Page 10 - Bonhams Chinese Scholar's Art March 2014
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Mr Emmanuel Gran and Mrs. Delight Gran with Mrs. Gran’s
mother, dining at the Plaza Hotel, New York, early 1960’s.
Property from the Collection of Emmanuel Dimitri Gran (1894-1969)
Emmanuel Dimitri Gran (1894-1969) was born in in a warehouse on Riverside Drive. After completing
southwestern Russia. He studied architecture before a renovation of the Roosevelt Hotel, he came to the
leaving Russia to escape the Communist Revolution attention of Conrad Hilton, and was asked to join the
in 1917, and moved to Shanghai, where he practiced Hilton Hotel staff. In May of 1959, he became head of
architecture and began his love of collecting Chinese their Architecture and Design Department and in 1966
works of art. He hired his own artisans to make wood was made a Vice President. Sales of objects from his
stands and elaborate boxes for each piece, which carried collection occurred in New York in 1952, 1970 and 1971,
his trade mark Geren red tag. He was forced to move to the latter two after his death. Those distinctive small labels
Hong Kong with his collection just before the Japanese have appeared on many objects that have passed through
invaded Shanghai in 1932. The Japanese forced him to Bonhams’ San Francisco sales rooms over the years.
leave Hong Kong in 1941, and he moved to California
in that year. Since he was not licensed to practice The following lots offered in this auction have remained in
architecture in the United States, he taught Russian at the family until now.
the University of California, Berkeley. During this period
he met and married his wife, Delight, and after a brief A short biography of Emmanuel Gran is recorded in Ray
stay in Los Angeles, where he designed the sets for the Davids and Dominic Jellinek. Provenance: Collectors,
movie “Giant”, they moved to New York City. There he Dealers and Scholars in the Field of Chinese Ceramics in
moved and stored his massive and refined collection Britain. 2011, page 202
8 | Bonhams
