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Item #42009 The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc. James ORANGE.
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The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc.
The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc.
The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc.
The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc.

The Chater Collection: Pictures Relating to China, Hongkong, Macao, 1655-1860; with Historical and Descriptive Letterpress by James Orange, Author of "Japanese Lacquer", "Bizenware", etc.

London: Thornton Butterworth Limited, 1924. Quarto. (12 1/8 x 9 3/4 inches). Number 11 of a limited edition of 750 copies. Title in red and black, small format errata slip inserted after p. 6. Photogravure portrait frontispiece of Chater, 5 maps (3 folding) lithographic maps (printed in two of three colours), 18 coloured plates with tissue guards, 243 half-tone plates recto and verso of 71 leaves, pp. 528.

Original green cloth, blocked in gilt and blind, t.e.g.

A very rare catalogue of an important early collection of art (mostly oil paintings, watercolors, sketches, and prints) from China, Hong Kong, and Macao.

This remarkable volume chronicles the extraordinary collection amassed by Sir Catchick Paul Chater, a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in Hong Kong, which was then a British colony. An energetic and innovative figure, Chater overcame significant disadvantages to build an enviable business empire and serve as Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council for 30 years until his death in 1926. The core of Chater's important collection was originally formed by Wyndham O. Law and bought en bloc by Chater at the urging of James Orange, the curator and author who meticulously catalogued the collection in 1924. Under Orange's advisement, Chater expanded the collection, which included 430 items such as oil paintings, watercolors, sketches, prints, and photographs. These works predominantly depicted 18th and 19th-century South China trading ports and British activities in China. The collection was presented in twelve main sections, including maps of China; foreign trade in China; early British diplomatic relations; China wars; Canton River; Canton; Macao; Hong Kong; treaty ports of China; shipping; North China (including Peking, imperial scenes, and Mandarin pictures); and a miscellaneous section. Chater's intention was for his vast collection of porcelain, prints, paintings, and his mansion, Marble Hall, to be bequeathed to the Hong Kong Government after his wife's death in 1935. Subsequently, Marble Hall became Admiralty House, the official residence of the Naval Commander in Chief. However, during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, much of Chater's magnificent collection was lost or greatly damaged. Of the original 430 items recorded, only 94 pieces survived and now form a valuable part of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Item #42009

Price: $2,000.00

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