Christie's East Chinese & Japanese Works Of Art Auction Catalog
Item: Auction catalog. Christie's East, Chinese And Japanese Works Of Art Including Southeast Asian Bronzes. Wednesday, June 7, 1989. Attention International Buyers: Please contact me for a shipping quote before bidding. Item ships via USPS Express Mail Int'l only & With your purchase price declared on Customs Forms. Your signature is required for proof of receipt -- Thanks for understanding.
Markings: Numbers written in pen inner cover and on warranty page.
Age: 1989.
Condition: Please see photos posted above. Auction catalog in USED, imperfect condition. Flaws may include: discoloration or yellowing, writing in pencil or pen, wrinkles, folds or creases, scuffing, scrapes or dents, damaged or worn corners / edges, wear, indents, malformations from being stacked with other books, stains, old stickers or remnants of, possible odors from smoke or basements depending on the estate source, etc. Expect that your catalog will just be a reading or reader’s grade book, not in mint condition but good for reference.
Dimensions: Auction catalog: approx. 10 x 8 inches.
Origin: Discovered in NJ.
Features: From the net: An auction catalog (US spelling) or auction catalogue (British spelling) is a catalogue that lists items to be sold at an auction. It is made available some time before the auction date. Auction catalogs for rare and expensive items, such as some art, books, jewelry, postage stamps, and antique furniture, are of interest in themselves: they will often include detailed descriptions of the items, their provenance, historical significance, photographs, and so forth. In some cases, auction catalogues are key documentation for rare objects that are in private collections, and make up an important part of the libraries of students and dealers of the rarities. Each entry typically includes a "lot number" identifying each item uniquely, a description of the item, and either an estimated price or a "reserve" price below which the item will not be sold. Photographs may appear with the entry, or grouped into a separate section of the catalog; for lower value items, the textual description may be considered sufficient. As a combined information source and "sales brochure", an auction catalog must tread a fine line between accuracy and promotion. For instance, any damages or flaws must be described exactly, so that buyers cannot claim to have been deceived, but at the same time the description will typically include words playing down the bad points (as in "brownish spot that does not detract from appearance" or "faint crease, as is common"). Similarly, positive features are highlighted, such as "one of only four known examples of this type", or perhaps a photograph of an item of jewelry being worn by a famous person. Auction catalogs may be sent to favored customers without charge, but catalogs may be charged for, sometimes as much or more than other kinds of book. Important historical catalogs may be sold by bookstores, or even appear as items in book auctions.
Background: From the net: Japanese art is characterized by unique polarities. In the ceramics of the prehistoric periods, for example, exuberance was followed by disciplined and refined artistry. Another instance is provided by two 16th-century structures that are poles apart: the Katsura Detached Palace is an exercise in simplicity, with an emphasis on natural materials, rough and untrimmed, and an affinity for beauty achieved by accident; Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a rigidly symmetrical structure replete with brightly colored relief carvings covering every visible surface. Japanese art, valued not only for its simplicity but also for its colorful exuberance, has considerably influenced 19th-century Western painting and 20th-century Western architecture. Japan's aesthetic conceptions, deriving from diverse cultural traditions, have been formative in the production of unique art forms. Over the centuries, a wide range of artistic motifs developed and were refined, becoming imbued with symbolic significance. Like a pearl, they acquired many layers of meaning and a high luster. Japanese aesthetics provide a key to understanding artistic works perceivably different from those coming from Western traditions. Within the East Asian artistic tradition, China has been the acknowledged teacher and Japan the devoted student. Nevertheless, several Japanese arts developed their own style, which can be differentiated from various Chinese arts. The monumental, symmetrically balanced, rational approach of Chinese art forms became miniaturized, irregular, and subtly suggestive in Japanese hands. Miniature rock gardens, diminutive plants (bonsai), and ikebana (flower arrangements), in which the selected few represented a garden, were the favorite pursuits of refined aristocrats for a millennium, and they have remained a part of contemporary cultural life. The diagonal, reflecting a natural flow, rather than the fixed triangle, became the favored structural device, whether in painting, architectural or garden design, dance steps, or musical notations. Odd numbers replace even numbers in the regularity of a Chinese master pattern, and a pull to one side allows a motif to turn the corner of a three-dimensional object, thus giving continuity and motion that is lacking in a static frontal design. Japanese painters used the devices of the cutoff, close-up, and fade-out by the 12th century in yamato-e, or Japanese-style, scroll painting, perhaps one reason why modern filmmaking has been such a natural and successful art form in Japan. Suggestion is used rather than direct statement; oblique poetic hints and allusive and inconclusive melodies and thoughts have proved frustrating to the Westerner trying to penetrate the meanings of literature, music, painting, and even everyday language. The Japanese began defining such aesthetic ideas in a number of evocative phrases by at least the 10th or 11th century. The courtly refinements of the aristocratic Heian period evolved into the elegant simplicity seen as the essence of good taste in the understated art that is called shibui. Two terms originating from Zen Buddhist meditative practices describe degrees of tranquility: one, the repose found in humble melancholy (wabi), the other, the serenity accompanying the enjoyment of subdued beauty (sabi). Zen thought also contributed a penchant for combining the unexpected or startling, used to jolt one's consciousness toward the goal of enlightenment. In art, this approach was expressed in combinations of such unlikely materials as lead inlaid in lacquer and in clashing poetic imagery. Unexpectedly humorous and sometimes grotesque images and motifs also stem from the Zen koan (conundrum). Although the arts have been mainly secular since the Edo period, traditional aesthetics and training methods, stemming generally from religious sources, continue to underlie artistic productions. PLEASE SEE MY EBAY STORE FOR A NICE SELECTION OF ART, ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Most of the items I offer here on eBay are from estates in the Philadelphia / NYC area, and are fresh to the market. If you have any questions, need more info, or want to set up a Preview appointment, please feel welcome to message me and I'll respond in a timely manner. Thanks for your interest, ~Chris
Terms Of Sale: Winning bidder to pay for item(s) in full, in U.S. dollars within 7 days of sale date. If Local pick-up, no online payment methods due to lack of tracking & payment must clear my bank beforehand. All Items are sold “AS-IS”, and offered for final sale. Before bidding: Please ask all questions and Previews for in-person item inspections are welcome & encouraged! Attention International Buyers: Import duties, taxes and charges are not included here or paid to / by me and are the buyer’s responsibility. Arrival time & Customs issues are out of my control (although I'd gladly file an Inquiry with the USPS if delivery is really delayed), and I cannot misstate value on the forms.
