Porcelain & Works of Art

Chinese imperial porcelain large dish, brightly painted in famille rose, fencai enamels with bajixiang, the eight auspicious emblems, each ribbon tied and amongst eight different flowering branches in pink, blue, light blue, turquoise green, iron red, gilt, yellow, white and lime green enamels encircling a stylised central flowerhead with interlinked other flowers, all within a double gilt border, the rim with a wide band of pink ruyi-heads on a lemon yellow ground, the underside with three different flower sprays each on a leafy branch with other flowers and leaves.

Pair of Chinese porcelain famille verte plates, each brightly and freshly painted with the young scholar scholar, Zhang, dressed in blue robes riding a yellow horse with his attendant close by, arriving at the walled monastery, the ground decorated with a table, scroll pot, censer, gu with flowers, further scrolls, books and a weiqi board, encircled by a ruyi-band, the flat everted rim with floral reserves in ruyi-head panels dispersed between ‘a hundred antiques’, bogu, including books, scrolls, censer, ruyi, wrapped qin, weiqi boards, all tied with ribbons, the underside with prunus and camellia flower sprays, the base with a ding vessel mark within a double ring in underglaze blue.

Chinese famille noire biscuit porcelain hexagonal openwork teapot and cover, the reticulated body modeled with six high-relief panels of the ‘Three Friends of Winter’, pine, prunus and bamboo, sanyou, above a moulded band of  iron red lotus petals, beneath a green ground flowerhead band at the shoulder, with ruyi-heads on cash and floral grounds in aubergine and yellow on a hexagonal faceted neck, the body with a rich black enamel ground between a fish form handle and a dragon headed hexagonal spout, the cover reticulated with a branch of flowering prunus with a blue enamel prunus finial.

Chinese gold-splashed small vase of hu form with two mask handles between an incised keyfret band, all on a slightly everted foot with flat rim, decorated overall in bright gold splashes.

Chinese porcelain blue and white and underglaze copper-red thinly potted shallow bowl, painted on the interior with a central flowering lotus plant with leaves, bud and arrowhead, surrounded by sprays of prunus, lily and chrysanthemum, beneath a single underglaze blue line at the rim, the exterior with two stylised branches beneath two rings at the rim, the base with a six-character mark of Xuande within a single ring.

Chinese cloisonne square form small incense box and cover, decorated on the sides with eight taotie masks in royal blue and white on a turquoise ground, above lappets on the feet and a keyfret band on the cover, the rounded corners surmounted with gilt scrolls on a blue ground, the cover with a stylised red shou-character surrounded by eight archaistic motifs in blue all on a turquoise ground, the base with a multicoloured flowerhead and branches also on a turquoise ground, the interior gilt.

Chinese white jade oval ruyi-sceptre head carved with a fully caparisoned standing elephant with a yinyang ribbon-tied canopy hawdah on its back, wearing a long tasseled saddle cloth with double-xi character, all between two bats in flight.

Chinese pottery sancai, three-colour glazed miniature circular box and cover, he, with gently domed cover, straight sides with a curved foot and flat base, the glaze evenly splashed falling short at the foot rim revealing the unglazed buff-coloured body.

Large Chinese pottery sancai, three-colour glazed Bactrian camel, the body predominantly of rich amber glaze, standing with its head raised back with wide open mouth, flared nostrils and bulging eyes, a swept-back mane and flowing hair behind its head, the neck with long strands of hair combed to both sides and heightened in a straw glaze, wearing a three-colour splashed saddle cloth pleated at the edge beneath its straw-glazed tufted humps swaying in each direction, the top of the legs and the tail also heightened in straw glaze, the base unglazed with original drips of glaze.

Chinese pottery two-colour globular pouring vessel, hu, with broad rounded body, short neck, flared rim and hexagonal spout on a gently everted foot and recessed base, covered overall in a rich and lustrous green and white splashed glaze extending on the interior of the rim with a clear glaze in the well, falling short of the foot and base revealing the buff-coloured body, the shoulder with a ribbed and raised band, the rim with a further ridge.

Chinese ceramic green and amber glazed ingot-form pillow, zhen, moulded on the four sides with a quatrefoil reserve depicting four fish on an aquatic leaf ground, all reserved on an interlaced floral diaper ground within incised borders, the plain flat ends incised with a stylised flowerhead and a green glazed cross on an amber ground, one end pierced for the firing, the other with three original spur marks.

Chinese ceramic moulded sancai, three-colour glazed pillow, zhen, of rectangular form with concave headrest and flat sides, the top striped in green, amber and cream glaze with an incised double border, the wide ends with high relief camellia flowers on a continuous scrolling branch with leaves, the sides with flowerheads within a lozenge-shaped panel, all covered in a rich amber glaze, the smaller sides with spur marks, one with a small air hole from the firing, the base flat.

Large Chinese ceramic white and brown glazed inscribed pillow, zhen, of octagonal section, the gently concave top incised with a nineteen-character poetic verse flanked by incised foliage, the lip gently overhanging the flattened sides, covered in a rich cream glaze, the base predominantly unglazed with natural drip marks, the side pierced with an air hole from the firing.

Chinese ceramic green glazed monochrome pillow, zhen, of ruyi-head form, incised on the gently concave top with outlines following the form, with further incised lines beneath the sloping shoulder, the fluted body covered overall in a rich and even deep apple green glaze, the flat predominantly unglazed base revealing the buff-coloured body, with an air hole from the firing beneath the ruyi-head point.

Chinese ceramic Ding ware ingot-form pillow, zhen, moulded on the exterior, the gently sloping concave top incised and glazed in white with flowers forming a cash motif on a clear-glazed tan ground, each larger side with a relief recumbent stag between branches of buds, one side within a jewelled border, the other within a cross-hatched border, the smaller sides with stylised flowers, buds and leaves, the unglazed flat biscuit base pierced with an air hole revealing the high-fired body.

Chinese ceramic Jun ware lotus-bud form waterpot, jixin’guan, covered overall with a rich and even lustrous lavender sky-blue glaze, extending overall to the interior and the base thinning towards the light brown rim, all on a slightly splayed short unglazed brown knife-cut foot rim.

Japanese porcelain celadon grey crackle glazed petal-shaped dish, covered overall on the base and interior with a Ge-type celadon grey crackled glaze, all on a short foot rim revealing the biscuit body.

Japanese porcelain celadon lavender crackle glazed octagonal flower bowl of deep form with gently everted foliate rim, covered overall on the base and interior with an even celadon lavender crackled glaze thinning at the rim, the short foot rim brown revealing the body.