Page 6 - Maitri CollectionAsian Art Bonhams

A NO T E F R OM

T H E CO LLE C T O R

I have never considered myself a collector. It was just the beauty of each
piece that attracted me. I fell in love with them. I didn’t ask many questions.
I just knew each time I saw a great piece, that I wanted to own it. It was not
a very professional approach.

Our family has no history of collecting. I was born during the war, in 1942,
so there were other priorities. But either you have this collecting instinct or
you don’t, I suppose. And I always wanted to have beauty around me; that
is quality of life for me. I started with Flemish minor masters when I was
perhaps 20, a completely different field, and I still have quite a number at
home. I did not care about whether they were fashionable or not. They are
just beautiful paintings. That was the beginning. And then I started to work
in finance, in an investment business. In June 1970, I was put in charge
of Japan, because no one else was interested. When, two years later, the
Japanese economy took off, I was in a very good position, and travelled to
and fro for many years.

Japan opened my eyes to beauty. I fell in love with Japanese ceramics and
have built up a considerable collection. I learned to understand the beauty
of imperfection. But it was when my wife and I moved to Japan, in 1989, at
the end of the bubble, that I was first introduced to other parts of Asia. We
travelled to Laos, Burma, and Cambodia. I had more time to look around, to
go to galleries, and to learn a little about the art and culture of these places.
Later, when I was working in London and when I had semi-retired, I took
a series of courses at SOAS on Japanese art and culture, Korean art and
culture, Chinese courses, Islamic courses, Indian art and then Buddhist art.
But this is not to claim any expertise: these were short courses that helped
to deepen my understanding of what I already owned and opened my eyes
to new things. By that time, I was already buying avidly.

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