The C. Philip Cardeiro Collection of Chinese Art

Christie’s is pleased to be opening Asian Art Week at Christie’s in London with a selection of 125 Chinese works of art from The C. Philip Cardeiro Collection. Philip Cardeiro was born in 1930 in Boston, Massachusetts, and at a very early age developed a fascination with world art and culture. He made his first acquisition in the 1940s, and thereafter began a lifetime of collecting which continued unabated for the next six decades, with the greatest bulk of his collecting taking place in the late 1960s and 70s. He epitomised the true collector, amassing a sizeable collection of porcelain, jades, cloisonné, scholar’s objects and furniture, amongst others.  Among the highlights from his collection in the current sale is a rare 18th/19th century zitan throne chair, baozuo, carved with dragons; a magnificent pair of finely carved 19th century zitan armchairs; a rare large Kangxi Period (1662–1722) langyao copper red baluster-shaped vase and a rare pair of 18th century famille rose enamelled ‘basket weave’ dishes, elegantly decorated with blossoming peony, chrysanthemum and magnolia flowers and foliage.