Decade 1530-1539
See also : Ancient Germany Cranach Flemish art Books 16th century books Judaica Islam Manuscript Persia
1520-1539 The Princeps Edition of the Talmud
2015 SOLD for $ 9.3M including premium
The Jews understood that the sacred texts require commentaries. These scholarly tractates constitute the Talmud. The two main collections are named the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. They started from the antique oral traditions.
The invention of printing was not immediately applied to Hebrew types. In Italy, some Christian illuminators were able to continue their business during the last decades of the fifteenth century by adapting their expertise to the copy of Hebrew books.
The first books printed in Hebrew also appeared in Italy. A Mishneh Torah printed in Bologna in 1482 was sold for € 2.8 million including premium by Christie's on April 30, 2014. The texts are cleverly arranged in blocks for an easy comparison within the page between the basic text and its commentaries. There is nothing similar in the Christian culture as far as I know.
Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer in Venice, obtained in 1515 the permission to print in Hebrew. His princeps editions of the Talmud are a major project carried out in three phases : the Babylonian Talmud from 1520 to 1523, the Talmud of Jerusalem in 1522 and 1523 and additional tractates from 1525 to 1539 that went to complete his Babylonian Talmud.
The result is an achievement. The composition continues the tradition of confrontational blocks with such skill that they will serve for centuries as a prototype for further printed editions of the Talmud. The rabbinical sources are carefully selected and considered as indisputable. The book is printed on a beautiful heavy paper.
Westminster Abbey once owned the finest surviving copy of the Babylonian Talmud of Bomberg, complete of its 3472 leaves of great freshness, in nine volumes 39 x 27 cm in a period binding. When he was assembling his Valmadonna Trust Library, the collector Jack Lunzer managed to acquire this set by providing in exchange a valuable old charter of the abbey.
The Bomberg Talmud of the Valmadonna Trust Library is estimated $ 5M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on December 22, lot 12.
The Valmadonna collection was exhibited at Sotheby's in February 2009. The video below, which is an introduction to the 11000 pieces displayed in this exhibition, demonstrates convincingly why the Bomberg Talmud is the most important jewel in this stunning library.
The invention of printing was not immediately applied to Hebrew types. In Italy, some Christian illuminators were able to continue their business during the last decades of the fifteenth century by adapting their expertise to the copy of Hebrew books.
The first books printed in Hebrew also appeared in Italy. A Mishneh Torah printed in Bologna in 1482 was sold for € 2.8 million including premium by Christie's on April 30, 2014. The texts are cleverly arranged in blocks for an easy comparison within the page between the basic text and its commentaries. There is nothing similar in the Christian culture as far as I know.
Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer in Venice, obtained in 1515 the permission to print in Hebrew. His princeps editions of the Talmud are a major project carried out in three phases : the Babylonian Talmud from 1520 to 1523, the Talmud of Jerusalem in 1522 and 1523 and additional tractates from 1525 to 1539 that went to complete his Babylonian Talmud.
The result is an achievement. The composition continues the tradition of confrontational blocks with such skill that they will serve for centuries as a prototype for further printed editions of the Talmud. The rabbinical sources are carefully selected and considered as indisputable. The book is printed on a beautiful heavy paper.
Westminster Abbey once owned the finest surviving copy of the Babylonian Talmud of Bomberg, complete of its 3472 leaves of great freshness, in nine volumes 39 x 27 cm in a period binding. When he was assembling his Valmadonna Trust Library, the collector Jack Lunzer managed to acquire this set by providing in exchange a valuable old charter of the abbey.
The Bomberg Talmud of the Valmadonna Trust Library is estimated $ 5M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on December 22, lot 12.
The Valmadonna collection was exhibited at Sotheby's in February 2009. The video below, which is an introduction to the 11000 pieces displayed in this exhibition, demonstrates convincingly why the Bomberg Talmud is the most important jewel in this stunning library.
Shahnameh
Intro
The most important works of ancient literature had a universal or encyclopaedic goal. The Iliad of Homer, Dante's Divine Comedy and the Shahnameh of Firdausi must be put on the same pedestal.
The Persian poet Firdausi wrote the Shahnameh 1,000 years ago. This Book of Kings collects in 30,000 couplets the epic and heroic stories of his country since the creation of the world until the advent of Islam.
He was misunderstood in his lifetime, like all geniuses, but the Persian kings appreciated later that this text could be used as an apologia for royal power. Shah Isma'il, founder of the Safavid dynasty, commissioned ca 1522 CE the leading artists of his court to illustrate the Shahnameh. That illuminated manuscript was created from 1525 to 1540 in the early reign of his son and successor Shah Tahmasp. That fully completed project includes 258 miniatures skillfully composed with combinations of bright colors..
This magnificent manuscript has been dismantled in the 1970s. One can, or even have to, regret it but the corollary is that each folio coming on the market is considered as a work of art in its own right. The format of the folios is 47 x 32 cm. Panels of text are inserted in columns in the pictures.
The Persian poet Firdausi wrote the Shahnameh 1,000 years ago. This Book of Kings collects in 30,000 couplets the epic and heroic stories of his country since the creation of the world until the advent of Islam.
He was misunderstood in his lifetime, like all geniuses, but the Persian kings appreciated later that this text could be used as an apologia for royal power. Shah Isma'il, founder of the Safavid dynasty, commissioned ca 1522 CE the leading artists of his court to illustrate the Shahnameh. That illuminated manuscript was created from 1525 to 1540 in the early reign of his son and successor Shah Tahmasp. That fully completed project includes 258 miniatures skillfully composed with combinations of bright colors..
This magnificent manuscript has been dismantled in the 1970s. One can, or even have to, regret it but the corollary is that each folio coming on the market is considered as a work of art in its own right. The format of the folios is 47 x 32 cm. Panels of text are inserted in columns in the pictures.
1
1530s Folio 295 attributed to Mirza 'Ali
2022 SOLD for £ 8.1M by Sotheby's
The folio 295 in the standard paper leaf 47 x 32 cm is illustrated in the recto by a gouache and ink 34 x 28 cm that overlaps a rectangular gold frame in its upper and left margins. It integrates a short text in four columns.
This picture is attributed to Mirza 'Ali in the Royal atelier in Tabriz. Turning 20 years old in the early 1530s, Mirza 'Ali, the son of a leading artist of Shah Tahmasp's Shanameh, contributed to that project for about six illustrations. By his skills for details and psychology, he will be arguably the greatest illustrator of the Safavid dynasty.
The action features Rustam, dressed in a leopard skin, recovering the horse Rakhsh from the herd of his arch-enemy in a lush surrounding of trees inhabited with various species of birds including partridges. Another bearded character marks his astonishment by putting a finger in his mouth. Rakhsh means lightning.
The verso has an illuminated 20 line text in black in four columns in the same gold frame as the recto.
This folio was sold for £ 8.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2022, lot 49. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This picture is attributed to Mirza 'Ali in the Royal atelier in Tabriz. Turning 20 years old in the early 1530s, Mirza 'Ali, the son of a leading artist of Shah Tahmasp's Shanameh, contributed to that project for about six illustrations. By his skills for details and psychology, he will be arguably the greatest illustrator of the Safavid dynasty.
The action features Rustam, dressed in a leopard skin, recovering the horse Rakhsh from the herd of his arch-enemy in a lush surrounding of trees inhabited with various species of birds including partridges. Another bearded character marks his astonishment by putting a finger in his mouth. Rakhsh means lightning.
The verso has an illuminated 20 line text in black in four columns in the same gold frame as the recto.
This folio was sold for £ 8.1M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on October 26, 2022, lot 49. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2
1525-1535 Folio 42
2011 SOLD for £ 7.4M by Sotheby's
On April 6, 2011, Sotheby's sold for £ 7.4M from a lower estimate of £ 2M the folio 42 of the original manuscript, lot 78. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The miniature is a 30 x 29 cm gouache heightened with gold, made in Tabriz between 1525 and 1535 CE. It is attributable to Aqa Mirak who was one of the leading masters of the project. The reverse has a text in four columns and two headings. The image overlaps the irregular gold margin on its right side.
It pictures the king Faridun who disguises himself as a fierce dragon to test the courage and loyalty of his three sons. He could rejoice in the result and particularly appreciate the haughty answer made by the youngest: Go your way, dragon, we are the sons of the powerful Faridun.
The miniature is a 30 x 29 cm gouache heightened with gold, made in Tabriz between 1525 and 1535 CE. It is attributable to Aqa Mirak who was one of the leading masters of the project. The reverse has a text in four columns and two headings. The image overlaps the irregular gold margin on its right side.
It pictures the king Faridun who disguises himself as a fierce dragon to test the courage and loyalty of his three sons. He could rejoice in the result and particularly appreciate the haughty answer made by the youngest: Go your way, dragon, we are the sons of the powerful Faridun.
Celebrating 40 years of pioneering #IslamicArt at Sotheby’s https://t.co/wwDYNq8T6E pic.twitter.com/n8SIMLwc8s
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) February 18, 2016
3
1525-1535 Folio 328 attributed to Bashdan Qara
2023 SOLD for £ 4.9M by Sotheby's
The folio 328 of the Shahnameh features the night raid when Bizhan slays Nastihan, during the Iran-Turan war. The image displays the dense frenzy of the battle with arrows, spears and swords severing the heads and with horses trampling the dead. The bold colors of the hectic action are interspersed with arabesque ornaments.
It is attributed to Bashdan Qara who was skilled to paint battles in the follow of Sultan Muhammad, the early leading artist of the Shahnameh project. In the Shahnameh, Bashdan Qara was only an occasional artist who went to be beheaded after trying to serve a cup of poisoned wine to Shah Tahmasp in 1534 CE.
It was sold for £ 4.9M by Sotheby's on April 26, 2023, lot 41. Please watch the fancy video shared by the auction house.
It is attributed to Bashdan Qara who was skilled to paint battles in the follow of Sultan Muhammad, the early leading artist of the Shahnameh project. In the Shahnameh, Bashdan Qara was only an occasional artist who went to be beheaded after trying to serve a cup of poisoned wine to Shah Tahmasp in 1534 CE.
It was sold for £ 4.9M by Sotheby's on April 26, 2023, lot 41. Please watch the fancy video shared by the auction house.
4
1530 Folio 451
2022 SOLD for £ 4.8M by Christie's
The miniature of the folio 451 of the Shahnameh is a 21 x 21 cm gouache heightened with silver and gold on a paper 47 x 31 cm. Painted in Tabriz ca 1530, it is attributed to Aqa Mirak assisted by Qasim bin 'Ali. The reverse has a text in four columns.
It pictures Rustam kicking away the boulder pushed by Bahman. This story is not rare in Persian iconography. Closely following the text, the challenging hero is performing a Cossack dance while handling a cup of wine and roasting his onager.
This folio was sold for £ 4.8M from a lower estimate of £ 2.5M by Christie's on March 31, 2022, lot 41.
It pictures Rustam kicking away the boulder pushed by Bahman. This story is not rare in Persian iconography. Closely following the text, the challenging hero is performing a Cossack dance while handling a cup of wine and roasting his onager.
This folio was sold for £ 4.8M from a lower estimate of £ 2.5M by Christie's on March 31, 2022, lot 41.
Christie's is delighted to announce that a rare court painting from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (c.1530) and The Adolphe von Rothschild silk and metal-thread Polonaise carpet will lead the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets sale on 31 March. pic.twitter.com/kv7GtgQmxc
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) February 22, 2022
1530 Virgin and Child by Beccafumi
2023 SOLD for £ 5.1M by Sotheby's
Domenico di Giacomo di Pace took the artist's name Beccafumi from an early patron of him who was an ambassador of Siena to the neighboring Florence. Domenico brought to Siena the Florentine mannerist style of Fra Bartolomeo.
St. Caterina of Siena was the subject of an an intense devotion in that city. She will be the second woman to be named a Doctor of the Church, in 1970 a few days after Teresa of Avila.
A preferred theme of the artist for paintings of private devotion, often as tondi, was the Virgin with the infants Jesus and St. John the Baptist as a group attended by the stigmatics St. Caterina of Siena and St. Francis of Assisi. The boys are often embracing one another.
An oil on panel with an arched top 86 x 58 cm overall made around 1530 features the Madonna and the two babies as a happy Mannerist group. Helped by his Mother, Jesus is standing in the nude. His nice childish face is smiling and his gaze is directed out of the scenery. The kneeling baby John raises his gaze and joins his hands in devotion.
This painting was sold for £ 5.1M from a lower estimate of £ 3M by Sotheby's on July 5, 2023, lot 3.
St. Caterina of Siena was the subject of an an intense devotion in that city. She will be the second woman to be named a Doctor of the Church, in 1970 a few days after Teresa of Avila.
A preferred theme of the artist for paintings of private devotion, often as tondi, was the Virgin with the infants Jesus and St. John the Baptist as a group attended by the stigmatics St. Caterina of Siena and St. Francis of Assisi. The boys are often embracing one another.
An oil on panel with an arched top 86 x 58 cm overall made around 1530 features the Madonna and the two babies as a happy Mannerist group. Helped by his Mother, Jesus is standing in the nude. His nice childish face is smiling and his gaze is directed out of the scenery. The kneeling baby John raises his gaze and joins his hands in devotion.
This painting was sold for £ 5.1M from a lower estimate of £ 3M by Sotheby's on July 5, 2023, lot 3.
#AuctionUpdate A prime example of Domenico Beccafumi’s highly distinctive and expressive style, ‘Virgin and Child with Saints’ (c. 1530) sets a new auction record for the artist, selling for £5,105,600. #SothebysOldMasters pic.twitter.com/a6VTzgp8xG
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 5, 2023
1532 Game of Life in Antwerp
2019 SOLD for $ 10M including premium
The end of the Renaissance offers an artistic and cultural breakthrough. Erasmus fascinates his readers with his satirical vision of the weaknesses of mankind. Painting remains dominated by religious themes and by portraits. In both cases, artists are paying an increasing care to the expression of emotions.
Jan Sanders van Hemessen was received in 1524 at the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp where he joined Quentin Massys. A friend of Erasmus, Massys had introduced the grotesque into his religious and secular scenes. Much ahead of its time, the Lender and his wife, painted in 1511 by Massys, shows two characters captured in a moment of their professional activity.
Van Hemessen's creativity is very innovative. He is the first to practice what was later called the Mannerist inversion, which consisted of relegating the religious scene to the background for devoting the foreground to a scene of daily life with the clothes of his time.
Often the religious action disappears, replaced by an accumulation of symbols that are no longer comprehensible to the observer of today but allows all fantasies, such as to apply to an angel the very colorful wings of a butterfly. By his frequent use of an instant narrative, van Hemessen is the founder of the Flemish genre painting and anticipates Bruegel's proverbs.
On May 1 in New York, Christie's sells a 111 x 128 cm oil on panel painted by van Hemessen in 1532, lot 7 estimated $ 4M.
This life-size half-length double portrait shows a man and a woman in a cozy interior. Richly dressed, they certainly belong to the Antwerp bourgeoisie. They are seated at a table centered by the board of a game which is a precursor to the backgammon.
These two characters discuss an element of the on-going game. The forefinger of the woman is pointing to two dice that have just revealed their number. They look at each other with a loving smile. Several elements, including the rings on the fingers and a quince freshly cut for sharing, evoke their marriage. Some other symbols are religious.
Please watch the video prepared by Christie's in which this painting is discussed by its consignor the minimalist artist Frank Stella.
Jan Sanders van Hemessen was received in 1524 at the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp where he joined Quentin Massys. A friend of Erasmus, Massys had introduced the grotesque into his religious and secular scenes. Much ahead of its time, the Lender and his wife, painted in 1511 by Massys, shows two characters captured in a moment of their professional activity.
Van Hemessen's creativity is very innovative. He is the first to practice what was later called the Mannerist inversion, which consisted of relegating the religious scene to the background for devoting the foreground to a scene of daily life with the clothes of his time.
Often the religious action disappears, replaced by an accumulation of symbols that are no longer comprehensible to the observer of today but allows all fantasies, such as to apply to an angel the very colorful wings of a butterfly. By his frequent use of an instant narrative, van Hemessen is the founder of the Flemish genre painting and anticipates Bruegel's proverbs.
On May 1 in New York, Christie's sells a 111 x 128 cm oil on panel painted by van Hemessen in 1532, lot 7 estimated $ 4M.
This life-size half-length double portrait shows a man and a woman in a cozy interior. Richly dressed, they certainly belong to the Antwerp bourgeoisie. They are seated at a table centered by the board of a game which is a precursor to the backgammon.
These two characters discuss an element of the on-going game. The forefinger of the woman is pointing to two dice that have just revealed their number. They look at each other with a loving smile. Several elements, including the rings on the fingers and a quince freshly cut for sharing, evoke their marriage. Some other symbols are religious.
Please watch the video prepared by Christie's in which this painting is discussed by its consignor the minimalist artist Frank Stella.
1532 The Elector of the Reformation
2018 SOLD for $ 7.7M including premium
Lucas Cranach becomes in 1504 a painter at the court of Saxony in Wittenberg. He will be until his death 49 years later a devoted collaborator of three successive Electors, ultimately joining the displacement to Weimar of the court of the last of them. He made many portraits of the electoral family without abandoning his other themes.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7 estimated $ 1M. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist). POST SALE COMMENT : the Farnese portrait was sold for $ 2.6M including premium.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7 estimated $ 1M. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist). POST SALE COMMENT : the Farnese portrait was sold for $ 2.6M including premium.
Dressed to impress: this opulent portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder depicts John Frederick I, the final Elector of Saxony, in the most stylish clothes of the decade.https://t.co/nrSbZ9wZbG pic.twitter.com/Gzoh1FTVRC
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 15, 2018
1537 Tang Dynasty Poetry by Qiu Ying
2016 SOLD for RMB 94M by Poly
Born in Suzhou to a peasant family, Qiu Ying was a skilled artist who produced perfect copies and imitations of Tang and Song paintings.
An album in ink and colors on silk dedicated to Tang dynasty poetry is made of 16 pages of calligraphy 24 x 27 cm with their corresponding landscape and riverscape paintings. A postscript dated March of the Dingyou Year of Jiajing matching 1537 CE provides the terminus ante quem. These exquisite paintings are by Qiu Ying and the calligraphies by Xu Chu in the archaic style of the Wangs.
The pictures depict the emperor's outings and entertainment in the palace in the four seasons.
This album was sold for RMB 94M by Poly on December 4, 2016, lot 4049.
An album in ink and colors on silk dedicated to Tang dynasty poetry is made of 16 pages of calligraphy 24 x 27 cm with their corresponding landscape and riverscape paintings. A postscript dated March of the Dingyou Year of Jiajing matching 1537 CE provides the terminus ante quem. These exquisite paintings are by Qiu Ying and the calligraphies by Xu Chu in the archaic style of the Wangs.
The pictures depict the emperor's outings and entertainment in the palace in the four seasons.
This album was sold for RMB 94M by Poly on December 4, 2016, lot 4049.
Jiajing Palace Carpet
2021 SOLD for € 6.9M by Christie's
The Wanli emperor had the imperial palace so lavishly decorated that he nearly bankrupted China. Knotted carpets were made in various shapes to wrap walls, floors and columns.
A pair of dragons symmetrically positioned around a well centered flaming pearl was an auspicious theme. A fragment 450 x 315 cm that preserved bright colors was sold for $ 670K by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 8.
A Ming carpet 510 x 450 cm still with its complete borders and wool thickness was sold for € 6.9M from a lower estimate of € 3.5M by Christie's on November 23, 2014, lot 224. It had probably be placed beneath the throne on a platform. It is well preserved excepted that the typical bright red background of the Ming style has faded into yellow. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
The drawing of the pair of imperial dragons and of clouds, waves and mountains are highly stylized, providing a more dynamic effect than in Wanli time. Such a decoration around the imperial seat highlighted the Son of Heaven as the center of the world. By comparison with dragons featured in porcelains, this carpet could be dated from the Jiajing period.
A pair of dragons symmetrically positioned around a well centered flaming pearl was an auspicious theme. A fragment 450 x 315 cm that preserved bright colors was sold for $ 670K by Christie's on December 11, 2014, lot 8.
A Ming carpet 510 x 450 cm still with its complete borders and wool thickness was sold for € 6.9M from a lower estimate of € 3.5M by Christie's on November 23, 2014, lot 224. It had probably be placed beneath the throne on a platform. It is well preserved excepted that the typical bright red background of the Ming style has faded into yellow. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house.
The drawing of the pair of imperial dragons and of clouds, waves and mountains are highly stylized, providing a more dynamic effect than in Wanli time. Such a decoration around the imperial seat highlighted the Son of Heaven as the center of the world. By comparison with dragons featured in porcelains, this carpet could be dated from the Jiajing period.
masterpiece
1538 Venus of Urbino by Titian
Uffizi
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
