A Private Collection
Chinese works of art & material culture
文房四寶 & Beyond
Brush Wash · Inkstone
A rounded brushwasher in carved red lacquer with foliate motifs. Deep, even color and fine patina indicate age and quality of use within a scholar's studio.
Brushpot · 笔筒
Two interlocked bamboo sections with an incised poetic inscription. A characteristic scholar's object combining literary refinement with the natural material.
Scepter · 如意
Carved from a single piece of aged boxwood with deeply worn surfaces and rich honey patina. From the Ji Zhen Zhai collection; published in Treasures of the Chinese Scholar (Weatherhill, 1997).
Porcelain · Jar
Ovoid jar with red ground and gold enamel floral decoration. Exemplary of Kangxi polychrome production; strong enamel condition with vivid original color.
Ceramic Figure · 三彩
A monumental standing official approximately 73 cm in amber, cream, and green glazes. Strong original surface with characteristic drip lines; acquired via private trade.
Devotional Figure · 眼王奶奶
Carved camphorwood figure of a Taoist folk deity with original polychrome traces. Strong carving quality with expressive face; fragrant wood still perceptible.
Lacquer Panel · Late Ming
31-inch panel with layered carved lacquer decoration in a Fujian/Guangdong workshop tradition. Acquired from a Santa Fe estate; currently consigned for sale.
Porcelain Table Screen
Painted porcelain table screen with documented provenance to the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition, exhibited by Gold Medal recipient Zung Ching & Sons. Customs sticker intact.
The Collector
This collection has grown slowly, over many years of looking — through estate sales and auction rooms, flea markets and specialist dealers, and the long hours of study that any serious collection demands. It is organized around a conviction: that the most revealing objects are those in which individual expression and demanding craft tradition are held in tension.
The emphasis has been on Chinese works spanning the Ming through Republican periods, with a particular focus on scholar's objects — brushpots, ink stones, ruyi scepters, paperweights, and the small carved curiosities that accumulated on the writing table of a cultivated man. These objects were made to be handled and contemplated, not displayed behind glass.
Pieces of exceptional quality or documented provenance are occasionally offered for private sale or placed with major auction houses. Inquiries are welcome.
Correspondence
Private inquiries regarding individual pieces, potential acquisitions, or consignment are always welcome. All correspondence is handled with discretion.