The week will present over a thousand lots of exceptional quality and rarity that span centuries of Asian Art featuring important works from the Sporer Collection, the Lai Family Collection, the Sowell Collection, and the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, as well as fine Chinese display stands from a distinguished private American collection. The comprehensive selection includes Chinese and Himalayan paintings and sculptures, Song dynasty ceramics, South Asian modern and contemporary art, classical Chinese furniture, snuff bottles, export porcelain figures, Chinese display stands, cloisonné enamel, archaic bronzes and more.
The Sporer Collection of Himalayan Sculpture
15 September
This season, the highly esteemed Sporer Collection of Himalayan bronzes comes to auction. Assembled between the early 1960 to the mid-1980s by Drs. Andrew and Edita Sporer, the collection is comprised of 61 exceptional sculptures spanning the 12th–19th centuries, most of which are rediscoveries and never sold at auction. Highlights include a rare 12th/13th century Nepalese gilt bronze figure of Umamaheshvara and a large Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Vajrabhairava from the 16th century.
Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art
15 September
This sale features an array of fine Indian stone and bronze sculptures, Himalayan bronzes and an important collection of Tibetan thangkas ranging from the 16th century onward. Highlights include two Chola period bronze figures of Devi, a large and important sandstone figure of the Buddha dating to the Kushan period, a 15thcentury gilt bronze Densatil-style figure of Buddha from Tibet and a large and extremely fine 19th century Tibetan painting of a Karmapa. The auction will also feature a selection of 28 Himalayan paintings and works of art from the Rubin Museum of Art, sold to benefit the acquisitions Fund, with estimates ranging from $2,000 to $35,000.
Fine Chinese Paintings
16 September
This sale of Fine Chinese Paintings offers approximately 135 paintings and calligraphies ranging from the Ming Dynasty to the contemporary period, with a focus on works from American private collections. Highlights include a delicately rendered and colorful depiction of immortals playing chess attributed to the Ming master Qiu Ying. Among the modern paintings are works by important 20th century masters Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi and Li Keran. Leading the auction is the Collection of Yan Yuntai, which offers a diverse range of 68 landscapes, floral scenes, animals and calligraphy made for the owners by some of China’s most accomplished modern artists.
The Ruth and Carl Barron Collection of Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles: Part I
16 September
The Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles from the Ruth and Carl Barron Collection: Part I auction offers a rich trove of over 140 snuff bottles from one of the most well-known and respected collectors in this collecting category. Over a period of 20 years, the Barrons amassed a comprehensive collection of a diverse range of bottles, with a focus on rare and fine examples in glass—particularly faceted and multicolored overlay snuff bottles—and a preference for the colorful and innovative examples produced by the Imperial Glassworks in Beijing. Exceptional highlights include a rare five-color overlay pink glass bottle dating from 1750–1850, an exquisite white and blue overlay bottle depicting Meng Haorang seated on a horse beneath a prunus tree and a greyish-black and white jade snuff bottle carved with the image of elegant birds amidst lotus.
Mandarin & Menagerie: The Sowell Collection, Part II
16 September
Over a period of about 20 years, James Sowell of Dallas formed the best collection of Chinese export birds, animals and figures in the country, in addition to collecting Chinese taste jades, cloisonné and ceramics. The export collection was published in 2008 by Michael Cohen and Will Motley in the lavishly illustrated and fully researched book, Mandarin & Menagerie: Chinese and Japanese Export Ceramic Figures. In January 2015, Christie’s New York offered Part I of The Sowell Collection to great success. Part II of this storied collection comes to auction on September 16. Highlights include a white jade marriage bowl from the Qianlong period, a finely carved white jade table screen also from the Qianlong period and a rare pair of finely enameled famille verte rouleau vases from the Kangxi period.
South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art
17 September
The sale of South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art features works by the region’s Modernist masters and some of today’s most sought-after contemporary artists. The sale is led by one of Francis Newton Souza’s most important works, Birth, primed to set a world record for the artist. Highlights include works from Modernist masters such as Maqbool Fida Husain, Syed Haider Raza and Ram Kumar, who premieres an undiscovered figurative work from his popular early period from the 1950s to the 1960s. The sale also features notable examples from many lauded contemporary artists, including Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Zarina.
Elevated Beauty: Fine Chinese Display Stands From An Important Private American Collection
17 September
With over 100 display stands assembled over a period of 50 years, Elevated Beauty: Fine Chinese Display Stands presents some of the finest and diverse selection of stands from the Ming and Qing Dynasties in a broad range of materials and forms. Standouts from this private American collection include a Qianlong mark and period cloisonné enamel octagonal stand, a rare zitan stand finely carved with figures of the Eight Immortals, an 18th century scroll form red lacquer stand and an elegant burl-inset zitan stand that illuminates the master cabinetmaker’s knowledge of the complex joins of classical Chinese furniture.
The Lai Family Collection of Fine Chinese Furniture and Works of Art
17 September
Amassing over 30 years of collecting and connoisseurship, the Lai Family Collection of Fine Chinese Furniture and Works of Art highlights classical Chinese furniture, scholar’s objects, modern Chinese paintings and other fine works of art. The collection was started by Lai Loy, a highly respected antiques dealer in Hong Kong, and continued with his son Peter and daughter-in-law Sandee, who together established a gallery in the prestigious Prince’s Building in Hong Kong. The Lais dealt in ceramics and works of art, but came to be renowned for their discerning eye for classical Chinese furniture. Rare and unusual highlights from the 17th century include a huanghuali box-form stool, a magnificent huanghali recessed leg table and a huanghuali corner leg table—one of only two known examples. Exquisite examples in amber, glass and porcelain along with scholar’s objects join an extraordinary sale.
Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art
17 and 18 September
The sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art features over 500 extraordinary works in a diverse range of collecting categories, including translucent jade carvings, Ming and Qing Imperial porcelains, Song ceramics, cloisonné and painted enamels and classical Chinese furniture. Highlighting an impressive selection of Imperial porcelains dating back to the Qianlong period, top lots include a magnificent celadon-glazed moonflask, a rare flambé-glazed bottle vase and a turquoise-ground faceted pear-shaved vase finely decorated with vibrant famille rose enamels with vignettes of flowers among rocks, a lotus scroll and bats. Song dynasty ceramics are also well-represented with an elegant dingyao vase with a transparent glaze of creamy white color and a beautiful Longquan celadon vase dating to the Song-Yuan dynasty.
