LONDON - Art dealer
Christie's is going to sell 300
lots of Chinese ceramics and works
of art on Tuesday, the beginning
of its Asian Art Week in London
this season.
Leading the
auction is a rare pair of
massive famille rose models of
pagodas, which were believed to be
made at the late Qianlong period
about 1750 to 1800, said Marco Almeida,
director of the Chinese Ceramics and
Works of Art section with
Christie's.
Standing at 263
centimetres tall, the pair was the
first to be sold at an open
market, according to Almeida, who
noted that the price could be
between 250,000 to 300,000 pounds (383,671 to
460,405 U.S. dollars).
These
pagodas were likely to be made
based on the Bao'en Temple
(Temple of Gratitude) in east
China's Nanjing city. They were
constructed with nine upper storeys,
each with the upward-curving tiled
eaves typical of roofs in southern
China. They were exquisite with green
tiles, underglaze blue walls and iron
red enamel and gilt in imari
style.
Almeida told Xinhua that
the pair, kept in an Italian
castle since the 1950s, were exported
to the West during the Qing
dynasty.
"The British Prince of
Wales, later George IV, bought a
similar pair in 1804 for his exotic
Royal Pavilion in Brighton, when
oriental art was considered fashionable,"
he said. These pagodas remained in
the Royal Collection and sent to
the Buckingham Palace.
Porcelain
pagodas of such a size are
extremely rare. In 2008, a fraction of
such a pagoda fetched as much
as 108,000 pounds.
A pair of
large cloisonne enamel elephants dated
back to the Qianlong period were
estimated to get 200,000 to 300,000
pounds.
Elephants, quiet and
powerful, were always associated with
Buddhism in China. "They were always
used to flank a throne, or seat
of an official," Almeida said. Today
in the Forbidden City a similarly
large pair can still be seen in
the Hall of Supreme
Harmony.
A rare surviving pair
of Buddhist sculptures were made
during the Yuan or early Ming
dynasty in the 14th century. These
bodhisattvas, made with stucco
technique."They have a wooden
sculpture inside, and earthenware outside,
and were thus very fragile," Almeida
said. They were hard to preserve
too. "They will crack if it is
too dry, and melt if too
humid."
Measuring 135 centimetres
tall, they were adorned with elaborate
crown. One of them was shown
holding a scroll, while the other
chanted sutras.
Highlights of
the jade include a marriage bowl
decorated with Mandarin ducks and fish
carved in the interior, as well
as a pair of spinach-green archaistic
vases. The vases were made during
the reign of Qianlong, to be
sold at 50,000 to 80,000
pounds.
"Emperor Qianlong was
an admirer of antiquity, and saw
the birth of archaistic shapes similar
to the bronzeware in Shang and
Han dynasties," according to
Almeida.There are also smaller pieces
available at the auction. "Chinese
jade craft men are among the
best in the world. They know
how to incorporate color in the
design," he added.
A painting
by late Chinese master Qi Baishi
was labelled as 40,000 to 60,000 pounds.
"He is the Chinese Picasso, and
the peaches on the painting were
so typical of his style," Almeida
said.
The specialist disclosed
that they have already received many
phone calls from potential buyers,
among whom about half are
Chinese.
"Porcelain is still
the most popular category but others
are welcomed as well," he
said.
In the following several
days, Christie's is going to
put more Chinese art works under
the hammer, including snuff bottles,
textile, lacquer, furniture, books, among
others.
