Chinese Treasures

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An Immortal and Other Religious Figures

At the auction we have a large Ming figure of gilded and patinated bronze, which depicts an immortal figure from Chinese culture, dressed in a robe, hair in a bun, parted beard and a remarkably warm and welcoming radiance. The figure represents Lao-Tze, literally meaning "Old Master". He was a Chinese philosopher and writer who was born around 604 B.C., and he founded the philosophical and religious school of Taoism. His principal work is "The Tao Te Ching" text, which is about the origin and influence of all things.

The bronze figure comes from the collection of the Danish engineer Einer Bothmann Mengel (1878-1945), who lived in China for more than 25 years – first as an employee of the Great Northern Telegraph Company and later at the Chinese telegraph administration. A number of other religious bronze figures have also found their way to the auction - including a Ming Guanyin seated in the characteristic meditation pose dhyanasana and a fearsome figure of the Buddhist deity Acala from 1700s Tibet.

Sofus Black’s Taoist Deity

Virtually the same expression is found on a Chinese scroll of colourful silk from the 1800s. Here one is met by a furious eight-armed Taoist deity in full sprint, who literally moves heaven and earth, much to the distress of the small foo dog in the foreground. The scrolls provenance is part of the art collection, which the Dane Sofus Black (1882-1960) created during his long posting in China as a telegraph manager of the Great Nordic Telegraph Company.

From Wanli to the Empress Dowager Cixi

From his collection we also find a fine lotus-shaped porcelain dish from the Wanli period in 1573-1620. It contains Buddhist Sanskrit letters, and the refined shape and decoration attest to the dish being made at one of the imperial workshops of the time. Shanghai Museum owns a similar version of the dish, and the dish up for auction must therefore have been part of a major order from the court.

We stay within the same topic, but jump in time and style with a stem cup and two covered bowls in turquoise porcelain. With their unique decoration of flowers and birds they embody China's rich tradition of sublime decorative arts. The set was designed for the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), who was the de facto leader of China during the years 1861-1908, and it has been owned by Henrik V. Jacobsen (1887-1955), director of the East Asiatic Company for many years.

Geishas and Silk Paintings

From Chinese gracefulness to Japanese elegance. Another highlight of the auction is a silk painting with two geishas relaxing in a simple interior. It was painted by one of the foremost painters of the Edo period, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), whose characters and expressions formed the seeds of today’s popular Japanese cartoon culture ”Manga”. Presumably the painting was originally acquired by the British architect Josiah Conder (1852-1920), who lived in Japan and designed some of the most significant public buildings in Tokyo and was therefore nick-named the "Father of Japanese modern architecture".

Auction: Wednesday 1 June at 2 pm in Bredgade 33, Copenhagen

Preview: 26 – 30 May at the same address

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