Daughter of the celebrated and visionary gallery-owner Pierre Loeb, the Parisian dealer of the greatest modern artists of the inter-war period, including Picasso, Miró and Giacometti, Florence Loeb inherited her father’s passion for distant cultures and his gift for forging special affinities with the most fascinating artistic personalities of his generation.

In part this came from a life changing meeting in 1946, when Florence, aged only 16, first encountered the playwright, poet, actor and theatre director Antonin Artaud. A seminal moment, she spent the rest of her life fulfilling the quest he set for her, the search for the “thunderbolt of second life”, travelling the world and punctuating her voyages with conferences that she entitled “Celebration of Life”. The finest ensemble of books and drawings by Antonin Artaud, including the legendary Autoportrait of 1946, a portrait of Pierre Loeb by Alberto Giacometti and a selection of works from Africa, Oceania and the Americas from the collection of Pierre Loeb represent the highlights of this sale, which Sotheby’s is honoured to present in homage to Florence Loeb.

The upcoming Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York will be held on May 2nd, 2012. Highlights of the sale include a rich and varied selection of works by prolific Impressionist & Modern artists including the recently announced inclusion of Edvard Munch’s iconic work, The Scream.

Romualdo Locatelli’s Ritratto di Fu Ku Ko (Portrait of Fu Ku Ko) and Juan Luna’s En el Palco (In the Theater Box) are rare and superb examples of European Academic style that influenced early 20th Century Modern Southeast Asian Paintings, combining evocative brushstrokes with a balanced and refined composition. These depictions of Indonesian and Filipino society in the first half of the 20th century are also rich with historical and allegorical references that give the paintings gravitas beyond their enigmatic beauty.

Welcome to Sotheby’s new catalogue app exclusively for the iPad. Complimentary catalogues for our 2012 sales are available in this exciting new format. Additionally, the full selection of our catalogues is accessible using your browser on our website, Sothebys.com.

Wednesday, March 28 | 10:00 am
Thursday, March 29 | 10:00 am

Preview

Wednesday, March 21 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday, March 22 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, March 23 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 24 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday, March 25 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Monday, March 26 | 10:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Tuesday, March 27 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

The Chinese porcelain collection known by the poetic name Meiyintang (Hall Among Rose Beds) is one of the finest and most impressive in private hands.

This third sale dedicated to the collection again makes available a phenomenal range of rare imperial works from the kilns at Jingdezhen, China’s first and foremost porcelain manufacturing centre. Covering imperial porcelains from all major reigns, it includes some of the protagonists of the Yuan (1279-1368), many of the mature masterpieces of the Ming (1368-1644), and a great variety of sophisticated gems of the Qing (1644-1911) dynasty.

One of the most spectacular pieces is the majestic (nearly 60 cm wide) charger of the Yongle period (1403-24), a unique example that is masterfully painted with a long-tailed bird swooping down from a branch laden with lychees to catch an insect. Such freely executed brush paintings, with their careful shading of the cobalt blue, here used particularly for the bird’s plumage, and of course the sheer size of the vessel, reflect China’s blue-and-white porcelain production at its greatest moment.

Auction Venue:

Hall 5, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (New Wing), 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

This collection was formed in Paris in the seventies and in the eighties. More precisely in this extraordinary place in Paris called “Drouot”. As well as from time to time, in large antique fairs around Paris, including the famous “Ham and Antiques Fair” of Chatou where you could either buy food or antiques. However, it was in this incredible Hôtel des Ventes Drouot where most of the pieces of this unique collection were discovered.

Our aesthete was attracted at the first by French Old Master paintings, but soon moved to Chinese works of art. The quality of execution, originality of the designs, variety of materials held a fascination for him, especially in materials like jade, agate, ivory, bamboo but also bronze and gold.

Auction Venue:

Hall 5, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (New Wing), 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong