Page 14 - September 11 2018 Junkunc Collection Sculpture
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Stephen Junkunc, III: Portrait of a Collector



             ट㦯㟙ɀ⧷㗜̶̓喟̭Ըᩣ㫼უ⮱ᩲθ







                                here are a handful of names in the world of Chinese art that are inextricably associated
                                with works of exceptional quality. Stephen Junkunc, III is amongst these luminaries.
                     TThe name itself is instantly evocative of a period during which some of the greatest
                      Chinese treasures came to America. The Junkunc name today serves as one of the most important,
                      and indeed desirable, provenances for Chinese art. Formed in America in the mid-20th century by
                      Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978), the Junkunc Collection at its height numbered over 2,000 examples
                      of exceptional Chinese porcelain, jade, bronzes, paintings and Buddhist sculptures; serving as a
                      testament to a period of unprecedented wealth of Chinese material available in the West, as well as to
                      an astounding intellectual curiosity and the means with which to buy internationally from the leading
                      dealers in the Þ eld.

                      Stephen Junkunc, III was born in Budapest, Hungary circa 1905, and emigrated to Chicago, Illinois as
                      a young child, where his father Stephen Junkunc, II (d. 1948), a tool-and-die maker, founded General
                      Machinery & Manufacturing Company in 1918. The company specialized in the manufacture of knife-
                      edge fuel nozzle heads. With the outbreak of World War II, General Machinery converted its shop for the
                      war e& ort and began manufacturing various aircraft parts, including B-29 hydraulic spools on behalf of
                      Ford Motor Company, who was sub-contracting work from engine maker Pratt & Whitney.


                      Alongside his role as manager and part owner of the company, Stephen Junkunc, III spent his free time
                      forming an extraordinary collection of Chinese art. With an unabated hunger for knowledge, Junkunc
                      was a voracious reader who studied the Chinese language and kept extensive libraries of Chinese art
                      reference books and auction catalogues at both his home and o<  ce.  Junkunc appears to have made his
                      Þ rst acquisitions in the early 1930s, apparently after having happened upon a book on Chinese art. It is
                      perhaps no coincidence that Junkunc’s initial collecting activity largely coincided with the establishment
                      of the Chicago branch of the reputable Japanese dealers Yamanaka & Co., Ltd., who opened a gallery
                      at 846 North Michigan Boulevard in 1928. Many of Junkunc’s early purchases came from Yamanaka,
                      and before long, he was buying directly from the leading London dealers specializing in Chinese art:
                      Bluett & Sons, W. Dickinson & Sons, H.R.N. Norton and, of course, John Sparks, seeking Þ ne examples of
                      porcelain for his collection.



                      ౕ͚స㬊㶀৮ᩣ㫼⩹喑ײᰶ◧᪥̺็⮱̭ψऺႄ㘪ํ                 Manufacturing  Company),ᄵ䪭㸪䕍⛰⇦஡䵚ȡᒹ
                      Ҭϧ⿸ݨ㖜ᘠݝ䗐ψ㇫㒻㊂՘⮱̺̓͸⣺喑ट㦯㟙ɀ                 ҳι᝝✳⮩喑ڙथ䑶ಸ䪸໸⩌⩏ऱ⽛丈ᾌ䰣У喑ڣ͚
                      ⧷㗜̶̓Ӭ᭜ڣ͚͸̭ȡ䕇㻭ڣᐧ⿸⮱⧷㗜ᩣ㫼喑ᄸ                 ࠲᠙᎘⺼➦ڙथ⩌⩏ᑂ᧻㸪䕍ੳᮛᘍڙथܳ࠲㊓ڣ⮱
                      Ⰾࡰऑ喑䯳᜽๔Ⴤ喑⣺ຯ⏱⊤͸䖧⤍喑ᐐ㠒⊖╇͸ᭌ                 B 29⋟฀⏾䫒ȡ
                      䰟ȡٵ⩌᫩ι࡮̓㈭͚㥶䪸ઌ䥾䈋͸䌜ȡ᭯๔䛼͚స
                                                              ⧷㗜̶̓⪣᭯䏘کڙथ䇍䇙ϧࣷ㋀⤳喑䪿᮴͸᫩喑䚶                  Opposite
                      㬊㶀㇫৮⎔ڒ㺬᫦喑ߍ๔γ㺬᫦ᄺ͚స᪴ࡃ⮱γ㼐㜴
                                                              ᓰ᫩͚స㬊㶀৮ᩣ㫼ȡٵ⩌Ⅿⴒ㠒⍡喑个䂭㓑ᰥ喑͓                  Stephen Junkunc, III
                      㜵䋐喑ह᭯ऱ๔͚స㬊㶀৮ऑ㦐ੳౕస䯈ጯൡ̷Ό㶕
                                                                                                       photographed together
                                                              ⵁ㓿͚᪴喑ౕڙथহѼუऱ㜗㽚⿸ృᰥ乕喑㫼๔䛼㬊
                      ⤫≨䎺ȡٵ⩌䊮ₑᾌ㌐䯳᜽䯲᪅喑ౕ倅ም᭯᱌㫼৮᪥
                                                                                                       with lot 15 in this sale,
                                                              㶀ࣰ㔰ᰥㅺࣷ៺䈐ృ䠱ȡ⧷㗜ٵ⩌ౕ1930ᎡА݊ڒ                 illustrated in the Chicago
                      䛼̭Ꮣ倅䖁ږࡰУᰶ久喑ڣ͚࠲᠙γ⨤கȠ⢶கȠ䱿
                                                                                                       Tribune, 7th September
                                                              㫼す̭У͚స㬊㶀৮喑ᨇנ᭜఍◧Ѓ♎ᘼ䫀ᣒ㼥ݝγ
                      䞲கȠᰥ⪘হ҈᪆䕍׼喑㫼ᄣ㖇⣺喑㌍䕍γ̭Ը⦭♣
                                                                                                       1952
                                                              ̭᱙͚స㬊㶀ࣰ㔰ᰥㅺȡ1928Ꭱ喑ᆞ͚ੳᰰౕ㟊ߍ
                      ᫩̓⮱ᩣ㫼נ๴ȡ
                                                              ਒㽚⿸ܳ㮌喑䕆ᄺ᫩ٵ⩌ᬖ᱌ᩣ㫼⮱ᐧ⿸ᰶ䲋፥Ⱑᣒ
                                                                                                       ᄺ䴮
                      ट㦯㟙ɀ⧷㗜̶̓㈱1905Ꭱܧ⩌᫩࠵➆ݖ⮱ጰ                  ⮱ᒞ䴬ȡ↿䕻็Ͳ喑ٵ⩌䪸໸Ⱑᣒᓋऱ๔՘᪓ऑ㦐ੳ
                                                                                                       ट㦯㟙ɀ⧷㗜̶̓㜴᱙ൡ៺
                      䖁 Җ ᫜ 喑 Ꭱ Ꭹ ᭯ 䌌 䯕 ❣ 㻗 ⼨ ℾ ݝ 㟊 ߍ ਒ ȡ ⧷ 㗜  ຯ Bluett   SonsȠ8  Dickinson   SonsȠH  R
                                                                                                       䈐㌕㮌15व⚔喑ܷ᫩Ȩ㟊ߍ
                      ἰ喍1948Ꭱ⩌喎◧὎ڤ㸪䕍ੳ喑ౕ1918Ꭱᐧ                N  Norton Вࣷ John Sparks ぶ㮂๔䛼䈩䇤৮䈗㇫       ਒䀃෴൞ȩ喑1952Ꭱ9ᰵ7ᬒ
                      ⿸γ䕇⩕ᾌᷝ㸪䕍ڙथ  (General  Machinery  &      㞜⮱⨤கȡ
             1 12  JUNKUNC: CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE2  JUNKUNC: CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE
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