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A PAIR OF CARVED JADE BIRDS.
Third quarter of 20th Century.
Carved in mirror image, with the head turned back over the body with long flowing tails which loop over the high rocky bases on which they stand, wood stands, 16cm H. (2)
£100-200
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A JADE CARVING OF A CABBAGE.
Third quarter of 20th Century.
Naturalistically carved with an insect sitting on the leafy brassica, terminating with a short root, wood stand, 13cm long.
£200-300
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A JADE CARVED 'RAFT GROUP'.
Second half of 20th Century.
Carved and pierced to depict a boy at the front paddling with a long sprig of lingzhi fungus, separated from a seated lady by a basket of fruit, wooden stand, 23cm long.
Provenance: Purchased in Taiwan in the 1990s.
£100-200
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A BLUE AND WHITE JAR AND COVER.
31cm H.
£1,000-2,000
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AN INCISED WHITE-GLAZED VASE.
Qianlong mark. 29cm H.
£4,000-5,000
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A PAIR OF LAPIS LAZULI 'LADIES', A PAIR OF TIGER-EYE CARVED MONKEYS AND A PAIR OF CARVED TIGER-EYE DOGS.
Second half of 20th Century.
All but one monkey with wood stands, 3-6cm H. (6)
£100-200
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A JADE CARVING OF A LADY.
Third quarter of 20th Century.
Wood stand, 9cm H.
£100-200
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A PAIR OF MOULDED WAX 'DRAGON' CANDLE STICKS.
Of tapering form and hexagonal section, each moulded with a five-clawed dragon among scrolling clouds, 17.5cm H. (2)
£200-300
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TWO AGATE 'FRUIT' CARVINGS.
5cm long. (2)
£600-800
| The following ten lots (357-366) are from the collection of Brian Pearson (1926-2003). | |
Pearson joined the army at 16, serving as an officer with the Gurkhas in India and Burma. After the end of World War Two, he joined British American Tobacco and was posted to Shanghai as company secretary. He resided there until the Communists came to power, forming his collection during his first year in the country.
Numerous historical sources have suggested that the group of realistically modelled nudes to which this carving belongs were created as a medical aid, allowing sick ladies to point out the precise location of their ailment thereby alleviating the awkward and inappropriate necessity of disrobing and direct touching. However, evidence from Gillman (1984) reveals that this may be no more than a diversionary myth to legitimate the keeping and collection of works designed for the pure purpose of erotic titillation. More scandalous still, the pose of these works, with the head resting on bent right arm, the legs slightly crossed, and the left hand obscuring the breast, appear to be based on an earlier European-derived prototype depicting the infant Jesus or John the Baptist (Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing). |
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Y AN IVORY 'DOCTOR'S MODEL' CARVING OF A LADY.
Qing Dynasty.
Realistically modelled as a naked woman lying in a recumbent position with her right hand supporting her head, the other arm resting on her breast, later carved wooden stands, 20cm long.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£800-1,200
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A CHALCEDONY AGATE 'BIRDS' CARVING.
Early 20th Century.
Carved and pierced in the form of a seated bird, the head turned and holding a lotus flower spray in the mouth with a smaller bird huddled on the left, original carved wood stand, 13.5cm H.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£600-800
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Y A CARVED IVORY 'PLEASURE BOAT'.
Late Qing / Republican era.
Skilfully carved with doors that open, the lower deck filled with figures dining and engaged in various pursuits, with further revellers populating the upper deck, the stand modelled as high scrolling waves, 20cm long, 16cm H.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£500-800
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Y A CARVED IVORY CHESS SET.
Republican era.
The thirty-two pieces well carved, one side stained, fitted within a board, the pieces 5.5-9cm H.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£1,000-1,500
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Y AN IVORY CARVING OF A MOUNTAIN SCENE EMERGING FROM BETWEEN CLAM SHELLS.
Republican era.
Finely and deeply carved and pierced as a rocky pine-filled landscape, around the base and emerging from two long clam-shells, fitted wooden stand, 19.5cm H.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£800-1,200
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A PAIR OF CARVED JADE CONJOINED RINGS.
Republican era.
Suspended from a wood stand on a chain of jade rings, 26cm H with stand.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£300-500
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THREE PAIRS OF CARVED ELEPHANTS.
Qing Dynasty / Republican era.
One pair carved in black hardstone, 7cm H, another pair of rose quartz, 11.5cm H, and another of carved horn, 5cm H, each with carved wood stands. (6)
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£600-800
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WU DAIQIU (1878-1949).
1915.
Snowy autumn landscape, ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 111 x 52cm.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£300-500
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WU SHIRU.
Republican era.
CHINESE SCHOOL.
Ink on paper, hanging scroll, 136 x 68cm.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£300-500
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HU GONGSHOU (1823-1886), WITH A COLOPHON BY SHEN JINGXIU (1835-1899).
1885.
Jiaochuang du huatu, colophon with three seals by Shen Jing Xiu, two paintings by Hu Gongshou with four seals of the artist, ink and colour on paper, handscroll, the title 27 x 123cm, the painting 27 x 273cm.
Provenance: Brian Pearson (1926-2003) Collection, acquired in China between 1945 and 1946.
£300-500
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A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF TSONGKHAPA.
Tibet, 19th Century.
Seated on a double lotus throne with his hands dharmachakra mudra, a sword and book raised on lotuses at the shoulders, 13cm H.
£3,500-4,000
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A BRONZE FIGURE OF GREEN TARA.
Tibet, 19th Century.
Seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus base 17cm H.
£600-800
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TWO CARVED AND POLYCHROME WOOD PHURBAS, DEPICTING VAJRAKILA IN YAB-YUM.
Tibet, 19th Century.
Each carved and painted with the fierce, winged deity embracing his spouse, holding a miniature phurba in his hands, and placed above the triangular blade of the dagger, 17.5cm H. (2)
£1,200-1,500
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A PRAYER WHEEL.
19th / early 20th Century.
With gilt brass decoration on a copper base, with two registers of semi-precious stones, and one ivory or bone plaque with a carved Bodhisattva, probably original, woodblock printed prayers enclosed, 34cm H.
£400-600
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A BRONZE VAJRA TOGETHER WITH AN IRON VAJRA.
circa 18th Century.
Each thunderbolt-sceptre is cast with a central bulbous grip that separates two lotus pedestals supporting a central column surrounded by four arched vajra, 12.5cm long, 16cm long.
£800-1,200
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A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF MAITREYA.
18th Century.
Standing on a lotus base with hands in dharmachakra mudra, with lotus blossoms at the shoulders bearing a wheel, chakra, and vessel, kundika, the face adorned with a five-leafed crown, wearing large loop earrings, with a tranquil expression 13cm H.
£6,000-8,000
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A THANGKA DEPICTING HAYAGRIVA, VAJRAPANI AND GARUDA.
Tibet, 19th Century.
The upper register containing a wrathful Red Hayagriva depicted in dharmapala form, the lower register with Vajrapani on the left and the Bird King on the right, pigments on cotton, mounted in Chinese silk textiles, retaining the original rolling rod, the painting 37cm x 24cm.
£1,500-2,000
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A THANGKA OF A CHAKRASAMVARA MANDALA.
19th Century.
With Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi in embrace at centre, the painting 53.5 x 52cm.
£800-1,200
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A WHITE CONCH SHELL CARVED WITH BUDDHAS.
Decorated with a band of Buddhas, within decorative borders, 18cm long.
£4,000-6,000
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A SOAPSTONE CARVING OF A SEATED FIGURE.
Early Qing Dynasty, 17th / 18th Century.
The red to cream stone carved with a smiling figure seated on a rockwork base, the head raised in an absurd grin, the hands together, the left knee slightly raised, 13.5cm H.
£6,000-8,000
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A SOAPSTONE MODEL OF A LUOHAN.
17th / 18th Century.
Standing in long flowing robes with incised patterns holding a fly whip between his two hands, head and eyes slightly lowered, 23cm H.
£3,000-5,000
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A SOAPSTONE MODEL OF A LADY.
17th / 18th Century.
Seated, holding a large peach, in trailing robes, the feet bare,
red velvet stand, 19.5cm H.
Provenance: Spink & Son, by repute.
£5,000-8,000
The present figure belongs to an extremely rare category of works within Chinese soapstone carving and its significance is revealed by careful comparison with comparable works. A pair of related soapstone ladies are published in Bräutigam, Schätze Chinas aus Museen der DDR. Hildesheim, 1990, cat no 206, p 152. These two ladies are remarkably similar to the present lot from the waist down with two exposed feet hanging out of flowing robes, and similarly constructed from a series of different pieces of soapstone attached together.
Each is seated on a lion, 23cm H in total, and appears to depict Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, known in Chinese as Wenshu. Although the arms of the two figures are severely damaged, one holds a ruyi sceptre in the left hand, a common attribute of Wenshu. It is unusual, however, within Buddhist iconography to see a pair of Manjushri figures when she is most commonly paired with Samantabhadra, borne on an elephant, and representing wisdom, as the pair together represent the accommodation of both wisdom and reason within the Buddhist faith.
It seems therefore that the pair of ladies represents an adaption of a Buddhist form to a more decorative Chinese derivative. This deviation is taken a step further in a closely related pair of ladies riding lions from the Christopher Bruckner Collection, illustrated as Chinese Imperial Patronage, Treasures From Temples and Palaces, 1998, pl no 30, pp 88-89. The pair of ladies are undoubtedly a version of Manjushri (Wenshu), and each typically depicted as eternally young, but here they are elegantly attired and holding in both hands a basket overflowing with peaches and lingzhi fungus. These pieces, more than double the size of the other pair, are on the same scale as the present lot, where the lady is supporting an oversized peach to her right side.
The stylistic parity between the present lot and the two other pairs, suggests it too represents an incarnation of Manjushri (Wenshu), however, the secular character of the lady is so strong that her Buddhist characteristics are considerably side-lined, a fact not helped by the fact that she has been decoupled from her lion. One feature, however, stands out-her two completely naked unbound feet.
Whilst naked feet are commonly depicted in Buddhist imagery, in secular works they are virtually unheard of. Even the most explicit of Chinese erotic art will tastefully obscure the female foot within a shoe or under layers of cloth. The historical fetish around ladies' feet was well documented within Imperial China. Whilst foot binding was widespread in respectable society, some sectors of society, including Manchu ethnic minorities, were exempt from the practice, even at court.
The naked feet are clearly a result of the figure's Buddhist iconographic roots, however, this may not have been a purely innocent transposition. Just as the Venetian school of the Renaissance channelled Greco-Roman ideals and heritage in their often sexualised depictions of the female nude (Antico (1455-1528) was a sculptor who produced miniature bronzes of the female nude for private clients under such a pretext), so too Chinese artists of the 17th Century may have used the cloak of Buddhism to legitimate the production and distribution of pornographic depictions of young bare-foot beauties. This lady bares all, but she obscures a complex process of Buddhist appropriation, adaptation and transformation.
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A JADE CARVING OF A SAGE.
Qing Dynasty, 18th Century.
Standing, the body bowed to the left, in long flowing robes, wood stand, a humorous expression on the face, 10cm H.
£7,000-8,000
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A SOAPSTONE CARVING OF A SEATED LUOHAN.
17th / 18th Century.
The figure seated with head raised and eyes lowered, the two hands resting on the raised right knee, the left knee lowered, the left hand clasping a sceptre, 11cm H.
£800-1,200
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A SOAPSTONE CARVING OF GUANYIN.
17th Century.
Seated in royal ease against a rocky base, the eyes downcast, a serene expression on the face, the right knee is raised and the left arm tucked behind beneath long flowing robes, the right arm holding a branch, Wang Xuanzi mark on the back, 8cm H.
£5,000-8,000
| The following ten lots (382-391) are from a London private collection of Korean art. | |
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KOREAN SCHOOL.
Clothes of the Korean people, ink and colour on paper,
hand scroll, 26.5 x 405cm.
Provenance: London private collection.
£100-200
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A PAINTING OF TWO CATS WITH BIRDS.
Depicting one cat clambering up a tree in which sit two birds sit, the other sat on the ground with a bird in the mouth, ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 93 x 69cm.
Provenance: London private collection; Christie's South Kensington, Oriental Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 May 1990, lot 150.
£100-200
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A PAINTING OF A CAT AND BUTTERFLY.
The cat sitting with the head raised towards the butterfly, in front of a tree, ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 66 x 46cm.
Provenance: London private collection.
£100-200
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A PAINTING OF A TIGERS WITH CUBS.
The tiger with a paw raised in front of the cub in a similar pose, another cup clambering over the tiger's back, ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 72 x 89cm.
Provenance: London private collection; Christie's South Kensington.
£100-200
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A TIGER PAINTING.
The beast dramatically coiled beneath a tree branch, ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 89 x 45.5cm.
Provenance: London private collection; Christie's South Kensington, Oriental Ceramics and Works of Art, 14 May 1992, lot 159.
£100-200
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A PAINTING OF A TIGER.
Standing four-square with the tail raised and the head turned to the right, ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 82 x 51cm.
Provenance: London private collection.
£100-200
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A PAINTING OF A TIGER.
The tiger drinking from a stream bellow pines and waterfalls, its reflection visible in the water, inscription to top left, 135 x 59cm.
Provenance: London private collection.
£100-200
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THREE PORTRAITS OF KOREAN FIGURES.
Ink and colour on paper, framed and glazed, 70 x 38cm. (3)
Provenance: London private collection; acquired from Christie's.
£100-200
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PAUL JACOULET (1896-1960).
Thirty woodblock prints from the Korean series, each signed in pencil, framed and glazed, 39 x 31cm. (30)
Provenance: London private collection.
£2,000-3,000
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A CELADON-GLAZED CENSER AND COVER, TOGETHER WITH THREE OTHER CERAMIC ITEMS.
The censer 17cm H. (4)
Provenance: London private collection.
£100-200
Literature: For a closely related censer see Treasures from Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392 - 1910, 2014, pl no 3.15.
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AN INCISED CELADON VASE, MAEBYEONG.
36.5cm H.
£400-600
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A CELADON VASE AND STAND.
20th Century.
The body and stand with pierced openwork in simulation of basketwork, the shoulders with seated animal-form handles below the foliate rim, 68cm. (2)
£300-500
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TWO VASES, A JAR AND TWO BOWLS.
4-16cm. (5)
£300-500
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A COLLECTION OF FOUR BOWLS.
Song Dynasty, and later.
4-16cm. (4)
£400-600
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AN ALBUM OF EXPORT PAINTINGS.
Qing Dynasty.
Comprising eight leaves each painted with different subjects including scholar's objects, floral bouquets, figurative scenes and boats, 24 x 32cm.
£500-800
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AN ALBUM OF TWELVE PAINTINGS OF LUOHAN.
Late Qing Dynasty.
Ink and colour on paper, concertina binding, 29 x 23.5cm.
£200-300
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