Page 14 - Tianminlou Hong Kong Sotheby's April 3 2019

KO SHIH CHAO AND

THE TIANMINLOU COLLECTION

Regina Krahl

It was with a distinct shock of pleasure that I and the Fung Ping Shan Museum of Hong Kong University,
realized the extent of his success in assembling and was of course a generous lender to exhibitions. On the
what is unquestionably one of the finest groups occasion of the special exhibition of his own collection at
of these wares to be seen anywhere in private the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1987, a superbly produced
hands today… bi-lingual two-volume publication was produced, Chinese
Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, which
represents the collection catalogue. Besides John Ayers,
This is how in 1987 John Ayers characterised the collecting Julian Thompson and Laurence C.S. Tam, S.C. Ko contributed
activity of Ko Shih Chao (1911-1992) and his Tianminlou an essay himself on ‘Polychrome Porcelain of the Ming and
Collection, when he wrote an introduction to the collection Qing Dynasties’, where he detailed the historical development
catalogue. Thirty years later, the collection once assembled of this group of wares in a neutral, unbiased manner rarely
by S.C. Ko can still be considered one of the most remarkable seen in a collector, without attempting to present his own
private assemblages of porcelains made at Jingdezhen during pieces in a particularly favourable light.
the Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
dynasties, the period from the fourteenth to the eighteenth With its rich illustrations, that included panoramic views
century that marked the kilns’ unchallenged position as the for a majority of vessels, and the thorough research that
world’s foremost porcelain producers. went into it, the catalogue remains a standard reference
work of Jingdezhen porcelain; and since S.C. Ko generously
The Tianminlou Collection – part of which is offered in this sale subsidised it, it could at the time be offered at an unusually
– offers a very rare, astutely chosen overview of the technical low price, which assured its wide distribution. The educational
and stylistic developments of the kilns’ production during aspect and the wish to share his collection with a large
this time. That the collection name may first of all evoke blue- audience were clearly matters of importance to him. Thus
and-white porcelain is not surprising, given that this section he also made his pieces readily available to the scholarly
is particularly strong and representative, containing powerful community, to students as well as fellow collectors, to be
Yuan pieces, exquisite examples of the early Ming period, physically handled, studied and discussed.
one of the extremely rare Chenghua (1465-1487) ‘palace
bowls’, bold vessels of the late Ming and the refined echoes In line with the Chinese literati tradition, the hall name,
of early Ming wares made in the first half of the Qing dynasty; Tianminlou, that was chosen for the collection, is deeply
yet the collection is equally remarkable in polychrome and anchored in China’s classical literature. It can be traced to a
monochrome porcelains, especially the wucai wares of the short autobiographical piece by Tao Yuanming (365-427), one
late Ming and a great variety of superb examples produced of China’s most revered poets, where he describes a ‘Mr Five
during the Kangxi (1662-1722) Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Willow Trees’ as living the Daoist ideal of a poor but free life,
Qianlong (1736-1795) reigns, including one of the most highly keen to increase his knowledge, but uninterested in personal
prized types, a Kangxi falangcai bowl. recognition, fame, or even just approval of society. In the
last line of his story Tao asks ‘Is he perhaps one of Emperor
S.C. Ko was not only a discerning collector, but above all Getian’s people?’ (‘Getian … min …’), Emperor Getian being a
had himself an excellent understanding of the subject, mythical ruler of a prehistoric past marked by simplicity and
without which the collection could not have achieved this happiness. Ge is the modern transcription of the family name
high standard. He was chairman of the honourable Min Chiu Ko and Tianminlou only makes sense in combination with
Society of collectors and actively involved in the affairs of all this family name, lou denominates a lofty pavilion. ‘[S.C.] Ko
the relevant Hong Kong museums, the Hong Kong Museum Tianminlou’ (Getian min lou) may thus perhaps be understood
of Art, the Art Gallery of the Chinese University of Hong Kong as ‘The Pavilion of One of Getian’s People’.