A highlight of Christie's upcoming Asian Art Week is The Maria Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy sale, which will take place in New York on March 16. The Virata family collection, assembled over the last fifty years under the guidance of the family's late matriarch, Maria Theresa, is notable for its range of Asian art and ceramics. But perhaps the most significant part of the collection are the singular examples of Chinese furniture, something which makes this auction particularly noteworthy.
For Maria Theresa Virata, or Bebe, as she was also known, her passion for collecting Asian art developed alongside her interest in archaeology and the history of her native Philippines. Aiding Virata in her collecting was the late Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, the highly-regarded Asian art dealer. Ellsworth's Fifth Avenue apartment was unique in that he displayed his Asian art alongside English furniture and European decorative arts. It seems the apartment must have made an impression on Virata, who similarly lived with all three in her house in the Philippines.
Below, you'll see photos of the Virata family house, which is spectacular in its elegance and reserve. But equally as compelling are the sale's eighty-plus lots, which include a rare pair of seventeenth-century Huanghuali armchairs (see below) as well as Chinese porcelain. It should be noted that the sale's proceeds will benefit three charitable organizations: Child Protection Network; ICanServeFoundation, Inc.; and Cribs Foundation, Inc.
For more information on the sale, please visit the Christie's website.
Sunrise over Water
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
51 ¼ x 20 ⅝ in. (130.2 x 52.3 cm.)
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dedicated to Jinqing
Estimate: $500,000-700,000
A VERY RARE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI ARMCHAIRS, NANGUANMAOYI
17TH CENTURY
39 in. (99 cm.) high; 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm.) Wide; 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm.) deep (each) (2)
Estimate: USD 600,000-800,000
QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER INCISED SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm.) high
Estimate: $30,000-50,000
18TH CENTURY
29 1/4 in. (74.3 cm.) high; 87 in. (221 cm.) wide; 51 in. (129.5 cm) deep
Estimate: USD 2,000,000-3,000,000
Photo credits: Interior shots, @Visko Hatfield, 2017; all other images, Christie's Images, Ltd., 2017
Wow! I'll take those huanghuali wood chairs, please, and that altar table is beautifully proportioned.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Jim, I agree with you regarding the altar table. It's sublime.
DeleteAlmost from the earliest advent of distinct national furniture styles in European, Asian porcelains have graced the rooms of royalty, the nobility and taste makers. Seeing a collection that includes furnishings from China is a bonus treat. The look of occidental furnishings with oriental porcelains has a long history; one which is still vended by some great dealers today. There is a lovely showroom in Manhattan that specializes in this look: http://chineseporcelaincompany.com/ It has windows worthy of a double take - for the quality of its stock, the juxtaposition of East and West, and the added frisson of seeing these items through huge plate glass windows on the ground floor of a modern New York building.
ReplyDeleteThe altar table and screens have my heart. Thanks!! Mary
ReplyDeleteWe used to call it China; now one sees "Chinese porcelain" everywhere. One cringes, darling.
ReplyDeleteI agree , all this blue " Chinese porcelain " everywhere ! On sidetables , under sidetables , on the mantelpiece , in the fireplace , on dinner tables in abundance , in hallways on the floor, on the terrace . Big , small and not a single piece older than 10 years ... .
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