Page 12 - 2021 March 18th Junkunc Collection Christie's New York City

Stephen Junkunc, III began collecting in earnest in the 1940s, and his most ardent buying
period was in the 1950s and 1960s. His collecting was always informed by diligent study-
he kept libraries at both his home and his office and read voraciously, whether quickly over
a short lunch break or at a more leisurely pace into the small hours of the morning. When
acquiring objects for his collection, he only dealt with the most renowned dealers of the
mid-twentieth century, including Bluett & Sons, Sparks, Yamanaka & Co., Ltd., C.T. Loo & Cie,
Tonying & Company and Hisazo Nagatani. The Chicago-based gallery of Yamanaka & Co., Ltd.,
which had opened in 1928 played a particularly strong role in Junkunc’s voracious passion for
collecting. Nagatani (d. 1994), formerly the manager of Yamanaka in Chicago, was among the
most influential to Stephen Junkunc, III, supplying works to the collection for over thirty years.
Junkunc kept his collection secure in a World War II bomb shelter in his home, and entering
the rooms has been compared to the legend of Aladdin entering the cave—the visitor was
immediately awed by the porcelain, jades, sculptures and other treasures on display. Such
a variety of materials and wealth of artistry, in such unexpected surroundings, must indeed
have been an extraordinary sight.

above:
Fig. 1 A rare and important
Ruyao dish, Northern Song
根據書信記錄，在瓊肯三世早期的鑒藏對象 選暗淡無光的次品」。此後瓊肯庋集的絕色佳 dynasty (AD 960-1127).
中，中國陶瓷該算名列前茅。他對審美非常執 器，相信正包括一件釉色亮麗、典雅秀巧的豇 Christie’s New York,
3 December 1992, lot 276.
著，為藝術品的優劣品質定下嚴格標準，在其 豆紅釉柳葉尊。此尊將在3月19日，於紐約佳士 圖一 北宋 汝窯天青釉盤
漫長的鑒藏生涯中，一直貫徹始終。1935年， 得「重要中國瓷器及工藝品」專場中亮相，拍品
opposite:
他去信古董商狄金森父子商行（D.Dickinson 編號為 856。 Fig. 2 Anonymous,
& Sons），著其蒐羅康熙及雍正時期的單色 Travelers In Autumn
Mountains, In The Style
釉瓷器，務必千挑萬選，去蕪存菁，得具「千錘 瓊肯先生由瓷器出發，但從不止步於此，矢志廣 Of Guo Xi (C. 1001-1090),
百鍊的品質」，可與「博物館陳列品」平分秋 泛涉獵，閎覽博物。期後專研佛教造像及中國高 (13th - 14th century).
Christie’s New York,
色。1936年，瓊肯三世去信布 特父子商行，欲 古玉雕，以更上層樓的學術角度深入探究。 瓊 22 March 1999, lot 178.
購豇豆紅及釉裏紅瓷器；數月後另去信萊爾頓 肯先生認真鑽研的收藏精神，亦使之結識了諸 圖二 匿名 秋山行旅圖 仿郭
熙（約1001-1090）筆意 （十
（H.R. Norton）物色「單色釉佳器」，敦囑「勿 如薩爾莫尼（Alfred Salmony，1890-1958 三/十四世紀）
10