Page 12 - SOtheby's Hong Kong Hawthorne Collection Scholar's Art May 2018

FOREWORD

Having spent a working lifetime collecting and dealing predominantly in the categories of Chinese works of
art which were rather dismissively termed in the West as ‘the minor works of China’, it is gratifying to watch
the general awakening and interest in these arts. So it gives us great pleasure to offer a selection from our
collection to those collectors who do appreciate these wonderful pieces. We are primarily offering wood
and lacquer pieces that have been richly inlaid by Zhou Zhu, or by his followers, and for which we have
a particular fondness, especially so once we realised their importance when the examples in the Palace
Museum collection were eventually published. There are also two imperial Qianlong wood screens with long
inscriptions, Lot 3 and 6, a porcelain Amitayus dated to 1771, Lot 33, and other imperial ceramics, with
a small group of select olive stone carvings. The ivory carvings include a superb sculpture of Wen Quxing
and Kui Xing in zitan grotto, Lot 43, while the lacquer pieces range from a 17th century cinnabar lacquer
screen, Lot 30, to a rare pair of 18th century gilt-lacquer vases, Lot 8.

The excitement that my wife, Ellie, and I shared during the long early hours of the mornings in Bermondsey
and the Portobello Road can be imagined when you consider the stunning bargains, such as the inlaid Zhou
Zhu tray, Lot 7, that were placed in our hands for less than a pound. Many of these pieces were considered
not worthy of serious attention in comparison with ceramics and jade, and could often be purchased for a
few pounds and were an adjunct to the serious business of finding the stock that the market did want at
that time. Over the years our collection grew, although we did not think of it as ‘a collection’ until my retire-
ment beckoned, and then first some bamboo, and then the Yixing stoneware, and then the later bronzes
became ‘collections’ in the eyes of the auction houses.
It had always been a particular desire of mine that the entire Chinese nation would be free to indulge their
passion for collecting the sublime works of art that are their heritage, and now that they have that freedom
I hope that many pieces from our collection will find their way back to their country of origin.

Gerard Hawthorn,
London, April 2018.

LOT 2 (DETAIL)

10 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比