09/08/2024 Asian Works of Art
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's Asian Works of Art auction on September 17, 2024 will see the first offering of property from the Alan and Marion Oliner Collection. This marvelous collection comprising Chinese, Islamic, and other Asian antiques, as well as fine European paintings and sketches, Picasso ceramics, jewelry and more will be offered in select sales throughout the fall season.
The Alan Oliner Collection of Asian Art will be featured in a single-owner section (Lots 161-205) highlighting the breadth and quality of the collection. Among these works of art are rare and exceptional porcelains whose unique qualities have so-far enthralled our viewers and become favorites of mine as the Specialist, even among such a wide variety of interesting objects to be offered in the sale.
A Rare Famille Verte Biscuit Porcelain Inkstone Case from the Kangxi Period (1661-1722) Lot 173
Partially-glazed biscuit wares were a distinctive and popular product of that first great regnal period of the Qing Dynasty. The terms by which such porcelains are classified according to their decorative color palette were coined by the French art historian Albert Jacquemart (1808-1875). This “green family” porcelain inkstone of a type sometimes further divided into a “yellow family” subset, is noteworthy for its rare form and function. Many Kangxi biscuit wares were made for decorative purpose. Figural forms drawing from Daoist and Buddhist traditions are common. Somewhat less common are scholarly objects made for the early Qing Dynasty’s literati class to adorn their work tables. Brush washers, brush rests, water coupes, candle holders…these indispensable articles for the scholar’s desk were all produced in porcelain and often adorned with charming, whimsical decorations both molded and painted. Lot 173 is decorated with an elegant, scroll painting-like image to the cover complete with a faux signature. Encased within is the diminutive ink stone including an unglazed mixing area and a small well to hold the mixed ink. Fitted within is a small drawer likely fashioned to hold a dry ink cake to be wetted and mixed into ink on the stone’s surface. When covered, Lot 173’s graceful decoration stands out. Uncovered, one cannot help but marvel at its perfect functionality. Had the 17th century maker of this inkstone sought to market it in the 20th century way, “Just Add Water” would have been an apt slogan.
A Magnificent Chinese Famille Verte Porcelain Rouleau Vase, Kangxi Period Lot 191
The cylindrical rouleau body form provided the porcelain artists of that time a fine “canvas” upon which detailed scenes could be rendered in full 360 degrees. Figural scenes were a popular motif on larger porcelain vases of the Kangxi era and often depict figures in classical attire drawn from early Chinese history where legend and fact mix freely. The Emperor-General who presides over the lavish feast depicted on the Oliner rouleau is hosting his guests at night—a subtle distinction made clear by the presence of a full moon and constellation in the sky. Two attendants stand behind the emperor with peacock-feather fans. Other attendants are seen distributing peacock feathers to the generals and officials in attendance. This “Peacock Banquet” is not being held just for the benevolent ruler to ply his faithful with fine food, drink, and revelry. He is bestowing upon them a token of great esteem. Chinese legend tells of a Qin Dynasty general taking refuge amongst a flock of peacocks while pursued by his enemies and successfully escaping their assassination attempt. Peacock feathers were thereafter given as symbols of both that general’s bravery and the faithfulness of the peacocks who did not betray his position. Throughout every dynasty that followed, the peacock came to symbolize nobility, fortune, and achievement. By bestowing upon his court individual peacock feathers, the founder of this feast is expressing his supreme satisfaction and trust in his officials.
A Fine Chinese Blue and Copper Red Porcelain Mallet Vase, Kangxi Period Lot 194
This vase is a personal favorite of this Specialist because of its elegant form and exquisite, understated decoration. “Mallet form” may be a very blunt, matter-of-fact, way of describing such vases of the period with baluster-form bodies and narrow concave necks, but it remains the prevailing term. To the Chinese potter, the form delicately melded the type of graceful, curvilinear vasiform body utilized in vases of every size throughout the period with a narrow, delicate neck made wide enough only to hold one flower if the user wished. The distinction between neck and body is further highlighted by the difference in decoration. Whereas the subtly-incised body is decorated in a flawless monochrome blue glaze that serves to accentuate the form, the neck is delineated by a single matte café-au-lait band and decorated by means of underglaze red and blue pigments to show a bird on a prunus branch with slip-glazed blossoms. The overall effect is charming and to the admirer of Kangxi porcelain, the subtle use of so many decorative techniques—monochrome glaze, incising, underglaze decoration in both copper red and cobalt blue, café-au-lait matte decoration, and overglaze slip decoration—is noteworthy. This vase’s exhibition history with the Oriental Ceramic Society, a venerable institution of porcelain scholars and connoisseurs since 1921, speaks of its significance and beauty.
Featuring the Alan Oliner Collection
Auction Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10am
Exhibition September 13 - 16
