Page 62 - Bonhams Chinese and Himalayan Paintings June 2016

8102 8102
AN YIXING POTTERY FIGURE OF A LION
8103 Potted in dark-hued clay, the feline seated
60 | BONHAMS on his hind legs and tail curled to one side
holding his head aloft, the eyes highlighted
in black slip and hollow mouth open in a
humorously confused expression; together
with two small lion-form chopstick holders of
possible Japanese/Okinawan inspiration or
manufacture. [3]
4in (10cm) length of longest

$1,000 - 1,500

興像

Yixing has a rich tradition of mythical beasts.
See for example, two 18th century lion-dog or
beast-form figures offered in Bonhams Hong
Kong sale 19621, Yixing Stoneware from the
Mr. & Mrs. Gerard Hawthorn Collection: lots
207 and 231. It is interesting to note however,
those two 18th century ‘lion-dog’ prototypes
were notably more stylized than this much
more realistic ‘lion.’ Perhaps the present lot
was made by a more modern artisan who had
much more familiarity with what an actual lion
looks like.

Please note that this lot is being offered
without reserve.
(無底價拍品)

8103
A GROUP OF THREE
YIXING POTTERY DECORATIONS
Including two similar water droppers rendered
as a group of five snail shells, one in clay of
darker hue bearing a maker’s mark reading
Dexin, the other of lighter hue marked Wen
ji; and a brush rest potted as a naturalistically
gnarled branch.
6 1/2in (16.5cm) length of third

$1,500 - 2,500

興擺件三件

An early Qing dynasty waterpot prototype
to the two snail-form water droppers in
this lot was offered as lot 214 in the sale of
Yixing Stoneware from the Mr. & Mrs. Gerard
Hawthorn Collection, Bonhams Hong Kong
sale 19621 28 November 2011. That lot was
sealed Mingyuan, as are one of the branch-
form brush rests similar to the third piece
in this lot as featured in The Bei Shan Tang
Legacy: Yixing Zisha Stoneware [Beishan Jigu:
Yixing Zisha] (Lai and Bartholomew, Hong
Kong: 2015), catalog numbers 110-111 (pp.
302-305). Bartholomew notes that branch-
form brush rests were ‘one of the well-known
trademarks of Chen Mingyuan,’ and, she
implies, the Shanghai-based potters of the
20th century whose similar works sometimes
bore his seals.

Please note that this lot is being offered
without reserve.
(無底價拍品)