The only known complete set of portrait bronzes depicting the five ‘founding fathers’ of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism, estimated at $500,000-700,000 in Indian Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art’ at Bonhams on March 21.
The auctions are titled JJ Lally & Co: Fine Chinese Works of Art and The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture.
The former comprises 68 lots from Chinese art gallery JJ Lally & Co including ancient jades, silver, bronzes, and ceramics spanning 5000 years, from pre-historic China through the Qing dynasty.
This Song dynasty (12th-13th century) chased silver ‘literary gathering’ pictorial tray, featuring in its decoration a pair of literati sitting face-to-face raising a toast, is estimated at $30,000-50,000 in JJ Lally & Co: Fine Chinese Works of Art at Bonhams on March 20.
Among the highlights is a Song dynasty (12th-13th century) chased silver ‘literary gathering’ pictorial tray, estimated at $30,000-50,000, and a Sui dynasty (581-618) glazed white stoneware jar and cover, offered with an identical estimate.
Three Ming dynasty (16th-17th century) huanghuali chairs star in the 20-lot sale of classical Chinese furniture from the collection of Seattle couple Mary and Cheney Cowles, founders of the Crane Gallery. The pick of the trio is a Wan Nian yokeback armchair offered at $250,000-400,000.
This Ming dynasty (16th-17th century) huanghuali ‘Wan Nian’ yokeback armchair has a unique central panel carved with symbols that combine to mean ‘may you live for ten thousand years’ and alludes to a probable imperial provenance. It is estimated at $250,000-400,000 in The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture at Bonhams on March 20.
Both single-owner auctions take place on March 20 and are offered alongside Chinese Works of Art and Paintings on March 20- 21, Fine Chinese Snuff Bottles from American Collections and Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on March 21, and Fine Japanese and Korean Works of Art’ on March 22.
Star lot
The star lot of Bonhams’ Asia Week sales is a c.1200 thangka of Buddha from Tibet with an ‘available on request’ estimate in its Indian Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art sale on March 21.
The scroll painting depicts the founder of Buddhism enthroned under a rainbow aureole surrounded by a host of celestial attendants.
The same sale also features the only known complete set of portrait bronzes depicting the five ‘founding fathers’ of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism, estimated at $500,000 -700,000.
Bonhams will also present the online sale Arts of India, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas running from March 14-24.
