Page 70 - 2019 September 12th Christie's New York Chiense Art Chicago Art Institute

734
A LARGE FAMILLE VERTE DISH
KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
The dish is decorated in the center with a female immortal with an Magu, the Goddess of Longevity, is often regarded as the female
attendant and a deer pulling a cart, the exterior with iron-red shou equivalent of Shoulao. She is usually depicted with a deer pulling a cart
characters, and the base is inscribed with an apocryphal Chenghua mark. of lingzhi, or carrying a basket flled with fowers and other auspicious
15¬ in. (39.6 cm.) diam. objects such as double gourds, which contain the wine she brews
from the lingzhi. First appearing in early Ming dynasty porcelain from
Jingdezhen, her image became popularized during the Kangxi period.
$30,000-50,000
A dish dated to Kangxi period depicting a similar scene of Magu
with attendant and with a cart pulled by a deer is illustrated in
PROVENANCE
Ralph M. Chait, New York, no. 3707 (according to label). The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 -
Mary (1904-1981) and Leigh Block (1905-1987) Collection, Chicago. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999,
The Art Institute of Chicago, accessioned in 1988. no. 102. Another is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the
Shanghai Museum Collection, Shanghai, 1996, pl. 98. See, also, the
pair of Kangxi dishes of this pattern and of comparable size sold at
Christie’s London, 15 May 2012, lot 406.
清康熙 五彩麻姑獻壽圖盤

Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago.

LEIGH (1905-1987) AND
MARY BLOCK (1904-1981)

Mary and Leigh B. Block were lifelong residents of Chicago and
important patrons of the city’s art institutions. Mary Block (née Mary
Lasker Foreman) was vice president of the advertising company
Foote, Cone and Belding, and Leigh B. Block was the vice president of
Inland Steel, Chicago. Leigh served on the board of trustees of The Art
Institute of Chicago, and was The Art Institute’s president from 1970
to 1972. Although they mostly focused on collecting modern European
painting and sculptures, they also developed a deep admiration for
Pre-Columbian and Chinese works of art. They are recognized as being
among one of the most important benefactors of The Art Institute in
its nearly 100-year history, and their gift to The Art Institute includes
modern painting, sculpture, prints drawings and photography.

柏雷及柏瑪麗（Leigh and Mary Block）伉儷長居芝加哥，為市內衆多藝
術機構之重要贊助人。柏瑪麗 (閨名Mary Lasker Foreman) 曾任Foote,
(reverse)
Cone and Belding廣告公司副總裁，而柏雷則為Inland鋼鐵公司副總裁。
柏雷曾任芝加哥藝術博物館董事，並於1970至1972年出任博物館主席。
儘管柏氏伉儷收藏重心為歐洲當代畫作及雕塑，他們對前哥倫布時期
藝術及中國工藝精品也極爲讚賞。柏氏伉儷乃芝加哥藝術博物館成立
一個世紀以來最重要的捐贈人之一，其贈予該館之藝術品包括現代
畫，雕塑，版畫及攝影作品等。