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AFTERNOON SESSION - 2.00PM THE PETER AND NANCY THOMPSON COLLECTION (LOTS 1354-1387 INCLUSIVE) Christies are delighted to offer selected Chinese ceramics, works of art and furniture from the collection of Peter and Nancy Thompson in this sale and in Chinese Interiors on May 15. The collection includes examples of the freely-painted 17th century Transitional period blue and white porcelain and the creamy 17th and 18th century Dehua ceramics for which the collection is well known. This assemblage also showcases the beauty of Tang, Song and Yuan dynasty ceramics and features a selection of huanghuali and zitan furniture, large brushpots and scholar's table objects. The Hong Kong-based Thompsons began collecting together after they married in 1970. They bought from international auction houses and leading dealers including J J Lally and major Hong Kong dealers. Many pieces offered here bear the paper labels from celebrated collections including those of E T Chow, Dr Ip Yee and D F A Riesco. Other ceramics have been published and exhibited in the University of Hull's Chinese Ceramics of the Transitional Period in 1985 and From The Tang to the Qing in 1996. A group of porcelain was also included in The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong's 1981 exhibition, Transitional Wares and Their Forerunners as well as in other OCS exhibitions. In a candid interview with Christie's, Nancy Thompson speaks of the couple's passion for collecting and recalls her first foray into buying at auction: "Oh, the fun of it, the excitement, I can't tell you! I generally always did the bidding because Peter used to get nervous. My very first auction on my own was at Christie's in London. It was quite frightening as there was a row of four or five dealers seated together in the front. I thought the only way I would be able to compete was if they thought I was a bit mad. So [when the blanc de chine came up] I held my pencil up in the air and kept it up. I paid over the odds for the first couple of pieces then the dealers stopped bidding when they saw I was bidding. I went back to Hong Kong with 15 pieces of blanc de chine. My husband couldn't believe it. We began collecting Dehua ceramics and Transitional porcelain because that is what we liked. But you also never tire of Song ceramics. The simpler the form the more I like it. The shape, the shape is what attracts me, that, and, of course, the glaze. We have always lived with everything and have never had anything put away. You could say we were not minimalists! Now we are simplifying our lives and it is time to sell our collection."

A BLUE AND WHITE BRUSH POT, BITONG

TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1630-50

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE BRUSH POT, BITONG
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1630-50
The slightly flaring cylindrical vessel is decorated with a continuous scene depicting two cowherds seated beneath leafy trees amongst rocks playing a guessing game while a water buffalo and its calf look on. This scene is painted between an incised floral border by the rim and a wave border by the foot rim.
6 3/8 in. (16.3 cm.) high

Provenance

The Peter and Nancy Thompson Collection

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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