Qingbai Ewer from the Bodie Collection

Alice’s first selection is a small qingbai ewer with a personal connection. It was formerly owned by Mr Bodie, a client she knew through Priestley & Ferraro. That association lends this quietly elegant piece a particular resonance.

Qingbai occupies a special place among Alice’s favourite Song-dynasty wares. The remarkable plasticity of its clay allowed potters to create an exceptional variety of forms and decorative effects, while retaining the strength needed to withstand firing.

For all its delicacy and refinement, the ewer was conceived as a functional object and would most likely still pour beautifully today. That union of beauty and utility is one of the enduring pleasures of Song ceramics, works that appear entirely at home in a museum display case but also remain perfectly suited to their original purpose.

A fine Chinese bronze and silver inlaid sword fitting

Alice’s fascination with Chinese art began at university, when she first encountered early bronzes. Few experiences are more immediate, she observes, than holding an object made several thousand years ago and feeling a direct connection with the civilisation that created it.

Dating from the Western Han Dynasty, this bronze sword fitting embodies an extraordinary level of technical assurance and artistic sophistication. Its geometric ornament is animated by mythical, dragon-like creatures, imagery that may have carried cosmological meaning and offered symbolic protection to its original owner.

Its distinguished provenance adds a further layer of interest: the fitting once appeared on the cover of a catalogue by the noted dealer Ben Janssens.

Fahua ware from the Ming dynasty

Alice’s final choice are two monumental Fahua vases from the Ming dynasty. One of them is decorated with peacocks and peonies in turquoise, and the one features the Eight Immortals with the foot encircled by a frieze of stylised petals and the neck by lappets. With their striking palette and exuberant decoration, they are even more intriguing for sitting beyond the traditional boundaries of her specialist field.

The richly coloured surfaces of these vases evoke cloisonné enamel, while also recalling earlier architectural glazes and the vibrant glazed figures of the Han and Tang dynasties. Long admired by Western collectors and museums, Fuhua wares were often used and enjoyed, and many surviving examples bear the marks of that history. This can place them within reach of a wider range of collectors, sensitively restored, they also make wonderfully decorative additions to an interior.

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Auction Details

Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 November, 10.30am GMT
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

Browse Day One | Browse Day Two
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Viewing at Dreweatts London (highlights): 16-17 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5LU
Sunday 1 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 2 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 3 November: 10am-4pm

Viewing at Dreweatts Newbury (full sale): Donnington Priory, RG14 2JE
Saturday 7 November: 10am-3pm
Sunday 8 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 9 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 10 November: 10am-4pm
Wednesday 11 November: 9am-4pm
Thursday 12 November: 9am-11am

Further information
General enquiries: + 44 (0) 1635 553 553 | asian@dreweatts.com
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