LONDON.- Christie’s Asian Art sales in London this autumn will take place between 10 and 13 November, presenting a wide array of beautiful and rare works of exceptional quality and with important provenance, many offered to the market for the first time in decades. The five auctions feature important works of art from a number of collections, including Chinese Archaic Bronzes from an Important Private European Collection, the Adrian Joseph Collection, the Late Francis Golding Collection, the collection of a Private European Family, property from a European lady of title, and a collection of snuff bottles from an important private Asian collector. Spanning centuries of Chinese and Japanese craftsmanship and creativity, Christie’s Asian Art week offers something to appeal to every collector.

The five sales are: Status and Ritual: Chinese Archaic Bronzes from an Important Private European Collection and Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, both on 10 November at King Street; The Joseph Collection of Japanese Art and Aesthetic Intuition: Collecting Japanese Art in Postwar London both on 11 November at King Street; and at South Kensington: Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles on 11 and 13 November. The public viewings all open at Christie’s King Street on Friday 6 November, and at Christie’s South Kensington on Saturday 7 November. Additionally, Christie’s will hold an online-only sale of Precious Cargo: Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art , which be on view at South Kensington from 7 to 10 November and opens for bidding from 3 to 17 November.

Status and Ritual: Chinese Archaic Bronzes from an Important Private European Collection 10 November Christie’s King Street
On 10 November Christie’s King Street will offer a group of 24 Archaic bronzes in the sale Status and Ritual: Chinese Archaic Bronzes from an Important Private European Collection. The collection was amassed during the 1960s and 1970s and it is rare for a group of this size and quality to come to auction. Intended for use in ritual ceremonies, these vessels are remarkable for their inventive shapes, bold decoration, and precise casting. The group is led by a magnificent Zun ritual wine vessel dating to the late Shang- early western Zhou dynasty (estimate: £400,000-600,000).

Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 10 November Christie’s King Street
On 10 November the sale Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at Christie’s King Street will present an exceptional array of over 300 works spanning centuries of artistic practice, and includes porcelain, jade, bronzes, furniture and paintings. This auction features a number of important European collections, presenting a great selection of artworks fresh to the market. One collection is that of the Late Francis Golding (1944-2013), one of the country’s leading architectural, planning and conservation consultants, who greatly influenced the contemporary architectural landscape of London, advising on iconic buildings such as the “The Cheese Grater”, “The Walkie-Talkie” and the “Gherkin”. Golding was also a great collector of Chinese works of art, developing a deep affinity with Chinese art after being introduced to the beauty of Tang and Song dynasty ceramics in Singapore in the 1970s by the Chinese curator and scholar William Willetts. Golding assembled this exceptional collection over the last forty years, buying from reputable London dealers and international auction houses. His collection of 70 lots comprises works that span over two thousand years of Chinese art and will be offered both in the King Street Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, and at Christie’s South Kensington.

Amongst the sale highlights is a rare and finely carved white jade marriage bowl dating to the Qianlong period (1736-1795) (estimate: £100,000-150,000), from the collection of an English lady of title; a magnificent, extremely rare and finely enamelled yellow-ground famille rose floral Yuhuchunping vase, also from the Qianlong period (estimate: £300,000500,000), previously in the collection of Alfred Hunter Ballard D.S.C., R.N.R. (1896-1950); a very rare and finely painted Ming blue and white basin from the Yongle period (1403-1424) (estimate: £50,000-80,000); a rare and magnificent flambé-glazed ewer from the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), previously in the collection of Herman Baer (1898-1977) (estimate: £100,000-150,000); a large and rare polychrome decorated carved wood figure of a seated luohan from the early Ming period (circa 1400) (estimate: £200,000-300,000), from the collection of a noble English gentleman; and a landscape painting by Li Keran (1907-1989) (estimate: £200,000-300,000), from a private English collection.

The Joseph Collection of Japanese Art 11 November Christie’s King Street
On 11 November Christie’s will present a fine group of mid-17th to early-18th century Japanese porcelain, including shoki-Imari, Kutani and Nabeshima, from the collection of Adrian Malcolm Joseph. This delightful collection, begun in the 1960s, shows the extraordinary designs of Edo period ceramics as well as the remarkable accomplishment of the Nabeshima kilns. The collection further comprises a group of carefully chosen lacquer works from the 17th-19th centuries, many from London exhibitions including those of Eskenazi. Included are a magnificent Shibata Zeshin panel (estimate £80,000-100,000) and an important Ko-Kutani Dish (estimate: £300,000-400,000).

Adrian Malcolm Joseph started studying and collecting Chinese ceramics during the late 1950s. He published various important papers and books including Ming Porcelains: Their Origins and Development (1971) and Chinese and Annamese Ceramics found in the Philippines and Indonesia (1973). He and his wife Phyllis began collecting Japanese art in the late1960s, initially acquiring ceramics from the important dealers such as Shimojo in Tokyo. Joseph became a Director of Hugh Moss Ltd. in the 1970s.

AESTHETIC INTUITION: Collecting Japanese Art in Postwar London 11 November Christie’s King Street
London holds a special significance in the history of Japanese art collecting, with many important auctions held during the mid-late 20th century. This inspired generations of collectors, with many forming highly important collections including those of W.W. Winkworth, Sir Frank Bowden and Denys Eyre Bower. This special sale of AESTHETIC INTUITION: Collecting Japanese Art in Postwar London on 11 November will present a carefully selected group of historically significant Japanese works of art in the spirit of these collections. With works spanning over 1,000 years and celebrating different artistic traditions, the sale includes important early sculpture, porcelain, folding screens, woodblock prints and fine lacquer. Highlights include an important gold Tebako [cosmetic box], Edo period (17th century), exhibited in the Tokugawa Art Museum in an exhibition of Treasures of the Owari Tokugawa Family (estimate: £300,000-400,000); a pair of Edo Period six-fold Japanese screens depicting Cherry Blossoms at Mount Yoshino (estimate: £80,000-100,000); a portrait of sumo wrestler Yoshinoyama Yojiro by Foujita Tsuguharu (1886-1968) (estimate: £100,000150,000) and a 17th century Kakiemon Bowl with 18th century French Louis XVI ormolu mounts (estimate: £120,000-150,000).

Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles 11 & 13 November Christie’s South Kensington
Christie’s South Kensington two-day Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles sale on 11 and 13 November comprises over 700 lots spanning over two thousand years of Chinese history from the Shang Dynasty (1500 – 1028 BC) to the Republic period (1912-49) and includes ceramics, jade carvings, furniture, scholars’ objects, paintings, cloisonné enamel, lacquer ware, Buddhist gilt bronzes and textiles. The sale features many significant private collections including a 16-lot Private English Collection of jade and jadeite carvings, predominantly assembled in the 1950s and 1960s. This collection is highlighted by an unusually large ‘lotus and crab’ jadeite brush washer with carved wood stand (estimate: £30,000-50,000). The sale has a notable selection of snuff bottles with two private collections: the 22-lot Julia Shackelford Hunter (1919-2014) collection of snuff bottles acquired in 1948-49; and the 15-lot collection, Property from an Important Private Asian Collector. A highlight from the latter collection are two inside-painted glass snuff bottles, one decorated with a ‘Hundred Boys’ design and the other with a cowherd, both signed by the 20th century artist Liu Shouben (estimate: £3,000-5,000). Other notable collections include Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from the Collection of the Late Francis Golding (1944-2013). At South Kensington, it is headlined by a pair of cloisonné enamel candlesticks, Qianlong period (1736-1795), estimated at £10,000-15,000. Amongst the Buddhist gilt bronzes in the sale is a striking 18th-19th century standing figure of Shakyamuni from a private Irish collection, acquired in the latter half of the 19th century (estimate: £15,000-25,000).

PRECIOUS CARGO: Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art 3-17 November
Christie’s presents PRECIOUS CARGO: Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art, an online-only sale that showcases the fusion of European taste with high quality Chinese craftsmanship. The sale offers over 125 artworks dating from the 16th through to the 19th centuries, representing art from the end of the Ming dynasty through to the height of the Qing Empire and flourishing Chinese-Europe trade relations. With estimates ranging from £600 up to £18,000, the sale presents both new and established collectors with an array of beautiful and novel porcelain and works of art, such as a ‘Mandarin’ pattern vase (estimate: £3,000-5,000) and a pair of enamelled spaniels (estimate: £6,000-8,000). The sale opens for bidding on 3 November and runs through to 17 November.