.jpg?w=1)
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE MR. J. L. C. PEARCE (1918-2017) (LOTS 213-219 INCLUSIVE)Chinese Hardstone Carvings from the Late John Pearce (1918-2017) CollectionJohn Leitch Colmere Pearce was born in Hong Kong on 13 October 1918 into a family with a long connection in the Far East. His grandfather, the Rev Thomas William Pearce, spent nearly fifty years in China and worked as a missionary and translator. His father Thomas (Tam) Pearce was a prominent businessman in Hong Kong, and served as a Justice of the Peace and Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. John Pearce attended school at Charterhouse, and returned to Hong Kong to join the trading house, Hutchison International, in the mid-1930s.At the outbreak of the Second World War, John Pearce joined the Royal Artillery, manning the anti-aircraft guns near Deepwater Bay. On Christmas Day 1941, Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese after 18 days’ fierce fighting, during which Tam Pearce was killed in action and John was incarcerated in Sham Shui Po prisoner of war camp. In April 1942, he escaped through a sewage tunnel with three comrades, swimming into Chinese territory and eventually reaching Chungking after a journey of more than 600 miles. Rejoining the war effort as an intelligence officer, he assisted prisoners of war in escaping from Japanese camps. Major Pearce drew up an evasion map which was issued to all air forces operating in the Pacific, and was appointed an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by George VI for his intelligence work.He returned to Hutchison International after the war, remaining on the board until his retirement in 1968. A steward of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, he was a regular at Sha Tin racecourse, where he often presented the Pearce Memorial Cup to the winner of a race run in memory of his father. Racing was his lifelong passion and he became a noted bloodstock breeder and racehorse owner. His chief ambition was to breed and run a winner of the Derby. He never did, but came tantalingsly close in 2006 when his horse, Dragon Dancer, came second by a short head. For forty years, until he was in his nineties, he lived in some splendour in a suite at the Hong Kong Mandarin Oriental hotel. Known for his courtesy, generosity and straight dealing, he once declined an invitation to join the Queen in her box at Royal Ascot because he had already agreed to meet a friend for tea.Christie’s is delighted to present the John Pearce Collection of Chinese hardstone carvings, many of which were purchased from the renowned Chinese art dealer T. Y. King (金從怡) in the 1950s and 1960s.
A GREENISH-WHITE JADE SQUARE-SECTION BRUSH POT, BITONG
18TH CENTURY
细节
5 ¼ in. (13.3 cm.) high
来源
With T. Y. King & Sons, Hong Kong, 23 December 1963.
荣誉呈献
Samantha Yuen