Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
Lot 22
A pair of yellow-glazed incised 'dragon' bowls Tongzhi six-character marks and of the period
10 November 2016, 10:30 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £3,750 inc. premium
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A pair of yellow-glazed incised 'dragon' bowls
Tongzhi six-character marks and of the period
The curved sides rising from a short foot to a slightly everted rim, each incised around the exterior each with two dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst wisps and billowing waves, applied overall with a rich egg-yolk-yellow ground, the base glazed white.
Each 14.4cm (5 5/8in) diam. (2).
The curved sides rising from a short foot to a slightly everted rim, each incised around the exterior each with two dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst wisps and billowing waves, applied overall with a rich egg-yolk-yellow ground, the base glazed white.
Each 14.4cm (5 5/8in) diam. (2).
Footnotes
清同治 黃釉刻雲龍戲珠紋盌 一對
青花「大清同治年製」楷書款
Provenance: Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) nos.51A and 51B, and thence by descent.
來源：Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper(1895-1981)先生收藏，藏品編號51A及51B，並由後人保存迄今
Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1981)
Gaze Cooper, as he was known, was a prolific composer and musician, writing his first serious piece, a piano concerto, in 1923. He studied at the Royal College of Music and his many compositions included four piano concertos, eight symphonies, an opera and many piano pieces.
His other great passion in life was collecting Egyptian, Chinese and Greek art and antiquities. Gaze Cooper's collection was most impressive and Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the famed archaeologist, often spoke of a rare artefact saying that 'there are only two of its kind, one in the British museum and the other in the Gaze Cooper collection'. In 1950 he was pictured in the Nottingham Evening News, cradling a Tang figure of Guanyin.
Gaze Cooper was a piano and theory teacher throughout his life, still teaching at the age of 85 a few weeks before he died. He taught at the Midland Conservatoire of Music and later at a studio in Nottingham and in his home in Long Eaton. His pupils were of all ages and he was well known for his charisma, enthusiasm, and quirky ways, which endeared him to many. He was, however, a hard task master expecting nothing less than his own commitment in others.
His pupils sometimes came face to face with his Asian art collection as he often took a piece to place on the piano in his studio to help him to feel at home. Always willing to share his knowledge, he enjoyed giving lectures locally where he would take prized objects with him to talk about.
In 1933 he founded the Midland Conservatoire of Music Symphony Orchestra which become the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in 1942 and is still going strong today.
Compare with a similar yellow-glazed bowl, Tongzhi six-character mark and of the period, sold at Sotheby's London on 15 May 2013, lot 235.
