Page 10 - Imperial Jade Paris June 22, 2017

JADES IMPÉRIAUX LOTS 1 11
COLLECTION
MONSIEUR ET MADAME
DJAHANGUIR RIAHI

LOTS 1 11

“Ever since I started in the art eld over
thirty years ago, I have been attracted by
17th and 18th century jades, dating from
the reigns of K’ang Hsi and Kien Long.”

DJAHANGUIR RIAHI, 1987

Sotheby’s is honoured to o er for sale this magni cent ʭ
collection of eleven important Chinese jades from the collection
of Monsieur and Mme Djahanguir Riahi. Together with her Œ
husband, Monsieur Djahanguir Riahi, the legendary and
world-renowned collector of magni cent French furniture and
decorative arts, Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur as well
as Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, whose name graces
one of the principal viewing rooms at the Musée du Louvre, they
began collecting Chinese jades in the late 1960s. Surrounded
by objects of exquisite beauty, they looked for jades with an
illustrious past and a story to tell, forming their collection with a
keen eye for quality and rarity and developing a deeply personal
approach to collecting these pieces which Mme Riahi has so
jealously kept for almost 50 years until today.

Among the most treasured jade pieces in the Riahi
collection is a wonderful spinach-green jade table screen
skilfully carved with the encounter between the philosopher
Laozi and Yin Xi, Guardian of the Pass and Highest Perfected. A
rare subject, the piece was originally in the collection of Robert
C. Bruce and shown in the International Exhibition of Chinese
Art, held at the Royal Academy of Art in London in 1935. Another
much loved object is a magni cent, large spinach-green jade
brushpot depicting ve elderly gentlemen known as the Five Old
Men of Suiyang passing a leisurely day feasting and drinking,
indulging in the joys of retirement. It belongs to a small group of
very large brushpots possibly made for use at the court.

Now, Mme Riahi has decided to part with many of the
objects she has loved and cherished and which have
accompanied her and her family for many years.

While these magni cent jades will be o ered as part of the Arts
d’Asie sale, many other works of French and European decorative
arts will be o ered in the sale dedicated to Mme Riahi, Mme
Djahanguir Riahi – Les Œuvres que j’ai aimées on the 6th July 2017.

8 SOTHEBY’S