Page 17 - Christies March 16, 2017 The Varata Collection NYC

At the center of my mother’s collecting was a deep afinity for

knowledge and scholarship. Amongst her friends were notable

scholars such as Sir John Addis, whom she frst met in 1969

when he was ambassador to the Philippines, Margaret Medley,

and Sir John Pope Hennessy. She supported the National

Museum of the Philippines when it was active in acquiring of

Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming ceramics sent as export ware,

Giovanna and Bebe Virata, Wellesley College, 1983 and helped underwrite the archaeological digs of Bronze Age
喬凡娜和碧碧•維勒泰攝於衛斯理女子學院，1983年 gold in the Southern Philippines. From the late 1970s to the
1990s, our family had the opportunity to collect classical Ming

and Qing furniture, guided initially by Alice Boney, and then by

Robert Ellsworth, who became a close friend. Our collecting of

Chinese ceramics was guided by Tony Derham, who ran the Asian Art Department at Christie’s in

New York, and who became a trusted advisor and personal friend and at a later date by Tony Carter,

who advised with our acquisition of the monochrome porcelains. Nick Grindley with his rigorous

eye for Chinese classical furniture, has been largely responsible for bringing a true integrity to the

collection in this area of Chinese antiquity. Charles Wong helped us fnd the rarest zitan pieces in

the collection. The tall yoke-back chairs, for example, are the sole known examples in that form;

the Palace Museum in Beijing holds the only comparable tables akin to our small zitan side table.

The condition of these works has always been a priority: Christopher Cooke (who has settled in the

Philippines) and Colin Forshaw have both helped us maintain the highest standards.

Grace Wu Bruce has also been, in her own unique way, fundamental to this collection. We began
as personal friends: Grace was married to my business partner and friend Jamie Bruce when
we established Jardine Fleming
Exchange Capital in 1988. It is
fair to say that Grace has elevated
the collecting of Chinese classical
furniture throughout the world, and
stands as a leader in exhibiting and
cultivating the market in Mainland
China. Today, that market dominates
the collecting of Chinese classical
furniture.

A sale of this nature is often
bittersweet, the end of an adventure.
Yet its purpose is also one of renewal,
so that others may experience the
thrill and joy that these beautiful
objects have brought to our lives.

Luis Virata
December 7, 2016

Tony Derham and Leo Virata, Manila, mid-1980s.
安東尼‧德翰與雷奧‧維勒泰攝於馬尼拉，1980年代中期。

THE MARIE THERESA L. V I R ATA C O L L E C T I O N OF ASIAN ART: A FAMILY LEGACY 15