FROM THE COLLECTION OF T. JACK & GLADYS H. FOSTER
SOLD BY
THE ESTATE OF GLADYS H. FOSTER
(LOTS 397-442)
T. JACK & GLADYS FOSTER
T. Jack Foster and Gladys Hutchins met while attending the University of Oklahoma at Norman. They married in 1922 and chose to remain in Norman where they made their home for the next thirty-five years. T. Jack Foster was in a variety of successful businesses but always had time to serve his community. He was mayor of Norman and, in recognition of his many contributions to his city and state, in 1964 was, given Norman's Quarter-Century Award, admitted to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and the Horatio Alger Award from the American Schools and Colleges Association.
The Fosters moved to Pebble Beach, California in the late 1950's and, in 1960, embarked on the development of Foster City, California, in the San Francisco Bay area with their three sons. The development is now a thriving city of 30,000 people and is the U. S. headquarters of Visa International, Applied Biosystems, Gilead Sciences and others.
In 1952 the Fosters acquired their first jade, an apple green and pale lavender figure of a female immortal (lot 421). They found it at Marsh's Oriental Antique Store in Monterey, California. With that purchase they were hooked on Chinese antique art, particularly jade. They added other pieces from time to time until, in the early 1960's, they acquired the entire Cyrus J. Curtis Collection from the Joseph Sartor Galleries in Dallas, Texas. All of the corals and a majority of the other items came with this collection. Other acquisitions came from a variety of sources, including Gump's, Marsh's, estate sales and private offerings as their reputation as collectors grew.
T. Jack Foster died in 1968. Gladys subsequently closed their Pebble Beach home and moved to San Mateo to be near her sons and grandchildren. She brought the collection with her. She died in February, 1995, at the age of 94.
A LARGE PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE VASE AND COVER
Details
A LARGE PALE GREENISH-WHITE JADE VASE AND COVER
Of flattened baluster form, carved in high relief with a slender phoenix perched on rockwork to one side and a scaly five-clawed dragon clambering over the other side in pursuit of a large flaming pearl enveloped by stylized clouds carved in low relief on the body of the vessel, all below a pair of dragon's head loop handles suspending loose rings at the waisted neck and the domed cover with similar, smaller handles, surmounted by an openwork, double dragon finial, the opaque, grayish-green stone with pale russet inclusions (flaws)
15in. (38.2cm.) high, drilled, wood stand
Of flattened baluster form, carved in high relief with a slender phoenix perched on rockwork to one side and a scaly five-clawed dragon clambering over the other side in pursuit of a large flaming pearl enveloped by stylized clouds carved in low relief on the body of the vessel, all below a pair of dragon's head loop handles suspending loose rings at the waisted neck and the domed cover with similar, smaller handles, surmounted by an openwork, double dragon finial, the opaque, grayish-green stone with pale russet inclusions (flaws)
15in. (38.2cm.) high, drilled, wood stand