AMSTERDAM.- The sale of Chinese and Japanese Ceramics and Works of Art at Sotheby’s Amsterdam on Monday 13 November 2006 offers an excellent selection of Chinese taste, famille rose and blue and white porcelain. Two highlights of the sale are the Louis Couperus service and the Catharina Collection of Chinese and Japanese cloisonné. A collection devoted entirely to the Art of Enamel is a rare phenomenon. The Catharina Collection shows a wonderful section of this particular realm of decorative arts through the ages. The passion with which every single item has been acquired and the devotion to aesthetics and quality unites the items in the collection. The amazing technique of enamelling are amazing It is amazing how, with relatively simple means and tools the artists have been able to shape such wonderful vases, bowls and dishes as early as in the 14th and 15th century. There is a large vase from the Ming dynasty decorated with a continuous scene of scrolling lotus flowers on a blue ground (lot 152, H.54 cm, €5.000-7.000) and a large Fahua jar, possibly Ming (lot 162, €3.000-4.000). A bowl with the six character Jiajing mark and of the period is decorated with eight boys at play, representing the Eight Immortals (lot 154, €3.000-5.000). Bold or amusing figures, such as a pair of quails (lot 156, incense burners, €2.000-3.000), a pair of saddled horses (lot 163, €3.000-4.000) and a stunning pair of dragons (lot169, candle sticks, €1.500-2.000) add a sculptural element to the collection.

Those seeking the ultimate perfection will find it in the superb quality of pieces from the Meiji period, such as a blue dish decorated with a kingfisher and lotus flowers (lot 192 €2.000-3.000) and a tray, signed Kawade Shibataro, worked in silver wire with a cock, a hen and a chick on a blue ground (lot 207, €3.000-5.000). The Catharina Collection was exhibited for the first time in 1992 in the Museum Het Princessehof in Leeuwarden. The bilingual catalogue by Sandra Borstlap is a mile stone in the literature on Chinese and Japanese cloisonné till the present day. From September 1992 to June 1993, the Collection was shown in Brussels, in the Koninklijk Museum van Kunst en Geschiedenis. The sale at Sotheby’s will attract numerous collectors around the world to this collection of the Art of Enamel, who will experience the excitement and passion of acquiring the items of their choice.

A fine Chine de Commande dinner service (82 parts) that is known as the Louis Couperus service, has an interesting historic background. Dating from 1790-95 it is one of the last consignments of armorial porcelain by the Dutch VOC. The service was commissioned for the wedding of Willem Jacob Cranssen with Maria Eleonora Hartman in 1790. Cranssen was Governor of Ternate, Malacca and Amboina. The finely painted coat of arms of Cranssen-Hartman on each piece of the service celebrates their marriage. Their daughter Catharina Rica Cranssen who married Petrus Theodorus Couperus inherited the service. Next owner was their son, Abraham Couperus, Governor of Malacca from 1788 until 1795 - when the English took over that part of the world. Through inheritance the service went to Louis Couperus (1863-1923), who was to become an illustrious author. Only few Dutch authors have reached such international recognition that their books have been translated into English and the The Hague author Louis Couperus was one of them. Couperus became famous, not only owing to his literary talent but also for his eccentric behaviour. Many details about his lifestyle, whims and over-sophistication, are known from letters; he was such a well-known character that people who met him, mentioned him in their correspondence. A French reporter who met Couperus mentions a dinner that he enjoyed with the author, and the fine Chinese dinner service that was used, “…decorated”, the reporter continues, “with the coat of arms of the author” - which is, as we know now, not correct. Later, Louis Couperus apparently sold the service. The story will continue when the Couperus service is offered in this sale, estimated €20.000-30.000 (82 parts).