Sothebys : (English) Sotheby's Arts Of Asia Sale Totals EUR8.3 million in Paris

Press release Paris

| 33 (0)1 53 05 53 66 | Sophie Dufresne | sophie.dufresne@sothebys.com

| 33 (0)1 53 05 52 32 | Chloé Brézet | chloe.brezet@sothebys.com

Paris, 22 June 2017 - The Sotheby's France sale of Arts of Asia ended on a high note with a total of €8.3 million, doubling its high estimate. The Galerie Charpentier was packed throughout the day, and was the setting for some magnificent bidding battles. By the end of the first session, the sale had largely exceeded its overall estimate of €2.7-4 million with a total of €6.5 million.

Registration no. 2001 - 002 of 25 October 2001 Sale conducted by Olivier Valmier

According to Caroline Schulten, Head of the Arts of Asia department at Sotheby's Paris: "We are really delighted with these results, which rewarded a selection full of rediscovered works and masterpieces from private collections, particularly French ones; like the jades from the Riahi collection, the imperial sceptre making its first appearance on the market, and the extraordinary 16th century cloisonné enamel vase."

The sale opened with Mr and Mrs Djahanguir Riahi's magnificent collection (Sotheby's will shortly offer at auction the section dedicated to fine furniture, works of art and paintings on 6 July). Consisting of eleven outstanding Chinese jades, this group kicked off three sessions in spectacular style, arousing some fiery bidding battles. The total of €2.5 million doubled the high estimate for this group of imperial jades.

Two 18th century works stand out from these treasures. A magnificent spinach-green table screen jade, Qianlong period, was knocked down for €1,087,500, to a round of applause (lot 6, estimate: €150,000-250,000). The subject depicted on this rather large screen is very unusual: Laozi, who is during his emigration to the west and upon reaching the western frontier of the Zhou empire, was held up by Yin Xi, Guardian of the Pass. He was asked to write down his ideas for Yin Xi which resulted in the first written manuscript of the Daode jing, the scripture of the Tao and its virtue, making Yin Xi the first recipient of this text. This jade was part of Robert C. Bruce's collection and was exhibited at the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy in 1935 in London.

Another object much loved by the collector couple, a magnificent large spinach-green jade brushpot from the Kangxi/Qianlong period, is carved with 'The five old Men of Suiyang', garnered the third-highest price of the day: €751,500 (lot 9, estimate: €300,000- 500,000). The continuous scene around this brushpot shows the gathering of five elderly gentlemen in a secluded landscape. The subject celebrates the retirement and friendship of five respected octogenarians in Suiyang province. This exceptionally large pot (height: 17.8 cm; diameter: 20 cm) is one of a small group of brushpots made for the Court.

This first session saw a further price of over a million: €1,507,500 for an important pale celadon jade sceptre inscribed with an imperial poem from the Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dated 1773 (lot 12, estimate: €200,000-300,000). This rare work, making its first appearance on the market, had been kept in the same private French collection since the early 20th century. It was a gift from the Qianlong Emperor to his mother, the Dowager Empress, for her 82nd birthday. The present sceptre is exceptional for many reasons. First, it is a technical feat, requiring a jade boulder or a slab of jade sufficiently large size and even colour to realise such a large object. The inscription of a poem by the Qianlong emperor on the back of the handle confirms both rarity and outstanding qualities of the jade used for this sceptre while confirming that it was an imperial commission. But above all, he alludes to his mother, the Dowager Empress, to whom this sceptre was dedicated for her eightieth birthday.

A rare cinnabar lacquer spirit tablet from the Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, was competed for by 17 bidders all the way up to €571,500 (lot 122, estimate: €15,000-25,000). Comparable to one now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, it was probably made for a member of the Imperial family. Its finely carved surface represents a scene from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni preaching to his Buddhist disciples

largely exceeded its high estimate at €463,500 (lot 141, estimate: €30,000-50,000). This piece is remarkable for the rarity of its shape, which is derived from a Tibetan kalasha vase. Rare few examples are known in private and museum collections.

One of the surprises in the sale was the price achieved by a white marble architectural element in the shape of a dragon head from the Ming dynasty. This component of an extraordinary ridge pole, probably from a palace, inspired a battle all the way up to

Lastly, some rare and atypical rolls of silk aroused great enthusiasm in buyers. Dating from the Qing Dynasty, some had never been unrolled since then. The highest price went to three yellow silk fabrics from the end of the Qing Dynasty (lot 172): estimated at between €4,000 and €6,000, they were finally knocked down for €35,000.

*Estimates do not include the buyer's premium, and prices include the hammer price and the buyer's premium