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Click here to subscribeHESING: Also known as Xi Cheng. Mandarin who travelled in the Keying, first Chinese junk to ever sail from Hong Kong to New York and further to London. Signed 8vo portrait drawing of Hesing. Signed `Hesing´ in bold black ink at the foot beneath his portrait, also adding the junk name `Keying´ and `L A Hilllbeck´ to the head, all with their equivalent Chinese characters beneath. The drawing bears to the upper corner a red ink stamp with Chinese characters, being the seal of Prince Hui Rui. Few stains not affecting the signatures. Small folding and creasing. The Keying was a three-masted Chinese trading junk that sailed from Hong Kong in December 1846 with a mixed crew of Chinese and British sailors. The vessel had been purchased surreptitiously by a conglomerate of enterprising English businessmen. It was placed under the command of Captain Kellett with the intention of carrying curiosities and merchandise to England and thereafter serving as a kind of floating museum. The Chinese crew members that they were embarking on such an extended journey were not aware of such plans. The Keying arrived in New York City on July 9, 1847, creating a sensation, with seven thousand visitors per day. In late March 1848, the Keying arrived in London to great fanfare, and several different medals were struck to commemorate its appearance, including one that had a bust of Mandarin Hesing. It was visited by the Queen Victoria, whose right to be the first European woman to visit it was reserved, The Duke of Wellington and Charles Dickens. It has been suggested that the Chinese Emperor was aware of the project from the start and secretly kept informed about it, and that the mandarin served as an informer to report back in detail. Good Condition. All autographs are genuine hand signed and come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £4.99, EU from £6.99, Rest of World from £8.99.
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Three Ages of Woman (c.1970)Oil on canvas, 75 x 62cm (29½ x 24¼)Exhibited: Taylor Galleries, Dublin, solo exhibition, 1986, from where purchased.This was the last painting on the artist's easel before her death.Mary Swanzy’s facility for drawing with her brush and extensive understanding of colour sings of the three ages of woman in this work; it is likely to refer to her own life given she was in her late eighties when it was completed. Titled by the current owner with Miss Swanzy’s knowledge, as she disliked naming her work preferring to see what others would make of the paintings.The central Pierrot figure, a clown or everyman character whose main characteristic is of naïveté is dressed in white, a reference to death perhaps in this case as Swanzy contemplates her own end of life. It echoes a number of earlier works that feature Chinese or Japanese figures. Swanzy revered Chinese painting and her interest in world religions is in evidence from as early as the 1920s. As she became more limited in her ability to travel so her immediate surroundings feature more heavily in her later paintings. The shed was in the garden of the Blackheath home and the little green cat, a porcelain figure from her collection. Her use of the fox may be a reference to her regular use of the term “as cute as a fox” to describe characters in her knowledge. She remained astute and observant all through her life. The use of animal imagery is a common feature in her paintings from the 1940s; she uses them to build metaphors in the narrative. Her father is recorded as having used animal metaphors in his speech so perhaps a lifelong habit of indirect speech continued in Swanzy’s painting.The lively handling of the paint and directional strokes of pure pigment has a freshness and immediacy akin to watercolour in the hands of a master. Swanzy died in 1978 in her nineties painting right up to her death despite arthritis requiring her to tape her brushes to her fingers. Liz Cullinane, September 2019
Roderic O'Conor RHA (1860-1940)Seated Woman in a Red Dress (c.1923-6)oil on canvassigned lower right with atelier stamp verso92 x 73½cm (36.2 x 28.9in)Provenance: Studio of the artist, sold Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 7th February 1956; Guy Loudmer, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 12th June 1988, No. 327; Crane Kalman Gallery, London; Grant Fine Art, Newcastle; Private collection, Northern Ireland Exhibited: Possibly Salon d'Automne, Paris, 1927 as Le divan (no. 1643); National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1992, for the launch of the Jonathan Benington monograph on Roderic O'Conor; the painting subsequently appeared on the set of RTE's The Late Late Show in a feature on O'Conor; On loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, 1993; Browse & Darby, London, Roderic O'Conor 1860 - 1940, 1994, No, 27 Literature: Jonathan Benington: Roderic O'Conor, a Biography with a Catalogue of his Work, Dublin 1992, pp. 145 and 222, cat. 274, reproduced on cover and as plate 70 Between 1905 and 1927 Roderic O'Conor executed scores of canvases featuring young women posed in his cavernous studio on Paris's Left Bank. Seated Woman in a Red Dress, which has not been on the market for 30 years, is arguably the most ambitious and psychologically penetrating of his paintings depicting clothed female models. The care that O'Conor lavished on this study of a young woman with a bobbed hairstyle, dressed for a night out, suggests that it was intended for one of the Parisian exhibitions he contributed to regularly. Although the absence of an inscribed title on the reverse of the canvas does not allow a definitive identification, it may well be the work entitled Le divan that he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1927 (no. 1643). The style of the painting and the model's fashionable dress date it to around 1925. By adding his signature - a mark of approval he assigned only frugally - the artist demonstrated that he regarded the work as a fully finished statement, satisfying his rigorous standards of excellence. The nearly full-length figure dominates the composition, her intense gaze meeting and holding the viewer's attention, whilst the use of side lighting to model her head, limbs and torso endows her with a palpable, almost sculptural presence. At the same time O'Conor does not neglect to include details of hairstyle and fashion that push the picture firmly into the realms of portraiture, thereby avoiding any possibility of her being viewed as a generic type. The artist has gone to great lengths to situate his young model within a lavishly appointed setting, deploying props that have been chosen and arranged with all the care of a stage designer. The diagonally placed divan leads the eye into the composition, with the young woman seated crosswise on it as if she has just moved from a reclining position and is preparing to rise. Her hands grip the leading edge of the upholstery, reinforcing the impression of latent movement. In the background the artist has suspended a deep crimson drape, its colour complementing the brighter red of the model's dress. The top of the bookcase or cabinet hidden underneath the cloth supports an arrangement of three vases - a blue-and-white Chinese vessel at the far left (its straighter sides neatly 'bookending' the picture's top left corner), followed by two globular vases in green and white (their rounder forms echoing those of the model's head and shoulders). The horizontal line created by the top edge of the cloth corresponds with eye level - both that of the artist and, by way of deliberate placement, that of his model. Although by his own admission O'Conor was not an artist who created works that told stories, Seated Woman in a Red Dress is unusual within the context of his wider oeuvre in that it includes various specifics of make-up and dress that invite speculation. Whilst the young woman's necklace, dark eye shadow and neat bob with its 'kiss' curl are suggestive of the sort of preparation calculated to draw the male gaze, the fact that one of the straps of her low-cut dress has been coquettishly loosened conveys the hint of an invitation. Perhaps, rather than being about to rise to her feet, these details should be interpreted as signs that the model has made room on the divan for a male friend to join her. This impression is reinforced by the turning of her head in the viewer's direction, holding our gaze with a smouldering look. A further indication of the trouble O'Conor went to when planning the composition of Seated Woman in a Red Dress is found in a drawing showing a nude model holding an identical pose. In this work the woman's large eyes, full lips and broad shoulders suggest that it served as a preparatory study for the painting. Likewise some of the background artefacts had already been subjected to O'Conor's intense scrutiny: the Chinese vase at the top left made an appearance in a number of his late floral still lifes. This refined object survived the dispersal of his estate in 1956, but was accidentally damaged by a film crew in the mid-1980s (for the drawing and the vase see Thierry Lannon & Associés, Brest, 13 October 2009, lots 393 and 407J). Jonathan Benington, September 2019
A Chinese pottery figure by Liu Zemian of Zhang Chang drawing beautiful eye lashes (two figures), 40cm high/see illustration CONDITION REPORT: Female figure lacking drop from one earring. One spike in headdress appears restored. Male figure lacking brush from right hand but without any damage.
Hanoi School (Vietnamese) "Nude Subject" Ink on Rice Paper, with character marks to top, 30cm x 42cm, framed, also with a Japanese limited edition print, signed in pencil T Ryohei, number 30 of 150, a framed pencil drawing of a tree, signed indistinctly and dated 1853 to lower left, with Chinese label to verso, and an Arts and Crafts themed print, with Chinese label to verso also, (4)
Chinese School. Profile view of a Chinese Junk, circa 1820s-30s, pen, black ink and watercolour on laid paper, some light soiling to margins, sheet size 19 x 30.5 cm (7.5 x 12 ins), together with another pen, black ink and grey wash drawing of a Chinese junk under sail, on wove paper, both unsigned, sheet size 21 x 30.5 cm (8.25 x 12 ins), plus a black ink and watercolour drawing of a Chinese man holding a watermelon, signed in Chinese and English 'Samsing', sheet size 20 x 14.2 cm (7.9 x 5.6 ins), and a similar size moral sentence in Chinese calligraphy by the same artist, also signed in Chinese and English, the last two items loosely contained in a sheet of folded laid paper bearing a watermark of a crown, shield, post horn with letter J below, with inscription in brown ink to upper cover 'A drawing by Samsing, and a moral sentence written in chinese by him on board the Junk and presented to John W. Cook. Samsing was an artist on board the Chinese Junk, who painted the elaborate ornamental parts of the interior of that vessel.' (Qty: 4)The watermark on the laid paper wrapper with manuscript inscription can be dated to circa 1825. The two drawings of a Chinese Junk may have been executed by a Western artist.
Original Pencil Sketch by Phil May, 1898May (Phil) Original pencil Sketch by the influential caricaturist Philip William May (1864-1903), depicting Lord Charles Beresford in naval uniform, holding up a puppet of a Chinaman, and with a bulldog at his feet. Signed "To Herbert Andrew with kind regards from Phil May" and "Phil May 98". Marked at top with instruction for printer "half tone all over". (1)Beresford, a popular figure with the Victorian public and caricatured as the archetypal "British Bulldog", was in 1898 representative in China of the Associated Chambers of Commerce. He met with Chinese leaders and had strong views on how British trade could be better protected if China would modernise and reform its army. In 1899 he wrote The Break-up of China and was caricatured by Vanity Fair wearing Chinese costume and holding in one hand a Pekinese dog and in the other a volume entitled On Broken China and how to mend it.Beresford was evidently proud of this sketch, which he published in his Memoirs (II, f.p. 434), captioned "from an original drawing by Phil May in the possession of the author".
An unusual 19th century Chinese sketch book of numerous figure studies, landscape subjects, a crouching fox, etc, mainly in pen and ink but including examples with watercolour detail, with inscriptions, printed label to front Drawing and Sketch of the Chinese Customs, Manners, Landscapes and Personages, 30 x 20cm approx
*YAKOVLEV, ALEXANDER (1887–1938) Portrait of a Chinese Man.Sanguine, charcoal and crayon on paper, laid on paper, 155 by 63.5 cm.Executed c. 1918. Provenance: Collection of the opera singer Alexandra Yakovleva (1889–1979), the artist’s sister. Acquired from the above by the previous owner in 1978 (inscription on the backing paper). Private collection, USA.Yakovlev, Portrait of Chinese Man: Exhibited: Possibly, Exhibition of works by Alexander Yakovlev, Gallery Barbazanges, Paris, April–May 1920. Possibly, Exhibition of works by Alexander Yakovlev, Grafton Gallery, London, May–June 1920.The graphic work Portrait of a Chinese Man, measuring one and a half metres in height, that is offered for auction is one of the very rare pictures that Alexander Yakovlev produced on such a scale, and it was created during his first Far Eastern journey in 1917–1919. The artist went to China, Mongolia and Japan on a scholarship from the Academy of Arts, but his impressions and encounters with unusual models and subjects so captivated him that, once the period of his study trip had expired, Yakovlev sought an opportunity to extend his stay in Asia. He visited temples and poor neighbourhoods in towns, accompanied camel drivers, went out to sea with fishermen, befriended pearl divers and attended festive ceremonies and burials. The natural landscapes, the human diversity, the distinctive character of the way of life, and the brightness of the national costumes and adornments struck the European’s imagination, and he ecstatically depicted actors at the traditional Chinese and Japanese theatres, Tibetan lamas, Imperial military leaders and Mongolian nomads. He brought back from the trip hundreds of sketches and easel drawings, executed in the most difficult field conditions. In a report to his professor at the Academy, Dmitry Kardovsky, about these wanderings, the artist declared: “China, Mongolia, Japan. Stages on the journey. Infinitely interesting countries... abundant images. Rich in colours. Fantastic in shapes. Strikingly diverse in culture. Different myths. More diverse than those that took root in our little Europe. I worked hard; life was often very lonely. Especially psychologically... A very difficult first year in Pekin without money or income... I had a stroke of luck when life became totally difficult. I arranged an exhibition in Shanghai, where I didn’t sell very much, but I got many commissions for portraits. That enabled me to pay off my debts and go on to Japan, where I spent an unforgettable summer on the island of ?shima.” These lines illustrate the importance of the series of full-length portraits when seen against the background of the exotic genre and landscape scenes. The work on offer is one of the most accomplished of them and is marked by skilful drawing, expressiveness and brilliant mastery of brushstrokes and lines when conveying the characteristic features of the figure and face. By blending academic clarity and exotic colouring, Yakovlev was able to create a stylised ethnic image that was both expressive and credible. Portrait of a Chinese Man is a finished easel piece, where the sharp characteristics of the model are conveyed with a meticulous authenticity that captures both the individual and the generalised, ethnic and historical features of the appearance of someone living in the Celestial Empire. According to the eminent critic Abram Efros, it is not a matter of chance that, since it was on his first Eastern journey that he emerged as an artist, Yakovlev forever “remained the same brilliant, academic, exotic personality, the Vereschagin of the 1920s – minus realism, plus decorativism....” At the review exhibition of the results of the trip, which the artist presented in 1920, first in Paris and then in London, the Chinese works were especially prominent. Public and critics alike enthusiastically hailed the works’ exotic authenticity and artistic mastery. Nicholas Roerich, who visited the exhibition in London and was himself infatuated at the time with the East, later recalled: “I remember Yakovlev’s 1920 exhibition in London: the large display rooms were filled with astonishing paintings from China. What a delicate and convincing power lay in them, yet at the same time there was no imitation; originality resonated everywhere." Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert E. Yakovleva.
A RARE CHINESE UNDERGLAZE RED 'DRAGON' BOWL 1ST HALF 16TH CENTURY The gently flared body decorated with two scaly dragons chasing flaming pearls of wisdom against an incised wave ground, the centre with a slight recess and painted with two further dragons in pursuit of sacred jewels, with simple red bands to the rim and tapering foot, the slightly convex base with a six character Xuande mark and labels for R H R Palmer, The Oriental Ceramic Society 1950 Exhibition, and F O S & M M Dobell, 21cm. Provenance: Bluett & Sons, 29th September 1944, purchased by R H R Palmer for £30, collection no.584; sold at Sotheby's London, 27th November 1962, lot 21, and again on 24th March 1964, lot 86, purchased by Bluett & Sons for £220 on behalf of F O S and M M Dobell, no.48, and thence by descent. Exhibited: The Oriental Ceramic Society Ming Polychrome Exhibition, 1950, no.133. Illustrated: S Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, 1953, pl.49A, and p.55, where this bowl is discussed. Also illustrated in The Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol.20, pl.24, and p.49 where it is discussed.. Cf. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, museum accession no.C.27-1978 for an almost identical bowl dated to the Ming dynasty donated by Dr Sydney Smith; see also the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object no.B60P1220 for another Ming bowl of the same design from the Avery Brundage Collection; another identical bowl sold at Christie's London, 21st March 1966, lot 68 to Sydney L Moss, it sold again at Christie's New York, 16th September 2010, lot 1405, ex Dr William L Corbin Collection, and at Beijing Poly in 2013, lot 1435, where it was catalogued as Ming. THE PALMER DRAGON BOWL This rare, elegantly shaped bowl is striking for is lively painting of striding dragons pursuing flaming pearls amidst anhua waves and above rocks. The designs were first incised, then the dragons were applied with copper colorant and, finally, the bowl was covered with a colourless glaze. The anhua designs are only faintly visible, shadowed by the deep red of the dragons, pearls and flames. The dating of these bowls has been long debated and remains controversial, with opinions differing between a mid Ming and Kangxi attribution. Two smaller bowls, with similar dragons and Kangxi marks but no anhua decoration are in the British Museum, one in the Percival David Collection, the other donated in 1926 by C T Loo. Another smaller bowl, with a typical Lang Tingji (Governor of Jiangxi province, 1705-1712) Kangxi mark, is in the Shanghai Museum. However the larger Xuande marked bowls, such as this Palmer/Dobell piece, differ in several important aspects from the Kangxi examples. All have gentle flared rims, with a single line drawn to the inside edge, central design (usually inward facing double dragons, chasing pearls), and a recessed base. The Kangxi pieces have straighter rims with plain, undecorated interiors, and no base recess. Elements of the dragon designs, such as the elbow hair, and body and tail fins, are executed differently on the Xuande mark pieces when compared to the Kangxi examples. The foot is wide, the inside base is convex and, where the glaze meets the biscuit, the edges have burnt a strong orange. The Kangxi pieces have a narrower foot, the inside bases are usually flat, and the burning to the glaze edges are less pronounced. The Xuande mark was first copied in the Chenghua period and is seen again in the Zhengde period. The style and calligraphic strokes used, size and spacing of the Xuande mark on this bowl is very similar to that seen Imperial Zhengde pieces such as those in the Gugong Museum, Beijing. See for examples ‘Mingdai Hongzhi Zhengde Yuyao Cigi. Jingdezhen Yuyao Yizhi Chutu Yu Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Chuanshi Ciqi Dubiai’ - ‘Imperial Porcelain from the Reign of Hongzhi and Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty. A Comparison of Porcelain from the Imperial Kiln Site at Jingdezhen and the Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum’, Beijing, 2017, vol.2, catalogue numbers 222/223 and 248/249, together with a partiality reconstructed dish with incised dragon amongst waves in green and red glaze, excavated at the Imperial kiln site, Zhushan, in 2014, catalogue numbers 271. The drawing of the mark is very different to that seen on Kangxi period Xuande copies. For examples see two Kangxi period monochrome stem bowls, both with very well written Xuande marks, along with a Kangxi period bowl copying Xuande lotus scrolls in underglazed red, with an apocryphal Xuande mark, all in the Shanghai Museum. Prior to the Dobell Collection, this bowl belonged to a highly important English collector of Chinese art: R H R Palmer (1898-1970), chairmen of Huntley and Palmers who started collecting in 1924, and along with his wife built an outstanding collection consisting Ming and Qing porcelain, jade, ivory and lacquer. 十六世紀 釉里紅趕珠龍紋碗《大明宣德年製》青花楷書款來源:1944年9月29日由R H R Palmer以£30的價格購於Bluett & Son,收藏編號584。蘇富比倫敦1962年11月27日·編號21, 1964年3月24日·編號86 由Bluett & Son代F O S 及M M Dobell以£220,編號48。
An oval Tole ware box and cover on stand, painted with flowers on a red ground, 22 cm wide to/w a Regency turned wood snuff box painted with an interior scene of an elegant drawing room, the underside depicting an imposing tester bed, 9.5 cm diam, a portrait on ivory of a clerical gentleman, various collectables including glass rolling ruler with multicolour twist core, Bristol blue glass double-ended scent bottle with gilt metal caps, Chinese carved mother-of-pearl pendant, Oriental white metal letter knife, Art Deco enamel two-piece buckle, a Coptic miniature Madonna & Child painted on oval plaque, in brass frame and shagreen-covered cigarette case (10)
LIEUT. GEN. HENRY HOPE CREALOCK, C.B., C.M.G., (1831-1891) THE ACTION OF BAREILLY, 5th MAY 1858 signed and dated l.l. ...Crealock del. May 1858 inscribed verso no7. / the action of Bareilly / 5th May 1858 / Sir Colin Campbell / Gen. Sir William Mansfield / Colonel Crealock etc. / original sketch by Colonel Crealock pen and ink 30.0 x 203.0cm / 13 x 80in Bareilly was the last stronghold of Indian Independence by the beginning of May 1858, under the leadership of Khan Bhadur Khan Rohilla, who had declared himself Nawab of the city. General Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, along with Captain George Stewart and Sir William Mansfield led the British Army along with a number of East India Company troops and recaptured the city in a day. Henry Hope Crealock had an impressive military career, serving with distinction in Crimea, again in the second Opium War in China with the Expeditionary Force and in India with Sir William Rose Mansfield. In 1860 he was appointed as Lord Elgin's military secretary in China and served there until the Austro-Prussian war when he was made military attaché in Vienna. From 1874-1877 he was Quartermaster General in Ireland. Crealock commanded the first division in the Anglo-Zulu war for which he was created C.M.G. Crealock made sketches throughout his time in the army, and his scenes of the First Indian War of Independence, Anglo-Chinese war and the Anglo-Zulu war are valuable and painstaking records of these events. Crealock's Sketches of India was published by the forward-thinking Joseph Hogarth, who had begun publishing photographic reproductions of paintings and drawings in the 1850's. In 1861, Hogarth exhibited six albumen prints of Crealock's drawings of India at the London Photographic Society, publishing a booklet listing 36 such photographic reproductions by Felice Beato of Crealock's drawings. These were accompanied by descriptive notes written by Crealock himself, including one on the present work: "No. 7 / On the morning of the 5th May, 1858, the Head Quarter Camp was struck at Furreedpore, a village about ten miles from Bareilly, and the troops, under Sir Colin Campbell's orders, marched on the latter place. At five o'clock the column was halted about two miles from Bareilly. Sir Colin having drawn the troops up in order of battle, advanced on the city. Sir Colin and the Head Quarter Staff moved with Colonel Tombs' troop of Bengal Horse Artillery, which formed the advance of the left wing of the line of battle. The sketch represents the moment when the enemy discloses his advanced post by opening on the British Force with artillery from the Bareilly road; the first shot struck within a hundred yards in front of Colonel Tombs' troop, and passed over it; the second shot, better directed, struck one of the artillery horses in the hind leg, breaking it. At this moment Colonel Tombs turned round to the troops, saying to the officers, "Steady, gentlemen, steady, keep your intervals." The next two shots from the enemy killed two artillerymen, and struck Major Norma, the deputy adjutant-general of the army, on the heel, slightly wounding him. Sir William Mansfield at this time desired Lieut.-Colonel H. Hope Crealock to order up the heavy guns, to bear on the left flank of the enemy's post. Colonel Crealock is represented taking the order from General Mansfield, who is pointing out the direction of the spot to be fired on" (1) The figures identified in the drawing are as follows: Field Marshal Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, GCB, KCSI General Sir William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst, GCB, GCSI, PC (Ire) Lieutenant General Henry Hope Crealock, CB, CMG Major General Sir Henry Tombs, VC, KCB Field Marshal Sir Henry Wylie Norman, GCB Later in life Crealock spent a great deal of time in Scotland deer-stalking, and his Deer-Stalking in the Highlands of Scotland (1892) is a definitive text on the subject. (1) Lieut.-Colonel Henry Hope Crealock - Sketches of the Campaign in India - Joseph Hogarth, 5 Haymarket, London, 1861, p4, no.7
Japanese Meiji period drawing of a group of 4 various birds in pen, ink and colour, signed, 56 x 27, Manner of Kawanabe Kyosaio (1831-1889) Woman seated astride crane with attendants, signature and seal mark, pen ink and watercolour on silk, 20cm x 23cm (unframed) and 2 other Japanese drawings of birds, 1 signed - Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
A box containing various costume jewellery, miniature brass abacus, Japanese lacquered box Russian hand-painted dish, Majorcan framed collage of a ship and an onyx cased mantel clock, etc, together with a box containing Viewmaster Stereoscope and various slides, a silver mounted leather Patience card set, canvas case with various drawing instruments, clay pipe, pillar box tin with transfer decorated decoration, Chinese cloisonne dish, etc
Japanese Meiji period drawing of a group of 4 various birds in pen, ink and colour, signed, 56 x 27, Manner of Kawanabe Kyosaio (1831-1889) Woman seated astride crane with attendants, signature and seal mark, pen ink and watercolour on silk, 20cm x 23cm (unframed) and 2 other Japanese drawings of birds, 1 signed - Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.Click here for further images, condition, auction times & delivery costs
Japanese Stag Antler pipe case, Edo period (19th Century) carved with a fisherman drawing in his net, signed 'Ranmin' L 22.5cms- Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
Japanese Meiji period drawing of 2 fish, with signature 25 x 26cms and another of a single fish 38 x 26cms, ink and colour- Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
Japanese Meiji period drawing of a cockerel, pen, ink and colour and with signature 42 x 26cms and another of a cockerel- Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
Japanese Meiji period drawing of a group of 4 various birds in pen, ink and colour, signed, 56 x 27 and 2 other Japanese drawings of birds, 1 signed -- Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
Japanese Meiji period drawing of a mouse on a radish (daikon) in pen, ink and colour, signed 42 x 28cms -- Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details This lot comes from the collection of Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and is being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc.
Kelmscott Press.- Design for the frontispiece to 'A Dream of John Ball', illustration of 'When Adam Delved and Eve Span...' after Edward Burne-Jones trimmed to edge and mounted on wove paper above caption and within decorative foliate border, both designed by William Morris, pen & black ink over pencil and heightened with Chinese white, c.185 x 135mm., faint letters "WH" in pencil in left hand margin, note in pencil "From the collection of Fairfax Murray" at foot of sheet, some soiling, a few small stains to margins, [cf. Peterson A6 notes], [c.1892]; and a copy of the 4pp. Ancoats Brotherhood leaflet of 1894 using the same illustration on first page (one of 250 copies, [Peterson D5], 8vo) (2)⁂ Provenance: Purchased Sotheby's 21st/22nd June 1983 lot 247.Charles Fairfax Murray became Edward Burne-Jones's first studio assistant in 1867, he worked for Morris & Co. during the 1870s as an artist and copyist and later for the Kelmscott Press, preparing Burne-Jones's illustrations for engraving. Murray and later R.Catterson-Smith would draw over a pale photograph of the original drawing by Burne-Jones, first in silver-point or pencil and then in ink with a fine brush, before it was transferred photographically to the woodblock for engraving by W.H.Hooper. In this case it is unclear as to whether the border and caption is the work of William Morris himself or similarly copied.The Ancoats Brotherhood was a socialist workers' organization in Manchester founded by Charles Rowley in 1878. It provided lectures, concerts and exhibitions for the working classes and lecturers included William Morris, Ford Madox Brown, Peter Kropotkin and George Bernard Shaw.
[China]. Jiao (Bingzhen, active circa 1680-1720). Yu zhi geng zhi tu ['Imperial Farming'], China, 19th century, 50 doubled leaves of lightweight Chinese paper, 46 woodblock illustrations of rice and silk cultivation, woodblock text within pictorial borders comprising dragon motifs, a few pale spots, final leaf split along fore edge, laid-in annotated compliments slip from the keeper of oriental antiquities at the British Museum, 19th-century red roan-backed marbled boards, rubbed, narrow folio (25.6 x 14.8 cm) Reduced-format edition of this sought-after album of woodblock prints originally commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor and printed in 1696. Jiao Bingzhen was imperial astronomer and 'the most influential jiehua artist in the Kangxi court' (Chung, Drawing Boundaries: Architectural Images in Qing China, p. 49). (1)
A panel of Chinese needlework, a paisley shawl and other fragments Condition Report: 452:Chinese panel - black borders badly deteriorating in some areas. One area badly damaged/missing. Faded.Beaded shawl - some beads missing and some coming loose. Small areas of fraying and a few small holes to border.Long embroidered panel - Edges and ends a little frayed, small holes and some rust spots from old drawing pins.Paisley - basically looks fair.
China.- A composite travel album containing Chinese export pith paintings and other drawings and prints, including an original sketch of Zhoushan Island harbour by a French hand on Chinese-made paper, another of a temple on Poo-Tow island by the same hand, and 12 large pith paper drawings and 1 small pith paper drawing, with various other small studies and tipped-in prints, many initialled 'H.H.W.', pencil studies, some botanical watercolours, gouache, engravings, various sizes, each album leaf 255 x 335 mm. (10 x 13 1/4 in), occasional handling creases, small tears and loss, surface dirt and finger-soiling, the album lacking boards and spine, worn, oblong 4to, [19th century].
GEORGE IV MAHOGANY BOOKCASE, AFTER A DESIGN BY GEORGE SMITHEARLY 19TH CENTURY the inverted breakfront top above an egg and dart frieze and a central drawer flanked by bow front drawers, over a single shelf, flanked by silk panelled cupboard doors enclosing single drawers, over a foliate moulded apron, raised on scrolling feet188cm wide, 95cm high, 54cm deepNote: George Smith (1786-1826) published three influential books on design in the first quarter of the 19th century. Smith's A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, published in 1808, was itself influenced by the work of Thomas Hope. Smith's goal was to make Hope's designs accessible to the middle classes, so that 'the beauty and elegance displayed in the fittings-up of modern houses may not be confined to the stately mansion of our Nobility'. He adapted classical motifs borrowed from Egyptian, Greek and Roman sources, but was not averse to adopting Gothic and Chinese elements as well. He followed his first book with A Collection of Ornamental Designs, after the Manner of the Antique, in 1812, and was a regular contributor to Ackermann's Repository. His final publication in 1826, The Cabinet-Maker's and Upholsterer's Guide, included a design for a 'Drawing Room Commode', Plate VI, from which the present lot derives.Smith recommended the open-shelved commode for use in the drawing room, although they could be used in 'almost every apartment of a house… for such books are in constant use'. The height of the design was kept deliberately low to allow the wall above to be kept free for paintings or pier mirrors. Although Smith stated he had the patronage of George IV and promoted himself as 'Upholsterer and Drawing Master to His Majesty', no substantive evidence has been found to corroborate these claims. In the introduction to the Guide, Smith mentions his forty years of experience in the theory and practice of cabinet-making, but interestingly no firm evidence of a cabinet-making business carrying his name has come to light. Regardless, he is considered one of the key designers of the Regency period, yet despite his prolificacy, actual pieces that relate directly to his designs are rare.
A collection of twelve Chinese pith paper paintings,19th century, each with a lady pursuing different leisure activities, including sewing, knitting, drawing or dressing up, ink and colour on paper,31 x 19.5cm, now mounted as an early 20th century three-fold screeneach fold 137 x 46cm清十九世纪 佚名 人物图三扇屏风 设色通草之本
AN IRISH GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFRONT BOOKCASE, part of the original furnishings of Ely House, Dublin, the dentil moulded cornice above a four door bookcase, decorated with Gothic lancet glazing bars above fielded cupboard door base. 282cm high, 346cm wide Provenance: Collection of Fine Art Property of Dr. Thornley Stoker, Ely House, 8 Ely Place, Dublin, 8th November, 1910, lot 863 This handsome Chippendale pattern mahogany bookcase was lot 863 in one of the most spectacular house contents auctions Dublin has ever seen. Taking place in November 1910, it was that of Dr. Thornley Stoker whose fierce reputation has faded, but that of his brother Bram has only gone stratospheric thanks to his creation, “Dracula”. The sale of over 1600 lots represented a life-time of collecting. George Moore leaves a description of Sir Thornley hopping about the antique dealers in Grafton Street ‘Like an old magpie’ prying out spoons and forks. Moore, unsuccessfully, tries to persuade the grumpy old doctor to back Hugh Lanes project for a Modern Art Gallery in Dublin. Moore, a neighbour frequently visits Dr Stoker and well knows his fine collection housed in his palazzo, Ely House, but can’t resist retelling Dublin cynicism as to its genesis. “Up and down Liffey Street, lately, on the trail of a Sheraton sideboard and Naylor has been asked to keep it till an appendices should turn up; the Chinese Chippendale mirror over the drawing-room chimney piece originated in an unsuccessful operation for cancer; the Aubusson carpet in the back-drawing room represents a hernia; the Renaissance bronze on the landing a set of gall-stones; the Ming Cloisonné a floating kidney; the Buhl cabinet his opinion on an enlarged liver; and Lady Stokers jewels a series of small operations performed over a number of years”. Moore declares the collection will never be sold in his lifetime but on his death, there will be a great auction. This bookcase, filled with part of Dr. Stoker’s china collection is given a full-page illustration and is described as ‘Chippendale’. A bookcase of similar design, with the addition of a broken triangular pediment, c.1766, is illustrated in Gilbert, ‘The Life and Works of Thomas Chippendale’ (1978), p.41
Japanese School (late 19th century) Seated figure at prayer with two further figures watercolour with signature 25cm x 36cm, Japanese drawing of figure holding umbrella, seal mark 32cm x 23cm and two other Japanese drawings (all unframed) - Roger Soame Jenyns Collection Condition Report & Further Details The following lots came from the collection of Roger Soame Jenyns (1904- 1976) and are being sold by order of the executors of his younger son, the late John Jenyns. Soame Jenyns was Assistant Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at The British Museum from 1931-1967. He published several books including: "A Background to Chinese Painting" published 1935, "Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum" 1951, "Ming Pottery & Porcelain" 1953 etc. Click here for further images, condition, auction times & delivery costs
Walasse Ting (1929-2010) 丁雄泉. Abstract acrylic on canvas titled All My Life is a Spring. Painting is signed, titled, and dated '71 along the verso. Labels from the Lefevre Gallery and the Minneapolis Institute of Art are attached to the verso.Provenance: Lefevre Gallery, New York, New York. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dayton family collection, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Acquired by the present owner from above.Biography:Today in 1967 A.D. In our time life more comfortable and complicated People more busy and nervous More money and more war Everybody want more and more expensive living If you talk about nature, she running into flower shop or go to country for weekend If anybody melancholy please take an aspirin A poem is nothing Not bigger than a banana not worth three cents Sometimes after big dinner I wish you Take a look little star See yourself without a mirror-Walasse Ting, preface to Chinese Moonlight.Walasse Ting was a painter and a poet, a powerhouse in the mid-20th century art and intellectual scene. His work was fluorescent and shocking, intended to confront the viewer and force them to pause their worldly cares to focus on beauty. Born Ding Xiongquan in Wuxi, Jiangsu province in 1929, Ting had little formal artistic education. After a brief stint at the Shanghai Art Academy, he left for Paris, arriving in 1949. He quickly fell in with the CoBrA group, an avant-garde collective of artists known for their spontaneous way of painting and rebellion against the artistic establishment. Their emphasis on Outsider Art had a profound effect on Ting, especially since he had little art training and tended to see himself as an outsider in the art world.In 1959, he left Paris for New York City, where he was influenced by Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. He became friends with many artists working in these styles, including greats such as Andy Warhol, with whom he once put on a joint exhibition. His work was influenced by these connections, pulling ideas from both movements and fluctuating between abstraction and figural works with a unique ease. He also began finding inspiration in more traditional sources, using bold strokes inspired by the calligraphy of his native China. In addition to art, he began publishing poetry during this period, both original poems and translations of classical Chinese poems. He published thirteen books, many of which contained illustrations by himself and his artistic contemporaries.In 1970, he won the Guggenheim Fellowship Award for Drawing. His career continued to flourish, and he split his time between New York and Amsterdam, painting, writing, and displaying his works. He additionally made many trips to Paris to exhibit at the Salon de Mai and traveled to Tahiti to explore the tropical landscapes and colors. During his long and varied career, he had over 60 solo exhibitions of his paintings, as well as making forays into theater direction and teaching. In all his endeavors, he tried to use art to bring beauty into the lives of as many people as possible, because, in his words, “[w]ithout beauty, life makes no sense.”This painting is a fine example of Ting’s abstract works. The vigorous sprays of intense color across the subdued green background create contrast and movement, blending the abstract style popular with his artistic contemporaries, such as Jackson Pollock, with traditional Chinese notions of the beauty in blank space. This work is considered by many to be his most original, and perhaps the high-water mark of his career.Dimensions: Unframed; height: 44 ½ in x width: 58 5/8 in. Framed; height: 45 1/8 in x width: 59 ¼.Condition: Good condition; for a detailed condition report, please contact us.
Chinese White Metal Compact, with filigree hinged cover and drawing of a Junk to the reverse, 8cm diameter (unmarked); Kigu Silver Compact, with engine turned decoration and pale green cover incised with a star, 8.5cm diameter; small modern Silver Pill Box, of circular form hand painted with a blue tit to the cover, 3.5cm diameter; Pair of Trembleuse Hair Pins with cut glass mounts, 7.5cm; Brass Mounted Lorgnette (6)