Bonhams Paris to Auction Gisèle Croës Legacy Collection

PARIS, France — September, 2026 —

Bonhams will hold a special single-owner auction titled Gisèle Croës: A Legacy in Paris on December 10, 2026, presenting more than 70 masterpieces assembled over five decades by one of the most respected authorities in ancient Chinese art. The sale will take place at Bonhams Paris, 6 avenue Hoche, and spans more than four millennia of Chinese history, from the Neolithic period through the Qing dynasty, with particular strength in archaic ritual bronzes, early Buddhist sculpture, and rare imperial decorative arts.

Among the top lots is a magnificent and very rare bronze ritual bell, Nao, from the late Shang dynasty, circa 11th century BC, estimated at 400,000-600,000 euros. Only a handful of comparable examples exist in major international museum collections, making this a trophy-level acquisition for serious collectors of early Chinese art. Also offered is an important archaic bronze ritual wine vessel, You, from the Western Zhou dynasty, circa 10th century BC, estimated at 200,000-300,000 euros, with a closely related example held in the British Museum, London. A monumental archaic bronze basin, Jian, from the Spring and Autumn period, circa 6th-5th century BC, carries an estimate of 120,000-150,000 euros and compares directly with vessels in the Shanghai Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Highlights beyond the bronzes include a magnificent and very rare polychromed stone figure of a bodhisattva from the northern Zhou dynasty and Sui dynasty, estimated at 200,000-300,000 euros, with provenance tracing to a Beijing acquisition by Robert Rousset in 1925 and comparables at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A rare pair of imperial champlevé enamel garden stools from the Qianlong period, 1736-1795, estimated at 120,000-150,000 euros, carries a reputed descent through the family of Marcel Proust. Asaph Hyman, Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art at Bonhams, described Croës as an institution unto herself, noting her uncompromising connoisseurship and her pivotal role in placing exceptional works with the world’s foremost collectors and institutions.

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