Lot 223
PAIR OF IMARI FLUTED JARS AND COVERS
MEIJI PERIOD
Auction: 13 March 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
明治 長命富貴款 伊萬里燒花卉紋瓜棱蓋罐（一對）
each with tapered lobed body densely decorated with floral sprays, the domed cover similarly decorated with large tear-drop finial, the base inscribed with a four-character ‘chō mei fu ki’ mark (2)
Dimensions
heights: 42.2cm and 40.3cm
Provenance
The Estate of Sir John and Lady Clare Keswick at Portrack House, Dumfriesshire.
Sir John Henry Keswick, KCMG (1906–1982) was an influential Scottish businessman in China and Hong Kong. He was the tai-pan of Jardine, Matheson & Co., the leading British trading firm in the Far East, and had established friendships with many Chinese politicians, including Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China, and Madame Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen during his stay in China. He was also a representative of the Special Operations Executive, a British intelligence service during the Second World War. Sir John spoke fluent Chinese. He was a Chinese art collector, particularly contemporary paintings.
He married Clare Mary Alice Cynthia Catherine Celia Elwes (1905–1998) in 1940 and had a child Margaret Keswick (1941–1995) who founded Maggie's Centres for those suffering from cancer.