Мар of heaven

A superb Chinese chart takes centre stage in New York and an artist shows that ‘melancholy is underrated'

- Huon Mallalieu

Chinese chart of the heavens.

BEFORE the Great Absolute unfolded itself, the three primal essences, Heaven, Earth and Man, were involved in it. This was termed original chaos, because the intermingled essences had not yet separated. When the Great Absolute unfolded, the light and pure formed Heaven, the heavy and impure formed Earth, and the union of spirit and body formed Man... Hence all manifestations of spirit emanate from Heaven, and for a natural reason, as they are inherent in the Great Absolute.'

Terrestrial map. Both Daniel Crouch

That certainly sounds familiar, if a little less poetic than 'In the beginning was the Word'. It is the introduction to the superb Chinese celestial chart published in 1826, but deriving from the oldest recorded planisphere, that of Huang Shang (1146–94), which was sold by the London map specialist Daniel Crouch at the 'Winter Show in Spring'in New York. The 4872in by 85 in 'blue' chart of the heavens was paired with a 524in by 8734 in terrestrial map , based on mid-18th-century research and published in 1811. This showed the Central Kingdom in considerable detail, with the rest of the world relegated to the fringes. The Atlantic and Mediterranean were there, just, as the Great and Small Western Oceans. The two Chinese rarities were among several very important maps and atlases sold by Mr Crouch.

Animal dummy boards.

Trade sign. £6,000.

Cast-iron figures. £1,150. All with Robert Young