A parcel-gilt silver bowl, Tang dynasty, took centre stage when it was sold for US$3.5m at Christie’s Masterpieces of Early Chinese Gold and Silver yesterday. The sale also delivered a solid total hammer price of US$9.96m, exceeding its presale sum of estimate at between US$5.1m-7.6m. The sale achieved an 86% sell-through rate by selling 86 out 101 lots offered.
Dr. Johan Carl Kempe
The late Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar (1966-2014)
Items offered at the sale were formed by Dr. Johan Carl Kempe. While Kempe was best known as a Swedish industrialist and an accomplished tennis player who won a silver medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, he was also a prominent collector of Chinese art. Part of his collection was presented at auction in 2008 and was acquired by the late Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar (1966-2014), former minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage. Unfortunately, he suddenly passed away at age 48 on 9 November in 2014. The gold and silver masterpieces that he bought then went up for sale at the current auction at Christie’s.
*For more details about the provenance of the collection and the story of Johan Carl Kempe, please see Christie’s to Offer Early Chinese Gold and Silver Once Belonged to Carl Kempe and a Royal Collection.
Chinese Works of Art specialist Olivia Hamilton
The top lot of the sale was a large parcel-gilt silver bowl from Tang dynasty, estimated at US$2m-3m. This bowl was sold for £1.14m when it was presented in the 2008 sale in London. This time, the auctioneer started the bidding at US$1.4m and put the hammer down at US$2.9m, a winning bid by the telephone bidder of Chinese Works of Art specialist Olivia Hamilton. The bowl was sold for US$3.495m with premium included.
The bowl is in the form of an open lotus blossom, which is likely a reference to Buddhism for in Buddhist art a fully blooming lotus flower emerging from murky water is a symbol of purity. The vessel was made from a heavy lump of silver, which was hammered into a rough bowl shape, and then further hammered over a matrix or mold, probably made of wood, to create the elegant lotus-petal form. The interior and petals were then chased with designs of birds and peonies, traditional emblems of wealth and good fortune.
The second highest price was realised by a gold ‘dragon’-handled cup, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), estimated at US$600,000-800,000. It was hammered down at US$2.1m and sold for US$2.54m, four times its estimate.
The cup has a shallow bowl with rounded sides raised on a gently flared ring foot. The handle is executed in repoussé from two gold sheets as a dragon head suspending a loose ring from its clenched jaws. The loose gold ring suspended from the dragon-head handle may relate this cup to nomadic culture, as the ring would have allowed the cup to be hung from a belt. In general, gold utensils were held in high esteem at the Mongol court.
The third top lot was a turquoise-inlaid gold openwork chape, Northwest China, 6th-5th century BC, which sold for US$591,000. This ancient chape from northwest China depicts 11 interlaced dragons framed by the heads of birds of prey. It would have been cast in a two-piece mold and then inlaid with turquoise. The value of the material and the exquisite design of this chape suggests that it would have been used for ceremonial purposes, and not taken into battle.
Another lot that also sold for US$591,000 was a gold ‘peony’ dish, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). This central decoration of small circles in a ring within a circular medallion may represent a lotus pod, a motif seen in the center of lacquer 'lotus' dishes of Yuan date. The flat, everted rim is chased with a band of foliate scroll below the rolled edge.
Top five lots
A Very Rare and Important Large Parcel-Gilt Silver Bowl. Tang Dynasty (Ad 618-907)
Lot no.: 551
Diameter: 24.5cm
Weight: 1,052g
Provenance:
- Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK117.
- Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 54.
Estimate: US$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Hammer price: US$2,900,000
Price realised: US$3,495,000
A Very Rare Gold 'Dragon'-Handled Cup. Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)
Lot no.: 571
Diameter: 11.2 cm
Weight: 72.1g
Provenance:
- Madame L. Wannieck Collection, Paris, before 1937.
- Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK53A.
- Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 104.
Estimate: US$600,000 - 800,000
Hammer price: US$2,100,000
Price realised: US$2,535,000
A Superb and Extremely Rare Turquoise-Inlaid Gold Openwork Chape
Northwest China, Late 6th-early 5th Century BC
Lot no.: 511
Diameter: 11.2 cm
Weight: 72.1g
Provenance:
- Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK1.
- Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 19.
Estimate:US$300,000 - 500,000
Hammer price: US$480,000
Price realised: US$591,000
A Rare and Finely Decorated Gold 'Peony' Dish. Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)
Lot no.: 572
Diameter: 15.6 cm
Weight: 121.1g
Provenance:
- Madame L. Wannieck, Paris, before 1937.
- Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. CK53B.
- Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 102.
Estimate: US$200,000 - 300,000
Hammer price: US$480,000
Price realised: US$591,000
A Fine and Very Rare Gold Dish. Song Dynasty (Ad 960-1279)
Lot no.: 570
Diameter: 13.5cm
Weight: 103g
Provenance:
- Dr. Johan Carl Kempe (1884-1967) Collection, Sweden, before 1953, no. 52.
- Sotheby's London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork. Early Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008, lot 106.
Estimate: US$300,000 - 500,000
Hammer price: US$320,000
Price realised: US$399,000
Auction summary
Auction house: Christie’s New York
Sale: Masterpieces of Early Chinese Gold and Silver
Date: 12 September 2019
Lots offered: 101
Sold: 86
Unsold: 15
Sold by lot: 85%
Sale total: US$12,163,750