Decade 1700-1709
Cotton and Pashmina
2013 SOLD 4.8 M£ including premium
Mughal carpets are considered as the masterpieces from the textiles of India. One of them had remained during a century in the Vanderbilt family where it was highlighted by prolonged exposure in places of honor of the mansions.
Measuring 388 x 411 cm, it has a classic repetitive decor of millefleurs, with a star lattice. The drawing of the edge is a later design. It was woven about 300 years ago, but its appeal is largely due to the fact that it is not oldest, once will not hurt!
Indeed, the great ancient Mughal carpets were in silk and are significantly degraded. The Vanderbilt specimen is in cotton, in ivory color for the warp and blue for the weft. The upper layer or pile with the decorative pattern is in pashmina which is a wool from Kashmir.
It is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on October 8.
POST SALE COMMENT
This exceptional carpet from North India greatly exceeded its estimate. It was sold for £ 4.8M including premium.
The image of this magnificent piece of textile in very good condition is shared on Wikimedia:
Measuring 388 x 411 cm, it has a classic repetitive decor of millefleurs, with a star lattice. The drawing of the edge is a later design. It was woven about 300 years ago, but its appeal is largely due to the fact that it is not oldest, once will not hurt!
Indeed, the great ancient Mughal carpets were in silk and are significantly degraded. The Vanderbilt specimen is in cotton, in ivory color for the warp and blue for the weft. The upper layer or pile with the decorative pattern is in pashmina which is a wool from Kashmir.
It is estimated £ 1.5 million, for sale by Christie's in London on October 8.
POST SALE COMMENT
This exceptional carpet from North India greatly exceeded its estimate. It was sold for £ 4.8M including premium.
The image of this magnificent piece of textile in very good condition is shared on Wikimedia:
1700 The Art of Collecting Shells or Medals
2012 SOLD 2.85 M€ including premium (declared fraudulent in 2014)
Cabinets of curiosities aroused vocations for specialized collections. It was however required that the storage of medals, insects or shellfish was made easy.
The classical tall armoire was not appropriate. Boulle, always inclined to create furniture adapted to practical needs, develops around 1700 a model of low cabinets with many thin drawers.
The collection hobby is the prerogative of an elite of rich courtiers. Made in pairs and inlaid in partie and contre-partie, these small pieces of furniture are among the most lavishly decorated works of the master.
One of these pairs, 102 cm high, is estimated € 1.5 M, for sale on September 26 in Paris by Europ Auction. It is dated from Louis XIV reign without further accuracy.
Each cabinet has twelve drawers in three columns, each column being hidden behind a panel. The panel on front side opens in a luxurious surrounding of bronzes. It is decorated with a vase of flowers in inlaid copper, tin and tortoiseshell. The other two panels, one on each lateral side of the cabinet, are decorated with simulated drawers, a very nice proof of the humor of their creator.
This shape of furniture has been successful throughout the eighteenth century, especially with Etienne Levasseur who was the best successor to the Boulle family. A pair of cabinets stamped by Levasseur circa 1785 was sold CHF 1.5 million including premium by the same auction house on June 23, 2010 in Geneva.
POST SALE COMMENT
The authentic cabinets made by Boulle rightly raise some excitement. This pair was sold € 2.2 million before fees, 2.85 million including premium.
2014 COMMENT
This sale was declared fraudulent by the Conseil des Ventes.
Reported by LexTimes.
The classical tall armoire was not appropriate. Boulle, always inclined to create furniture adapted to practical needs, develops around 1700 a model of low cabinets with many thin drawers.
The collection hobby is the prerogative of an elite of rich courtiers. Made in pairs and inlaid in partie and contre-partie, these small pieces of furniture are among the most lavishly decorated works of the master.
One of these pairs, 102 cm high, is estimated € 1.5 M, for sale on September 26 in Paris by Europ Auction. It is dated from Louis XIV reign without further accuracy.
Each cabinet has twelve drawers in three columns, each column being hidden behind a panel. The panel on front side opens in a luxurious surrounding of bronzes. It is decorated with a vase of flowers in inlaid copper, tin and tortoiseshell. The other two panels, one on each lateral side of the cabinet, are decorated with simulated drawers, a very nice proof of the humor of their creator.
This shape of furniture has been successful throughout the eighteenth century, especially with Etienne Levasseur who was the best successor to the Boulle family. A pair of cabinets stamped by Levasseur circa 1785 was sold CHF 1.5 million including premium by the same auction house on June 23, 2010 in Geneva.
POST SALE COMMENT
The authentic cabinets made by Boulle rightly raise some excitement. This pair was sold € 2.2 million before fees, 2.85 million including premium.
2014 COMMENT
This sale was declared fraudulent by the Conseil des Ventes.
Reported by LexTimes.
1700 The Daughter of the Botanist
2012 SOLD 1.7 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
At the time of the cabinets of curiosities, the botanist Frederik Ruysch accumulated a large collection of plants.
Rachel Ruysch, his daughter, had a fine talent as a painter. She began her career very young, which was not unusual at that time. All along her life, in parallel to her duties as wife and mother, she devoted herself to still lifes of flowers with nice and varied colors. Her professional abilities were recognized in 1701 when she was admitted to the painters' guild in The Hague.
Dated 1700, a painting shows an opulent bouquet in a vase on a stone ledge, with a few insects. This work, 110 x 90cm, is of large size for this artist.
Its provenance is prestigious. In 1857 it was sold by Christie and Mason in Alton Towers at the estate sale of the young Earl of Shrewsbury. This auction was one of the most prestigious of its century, with a catalog of 4000 lots. The 700 paintings covered the top names in the history of art. The auction lasted five weeks.
It is now estimated $ 200K, for sale by Butterscotch on February 12 in Bedford Village NY. Here is the link to the catalog on the auction platform LiveAuctioneers.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large format artwork whose provenance is well documented got a great price: $ 1.7 million before fees. This result is also highly remarkable by the fact that it was recorded in an estate sale, far from the excitement of major international auction groups.
At the time of the cabinets of curiosities, the botanist Frederik Ruysch accumulated a large collection of plants.
Rachel Ruysch, his daughter, had a fine talent as a painter. She began her career very young, which was not unusual at that time. All along her life, in parallel to her duties as wife and mother, she devoted herself to still lifes of flowers with nice and varied colors. Her professional abilities were recognized in 1701 when she was admitted to the painters' guild in The Hague.
Dated 1700, a painting shows an opulent bouquet in a vase on a stone ledge, with a few insects. This work, 110 x 90cm, is of large size for this artist.
Its provenance is prestigious. In 1857 it was sold by Christie and Mason in Alton Towers at the estate sale of the young Earl of Shrewsbury. This auction was one of the most prestigious of its century, with a catalog of 4000 lots. The 700 paintings covered the top names in the history of art. The auction lasted five weeks.
It is now estimated $ 200K, for sale by Butterscotch on February 12 in Bedford Village NY. Here is the link to the catalog on the auction platform LiveAuctioneers.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large format artwork whose provenance is well documented got a great price: $ 1.7 million before fees. This result is also highly remarkable by the fact that it was recorded in an estate sale, far from the excitement of major international auction groups.
1700-1710 Punch Bowl for the Use of New York
2010 SOLD for $ 5.9M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
In North America, the Anglo-Dutch War terminated Nieuw Nederland in 1674, but wealthy Dutch merchants remained influential in New York City and Albany. Abraham de Peyster was mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694. His brother and then his brother-in-law were mayors from 1698 to 1700.
Cornelius Kierstede belonged to the same community. He was a silversmith in New York City from 1698 to 1722 except for a brief stay in Albany from 1704 to 1706. He ended his career in New Haven. He specialized in chased silver tankards, mugs and bowls.
The Dutch are crazy about brandewijn, an eau de vie of wine drunk with water. Their New York community maintains this tradition. At family celebrations, the guests serve themselves with a silver spoon in a bowl containing the delicious liquid and raisins.
A New York-style bowl with six embossed silver panels surfaced in 2009 in England in the descent of a Loyalist officer of the Revolutionary War.
This piece made between 1700 and 1710 is marked CK for Kierstede. Measuring 32 cm in diameter and 44 cm overall with handles, it weighs 2,065 g and is the largest known piece of colonial silverware from before 1750.
Its first owner was necessarily one of the richest Dutch merchants in New York City or Albany. Several pieces marked by Kierstede belonged to the de Peyster family. Abraham is the best candidate : in 1634 his will listed nearly 50 kg of silverware including a large punch bowl which may be the recently found piece.
This bowl was sold by Sotheby's on January 22, 2010 for $ 5.9M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 400K, lot 443.
Cornelius Kierstede belonged to the same community. He was a silversmith in New York City from 1698 to 1722 except for a brief stay in Albany from 1704 to 1706. He ended his career in New Haven. He specialized in chased silver tankards, mugs and bowls.
The Dutch are crazy about brandewijn, an eau de vie of wine drunk with water. Their New York community maintains this tradition. At family celebrations, the guests serve themselves with a silver spoon in a bowl containing the delicious liquid and raisins.
A New York-style bowl with six embossed silver panels surfaced in 2009 in England in the descent of a Loyalist officer of the Revolutionary War.
This piece made between 1700 and 1710 is marked CK for Kierstede. Measuring 32 cm in diameter and 44 cm overall with handles, it weighs 2,065 g and is the largest known piece of colonial silverware from before 1750.
Its first owner was necessarily one of the richest Dutch merchants in New York City or Albany. Several pieces marked by Kierstede belonged to the de Peyster family. Abraham is the best candidate : in 1634 his will listed nearly 50 kg of silverware including a large punch bowl which may be the recently found piece.
This bowl was sold by Sotheby's on January 22, 2010 for $ 5.9M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 400K, lot 443.
1703 Album by Bada Shanren
2017 SOLD for $ 3.13M by Sotheby's
Bada Shanren often assembles his works in albums in which at least one image is dated.
An album of twelve leaves 29 x 20 cm made in 1703 by Bada Shanren bringing together flowers, birds, fish and fruit was sold for $ 3.13M by Sotheby's on March 16, 2017, lot 844.
An album of twelve leaves 29 x 20 cm made in 1703 by Bada Shanren bringing together flowers, birds, fish and fruit was sold for $ 3.13M by Sotheby's on March 16, 2017, lot 844.
1704 Wild Strawberries by Adriaen Coorte
2022 SOLD for $ 2.44M by Sotheby's
There is no evidence that Adriaen Coorte ever was a professional artist. He probably lived in Middelburg where he was not a member of the painter's guild. During about 20 years he signed and dated his paintings. His work was revealed from 1952.
His mature paintings are limited to still lifes of fruit, vegetables, nuts or shells on a ledge with a plain dark background. His compositions are remarkably simple, with no equivalent before the time of Chardin.
Coorte undeniably used these themes for a study of colors and was specially appealed by the bright red of the small wild strawberries, featured in 18 of his known corpus of 64.
One of them is an oil on canvas, less frequent in his work than the oil on paper. It is dated 1704 which is the penultimate year of his recorded work. The tiny fruits are carefully filling a Wanli porcelain with a nicely arched upper and lower lines. The arrangement is completed by a few additional berries on the table and a single flower raising its bloom and bud from within the stack of berries.
This elegant still life 30 x 22.6 cm was sold for $ 2.44M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Sotheby's on January 27, 2022, lot 37.
His mature paintings are limited to still lifes of fruit, vegetables, nuts or shells on a ledge with a plain dark background. His compositions are remarkably simple, with no equivalent before the time of Chardin.
Coorte undeniably used these themes for a study of colors and was specially appealed by the bright red of the small wild strawberries, featured in 18 of his known corpus of 64.
One of them is an oil on canvas, less frequent in his work than the oil on paper. It is dated 1704 which is the penultimate year of his recorded work. The tiny fruits are carefully filling a Wanli porcelain with a nicely arched upper and lower lines. The arrangement is completed by a few additional berries on the table and a single flower raising its bloom and bud from within the stack of berries.
This elegant still life 30 x 22.6 cm was sold for $ 2.44M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Sotheby's on January 27, 2022, lot 37.
#AuctionUpdate: Good enough to eat! Adriaen Coorte’s still life of a bowl of wild strawberries brings $2.4 million. #SothebysMasters pic.twitter.com/RJPJCFFhK8
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) January 27, 2022
1705 Luck and Skill of Stradivarius
2012 SOLD 2.6 M$ including premium
Stradivari's first luck was to be born in Cremona, which thanks to the Amati family was the capital of violin making. Then, his story is that of a continuous improvement of his favorite instrument.
In the 1680s, the Stradivarius violins have the same features as those of Nicolo Amati. Customers love to hear music in large concert halls, and require to improve the sound. The Molitor, dated 1697, is already a wonderful violin. It was sold for $ 3.6 million by Tarisio in October 2010.
On April 26 online, Tarisio sells a Stradivarius violin, little known and well preserved, manufactured around 1705, the Baron von der Leyen. The bidding will begin at $ 2M for this instrument of the period of maturity.
The Lady Blunt, sold £ 9.8 million including premium on 20 June 2011, also at Tarisio, is dated 1721. Its fabulous price is due to its pristine condition.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good result for this violin that was little known before the sale: $ 2.3 million before fees, 2.6 million including premium.
Please watch the video shared by Tarisio :
In the 1680s, the Stradivarius violins have the same features as those of Nicolo Amati. Customers love to hear music in large concert halls, and require to improve the sound. The Molitor, dated 1697, is already a wonderful violin. It was sold for $ 3.6 million by Tarisio in October 2010.
On April 26 online, Tarisio sells a Stradivarius violin, little known and well preserved, manufactured around 1705, the Baron von der Leyen. The bidding will begin at $ 2M for this instrument of the period of maturity.
The Lady Blunt, sold £ 9.8 million including premium on 20 June 2011, also at Tarisio, is dated 1721. Its fabulous price is due to its pristine condition.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good result for this violin that was little known before the sale: $ 2.3 million before fees, 2.6 million including premium.
Please watch the video shared by Tarisio :
1705-1706 The Thirst of the Ambassador
2010 SOLD 2.5 M£ including premium
The piece is enormous, all in silver: oval, 1.30 m overall in its greatest diameter including the handles in the shape of half lions, 80.8 kg. Manufactured in 1705/1706 in London by Philip Rollos, it is a cooler, where the bottles could be placed within mountains of ice. A photograph of the Sotheby's catalog shows some fifteen bottles of champagne prepared for an immediate use. The catalog names it a "cistern"!
Unreleased until its arrival at auction in London on July 6, this silverware had been created on an initiative by Queen Anne. Seeking to ensure the standing of her ambassadors, she allocated to them a weight of silver with which they could have made an object enabling them to dazzle in society.
The ambassador in Berlin, from the Wentworth family, exceeded his quota and had to share the expenses! In any other country than England, this enormous bucket would risk a thousand times to be melted during the three centuries of its existence. But it remained cool (!) In the family of its first owner, and is now estimated 1.5 million pounds.
Despite the outstanding and royal features of this piece, the estimate is ambitious.
POST SALE COMMENT
The market has confirmed the exceptional nature of this piece of silverware: £ 2.5 million including premium.
It is viewed towering in the middle of the showroom at Sotheby's on this page shared before the sale by Art Market Monitor.
Unreleased until its arrival at auction in London on July 6, this silverware had been created on an initiative by Queen Anne. Seeking to ensure the standing of her ambassadors, she allocated to them a weight of silver with which they could have made an object enabling them to dazzle in society.
The ambassador in Berlin, from the Wentworth family, exceeded his quota and had to share the expenses! In any other country than England, this enormous bucket would risk a thousand times to be melted during the three centuries of its existence. But it remained cool (!) In the family of its first owner, and is now estimated 1.5 million pounds.
Despite the outstanding and royal features of this piece, the estimate is ambitious.
POST SALE COMMENT
The market has confirmed the exceptional nature of this piece of silverware: £ 2.5 million including premium.
It is viewed towering in the middle of the showroom at Sotheby's on this page shared before the sale by Art Market Monitor.
Kangxi - Blessing by the Son of Heaven
2016 SOLD for HK$ 93M including premium
The Kangxi emperor had a very high opinion of his political responsibilities. He was the only intercessor between the heaven and the people. His Qing dynasty was of Manchu origin and he had to maintain his authority against the ethnic Chinese. He succeeded marvelously since his reign combined with those of his son and his grandson assured peace and prosperity in an unprecedented effectiveness during more than hundred years.
Seals were used to improve the documents with the deep thinking of the emperor himself, so constituting a method to express and spread the imperial mottos. A politically important mark was the Jingtian Qinmin blessing : revere heaven and serve thy people. The emperor is not a despot. If he forgets his duty, he must be overthrown. Kangxi reigned during 61 years, from 1661 to 1722 CE.
Kangxi's Jingtian Qinmin seal was made for the use of the Qianqinggong, the Palace of Ultimate Purity within the Forbidden City. This is a monoxyle piece of sandalwood (tanxiangmu) 10 cm square surmounted by the a beast for a total height of 11 cm, a big size for any seal.
The bulky beast is imaginary, between pig and dog. It is quietly recumbent on the whole seal top and the nice caramel brown color of the wood makes it a sort of friendly pet, confirming that this emperor was more sympathetic than his successors.
This unique piece was sold for HK $ 93M including premium by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6, 2016, lot 3101, and passed in the same auction room on April 22, 2021, lot 3602.
It is not sure if the Jingtian Qinmin was ever used by Kangxi for stamping a document. Its high importance was assessed posthumously. A replica of the inscription was made in jade in the very first year of the reign of Yongzheng with an entirely different finial. When Qianlong established the Kangxi Baosou displaying all the marks used by his grandfather, it appeared in the first position.
Seals were used to improve the documents with the deep thinking of the emperor himself, so constituting a method to express and spread the imperial mottos. A politically important mark was the Jingtian Qinmin blessing : revere heaven and serve thy people. The emperor is not a despot. If he forgets his duty, he must be overthrown. Kangxi reigned during 61 years, from 1661 to 1722 CE.
Kangxi's Jingtian Qinmin seal was made for the use of the Qianqinggong, the Palace of Ultimate Purity within the Forbidden City. This is a monoxyle piece of sandalwood (tanxiangmu) 10 cm square surmounted by the a beast for a total height of 11 cm, a big size for any seal.
The bulky beast is imaginary, between pig and dog. It is quietly recumbent on the whole seal top and the nice caramel brown color of the wood makes it a sort of friendly pet, confirming that this emperor was more sympathetic than his successors.
This unique piece was sold for HK $ 93M including premium by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6, 2016, lot 3101, and passed in the same auction room on April 22, 2021, lot 3602.
It is not sure if the Jingtian Qinmin was ever used by Kangxi for stamping a document. Its high importance was assessed posthumously. A replica of the inscription was made in jade in the very first year of the reign of Yongzheng with an entirely different finial. When Qianlong established the Kangxi Baosou displaying all the marks used by his grandfather, it appeared in the first position.
Kangxi - Wanderings of a Chinese in France
2008 SOLD 5.6 M€ including premium
An imperial Kangxi seal of large size (14x10x10 cm) is for sale on June 14 by Herve Chassaing in Toulouse. 500 K€ are waited for this object made of steatite.
La Gazette confirms the estimate but the AFP believes that this piece could exceed 1 million €. The AFP indicates as a reference that "In 2006, a seal of the Qianlong period, 4.7 cm high, was purchased 885,040 euros.." This piece was not in jade but in nephrite. Estimated 30 K €, it was sold at 740 K € hammer price at Dijon by de Vrégille and Bizoüard on October 20, 2006.
Let us come back to the release of the AFP for the seal of Toulouse. The auctioneer marvels at the fact that the owner did not know the quality and value of this lot, and there is a gap of ownership traceability since 1946.
As it is described, it has a great advantage: it is coming with its lacquered box.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent news: the quality of the object has prevailed over its doubtful wanderings.
The seal was sold for 4.7 million € hammer price (5.6 M € fees included).
La Gazette confirms the estimate but the AFP believes that this piece could exceed 1 million €. The AFP indicates as a reference that "In 2006, a seal of the Qianlong period, 4.7 cm high, was purchased 885,040 euros.." This piece was not in jade but in nephrite. Estimated 30 K €, it was sold at 740 K € hammer price at Dijon by de Vrégille and Bizoüard on October 20, 2006.
Let us come back to the release of the AFP for the seal of Toulouse. The auctioneer marvels at the fact that the owner did not know the quality and value of this lot, and there is a gap of ownership traceability since 1946.
As it is described, it has a great advantage: it is coming with its lacquered box.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent news: the quality of the object has prevailed over its doubtful wanderings.
The seal was sold for 4.7 million € hammer price (5.6 M € fees included).
Kangxi - Figures in Tianhuang
2013 SOLD 21.4 MHK$ including premium
The tianhuang is a rare variety of soapstone. It is only found in the province of Fujian. Similarly as the now extinct blue john in England, it has unique colors and was much appreciated in art and decoration.
The art objects made in tianhuang are small. Easy to carve, it was used to represent dragons or luohans.
A Guanyin in tianhuang is estimated HK$ 20M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 8. Here is the link to the catalog.
The stone has two distinct parts. The divinity along with her various attributes and companions displays the bright orange color of this mineral. She is housed in a perforated marbled gray grotto. Mounted on a zitan base, this sculpture is 8.9 cm high and weighs 269 grams. Its price seems ambitious but scarcity can compensate for the small size.
It is signed by Zhou Bin, an Fujian artist poorly documented but it is known that he was working during the Kangxi period, a little more than 310 years ago. The prestige of the tianhuang was so high that it was given to a teacher by a student one hundred years later with an inscription confirming this tribute.
The art objects made in tianhuang are small. Easy to carve, it was used to represent dragons or luohans.
A Guanyin in tianhuang is estimated HK$ 20M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 8. Here is the link to the catalog.
The stone has two distinct parts. The divinity along with her various attributes and companions displays the bright orange color of this mineral. She is housed in a perforated marbled gray grotto. Mounted on a zitan base, this sculpture is 8.9 cm high and weighs 269 grams. Its price seems ambitious but scarcity can compensate for the small size.
It is signed by Zhou Bin, an Fujian artist poorly documented but it is known that he was working during the Kangxi period, a little more than 310 years ago. The prestige of the tianhuang was so high that it was given to a teacher by a student one hundred years later with an inscription confirming this tribute.
