This season’s Arts d'Asie sale, taking place on 12th June during Printemps Asiatique in Paris, features a wide variety of devotional sculptures, paintings, works of art and ceramics, spanning the length and breadth of Asia. Highlights of the sale include a rare and important gilt-bronze statue of Avalokitesvara in a tantric form from the Dali Kingdom, 11th–12th century (lot 10); a rare and large gilt-copper standing figure of Buddha from the Tibetan imperial period, circa 9th century (lot 14); a fine yellow-ground gardenia dish from the Zhengde reign of the Ming dynasty (lot 151); an impressive blue and white ‘dragon’ Tianqiuping vase with a rare early Qianlong mark (lot 161); and the Harcourt Johnston Gui (lot 215) – an inscribed archaic bronze vessel rediscovered after its first appearance on the market in our London rooms in November 1940.
Beside the Dali figure (lot 10), the Buddhist section features several other important works, among them a majestic standing figure from the 9th century Tibetan Imperial period (lot 14); two early mandala thangkas (lot 3, lot 4); and an exceedingly rare rendering of the ascetic Siddhartha (lot 15) – one of only a handful of surviving examples depicting this dramatic episode in the life of Buddha – from the ancient region of Gandhara in the 2nd or 3rd century. A beautiful standing bronze figure of Chandeshvara from the Chola period in India (lot 16), circa 1300, and a rare and impressive Yuan dynasty depiction in bronze of the Daoist Goddess Bixia Yuanjun, the Sovereign of the Clouds of Dawn (lot 111), complete the panorama of devotional art in the sale.
We will also present a comprehensive collection of gilt bronze and cloisonné enamel vessels (lots 28–57), resurfacing on the market more than forty years after their last appearance to the public in the landmark exhibition Die Ware aus Teufelsland held at the Frankfurt Decorative Art Museum in 1981.
The sale features some important Ming and Qing dynasty imperial porcelains long kept in private collections across Europe. From France comes a splendid blue and white Tianqiuping vase decorated with a variety of dragons amongst lotus (lot 161), with an early mark of Qianlong. From Sweden, a fine-yellow-ground blue and white ‘gardenia’ dish from the Zhengde reign during the Ming dynasty (lot 151). Also coming from Sweden, an interesting ensemble of ceramics and works of art from the collection of the late Carl (1924–2006) and Eiver (1932–1989) Oldertz collection (lots 77–105); and some rediscovered pieces from the famed collection of Yvan Traugott (1871–1952), a leading figure in the burgeoning Chinese Art circles in Stockholm in the early 20th century, amongst them a superb blue and white ‘dragon’ charger from the Kangxi reign during the Qing dynasty (lot 120).
The second half of the Ming dynasty was truly an age of globalization and splendour. The Silk Road, once the broadest trade route in existence, would soon be subsumed in the hubbub and enormity of a global world. Trading with Spain and Portugal by sea, turning to Mexican silver for currency and expanding access to currency to citizens from all walks of life, the Jiajing and Wanli courts transformed China from a lone kingdom to a truly global superpower.
While late Ming porcelains have been treasured for centuries for its vibrant designs and rarity in private Asian collections – particularly in Japan – Marchant was among the first in the West to recognise its importance and beauty. From their first exhibition catalogue in 1980, featuring pieces from the Wanli reign, to their seminal exhibition of Two Hundred Years of Chinese Porcelain 1522–1722 in 1998 and a groundbreaking display of dated examples from the Jiajing to Chongzhen reigns in 2004, Marchant has long been a champion of late Ming wares in the West, limiting their collection to only the finest of gems suitable for an elite clientele.
Alongside the sale European collection of Japanese prints Ukiyo-e we are presenting this season in a separate catalogue, the Asian art sale will feature a selection of Samourai armours (Gusoku) and helmets (Kabuto) (lots 232–236) as well as a rare and impressive monumental bronze okimono of dragon (lot 231).
