Chinese Works of Art sold well in this year’s Asian Art Week Spring Auctions in New York. Christie’s fetched US$16.5 million dollars, while Sotheby's sold for US$13.8 million dollars – both in March.
In this upcoming Autumn Sales, these two sales are also expected to do well in Christie's and Sotheby's Asian Art Week auctions. In this article, Chinese furniture pieces from Christie's and Chinese Works of Art from Sotheby's have been chosen for discussion, as they are amongst the top lots with high prices from both international auction houses.
Highlights include Christie’s huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs, which have an estimated value between US$600,000 and 800,000 dollars. Sotheby’s ritual bronze food vessel (ding) is also notable, expecting to fetch between US$800,000 and 1.2 million dollars.
Christie’s
A pair of dali marble-inset huanghuali continuous horseshoe-back armchairs
Created in the 17th century
95.8 cm high, 59 cm wide, 48.3 cm deep
Provenance:
- Nicholas Grindley Ltd., London, 1987
Estimated Price: US$600,000 – 800,000
Sale: Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Date: 23-24 September 2021
Importance
Nicholas Grindley deals and researches Chinese art, with a particular focus in furniture and Works of Art for more than 40 years. Works he dealt with have exhibited in museums and private collections in London, New York and Hong Kong. He co-wrote with Robert Jacobsen the catalogue of Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1999.
Iconography
These dali marble panels on the back splats are uncommon. The two panels are chosen for their natural markings and are carefully polished to reveal expressive and poetic scenes.
The panel on the left is a tranquil landscape scene – a foggy morning punctuated by a lone tree. The panel on the right is depicting a turbulent sea or a powerful storm.
These chairs' form is a variation on the more commonly seen horseshoe-back armchair. But in this example, the arms continue into the seat to form one seamless curving line. The design was inspired by the humble bamboo chair and the construction technique of bending lengths of bamboo using steam and heat. This pair of chairs would have been commissioned by a wealthy family, attracted to the humble origins of bamboo furniture, but seeking the luxury and status associated with precious huanghuali (Chinese rosewood).
Christie’s
Imperial Zitan Armchair
Created in Yongzheng – Qianlong period (1723-1795)
111.8 cm high, 69.2 cm wide, 50.8 cm deep
Provenance:
- Lt. Col. Robert Gray Peck (1879-1956), and thence by descent
Estimated Price: US$500,000 – 700,000
Sale: Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Date: 23-24 September 2021
Importance
The chair is an example of Western-influenced design executed in zitan wood using traditional furniture construction techniques. The density of the zitan made this material suitable for intricate carving and its shiny surface made it the preferred material for Imperial Qing dynasty (1644-1911) furniture. The Chinese royalty favoured elaborately carved and highly-ornamented furnishings.
Furniture in this Western-style is termed Guangzhou-style or Guangshi decoration, after the southern Chinese port city of Canton. It was the major trading port for East-West exchange during the 17th and 18th centuries. The present chair skilfully combines the East-West aesthetic – a melange of the lavish ornamental style favored by Europeans with the masterful woodworking skills of the Chinese carpenter.
Iconography
This zitan chair is the fourth surviving example in a suite of chairs of this particular design. Constructed of the finest quality zitan, the armchair is carved in haut-relief and is influenced by the West's ornamental style called Rococo.
This present chair is also rooted in traditional Chinese furniture. The serpentine arms are supported by a narrow waist, cabriole legs and floor stretchers. The cabriole leg has its origins in China, and was adopted by European furniture makers around the late 17th to early 18th centuries.
Acanthus leaves, scrolled capitals on columns, and European garden designs and fountains were adopted from Western architecture. They were incorporated into newly built palaces and their outlying grounds. Furniture made with traditional Chinese wooden components and decorated with European-style motifs provided a sense of grandeur, that matched these complexes.
Sotheby’s
Inscribed archaic ritual bronze food vessel (Ding)
Created in Late Shang dynasty, 13-11th century BCE
Height: 26 cm
Provenance
- Collection of David A. Berg (1904-1999)
- Collection of Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, received as a bequest from the above
- Christie's New York, 21st September 2000
- Sotheby's London, 19th June 2002
- Asian Private Collection
- Sotheby's New York, 17th March 2015
Estimated Price: US$800,000 – 1,200,000
Sale: Chinese Works of Art (Important Chinese Art)
Date: 21-22 September 2021
This ding vessel has a six-character inscription reading Quan zuxin zugui xiang cast on the side of the interior
Importance
Ding are among the most significant ritual vessels associated with authority and supremacy. Owners of ding were of elite social status – high officials or clan leaders. Late Shang dynasty (13-11th century BCE) oracle bone inscriptions record a person named Quan Hou, who was an important noble of the period. He was likely a senior military leader who had served in the Shang king’s conquest of the enemy tribes.
This object was also part of the Harvard University Art Museums' Collection.
Iconography
Shang dynasty (circa 1600-1046 BCE) bronze inscriptions longer than three or four characters are uncommon.
This vessel has a deep rounded body supported on three cylindrical legs. The lipped rim with two large upright loop handles, while the body is cast with three large taotie (Chinese mythological monster) masks. Its bulging eyes are intersected by vertical flanges, all against a fine leiwen (thunder) ground and are below a band of six serpents.
This ding vessel has a six-character inscription reading Quan zuxin zugui xiang cast on the side of the interior. The present vessel is most remarkable for the content of its inscription. The inscription identifies that Quan was the person who commissioned the vessel, and zuxin and zugui were the ancestors to whom ritual offerings were made. The last character, xiang, should be a clan emblem, which can also be seen on other Shang bronzes. The quan (dog) character on Shang dynasty bronzes may refer to the title of an official responsible for organising hunts and participated in warfare.
Sotheby’s
Gold-ground famille-rose five-piece altar set (Wugong) | Seal marks and period of Qianlong
Created in Qianlong period (1736-1795)
Height of tallest altar piece: 37.3 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of Dr. Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935), acquired in China
- Collection of John Arthur MacLean (1879-1964), received as a gift from the above circa 1920, and thence by descent
Estimated Price: US$600,000 – 800,000
Sale: Chinese Works of Art (Important Chinese Art)
Date: 21-22 September 2021
Incense burner of the five altar-piece (wugong) set
Candle stick of the five altar-piece (wugong) set
Importance
This ritual set was collected a century ago. It was purchased by Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935) in China and later gifted to John Arthur MacLean (1879-1964). Since then, it has been inherited from the latter's family collection to the present day.
Ross was a professor in Harvard University's Art Department. He was also a painter and collector, influential in the art world of the Boston area. He used to be the trust manager of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Professor Ross and MacLean had similar interests in Chinese antiquities, and travelled around China together in 1912.
MacLean was an American scholar. He worked in many renowned American museums, including the Boston Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Chicago Art Museum. MacLean was responsible for the collection and curation of Asian art in these museums.
Vase of the five altar-piece (wugong) set
A parasol (top), lotus (bottom) and pair of golden fish (right) are patterns found on the middle of the incense burner
Iconography
This five-piece altar is a set of five offerings to the Buddha. It consists of a pair of flower goblets, a pair of candle sticks and an incense burner.
The present five-piece combination with gu-shaped vases is believed to be an innovation of the Qianlong period (1736-1795). Sets of the same composition as the present one became popular in many different versions. For example, with various coloured grounds, in fencai (pale coloured Chinese porcelain), in doucai (painting technique in Chinese porcelain), painted in pink enamel only, carved in imitation cinnabar lacquer, cloisonne and glass.
Some examples can still be seen today – for example in Beijing's historic Tanzhe Temple or the Forbidden City. But complete sets of any type are very uncommon.
This altar set is painted with gold colour, and decorated with tangled lotus and eight auspicious emblems. This includes the Parasol, Shell, Pair of Golden Fish, Knot of Eternity, Vase, Victory Banner, Lotus and Dharma Wheel – collectively called the Eight Treasures of Buddhism.