Bonhams is delighted to present the Fine Chinese Art sale, which will be held at New Bond Street, London on 18th May. The sale will offer an exceptional selection of Chinese jades, furniture, Imperial porcelain, Buddhist bronze figures, metalworks, paintings, lacquerware, cloisonné, Court textiles and works of art from important collections in the UK and Europe.

Leading the sale is a magnificent Imperial gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Yongle six-character mark and of the period (1403-1424), estimated at £300,000-500,000 (Lot 40). From the collection of Henrik Valdemar Jacobsen (1887-1955), Harbin, China and Hellerup, Denmark, and thence by descent, the remarkable figure is exceptionally rare and only five other Yongle mark and period figures of Buddha of similar size are known to exist. It embodies the zenith of Chinese Imperial Buddhist sculpture in the early Ming Dynasty and the strong relationship between the Court in Beijing and the Hierarchs in Tibet.

Also on offer is a very large and extremely rare Imperial Court painting of the Bannerman Te'er Deng Che, dated by inscription to 1788 and of the period, from an English private collection, estimated at £200,000-300,000 (Lot 128). It is one of only six known from the second series of portraits of bannermen commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor further to the Taiwan Campaign of 1786-1788 and is a fine example incorporating Western shading techniques introduced by Jesuit artists in the eighteenth century.

The sale also includes a strong selection of jade carvings. Two distinguished private collections feature prominently in this category, with most objects dating from the Neolithic to the Ming dynasty and acquired from renowned London dealers such as Spink & Son, Bluett's & Sons, Roger Keverne Ltd., and Sydney Moss Ltd. A highlight from the first collection is a very rare jade 'buffalo' carving, late Shang Dynasty (12th/11th century BC), estimated at £50,000-80,000 (Lot 19), formerly in the renowned Mu Fei collection of Prof. Cheng Te-k'un, Cambridge. The Joseph (1938-2005) and Bella (1941-2011) Shapiro Collection (Lots 59-108) features a remarkable and large group of mostly jade animals including many examples formerly in the 'Dr Newton's Zoo' Collection of the Dr late Isaac Newton (d. circa 1982). The jade carvings date from the Neolithic to the Qing, with many superb examples of the Song to the Ming Dynasty.

Also being offered is a distinguished European private collection of classical huanghuali furniture dating to the Ming and Qing dynasties, formed to the highest aesthetical and collecting standards. Examples from the collection were formerly sold by leading collections and dealers including Nicholas Grindley and Marcus Flacks. Highlights include an exceptionally rare huanghuali recessed-leg side table, jiuzhuo, 18th century, estimated at £150,000-200,000 (Lot 50), notable for its timeless outline and strong proportions which would have greatly appealed to the scholar-collector; a rare huanghuali 'official's hat' armchair, sichutou guanmaoyi, 17th century, estimated at £100,000-150,000 (Lot 46), is characterised by a highly sculptural form conveying dynamism and a restrained inner strength.

In the Imperial porcelain section of the sale, the Hans Goldstein (1915-1985) Collection features prominently with a very rare doucai 'chrysanthemum' medallion bowl, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period, estimated at £30,000-40,000 (Lot 120). Based on a Ming dynasty prototype dating to the Chenghua reign, the bowl is a fine interpretation of the Emperor's penchant for classic styles of the past; also from the same collection is a rare green and aubergine-glazed 'dragon' bowl, Kangxi six-character mark and of the period, estimated at £8,000-12,000 (Lot 119), which would have likely been produced for use by the Emperor's concubines of the fifth rank, as noted in 'The History of the Palace' Guochao Gongshi, compiled in 1742.

Complementing the porcelain category is also a fine group of six famille rose plaques, Republic period, from a European private collection, estimated at £50,000-80,000 (Lot 212), which include two particularly fine portraits of Liu Hai and Budai conversing with two boys, both signed Wang Qi and by the artist.

Other highlights of the sale include a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer quatrelobed dish, Yongle incised six-character mark and of the period, estimated at £80,000-120,000 (Lot 39). Finely carved with a contemplative scene depicting elderly gentlemen at leisure gazing at a picturesque landscape, the dish exemplifies a classic motif of early Ming carved lacquer wares with many examples in the Qing Court Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. A very rare cloisonné enamel yellow-ground 'duck-head' bottle and cover, Qianlong, estimated at £20,000-30,000 (Lot 126), is rare for the yellow-ground colour of its body. Its shape, inspired by the bronze wine vessels produced during the Han dynasty, conveys the importance attributed to archaism by the Qianlong Emperor.

Finally in the textiles section, a red-ground gauze silk embroidered woman's robe, changyi, late 19th century, estimated at £5,000-7,000 (Lot 186), is elegantly tailored and displays the typical fashion trends followed by young Manchu noblewomen associated with the Court of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Bonhams' Fine Chinese Art sale is part of a series of Asian Art sales which also include 'Michael Goedhuis: Brush and Bronze', which will be held at New Bond Street, London on Wednesday,17th May 2023, and the Asian Art sale, which will take place at Knightsbridge, London on Monday and Tuesday 15th and 16th May.