Cover Story
Imperial glories from the Springfield museum's collection
The Museums welcome over half a million visitors a year, with a primary mission to inspire exploration of its connections to art, history and science through outstanding collections
ByIANSlife Features
October 22, 2020 (IANSlife) Continuing the tradition of offering renowned institutional collections at auction, Christie’s is presenting a dedicated sale of Chinese art works from the Springfield Museums, the largest cultural institution in western Massachusetts.
The sale comprises twelve jade and cloisonné enamel pieces from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) .
10 11/16 in. (27.2 cm.) high
Estimate: HK$5,000,000 – 7,000,000
Highlights include an exquisitely carved white jade figure of Shoulao, the Star God of Longevity, rare for its substantial size and superb quality; and a massive imperial cloisonné enamel vase decorated with dramatic mask motifs exceeding 64 cm. in height.
All twelve pieces were acquired by George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923), an American entrepreneur and art collector who founded the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1896.
Proceeds realised from the sale will be used for the care of collections and to advance the Museums’ commitment to equity, diversity, and access through future art acquisitions of works by women artists, artists of color and under-represented artists.
About The Springfield Museums
The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum is best known for its extraordinary depth of rare and unusual objects from China and Japan.
Modeled after an Italian palazzo, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, features a striking collection of Chinese porcelains, cloisonné ware and jade and Japanese bronzes, iron, lacquer and ivory.
A WHITE JADE ‘KUI DRAGON’ VASE AND A COVER
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
10 3/8 in. (25.8 cm.) overall height
Estimate: HK$1,500,000 – 2,500,000
Bottom:
A WHITE JADE ‘CHILONG AND BAT’ RUYI
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
16 13/16 in. (42.7 cm.) long Estimate: HK$1,500,000 – 2,500,000
In its entirety, the Springfield Museums includes - the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, and the newly opened (2017) Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum.
(This article is website exclusive and cannot be reproduced without the permission of IANSlife)
IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in
