QUINTESSENTIALLY VANDERVEN

After some contemplation we chose to entitle this catalogue Quintessential - meaning the fundamental essence of something. As our company enters its 55th year, it seemed a good moment to reflect on the fundamental essence of our company - which has not only been about sourcing great objects and upholding our excellent reputation, but also the essential and highly valued relationships with clients and partners. We still stand for in-depth knowledge and passion for the objects in our collection, a profound knowledge of the art market and the highest level of service. Our objective is always to make our clients happy, providing them with the best object which can be treasured and passed on to the next generation.

As always, our main challenge lies in finding and researching the perfect objects for our collection; but this also happens to be central to the enjoyment of what we do! The 16 objects we have chosen for this catalogue are quintessential Vanderven pieces, classic examples of objects that have formed us since our foundation in 1968. Fundamental are of course Kangxi blue and white, colourful enamel on biscuit and refined famille verte porcelains. From the 1980’s early pottery also became another key staple in our collection and remains an important area of expertise. More recently we have increasingly dealt in Chinese works of art made of other fascinating materials, such as soapstone and glass; as well as jade, bronze, cast-iron, plaster and lacquer. Many of these areas are represented within these pages.

Our objects also take us places – we present ourselves at fairs in Maastricht, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Munich. We will also exhibit in C.T. Loo’s Red Pagoda in Paris and of course continue to work from our great gallery in ’s-Hertogenbosch. We express our passion and knowledge of Chinese art through our extensively researched catalogues (this is now our 11th!) and more recently our beautiful own glossy Magazine Eight (our second is out now). We have become very active on social media too, our 10,000 global Instagram followers cheering us on in what we do.

We hope to meet you in person as quintessential part of our Vanderven family and in the meantime enjoy this catalogue as much as we have compiling it!

Floris & Nynke van der Ven

China, Kangxi period (1662-1722), circa 1710

H: 111 cm | Weight: 48 kg each

PROVENANCE

Private Collection, USA

LITERATURE

Pinto de Matos 2011, p.300, no.126

Ströber 2001, p.9-13

Ströber 2011, p.208

Ströber 2016

Tabar de Anitua 1983, p.74, no.82 & p177 pl.VI

Welch 2008, p.50-2