Gianguan Auctions Announces Highlights of 18th Annual March Sale
When Gianguan Auctions convenes its spring sale on Monday, March 18, collectors and curators will bid on Chinese art in its many incarnations and moods. Properties span the eras from Neolithic through Ming and Qing Dynasties to contemporary.
NEW YORK, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- International collectors in New York for the spring round of Asian art auctions and exhibitions will once again find rare and unusual offerings at Gianguan Auctions, as highlighted below. The sale takes place on Monday, March 18 at 6:00 in the gallery and online.
In tribute to the Year of the Pig, three carved jade pigs are on the podium. The outstanding piece is a Ming carving of a smiling pig recumbent in a woven basket with handle. The turned-up tips of its ears and the corners of its mouth are symbolic of the comforts of wealth and prosperity associated with pigs. The back of the basket carries the Shou sign, a reference to longevity.
Among the jades is a magnificent Kangxi ruyi scepter in the form of a lingzhi fungus. Carved from an unusually large white jade boulder, the reticulated branches are home to bats, peaches and pomegranates. The scepter is topped with a solid lingzhi head.
A carved jade pot with cover, of white jade with russet, is majestic in its craftsmanship. The pot has a phoenix-head spout and curled bixie handle. The ovoid body is ornamented with dragons chasing flaming pearl, all surmounted by a domed cover featuring an archaistic dragon. It is of the period and bearing the Yongzheng six character mark,
Works by two female artists of the 21st and 20th centuries highlight the paintings collection. "Pomegranates in Bamboo Basket" is by Dr. Yuhua Shouzhi Wang, who currently has a solo exhibition running in the States. The ink-and-color on paper combines traditional flavor with contemporary flair that tricks the eye into believing the elegant composition was effortless. It is signed Yuhua, with one artist seal, mounted and framed. In 2008, the United States Congress recognized Dr. Yuhua Wang as a "great artist and sculptor." She has also recently been honored with a dedicated gallery at the International Art Museum of San Francisco.
Song Meiling (1898-2003), publicly known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, is represented by "Sun Moon Lake," a 1956 chiaroscuro hanging scroll that recalls a romantic outing. It is signed and has one artist seal. The colophon with seal commemorated by her husband.
"Shrimps" by best-selling artist Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a tour de force of naturalism. The seven long, segmented bodies with appendages and short anterior legs take on an abstracted angularity in flourishes of gray and black. Signed "at 89 Baishi," the hanging scroll has two artist marks.
"Boys and Pomegranate," 1947, introduces the many moods of Zhang Daqian. The whimsical scene presents three youths in red vests intent on investigating the chambered fruit. One stands on a table behind rockery stretching for the harvest as two children in the foreground focus on the fruit in their hand.
In a more somber mood Zhang Daqian gives us "Louhan's Crossing," a relatable interpretation of Bodhidharma fording a stream to spread the word. In earlier paintings by other artists, the louhan rode a reed across the waters. Zhang Daqian portrays the stooped elder with robes tied up above his knees, a staff in his right hand, while the left rests on the head of a supporting attendant. Spare of stroke, the artist has depicted the monk with bushy eyebrows, sagging cheeks and high nose. Dated 1946, signed Zhang Yuan, the ink-and-color on paper has four artists seals.
The votive painting introduces a collection of Buddhist art and statues. Among the more unusual is a 13th/14th century Tibetan gilt bronze thangka frieze of the Avalokiteshvara. Embossed in high relief, the enlightened one is posed in pralambopadasana on a stepped throne. Dressed in an elaborate dhoti festooned with beads of coral and turquoise, he is surrounded by floral stems on either side and elaborately chased scrolling images. The back is embossed with Tibetan letters, possibly a mantra.
A sublime offering is the blanc-de-chine ceramic statue of Guanyin by He Chaozong, a 17th c. master potter excelling in Dehua kilns glazes. The elegant figure that sits in dhyanasana on a plinth of louhans and lotus blossoms was likely created as a commission for a specific monastery. Its fingers, raised in abaya mudra, are long and delicately shaped, an indication of male energy. The eyes and smile exude the serenity of meditation. A distinctive cowl hugs the head and is seemingly unique among similar works by He Chaozong.
Equally uncommon is a bronze Ming statue of seated Guanyin leaning on a stack of sutra, sacred scriptures. Of serene countenance under domed Unisa, the deity wears a gilt robe open at the chest to display a beaded necklace. Elaborate chasing decorates the meticulous folds of the gown. The base is sealed with a plate inscribed with a varja. Of the period, the 22" tall statue is impressed with the Yongle six character mark.
The large collection of Guanyins and meditative art includes examples carved of red jade, Tianghuang and shoushan stone, polychromed bone and gilt bronze.
Collectors of cloisonné will find a stunning pair of hexagonal hu-form vases. The enameling features flowering trees and rockery bordered with archaists scrollwork on sky blue panels. At the shoulders, taotie masks set off by Bi are flanked by golden square C-scroll handles. Of the period, the 15" tall pair bear the Qianlong four-character mark in relief.
For details on these and other properties in Gianguan Auctions sale on Monday evening, March 18, please visit http://www.gianguanauctions.com. Previews open on Tuesday, March 12 and run through Sunday, March 18. Gianguan Auctions is located at 39 W. 56th Street. The auction will be conducted live in the gallery and on liveauctioneers.com, invaluable.com, and artron.net.
SOURCE Gianguan Auctions
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