Sotheby’s Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art in NY will offer important archaic bronzes, furniture, porcelain, jade, sculpture and other works of art, the majority of which are drawn from private collections in the US, Europe and Asia. The sale, on Sep 14, is expected to bring in $19.3/27.6 million and its highlight will be a rare archaic ritual bronze vessel (Hu) from the late Shang / Early Western Zhou Dynasty (est. $2.5-3.0 million, above).
The piece was formerly in the collection of Sadajiro Kawai and is one of the frew known vessels of this type and size. The elegant S-curves are offset by the powerful articulation of the crisply cast decoration while the sheer size of the piece would have conferred status on the high ranking members of Shang and Western Zhou society who would have owned it.
In addition, the sale includes a selection archaic bronze vessels and mirrors from the Sano Art Museum in Mishima city, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The museum was founded by Ryuichi Sano a businessman who established the museum in his hometown 40 years ago. The Sano Museum works are led by a rare Archaic Bronze Ritual Food Vessel and Cover (Fangyi), Shang Dynasty (est. $1.5/2.5 million, above ). The fangyi is one of the rarest of the ritual bronze shapes cast in the Shang Dynasty and the piece includes notched flanges running along the corners and middle section of each side to emphasize the vertical profile of the shape.
Other highlights include this rare ‘Famille-Rose’ model of a Stupa, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century with
exquisite enameling that shows the luxurious nature of Buddhist implements created for the palace.
exquisite enameling that shows the luxurious nature of Buddhist implements created for the palace.
Mr. and Mrs Walter F. Dillingham put together this stunning collection at ‘La Pietra,’ their home on the slopes of Diamond Head in Hawaii that was designed by renowned Chicago architect David Adler. Mr. Dillingham founded the Oahu Railway and Land Co. and orchestrated the development of a dry dock at Pearl Harbor. Among the highlights is A Fine White Jade Imperial Washer, Qianlong
Mark and Period, which was crisply carved from a solid block of white jage, catering to the Qianlong emperor's taste for archaism.