Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Calligraphy After Yang Ningshi

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Calligraphy, Calligraphy After Yang Ningshi, collection of Shen Weiqiao, collection of Shen Zengzhi, Dong Qichang, handscroll, ink on paper, Wu Hufan

Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Calligraphy After Yang Ningshi. Estimate HK$ 1.5 million – 2.5 million (€160,000 – 260,000). Photo Bonhams

Ink on paper, handscroll. Inscribed and signed Dong Qichang, with two seals of the artist. Title slip inscribed by Shen Zengzhi (1850-1922). Colophon inscribed by Wu Hufan (1894-1968) with two seals, dated yimao year (1915). Calligraphy 45cm x 907.5cm (17¾in x357in), Colophon 45cm x 32cm (17¾in x 12½in).

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Shen Weiqiao (1778-1849)
Formerly in the collection of Shen Zengzhi (1850-1922)

BONHAMS. FINE CHINESE PAINTINGS AND CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART, 23 Nov 2014 14:30 HKT – HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

Ni Yuanlu (1593-1644), Calligraphy

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Calligraphy, Hanging scroll, Ink on satin, Ni Yuanlu

Ni Yuanlu (1593-1644), Calligraphy. Estimate HK$ 5 million – 6 million (€520,000 – 620,000). Photo Bonhams

Ink on satin, hanging scroll. Inscribed and signed Yuanlu, with two seals of the artist and two seals of the collector; 130cm x 44cm (51¼in x 17½in).

BONHAMS. FINE CHINESE PAINTINGS AND CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART, 23 Nov 2014 14:30 HKT – HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY

China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions conclude with HKD 343 million auction turnover

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‘Landscape’ Brushpot, Calligraphy, Dong Qichang, Fish-Basket' Vessel, grisaille-decorated, Huang Binhong, Imperial Famille-Rose Beijing Enamel, Imperial Famille-Rose Beijing Enamel Gu-Shaped Vase, Liu Guosong, Lou Zhenggang, Marco Polo, Pan Tianshou, Qi Baishi, Qianlong, Qing dynasty, ru-type, Seal Mark And Period Of Qianlong, Wen Zhengming, Xiao Xu, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Zhang Lu, Zhu Yunming

 

Telephone bidding operators at the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions, JW Marriot Ballroom, Oct. 6.

HONG KONG.- Following two days of intense bidding, the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions successfully concluded yesterday with a total auction turnover of HKD 343 million.

China Guardian (HK) Auctions Co., Ltd. President Ms. Hu Yanyan expressed: “We are happy to see China Guardian’s highlight categories of Chinese paintings and calligraphy and contemporary art do continuously well, with results exceeding those achieved in the Spring Auctions. Meanwhile we are also excited to see a marked increase in interest in our ceramics and jadeite auctions, reflected in the session’s transactions results nearing HKD 100 million. Overall, we are pleased with the total results, which were very much in line with our estimates.”

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Four Seas
The China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions took off on Monday, October 6, in the ballroom of JW Marriot. Starting off at 10am, the first auction session “Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Four Seas” attracted strong competition throughout the day between collectors raising their paddles onsite and those bidding over the phone. Finally ending shortly after 7pm, the session saw a number of outstanding results, including “Sailing Boats” by Pan Tianshou going for HKD 6,325,000; achieving HKD 4,370,000; “Seven-Character Couplet in Running Script” by Xu Beihong achieving six times its price estimate at HKD 3,910,000; “Cottages Shielded by Trees“ by Huang Binhong reaching over four times its price estimate at HKD 2,300,000, and “Pomegranates” by Qi Baishi fetching over twice its price estimate at HKD.

Pan Tianshou (1897-1971), « Sailing Boats », 64 x 49 cm. Hanging scroll; ink and colour on paper;Signed Leipotoufengshouzhe, dated 1964, with three seals of the artist. Estimate: HKD 1,200,000-1,800,000. Price Realized: HKD 6,325,000. Photo China Guardian

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), ”Green and Blue Landscape“, 50 x 73 cm. Mounted for framing; ink and colour on paper;Signed Yuanweng, dated dingsi, 1977, with three seals of the artist. Estimate: HKD 1,800,000-2,800,000. Price Realized: HKD 4,370,000. Photo China Guardian

Xu Beihong (1895-1953), “Seven-Character Couplet in Running Script”, 177 x 33 cm. Hanging scroll; ink on paper;Signed Beihong, dated jimao, 1939, with two seals of the artist;Illustrated: Refer to Chinese text. Estimate: HKD 600,000-800,000. Price Realized: HKD 3,910,000. Photo China Guardian

Huang Binhong (1865-1955), “Cottages Shielded by Trees“, 34 x 103 cm. Mounted for framing; ink and colour on paper;Signed Huang Binhong, dated gengchen, 1940, with two seals of the artist. Estimate: HKD 600,000-800,000. Price Realized: HKD 2,300,000. Photo China Guardian

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), “Pomegranates”, 133 x 39 cm. Hanging scroll; ink and colour on paper;Signed Jieshanlaoren, Qi Huang, with one seal of the artist. Estimate: HKD 1,000,000-1,800,000. Price Realized: HKD 2,185,000. Photo China Guardian

Knowing: Classical Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Le Yi Studio Collection
Starting at 8:30pm on Monday, October 6, the second session “Knowing: Classical Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Le Yi Studio Collection” was particularly popular with collectors, with Wen Zhengming and Zhu Yunming’s “Attractive Scenery of Wu Shan Mountain; Calligraphy” setting a record price for the session at HKD 9,027,500. Other highlights included Zhang Lu’s “Landscapes and Figures” achieving HKD 5,175,000, and Dong Qichang’s “Five- Character Poem in Running Script” exceeding its price estimate by three times at a transaction price of HKD 4,485,000.

Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Zhu Yunming (1460-1526), “Attractive Scenery of Wu Shan Mountain; Calligraphy”, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 35.5 x 295 cm. Handsroll; ink and colour on paper; ink on paper. Signed Zhengming, Zhishan Yunming, dated gengwu1510, xinsi1521, with four artist seals and ten collector seals. Estimate: HKD 6,000,000-8,000,000. Price Realized: HKD 9,027,500. Photo China Guardian

 

Zhang Lu (1464-1538), “Landscapes and Figures”, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 33 x 59 cm. Alubm of six; ink and colour on paper. Signed Pingshan, with ten artist seals and two collector seals. Estimate: HKD 4,000,000-5,000,000. Price Realized: HKD 5,175,000. Photo China Guardian

 

Dong Qichang (1555-1636), “Five- Character Poem in Running Script”, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 174 x 58.5 cm. Hanging scroll; ink on satin. Signed Dong Qichang,with three artist seals and one collector seal. Estimate: HKD 1,800,000-2,800,000.Price Realized: HKD 4,485,000. Photo China Guardian

The Enchantment of Neoteric Chinese Ink
As the last session of the day, “The Enchantment of Neoteric Chinese Ink” ended the first day of the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions on a high note with several highlights, including “The Sun and the Moon – 97” by Lou Zhenggang fetching HKD 1,322,500; Liu Guosong’s « Moon Rising » achieving over twice its price estimate at HKD 874,000, and Xiao Xu’s “Poems from Marco Polo” selling for HKD 437,000.

 

Lou Zhenggang (b.1966), “The Sun and the Moon – 97”, 144×75 cm. Ink and colour on Paper. Estimate: HKD 1,000,000-1,500,000. Price Realized: HKD 1,322,500. Photo China Guardian

Liu Kuo-sung (Liu Guosong) (1921-), « Moon Rising« , 134×46.5 cm. Ink and colour on paper. Estimate: HKD 400,000-450,000. Price Realized: HKD 874,000. Photo China Guardian

Xiao Xu (b.1983), “Poems from Marco Polo”, 96×55 cm. Ink and colour on paper. Estimate: HKD 120,000-180,000. Price Realized: HKD 437,000. Photo China Guardian

Important Watches, Jewellery and Jadeite
The Autumn Auctions marked the second time for China Guardian Hong Kong to hold an « Important Watches, Jewellery and Jadeite » auction category, Pieces in this category hailed from some the world’s most prestigious watch and jewellery makers, including the ‘evergreen of watches’ Rolex, the ‘timeless’ Patek Philippe, the ‘glamorous’ Cartier. The auction’s variety of dazzling and sumptuous precious stones and important watches truly captured the imagination of attending collectors from across the region.

20th Century and Contemporary Chinese Art
On the second day of auctions on October 7, China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 carried on with its next auction session: “20th Century and Contemporary Chinese Art.” Featuring distinctive artistic styles, fine execution and a broad international appeal, the auction items in this session included prized pieces, carefully selected through China Guardian’s highly rigorous and professional consignment process. Among the highlights of the auction were Zao Wou-Ki’s “5.11.93”, achieving a transaction price of HKD 10,350,000, Chu Teh-chun’s “Aspirations” fetching the high value of HKD 8,625,000, Wu Dayu’s “Colourful Rhyme NO.27 – Noon Dream” selling for HKD 6,555,000, and Wu Guanzhong’s “Ocean Waves” achieving HKD 5,520,000.

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Marking the end of the China Guardian Hong Kong 2014 Autumn Auctions, the final session “Ceramics and Works of Art” attracted a full house on Tuesday evening, as collectors filled the seats and spectators flowed in at the back of the auction room. Shortly into the auction session, a flurry of paddles came up successively in a bid to secure some of the rarest and most unique jade, ceramics, sculptures, writing utensils, and bronze pieces available on the market. Excitement peaked with the announcement of the rare and extremely fine under-glazed blue and yellow enamel ‘floral scroll’ bottle lot, which after a bout of intense competition achieved the impressive transaction price of HKD 27,600,000. Other highlights from the session included a “Ru-Type ‘Fish-Basket’ Vessel, Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” fetching HKD 13,800,000, a “Pair of Large Imperial Famille-Rose Beijing Enamel Gu-Shaped Vases, Marks and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” exceeding five times their price estimate at HKD 5,865,000, and a “Grisaille-Decorated ‘Landscape’ Brushpot, Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795)” selling for over eight times its price estimate at HKD 4,945,000.

 A Ru-Type ‘Fish-Basket’ Vessel, Mark and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795), 25 cm. Estimate: HKD 12,000,000-22,000,000. Price Realized: HKD 13,800,000. Photo China Guardian

Pair of Large Imperial Famille-Rose Beijing Enamel Gu-Shaped Vases, Marks and Period of Qianlong (1736 – 1795), 63 cm. Estimate: HKD 1,000,000-2,000,000. Price Realized: HKD 5,865,000. Photo China Guardian

A Grisaille-Decorated ‘Landscape’ Brushpot, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong (1736-1795), 10cm. Estimate: HKD 600,000-900,000. Price Realized: HKD 4,945,000. Photo China Guardian

Bonhams to offer extremely rare Ming Dynasty Buddhist bronze during Asia Week

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1943, bronze figure, Calligraphy, Guanyin, Hanging scroll, Horse and Willow, ink and color on paper, Jiangnan buyi, Liu Huaisu, Ming Dynasty, Qian Shoutie, Sanyu

A large cast bronze figure of Guanyin from the late Ming dynasty, estimated between $100,000 and $150,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Week events at Bonhams kick off on Monday, September 15 with the Chinese Art from the Scholar’s Studio sale, which will feature a range of exciting highlights that include a number of notable objects. 

One of these pieces is expected to attract strong interest—a large cast bronze figure of Guanyin from the late Ming dynasty, estimated between $100,000 and $150,000— and is a highly anticipated headliner of this sale. The figure measures 28 inches in height and is seated in dhyanasana on a double lotus pedestal. Guanyin, the embodiment of universal compassion, could take many forms in Buddhist art of the Ming dynasty, but is rarely depicted in this pose. In bronze, the deity most often appears as a single majestic figure enveloped in a cloak and seated in meditation on a lotus base. The large dimensions, excellent quality casting, esoteric iconography and the sophisticated rendering of the figure make this a very unusual and highly desirable sculpture. 

Another top lot is a 40-inch ink scroll by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), one of the most popular 20th century Chinese artists. The scroll, dated 1943 and entitled “Horse and Willow,” is estimated at $150,000-200,000. It is inscribed with a dedication and portrays a horse with its neck turned, its mane and tail fluttering in the light breeze. A branch of a willow tree droops overhead. Xu Beihong studied art in Japan and Europe and returned to China in 1925 to become one of China’s most important painters and art educators, synthesizing European academic training with traditional Chinese media. 

Xu Beihong (1895-1953), Horse and Willow, 1943. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed with a dedication to Zonghe, signed Beihong and dated guiwei(1943), with one artist’s seal reading Jiangnan buyi. 40 1/2 x 13in (103 x 33cm). Estimate $150,000-200,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Also featured in the sale is an album of paintings and calligraphy created in 1927 by a group of important artists, including Sanyu (1901-1966), Liu Huaisu (1896-1994), and Qian Shoutie (1896/7-1967). The album was a wedding present for two significant cultural figures from the pre-revolutionary Shanghainese literary beau monde—the poet Shao Xunmei (1906-1968) and his first cousin, the heiress Sheng Peiyu (1905-1988). The album’s estimate lies between $10,000 and $15,000. 

Detail of an an album of paintings and calligraphy created in 1927 by a group of important artists, including Sanyu (1901-1966), Liu Huaisu (1896-1994), and Qian Shoutie (1896/7-1967). Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.

Additionally, the auction will offer a strong selection of Chinese snuff bottles with most from an important private New York collection. Excellent examples in amber, carved jade and enameled porcelain are sure to entice bidders in this popular collecting catagory. Highlights will include several bottles attributed to the Imperial Palace workshops and several outstanding inside painted pieces by artists such as Ye Zhongsan, Ma Shaoxuan and Wang Xisan. 

Words Take Flight in Persian Calligraphy at Sackler Gallery

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Bukhara, ca. 1400, ca. 1540, Calligraphy, Gulshan Album, Iran, Jalayirid period, Khusraw u Shirin by Nizami, Mir Ali Haravi, Mir Ali Tabrizi, Sheybanid period, Tabriz, Uzbekistan

Khusraw u Shirin by Nizami . Signed by Mir Ali Tabrizi, Iran, Tabriz, Jalayirid period, ca. 1400. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Purchase. Freer Gallery of Art F1931.29 folios 50–51

During a prolific 200-year period in the 14th–16th centuries, four master calligraphers invented one of the most aesthetically refined forms of Persian culture: nasta‘liq, a type of calligraphy so beautiful that for the first time the expressive form of the words eclipsed their meaning. “Nasta‘liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy,” opening Sept. 13 at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, displays 20 rarely seen masterworks created by the script’s greatest practitioners, tracing its evolution from a simple style of writing to a potent form of artistic expression.

This is the first exhibition ever to focus specifically on nasta‘liq, which was used primarily to write poetry, Persia’s quintessential form of literature. With sinuous lines, short vertical strokes and an astonishing sense of rhythm, the script was an immediate success and was rapidly adopted throughout the Persian-speaking world from Turkey to India. The exhibition shows how generations of itinerant calligraphers, bound by the master-pupil relationship, developed, enhanced and spread nasta‘liq between major artistic centers.

“Nasta‘liq represents one of the most accomplished forms of Persian art, developed at a time of cultural and artistic effervescence in Iran,” said Simon Rettig, exhibition curator and curatorial fellow at the Freer and Sackler galleries. “In a sense, it became the visual embodiment of the Persian language enthusiastically embraced from Istanbul to Delhi and from Bukhara to Baghdad.”

Each of the four masters featured in the exhibition—Mir Ali from Tabriz (active ca. 1370–1410), Sultan Ali from Mashhad (d. 1520), Mir Ali from Herat (d. 1545) and Mir Imad Hasani from Qazvin (d. 1615)—further evolved the nasta‘liq style, intentionally slanting the script for dramatic effect, modulating lines to balance fluidity and discipline, and adding delicate, twisting flourishes. Often attached to royal and princely courts, many calligraphers were the celebrities of their time, and visitors will learn fascinating anecdotes of fame and rivalry.

Mastering nasta‘liq can take a lifetime, but it remains the most popular form of Persian calligraphy today. A demonstration video in the exhibition, along with calligraphic tools and accessories, shows how techniques developed more than 500 years ago are still practiced by contemporary calligraphers.

Primarily drawn from the collections of the Freer and Sackler galleries, highlights include the only known signed work by the “inventor” of nasta‘liq Mir Ali from Tabriz, two folios from a collection of poetry by the late 15th-century ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara and sumptuous illuminated pages from imperial Mughal albums. 

The exhibition will be on view through March 22, 2015, and will be featured during the museum’s annual family festival celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, Saturday, March 7, 2015. Other exhibition-related programs include a Point of View talk with exhibition curator Simon Rettig Oct. 14 and lectures by eminent specialists, including David J. Roxburgh of Harvard University Dec. 14 and Dick Davis of Ohio State University Jan. 25, 2015. For a full listing of related events, visit asia.si.edu/nastaliq.

Detail of folio from the Gulshan Album. Calligraphy by Mir Ali Haravi. Probably Uzbekistan, Bukhara, Sheybanid period, ca. 1540. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. Purchase, F1956.12