HOBSON, Robert Lockhart.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Catalogue of the Leonard Gow Collection of Chinese Porcelain. Signed limited edition, number 247 of 300 copies, signed and numbered by Leonard Gow. This beautifully printed catalogue, serving as both an invaluable reference and a monument to Gow's connoisseurship, introduces 421 pieces from his extraordinary collection of Qing dynasty porcelain, with almost 200 illustrated in the attractive plates. Qing ceramics are considered to be the apotheosis of the artform, displaying both technical sophistication and a refined aesthetic.Gow (1859-1936) was a prominent Scottish businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune by expanding his father's international shipping firm. Similar to other contemporaries such as Anthony de Rothschild, Gow adorned his residence with hundreds of Chinese porcelain wares, in his case at Camis Eskan near Glasgow.His collection was first profiled by the author, a noted Chinese art expert, in a series of articles for Burlington Magazine in the early 1920s. Subsequently, Gow financed the production of this catalogue "to pass on to brother collectors, to some extent at least, the joy I have myself experienced in building up the Collection piece by piece" (foreword).Overall, a lavish addition to any art collector's library.

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