Mid-Western Zhou dynasty, 9th century B.C.) [image 6].
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Further Highlights include;
A rare small gilt-bronze image of Avalokitesvara (Ming dynasty, early 15th century, Xuande period 1426-1435) Dimensions: 13.3 cm high
A gilt-bronze image of Mahakala (Tibeto-Chinese, Ming dynasty, 15th century) Dimensions: 22.5 cm high
A celadon jade reclining horse with brown mottling (late Ming dynasty, 17th century) Dimensions: 23cm long, 8cm high
Two Special Exhibitions at ‘TEFAF New York Fall’ and ‘Asian Art in London’ showing works of art from the Tang to the Qing Dynasty, including imperial porcelain, important pottery, archaistic bronzes, gilt bronzes and scholar’s objects.
An impressive large green and straw-glazed pottery watch tower (Liao Dynasty, 907-1125 AD)
Dimensions: 115 cm high
Provenance:
A private collection in The Netherlands
An English private collection, purchased in Hong Kong in the 1990s
Oxford TL-tested, Sample No. C103x32 (27 November 2003)
A very rare celadon-glazed double gourd vase from the Indianapolis Museum of Art Collection (Qianlong mark and period, 1736-1795)
Dimensions: 24.1 cm high
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Christie’s Art of China: Online Spring Sale March 21-29, 2017 (Lot 43)
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Herzman Collection, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, accessioned in 1984.
Literature:
Little, The Herzman Collection, privately published, 2000, p. 89, in the section of gifts to the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Compare an identical vase from the Hosokawa Morisada Collection, offered at the ‘HEIRLOOMS OF CHINESE ART FROM THE HOSOKAWA CLAN’ sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong (8 October 2014).
A chestnut-glazed Tang pottery horse (Tang Dynasty, 618-906 AD)
Dimensions: 83 cm high
Provenance:
A private collection in The Netherlands
An English private collection, purchased in Hong Kong in the 1990s
Oxford TL-tested, Sample No. C201d38 (18 January 2002)
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, ‘CHINESE ART INCLUDING SELECTED WORKS OF ART FROM THE T.Y. CHAO FAMILY COLLECTION’, 30 NOVEMBER 2017, lot 542
Sotheby’s London, 11th June 1996, lot 12
Huang Junbi – Running Stream in Cloudy Mountains (1947)
Ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll
Dimensions: 133.8 by 60.9 cm, 52 5/8 by 24 in.
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, ‘Chinese Art from the T.Y. Chao Collection’, 30 Nov. – 1 Dec. 2017
A Hong Kong private collection
Sotheby’s London, 11th June 1996, lot 159.
A flambé-glazed ‘Meiping’ vase (Qianlong six-character incised seal mark and of the period, 1736-1795)
Dimensions: 35cm high
Provenance:
Christie’s London (May 2018)
A private English collection, acquired in the 1970s
A silver-inlaid tripod censer with wood stand and cover (Ming dynasty)
Dimensions: Height 25cm
Provenance:
A private Irish collection
A black-glazed ‘trompe l’oeil’ wall vase with faux-ivory celadon stand decorated with ‘ruyi’ (Qianlong period, 18th century)
Dimensions: 25cm high
Provenance:
A private European collection
Christie’s Paris, ‘Palais Abbatial de Royaumont’, 19-21 September 2011, lot 497
Palais Abbatial de Royaumont (Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild)
A group of Chinese bronzes from a private collection (Song to Ming dynasty)
Dimensions: various
Provenance:
A European private collection, acquired between the 1980s and 2000s
Sold separatelyA ‘Yue’ ware celadon-glazed ‘chicken head’ ewer (Western Jin, 266–316 AD)
Dimensions: 19 cm diameter
Provenance:
A private English collection, acquired in Indonesia in the 1970s
Compare an almost identical ewer excavated from Wujindun Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, illustrated by the Cultural Relics Protection Management Office.
A rare white-glazed Anhua-decorated ‘lotus’ stem cup (Ming dynasty, Jiajing period)
Dimensions: 14.5cm diameter
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, ‘CHINESE ART INCLUDING SELECTED WORKS OF ART FROM THE T.Y. CHAO FAMILY COLLECTION’, 30 NOVEMBER 2017, lot 432
Sotheby’s London, 11th June 1996, lot 33
Compare a similar stem cup from the PHILIP CARDEIRO COLLECTION sold at Christie’s London, 13 May 2014.
An amber and cream-glazed pottery groom (Tang Dynasy, 618-906 AD)
Dimensions: 58 cm high
Provenance:
A private collection in The Netherlands
Christie’s London 2001
A private English collection, acquired in Hong Kong in the 1990s
Oxford TL-tested, Sample No. C101k89 (25 May 2001)
A silver and turquoise inlaid gilt bronze figure of ‘Yama’ (14th century)
Dimensions: Height 5” without stand
Provenance:
A private American Collector, acquired from an important Hong Kong gallery in the 1990s
A small ‘Qingbai’ lobed box and cover, moulded in the shape of chrysanthemum petals with a workshop mark reading ‘Li Jia He Zi’ (Song dynasty, 12th-13th century)
Dimensions: 6.9cm diameter
Provenance:
A private English collection, acquired in Indonesia in the 1970s
Compare a nearly identical, slightly lower ‘qingbai’ porcelain box of the same shape and diameter was excavated from the Hutian kiln in Jingdezhen between 1988 and 1999 and is now in the collection of the Jingdezhen Museum of Civilian Kiln. Another larger, but in terms of design closely comparable, ‘qingbai’ box is in the Yuegutang collection in Berlin, illustrated in ‘Yuegutang – A Collection of Chinese Ceramics in Berlin’, Krahl, R. Berlin, 2000, no. 205, p. 251.
A small blue ‘lotus’ jar and cover with applied blossoming branch (Yuan dynasty, 1269-1368)
Dimensions: 10cm high
Provenance:
A private English collection, acquired in Indonesia in the 1970s
A silver and gold inlaid bronze archaistic vase, ‘Hu’ (Qianlong period, 18th century)
Dimensions: Height 181/4 inches
Provenance:
A private European collection
Christie’s London, 6 November 2007 (lot 111)
A gilt bronze figure of Mahakala (17th century)
Dimensions: Height 4 3/4” without stand
Provenance:
A private American Collector, acquired from an important Hong Kong gallery in the 1990s
A rare reticulated ‘Longquan’ celadon pear-shaped vase, ‘Yuhuchunping’, with incised decoration, and Japanese fitted box (Yuan dynasty, circa 1400)
Dimensions: 31.5cm high
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Longquan celadon glazed vases of this type are rare, and the few existing examples mostly date to the Ming Dynasty. Compare a similar, albeit smaller example dating to the Ming Dynasty offered at Christie’s HK in the ‘Imperial Sale’ on 1 June 2016, lot 3314. Another example was sold at Sotheby’s London, 7 November 2012, lot 221.
A pair of white-glazed Meiping vases (Ming dynasty, 16th century)
Dimensions: each 21cm
Provenance:
A private Asian collection
Sotheby’s London, 10 November 2017, lot 248
An English Private Collection
Collection of Warren E. Cox
Collection of Ira and Nancy Koger
Literature:
John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics: The Koger Collection, London, 1985, pl. 53.
A ‘Yue’ ware celadon-glazed vessel in the form of a bear (Western Jin, 266-316 AD)
Dimensions: 9 cm high
Provenance:
A private English collection, acquired in Indonesia in the 1970s
Compare another animal, a celadon-glazed ram dating to the Western Jin Dynasty, sold at Sotheby’s London, Important Chinese Art (16 May 2018).
We are proud to announce our participation at the inaugural edition of TEFAF New York!
To celebrate 20 years of delivering Asian art consultancy services, we will be exhibiting this important silk painting of Vairocana Buddha, dating to the Yuan Dynasty.
Imperial Painting of ‘Vairocana Buddha’ (Yuan Dynasty, 1279-1368)
Ink, colour and gold on silk
Dimensions: 144.1 x 81.9 cm
With five seals by the Qianlong Emperor (1736-1795)
We are proud to exhibit this rare 2,500 year-old bronze figure of a tapir that miraculously survived a turbulent period of ancient Chinese history. The tapir is a pig-like mammal now classified as an endangered species. This bronze figure of a tapir, exquisitely inlaid with gold and turquoise, is just 10ins tall and 17ins long and was made in about the 4th century BC as a wine vessel. A lid with a ring on its back can be removed to fill the interior with wine that is then poured out through the mouth.
The figure was produced for a wealthy and powerful man. It is inlaid with spiral motifs of gold and turquoise, which would have been extremely expensive, and is also portrays a creature which became extinct in China about 10,000 years ago, long before the zun or wine pourer was made. It is known that Chinese rulers collected rare animals from overseas and the endearingly rotund and gentle tapir, which then, as now, came from Malaysia, would have been the perfect addition to a private zoo. This one appears to be wearing a decorative collar and may have been a royal pet.
The figure’s survival is miraculous. It was made during the Warring States period in China, which lasted from the 5th century BC until the unification of the country by the Qin Dynasty in 221BC. It was an era of chaos and brutality when regional warlords annexed smaller states around them and competed for supremacy with one another. The tapir is one of only two bronzes with such extensive and beautiful inlay known to exist, the other being in a museum in Taiwan.
All that is known about the tapir’s history is that it was in a European private collection by the 1920’s and was exhibited in Berlin in 1929.
Image 2
