So it is fitting that this year Giuseppe Eskenazi is chairman of Asian Art in London. His exhibition from November 7 to 30 at 10 Clifford Street, W1 is his smallest to date and is summed up by the title Two rare Porcelain Fish Jars of the 14th and 16th Centuries.
The exhibition showcases two large Chinese jars of guan shape, both decorated with fish swimming among aquatic plants. The earlier jar was made during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), stands 11in (28cm) high and is exquisitely painted in a rich cobalt blue with four fish.
From a Far Eastern
private collection and hitherto unrecorded, it is not just exceptional but of a quality that can be compared with just one other jar of its type in the world, and that is in the Brooklyn Museum.
The later jar is Jiajing period (1522-1566), stands 163/4in (42cm) high and is decorated in underglaze blue and bright enamel colours with golden carp among pond plants.
This is one of a very small group of such pieces and most extant examples are in museums. Indeed this one has already belonged to the Hakutsuru Museum in Kobe and the Manno Museum in Osaka.
The exhibition provides an opportunity to contrast the delicacy and precision of the decoration on the 14th century jar with the boldness and exuberance of that on the later vessel.
There will be a range of other Chinese works of art on offer but the exhibition basically comprises these two ceramic masterpieces, which are the subject of an accompanying catalogue costing £25 ($40). The jars themselves each cost a “six-figure sum”.
Quality not quantity as Eskenazi bears the Asian Art standard
FEW would argue that Mayfair dealers Eskenazi are at the top of the international tree when it comes to dealing in Oriental art, and the November exhibitions at their Mayfair gallery are seen by a good many as the flagship selling show of the Asian Art in London celebrations.
