BOSTON, MASS.- Skinner, Inc. announces its first Asian Works of Art auction of 2016, to be held in Boston Saturday, March 19 at 11AM. Encompassing more than 500 lots and featuring Chinese and Persian ceramics, jades, textiles, cloisonné and an important Coromandel screen, the sale will coincide with the annual Spring Asia Week celebration of Asian art in New York.

Important Chinese and Persian Ceramics
The sale includes Chinese ceramics which were formerly in the collections of Dudley L. Pickman (1779-1846), a founding member of the East India Marine Society (forerunner of today’s Peabody Essex Museum), and Charles G. Loring (1828-1902), the first Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both the Pickmans and the Lorings were early China trade families who donated ceramics and other Asian works of art to MFA, Boston. Among the highlights in this section of the sale are a Sky-blue Glazed Bottle Vase (Lot 201, estimated between $15,000 and $20,000); a Powder Blue-glazed Bottle Vase (Lot 202, $3,000-$5,000); a Famille Verte Powder Blue-glazed Charger (Lot 207, $2,000-$3,000); and an 18th/19th century Peachbloom Water Coupe (Lot 216, $1,800-$2,000).

Persian Ceramics
Also on offer are Persian ceramics from the collection of Marion E. James (1918-2015), professor emerita of the University of New Hampshire, who traveled extensively in the Middle East in the mid-20th century. The majority of the ceramics date from the 10th to the 14th century; of particular note are Lot 9b, a 12th/13th century Polychrome Pottery Garrus Bowl with Figural Decorations ($3,000-$5,000) and a Turquoise and Black Kashan Plate dating from the 13th/14th century (Lot 9d, $2,000-$2,500).

Other Collections and Highlights
Other important ceramics include Lot 313 ($8,000-$10,000), a Pair of Blue and Green Covered Dragon Jars, possibly Daoguang period; this lot and several others in the sale descended through the family of Ames Nowell of Massachusetts. Among lots from the collection of André Carlhian (1883-1968), and descended in his family, are an important Ming dynasty (1368-1644) Polychrome and Gilt Stucco Head of Guanyin (Lot 428, $10,000-$12,000), and a Double-sided Twelve-panel Coromandel Screen dating to the Kang'xi period (1662-1722) and depicting the tale of the Peach festival (Lot 523, $20,000-$30,000); this exceptional screen was purchased by Mr. Carlhian from C. T. Loo on the opening day of a 1931 New York City exhibition in which it was included.

Another exceptional highlight from the sale is a rare and excellent example of a Qianlong period Cloisonné Ice Chest (Lot 69, $40,000-$60,000) whose polychrome decoration of fruits, insects and flowers is a feast for the eyes.

Fine jade also is well represented in the sale. Highlights from the many lots on offer include a diminutive Jade Carving of a Reclining Ibex, (Lot 122, $9,000-$12,000); a fine, translucent Jadeite Covered Censer, (Lot 125, $10,000-$12,000); and a Song/Ming dynasty Jade Carving of a Female Bear (Lot 144, $1,500-$1,800).

Representative of several early dragon robes and other fine textiles in the sale is Lot 407, a Blue Silk Formal Embroidered Dragon Robe purchased in China in the early 1900's ($3,000-$5,000).