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THE FRYERS COLLECTION OF CHINESE ART (LOTS 1108-1131 INCLUSIVE)
The Fryers Collection of Chinese art
Dr Gordon Fryers (1922-2008) and Dr Rosemary Fryers (1922-1994)
Gordon and Rosemary Fryers' fascination for Chinese art and culture began early in their medical careers. After qualifying as doctors they moved to Singapore in 1946 where they made their first purchases of Chinese art.
Gordon was posted to Singapore on National Service with the Royal Army Medical Corps while Rosemary managed to secure a position in a civilian hospital. She travelled there on a troop ship. Not only was she one of very few women on board, she was also the only passenger not to succumb to dreadful sea sickness.
Singapore gave them their first exposure to Chinese art and culture but it was not until the 1960s that the Fryers started collecting in earnest. By 1960 Gordon was working for international firms and travelling to far-flung places. What he saw on his business trips led him to believe China would rise to prominence as a major player in the world economy and its art would become much sought after.
At that point, Rosemary and Gordon decided to marry their interests in Chinese art with what they had the foresight to see was an investment opportunity. Whenever the opportunity arose, Gordon would visit major museums around the world to study their Asian collections.
Over a 15-year period during the 1960s and 70s, as their budgets permitted, Gordon and Rosemary bought items from leading auction houses and key Chinese dealers such as Mr Ying and Mr René Kitchen. They gradually built their collection with the help and advice of knowledgeable friends, amongst them the noted collector Dr Wou Kiuan.
Rosemary grew up in a family with a long-standing interest in antiques and different cultures. Her grandfather had been a shrewd, hard-working business man who, from humble beginnings, had risen to become wealthy. His eldest son, Rosemary's father, travelled widely and collected. He had a particular interest in works of art from the Far East.
A PAIR OF GOLD-SPLASHED TRIPOD CENSERS
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Details
A PAIR OF GOLD-SPLASHED TRIPOD CENSERS
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Each censer of compressed globular form, with two qilin applied to the rim forming the loop handles, the body splashed in gold in contrast to the dark patina, apocryphal Xuande six-character mark cast to the bases.
7½ in. (19 cm.) across the handles. (2)
18TH/19TH CENTURY
Each censer of compressed globular form, with two qilin applied to the rim forming the loop handles, the body splashed in gold in contrast to the dark patina, apocryphal Xuande six-character mark cast to the bases.
7½ in. (19 cm.) across the handles. (2)
Provenance
The Fryers Collection of Chinese Art
Sotheby's London, 24 October 1967, lot 36
Sotheby's London, 24 October 1967, lot 36
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