Page 7 - Marchant Ninety Jades For 90 Years

and Marquise de Ganay collection, nos. 21, 58, 66, 75 and my father, daughter and son Samuel, who has recently joined
84 , include the remarkable boy and buffalo group, no. 58, a the company, we hope that new homes will be found for these
subject familiar to all Chinese people as since ancient times pieces, where they will bring their new custodians a great deal
the economy was based on agriculture. Therefore, such a of enjoyment and satisfaction.
visually positive symbol of a buffalo, depicted with a boy
symbolises fertility of the land and a successful harvest with Stuart J. Marchant
future prosperity. The group has hidden details only evident September 2015
upon close examination. There is additional hairwork on areas
of the body, the thin rope halter is twisted and the finish on
the hooves also displays an extra touch of quality that one may
think not necessary.
The second noteworthy group, which includes nos. 9, 12, 56
and 64, was acquired from a personal friend of mine, who
collected in the 1960s. Some, he told me, were given to him
as presents from his mother. Apart from both having a passion
for jade, our other mutual interest is Chelsea Football Club.
Like my father, this gentleman was a season ticket holder in
the famous 1954/5 season when Chelsea won the league
title for the first time. The team was captained by the great
international Roy Bentley, now in his 90s, whom we recently
bumped into at Stamford Bridge. The original invoices from
this collection are published in the catalogue. The brushpot,
bitong, no. 9, is naturalistically carved with the three friends
of winter, suihan sanyou, ‘pine, prunus & bamboo’. Like all
high-quality pieces, it is crafted from a single piece of stone and
does not have a sectional base; even the underside is carved as
rockwork. This piece was purchased from John Sparks in 1975.
The other exceptional piece from this group is the crouching
winged bixie, a Chinese mythical animal, unusually exhaling
waves. It was handled by Bluett twice, and originally came from
the collection of F. J. Pearce. The quality is superb and it is a joy
to touch. John Sparks and Bluett were two of the most famous
and well respected dealers of Chinese art in the world.
Part of my five-year apprenticeship some years ago now was
spent in New York working for Alan Hartman, and I am
delighted to have back, for the second time, the remarkable
seahorse, haima, no. 57. I had always admired this piece in
Alan and Simone’s personal collection and remember it on
exhibition at the Boston Museum of Fine Art in 2001. I
managed to acquire it originally in the Hartman’s first Hong
Kong auction in November 2006. The finish on the piece is
sublime; the way the russet is used from the large pebble and
the swirling waves on the underside together display the full
repertoire of what the craftsman was able to achieve.
It has been a great pleasure searching for and discovering these
jades, and now writing about and publishing them as an entire
group to celebrate our gallery’s 90th anniversary. Together with

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