Collection of Mark S. Pratt, Washington D.C.

Bonhams is pleased to offer works of art from the collection of Mark S. Pratt (班立德總領事). With deep family roots in Salem, Massachusetts, and as a relative of Frederick Townsend Ward (華爾, 1831-1862), Mark Pratt developed an interest in Chinese culture from an early age. A lifelong art collector, Mr. Pratt's distinguished United States State Department career afforded continuous opportunities for building an important collection over the course of sixty years.



Mr. Pratt made his first Chinese art purchase in 1947 while stationed in Qingdao with the United States Navy. Following his two-year service with the Pacific Fleet, and with academic training at Harvard University, Brown University, The Sorbonne, and Georgetown University, Mark Pratt joined the United States Foreign Service in 1956, his initial posting at the United States Embassy in Tokyo from 1957 to 1959. Moving to Taichung, Taiwan to continue Chinese language study in the years 1959-1960, his next station was Hong Kong, serving as the Mainland Economic Officer at the United States Embassy until 1963. With later posts in Laos and Paris, Mark Pratt was head of the Taiwan desk prior to finishing his career as Consul General at the Guangdong Consulate in 1989, his retirement ending three years of service in that position.



Witnessing the momentous geo-political transformation in Asia during the second half of the twentieth century, Mr. Pratt's keen collector's eye was also perpetually on the lookout for a treasure. Patronizing many of the most hallowed names in the Chinese art market, he discovered outstanding paintings and Song dynasty porcelain at Tokyo's Confucian Temple (Yushima Seido) and purchased works of art from Kusaka Shogado in the 1950's. In the decades that followed, the antique shops and art galleries in Taipei and Hong Kong were frequent haunts, making key purchases of Ming and Qing paintings from Chang Ding-chen and fine huanghuali furniture from Y.K. Ma. Mark Pratt's diplomatic role afforded him contact with numerous living painters and calligraphers; he met Zhang Daqian on several occasions and formed a lasting bond with Tang Hong (唐鴻, b.1926), a student of Yu Fei'an who relocated to Taichung after 1949 and later to Hong Kong, concurrent with Mr. Pratt's diplomatic postings.



Many objects from the Pratt collection are now entering the market for the first time in fifty years, making this offering a truly rare and remarkable find.



美國華盛頓班立德總領事收藏

邦瀚斯謹此盛意推介班立德總領事收藏的精美藝術品。出身於馬薩諸賽州塞勒姆望族，作為 Frederick Townsend Ward (沃德, 1831-1862) 旁系親屬的班立德總領事早年即對中國文化產生了濃厚的興趣。作為一個矢志一生的收藏家，班立德成功的外交官生涯六十年來為其提供許多機遇以構築此重要的收藏。



1947年，當班立德供職於一艘以青島為基地的美國海軍艦船時，購入了首件中國藝術品。結束其在太平洋艦隊的兩年服役後，因為其在布朗大學、佛儸倫薩大學、索邦大學和喬治城大學所接受的中國和日本語言、文化、歷史方面的學術訓練，班立德於1956年加入了美國外交部。他的首任期是1957至1959年供職於東京的美國大使館。1959年至1960年，他前往台灣台中市繼續學習中國語言文化。其後直至1963年，他前往香港擔任美國大使館的大陸經濟官，其後又依次轉任至老撾、巴黎。後任美國在台協會處長，於1989年遷駐廣州，任總領事，供職三年後於此任榮休。



目睹了二十世紀下半葉亞洲地區地緣政治的巨大變革的同時，班立德總領事作為一個熱衷的藝術品藏家，他也始終聚焦於蒐集珍稀的藝術精品。二十世紀五十年代，他光顧了諸多中國藝術品市場上備受推崇的商家，在東京孔廟（湯島聖堂）收獲了書畫精品和宋瓷，在 Kusaka Shogado 處買到古玩工藝品。其後數十年間，他頻頻穿梭於台北和香港的古董店以及畫廊，從張鼎臣處購入了重要的明清字畫，Y. K. Ma 處購入了精美的黃花梨傢俱。班立德總領事的外交官生涯也讓他接觸到了眾多當世的畫家和書法家。他數次和張大千會面，並且和于非闇的學生唐鴻（生於1926年）建立了長期的聯繫。後者1949年後徙居台中，後來又移居香港，和班立德總領事的幾次轉任恰恰偶合。



班立德總領事的許多重要藏品，五十年來首次在拍場中亮相，實屬難得。