A pale green jade ‘lotus’ washer, 18th-19th century

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'lotus' washer, 18th-19th Century, pale green jade

A pale green jade ‘lotus’ washer, 18th-19th century. Estimate £1,000 – 1,500 (€1,300 – 2,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Carved in relief to the underside with a delicately scrolling stem and lotus leaf, forming the foot, each side variously with a dragonfly and shell, the exterior carved overall to simulate the veining, the stone of pale grey-green tone with some russet flecks. 10.2cm (4in) long.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 25 Feb 2015 10:30 GMT – LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

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A pale green jade belt hook, 18th-19th century

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18th-19th Century, belt hook, pale green jade

A pale green jade belt hook, 18th-19th century. Estimate £4,000 – 5,000 (€5,400 – 6,800). Photo: Bonhams.

The belt hook carved as a sinuous young dragon with a lingzhi spray confronting a larger dragon head, a circular boss to the reverse, the stone of an even pale celadon hue, fitted wood stand. 10.3cm (4in) long (2).

Provenance: A Dutch private collection.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 25 Feb 2015 10:30 GMT – LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

A pale green jade prunus ‘double-trunk’ vase, 18th-19th century

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18th-19th Century, Everts-Calvocoressi-Comnène Collection, pale green jade, prunus 'double-trunk' vase

A pale green jade prunus ‘double-trunk’ vase, 18th-19th century. Estimate £700 – 900 (€950 – 1,200). Photo: Bonhams.

The twin conjoined vessels carved in relief to the exterior with bamboo, gnarled branches of blossoming prunus and pine, the stone with creamy inclusions, pierced and carved wood stand. 12cm (4.3/4in) wide.

Property from the Estate of Lady Logan

Provenance: The Everts-Calvocoressi-Comnène Collection of Chinese Art, London; Robert Everts was the Ambassadorial Envoy to Beijing from 1910 to 1916 and again from 1920 to 1924, and thence by descent.

The Everts-Calvocoressi-Comnène Collection: Chinese Art

Irène Logan’s parents, Robert Everts and Alexandra, née Calvocoressi-Comnène, formed their collections of Chinese ceramics and works of art during Robert Everts service as the Belgian Ambassadorial Envoy to Beijing from 1910 to 1916 and again from 1920 to 1924. These included lacquer, furniture, porcelain, carved jade and hardstones. The Everts-Calvocoressi-Comnène collections included textiles of which a set of 8 kesi is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum; and an album of Chinese decorative motifs drawn by Alexandra Comnène-Everts, a talented artist and pupil of Anders Zorn, is now in the British Library. The collectors’ interest extended beyond Chinese Art and their discernment in Mexican textiles and metalwork has also been recognised in museum collections in England as in the Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City. Alexandra Calvocoressi-Comnène’s bridal tiara commissioned from Cartier in Paris in 1913 is displayed in the Bollinger Jewellery gallery of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 25 Feb 2015 10:30 GMT – LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

Bonhams presents the Allure of Antiquity: The Bikoff Collection

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18th-19th Century, Bikoff Collection, Blue John and marble, column, early 19th century, French Neoclassical style, gilt and patinated bronze, Italian Neoclassical style, Louis Philippe, Marcus Aurelius, Medici vase, mid 19th century, patinated bronze sculpture, repousse metal, Siena marble, Vendôme column

A pair of Italian Neoclassical patinated bronze lions on Siena and black marble bases, late 18th/early 19th century, height 8 1/4in (21cm); length 11in (28cm); width 5 1/2in (14cm). Estimate US$ 4,000 – 7,000. Photo Bonhams.

NEW YORK, NY.– “The Allure of Antiquity: The Bikoff Collection” is a curated section of souvenirs from the Grand Tour that will highlight the Fine Furniture, Silver, Decorative Arts & Clocks auction at Bonhams New York on March 4.

The Grand Tour was an essential part of the young Englishman’s education, typically taking place between the end of his formal education and the beginning of his adult life. It was also considered a rite of passage for artists. The tour generally lasted between two and three years with long stays in Paris, Rome, Naples and Venice. From their travels they brought with them a repository of knowledge of history and culture, as well as a fantastic collection of souvenirs.

Dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, the approximately 100 lot-section presents items from the esteemed collection of Kathleen and David Bikoff that ranges from marble columns, to bronze sculptures, to botanical and zoological watercolors. Highlights from this section include:

An important French Neoclassical style repousse metal reduction of the Vendôme column, mid-19th century. The metallic structure stands tall at 5 feet and 2 inches and is expected to fetch between $15,000 and $20,000. Photo Bonhams.

Similar columns have been in the collections of Carlos de Besteigui and Bill Blass.

An 18th-19th century Italian Neoclassical style patinated bronze sculpture of Marcus Aurelius on a white marble base that is estimated to fetch between $8,000 and $12,000. Photo Bonhams.

The original statue of Marcus Aurelius was erected circa 175 AD/CE, and is the only complete bronze statue of a pre-Christian Roman emperor to have survived. Such statues were usually melted down for their bronze or destroyed by early Christians; this one was not because it was erroneously believed to depict Constantine, the first Christian emperor. The base was designed by Michelangelo when it was relocated to the Capitoline Hill in 1538.

Casts of this model have been recorded by the Roman bronze foundry of Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli (1738-1795) and (1745-1805), as well as that of Francesco Righetti (1738-1819).

A pair of Blue John and marble columns, early 19th century ($5,000 – 8,000). Photo Bonhams.

What makes these columns particularly significant is the presence of Blue John stone that is very rare, found only in Derbyshire, England, and which has historically been extremely sought after.

A pair of Louis-Philippe gilt and patinated bronze Medici vases on tall Siena marble bases, created circa mid-19th century (est. $5,000 – 8,000). Photo Bonhams.

The vases are of substantial height, standing at a little over 15 inches.

Karl Green, Director of Furniture & Decorative Arts at Bonhams says, “What makes this collection exceptional is the attention the Bikoffs paid to the aesthetic value of the types of marble selected, some of them quite rare, as well as the number of Grand Tour items of such fine quality. They traveled the world in search of these objects and enjoyed them for decades, refusing all offers of purchase. It is only now that they have somewhat reluctantly decided to let these precious items go.”

A large flambé-glazed pear-shaped vase, 18th-19th century

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18th-19th Century, flambé-glazed, pear-shaped vase

A large flambé-glazed pear-shaped vase, 18th-19th century. Estimate £1,200 – 1,500 (€1,600 – 2,000). Photo Bonhams.

With a bulbous body supported on a straight foot tapering to a long slender neck, covered all under a rich lustrous flambé glaze of strawberry-red tone with darker patches and subtle lavender streaks, thinning at the rim to a beige tone, the base left unglazed. 51.1 cm (20 1/8in) high

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 25 Feb 2015 10:30 GMT – LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

A flambé-glazed pear-shaped vase, 18th-19th century

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18th-19th Century, flambé-glazed, pear-shaped vase

A flambé-glazed pear-shaped vase, 18th-19th century. Estimate £1,200 – 1,500 (€1,600 – 2,000). Photo Bonhams.

The heavily potted body curving up from a short foot rim to a wide belly, the flaring neck flanked with moulded bamboo-form handles, all covered in a mottled purple and sky blue transmutation glaze thinning at the handles and rim to a mushroom brown hue. 36.5cm (14 3/8in) high

Bonhams. ASIAN ART, 25 Feb 2015 10:30 GMT – LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE

Dutch dress (Wentke),18th-19th century, from Hindeloopen, Netherlands

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18th-19th Century, Hindeloopen, Netherlands, Wentke

Dutch dress (Wentke),18th-19th century, from Hindeloopen, Netherlands. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art Institute announces major gift of Asian art from Chicago collector Barbara Levy Kipper

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18th-19th Century, Art Institute of Chicago, Barbara and David Kipper, late 17th-early 18th century, Oracle Diadem, Ornament with Seated Four-Armed Deity

Ornament with Seated Four-Armed Deity. Late 17th-early 18th century. Art Institute of Chicago. Promised gift of Barbara and David Kipper.

CHICAGO, IL.– Douglas Druick, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, announced today that Barbara Levy Kipper has pledged to give the Museum nearly 400 items from her exceptional collection of Buddhist ritual objects and Asian ethnic jewelry. Kipper’s gift will provide an important new dimension to the Museum’s collections of Indian, Himalayan, Central Asian, Southeast Asian and Chinese art. An exhibition of the objects, with an accompanying catalogue, is planned for the museum’s Regenstein Hall in the summer of 2016.

Kipper, the former chairman of book distributor the Chas Levy Company and a Life Trustee of the Art Institute, is a wide-ranging collector who previously has made generous donations to the Museum’s departments of Photography, Prints and Drawings, and Asian Art. This latest commitment comprises a selection of 394 pieces from the remarkable Barbara and David Kipper Collection of more than 1,200 items of Asian jewelry and ritual objects. Additionally, she is making a gift of more than a dozen objects of African jewelry to the museum.

“We are so very grateful to Barbara for her many years of extraordinary commitment to the Art Institute and for the infectious enthusiasm she brings to everything she does,” said Druick. “As we now place a heightened focus on expanding our Asian holdings, Barbara’s gift illustrates the deep impact that a collector’s passion and generosity can have on an institution like ours.”

« When I started traveling and casually photographing in the Sixties, it never occurred to me I’d become either a serious collector or photographer,” said Kipper. “Sadly, the cultures to which I was drawn have become shadows of themselves, their craftsmanship severely compromised. Jewelry and ritual objects in the collection exemplify the exuberance of what once was. I take pleasure in knowing that these objects are now safe from destruction, their journeys completed. »

Tom Pritzker, former chairman of the Art Institute’s Board of Trustees and himself a collector of Asian art, praised Kipper for the quality of her collection and her ongoing support of the museum. “The richness of Barbara’s selections reflects her wonderful eye for the art of Asian cultures. Her passion for collecting is incomparable, as is her willingness to share her objects with the public.”

Kipper’s contribution to the museum follows in the tradition of James and Marilynn Alsdorf, whose collection of Indian, Southeast Asian and Himalayan art at the Art Institute is well known across the world for its range and depth.

The most comprehensive part of Kipper’s gift is from the Himalayas, including Tibet and other regions of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural sphere. Of these, the most extraordinary is a wide-ranging collection of ga’us, or portable amulet boxes, originating from Tibet, but also produced in the Buddhist cultural regions of Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and China, as well as the Ladakh region of India and the Buryatia region of Russia.

A ga’u is a portable case for relics, worn mostly by Tibetan men and, to a lesser extent, women, that holds a deep cultural resonance within Tibet and the surrounding Buddhist communities. It serves as a shrine to contain a sacred or precious object, such as a small sculpture or painting, stamped clay image, textile, funerary ashes, precious stone or inscribed paper. It is worn on the body either around the neck, on a belt, across the shoulder, or in the hair, in order to protect the traveler on a long pilgrimage, business trip, or battle. Men usually wear the shrine-shaped ga’u, which is placed on an altar when at home or in the monastery. Women wear a gem-set ga’u around the neck. The ga’us can vary greatly in size, from a few centimeters in height to more than 20 inches.

Ritual and ceremonial objects abound in Tibet, a land where religious devotion continues to be intense and pervasive. The objects in this group serve as instruments to bridge the gap between the everyday world and the world of the divine, and to help focus the mind in meditation and spiritual thought. Among the objects in the promised gift are a large gilt copper Stupa Reliquary (c.16th/17th century) and gilt metal oracle crowns ornamented with silver skulls and jeweled flames. These were worn by Buddhist monks or laypersons who would impersonate a god and give voice to the advice or warnings of that particular deity.

In addition to ga’us and other ritual objects, the Kipper collection includes jewelry and wearable items such as headdresses, hats, hat finials, earrings, and cloak clasps for both men and women. Many of these objects are studded with turquoise, prized in Tibet for both its color and perceived healing properties. Jewelry from other regions, including Central and South Asia, China, Russia and Indonesia, also is included.

Kipper is a longtime supporter of the Art Institute, serving on several boards, including the committees on Asian Art and Textiles and the Asian Art Council. She supported the recent contemporary exhibition Nilima Sheikh: Each Night Put Kashmir in Your Dreams (March 8–May 18, 2014), co-curated by the Asian and Contemporary art departments. She was chairman of the Chas Levy Company, her family’s 115 year-old business, until its sale in 2011. An accomplished photographer, her work was featured in the publication Joffrey Ballet: An American Classic, which received a gold medal at the Independent Publishers Book Awards.

Oracle Diadem. 19th century. Art Institute of Chicago. Promised gift of Barbara and David Kipper.

A Rare Russian Mineral Spar Tower,18th-19th Century

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18th-19th Century, Russian Mineral, Spar Tower

A Rare Russian Mineral Spar Tower,18th-19th Century.

Chinese agate dragon pendant, 18th-19th century

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18th-19th Century, Agate, dragon pendant

Chinese agate dragon pendant, 18th-19th century. Estimate $ 2,500-3,500. ©Garth’s Auctions, Inc. – Auctioneers & Appraisers.

Openwork carving, pair of dragons on each side. 2″h. Silk string.

Provenance: from a private California collection.

Garth’s Auctions, Inc. – Auctioneers & Appraisers. Asian, Continental & Decorative Arts  –  Jan 29 2015 10:00 AM