NEW YORK, NY.- On 16 September 2014 at 10am Sotheby’s New York Asian Art series of auctions will be led by the prestigious single-owner sale of Chinese Art through the Eye of Sakamoto Gorō: Song Ceramics. Regarded as the highest form of ceramic art in the world, this group of eight Song pieces was assembled by the legendary collector Sakamoto Gorō and has remained unseen in his collection for many years. Song Ceramics have been revered for centuries in Japan and the pieces in the sale represent the pinnacle of these quietly sophisticated forms.

Henry Howard-Sneyd, Vice Chairman of the Americas, Asian Art commented: “With their rarity and storied provenances these eight Song pieces exemplify the elegant subtlety of these Chinese ceramics, as well as their historic importance. Having literally passed through the hands of some of the field’s most famed collectors they now come from the collection of Sakamoto Goro - one of the great icons of the Japanese art world. They are a glorious celebration of the Song aesthetic and its deep rooted apprecaition in Japan.”

'The Vortex Jar': An Extremely Rare Black-Glazed Brush-Painted Jar Song Dynasty represents a more adventurous type of early ceramic production (est. $2.5/3 million). It is remarkable for the bold and highly abstract 'vortex' motif rather than the more commonly found naturalistic depiction of birds and plants. The iconic piece has been published and exhibited widely including in the seminal Tokyo National Museum Exhibition 'Chinese Art of the Sung and Yuan Periods.'

An Extremely Rare 'Qingbai' Carved 'Boys' Meiping, Southern Song Dynasty, boasts beautifully carved decoration of figures of boys playing amongst scrolling vines (est. $2.5/3 million). The scene, which is structured so the boys appear to stand out in relief, is extremely rare on qingbai vases.

Further highlights include A Carved 'Ding' 'Lotus' Bowl, Northern Song Dynasty which features naturally depicted lotus sprays on the thin white body (est. $400/500,000 and A 'Jian' Silver 'Hare's Fur' 'Temmoku' Tea Bowl, Southern Song Dynasty (est. $80/100,000).