ArtHitParade
ArtHitParade on Twitter
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Next Auctions
    • Calendar
  • Top 10
    • Origin
    • From 600 BCE to CE
    • Years 1 to 1000
    • Years 1000 to 1300
    • 14th Century
    • 15th Century >
      • Years 1400-1429
      • Years 1430-1459
      • Years 1460-1479
      • Years 1480-1499
    • 16th Century >
      • Years 1500-1519
      • Decade 1520-1529
      • Decade 1530-1539
      • Years 1540-1569
      • Years 1570-1599
    • 17th Century >
      • Decade 1600-1609
      • Decade 1610-1619
      • Decade 1620-1629
      • Decade 1630-1639
      • Decade 1640-1649
      • Decade 1650-1659
      • Years 1660-1679
      • Years 1680-1699
    • 18th Century >
      • Years 1700-1719
      • Decade 1720-1729
      • Decade 1730-1739
      • Decade 1740-1749
      • Decade 1750-1759
      • Decade 1760-1769
      • Decade 1770-1779 >
        • 1776
      • Decade 1780-1789
      • Decade 1790-1799 >
        • 1792
    • 19th Century >
      • Decade 1800-1809
      • Decade 1810-1819
      • Decade 1820-1829
      • Decade 1830-1839
      • Decade 1840-1849
      • Decade 1850-1859
      • Decade 1860-1869
      • Decade 1870-1879
      • Decade 1880-1889 >
        • 1887
        • 1888
        • 1889
      • Decade 1890-1899 >
        • 1890
        • 1892
        • 1896
    • 20th Century >
      • Decade 1900-1909 >
        • 1903
        • 1904
        • 1905
        • 1907
        • 1908
        • 1909
      • Decade 1910-1919 >
        • 1911
        • 1912
        • 1913
        • 1914
        • 1915
        • 1916
        • 1917
        • 1918
        • 1919
      • Decade 1920-1929 >
        • 1920
        • 1923
        • 1925
        • 1926
        • 1927
        • 1928
        • 1929
      • Decade 1930-1939 >
        • 1930
        • 1931
        • 1932
        • 1933
        • 1934
        • 1935
        • 1936
        • 1937
        • 1938
        • 1939
      • Decade 1940-1949 >
        • 1941
        • 1942
        • 1945
        • 1946
        • 1947
        • 1948
        • 1949
      • Decade 1950-1959 >
        • 1950
        • 1951
        • 1952
        • 1953
        • 1954
        • 1955
        • 1956
        • 1957
        • 1958
        • 1959
      • Decade 1960-1969 >
        • 1960
        • 1961
        • 1962
        • 1963
        • 1964
        • 1965
        • 1966
        • 1967
        • 1968
        • 1969
      • Decade 1970-1979 >
        • 1970
        • 1971
        • 1972
        • 1975
        • 1977
        • 1979
      • Decade 1980-1989 >
        • 1980
        • 1981
        • 1982
        • 1983
        • 1985
        • 1986
        • 1987
        • 1988
      • Decade 1990-1999 >
        • 1993
        • 1994
        • 1996
        • 1997
        • 1998
    • Decade 2000-2009 >
      • 2000
      • 2001
      • 2006
      • 2007
    • From 2010 to Now >
      • Current Art
  • Roman Empire
  • Renaissance
  • Painting
    • Ancient Painting >
      • Oil on Copper
    • 18th Century Painting
  • Ancient Drawing
  • Art on Paper
  • Sculpture
    • Bust
    • Ancient Sculpture
    • Italian Sculpture
    • French Sculpture
  • Women Artists
    • Ancient Art by Women
    • Art by Women ca 1960
    • Current Art by Women
  • Furniture
    • Chairs and Seats
    • Colonial Furniture
    • Ancient French Furniture
    • 18th Century Furniture
    • 20th Century Furniture >
      • Art Deco
      • Lalanne
  • Prints
    • Ancient Prints
    • Modern Prints
  • Photo
    • Old Photos >
      • Travel Photos
      • Early French Photo
    • Photos 1900-1940 >
      • Photos in the 1920s
    • Photos 1970s 1980s
    • Gursky
    • Photos by Women
  • The Man
  • The Woman
  • Children
  • Man and Woman
  • Groups
  • Self Portrait
    • Self Portrait 2nd page
  • Nude
  • Abstract Art
    • Abstract Art - 2nd page
  • Landscape
    • Midi
    • Alps
    • Mountains in China
  • Cities
    • Venice
    • Paris
    • Los Angeles
  • Flowers
    • Bouquet
  • Animals
    • Bird
    • Cats
    • Horse
  • Dragon
  • Tabletop
  • Early Still Life
  • Music and Dance in Art
    • Music in Old Painting
  • Sport in Art
  • Orientalism
    • Orientalism 1830-1900
  • France
    • Louis XIV to XVI
    • Revolution and Empire
    • Louis XVIII to 2nd Empire
    • Ancient French Painting
    • Cézanne
    • Monet >
      • Monet before 1878
      • From Vétheuil to Giverny
      • Pond by Monet
    • Gauguin
    • Lautrec
    • Matisse
    • Post War French Art >
      • Klein
  • Italy
    • Italian Painting 1280-1700
    • Canaletto
    • Modigliani
    • Modern Italian Art
    • Italy 2nd page
  • Switzerland before 1940
  • Giacometti
    • Giacometti 1947-53
  • Bacon
    • Bacon before 1963
    • Bacon 1963-70
    • Later Bacons
  • UK - 2nd page
    • Ancient England
    • George I to III
    • George IV to Victoria
    • British Royals
    • Turner
    • Freud
    • Hockney
    • Doig
  • Germany
    • Ancient Germany
    • Richter >
      • Richter before 1986
    • Germany - 2nd page
  • Rembrandt
  • Van Gogh
  • De Kooning
  • Holland 2nd page
  • Old Flanders and Belgium
    • Flemish Art >
      • Rubens
    • Magritte
    • Tintin
    • Belgium 2nd page
  • Picasso
    • Picasso before 1907
    • Picasso 1907-1931
    • Picasso in the 1930s
    • Picasso 1940-1960
    • Picasso from 1961
    • Prints by Picasso
  • Spain - 2nd page
    • Ancient Spain
    • Miro
    • Spain 3rd page
  • Klimt
  • Austria 2nd page
  • USA
    • US Independence
    • Development of USA
    • US Civil War
    • Far West
    • US Painting before 1940
    • Rockwell
    • Rothko >
      • Early Rothko
      • Rothko 1957-70
    • Pollock
    • Lichtenstein >
      • Lichtenstein after 1965
    • Warhol >
      • USA by Warhol
      • Celebrities by Warhol
      • Later Warhols
      • Prints by Warhol
    • Twombly
    • Koons
    • Basquiat
    • USA 2nd page
  • Canada
  • Central and South Americas
  • China
    • Archaic China >
      • Ritual Bronzes
    • Northern Song
    • Southern Song and Yuan
    • Early Ming
    • Later Ming
    • Early Qing
    • Qianlong
    • Modern China >
      • Zhang Daqian
      • Sanyu
      • Zao Wou-Ki
    • New Chinese Painting
    • Chinese Porcelain >
      • Song to Yuan Porcelain
      • Ming Porcelain
      • Qing Porcelain
    • Chinese Art
    • Chinese Calligraphy
    • Jade
  • India
    • Tibet and Nepal
    • Modern India >
      • Gaitonde
  • Persia
    • Safavid Carpets
  • Japan
  • Russia
    • Russia 1700-1900
    • Kandinsky
  • Eastern Europe
    • Chagall
  • Northern Europe
    • Prints by Munch
  • Egypt
  • Tropical Africa
    • Congo
    • Gabon
    • Mask
  • Tribal Oceania
  • Australia
    • Colonial Australia
  • Islam
  • Buddhism
    • Early Buddhist Sculpture
  • Judaica
  • Christianity
    • Madonna and Child
  • Cars
    • Birth of Automobile
    • Cars of the 1910s
    • Cars of the 1920s
    • Cars of the 1930s >
      • Cars 1930-33
      • Cars 1934-36
      • Cars 1937-39
    • Post War Cars >
      • Cars 1940-50
      • Cars 1951-53
      • Cars 1954-55
      • Cars 1956-57
      • Cars 1958-59
    • Cars of the 1960s >
      • Cars 1960-61
      • Cars 1962-64
      • Cars 1965-67
    • Cars 1970s 1980s
    • Supercars
    • Hypercars
    • Ferrari >
      • Early Ferrari
      • From LWB to GTO >
        • California Spider
      • Ferrari after 1962
    • Italian Cars
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Porsche
    • British Cars >
      • Aston Martin
      • Jaguar
      • McLaren
    • Bugatti
    • French Cars
    • Duesenberg
    • Ford and Shelby
    • Cars - 2nd page
  • Motorcycles
  • Jewels
    • White Diamond
    • Pink Diamond
    • Blue Diamond
    • African Diamonds
    • Jewels - 2nd page
    • Cartier
  • Silverware
  • Coin
    • Gold Coins
    • Silver Coins
    • Antique Coins
    • Coins 1000-1775
    • Coins 1776-92
    • Coins 1793-99
    • Coins 1800-49
    • Coins 1850-69
    • Coins 1870-99
    • 20th century Coins
    • British Coins
    • Dollars and Eagles
    • Japanese Coins
    • Chinese Coins
  • Paper Currency
  • Medal and Decoration
    • Nobel Medals
  • Time Pieces
    • Clocks >
      • Old Clocks
    • Mechanical Craft ca 1800 >
      • Jaquet-Droz and Followers
    • Modern Watches
    • New Watches
    • Patek Philippe >
      • Development of Patek Philippe
      • Patek Philippe 1945-1980
    • Rolex
    • Watches 2nd page
    • English Time Pieces
    • French Time Pieces
  • Glass and Crystal
    • Glass before 1900
    • Glass 1900-10
  • From Terracotta to Porcelain
    • Ceramic before 1760
  • Textiles
  • Garment
  • Fashion
  • Books
    • Incunabula
    • Books 1501-1700
    • Fine Books 1700-1850
  • Literature
    • Literature in English
    • Literature in French
  • Poems and Lyrics
  • Autograph
  • Manuscript
  • Religious Texts
  • Political Writing
  • Comic Books
  • Comic Art
  • Travel
  • Space
  • Maps
  • Cars in Movies
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Musical Instrument
    • Violin
    • Guitar
    • Musical Instrument 2nd page
  • Pop Music
    • The Beatles
  • Poster
  • Sport
    • Sport Equipment
    • Sport Document
    • Sport Rewards and Medals
    • T206 Wagner
    • Sport Images before 1940
    • Sport Cards 1940-70
    • Modern Sport Cards
    • Baseball >
      • Babe Ruth
      • Baseball Bat
      • Baseball Uniform
    • Basketball
    • Ice Hockey
    • Sport 2nd page
    • Olympic Games
  • Origins of Sports
  • Historical Arms
    • Blade and Armour
    • Colt 1836-62
    • Later Colts
    • Winchester
    • Firearms - 2nd page
  • Toys and Carousels
    • Doll
  • Games
  • Stamps
    • World Stamps
    • US Stamps
    • Inverted Jenny
  • Inventions
  • Instrument and Equipment
  • Sciences
    • Ancient Science
    • Sciences 1600-1800
    • Sciences from 1800
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Medicine
    • Natural History
  • Whisky
  • Wine
  • Past Sales

Archaic China

See also : Ritual bronzes  Early Buddhist sculpture  Horse  Jade  Glass and crystal  Glass II  Musical instrument  Musical instrument II
Chronology : Origin  600 BCE - CE  1-1000

​Shang - Ritual Bronzes from Anyang
2017 SOLD for $ 37M including premium

Chinese history emerges from the mists of legend with the Shang dynasty that lasted more than five centuries. Bronze comes in supplement to the pottery and is used especially for ritual vessels. For the excitement of the archaeologists the Shang and Zhou bronzes have preserved a perfect condition thanks to a sufficient content of tin. Their finely incised decoration of tight mystical figures and motifs in reserves is neither corroded nor worn.

The long reign of Wu Din marks the culmination of the Shang around 3250 years ago. He resides in the new capital Yinxu which is today in the territory of the city of Anyang.

The tomb of Fu Hao, discovered in 1976, had never been visited by looters. This wife of Wu Din had a considerable political influence, even becoming the supreme general of the armies. Her tomb is a complete catalog of the art of the Shang, including 1800 pieces mainly in jade, bone, bronze and stone, not forgetting 6,900 cowry shells that served as money and 16 skeletons of sacrificed slaves.

The ritual bronzes of the Shang had a wide variety of shapes suitable for storage and cooking. The rites defined the quantities of sacrificial vessels authorized according to the social position. Under the Zhou who overthrew the Shang the king could use 9 ding and 8 gui while a nobleman was limited to 3 ding and 2 gui. The tomb of Fu Hao contained the incredible quantity of 200 ritual bronzes.

On March 15 in New York, Christie's disperses the Chinese art collection of the Fujita Museum in Osaka, including four Shang bronzes. The catalog indicates for each of these pieces an acquisition prior to 1940 by the museum. Their similarity to the bronzes of Fu Hao and the comparable or sometimes superior quality of their technique and of their mystical decoration suggests that these four vessels came from a same royal tomb. They have kept their cover, except of course the zun which never has one.

Lot 523, estimated $ 6M, is a 52 cm high vessel with a complex three-body shape. By its large flared mouth (zun) of square section (fang), it is a fangzun.

Lot 524, estimated $ 5M, is a fanglei 63 cm high including its cover. By comparison the Father Ji's fanglei, sold for $ 9.2M including premium by Christie's on March 20, 2001, is 64 cm high without its lid which is lost and is dated from the Shang-Zhou transition two centuries later.

Lot 525, estimated $ 4M, is a pou 57 cm high. Its two-body shape with a round belly on a truncated cone base is archaic but its decoration is comparable to the other pieces in the sale.

Lot 526 is the sensational zoomorphic gong that was the subject of a previous discussion in this column.

Please watch the video shared by Christie's to introduce the sale.

RESULTS including premium :
Fangzun : $ 37M
Fanglei : $ 34M
Pou : $ 27M

A Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel from the Fujita Museum sold for $37,207,500, a #worldauctionrecord for an archaic bronze. pic.twitter.com/VcxYG3BPkF

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017
Ritual Bronzes
Origin

Shang - Fanglei
2017 SOLD for $ 34M including premium by Christie's

Narrated above

A Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel & Cover, Fanglei, from the Late Shang Dynasty from the Fujita Museum sold for $33,847,500 #AsianArtWeek pic.twitter.com/FIfq9JsYxm

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017

Shang - Pou
2017 SOLD for $ 27M including premium by Christie's

Narrated above

A Late Shang Dynasty Massive Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel and Cover, Pou, from the Fujita Museum sold for $27,127,500 #AsianArtWeek pic.twitter.com/v1HPYtI9BA

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 16, 2017

​Shang - The Ritual Ram
​2017 SOLD for $ 27M including premium

The bronze art for Chinese vessels was diversified at the end of the Shang dynasty, from 3300 to 3050 years ago. The various shapes are adapted to their ritual uses. Li, yi, lei, fangyi, fanglei and hu examples were previously discussed in this column.

The gong and the zun may both become zoomorphic with a high degree of three-dimensional realism. The zun is designed for its ease of pouring, with a spout lined with broad lips. The gong or guang is an open vessel equipped with a removable lid over its entire upper surface.

On March 15 in New York, Christie's sells a gong in the form of a ram 22 cm long, lot 526 estimated $ 6M. This piece is de-accessioned from the Fujita Museum in Osaka.

The back of the beast consists of the lid which is elongated to the superb head with its C-shaped horns. The body including the cover is embellished in shallow relief with the same traditional motifs as in the geometrically shaped vessels : taotie, stylized beasts. The thick legs ensure the stability of the vase. The back is surmounted by a dragon and a bird positioned like a handle.

The catalog of the auction house considers twelve other complete quadruped gong or zun examples of Shang period, all of them kept in museums : buffalos, elephants, fabulous animals, a boar, an elephant. The last one offered at auction was a buffalo zun in 1988.

Considering the sacred or sacrificial use of some of these animals, the extreme rarity of these pieces may surprise. It is probably due to a high difficulty of execution.

Christie’s NY to Offer Rare Chinese Art from Fujita Museum at 2017 Spring Sale https://t.co/Ag1ow96cfp #Auctions pic.twitter.com/5puxLHtGHv

— ARTINFO HongKong (@ARTINFOHongKong) October 23, 2016

Shang - An Old Hybrid
2021 SOLD for $ 8.6M including premium

On March 18 in New York, Christie's sells a 30 cm long gong-type bronze, lot 505 estimated $ 4M.

Gong and zun were the two forms of vessels used for pouring ritual wine during the Shang Dynasty. The gong is a covered  boat, arguably easier to handle. The removable lid is accurately placed on the container. They poured without removing it.

The gong that comes for sale is doubly zoomorphic, with a fierce tiger in the front and an owl in the back. The feline has two rows of square teeth between which it spits a smoke when the boiling wine is poured. The two animal heads are in the round on the lid and the rest of the bodies is complete in low relief. The sides of the gong are lavishly decorated with mythical beasts, without taotie.

Six examples of this hybrid model are known, two of which were in Fu Hao's tomb in Anyang. The collection created to accompany this royal concubine into the afterlife forms a complete catalog of the Shang liturgical pieces around 1200 BCE.

The rarity of this model and the similarity of the six examples suggest that these bronzes came from the same workshop. Fu Hao's two gongs are inscribed with her name. The gong for sale has inside the container the wei type pictogram (according to the modern designation) surrounded by four clockwise imprints of a four-toe foot. The gong of the same model kept at the Cernuschi Museum has the same pictogram, which could identify a dignitary of the same rank as Fu Hao.

The gong which came from the collection of the Fujita Museum has the shape of a complete ram, whose raised legs are used to put it above the stove. It was sold by Christie's on March 15, 2017 for $ 27M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 6M.

The abuse of wine harmed the sacred ritual : the Zhou suppressed the use of the gong.

#AsiaWeek is right around the corner!

Discover our #NewYork March auctions □□□

h/t: @barronsonline https://t.co/ruL0EQZurE

— Bonhams (@bonhams1793) February 24, 2021

1072 BCE Shang Bronze with Commemorative Inscription
2021 SOLD for $ 5.4M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated post sale

Oracles predict history. In China, the recording of historical facts begins at the end of the Shang period. Oracle bones thus provide information on the progress of a military campaign carried out in the 15th year of Di Xin's reign, which may correspond to 1072 BCE.

On March 17, 2021, Sotheby's sold a bronze ritual vessel for $ 5.4M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 600K, lot 193. It is of the gui form, used for grain, which is most common beside the ding. Its overall width including two side handles is 28 cm.

The interior of this vessel bears an inscription of exceptional length. Almost all of the 34 characters were deciphered in 2015 by an expert from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

The name of the donor, Hua, and the day of the donation, guisi, are identified. The beneficiary is a xiaozi, meaning a general, whose name is not readable. The amount and nature of the donation is ten peng of cowries, a shell of a marine mollusk which was the most common currency at that time.

This act rewards the loyalty of this general who mounted the military campaign against the Yifeng, feng meaning foreigner. The general used this endowment to make this sacrificial vessel which he dedicates to an ancestor, Father Ding. The inscription is dated by its month, ji.

A vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros and another in the shape of a you have inscriptions relating to the same military campaign. The you rewarded another general.

Di Xin is a depraved and cruel king, a lover of wine and women. He is overthrown by the Zhou after a politically catastrophic reign. Inscriptions will become more frequent with this new dynasty.

Shang-Zhou The Masterpiece of Father Ji
2001 SOLD 9.2 M$ including premium by Christie's
2014 Withdrawn

PRE 2014 SALE DISCUSSION

1
On March 20 in New York, Christie's sells one of the most outstanding Chinese archaic vases which have survived until now, characterized by its monumental size, 64 cm high, and by the superb quality of its bronze casting.

This ritual wine vessel is a fanglei with square section, one of the most prestigious types that reached its apogee 3100 years ago in the transitional period between the Shang and the Western Zhou. It does not have its cover.

Its decoration in high relief over multiple registers meets a classic iconography but is particularly abundant and expressive : taotie, animals, dragons, masks. It includes an inscription in six characters: Father Ji made on commission (or commissioned) this sacred vessel.

This exceptional piece had already been featured at auction. On 20 March 2001, it was sold for $ 9.2 million including premium by Christie's.

2
The masterpiece of Chinese archaic art was removed from auction and sold to a group of collectors in favor of the Hunan Provincial Museum.

I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's :

Bronze Age for the Western Zhou
2013 SOLD 6.7 M$ including premium

The Western Zhou overthrew the Shang but continued their traditions, at least initially. At this time of transition, the preferred ritual piece is the bronze vessel holding the sacred food or the millet wine.

Often made for princely usage, these objects were however not uncommon and many of them have survived. They are very finely decorated, usually including mythical beasts, and their inscriptions invite the decoding of the beginnings of Chinese civilization.

Their use was perhaps funeral but certainly ceremonial. Almost all of them are adorned with several Taotie, these pairs of eyes whose obsessive gaze enables a ritual communication between the living and the dead.

The Gui vessels of the Western Zhou have a complex shape with two bodies. The upper part is bellied, between two large handles. The base is a parallelepiped with sharp right angles. The entire surface is decorated on both parts.

A beautiful specimen is estimated $ 2M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on September 17, lot 3. Executed 3000 years ago, this zuo bao yi gui food vessel has a peculiarity: the Taotie eyes of the base are all on both sides of the edges, increasing the hypnotic power.

This is the top lot among ten Chinese archaic bronzes from the collection of an Austrian architect. Other pieces from the same collection, from Zhou to Han, will be sold by Nagel in Stuttgart between October 30 and November 2.

POST SALE COMMENT

The ten lots auctioned by Sotheby's from the Julius Eberhardt collection were an exceptional group. Half of them exceeded $ 1M. The top three are bronze vessels of the Western Zhou.

As expected, the most interesting piece is the zuo bao yi gui, sold for $ 6.7 million including premium.

Let us also mention from the same period a wine pot sold for $ 3.1 million including premium and a cylindrical vase with an elegant flared neck sold for $ 2.16 million including premium.

The Fang Hu of the Warring States
2020 SOLD for $ 8.3M including premium

Around 400 BCE the Zhou were forced to recognize the full independence of three kingdoms around Henan. Their inexorable decline opens the Warring States period which will put up to seven major states in competition. The Qin emerge victorious in 221 BCE and found the Chinese empire.

The wording Warring States wrongly evokes anarchy. This period instead opened up China to new life styles through the development of Confucianism and Taoism. The traditional sacrificial or funeral rites persist while taking into account the observation of nature and medicine. The taotie, which expressed the mystery of the spirits, disappear from the bronze vessels.

The technological evolution of bronze becomes multidisciplinary. In very thick walls, deep grooves are filled with precious materials that bring the colors : gold, silver, copper, malachite, turquoise. Bronze handles and zoomorphic elements are added.

The baluster-shaped hu is the most common vessel at that time for the ritual use of wine. On September 23 in New York, Sotheby's sells a 35 cm high covered fang hu, lot 578 estimated $ 2.5M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. Fang means that the bottle has a square section. It is richly decorated with gold, silver and glass.

The gold was encrusted by hammering a sheet on a pattern of protruding knobs added after casting. The glass was fitted in diamond- or half diamond- shaped plaques of nine or six beads in hollow reserves between the gold bosses. Silver volutes decorate the dark brown bronze surface inlaid with green malachite. The slightly domed cover is surmounted by four animals in the round.

The use of glass, recently introduced in China, is extremely rare. The only other example from the same period of a bronze vessel inlaid with glass is a pair of hu discovered around 1930, known from photographs of the time.

Each glass bead has the shape of an eye, in a concentric polychromy. This design, which perhaps had magical significance, was produced for a very short period of time. Examples were found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of the principality of Zeng in Hubei, dated 433 BCE.

The sale of the fang hu, which had not been seen since 1938, allows a real rediscovery by the experts of the opulence reached in the time of the Warring States by the ritual bronzes of classical form.

Glass and Crystal
Glass 2nd page
From 600 BCE to CE

Eastern Han - Nephrite Bear
2011 SOLD 8 M$ including premium by Elite Decorative

​Link to catalogue on LiveAuctioneers.
Jade

526 Buddhist Triad of the Northern Wei
2017 SOLD for $ 5.8M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020

The Northern Wei were of foreign origin. In power in northern China since 386 CE, they had led a very long process of sinicization. After being persecuted by that dynasty, Buddhism was recognized as a state religion during the reign of Emperor Xuanwu.

Xuanwu's death in 515 CE opens a long period of civil wars in which the dominant personality is his widow the Empress Dowager Hu. Even more zealous than Xuanwu, Hu had gigantic Buddhist shrines built around the capital Luoyang. These temples are populated with countless altar figures in gilded bronze or in stone, for which an unprecedented perfection is requested. Many of them bear the date of their consecration.

Buddha is the main character, often flanked by two smaller bodhisattvas. The group in the round is positioned in front of a mandorla centered with a radiant halo. The stone carving technique is inspired by the Gandhara schists but the figurative details are different with a great care paid to the amplitude of the long robes.

A remarkably preserved 61 cm high marble triad was sold for $ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on March 15, 2017 from a lower estimate of $ 600K, lot 529 in the auction of the Fujita Museum collection.

This piece is dated to the second year of Xiaochang, the fourth era of the child emperor Xiaoming, corresponding to 526 CE. The three characters have half-closed eyes and a soothing smile. Buddha has one hand raised and the other lowered, in the blessing gesture of abhayamudra and varadamudra. In front of each of the bodhisattvas is a seated roaring lion. The top of the mandorla is missing.

#WorldAuctionRecord : la vente de la collection du musée #Fujita a totalisé 263 millions de dollars chez #Christies à New-York le 15 mars pic.twitter.com/D7QYaOzkcP

— Christie's Paris (@christiesparis) March 17, 2017
Early Buddhist Sculpture

Tang - Horse by Han Gan
2017 SOLD for $ 17M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020

Silk painting in ink and colors already existed under the Han, before the invention of paper. As early as 550 CE, an art critic defines six principles to be considered for appreciating a figurative work. The first principle is not derogable : the artist must transfer his energy into his art. It is also the basis of calligraphic art.

The Tang are great protectors of the arts. Narrative paintings feature groups in complex situations, with picturesque detail. The Taizong emperor also inaugurates the Tang's passion for the horse, that indispensable auxiliary of the warrior. He commissions the portraits of his favorite horses to Yan Liben.

The Tang imperial horses are the subject of a selection, integrating the best foreign breeds. The peak is reached during the reign of Xuanzong. His stable is reputed to house 40,000 horses, some of which are specially trained to dance in front of the emperor. Polo, hunting and jousting are practiced with passion. The main horse painter is Chen Hong.

Around 750 CE the self-taught artist Han Gan is noted for his artistic talents and invited to collaborate with Chen Hong. Han Gan abandons stylization for realism. The portrait of a horse, sometimes with a rider or a groom, becomes his exclusive theme. Each animal is observed individually.

On March 15, 2017, Christie's sold at lot 509 for $ 17M including premium the image of a horse by Han Gan, 32 x 38 cm, very readable but heavily cracked. The animal with an elegant two-tone hair walks with a dignified slowness. The colophon of the Qianlong emperor includes no less than twelve imperial seal marks and the artwork is listed in the catalogue of his collection, the Shiqu Baoji.

Xuanzong's long reign is culturally splendid and politically catastrophic. The emperor had abandoned management to devote himself to pleasures. He was deposited in 756 CE after a short civil war. This date is probably the terminus ante quem for an original painting by Han Gan.

Horse
Years 1 to 1000

756 Gods, Sages and Emperors
2011 SOLD 115 M RMB yuan by China Guardian
narrated post sale

The qin is the traditional Chinese plucked string instrument. The antique variants are now designated as guqin.

The guqin is the first of the four treasures of the scholar, ahead of Chinese go, calligraphy and ink painting. It was known since ancient times and the Chinese tradition likes to assign it with a pre-dynastic origin. Confucius is quoted among the sages who improved the instrument.

The classical seven-string guqin provides a music of great subtlety facilitated by the dots of harmony distributed on the surface. The wooden back is also an invitation to the inscription of poems.

The Imperial guqins are of great rarity. One of them named Da Sheng Yi Yin (reminiscent of the great sage) was sold for RMB yuan 115 million by China Guardian in 2011.

It was produced for or by the Emperor Suzong of the Tang. Lacquered in black and brown, it wears a poem and a seal and its harmonics match the months of the Chinese calendar. Its date is corresponding to 756 in our own calendar. Both sides are illustrated in an article shared by China Daily.

In December 2010, Poly sold for RMB yuan 137 million including premium (US $ 20.7 million in the conversion rate of that time) an imperial Song guqin made ​​for the Emperor Huizong in 1120 of our calendar.
Musical Instrument
Musical Instrument 2nd page
Northern Song
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.