Masseto Library Releases 2006–2011

1 bottle per each vintage. Special limited edition wooden case no. 1. Including a visit, lunch and tour to the Estate for 6 people

About the lot

Fine and rare wine with limited production is always sought-after by the market. As a top Italian rarity made from 100% Merlot, Masseto is full of red fruit notes and well balanced with sweet soft tannins. This vertical collection comes direct from the estate in pristine condition and with impeccable provenance, and offers the successful bidder the chance to enjoy a flight of 2006 to 2011 vintages. The buyer will also get to invite five of his or her friend to enjoy a private lunch at the estate.

Georges et Henri Jayer, Échézeaux 1995

About the lot

Burgundy winemaker Henri Jayer was a genuine legend who made pure and unforgettable wines. Échézeaux is one of the best Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy, a region that is still influenced by Jayer’s winemaking philosophy. This lot presents the opportunity to taste a truly great wine made by a truly great winemaker.

Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji, French/Chinese, 1920-2013)

Vieille Ville
oil on canvas
80 x 116 cm. (31 1/2 x 45 5/8 in.)
Painted in 1955

About the lot

Vieille Ville marks Zao Wou-Ki’s departure from his exploratory period of work in the early 1950s. From here, Zao embarked on a new visual language, discarding concrete forms in the pursuit of pure abstraction. The work gestures toward powerful emotions, and expresses the traditional concept that poetry, calligraphy, and painting come from the same origin. A rare masterpiece from the most transformative stage in the artist’s career, Vieille Ville uses these poetic and calligraphic elements to form a striking visual composition.

Xu Bei-hong (Chinese, 1895-1953)

A Distant View of the Himalayas
oil on canvas
37 x 93.2 cm. (14 1/2 x 36 3/4 in.)
Painted in 1940 (29th year of the Republic Era)

About the lot

In 1939, Xu Beihong held exhibits in Singapore to raise funds for war relief efforts in China. In November of the same year, Xu set off for India on the invitation of Tagore, the Indian scholar and winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. In March 1940, Xu decided to visit picturesque Darjeeling, working on his monumental painting The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains, while closely observing and capturing the beauty of the Himalayas.

An important example of the artist’s work during the Second Sino-Japanese War period, A Distant View of the Himalayas is Xu’s only surviving panoramic Himalayan scene, combining traditional Chinese landscape painting techniques with those of the Western tradition. Over the vastness of the mountains lies China, reflecting Xu’s love for his country and fervent desire for peace.

Zeng Fanzhi (Chinese, B. 1964)

Meat No. 3: Nativity
oil on canvas
180 x 167 cm. (70 7/8 x 65 3/4 in.)
Painted in 1992

About the lot

When Zeng Fanzhi painted Meat No. 3: Nativity, he cast away the techniques of academic realism. Through his decisively executed brushwork and sharp delineation, the picture is infused with a sense of perpetual motion. His treatment of colours is equally bold. Black, white, and grey clash starkly with the naked and fleshy human bodies. Transitional cool colours are entirely absent here, giving way for the dramatic palette to confront the viewer both visually and psychologically. This treatment of human bodies reminds the viewers of the visceral suffering depicted in the artist’s Hospital Triptych (1992). One must also take note of the figures’ disproportionally large hands: veins and joints are prominently rendered in order to heighten the sense of tension, anxiety and pain, a characteristic visual device that Zeng continues employ, as seen in his Mask series.

Ronald Ventura (Filipino, B. 1973)

Pausok (Creating Smoke)
oil on canvas
122 x 91.5 cm. (48 x 36 in.)
Painted in 2013

About the lot

Ronald Ventura explores his signature multi-layered hyperrealism with Pausok, an early manifestation of what became his Penitents and Prostitutes series. It represents a figure who during the Spanish Semana Santa (Holy Week) joins a procession with other penitents, faces covered, publicly flagellating themselves in physical atonement for their sins. On top of the masked figure is Ventura’s iconic cloud form, a tumult of classical figures drawn from images representing the fall of man and other damned souls. These seem to emanate from the lightning-like crown of thorns atop the penitent’s head, perhaps representing the chaos that ensues in the constant battle with one’s personal demons, and the choice between right and wrong, good and evil.

Shozo Shimamoto (Japanese, 1928-2013)

Work
Oil and glue on canvas
41 x 32 cm. (16 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.)
Executed in 1951

About the lot

Executed in 1951, Shozo Shimamoto’s Work is one of the radical experiments from his ‘Holes’ series, which began in 1950. Exceptionally rare, Work precedes the establishment of the avant-garde Gutai group that Shimamoto co-founded in 1954.

Always a pioneer, Shimamoto abandoned the norms of his predecessors and created his own artistic rubric, tapping into a previously unexplored aesthetic.

Inspired by the accidental rips and tears in the glued newspapers he used instead of canvas during post-war austerity, Shimamoto employed irregular tears and rips in the series to create a complex play of light and shadow across the surface of the canvas. In Work, the artist has created a visual passageway; a hole through which one can traverse the wall. Through Shimamoto’s destruction of the two-dimensional surface, Work takes on sculptural qualities – its irregular lines and rough texture highlighting the juxtaposition between destruction and beauty, echoing the wabi-sabi aesthetic of traditional Japanese culture.

Work is a significant milestone in Shimamoto’s artistic development, and forms part of the same 1954 collection shown at the Tate Modern, London. From ‘Work’, Shimamoto discovered the beauty within chaos and violence, and further extended this concept in his groundbreaking 1956 Bottle Crash performance piece.

Yuan Jai (Yuan Zhan, b. 1941)

Shower of Heavenly Blossoms
Scroll, mounted and framed
Ink and mineral pigments on silk
91 x 172.5 cm. (35 7/8 x 67 7/8 in.)
Executed in 1999

About the lot

Departing from the age-old Chinese tradition in colour and composition, Yuan Jai’s work depicts a world brimming with fanciful imagination. She once said that ‘heavy colours are the colours of our time. We see on the street neon lights and the contrasting colours of shop signs, and these bright colours should appear in contemporary ink works.’ In Shower of Heavenly Blossoms, Yuan uses beautiful hues of blue, red, yellow and gold to conjure up a phantasmal image of flowers showering from the sky, reflecting a sense of playfulness and childlike innocence.

Patek Philippe

An 18k white gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases, 24 hour and leap year indication, ref. 5970, circa 2010

About the lot

To mark the 30th anniversary of Christie’s Hong Kong, the watch team has assembled a carefully curated selection of traditional and cutting edge timepieces. The sale celebrates tradition and heritage, as illustrated by the repertoire of complications from Patek Philippe, while also celebrating the spirit of innovation, as seen in the technological advances and designs of independent watchmakers such as Richard Mille and Greubel Forsey.

Shen Zhou (1427–1509)

Listening to the Waterfall
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk
120 x 60.5 cm. (47 1/4 x 23 7/8 in.)

About the lot

Listening to the Waterfall by Shen Zhou (1427-1509), one of the Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty, is among my favourite Classical Chinese paintings. It was acquired by a Japanese collector in 1896, and was subsequently published in a catalogue in 1911. In 1944, the Shanghai-based artist Tao Lengyue (1895-1985) painted a landscape similar to that by Shen Zhou. Perhaps he came across the catalogue or had the opportunity to view the scroll in person — we don’t know for sure. It is an honour to offer such a great work that inspired a conversation between two artists 500 years apart.

A jadeite cabochon and diamond brooch, mounted by Carvin French

About the lot

Jadeite symbolizes certain qualities of nobleness such as purity and wisdom. It plays a special role both in Chinese traditional culture and modern days. This season, jadeites continue to play a special role and our specialist has carefully selected a jadeite cabochon and diamond brooch of remarkable size, exceptional polish and brilliance as one of the main highlights.

A pair of 10.02 and 9.09 cts Burmese pigeon’s blood ruby and diamond ear pendants

About the lot

Collectors can’t miss the pair of Burmese ruby and diamond earrings set with two superb ‘pigeon’s blood’ rubies of 10.02 and 9.09 carats, it appears internally illuminated. The market has seen a diminishing number of Burmese ruby which made this pair of earrings exceptionally rare.

Ding Yanyong (1902-1978)

One Stroke Fish
Horizotal Scroll, ink on paper
52.5 x 68.5 cm. (20 5/8 x 27 in.)
Dated dingsi year (1977)

About the lot

I first came across Ding Yanyong’s ‘One Stroke’ series during his solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2008. At the time, I was only familiar with his opera figures. I found his one stroke animals fascinating — in one, continuous brushstroke, the artist is able to relay the form and spirit of the animal, beginning at the tail and depicting the body and eye of the fish with a simplicity and grace that seem effortless.

A shiny pearl white & champagne Porosus crocodile Macpherson with palladium hardware

Hermès, 1999

About the lot

Originally acquired at the Paris Faubourg St Honoré boutique by an important collector, this extremely rare iridescent, metallic crocodile handbag is not only the most important Macpherson — named after supermodel Elle Macpherson — but arguably one of the finest Hermès pieces ever produced. As a specialist in this field, it is very exciting to find a handbag unlike any I have seen before, and for those who know the styles, materials, colours and finishes used by Hermès, this Macpherson really stands out.

A fine faux-bois and grisaille-decorated ‘landscape’ brush pot

Yongzheng six-character mark in underglaze blue in a circle and of the period (1723-1735)

About the lot

This beautiful brushpot with its unusual combination of faux bois and grisaille decoration is an example of the most innovative designs that developed during the early 18th century. The faux bois enamel on the rims and interior was designed to visually tease, leading the viewer to perceive it as a wood brushpot rather than porcelain. Black enamels were used to depict a panoramic landscape on the exterior, which offers different perspectives as the brushpot turns in a manner that is reminiscent of rolling out a literati handscroll painting.

A very rare white-glazed ‘elephant’ candle stand

Sui-early Tang dynasty, 7th century

About the lot

This beautifully potted candle stand in the form of an elephant represents one of the rarest and most magnificent examples of early white wares. The modelling of this elephant is particularly naturalistic with a prominent hump on the forehead, wrinkled ears, and clearly defined muscles on the legs, the modelling of this adult Indian elephant is particularly naturalistic. The elephant is standing on a lotus plinth and six candle holders are set on six lotus blooms growing from the jar. The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra Sutra says the six tusks of Samantabhadra’s white elephant represent six pāramitās, which may also explain the number of candle sockets on the elephant’s back. The iconography of white elephant and lotus on this candle stand indicates that they it was possibly made for use in Buddhist rituals, particularly during the Buddha’s birthday celebration. The exceptional workmanship seen on this candle stand was only made possible in the late 6th century when high-fired white stoneware was invented in Northern China, which was an important innovation in Chinese ceramic history.