Friday 15 April 2011

This Is Another One Of Those 'Good Luck' Stories

I like so much,
in case you are wondering what this object is, as I was before reading the headline, it is a fangyi vessel, used for carrying wine, made in the late Shang Dynasty, Circa BC 1300-1050, it is cast with mythical beasts and dragons, the second vessel at the auction by Bonhams, founded in 1793, which is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, is this one below,
this rare archaic ritual offering vessel, a fangzuo gui of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, Circa BC 1050-900, it features masks, dragons and a rim of silkworms with horned mythical beasts, they have a fascinating history from the owner, Mr J. Goldstein who emigrated in the 1920s from Poland to Canada, He settled in Toronto and had a thriving business trading in fur, designing, cutting and tailoring his own coats, His younger brother in 1939 fled Poland and was imprisoned in Siberia and ended up in Shanghai where he lived until the end of WWII, in Shanghai he was exposed to the Chinese culture, following WWII, members of the family, refugees at the time, were brought to Canada by Mr. Goldstein, most likely Goldstein acquired the objects in the 1960s, Mrs E. Sinclair, a granddaughter, inherited the collection now being sold, and the guide price? between £1.2 to £1.8 million the pair!

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