Chinese Ming Horse and Rider

A matched pair of bronze dragon earrings, each a hollow cone with bands of linear ornament, dragon heads flanking the loop with teardrop wings. 77 grams total, 50 mm each



From the collection of the late Asian art specialist Joseph G. Gerena, New York, U.S.A. Ex Derek J. Content, London, UK. From the private collection of a North London lady.

A large figure showing the beast in an alert pose with raised head, flaring nostrils and pricked ears, the folds on the body indicated in red pigment; tail repaired. 5.54 kg, 53 cm long



Ex Hong Kong collection, 1990s. From a London, UK, collection. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.02C26042024 from Laboratory Kotalla.

Rhinoceroses in ancient China were highly revered and the depictions in art are typically lifelike, the earliest example is a bronze zun vessel, which is thought to date to the 11th century B.C. During Tang Dynasty, tamed rhinos were presented by foreign embassies to the court.

Footed bowl with painted blue floral motifs and circumferential lines, rosette to inner centre and signature to underside. 423 grams, 16.5 cm



Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter.