FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Josh Chait
310.285.0182
josh@chait.com

I.M. CHAIT TO OFFER AN EXCITING MIX OF RARE ASIAN AND EUROPEAN ANTIQUES, FINE ARTS AND DECORATIONS

View Sale

Lot 198

Beverly Hills, March 31, 2006 – I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers is pleased to offer a diverse assortment of rare Asian and European antiques, fine arts and decorative objects on Sunday, April 30, 2006. This sale was composed with the idea of offering something for the neophyte and experienced collector, as well as broad categories, with a special emphasis on antique Chinese Porcelains, Japanese Satsuma, and Indian and European miniature portraits. Also included are fine examples of objects for which Chait is renowned: jades, snuff bottles, Dynastic pottery, jewelry, and antique European furniture.

Fine porcelains are plentiful in this superlative group. However, one piece, from the Ming Wanli Period, stands out. There was much political upheaval and disarray during Emperor Wanli’s reign (1572-1620), and many kilns were closed during the period. Lot 198 (pictured above), a 16th century Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain box from the Wanli Period is rare and extraordinary because of its substantial size and pristine condition. It possesses a good clear glaze over a well rendered and charming design of qilin (Chinese mythological creatures) running amongst rabbits and deer underneath pine trees (estimate: $50,000-60,000).

Lot 29a

The Japanese province of Satsuma was well known for its production of pottery and earthenware by the early 17th century. During this time, master artisans from Korea were introduced. The resulting style, a cream colored body that is finely cracked, grew in fame with Japan’s aristocracy and remains representative of collectible Satsuma. The market for the best Satsuma, typically rated by its complexity of detail, continues to grow. This sale offers 18 lots of Japanese Satsuma in a variety of sizes ranging from a diminutive vase measuring 2 3/8” high, to a massive pair of vases measuring 36 ¼” high. Lot 29A (pictured above), with its finely gilt landscape scene, including a sky densely filled with birds, a garden of blooming flowers and figures before a waterfall, all over a glossy finished cream colored craquelure ground, creates an intricate dialogue between nature and man (estimate: $1,500-2,000). Also of interest is lot 318, a rare, well-rendered Satsuma figure of a nude standing demurely behind a landscape screen. In a category which is plentiful with vases, this figural work stands apart (estimate: $800-1,200).

Lot 204

The kilns of the Republic of China produced impressive representations of earlier porcelains along with utilitarian ceramics. Lot 204 (pitured above), an Early Republic porcelain vase (estimate $3,000-4,000) belongs to the former category. It consists of an articulated, colorfully enameled “puzzle” baluster vase enclosing an interior blue and white porcelain vase, and bears a Qianlong (1736-1795) seal mark. The intricate composition of this vase plays on a technique borrowed from the 18th century. A characteristic of Qianlong porcelain is the incorporation of a three-dimensional effect in painting figures and objects, learned by the Chinese from European missionary artists. Here, the three dimensional effect is playfully executed in a literal fashion: as a vase within a vase, a 100 year old tribute to a 250 year old design.

Other items of interest include:

Lot 284 CONTINENTAL PAINTED PORCELAIN PLAQUE
Continental painted porcelain plaque depicting a woman in a pink and rose gown admiring flowers in a forest, stamped 308 on verso; 10" x 7" (est. $1,000-1,250)

Lot 288 MINIATURE INDIAN IVORY PORTRAIT
Moghul-style, Indian painted oval ivory portrait miniature of an elaborately dressed lady with well detailed jewelry and layers of scarves, probably antique; H: 2 1/8", mounted in ornate carved gilt wood frame (est. $400-500 )

Lot 186 FINE WHITE JADE CHAIN VASE
Finely carved, Chinese white jade hanging chain vase of urn form, the front with plum blossoms and birds, verso with sealmark and spray of flowers, the matching cover with peach form knop, animalistic-head handles with loose rings, loose chains with separate hanging pendant; H: 11 3/4", wood stands and frame (est. $5,000-6,000)

Lot 188 ANTIQUE PORCELAIN GUANYIN IN SHRINE
18th Century Chinese, finely modeled porcelain figure of Guanyin holding a child; seated within a gilt bronze shrine with floral plique-a-jour enamel roof panels, and other enamels to the bronze base; H: 18 1/2" (overall) (est. $8,000-10,000)

Lot 193 LARGE TANG GLAZED LOKAPALA
Very tall, superbly sancai-splash glazed and finely modeled, Chinese Tang Dynasty pottery figure of a Lokapala standing on a water buffalo in a commanding demeanor; H: 31", with lucite stand (est. $14,000-16,000)

Lot 194 TANG SET OF PAINTED POTTERY FIGURES
Superbly modeled and painted, Chinese Tang Dynasty three-piece set of pottery tomb guardians: pair Lokapala suppressing demons; together with a winged earth spirit possessing anthropomorphic features, all with much original remaining pigments; H: 24" (tallest) (est. $25,000-30,000)

Lot 80 CARVED RHINO SNUFF BOTTLE
Well carved, rhinoceros horn snuff bottle; with continuous scene in relief of Shoulao and deer with attendants beneath pine, matching stopper; H: 2 1/2" (est. $800-1,000)

Lot 275 RUSSIAN SILVER AND ENAMEL KOVSCH
Fine and rare, antique Russian silver gilt and cloisonné enamel kovsch of traditional Viking vessel form, with finely detailed floral and geometric designs, the front with a shield; hallmarks and signed Khlebnikov, late 19th Century; L: 4 3/4" (est. $7,000-8,000)

Lot 280 AUSTRIAN SILVER FLATWARE SET
Old and probably antique, Austrian silver flatware service for twelve, including: dinner knives, luncheon knives, dinner forks, salad forks, teaspoons, table spoons, demitasse spoons,six serving pieces, and three master salts with glass liners and matching spoons; all monogrammed "R", hallmarked and arranged in a fitted box signed Alfred Pollak Silberwaren, Fabriks Niederlange, Wien, I. Rothenthurmstrasse 7 (minor wear and losses to two glass liners); approx. 123 total Troy oz. (est. $2,500-3,500)

Lot 282 BRONZE AND IVORY BEAUTY BY PREISS
Finely detailed, Art Deco ivory and bronze partial nude beauty by Ferdinand Preiss (German 1882-1943); standing in a languid pose with hands behind her head, elbows out, the bronze robe draped fluidly over her body and inset with three cabochons, signed and stamped on bronze base; H: 8", round marble base (est. $5,000-7,000)

Lot 341 ANTIQUE FRENCH DESK
Antique French desk with parquetry veneers and "thread" inlay, drawers surmounting a pull out section with a leather writing surface and additional drawers inside and below, with ormolu mounts, all atop sinuous legs with sabots of foliage motifs, 19th Century; W: 51" (est. $8,000-10,000)

The International Fine Art auction will be held on Sunday, April 30, at 1pm, PST. In-room, absentee, phone and live on-line bids are accepted. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers is located at 9330 Civic Center Dr., Beverly Hills, California 90210. For more information, to request images or to order a catalogue, call (310)285-0182, or visit www.chait.com

I.M. Chait has been offering antiques, decorative objects and fine art for nearly 40 years. Directed by Isadore Chait, a specialist in Asian antiques, the firm enjoys an esteemed reputation among collectors and museums in the United States and abroad. They offer specialists in a variety of categories and are committed to unparalleled client service.