T he name Joseph Lau resonates with collectors around the globe and it is one that stands for excellence. Chinese art stands at the genesis of Joseph Lau’s adventure with art and it is on Chinese art that he cut his exacting eye before expanding his horizons. At the age of 27, Lau walked for the first time into a Sotheby’s preview in 1978, just before a time many consider to be the first golden age of Sotheby’s Hong Kong when the celebrated collections of J.M. Hu, T.Y. Chao, Paul and Helen Bernat and the British Rail Pension Fund came to market. During the following ten years, Lau assembled one of the finest collections of Chinese porcelain ever, articulated around masterpieces, each representative of the best of a certain period and type, and handpicked from the most prestigious collections.

The blue and white jar decorated with two makara dragons chasing each other appears to be unique and the powerful style of the painting and brilliance of the cobalt pigment epitomise the very finest that early Ming dynasty porcelain is so known for. The type of dragon that is represented on this jar is typical of Tibetan Buddhist iconography and the jar would once have adorned the hall of an imperial temple, most probably in the capital.

The blue and white dish decorated on the outside with dragons represents an exceedingly scarce example of the Chenghua reign more than half a century later, the most celebrated period in the Ming dynasty among porcelain connoisseurs. The creaminess of the white porcelain, infinitely soft tones of cobalt blue and the sensuous touch of the glaze on this dish are all trademarks of the wares from this most desirable period of which only two dozen examples survive to this day.

Among the Qing porcelains, the Lau collection includes a magnificent large famille-rose dish from the Yongzheng period decorated with flowering and fruiting peach branches which hails from the illustrious collections of Baron Iwasaki and Barabara Hutton. The peach, with the subtle shades of its skin, was the perfect subject matter for porcelain painters at the imperial kilns to experiment with the possibilities of the famille-rose pigments. A small number of comparable examples have survived to this day but the rendering differs on each and every example.

The very private collection of Chinese art of Joseph Lau occupies pride of place among the very finest ever assembled in the field and will delight connoisseurs of Chinese porcelains. This selection of beautiful pieces is an opportunity for the most discerning collectors to acquire a piece from his celebrated collection.

Nicolas Chow
Chairman, Sotheby’s Asia

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Gems of Imperial Porcelain from the Private Collection of Joseph Lau

劉鑾雄之名，在環宇收藏界中堪稱出類拔萃的標誌，常喚起關注與認同。早在探索旅程之初，劉氏已與中國藝術結緣，並在藏翫賞鑑過程中，鍛鍊得銳目利眼，成就後來拓展新域，廣納百川。1978年，劉氏年方二十七，首次踏足蘇富比預展。不久以後，胡惠春、趙從衍、伯納德伉儷及英國鐵路基金會等重要舊藏相繼釋出，精品復現市場，是以不少人指此乃香港蘇富比的首段黃金歲月。爾後十載，劉氏從顯赫舊藏中嚴選珍瓷，所蓄器物，無不超卓，堪稱朝代品類之冠。

劉氏所藏明永樂青花𧃍龍紋罐，妙繪二獸相互逐追，筆觸靈動，鈷藍濃艷，當屬明初臻絕之作，他例無尋，或為孤品。罐上所飾𧃍龍與藏傳佛教圖案吻合，推測應曾供皇家寺院內，甚或是京師佛教要地。

永樂朝半世紀後，成化御窰佳器，秀逸之至，為陶瓷鑑藏家嚮慕，然私人收藏中才僅二十餘件。劉氏藏成化青花盤，器外雅飾雲龍，誠當朝雅緻罕例。溫潤的瓷胎、淡雅的青花、柔滑的釉面，盡是成化御窰精妙的證據，無怪為人趨之若鶩。

劉氏典藏清代瓷器中，則有雍正粉彩福壽雙全圖大盤，桃花盛綻，果實纍纍，枝葉茂密，過牆而生，曾先後為岩崎男爵及芭芭拉．赫頓典藏，來源出眾。壽桃乃讓御窰藝匠發揮所長的絕佳題材，在嫩青與殷紅之間，變化微妙的粉彩調色活現了桃實之嬌豔欲滴。縱有數例傳世，每器繪畫稍異，不盡相同。

劉鑾雄雅存中國珍瓷，卓爾不凡，傲視同儕，鑑藏者之樂也。現呈美器選萃，誠難得良機，讓慧眼之士，同享藏鑑之趣。

仇國仕
蘇富比亞洲區主席