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You are here: Home / Chinese Art History Research / Boston North Shore A Chinese Collection

Boston North Shore A Chinese Collection

June 12, 2012 By plcombs Leave a Comment

Chinese Art Collection In Beverly Farms Estate

Every now and again something very surprising happens in the antiques business, especially with Asian art.

Boston North Shore A Chinese Collection

Boston North Shore A Chinese Collection
Henry C. Frick "Summer Cottage" Beverly Farms, MA
A few years ago, a Monday morning I got a call from a lady over in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, Beverly Farms is part of the town of Beverly Mass. From a historical point of interest its where the idea came from for calling a stretch of California "Beverly Hills".. Beverly Farms had become a very popular Summer spot along the coast of Boston's North Shore in the late 19th C. and attracted some very well off Boston family's to build houses known as "Cottages" and eventually from as far away as Pittsburgh including Henry Clay Frick.
<img src="IMG_7824" alt="Kangxi Incense Burner">
Kangxi Period Bronze Incense Burner on Stand, Circa 1600
Now back to the call: She had a wonderful voice, she reminded me of Kate Hepburn when she played in Golden Pond. After saying hello and reminding me that we had met years earlier at a Charity auction I had helped conduct my memory slowly came back to me. She had said, "I will be calling you about few things we have around my place".  True to her word, here she was calling, just as promised.
<img src="IMG_7833" alt="Beverly Farms Kangxi Bronze">.
Kangxi Period Marked Gilt Bronze,
Soon she was onto the business at hand, she explained that her grandfather had gone to Asia during the early 20th C. around 1908 on business and stayed in Shanghai and Peking (now Beijing) for several years. During this time he "bought a few things" and later upon returning to the US brought them along. She then asked if I'd be willing to stop by and give her my thoughts. Like any dealer I asked "would in an hour be alright?".  At which point she said sure come on over and I did.  On the Boston North Shore a Chinese collection like this is not terribly uncommon but is rarely shared or sold, its always a thrill to see and hopefully to buy.
Upon arrival she was holding my much dog eared business card in her hand standing in the doorway, she glanced at it and said "ah yes, you are Mr. Combs, come right in". She had neatly arranged on the dining table a couple of objects from her grandfather's 1908 to 1911 trip.
On the table was a gilt decorated mark and period Kangxi bronze incense burner with it's original matching bronze base and square seal mark stamped into the bottom  and a lovely late 18th C. Qianlong Period Blanc de Chine meiping vase with peony relief work.
Blanc de Chine Beverly MaLooking at the two things, without touching them, I looked up at her and said these are both excellent and early. From there I proceeded to pick up the bronze. It was very heavy for it's size and wonderfully cast. It felt almost as if it were made of lead, solid thick and neatly made. The mark was crisp, perfectly centered very readable.

She went to explain that at one point their was a collection of bronzes similar to this one and other much older ones with thick green surfaces of "ancient styles". With masks and handles and pointy knobs sticking out all over. According to her, they had been sold 20 years ago and a few donated to a Boston Museum. She showed me a few old black and white pictures of the house while they were in place during the 1950's. There were Shang ritual pieces in the form of a Ding, Zun, a tall classical Gu vase and a three legged food vessel with loop ring handles..in the corner was a Western Zhou Gui with large loop end handles. Unfortunately the pictures were black and white but were a sight to see just the same. Also in one of the pictures was the Kangxi Bronze situated on the mantle. Her grandfather bought well in China, evidently there was much more, but had been dispersed among his children and then onto the grandchildren one of whom was the lady who called me. This was the end of the line after what I assumed had been several distributions during the last 50 to 70 years.

Detail of Chinese Blanc de chine vase
18th C. Blanc de Chine Chinese Meiping vase

Then onto the Blanc de Chine vase. It had an excellent color, evenly applied and very well potted and once again heavy for it's size. The details were neatly executed and coated with a smooth creamy perfectly toned white to ivory glaze. Once again the quality was very good, which apparently was a theme running through everything that had been collected when most of China's cultural history was for sale in the early 1900's.

The piece was in pristine condition, not so much as a minor scratch on it, nor any repairs of firing flaws.

After a bit more talk and a brief tour of the house..she had suggested we walk around and look at a few other things, her comment was simply.."let me show you the rest of the house while you come up with a number for both objects."  There she was handing me the assumed consent close! Her negotiating skills were superb and the line was drawn, which was actually a relief for me. Individual pricing always ends up turning into a hair splitting affair. In true Yankee style..she simply wanted one price for both and it would either be yeah or nea. The Bronze was by far more valuable and happily she knew it.

By the time we returned to the dining room, she smiled and simply said.."so how much for both"?, in her hand was a piece of paper cut from a magazine or catalog. I gave her the number I had in mind, she then burst out laughing and handed me the paper. It was cut from a Sothebys catalog. The price I had quoted was within 3% of the price a similar one had sold for a year or two earlier in London. She then said, "I guess you're getting the white piece for free". She was very smart knowing the commission for the bronze and the Blanc de chine would have netted her 20 to 25% less than what had been quoted by me. She had done her homework and played it very well.

And so it goes, I sold both pieces just fine, but the memory of the house call that day will always be a good one.

Filed Under: Chinese Art History Research Tagged With: antique chinese porcelain, bid amount, blanc de chine, blanc de chine porcelain, Boston's North Shore A Chinese Collection, chinese porcelain vase, dehua, kangxi bronze, kangxi mark, kangxi period, kangxi vase, qing dynasty ceramics, qing kangxi

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