Following the success of KANGXI: The Jie Rui Tang Collection in March 2018, this season’s selection of Kangxi-era ceramics from the Collection of Jeffrey P. Stamen featured a range of representative examples of major ceramic categories of the period. The offering was led by an Extraordinary, Fine and Large Inscribed Famille-Verte Brushpot that soared to $572,000 – more than four times is $120,000 high estimate. Brushpots of this large size in the famille-verte palette and bearing inscriptions are exceptionally rare. An essential item for a scholar, the present brushpot is decorated with an aspirational depiction capturing a moment of poetic inspiration. Scholarly-themed luxury wares gained popularity among the wealthy elite of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and were likely understood and appreciated by the fortunate few who could afford them as both spiritual inspiration and as a resounding statement of wealth and social status.

THE ROBERT YOUNGMAN COLLECTION OF JADE
Auction Total: $1 Million

The series of Chinese Works of Art collection sales continued with a group of over 70 jades spanning 4,000 years of Chinese Art offered from the private collection of Robert Youngman. The group was highlighted by a Ming Dynasty Yellow and Russet Jade Figure of Zhou Yanzi, which achieved $150,000, more than double its $60,000 high estimate. The present carving depicts the Confucian parable of Zhou Yanzi, a boy who bravely cloaked himself in deerskin among a herd of does to collect milk to reverse his elderly parents’ blindness. A Qing Dynasty Archaistic Pale Celadon Jade Baluster Vase and Cover also achieved $150,000 - three times its high estimate of $50,000. Jade vases such as the present work proliferated during and after the Qianlong period, and can be traced to the Qianlong Emperor's fondness for innovative designs referencing archaic styles.