Foreword

Nicolas Chow

Chairman Asia | Worldwide Head and Chairman of Chinese Works of Art

The collection of imperial porcelain of Alan Chuang ranks among the very finest ever assembled and includes masterpieces from the 14th to the 18th centuries, focusing on the greatest periods of imperial patronage during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This small selection from the collection that we have the privilege of presenting here highlights one of the underlying threads in the collection – a particular inclination towards exquisite porcelains, diminutive in size, that allow a perfect communion of the eye and the hand in their aesthetic enjoyment.

This distinctive taste in Chinese porcelain has its roots in the unrivalled refinement of the emperors under whose patronage gems of porcelain were produced and have endured among Chinese connoisseurs over half a millennium. It is porcelain not as mere decoration, but as a rarefied, almost confidential pleasure to be savoured quietly. A dainty cup will only suffer the hand of a most adroit potter, while a diminutive canvas requires a most delicate brush and softest palette. The supreme delight for the connoisseur handling a small gem of porcelain does not reside either in the precise potting, elegant painting or the silkiness of the glaze, but rather in the confluence of all three at that very moment.

This beautiful assemblage includes exquisite porcelains produced during the celebrated reigns of the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors and were passed down within the Forbidden City in Beijing until the fall of the Qing dynasty, before entering the collections of connoisseurs such as Edward T. Chow, Paul and Helen Bernat, Robert Chang and T.T. Tsui. Today, these diminutive treasures will once again pass hands and delight a new generation of connoisseurs.

前言

仇國仕

亞洲區主席 | 中國藝術品部國際主管兼主席

莊紹綏御瓷珍藏，卓絕超群，匯集十四至十八世紀逸器精品，尤以明清盛世所製為重。有幸以盈握雅瓷數件，呈現典藏脈絡一隅，展示袖珍小品的細膩極致，觀之悅目，是完滿的邂逅，撫之動心，是美學的饗宴。

如此雅風，古已有之，故時帝君，惜物之窮精極巧，大興窰務，治下所製瓷珍，逾五百年來，為明鑑善藏之士感慕。這些小件瓷珍，非為陳設而製，卻宜把玩，手中摸撫，靜謐體會，其樂自得。小盃如斯，非技絕巧匠無法製成，也惟有細筆勾勒、淡彩渲染，才得此等微繪細飾。如此瓷珍，箇中喜樂並不止於其形之美、飾之雅或質之柔，卻在三者和弦共奏之間，讓掌中每刻，趣味無窮。

專場所呈康雍兩朝盛世御瓷，久居北京紫禁城中，直至大清國祚衰亡，流入鑑藏大宅，獲仇焱之、白納德伉儷、張宗憲、徐展堂等名家惜寶賞珍。這段遞藏之旅，如今將再啟程，為新一代鑑藏高士添雅增趣，薪火相傳。

For assistance with bidding and registration, please contact:

enquiries@sothebys.com

+852 2524 8121

For all sale enquiries please contact:

Nicolas Chow | Nicolas.Chow@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8128

Senior Director, Chairman, Asia, Worldwide Head and Chairman of Chinese Works of Art

Sam Shum | Sam.Shum@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8125

Senior Director, Senior Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Carrie Li | Carrie.Li@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8155

Senior Director International, Senior Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Xibo Wang | Xibo.Wang@sothebys.com | +852 2822 5582

Director, Head of Department, Chinese Works of Art

Amethyst Chau | Amethyst.Chau@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8121

Director, Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Cristine Li | Cristine.Li@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8122

Deputy Director, Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Rubie Fong | Rubie.Fong@sothebys.com | +852 2822 9037

Junior Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Xiaoye Yang | Xiaoye.Yang@sothebys.com | +852 2822 8135

Cataloguer, Chinese Works of Art

Mizuka Seya | Mizuka.Seya@sothebys.com | +81 3 3230 2755

Deputy Director, Specialist, Chinese Works of Art, Japan

Ching Yi Huang | Chingyi.Huang@sothebys.com | +886 2 2757 6689

Deputy Director, Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

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