Doyle is pleased to present Fine Chinese Works of Art featuring The Tina Hills Collection on Tuesday, March 24 at 10am. A second session on Wednesday, March 25 will present Fine Asian Works of Art including fine and rare artworks from Japan, Korea, India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia. The two-day sale will showcase a wide range of porcelain and ceramics, bronzes, jades, snuff bottles, scholar’s objects, furniture, paintings and other traditional arts representing centuries of East and South Asian history and culture.
Session I: Fine Chinese Works of Art Featuring The Tina Hills Collection (Lots 1 – 275)
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 10am EDT
Previews: March 20–23, 12–5pm
Featured on March 24 are 113 lots of Chinese porcelain and other works of art from The Tina Hills Collection. Argentina “Tina” Hills was an Italian‑born American media executive and philanthropist who played a significant role in Puerto Rico’s and Miami’s civic and cultural life. In 1950, she married Ángel Ramos, the owner of El Mundo in Puerto Rico, and for decades she led the Fundación Ángel Ramos, a major philanthropic foundation. After Ramos’ death in 1960, she married Lee Hills, the Pulitzer‑winning editor of The Miami Herald who later became chairman/CEO of Knight Ridder newspapers. The couple were influential figures in journalism and philanthropy. Tina Hills also broke ground as the first woman to serve as president of the Inter‑American Press Association and was active in arts, education and community causes until her death in Miami at age 103 in 2025.
Highlights of the Tina Hills Collection include Lot 125, a magnificent pair of Kangxi famille verte rouleau vases decorated in fine and intricate detail to show throngs of onlookers clamoring to view the handsome youth Pan Yue. It is a rare and charming scene that invites one to examine the vases in full 360 degrees to view every small feature.
Lot 93 and Lot 94 tell a remarkable story of Chinese export markets in the Late Ming Dynasty and the rich cultural exchange facilitated through those routes. 93, a Blue and White Porcelain Elephant-Form Kendi, is a fine and rare Chinese handle-less pouring vessel made for the Islamic market. Most kendi were produced in simpler bottle-like forms and these far rarer figural examples would have been far pricier and coveted novelties in the Persian, Arab, and Turkish destination markets. Lot 94, a kendi of similar elephant form, represents the work of an enterprising Kashan potter who sought to recreate the form using his own local material and techniques. The product is an unquestionable success. The signature “bleed” of the cobalt decoration is a charming signature of the kendi’s Persian origin.
Lot 124 is a departmental favorite. Though understated compared to the finely-painted blue and white porcelain lots that surround it, this monochrome charger is a pleasant and graceful work of art. It’s perfect simplicity is matched by the flawlessness of its form and unblemished, even glaze.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji: White Rain Below the Mountain [Black Fuji] (Fugaku sanju-rokkei: Sanka haku-u); Lot 320; Estimate: US$25,000-35,000, Fine Asian Works of Art Sale)
Session II: Fine Asian Works of Art (Lots 301 – 595)
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 10am EDT
Previews: March 20–23, 12–5pm
This sale will present a wide range of porcelains, bronzes, jades, snuff bottles, pottery, scholar’s objects, furniture and paintings from China, Japan and throughout Asia.