Chinese Art Objects, Collecting, and Interior Design in Twentieth-Century Britain 9781032135403, 9781032137827, 9781003230779

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 Chinese Porcelain in European Style: Visuality, Connectivity, and Otherness
Origins: Refashioning and Repurposing Chinese Porcelain for Europe
Rebranding Chinese Porcelain: Armorial Wares and Special Commissions
Exclusivity and Connectivity: Chinese Porcelain in Eighteenth-Century Europe
European Style Porcelain at the Eighteenth-Century Chinese Court
Gendering Porcelain Consumption: Fact or Fiction?
Collecting European Style Chinese Porcelain: The British National Collections
The Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain in the Public Sphere
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 2 Basil Ionides: Collecting, Interior Design, and Museums
The Ionides Family: Collectors, Patrons, and Benefactors
Basil Ionides: Architect and “Decorator”
Professional Recognition and Commercial Success: Claridge’s Restaurant (1926–1927)
“Modernism with a Chinese Flavour”: The Savoy Hotel and Theatre (1929)
Interior Design in Print: Writing and Publishing (1922–1936)
Colour Theory and Interior Decoration: Books by Basil Ionides
Modernism and Chinese Art: Aesthetic and Cultural Debates
The Bequest of “Eastern Ceramics with Armorial Decorations” at the V&A
Basil Ionides the Collector
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 3 Fashioning the Collector: Nellie Ionides and Chinese Porcelain
The Anglo-Jewish Elite and Art Collecting
“Knew What She Wanted and Got It!” Nellie Ionides’ Chinese Porcelain Collection
Social and Commercial Networks: Dealers, Agents, and Auctioneers
Public Engagement: Museums, Art Galleries, and Exhibitions
Nellie Ionides and the Chinese Art World
Art, Identity, and Jewishness
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 4 Chinese Art and the English Country House: Elite Fashion, Taste, and Display
The Historiography of Chinoiserie
The Neo-Georgian Revival: Chinoiserie, the Chinese Room, and Chinese Porcelain
Collectible Object/Article of Display?
The Ionides at Buxted Park: Restoration and “Decoration” Before the War
Shared Patterns of Taste in Elite Society
Object as Artefact/Object as Ornament
Gilded Buddhas, Ancestor Portraits, and Tang Figurines: Chinese Art as Interior Design
Notes
Bibliography
Chapter 5 The Impact of War: Collecting Chinese Art 1940–1950
Buxted Park during Wartime: Destruction and “Rehabilitation”
Cased Objects and Systematic Collecting
The Wartime Activities of the Ionides
The British Art Ecosystem: Auctioneers, Dealers, and Agents
Private Purchase: The Circulation of Chinese Art Objects in Elite Society
The Ionides and the Oriental Ceramic Society
Post-War Aspirations: Collections, Museums, and the National Trust
The Afterlife of the Ionides Collection
Notes
Bibliography
Conclusion
Index

Citation preview

Chinese Art Objects, Collecting, and Interior Design in Twentieth-Century Britain

This book explores the relationship between collecting Chinese ceramics, interior design and display in Britain through the eyes of collectors, designers, and tastemakers during the years leading to, during and following the Second World War. The Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain forms the nucleus of this study – defined by its design hybridity – offering insights into the agency of Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts, from seventeenth-century Batavia to ­twentieth-century Britain, raising questions about notions of Chineseness, Britishness, and identity politics across time and space. Through the biographies of the collectors, this book highlights the role of collecting Chinese art objects, particularly porcelain, in the construction of individual and group identities. Social networks linking the Ionides to agents and dealers, auctioneers, and museum specialists bring into focus the ­dynamics of collecting during this period, the taste of the Ionides and their selffashioning as collectors. The book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of art history, history of collections, interior design, Chinese studies, and material culture studies. Helen Glaister, PhD, is the Course Director of the Arts of Asia Programme, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, UK.

The Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1700–1950 Series Editor: Stacey J. Pierson, SOAS University of London

The Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1700–1950 provides a forum for the broad study of object acquisition and collecting practices in their global dimensions. The series seeks to illuminate the intersections between material culture studies, art history, and the history of collecting. It takes as its starting point the idea that objects both contributed to the formation of knowledge in the past and likewise contribute to our understanding of the past today. The human relationship to objects has proven a rich field of scholarly inquiry, with much recent scholarship either anthropological or sociological rather than art historical in perspective. Underpinning this series is the idea that the physical nature of objects contributes substantially to their social meanings, and therefore that the visual, tactile, and sensual dimensions of objects are critical to their interpretation. This series therefore seeks to bridge anthropology and art history, sociology, and aesthetics. The Emergence of the Antique and Curiosity Dealer in Britain 1815-1850 The Commodification of Historical Objects Mark Westgarth Nordic Private Collections of Chinese Objects Minna Törmä Fashionability, Exhibition Culture and Gender Politics Fair Women Meaghan Clarke Women and the Art and Science of Collecting in Eighteenth-Century Europe Edited by Arlene Leis and Kacie Wills Private Collectors of Islamic Art in Late Nineteenth-Century London The Persian Ideal Isabelle Gadoin François Boucher and the Art of Collecting in Eighteenth-Century France Jessica Priebe Chinese Art Objects, Collecting, and Interior Design in Twentieth-Century Britain Helen Glaister For more information about this series, please visit: www​.routledge​.com​/The​-Histories​ -of​-Material​-Culture​-and​-Collecting​-1700​-1950​/book​-series​/ASHSER2128

Chinese Art Objects, Collecting, and Interior Design in TwentiethCentury Britain

Helen Glaister

Cover image: Bribery and Corruption, c. 1915 by William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881–1941). Public Domain. First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Helen Glaister The right of Helen Glaister to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-032-13540-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-13782-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-23077-9 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779 Typeset in Sabon by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

Contents

List of Figures viii Preface xii Introduction xiv HELEN GLAISTER

1 Chinese Porcelain in European Style: Visuality, Connectivity, and Otherness

1

HELEN GLAISTER

Origins: Refashioning and Repurposing Chinese Porcelain for Europe 2 Rebranding Chinese Porcelain: Armorial Wares and Special Commissions  3 Exclusivity and Connectivity: Chinese Porcelain in Eighteenth-Century Europe  5 European Style Porcelain at the Eighteenth-Century Chinese Court  14 Gendering Porcelain Consumption: Fact or Fiction?  17 Collecting European Style Chinese Porcelain: The British National Collections  19 The Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain in the Public Sphere  21 Notes 25 Bibliography 29 2 Basil Ionides: Collecting, Interior Design, and Museums

33

HELEN GLAISTER

The Ionides Family: Collectors, Patrons, and Benefactors  33 Basil Ionides: Architect and “Decorator”  38 Professional Recognition and Commercial Success: Claridge’s Restaurant (1926–1927)  38 “Modernism with a Chinese Flavour”: The Savoy Hotel and Theatre (1929)  40 Interior Design in Print: Writing and Publishing (1922–1936)  40 Colour Theory and Interior Decoration: Books by Basil Ionides  43 

vi  Contents Modernism and Chinese Art: Aesthetic and Cultural Debates  49 The Bequest of “Eastern Ceramics with Armorial Decorations” at the V&A  51 Basil Ionides the Collector  52 Notes 53 Bibliography 57 3 Fashioning the Collector: Nellie Ionides and Chinese Porcelain

60

HELEN GLAISTER

The Anglo-Jewish Elite and Art Collecting  60 “Knew What She Wanted and Got It!” Nellie Ionides’ Chinese Porcelain Collection  66 Social and Commercial Networks: Dealers, Agents, and Auctioneers 69 Public Engagement: Museums, Art Galleries, and Exhibitions  74 Nellie Ionides and the Chinese Art World  77 Art, Identity, and Jewishness  78 Notes 80 Bibliography 85 4 Chinese Art and the English Country House: Elite Fashion, Taste, and Display

89

HELEN GLAISTER

The Historiography of Chinoiserie  90 The Neo-Georgian Revival: Chinoiserie, the Chinese Room, and Chinese Porcelain  91 Collectible Object/Article of Display?  94 The Ionides at Buxted Park: Restoration and “Decoration” Before the War  95 Shared Patterns of Taste in Elite Society  102 Object as Artefact/Object as Ornament  109 Gilded Buddhas, Ancestor Portraits, and Tang Figurines: Chinese Art as Interior Design  110 Notes 113 Bibliography 118 5 The Impact of War: Collecting Chinese Art 1940–1950 HELEN GLAISTER

Buxted Park during Wartime: Destruction and “Rehabilitation”  121 Cased Objects and Systematic Collecting  131 The Wartime Activities of the Ionides  134 The British Art Ecosystem: Auctioneers, Dealers, and Agents  135 Private Purchase: The Circulation of Chinese Art Objects in Elite Society 137

121

Contents vii The Ionides and the Oriental Ceramic Society  139 Post-War Aspirations: Collections, Museums, and the National Trust 142 The Afterlife of the Ionides Collection  144 Notes 148 Bibliography 152 Conclusion 155 HELEN GLAISTER

Index

158

Figures

1.1 Ewer, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, with engraved silver cover and spout, Jingdezhen, China, c.1542–1550. Height: 33 cm x Width: 23 cm. V&A: C.222–1931. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 3 1.2 Mustard pot, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Jingdezhen, China, 1630–1640. V&A: C.67–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 4 1.3 Dish, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Jingdezhen, China, c.1700. Diameter: 25 cm. V&A: C.68–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 6 1.4 Jug, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Arita, Japan, c.1665– 1675. Height: 8.375in. V&A: C.65–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 7 1.5 Figure of Dutch merchant with monkey, porcelain made in Dehua, China, overdecorated with enamels in Holland, c.1700. V&A: C.17– 1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 8 1.6 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels in Guangzhou, China, c.1730. Diameter: 25.1 cm. V&A: C.72–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 9 1.7 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels and gilding in Guangzhou, China, c.1740–1750. Diameter: 22.35 cm. V&A: C.28–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 10 1.8 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels and gilding in Guangzhou, China, c.1750. Diameter: 23 cm. © 2015 Christie’s Images Limited 11 1.9 Plate, porcelain with overglaze enamels, China, c.1740. Diameter: 15.56 cm. V&A: C.87–1963. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 12 1.10 Left: Vase, porcelain decorated with enamels and gilding with Martin Luther, Jingdezhen, China, 1730–1760. Height: 21.1 cm. V&A: C.481951. Right: Vase, porcelain decorated with enamels and gilding with John Calvin, Jingdezhen, China, 1730–1760. Height: 22 cm. V&A: C.47-1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 13 1.11 Figure of Hercules, porcelain with overglaze enamels, Jingdezhen, China, c.1760. Height: 13 cm. V&A: C.101–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 14 1.12 Figure of Hercules, porcelain, Dehua, China, c.1760. Height: 12.7 cm. V&A: Circ.166–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 15 

Figures ix 1.13 Flask, porcelain with overglaze enamels and gilding, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Beijing, China, 1736–1795. Height: 10.2 cm x Diameter: 8.9 cm. V&A: C.50–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 16 1.14 Punch bowl, porcelain with overglaze enamels, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, 1760–1770. Height:14.73 cm x Diameter: 35.31 cm. V&A: C.22–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 18 1.15 Tea caddy, porcelain with overglaze enamels and gilding, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, c.1740. Height: 12.7 cm x Diameter: 7 cm. V&A: C.144&A–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 19 1.16 Pair of painted enamel copper vases and covers, Guangzhou, China, Qianlong mark and period (1736–1795). Height with cover: 45.5 cm. Reproduced with permission of the Oriental Ceramic Society. Photograph taken by Christie’s 24 2.1 The Family of Alexander Constantine Ionides, oil on canvas, painted by George Frederick Watts (1817–1904), c.1840. V&A: CAI,1147. Left to right: Mr Alexander Ionides, Aglaia Ionides, Mrs Alexander Ionides, Alexander Ionides, Luke Ionides, Constantine Alexander Ionides. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 35 2.2 Portrait of Mrs Luke Ionides (1848–1929), oil on canvas, William Blake Richmond (1842–1921), Exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, 1882. E.1062:1&2–2003, V&A. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 36 2.3 Photograph of recess in Claridge’s restaurant with etched glass screen, 1930. RIBA23749, RIBApix. © Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections 39 2.4 Savoy Theatre, 1929. RIBA8663, RIBApix. © Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections 41 2.5 “A Furnishing Scheme Showing a Successful Use of Pinks,” from a picture by W.B.E. Ranken, in Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (Country Life Publishing, 1926), Plate III, p. 16 45 2.6 “Decorative Schemes in Pink,” in Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (Country Life Publishing, 1926), p. 15 46 2.7 Bowl, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Jingdezhen. Height: 7.6 cm x Diameter: 22.9 cm. V&A: C.1065–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 47 2.8 Vase, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Jingdezhen, Height: 49.5 cm x Width: 14 cm. V&A: C.1286–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 48 2.9 God of Longevity, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Jingdezhen. Height: 48.3 cm. V&A: C.1271–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 48 2.10 “Set of shelves with ceramics,” in Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms (Country Life Publishing, 1934), p. 76 49 2.11 “Georgian corner cupboard with striped shelves,” in Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms (Country Life Publishing, 1934), p. 78 49

x  Figures 3.1 Dish, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China. Diameter: 20.3 cm. V&A: 1944–1855, ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 62 3.2 Figure, Boddhisatva Kannon, lacquered and gilded wood, gilt bronze, crystals, and stones, Kamakura Period (early fourteenth century), Japan. One of pair. Height: 87 cm. BM: 1886, 0322.7. © Trustees of the British Museum 64 3.3 Nellie Ionides, photographed with Chinese porcelain in her collection 67 3.4 Figure of a woman in Jewish costume, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels and gilding, c.1740, Jingdezhen, China. Height: 42.3 cm. V&A: C.94–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 70 3.5 Interior of 49 Berkeley Square, in Margaret Jourdain, “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs Ionides’ Collection,” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XXVII (June 1938), pp. 300–305 72 3.6 Bowl and dish, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, Yongzheng mark, and period (1723–1735). Bowl diameter 10.4 cm. Dish diameter: 14.2 cm. BM:1015.7.a–b. © Trustees of the British Museum 75 3.7 Incense burner, Ru stoneware, Northern Song, late eleventh to early twelfth century, Henan Province, China. Diameter: 248 mm x Height: 153 mm. PDF A44. © Trustees of the British Museum 79 4.1 Art Deco Bathroom at Upton House, 1936. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 92 4.2 Chinese Room at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 93 4.3 Basil Ionides arranging flowers at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/ Future Publishing Lt 96 4.4 The Pink Bedroom at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Lt 98 4.5 The Regency Library at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 99 4.6 Young Man at Warbrook, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1932. Worcester City Museum 100 4.7 Punch Bowl, polychrome enamels and gilding on porcelain, Jingdezhen, China, c.1750–1755. Height: 15.8 cm x Diameter: 40.5 cm. C.23–1951. ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London 101 4.8 Basil Ionides’ Study at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 102 4.9 “A Little Portfolio of Good Interiors,” Oliver Hill, House and Garden, 1921, p. 33 103 4.10 Elephants at Warbrook Hall, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1930 104 4.11 Mr James Hunter Gray’s Flat in Chantry House, by Oliver Hill, House and Garden, February 1921. p. 26 105 4.12 Ranken’s House in Black and White, House and Garden, August 1921. p. 43 108 5.1 The New Entrance Hall with display cabinets, 1950. © Country Life/ Future Publishing Ltd 124

Figures xi 5.2 “Seated Dutchman” cistern, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, c.1760– 1780. Height: 33 cm. V&A: C.6–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 124 5.3 In the Saloon, concealed display of Chinese ivories and other carvings, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 125 5.4 Concealed display cabinet in the Library, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 125 5.5 Cup and saucer, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China, c.1740. V&A: CIRC.148&A–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 126 5.6 The China Room, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 127 5.7 The Cabinet, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 127 5.8 The Chinese Room, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd 128 5.9 The Chinese Room, 1950. Doorway to the Hall. © Country Life/ Future Publishing Ltd 130 5.10 Basil Ionides in the Chinese Room, private photograph courtesy of the Buxted Parish Church 130 5.11 Basil and Nellie Ionides in the grounds at Buxted Park, private photograph courtesy of the Buxted Parish Church 131 5.12 Nellie Ionides with Clicquot, c.1945 135 5.13 Bowl and saucer, porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China, c.1730–1735. Height: 5.6 cm x Diameter:15.2 cm. V&A: C.51&A-1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 136 5.14 Figure of a Dutchman and woman dancing, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, late eighteenth century, Jingdezhen, China. Height: 23.5 cm x Length: 11.7 cm. V&A: C.96-1963. Basil Ionides Bequest. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 140 5.15 Figure of a European Man and Woman, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, Jingdezhen, China, c.1700. Height: 24.9 cm (male), 22.6cm (female). V&A: C.109 & A-1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 145 5.16 Figure of a Chinese Man in an Arbour, porcelain with overglaze enamels, Meissen, Germany, c.1730. Height: 24.1 cm. © 2018 Christies Images Limited 147

Preface

In my years working first at the British Museum and later the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London, I first encountered and later puzzled on the history of those objects at the centre of this book. Situated not only in galleries of Chinese art, but those dedicated to the history of British and European art and design, the distinctive European style of Chinese porcelains of diverse shape, functionality, and decoration presented a series of questions centred both on the production and consumption of such pieces, and their role as collectible art objects and articles of use. Who were these objects originally intended for and how were they first perceived? Perhaps most importantly, why were these Chinese porcelains produced in European style? On further investigation, it became clear that numerous individual objects, each deserving special attention, shared a common history and once constituted part of a single private collection whose biography had been largely forgotten. The Ionides Collection, which today constitutes a significant part of the British collections of Chinese export porcelain, would later form the focus of my doctoral research and provided the starting point for this book. Through the lives of the collectors and the collection, I was led into the parallel fields of interior design and high society decoration, museums and collecting societies, auction houses, dealers and agents, where the public and private display of Chinese art objects denoted a series of alternative meanings. As the book evolved, the story extended into the field of Jewish collecting and collectors in Britain, which had a particular resonance for the Ionides during the second quarter of the twentieth century when the Chinese art collections started to take shape. In the course of my research, numerous museum curators, archivists, and librarians provided essential access to important photographic, documentary, and textual sources as well as those objects at the centre of this book. I am particularly grateful to curators Yu Ping Luk and Jessica Harrison-Hall at the British Museum and V&A archivist Nicholas Smith who were generous with their time and experience. Extensive archival research allowed me to construct, as far as possible, the history of the collection and the collectors for the first time and I would like to thank the following institutions for their assistance: the University of Southampton, Country Life Picture Library, East Sussex Record Office, Cambridge University Library, SOAS Library (University of London), Kings College Archive Centre (University of Cambridge), National Art Library (NAL), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the National Archives (Kew), and the Royal Archives. In addition, a number of private individuals, interviewed in the course of my research, provided valuable insights into the lives of the Ionides and their art 

Preface xiii collections. The recollections of Sotheby’s experts Marcus Linell, John Mallet, and Colin Mackay offered first-hand accounts of the Ionides in their lifetime, shedding light on the collector/auctioneer relationship and the dynamics of the art market. I also thank Luisa Vinhais of Jorge Welsh (London/Lisbon) and Jules Speelman of A.J. Speelman (London) for providing up to date information regarding Ionides objects which continue to circulate in the art market today. Members of the extended Ionides family, John Ionides and Camilla Panufnik also showed an interest in this research from its inception for which I am grateful. In constructing a biography for Nellie Ionides, the scope of this book extended into field of Jewish collectors and collecting, a subject which has attracted increasing scholarly interest in recent years. I would like to thank the Jewish Museum in London for identifying and allowing access to objects in their collections gifted by Nellie and her brother Walter, and archival documents which highlighted Nellie’s activities during wartime. On the early family history, I am extremely grateful to Tom Stammers and William Clarence-Smith for sharing their insights into the activities of the Samuels in England and wider trading activities throughout East Asia. I thank Michelle Leake and members of the National Trust at Upton Park for allowing access to the property and archival documents which further enhanced my appreciation of the significance of the Samuels within the Jewish community at home and abroad. The life of Basil Ionides proved elusive from the outset, and his life story is largely understood through the lens of his professional output as architect, “decorator” and writer. On interior design, I am grateful to Vanessa Vanden Berghe who offered valuable guidance regarding the relationship between Ionides and Oliver Hill, the influence of Chinese art and concepts of twentieth-century chinoiserie on their design practice and that of others during the interwar period. I would like to thank Vivienne Blandford and the Buxted Parish Church for sharing previously unseen photographs of the designer/collector during the final stages of this book, which allowed the private lives of the Ionides to emerge. At SOAS, University of London, Louise Tythacott and Stacey Pierson shared their extensive scholarly experience and knowledge in the field of collecting which helped shape my own research methodology and approaches to this subject. Stacey Pierson also helped bring my primary research to a wider readership in the form of this book, for which I am extremely grateful. As my first monograph, I thank all those at Routledge for supporting the publication, and editors Isabella Vitti and Katie Armstrong for bringing this project to completion. Finally, I would like to thank family and friends who have taken an interest in my research; for enquiring, listening, discussing, and spurring me on when needed. To my parents, for your unerring encouragement, and most of all, to my husband and children.

Introduction Helen Glaister

Since their first arrival in Britain, Chinese art objects have been coveted by collectors and consumers, valued both for their rare material properties and distinctive visual characteristics, never more so than during the first decades of the twentieth-century. At the time, England, or more precisely London, had become a nexus for collectors of Chinese art, in particular ceramics, whose names are now well-known, having been memorialized in museums across the country.1 The Ionides Collection, upon which this book is based, has remained outside the leading histories of collecting but as this book will show, constitutes a major body of work, a large part of which is now held in the British national collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum in London. The lack of visibility for the collection over the past fifty years, in the literature of collection histories, reflects shifting patterns of taste in collecting Chinese ceramics and wider modernist discourses which have relegated Chinese export porcelain, the primary focus of the collection, to the realm of “second class.” Often colourful and heavily decorated with pictorial and ornamental motifs, for many collectors, scholars, and museum specialists, this style of porcelain lacked the aesthetic appeal and perceived authenticity they demanded. As we will see, through the lens of interior design and the fashion for the Neo-Georgian, Chinese export porcelain denoted a series of alternative meanings – continuity, stability, luxury, individuality, and status – but perhaps most of all, eighteenth-century “Britishness” during a period of profound change and transition between the Wars. This book begins with an exploration of the Ionides Collection, a collection defined by its design hybridity; elements of European and Chinese style jostle for our attention on porcelains of diverse shape and form, functionality, and decoration, creating objects which are visually engaging and original. The personalization of porcelain for individual clients, families or organizations is one of the defining features of Chinese porcelain produced as special commissions and many examples can be found here. Designs are correspondingly wide-ranging, mirroring contemporary trends in fashion and taste and allowing us to observe the rise and fall of European decorative art ­movements from the Baroque and Rococo to the Neoclassical. Subjects range from humorous and entertaining themes to serious or celebratory events, theatrical or ­literary characters to political, religious, or satirical commentaries expressing single or group affiliations, offering insights into eighteenth-century social mores and the agency of Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts. The terms Chine de commande, “trade wares for the West,” and “Sino-European porcelain” have all been used by later ceramic historians to allude to their distinctive characteristics – “European style Chinese export porcelain” will be used herein to 

Introduction xv most accurately conjure their visual form and decoration, distinguishing this style of porcelain from Chinese export porcelain produced in bulk for the mass market.2 Once the preserve of wealthy aristocrats and the eighteenth-century nouveau riche, many of whom had prospered through colonial enterprises in Asia, this book will question why the Ionides, and other collectors in their social milieu, favoured this style of ceramics some two centuries later. Furthermore, what role did collecting Chinese porcelain, and other Chinese art objects, play in their self-fashioning as collectors? Just as the porcelain collection is largely unknown outside specialist ceramic circles, the biographies of our collectors, Nellie (1883–1962) and Basil Ionides (1884–1950) have remained similarly hidden. As no personal diaries, archives, or object catalogues concerning their private collections have yet been discovered, this book has woven together their life stories, as far as possible, and that of their Chinese art collections from a wide range of textual and visual sources. Newspaper articles, journals, and magazines have proved particularly fruitful, shining a light on the activities of both individuals in the public sphere. Nellie published on her collections, Basil on interior design and architectural history. On the collection itself, the sales records of the London dealer John Sparks Ltd and the auction house Sotheby’s were instrumental in tracing the purchasing activities of the Ionides and the later fate of the collection on the art market. It was possible to observe both the availability of an increasingly diverse range of Chinese art objects in Britain and the extent to which the Ionides purchased Chinese art in a wide range of media, extending the boundaries of the collection and their interests beyond the sphere of porcelain, with which the couple are most closely associated. Through these records, the full extent of the collection is revealed. The two collectors deserve individual examination, both constituting a complex mix of identities shaped by their non-British heritage, religious and cultural affiliations, sexuality, education, and class.3 The unorthodox and exceptionally privileged family backgrounds of both exposed the collectors to Chinese and East Asian art objects from an early age. In fact, the deeper we delve into their personal histories, the clearer connections to art collecting become, collecting art then as now being a popular pursuit for those with the means to do so, for personal enjoyment, and to enhance their social standing. For Basil Ionides, his professional training as architect and success as interior designer were key aspects of his persona and as we shall see, defined his response to Chinese art objects and the manner of their display in the interiors of his clients and the homes he first designed then shared with his wife. The couple collected Chinese art objects, including porcelain, before their marriage and were able to develop their own distinctive areas of interest. They also envisioned a role for the objects they collected in the public sphere of the museum, loaning and gifting objects to supplement the collections of the V&A and British Museum in London and making clear their intentions to leave more as bequests. It was during the interwar period that the Ionides Collections of art began to take shape, and while Nellie and Basil both started to accumulate objects in the 1920s, it was over the following decade that major purchases were made. This period is particularly significant in the field of Chinese art as historical events unfolded in Europe and China, the resulting social and political turmoil facilitating the outflowing of art objects from China and stimulating the sale of Chinese art already in circulation in the West. In Britain, the sale of historic “heirloom” collections reflected seismic socioeconomic tremors then shaking the British aristocracy, who could no longer afford to keep their precious art collections nor house them within large historic houses on

xvi  Introduction country estates. The confluence of these events was seized upon by designers and collectors, including Basil Ionides, who staged the display of Chinese art objects within salvaged and restored eighteenth-century interiors. The historical relationship between Chinese art objects, many of which were tailored to European designs and the English country house, was revived and rejuvenated by designers in a modern mode. The collection of European style Chinese export porcelain first comes into focus through a series of photographs published by Country Life magazine in 1934. Through these images, and accompanying articles by influential architectural historian Christopher Hussey (1899–1970), the historical and well-established relationship between Chinese art objects, in particular those produced for export markets, and interior design becomes clear.4 The twentieth-century rooms created by Basil Ionides at Buxted Park, East Sussex, the eighteenth-century country house he shared with his wife Nellie, were not mere facsimiles of earlier fashions and taste, such as chinoiserie, but drew on a range of design sources, past and present, to furnish rooms in Neo-Georgian style. Ionides was well-versed in historical display methods and a variety of strategies can be observed. The designer skilfully manipulated the relationship between object and audience, demonstrating the agency of Chinese art objects in a range of settings, acting as both ornament and collected artefact. The ambitious project at Buxted Park can be understood within the wider context of interior design and the art market, whereby historical articles, including many Chinese art objects, were seized upon for their decorative and material properties – colour, pattern, gloss, and sheen – by high society “decorators” who circulated amongst the British elite and shaped their interior world. The role played by dealers, agents, and auctioneers in this process has been largely overlooked but through the sales records of the London dealer, John Sparks Ltd, we will see how an increasingly wide range of Chinese art objects, from Tang tomb figurines to ancestor portraits, were supplied and utilized as articles of display. The luxury of the country estate at Buxted Park belies the activities of the Ionides in London in support of the German-Jewish cause which was by the middle of the decade rapidly deteriorating. Born into a leading Anglo-Jewish family of Dutch-German descent, Nellie Ionides, née Samuel supported a variety of charitable Jewish causes throughout her life and now made personal efforts to raise money for the safe escape of Jewish children from Nazi Germany. Along with her brother Walter Samuel (1882– 1948), and other leading Jewish collectors of the time, such as Sir Philip Sassoon (1888–1939), Nellie opened her London home to exhibit her art collections, including Chinese porcelain, as a means of raising money for a common cause. The mobilization of private art collections in this manner indicates the power of art collecting, not only as a private pastime but as a means of monetizing the act of viewing. Furthermore, the pseudo-public display of art collections in the home of the collector, in semi-formal mode, indicates the variety of settings in which Chinese art objects could be encountered, beyond the traditional frameworks and formal classifications of the museum. Nellie also supported the newly formed Jewish Museum (founded 1932), indicating her active engagement with the Anglo-Jewish community and its cultural and material heritage. Nellie’s Jewish identity remained strong throughout her life and may be reflected in some of the more unusual Chinese art objects she acquired. The onset of war did not inhibit the activities of the couple who continued to acquire art objects for their collections, including those from the leading private collections of Chinese art which came to the art market at that time. Moving their collections en

Introduction xvii masse from London to Buxted for safekeeping, Basil embarked on his final refurbishment of the property following the 1940 fire, once more deploying his considerable skills to create the appropriate setting for their combined art collections at the eighteenth-century mansion house. Through the final series of photographs taken for Country Life in 1950, the now enlarged collection of European style Chinese export porcelain can be seen, displayed throughout the property in a variety of room settings in semi-formal and informal modes. The juxtaposition of porcelain with Chinese art in a range of media is striking, suggesting a wider interest in eighteenth-century Chinese art objects in European style. The end of the War appears to herald a new approach towards art collecting for the Ionides, who then joined the specialist collecting society, the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS), for the first time.5 The couple were already well acquainted with specialists in Chinese art, not only at the leading museums but with a variety of dealers and auctioneers who had long been on friendly terms. A short period of increased participation with the Chinese art world followed, during which time the Ionides loaned articles to the OCS exhibition “Chinese Ceramic Figures” (1947), an area of particular interest for the couple. Basil formalized the bequest of European style Chinese export porcelain – now the Basil Ionides Bequest at the V&A and Nellie Ionides Bequest at the British Museum – which lies at the heart of this book. The dispersal of the collection following the death of first Basil in 1950 and later Nellie in 1962 reflect the shifting priorities of the national museums in the postwar period and their diminishing dependence on private collectors to supplement their holdings. At this point, the fragmentation of the collection began and continued, as the residue collection was sold at auction by Sotheby’s over four sales in the period 1963–1964. From these sales, the full extent of the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain emerges. Furthermore, the range of Chinese art objects in all media indicates wide-ranging interests and tastes, in particular articles associated with the export trade but also items intended for Chinese domestic and occasionally court consumption. Were the Ionides alone in their endeavours, and how can the Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain be understood in the wider context of the history of collecting Chinese ceramics in Britain? As this book shows, the taste of the Ionides and the eighteenth century turn during the interwar period in diverse fields, from interior and architectural design to fashion, was part of a broader conglomeration of alternative trends in art and design which challenged the strictures of modernism and found support among large sectors of British society, in particular members of the elite.6 Chinese art collections were similarly varied, reflecting both the increased availability of Chinese artworks of all kind and shifting patterns of taste. As the design work of Basil Ionides shows, it is how such artworks were encountered that defined the emotional and sensory engagement of the viewer, be that in the orderly manner of a museum or a relaxed room environment. The pseudo-public exhibition of Chinese art objects by the Ionides in their London home, to members of the ticketed public as a fundraising event, contrasts with the more formal arrangement of articles exhibited by the Oriental Ceramic Society or indeed within the galleries of the British national museums. In each of these spheres, the meaning of Chinese art objects is renegotiated by the viewer, demonstrating the polysemantic capacity of Chinese art objects, in particular those decorated in European style. The primacy of setting and context for the appreciation of decorative art objects was recognized by many working in the combined fields of what are today known as

xviii  Introduction the “cultural industries” in the years immediately following the Second World War. As a result, the English country house was identified as an important site where the design history of decorative art objects could be studied in a historically appropriate setting; Basil Ionides was among those to recognize the potential of such locations, making clear his intentions for Buxted Park, complete with furniture and fittings, for future generations under the guardianship of the National Trust. At the same time, the value of period rooms for the study of architectural and design trends of the past was affirmed by museums in their post-war refurbishments; the V&A installed a suite of eight complete rooms in the period 1947–52 and acquired historic properties such as Ham House on the periphery of London to serve as satellite museums.7 The key question posed by this book, and by extension the collection itself, centres on the distinctive European character of Chinese art objects collected by Basil Ionides, be they porcelain figurines, ivory carvings, or Canton enamel vessels. Given the extensive repertoire of decorative art styles rooted in traditional Chinese design, why did this mode of Chinese art object appeal to the designer? His early interactions with the V&A and later involvement with the Royal Society of Arts may help to explain his singular approach. First established as an institution for the promotion of British art and industry, the V&A was the leading museum actively pursuing this remit in the first half of the twentieth century.8 The Royal Society of Arts had a similar mission, staging the major exhibition of British Industrial Art at Burlington House in 1935 and supporting young British designers “who are engaged in, or intend to enter, branches of industry in which design is of importance.”9 The emphasis here on industrial design, and Basil’s affiliation and active participation with both institutions, suggests a deep rooted interest not only in the design history of objects but their manufacture and utility as functional items. As the first chapter shows, Chinese porcelains collected by Ionides are particularly interesting for what they reveal about the interactions between European and Chinese trade networks, systems of patronage and consumption, design exchange, and methods of manufacture. It was perhaps the multidimensionality of such pieces which appealed to the designer, as well as their aesthetic appeal and resonance as eighteenth-century art objects. Finally, this book highlights the significant role played by Nellie Ionides as collector, and the fluidity of boundaries separating and defining the art collections accumulated by husband and wife. As Sotheby’s expert Jim Kiddell later recalled, “Basil had a taste for Chinese export porcelain with European figures or scenes from Kang Hsi to Chien Lung, Nellie paid!”10 The role of gift giving and joint ownership clearly played a part, problematizing any discussion of taste, but as we will see, the interests of the couple often overlapped, bringing into question the ownership of individual objects and the authorship of the collection as a whole. While many questions remain unresolved, this book contributes to a more complete understanding of the motivations and collecting interests of both individuals, their shared vision at Buxted Park, and the Chinese art collections which bear the imprints of their personal identities, tastes, and desires.

Notes 1 Stacey Pierson, Collectors, Collections and Museums: The Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain, 1560–1960 (Oxford; New York: P. Lang, 2007). Stacey Pierson, “The David Collection and the Historiography of Chinese Ceramics,” Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No.20 (Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, Percival

Introduction xix David Foundation of Chinese Art: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2000). 2 From the 1970s, David Sanctuary Howard and Christian Jörg dominated research in this field and numerous publications could be cited. In the USA, William Sargent and Ronald Fuchs have published extensively on leading private and museum collections. See William R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum (Massachusetts: Peabody Essex Museum, 2012). Ronald W. Fuchs, David Sanctuary Howard, and Gavin Ashworth, Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur, A Winterthur Book (Winterthur, DE: [Hanover, NH]: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum; Distributed by University Press of New England, 2005). C.J.A. Jörg, “A Pattern of Exchange: Jan Luyken and ‘Chine de Commande’ Porcelain,” Metropolitan Museum Journal 37 (2002): 171–76, https://doi​.org​/10​.2307​/1513082. 3 Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu identified the three pillars of cultural capital: embodied, objectified, and institutionalized. See Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984). 4 Hussey published from 1920 to 1964 through Country Life magazine, becoming architectural advisor in 1930 and editor in 1933. During the 1950s he published a series of books on Georgian architecture. Christopher Hussey, English Country Houses: Early Georgian 1715–1766 (Country Life Ltd, 1955). Christopher Hussey, Mid-Georgian, 1760–1800 (Country Life Ltd, 1956). Christopher Hussey, Late Georgian, 1800–1840 (Country Life Ltd, 1958). 5 Sarah Wong and Stacey Pierson, Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021 (London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021). 6 Jane Stevenson, Baroque Between the Wars. Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021). 7 Julius Bryant, “Museum Period Rooms for the Twenty-First Century: Salvaging Ambition,” Museum Management and Curatorship 24, no. 1 (March 2009): 73–84, https://doi​.org​/10​. 1080​/09647770902731866. In 2014, the University of Leeds and The Bowes Museum hosted the international conference, “The Period Room: Museum, Material, Experience.” https://periodrooms​.wordpress​.com/ 8 Anthony Burton, Vision and Accident: The Story of the Victoria and Albert Museum (London: V&A Publications, 1999). 9 “Report on the Industrial Art Competition, 1947,” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 96, no. 4763 (27 February 1948): 193–99. 10 Hermann Papers, Cambridge University Library, Box 17. On the history of Sotheby’s, see Frank Hermann, Sotheby’s, Portrait of an Auction House (London: Chatto & Windus, 1980).

Bibliography Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984. Bryant, Julius. “Museum Period Rooms for the Twenty-First Century: Salvaging Ambition.” Museum Management and Curatorship 24, no. 1 (March 2009): 73–84. https://doi​.org​/10​ .1080​/09647770902731866. Burton, Anthony. Vision and Accident: The Story of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publications, 1999. Fuchs, Ronald W., David Sanctuary Howard, and Gavin Ashworth. Made in China: Export Porcelain From the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur. A Winterthur Book. Winterthur, DE : [Hanover, NH]: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum; Distributed by University Press of New England, 2005. Hermann, Frank. Sotheby’s, Portrait of an Auction House. London: Chatto & Windus, 1980. Hussey, Christopher. English Country Houses: Early Georgian 1715–1766. London: Country Life Ltd, 1955.

xx  Introduction Hussey, Christopher. Late Georgian, 1800–1840. London: Country Life Ltd, 1958. Hussey, Christopher. Mid-Georgian, 1760–1800. London: Country Life Ltd, 1956. Jörg, C. J. A. “A Pattern of Exchange: Jan Luyken and “Chine de Commande” Porcelain.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 37 (2002): 171–76. https://doi​.org​/10​.2307​/1513082. Pierson, Stacey. Collectors, Collections and Museums: The Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain, 1560–1960. Oxford; New York: P. Lang, 2007. Pierson, Stacey. “The David Collection and the Historiography of Chinese Ceramics.” In Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No.20. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2000. “Report on the Industrial Art Competition, 1947.” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 96, no. 4763 (27 February 1948): 193–99. Sargent, William R. Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum. Massachusetts: Peabody Essex Museum, 2012. Stevenson, Jane. Baroque Between the Wars: Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. Wong, Sarah, and Stacey Pierson. Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021. London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021.

1

Chinese Porcelain in European Style Visuality, Connectivity, and Otherness Helen Glaister

Chinese porcelain, in European style, was once thought so similar to that produced by British manufacturers it passed by the name of “Oriental Lowestoft” until the early decades of the twentieth century when the true nature of its manufacture and design history was better understood.1 Research over subsequent decades has highlighted the historical value of individual or groups of objects which fall into this specialist category of porcelain, enhancing our understanding of the dynamics of trade and the evolution of cultural and artistic interactions which developed during the centuries of direct contact between Europe and by extension the European colonial world and China. The Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain, now divided between the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and British Museum in London, offers one of the most extensive material archives for this subject and forms the nucleus of this book. Through objects in the collection, we will explore the rich diversity of shape and form, decoration, and functionality of items primarily produced during the long eighteenth century, which characterize Chinese porcelain in European style. As the story of the collection unfolds, we will see how the production of Chinese objects in European style was not limited to the medium of porcelain alone, nor was it exclusively enjoyed in Europe, but was enjoyed by consumers and collectors in diverse temporal and spatial settings. First, this chapter charts the history of European style Chinese porcelain, considering its early beginnings and later manifestations, which connected Europe through its material and visual culture to China, Asia, and the colonial world. Through the Ionides Collection, Chinese porcelain will be encountered in a range of sociocultural and geographical locations, from seventeenth-century Dutch colonial Batavia (Jakarta) to eighteenth-century Britain and the Qing court in Beijing, illuminating our understanding of the individuals who commissioned, used, gifted, collected, and displayed these items in their private homes or palaces. This chapter questions why European style porcelain was so keenly sought by consumers and collectors in Europe and Asia and what this distinctive style of porcelain signified to those who first possessed or saw them? The design history of objects in the Ionides Collection offers clues to the “connected materiality”2 of objects manufactured in Europe and China, but also by porcelain producers within China – at Jingdezhen, Dehua, Guangzhou, and Beijing – stimulating the production of porcelain in European style and transmitting designs and decorative techniques between different markets and consumers. The next stage in the life of these objects considers the status of European style Chinese export porcelain as collectible article, in the hands of the private collector or DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779-1

2  Chinese Porcelain in European Style public museum in Britain. Following the transfer of the Ionides Collection from the private to the public sphere, individual and groups of objects have played a significant role in telling individual object histories and broader historical narratives to diverse audiences in the domestic and international arenas, demonstrating the polysemantic capacity of European style Chinese export porcelain and revealing new sets of meanings across time and space.

Origins: Refashioning and Repurposing Chinese Porcelain for Europe The earliest examples of Chinese porcelain in European style, made for the European market, coincided with the period of direct contact which began in 1513 when the Portuguese became the first European nation to reach the shores of China. Prior to this time, rare examples of Chinese porcelain had journeyed to Europe through the land routes of the Middle East and were marvelled upon arrival for their “exotic” forms and decorated surfaces, but above all for the material qualities of their fine porcelain bodies and glaze which would not be realized in Europe until two centuries later.3 As the sixteenth century progressed, the number of Chinese porcelains in European collections swelled, reflecting the increased availability of porcelain in the Iberian Peninsula as direct trading links with China were established, albeit somewhat sporadic and unpredictable at that time.4 A blue and white ewer, now in the V&A collection, is one of the earliest examples of Chinese porcelain bearing a European armorial device, suggesting the vessel was made for a member of the Portuguese family of Peixoto (Figure 1.1). It is recorded that the navigator and merchant Antonio Peixoto embarked on a trading mission to China but was refused entry to the port at Guangzhou in 1542, so continued to conduct trade further along the southern coast.5 It is likely this piece was commissioned at that time; the silver mounts added in Persia on the return journey, amplifying its already elevated status. The shape of this vessel, modelled on a Near Eastern brass pitcher, illustrates how porcelain manufacturers in China had long been diversifying and enriching their design portfolio with shapes and forms derived from a range of media and cultural traditions beyond those traditionally considered “Chinese.” The royal courts of Portugal and Spain were the first to accumulate large and extensive collections of Chinese porcelain, as well as leading courtiers and merchants with connections to the Asia trade, whose history has been discussed extensively elsewhere.6 The impact of familial relationships which connected the ruling households of Renaissance Europe is well-known, the exchange of Chinese porcelain cementing political and social allegiances across geographical boundaries. Philip II (r.1556–1598) occupied a pivotal role in this process, having immediate access to imported wares in Lisbon and gifting Chinese porcelain to his Habsburg relatives in Prague, Vienna, Munich, and Innsbruck.7 Blue and white Chinese porcelain dominates these early royal collections, although a small number of other porcelain typologies were present; kinrande (gilded decoration over a red glaze), blue and white with gilding, and even monochrome yellow and black are all recorded, but were exceptionally rare. The popularity of blue and white reflects both the availability of such wares, produced in large quantities by the Chinese for export to the markets of the Middle East and Southeast Asia since the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), and the lack of diversity in Chinese porcelain reaching Europe at that time.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 3

Figure 1.1 Ewer, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, with engraved silver cover and spout, Jingdezhen, China, c.1542–1550. Height: 33 cm x Width: 23 cm. V&A: C.222–1931. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Rebranding Chinese Porcelain: Armorial Wares and Special Commissions In order to distinguish prized Chinese porcelains from more commonplace items by then arriving in increasingly large numbers, European shapes and forms were transacted through individual merchants and later as part of the private trade conducted through employees of the East India Companies of England (EIC), Est. 1600 and the Dutch Republic (Vereenidge Oostindische Compagnie, VOC), Est. 1602, as well as other European nations. Surviving records of the trading companies, supported by numerous shipwreck discoveries over the past fifty years throughout the region,8 provide a valuable historical and archaeological record of the bulk trade in porcelain and a variety of other trade goods, and the mechanisms whereby individual designs were procured to suit the shifting fashions of European domestic markets.9 Special commissions, such as those in the Ionides Collection, remain outside the documentary record, leaving precise details of their individual histories beyond our reach, but recent research suggests production on a scale far larger than previously thought.10 The customization of Chinese porcelain to suit European drinking and dining habits was well-established by the first decades of the seventeenth century, reflecting the adaptability of skilled Chinese manufacturers to tailor exported products to meet the shifting demands of diverse markets and consumers. Flasks, bottles, jugs,

4  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.2 Mustard pot, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Jingdezhen, China, 1630– 1640. V&A: C.67–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

and tankards were popular forms, as were mustard pots, such as this piece now in the V&A (Figure 1.2). This is the earliest example in the Basil Ionides Bequest and mirrors the form of pewter mustard pots seen in Dutch paintings during the 1630s upon which it was modelled; metal or wooden protypes were shipped to China for this purpose. While the shape is recognizably European, the decorative riverscape on its surface is Chinese and painted in “Transitional” style – a term widely used to describe a popular mode of pictorial decoration during the middle years of the seventeenth century as power was transferred from the Ming to the Qing dynasty.11 This style of painted decoration was not restricted to articles intended solely for export and found favour in the Chinese domestic market too, but its popularity in Europe is evident in historical collections which began to take shape at this time. This piece has also been mounted in silver indicating the continuing practice noted earlier, hence the high material value such objects commanded. The inclusion of European designs and motifs as surface decoration on Chinese porcelain heightened the exclusivity and status of the object and in turn its owner, indicating not only access to but control over materials from the East. Graphic and pictorial designs were transferred from a range of portable objects, from early Spanish coins and gaming counters to later sketches or designs in print. Heraldic devices coopted as Chinese porcelain decoration from the sixteenth century allow us today to identify ownership of individual objects, and often combine European insignia, such as the royal households of Portugal and Spain, with Chinese decoration.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 5 The popularity of armorial wares was such that by the end of the seventeenth ­century, sets of objects were produced for leading families not only in Europe but in the colonial entrepôts of India and Southeast Asia (Figure 1.3). A blue and white dish in the Basil Ionides Bequest combines a large armorial device in the central well, bordered by scenes of Chinese women engaged in leisurely pursuits. The pictorial insignia, with raised armoured arm bearing a hammer, matches another in the V&A collection on a large sweetmeat set, which identifies the owner as Johannes Camphuijs (1634–1695) (V&A: 708–1897). Originating from Haarlem (Holland), Camphuijs was posted by the VOC to their trading post in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1654 where he eventually rose from Junior Clerk to Governor General (1684–1691). While Camphuijs spent most of his adult life in Asia, the Chinese porcelain he commissioned at the height of his career asserted not only his commercial and monetary success in the region but his continued attachment to the traditions and social hierarchies of his country of birth. A small number of objects in the Ionides Collection illustrate the simultaneous production of Japanese porcelain in European style, including a pair of baluster jugs dating to around 1665–1675 (Figure 1.4).12 The shape of these jugs derives from German stoneware, popular in Holland and ordered via the VOC in China from the 1630s, and it is likely these pieces were modelled on stoneware or wooden prototypes or painted designs. The armorial device identifies the recipient as Pieter de Graeff (1638– 1707), who became Director of the Dutch East India Company in 1664. Following Japan’s adoption of its “closed-door” policy (Sakoku) in 1639, the Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to trade there, through their base on Dejima island, which is reflected not only in the form of objects, but the popular depiction of Dutch figures, such as those on a flat-side sake flask also in the collection and produced around a hundred years later (V&A: C.64–1963). Japanese porcelain production would never compete in terms of scale and affordability with the mass-produced commodities of China, hence far fewer examples of European style porcelain were ever produced and have been handed down to us today. By the end of the seventeenth century, China had restored its dominance over porcelain trade to Europe and supplied vast quantities of decorated or plain porcelain from the southern kilns of Jingdezhen (Jiangxi Province) and Dehua (Fujian Province) to meet the growing needs of European consumers.13 Occasionally, undecorated objects were purchased and transported from China to Europe where coloured enamels and gilding were applied, instantly bringing designs up to date and heightening their value and desirability. Examples in the Ionides Collection illustrate the popularity of figural sculptures from Dehua, which specialized in three-dimensional forms in plain white porcelain known in Europe as blanc de Chine. It is likely that the amiable figure of the Dutch merchant and monkey was decorated and gilded on arrival in Holland around 1700 not long after its manufacture in China (Figure 1.5).

Exclusivity and Connectivity: Chinese Porcelain in Eighteenth-Century Europe By the eighteenth century, Chinese armorial services were an immediately visible signifier of social rank, whereby the landed aristocracy reaffirmed established notions of patrilineality and the newly rich sought respectability and access to polite society.14 Research into returning East India Servants in Britain suggests an overwhelming desire to re-assimilate into society, aggravated and to an extent obstructed by the negative

6  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.3 Dish, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Jingdezhen, China, c.1700. Diameter: 25 cm. V&A: C.68–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 7

Figure 1.4 Jug, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, Arita, Japan, c.1665–1675. Height: 8.375in. V&A: C.65–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

public persona of prominent individuals such as Robert Clive, and other “Indians”, as Britons who had recently lived in India were known.15 In their study of eighteenth-­ century properties in Harley Street and Cavendish Square in London, financed through EIC trade, architectural historians Richardson and Guillery note that despite access to objects from the East, the public apartments and reception areas were surprisingly devoid of references to Asia.16 This would help to explain the preference for European style Chinese porcelain, which emphasized connectivity to domestic fashion and taste rather than the “otherness” signified by Chinese decoration. By this time, the production of Chinese armorial dinner services for British consumers exceeded all other European markets, expanding in scale and complexity as the century progressed and reflected shifting fashions towards dining à la française, whereby a series of successive courses necessitated the appropriate tableware in the latest style.17 The decoration of Chinese porcelain reflected technological developments which facilitated a wider range of colours, applied over the glaze, and shifting fashions in private trade wares towards increasingly Europeanized designs. The predilection for European decoration, shapes, and forms may at first appear curious, considering the rich decorative repertoire available within China, but the consumption of Chinese porcelain does not reflect an interest in China or Chinese goods, as European style Chinese export porcelain confirms, but acted as a vehicle for designs rooted in the European tradition. The emphasis on exclusivity required that designs be up to date and individual; plates and dishes were exported in the largest quantities, being the easiest to pack and transport, while more complex forms presented greater difficulty and were commensurably costly. English manufacturers at Chelsea and Bow were quick

8  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.5 Figure of Dutch merchant with monkey, porcelain made in Dehua, China, overdecorated with enamels in Holland, c.1700. V&A: C.17–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 9

Figure 1.6 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels in Guangzhou, China, c.1730. Diameter: 25.1 cm. V&A: C.72–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

to recognize this shortfall, specializing in sauce bowls and complex forms which were used in tandem with Chinese services. An armorial plate in the Ionides Collection demonstrates the successful production process from European design concept to completion by porcelain decorators in China (Figure 1.6). Centrally decorated with the arms of Lee quartering Astley, views of the River Thames in London and the Pearl River in Guangzhou alternate within its four border panels. The armorial crest is painted in bold overglaze enamels of red, blue, black, and green in contrast to the monochromatic river scenes depicted en grisaille, a technique ideally suited to copying detailed designs from print to porcelain and widely used by the 1730s when this dish was produced. Topographical features such as the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and London Bridge or the Folly Fort in Guangzhou are easily recognizable, marking the far extremities of the export trade. As the eye travels the surface of the dish, the global connections between its owner and trade with China are clear to see. The enamelled decoration and gilding was added in Guangzhou to the plain porcelain surface of this dish, produced in Jingdezhen, before it was transported to England. As the century progressed, consignments of specially commissioned porcelains incorporated an increasingly diverse range of decorative subjects, from ships and maritime themes to historical events, political satire and genre scenes; classical subjects, hunting, agriculture, and themes of love are all well-represented in the Ionides Collection. Illustrated

10  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.7 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels and gilding in Guangzhou, China, c.1740–1750. Diameter: 22.35 cm. V&A: C.28–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

books provided an abundant source of pictorial and narrative material, including literary subjects from popular novels and classic books such as the Spanish epic, Don Quixote de la Mancha, first published in 1605 (Figure 1.7).18 The book appeared in London in four volumes by Thomas Shelton in 1725 and 1731 with twenty-two illustrations by the Dutch artist Gerard van der Gucht. The humorous scene “The Triumphant Don Quixote Wears the Mambrino’s Helmet” recreated on a Chinese porcelain dish was originally painted by the French artist Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694–1752) as one of a series of twenty-eight cartoons produced around 1714.19 In the central well, Don Quixote is depicted in full knightly armour and comically wears a barber’s bowl upon his head, which he has mistakenly taken as the mythic Mambrino’s helmet, while two women peer quizzically from behind a tree.20 In the background, a barber flees as Sancho Panza leads his master’s horse and his own donkey forward, towards the viewer. The detailed pictorial scene is rendered in bright enamels of pink, green, blue, and black with white shading, finished with gilded floral sprays and decorative borders. This same subject takes on a singularly Chinese manifestation on a dish, formerly in the Espírito Santos Collection (Lisbon), where figures now with Chinese features traverse a rocky landscape redolent of Chinese landscape painting (Figure 1.8).21 Examples such as these are rare, illustrating the process of Sinicization whereby European pictorial designs became increasingly remote from their original design source and suggesting the possibility that these objects may have served the local Chinese market. While

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 11

Figure 1.8 Dish, porcelain made in Jingdezhen, decorated with enamels and gilding in Guangzhou, China, c.1750. Diameter: 23 cm. © 2015 Christie’s Images Limited.

offering a range of alternative meanings, this type of subject matter could mutually appeal to both Chinese and European consumers. As the exclusivity of Chinese porcelain began to wane, the VOC sponsored a shortlived and ultimately failed commercial venture between 1734 and 1740, intended to stimulate the European market. The Dutch designer Cornelis Pronk (1691–1759) was commissioned to produce designs specifically for export purposes, only two of which can be firmly attributed today. A further three much rarer designs have been linked to the designer, all of which are represented in the Ionides Collection, known as “La Plume” (Figure 1.9), “The Trumpeters” (Figure 5.5), and “The Parrot.” Perhaps the most unusual, “La Plume” depicts a large feather in violet enamel against a bright yellow diaper ground delineated in fine black lines and gilding. Stylistic characteristics suggest a possible connection to Pronk’s designs but William Sargent notes that elements such as the plume and tasselled lappets were common to Baroque ornament popular throughout the 1720s and 1730s.22 That so few survive may be due to the expense of producing the violet colour. The commercial initiative was swiftly abandoned due to the high costs involved, and the greater affordability and accessibility of using prints already in circulation. Another valuable design source for Chinese porcelain manufacture was derived from religious subjects. Porcelain decorated in China with Christian images dates back to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and by the eighteenth century was produced for Christian communities across Asia as well as the export markets of Europe and the

12  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.9 Plate, porcelain with overglaze enamels, China, c.1740. Diameter: 15.56 cm. V&A: C.87–1963. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

New World.23 While some pieces illustrated biblical figures or events, others depicted influential theologians such as the prominent reformist, Dr Martin Luther, as seen on the Ionides vase now in the V&A (Figure 1.10 Left). This object, and others like it, may have been commissioned to mark the bicentenary of Luther’s death in 1742.24 Two services decorated en grisaille were made after a mezzotint of 1714–1715 by John Faber the Elder (c.1660–1721), who produced a set of twenty-one plates depicting Protestant reformers including John Calvin, similarly depicted on a vase formerly in the Ionides Collection (Figure 1.10 Right).25 The original prints show the theologians at half-length in an oval frame, their names and dates inscribed beneath in Latin. On the vases, a number of pictorial and textual elements have been altered; Calvin is depicted without a book, the dates of birth have been omitted and the decorators have copied Johannes without the letter “h.” Furthermore, the elaborate gilded borders in high Rococo style do not match the Puritan theme, suggesting both a lack of recognition and understanding of the religious subject matter and the relative freedom with which borders were chosen in China. One of the most popular categories of Chinese porcelain in European style were sculptural figurines and animals which are well-represented in the Ionides Collection. Print sources provided an extensive supply of subjects, which were skilfully interpreted into three-dimensional forms by Chinese modellers and decorators, illustrating diverse themes from the theatrical character of “Mr. Nobody” (1680–1700) to figures in “exotic” dress.26 The growing importance of European porcelain manufacture is

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 13

Figure 1.10 Left: Vase, porcelain decorated with enamels and gilding with Martin Luther, Jingdezhen, China, 1730–1760. Height: 21.1 cm. V&A: C.48-1951. Right: Vase, porcelain decorated with enamels and gilding with John Calvin, Jingdezhen, China, 1730–1760. Height: 22 cm. V&A: C.47-1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

14  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.11 Figure of Hercules, porcelain with overglaze enamels, Jingdezhen, China, c.1760. Height: 13 cm. V&A: C.101–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

clear to see in objects closely modelled on prototypes from Delft, Meissen, Sèvres, and Chelsea. Two figures of Hercules, made around 1760, have yet to be firmly identified but probably follow a Meissen original (Figure 1.11 and Figure 1.12). In both pieces, Hercules is shown semi-dressed, a loose robe draped modestly around his waist and over his shoulder. He stands facing the viewer in relaxed pose, one hand resting on his hip while the other holds a large wooden staff, his waving beard adding movement to the object which may originally have been intended for the decoration of a dessert table.27 Whereas the undecorated figure from the kilns of Dehua is finely modelled and appears to closely follow a European original, the polychrome piece is poorly shaped around the shoulder and neck, and may have copied a Dehua original at Jingdezhen, indicating the interplay between the two ceramic centres within China. By the time these figurines were produced, European porcelain was in ascendance but remained prohibitively expensive and beyond the reach of most consumers. While the exclusivity of Chinese wares diminished, it remained an affordable means of providing good quality porcelain objects in the latest European styles, as modelled and designed by European ceramic producers.

European Style Porcelain at the Eighteenth-Century Chinese Court As we have seen, the demand for Chinese and to a lesser extent Japanese porcelain in European style was stimulated by individuals based in Europe, or colonial outposts

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 15

Figure 1.12 Figure of Hercules, porcelain, Dehua, China, c.1760. Height: 12.7 cm. V&A: Circ.166–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

elsewhere in Asia or the New World, with access to Asian trade goods. As such, these objects emphasized cultural belonging and connectivity, status and class, playing an important role in constructing notions of nationhood and empire as European expansionism extended its reach across the globe. One singular piece in the Ionides Collection tells a different story, situating European style Chinese porcelain at the epicentre of the Sinocentric world at the Qing court in Beijing. A small porcelain flask, which slipped apparently unnoticed from the private collection of the Ionides into the public collection of the V&A in 1951, illustrates the Manchu court fashion for the “exotic” (Figure 1.13).28 Europeeanerie (G. Kates), Euroiserie (J. Hay), and Occidenterie (K. Kleutgen), are all terms coined by later scholars to refer to innovations in artistic and architectural production in a range of media, inspired by and drawing upon artistic traditions and techniques originating in Europe.29 Starting in the late seventeenth century when the Kangxi Emperor (r.1662–1722) established a variety of specialist imperial workshops in Beijing, production of court arts flourished during the subsequent reigns of his son Yongzheng (r.1723–1735) and favoured grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (r.1736–1795) when this piece was made. The shape of this object first hints towards a Chinese recipient, porcelain flasks of this form having been popular in China since the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), providing a clear sense of cultural continuity and allusions to the “antique” in Qing dynasty China (1644–1911). In contrast, the decoration within the central medallion

16  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.13 Flask, porcelain with overglaze enamels and gilding, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Beijing, China, 1736–1795. Height: 10.2 cm x Diameter: 8.9 cm. V&A: C.50– 1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

on the front and back derives from a European pictorial source, as yet unidentified, depicting idyllic scenes of young European women and children. The attention to detail in the enamel painting of the figures indicates a high level of artistry, combining aspects of European painting techniques – in the shading of the clothing and flesh tones – with conventions associated with traditional Chinese brush painting, such as the rocky outcrops and extensive areas of blank space. The decorative border which covers both handles and the neck of the vessel mimics the unusual stone conglomerate, known in the West as “pudding stone.” By the time of its production, a fascination with the material world had resulted in a distinctive category of decorative art objects in China where optical illusion or trompe l’oeil transcended conventional limitations; porcelain imitating wood, glass simulating tortoiseshell, wood in the guise of rhinoceros horn and so on. Also linked to the introduction of European visual and material culture to the court in Beijing, in particular through the innovative work of Jesuits in the glass and enamelling workshops, this style of decoration places the V&A flask firmly in an eighteenth-century Chinese court context, the small scale and fine workmanship further emphasizing its status as an elite article intended for private contemplation.30 Recent research into the production of European style Chinese porcelain and enamels has increasingly recognized the connectivity between the production centres of Jingdezhen, Guangzhou, and the court in Beijing, and the relationship between objects

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 17 produced not only for court use but for export and the domestic markets. Shi Ching Fei has led research in this field, demonstrating the overlapping of techniques between enamels on metal and porcelain, and artistic interactions between articles manufactures for export and court consumption.31 It is likely that the designs adorning the V&A flask may have first arrived in Guangzhou as a by-product of trade, whereupon they were transported to the imperial workshops in Beijing for transfer onto the plain porcelain flask manufactured in Jingdezhen. To what extent designs for export, in particular those in European style, circulated beyond the southern port cities and manufacturing centres of China is an interesting question which requires further investigation. Kristine Kleutghen has demonstrated that subjects popular on Chinese export art, such as the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou from where foreign nations conducted trade, were visible elsewhere in the domestic market, being familiar to the government clerk and writer Shen Fu (1763– c.1810) many miles away in the city of Suzhou (Jiangsu Province).32 Furthermore, the Sinicization of European pictorial imagery on porcelain, as seen on the Don Quixote dish mentioned above, suggest that such designs proved popular in the local market and may have continued in production long after European special orders had been fulfilled.

Gendering Porcelain Consumption: Fact or Fiction? Back in Britain, associations between women and Chinese porcelain – as collectors and consumers – were well-established by the eighteenth century and widely lampooned in contemporary pictorial and textual sources during the first half of the century.33 Stacey Sloboda observes that, “the mythomorphic figure of the female china collector was certainly more a literary device than a description of actual collecting practices.”34 The artificial separation between the fields of porcelain consumption – indiscriminate, compulsive, and female – and porcelain collecting – rational, selective, and male – stereotyped gendered behaviour which was in reality more nuanced.35 For example, Amanda Vickery has shown that a married woman’s purchases centred around everyday consumables, including Chinese porcelain, whereas men were more likely to deal with major acquisitions.36 In the male purchase of Chinese porcelain, this would include commissioning armorial dinner services and other special orders, such as those mentioned above. Stacey Pierson notes that women also occasionally commissioned armorial porcelain, citing a sauce tureen produced for the widowed Countess of Macclesfield.37 Large and expensive luxury items such as punch bowls were produced for the sole purpose of male group activities, in this case drinking alcohol, and as such were active agents in the assertion of newly formed and pre-existing social hierarchies in an evolving and expanding social economy. First brought back from India by sailors and employees of the EIC in the early seventeenth century, by the eighteenth century punch embodied within its ingredients the success of the British colonial enterprise; an exotic mix of Jamaican rum, sugar, and fresh fruit juices, flavoured with spices from Asia. Punch bowls are well-represented in the Ionides Collection and include an unusual example which juxtaposes Chinese agricultural scenes on its exterior surface with the British hunt on its interior (Figure 1.14). This bowl may have been used to share drinks amongst male riders at the outset or culmination of the hunt, reinforcing personal relationships and social connections amongst elite society at a time when class

18  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.14 Punch bowl, porcelain with overglaze enamels, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, 1760–1770. Height: 14.73 cm x Diameter: 35.31 cm. V&A: C.22–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

boundaries were becoming increasingly blurred. In the commercial sphere, companies and businesses commissioned porcelain objects from China, such as a large mug in the Ionides Bequest produced for the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames, c.1760–1770 (V&A: C.46–1951), indicating the continued desirability of porcelain as a vehicle for European designs which cemented collective male group identities. Smaller items bearing semi-erotic themes, often hidden within the interior or base of objects such as snuff boxes or small dishes, illustrate the production of specially commissioned porcelain intended exclusively for the male gaze.38 A small dish in the Ionides Collection decorated with Perrette et le pot au lait depicts the young milk maid from the classical French fable La Laitière et le Pot au lait by Jean de la Fontaine. On the reverse of the dish, she provocatively lifts her skirt revealing her underwear to the viewer (V&A: C.84–1963). Other objects of a more explicitly sexual nature include a tea service, now divided between the V&A and British Museum. Variously described as a “monk embracing a young woman” to “monk assaulting” or “molesting” a woman, the design creates a sense of unease in the viewer as the woman struggles to free herself from the errant monk who has cast aside his bible and rosary which lie abandoned on the ground (Figure 1.15). It is interesting today to consider who originally commissioned this set of objects and for what purpose or occasion? How were they used and what response did they elicit from those who first saw them?

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 19

Figure 1.15 Tea caddy, porcelain with overglaze enamels and gilding, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, c.1740. Height: 12.7 cm x Diameter: 7 cm. V&A: C.144&A–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Collecting European Style Chinese Porcelain: The British National Collections The first dispersal of private “heirloom” collections of European style Chinese porcelain began during the nineteenth century, as families dispensed with often large groups of objects accumulated during the preceding centuries, by then regarded as out of step with current fashion and taste. As objects increasingly circulated on the art market, museum collections began to reflect the increased availability of Chinese porcelain in European style. At the British Museum, Chinese porcelain was enthusiastically promoted through the activities of Augustus Wollaston Franks (1826–1897), whose significance as private collector and museum curator to the field of Chinese porcelain is now well-known. The collection included European style Chinese export porcelain and armorial wares, reflecting his wider interests in European prints, European ceramics, Greek and Roman mythology, and heraldry. Jessica Harrison-Hall suggests that the appeal of European style Chinese export porcelain lay in designs which were “readily understood by a Western audience and the poor execution of the designs would have supported a view of cultural supremacy then prevalent in the United Kingdom.”39 While the realization of European print designs by Chinese decorators was at times awkward, confusing European pictorial conventions of spatial recession and chiaroscuro, this was often not the case, as demonstrated by many pieces in the Ionides

20  Chinese Porcelain in European Style Collection. On the contrary, some of the finest examples demonstrate the expert skill whereby European subjects were copied in China in the medium of porcelain and decorated by hand, highlighting the extent to which Chinese manufacturers excelled in this field, far in advance of their European counterparts, who could not compete in terms of scale, cost, and quality of execution. At the South Kensington Museum, as it was then known, early examples arrived by gift or purchase from private collections. The first museum inventory of 1852 details a dish, “Painted with flowers and a crest of Hercules kneeling holding a club over his shoulder, Chinese?” donated by the artist and museum supervisor, Mr. R. Redgrave Esq. RA. Acquisitions were frequently purchased as part of much larger collections in a range of media, often alongside European ceramics. Chinese porcelains formerly in the collections of Mr James Bandinel (1783–1849) and Ralph Bernal (d.1854) included a plate decorated en grisaille and the “Figure of a Joss or Deity,” both fashioned in eighteenth-century European style.40 Both individuals derived their wealth through the slave trade, no longer deemed acceptable in Britain and abolished by statute in 1833, indicating how the practice of collecting was used to bolster public respectability and social standing during the nineteenth century, and indeed the twentieth century when the Ionides Collection was formed. By the 1860s, the arrival of objects directly from China shortly following the sacking of the “Summer Palace” (Yuanmingyuan), Beijing in 1860 exposed European collectors, dealers, and museum curators to a breadth of ceramic styles and porcelain typologies hitherto unseen outside China, heightening awareness within specialist circles of the full scope of Chinese ceramics manufactured for domestic and imperial consumption, in addition to the more familiar styles of porcelain that had been exported to Europe over the previous centuries.41 Simultaneously, individuals based in Asia purchased ceramics directly from China which would later pass to the V&A and the British Museum, further enriching the national collections and in turn extending the academic study and appreciation of the field. Stephen Bushell (1844–1908) is particularly significant in this capacity, collecting examples of Chinese ceramics which included early wares manufactured for domestic and imperial consumption on behalf of the V&A between 1882 and 1883, while stationed as physician to the foreign legation in Beijing.42 Bushell published extensively on Chinese ceramics and Chinese art, translating numerous Chinese texts into English for the first time, notably Chinese Porcelain Before the Present Dynasty from the 1774 text, and Tao Shuo (Descriptions of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain) by Zhu Yan.43 Bushell provided the first comprehensive study of a single collection of Chinese ceramics outside China, based on the Walters Collection in Baltimore (USA) in 1896, and a survey of the V&A collection of Chinese art in 1905.44 The shift in taste amongst “serious” collectors of Chinese ceramics in Britain during the first decades of the twentieth century towards the wares of early China has been extensively discussed elsewhere, and was promoted through the activities of art critics Herbert Read (1893–1968) (V&A curator from 1922 to 1939) and Roger Fry (1866–1934), both of whom published through The Burlington Magazine, which Fry co-founded, and the Department of Ceramics at the V&A.45 Contrary to this trend, European style Chinese export porcelain continued to arrive at the museum in small numbers. In 1924, the V&A purchased an armorial dish bearing the inscription, “Canton in China 24th January 1791” for the sum of £4.4s from the sale of the collector Sir A. Tudor-Craig (V&A: C.1462–1924). Two years later, a large polychrome dish

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 21 decorated with the Royal Arms of England and the inscription, “ENGELANDT,” was presented by H.M. King George V (V&A: C.377–1926). While small in number, the continued acquisition of such objects indicates a recognition of the historical significance of European style Chinese porcelain at the museum. It is against this historical backdrop that the Ionides Collection of this specialist sub-category of Chinese porcelain began to take shape.

The Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain in the Public Sphere The Ionides Collection today constitutes 182 objects across the combined c­ ollections of the V&A and British Museum ranging in date from the second quarter of the ­seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century, providing one of the most comprehensive collections of European style Chinese porcelain in the world. This figure includes a small number of Japanese porcelains and two examples of imperial porcelain which passed into the museum collections as part of the much larger collection of export porcelain, the implications of which have already been discussed. Arthur Lane, V&A Keeper of Ceramics described the collection in the following terms: The Collection is a specialized one, of Chinese porcelain shaped or decorated in European style, and in a few cases bearing decoration added in Europe soon after arrival from the East. The period it covers is from about 1680–1800. Apart from the merit shown by many pieces as works of art, the collection is of extraordinary interest for the light it throws on European taste and on commercial relationships with the Far East during the 18th century. Porcelain was not made in Europe on a large scale until the second quarter of the century, and the Chinese ware remained cheaper till the end. European silver, engravings, drawings, and objects of pottery and porcelain were sent to China as patterns; the copies and adaptations made in porcelain by the Chinese workmen show great skill but little comprehension of the subject matter, and European society and fashion are consequently represented as if in a distorting mirror, with very entertaining results. The Collection has been built up over many years and is the most comprehensive of its kind ever made. Though some pieces are damaged, I recommend the collection as a whole for exception under the Act. (Arthur Lane, 24 March 1952, Minute Sheet Ref: ED/BP/107/2/50, National Archives) The first group of objects arrived at the V&A in 1951 as part of the Basil Ionides Bequest, named after the primary collector who forms the subject of the following chapter. The second group of objects followed the death of his wife Nellie Ionides in 1963, who was also involved in the purchase of objects during their marriage between 1930 and 1950. At that time, a further twenty-five pieces were received as the Nellie Ionides Bequest at the British Museum, adding to a small number of Chinese porcelains already gifted by the collector.46 The remainder of the residue collection was sold over a series of sales at Sotheby’s between 1963 and 1964, described by British Museum curator Soame Jenyns as “a melancholy occasion for those who are interested in the study of Ch’ing porcelain” and indicating the full extent of the private collection before its final dispersal.47 Over four sales, the total number of ceramic

22  Chinese Porcelain in European Style lots at auction exceeded 300, the number of individual examples of Chinese ceramics reaching nearly 1,000. Of these, forty-nine lots fell within those categories associated with export porcelain, accounting for nearly one sixth of the entire Chinese ceramic collection. Since their arrival at the V&A and British Museum, individual and sub-groups of objects formerly in the Ionides Collection have played an important role in telling the story of the cultural, commercial, and artistic interactions between China and Europe through the medium of porcelain to diverse audiences throughout Britain. From 1963, objects from the Basil Ionides Bequest constituted the mainstay of a touring exhibition mounted by the Circulation Department of the V&A, “C27 Chinese Export Porcelain.”48 Over the next decade, this loan exhibition toured provincial art galleries, museums, and library spaces from Newcastle to Belfast, Oxford to Bristol, extending the geographical and social reach of museum and in turn introducing the subject of European style Chinese export porcelain to new audiences in multiple contexts. In more recent years, Ionides objects have travelled beyond Britain, playing an important role in emerging relationships between Europe and East Asia. In 1994, Ionides objects now in the British Museum featured in the loan exhibition, “Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from the British Museum” at the National Museum of History in Taiwan, and latterly “Self and Other” which toured Japan in 2008–2009.49 In 2012, the British Museum and V&A collaborated on the exhibition “Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum,” held at the National Museum of China in Beijing to mark the centenary of the museum and the London Olympics taking place later that year.50 In total, seventeen Ionides objects were selected, playing a significant role in the exhibition narrative which explored the interplay between Chinese and European ceramic designers and manufacturers, through cultural exchange and commerce, and the history of collecting Chinese porcelain in the British national museums.51 Most recently, Ionides porcelains appeared in the exhibition “Raffles in Southeast Asia” at the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore (2019) and later the British Museum (2019–2020).52 Taking these exhibitions together, it is clear that Ionides porcelains have played a significant role in materializing the history of the global trade in Chinese porcelain to audiences in East and Southeast Asia over the past twenty-five years, which for many was entirely new. Collaborations between museums and art institutions have made visible a specialist category of Chinese porcelain which ordinarily is rarely seen in that context. The political dimensions of such collaborative exhibitions cannot be overlooked, but nevertheless these exhibitions have highlighted a past era of cultural and commercial exchange which has only recently come into focus, in particular to audiences in mainland China. In addition to European style Chinese export porcelain, the Ionides collected a range of other Chinese art objects, including decorative carvings, textiles, Canton enamels, and glass paintings which first featured in the publication Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, co-written by Margaret Jourdain (1876–1951) and Soame Jenyns (1904–1976) in 1950, shortly before the death of Basil Ionides and the Bequest was made available to the V&A.53 The authors noted that, “This aspect of the cultural exchange between East and West has not hitherto attracted the attention it undoubtedly deserves,” highlighting the lack of academic research in this field. In 1956, the art historian Victor Rienaecker based his study “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art”

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 23 for the Country Life Annual on the residue of the Ionides collection at Buxted Park, indicating the continuing significance of the private collection at that time.54 In the public sphere, Ionides porcelains were first published by the V&A as examples of Chinese Export Art and Design in 1987 to mark the opening of the gallery of Chinese Export Art, which today houses Buddhist art.55 Some years later in 2011, objects in the Basil Ionides Bequest featured extensively in the publication, Chinese Export Ceramics, published to coincide with the opening of the newly refurbished suite of V&A ceramics galleries in 2009–2010; individual objects were also selected for the V&A publication, Masterpieces of World Ceramics, in 2008.56 The prominence of Ionides objects in these publications indicates the significance of the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain within the wider V&A ceramics collection, and the manner whereby Ionides objects have been used not only to illustrate but to define this sub-category of Chinese ceramics in the British national collections. In a similar manner, two rare Ionides figurines at the British Museum were selected to elucidate the theme “Copying European ceramics and prints” in the British Museum publication, China: A History in Objects (2017), once more highlighting the leading role Ionides porcelains have played in the construction of museum narratives of Chinese ceramics, global ceramics, and Chinese art.57 Despite the visibility of individual Ionides objects in museum publications, or parallel studies in visual and material culture,58 the history of the porcelain collection within the national museums has received little attention up to this point. The only article to the directly address and include the Basil Ionides Bequest within the history of collecting Chinese ceramics at the V&A was written by Luisa Mengoni in 2011 in her appraisal “Collecting and Redisplaying Qing Ceramics at the V&A,” in which Mengoni notes conflicting attitudes towards the Bequest on arrival at the museum.59 No further details regarding the history of the collection or the collectors is provided, but the article does at least situate the Basil Ionides Bequest within the broader narrative of collections history at the V&A. Today, Ionides objects can be seen in a variety of locations in London, from the galleries of world ceramics, Qing ceramics, the Ceramics Study Galleries, and the culturally specific British Galleries and European Galleries at the V&A to the British Museum galleries of Chinese art, and the Enlightenment, indicating the multiple ways in which European style Chinese export porcelain has been interpreted and situated within diverse museum narratives. The multifarious contexts in which Ionides objects can be encountered within the British national museums is indicative of museum taxonomies that have shaped the meaning and classification of Chinese art objects in Britain up to the present. Beyond the sphere of the public museum, Ionides objects continue to circulate on the art market and have been exhibited and published in that context. The specialist dealer Jorge Welsh Works of Art has featured a number of pieces formerly in the Ionides Collection in recent years, such as an exceptionally rare porcelain figure of the infant Jesus in Through Distant Eyes: Portraiture in Chinese Export Art (2018).60 Numerous publications supported by Jorge Welsh are of particular relevance to this study and could be cited, including European Scenes on Chinese Art (2005), Christian Images in Chinese Porcelain (2003), or Out of the Ordinary: Living with Chinese Export Art (2015).61 In 2019, Jorge Welsh Research & Publishing hosted the conference “Fired to Last: The Global Reach of Chinese Export Porcelain,” bringing together a panel of international scholars in the field, to coincide with the launch of

24  Chinese Porcelain in European Style

Figure 1.16 Pair of painted enamel copper vases and covers, Guangzhou, China, Qianlong mark and period (1736–1795). Height with cover: 45.5 cm. Reproduced with permission of the Oriental Ceramic Society. Photograph taken by Christie’s.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 25 Volume IV of the Renato de Albuquerque Collection; objects formerly in the Ionides Collection had featured in Volumes I and II.62 For the centenary exhibition of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 2021, two striking painted enamel copper vases were selected to illustrate the Ionides’ brief involvement with the specialist collecting society from 1945 to 1949, rather than Chinese porcelain as might be expected (Figure 1.16).63 These expertly decorated and highly coloured ornamental vessels are typical of articles produced in Guangzhou for court consumption during the Qianlong period (1736–1795), distinguished by their decorative style from “Canton enamels” as they were known in Britain, produced for export and frequently in European style, or for the Chinese domestic market. That these pieces were chosen by the exhibition organizers reflects both a recognition of the historical significance of these two art objects, and highlights the extent to which the Ionides’ interests, as collectors, extended beyond the field of porcelain, in European style, to a range of decorative materials in alternative modes for domestic and even court use. The biography of the Ionides Collection introduced over the preceding pages is complex and incomplete, spanning a period of over half a century and shedding light on the relationship between private individuals, public institutions, and commercial actors who facilitated the movement of Chinese art objects in twentieth-century Britain. The dispersal of the collection from the private sphere of the collector to the public realm of the museum and the art market – and the subsequent formation of “micro-collections” between and within the British national museums – exacerbates any study of the collection as a whole, but has been undertaken for this book. Through a host of visual and textual sources, published and unpublished, and the material archive outlined above, the formation of the private collection will be pursued, seeking the motivations of the collectors, and situating the Ionides Collection within wider discourses of aesthetics, collecting, and interior design in Britain.

Notes 1 William Chaffers first attributed the term “Oriental Lowestoft” in 1863 in the mistaken belief it was the product of Lowestoft on the East Anglian coast of Britain. Though soon rejected, it persisted in ceramics circles until the first decades of the twentieth century. William Chaffers, Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain (London: Bickers & Son, 1863). Homer Eaton Keyes, “Lowestoft, What Is It?” Antiques I–IV (November 1928). 2 Anne Gerritsen, “Material Circulations in the Sixteenth Century,” in The City of Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World (Cambridge University Press, 2020), 195–215. 3 William R. Sargent, “Five Hundred Years of Chinese Export Ceramics in Context,” in Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), 1–32. 4 Gerritsen, “Material Circulations in the Sixteenth Century.” 5 Between 1522 and 1577, foreign trade was forbidden by imperial Chinese edict but clandestine trade flourished during the 1540s. 6 Cinta Krahe, Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain (Madrid: Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica, 2016). Nuno Senos, “The Empire in the Duke’s Palace. Global Material Culture in Sixteenth-Century Portugal,” in The Global Lives of Things. Material Culture of Connections in the Early Modern World (London: New York: Routledge, 2016), 128– 144.Teresa Canepa, Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer: China and Japan and Their Trade with Western Europe and the New World, 1500–1644 (London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016).

26  Chinese Porcelain in European Style 7 Teresa Canepa, “The Iberian Courts of Lisbon and Madrid, and Their Role in Spreading a Taste for Chinese Porcelain in 16th Century Europe,” in Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age (Waanders Uitg, 2014). 8 Rose Kerr, “Porcelain Raised from the Sea: Marine Archaeology and Chinese Ceramics,” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors 167 (May 2008): 47–51. 9 On the distinction between bulk and private trade, see Luisa E. Mengoni, “The SinoEuropean Trade in Ceramics: Bulk Export and Special Orders,” in Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012). Anthony Farrington, Trading Places: The East India Company and Asia 1600–1834 (London: British Library, 2002). 10 VOC records indicate that the volume of private trade to Holland exceeded that of Company orders. This was not true of EIC trade. Jan van Campen and Titus M. Eliëns, Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age (Wezep: Waanders Uitg, 2014). 11 Teresa Canepa and Katherine Butler, Leaping the Dragon Gate: The Sir Michael Butler Collection of Seventeenth Century Chinese Porcelain (Ad Ilissum, 2021). 12 V&A: C.65–1963, BM: 1963, 0422.1. 13 More than a million pieces of porcelain were imported by the EIC from the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. This number is dwarfed by the enormous quantities of tea, spices, and Indian cottons imported as part of the Company’s trade over the same period. See Maxine Berg, Luxury and Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century Britain: Debates, Desires and Delectable Goods (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 56. 14 Kate Smith, “Manly Objects? Gendering Armorial Porcelain,” in The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857 (London: UCL Press, 2018), 113–130. For detailed studies of armorial porcelain in Britain, see David Sanctuary Howard, Chinese Armorial Porcelain (London: Faber and Faber, 1974). Algernon Tudor-Craig, Armorial Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century (London: The Century House, 1925). Frederick Arthur Crisp, Armorial China: A Catalogue of Chinese Porcelain with Coats of Arms (London: Privately Printed, 1907). 15 Social and political opposition to the unregulated excesses of representatives of the Company in India resulted in the establishment of the India Act of 1784, establishing parliamentary control over EIC affairs for the first time. For an overview of Clive’s life, career, and collecting, see Maya Jasanoff, Edge of Empire: Conquest and Collecting in the East, 1750–1850 (London: Harper Perennial, 2006), 32–39. 16 Harriet Richardson and Peter Guillery, “At Home in Cavendish Square and Harley Street: East India Company Impact on Eighteenth-Century Marylebone” (The East India Company at Home, London, 2014). 17 On the evolution of dining, see Philippa Glanville and Hilary Young, eds., Elegant Eating: Four Hundred Years of Dining in Style (London: New York: V & A Publications; Distributed in North America by Harry N. Abrams, 2002). 18 Written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616). 19 Produced as models for a set of tapestries produced at the Gobelins factory in Paris which specialized in the production of Flemish tapestries for the royal court of Louis XIV. Mengoni, L. (2012), 132–133. 20 Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Chapter XXI. 21 https://www​.christies​.com​/en​/lot​/lot​-5865693 22 Howard notes the stylistic similarities to Pronk’s work, but the designs of Jean Berain (1638–1711), Daniel Marot (1663–1752), and Claude de Paquier (1719–1744), Director of Viennese porcelain production, may have provided a more direct design source. See Howard and Ayres (1978), Vol. 1, p. 302. Sargent (2012), p. 290. 23 Teresa Canepa, Christian Images in Chinese Porcelain (London, Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2003), 6–8. 24 Howard and Ayres, (1978), Vol. 2, p. 254. 25 See tea bowls and saucer (1745) in Canepa (2003), pp. 114–116 and plate from the Mottahedeh Collection, Howard and Ayers (1978), Vol. 2, p. 254. 26 Helen Glaister, “7. Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes,” in Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics with an Agenda, from the 14th to the 20th Century (British Museum Press, 2021), 67–75.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 27 27 First produced as sculptures in sugar or wax, Meissen were the first to introduce porcelain figurines in the 1730s to provide a visual focal point for the dessert table. See Victoria and Albert Museum, Reino Liefkes, and Hilary Young, eds., Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London: New York: V&A Pub.; Distributed in North America by H.N. Abrams, 2008), 96–97. 28 For a full discussion of this object, see Helen Glaister, “The Picturesque in Peking: European Decoration at the Qing Court,” in Rhapsodic Objects: Art, Agency and Materiality 1700– 2000 (Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2021), 99–124. 29 George N Kates, The Years That Were Fat Peking 1933–1940 (Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1952), http://archive​.org​/details​/yea​rsth​atwe​refa​t008​540mbp. Jonathan Hay, Sensuous Surfaces: The Decorative Object in Early Modern China (London: Reaktion, 2010). Kristina Kleutghen, “Chinese Occidenterie: The Diversity of ‘Western’ Objects in Eighteenth-Century China,” Eighteenth-Century Studies 47, no. 2 (Winter 2014): 117–135. 30 On glass in Qing China, see Emily Byrne. Curtis, Glass Exchange between Europe and China, 1550–1800: Diplomatic, Mercantile and Technological Interactions, Transculturalisms, 1400–1700 (Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009). 31 Ching-Fei Shi, 日月光华 :清宫画珐琅 Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court /[施静菲著]. Ri Yue Guang Hua: “Qing Gong Hua Fa Lang,” 2012, https://www​.nlb​.gov​.sg​/biblio​/200659731. 32 Kleutghen, “Chinese Occidenterie.” 33 On female porcelain collectors in continental Europe, see Krahe, Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain. Cordula Bischoff, “Women Collectors and the Rise of Porcelain,” Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age (Waanders Uitg, 2014), 171–189. On eighteenth-century collecting and gender in England, see Stacey Sloboda, “Porcelain Bodies: Gender, Acquisitiveness, and Taste in Eighteenth-Century England,” in Material Cultures, 1740–1920, The Meanings and Pleasures of Collecting (England: Ashgate, 2009), 19–36. 34 Sloboda, “Porcelain Bodies: Gender, Acquisitiveness, and Taste in Eighteenth-Century England,” p. 19. 35 Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace, Consuming Subjects: Women, Shopping, and Business in the Eighteenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997). Lorna Weatherill, “A Possession of One’s Own: Women and Consumer Behavior in England, 1600–1740,” The Journal of British Studies 25, no. 2 (April 1986): 131–156. 36 Amanda Vickery, The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England (New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 2003). 37 Stacey Pierson, “10. Chinese Porcelain, the East India Company, and British Cultural Identity, 1600–1800,” in Picturing Commerce in and from the East Asian Maritime Circuits, 1550–1800 (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019), 275–292. 38 See Luísa Vinhais and Jorge Welsh, eds., Pocket Treasures. Snuff Boxes from Past Times (London: Jorge Welsh Books, 2019), 72–73. 39 Jessica Harrison-Hall, “Oriental Pottery and Porcelain,” in A.W.Franks – Nineteenth Century Collecting and the British Museum (London: British Museum Press, 1997), 220– 229, p. 226. 40 V&A: 1455–1853, V&A: 1995–1855. Bandinel was the former Superintendent of the Slave Trade Department of the Foreign Office. The collection was dominated by European ceramics but included Chinese export porcelain, purchased in 1853 in total for £250. Bernal was a lawyer and politician, inheriting his fortune from estates in the West Indies. He was a prolific collector of “glass, plate, ceramics and miniatures” and his collection was sold by Christie’s at auction in 1855. 41 Stacey Pierson, “5 ‘True Beauty of Form and Chaste Embellishment.’ Summer Palace Loot and Chinese Porcelain Collecting in Nineteenth-Century Britain,” in Collecting and Displaying China’s “Summer Palace” in the West: The Yuanmingyuan in Britain and France (Routledge, 2017). 42 Bushell purchased two groups of ceramics between 1882 and 1883 for the sum of £500, V&A Archive, S.W. Bushell Nominal File MA/1/B3676. Nick Pearce, “Collecting, Connoisseurship and Commerce: An Examination of the Life and Career of Stephen Wooton Bushell (1844–1908),” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 70 (2007).

28  Chinese Porcelain in European Style 43 Stephen W. Bushell, Chinese Porcelain Before the Present Dynasty (Peking, 1886). Zhu Yan and Stephen W. Bushell, trans., Description of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: Being a Translation of the T’ao Shuo (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1910). 44 S.W. Bushell, Oriental Ceramic Art, 10 vols (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896). S.W. Bushell, Chinese Art, vol. 2 (London: HMSO, 1905). 45 See Judith Green, ‘“A New Orientation of Ideas”: Collecting and the Taste for Early Chinese Ceramics in England: 1921–36,’ in Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, ed. Stacey Pierson, Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia 20 (London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2000). Stacey Pierson, “Reinventing ‘China’: Provenance, Categories, and the Collecting of Chinese Ceramics, 1910–2010,” in Collectors, Collections & Collecting the Arts of China: Histories and Challenges (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2014). On Fry, Modernism, and Chinese Art, See Ralph Parfect, “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and The Burlington Magazine,” in British Modernism and Chinoiserie (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 53–71. 46 On the transfer of objects, see Helen Glaister, “Collecting and Display in Public and Private: A Biography of the Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain, 1920–1970” (PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2021). 47 R. Soame Jenyns. “The Hon. Mrs. Basil Ionides’ Bequest of Chinese Export Porcelain,” The British Museum Quarterly 29, no. 3/4 (Summer 1965), http://jstor​.org​/stable​/4422901. 48 Joanna Weddell, “The Ethos of the Victoria and Albert Museum Circulation Department 1947–1960,” in Design Objects and the Museum (London: New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016), 15–26. 49 See Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ancient Trade Ceramics from the British Museum (London, Taipei, 1994). Exhibited the following year at the British Museum in London, East Meets West: Chinese Trade Ceramics in the British Museum, 1995. “Self and Other” toured to Osaka, National Museum of Ethnology (September–November 2008), Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (December–January 2008), Hayama, Museum of Modern Art (February–March 2009). No catalogue was produced for this exhibition. 50 Zhangshen Lu, ed., Passion for Porcelain. Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange (Beijing, 2012). 51 This includes a large famille rose basin (BM: 2003, 1129.1), purchased by the British Museum through the Brooke Sewell Permanent Fund (Bonhams, 2003), formerly in the collection of Nellie Ionides. Three Ionides pieces also featured as secondary objects in catalogue entries but were not exhibited. 52 Farish A. Noor et al., eds., Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman (Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2019). See Plate 8: Large blue and white porcelain dish decorated with the baptism of Christ (BM: 1963, 0422.13). 53 Margaret Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1950). 54 Victor Rienaecker, “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art,” Country Life Annual, 1956. 55 Craig Clunas, ed., Chinese Export Art and Design (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987). Gallery 47f, formerly the Gallery of Chinese Export Art, was dismantled in late 2014 and reopened as the new Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist Art, August 2015. 56 Rose Kerr and Luisa E. Mengoni, Chinese Export Ceramics (London: V&A Publishing, 2011). Reino Liefkes and Hilary Young, eds., Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London: V&A Publishing, 2008). 57 Jessica Harrison-Hall, China: A History in Objects (New York: Thames & Hudson Inc, 2017), 292–293. 58 Such as Lars Tharp, Hogarth’s China: Hogarth’s Paintings and Eighteenth Century Ceramics (London: Merrell Holberton, 1997).

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 29 59 Luisa E. Mengoni, “Collecting and Redisplaying Qing Ceramics at the V&A,” Arts of Asia 41, no. 6 (December 2011): 97–111. 60 Luisa Vinhais and Jorge Welsh, eds., Through Distant Eyes: Portraiture in Chinese Export Art (London, Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2018) Cat.2, 28–31. 61 Teresa Canepa, European Scenes on Chinese Art (London, Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2005). Canepa, Christian Images in Chinese Porcelain. Jorge Welsh, ed., Out of the Ordinary: Living with Chinese Export Porcelain (London: Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2015), 170–173. 62 Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics Vol. 4. A Collector’s Vision (London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2019). Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos and Luísa Vinhais, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector’s Vision, 1. ed (London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2011), Vol. I: 334–337, Vol. II: 23. 63 Sarah Wong and Stacey Pierson, Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021 (Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021), 264–265.

Bibliography Berg, Maxine. Luxury and Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century Britain: Debates, Desires and Delectable Goods. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Bischoff, Cordula. “Women Collectors and the Rise of Porcelain.” Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age, Waanders Uitg, 2014, 171–89. Bushell, Stephen W. Chinese Porcelain Before the Present Dynasty. Beijing: Peking, 1886. Bushell, S. W. Chinese Art (Vol. 2). London: HMSO, 1905. Bushell, S. W. Oriental Ceramic Art (Vols. 10). New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896. Campen, Jan van, and Titus M. Eliëns. Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age. Wezep: Waanders Uitg, 2014. Canepa, Teresa. Christian Images in Chinese Porcelain. London, Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2003. Canepa, Teresa. European Scenes on Chinese Art. London, Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2005. Canepa, Teresa. Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer: China and Japan and Their Trade with Western Europe and the New World, 1500–1644. London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016. Canepa, Teresa. “The Iberian Courts of Lisbon and Madrid, and Their Role in Spreading a Taste for Chinese Porcelain in 16th Century Europe.” In Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age, Waanders Uitg, 2014. Canepa, Teresa, and Katherine Butler. Leaping the Dragon Gate: The Sir Michael Butler Collection of Seventeenth Century Chinese Porcelain. London: Ad Ilissum, 2021. Chaffers, William. Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain. London: Bickers & Son, 1863. Clunas, Craig, ed. Chinese Export Art and Design. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987. Crisp, Frederick Arthur. Armorial China: A Catalogue of Chinese Porcelain With Coats of Arms. London: Privately Printed, 1907. Curtis, Emily Byrne. Glass Exchange Between Europe and China, 1550–1800: Diplomatic, Mercantile and Technological Interactions—Transculturalisms, 1400–1700. Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. de Matos, Maria Antónia Pinto, and Luísa Vinhais. The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector’s Vision (1st ed.). London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2011. de Matos, Pinto, and Maria Antónia. The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics Vol. 4. A Collector’s Vision. London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2019. Farrington, Anthony. Trading Places: The East India Company and Asia 1600–1834. London: British Library, 2002.

30  Chinese Porcelain in European Style Gerritsen, Anne. “Material Circulations in the Sixteenth Century.” In The City of Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern World, 195–215. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Glaister, Helen. “7. Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes.” In Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics With an Agenda, From the 14th to the 20th Century, 67–75. British Museum Press, 2021. Glaister, Helen. Collecting and Display in Public and Private: A Biography of the Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain, 1920–1970. PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2021. Glaister, Helen. “The Picturesque in Peking: European Decoration at the Qing Court.” In Rhapsodic Objects: Art, Agency and Materiality 1700–2000, 99–124. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2021. Glanville, Philippa, and Hilary Young, eds. Elegant Eating: Four Hundred Years of Dining in Style. London, New York: V & A Publications; Distributed in North America by Harry N. Abrams, 2002. Green, Judith. “A New Orientation of Ideas”: Collecting and the Taste for Early Chinese Ceramics in England: 1921–36.” In Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, edited by Stacey Pierson. Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia 20. London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2000. Harrison-Hall, Jessica. China: A History in Objects. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 2017. Harrison-Hall, Jessica. “Oriental Pottery and Porcelain.” In A. W. Franks – Nineteenth Century Collecting and the British Museum, 220–29. London: British Museum Press, 1997. Hay, Jonathan. Sensuous Surfaces: The Decorative Object in Early Modern China. London: Reaktion, 2010. Howard, David Sanctuary. Chinese Armorial Porcelain. London: Faber and Faber, 1974. Howard, David Sanctuary. The Choice of the Private Trader: The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain Illustrated From the Hodroff Collection. London: Zwemmer, 1994. Jasanoff, Maya. Edge of Empire: Conquest and Collecting in the East, 1750–1850. London: Harper Perennial, 2006. Jenyns, R. Soame. “The Hon. Mrs. Basil Ionides’ Bequest of Chinese Export Porcelain.” The British Museum Quarterly 29, no. 3/4 (Summer 1965). http://jstor​.org​/stable​/4422901. Jourdain, Margaret, and R. Soame Jenyns. Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century. London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950. Kates, George N. The Years That Were Fat Peking 1933–1940. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1952. http://archive​.org​/details​/yea​rsth​atwe​refa​t008​540mbp. Kerr, Rose. “Porcelain Raised from the Sea: Marine Archaeology and Chinese Ceramics.” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors 167 (May 2008): 47–51. Kerr, Rose, and Luisa E. Mengoni. Chinese Export Ceramics. London: V&A Publishing, 2011. Keyes, Homer Eaton. “Lowestoft, What Is It?” Antiques I–IV (November 1928). Kleutghen, Kristina. “Chinese Occidenterie: The Diversity of “Western” Objects in EighteenthCentury China.” Eighteenth-Century Studies 47, no. 2 (Winter 2014): 117–35. Kowaleski-Wallace, Elizabeth. Consuming Subjects: Women, Shopping, and Business in the Eighteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. Krahe, Cinta. Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Europa Hispanica, 2016. Krahl, Regina, and Jessica Harrison-Hall. Ancient Trade Ceramics from the British Museum. London: Taipei, 1994. Liefkes Reino, and Hilary Young, eds. Masterpieces of World Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London and New York: V&A Publishers; Distributed in North America by H. N. Abrams, 2008.

Chinese Porcelain in European Style 31 Lu, Zhangshen, ed. Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012. Mengoni, Luisa E. “Collecting and Redisplaying Qing Ceramics at the V&A.” Arts of Asia 41, no. 6 (December 2011): 97–111. Mengoni, Luisa E. “The Sino-European Trade in Ceramics: Bulk Export and Special Orders.” In Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics From the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012. Noor, Farish A., Julian Davison, Martyn E. Y. Low, Stephen A. Murphy, Naomi Wang, Alexandra Green, Asian Civilisations Museum (Singapore), and British Museum, eds. Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman. Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2019. Parfect, Ralph. “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and the Burlington Magazine.” In British Modernism and Chinoiserie, 53–71. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. Pearce, Nick. “Collecting, Connoisseurship and Commerce: An Examination of the Life and Career of Stephen Wooton Bushell (1844–1908).” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 70 (2007): 17–25. Pierson, Stacey. “5 “True Beauty of Form and Chaste Embellishment.” Summer Palace Loot and Chinese Porcelain Collecting in Nineteenth-Century Britain.” In Collecting and Displaying China’s ‘Summer Palace’ in the West: The Yuanmingyuan in Britain and France. London: Routledge, 2017. Pierson, Stacey. “10. Chinese Porcelain, the East India Company, and British Cultural Identity, 1600–1800.” In Picturing Commerce in and from the East Asian Maritime Circuits, 1550– 1800, 275–92, 2018. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019. Pierson, Stacey. “Reinventing “China”: Provenance, Categories, and the Collecting of Chinese Ceramics, 1910–2010.” In Collectors, Collections & Collecting the Arts of China: Histories and Challenges. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2014. Richardson, Harriet, and Peter Guillery. At Home in Cavendish Square and Harley Street: East India Company Impact on Eighteenth-Century Marylebone. London, 2014. Rienaecker, Victor. “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art.” Country Life Annual, 1956. Sargent, William R. “Five Hundred Years of Chinese Export Ceramics in Context.” In Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics From the Peabody Essex Museum, 1–32. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012. Senos, Nuno. “The Empire in the Duke’s Palace. Global Material Culture in Sixteenth-Century Portugal.” In The Global Lives of Things: Material Culture of Connections in the Early Modern World, 128–44. London and New York: Routledge, 2016. Shi, Ching-Fei. “日月光华 :清宫画珐琅 Radiant Luminance : The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court/[施静菲著]. Ri Yue Guang Hua: Qing Gong Hua Fa Lang.” 2012. https://www​.nlb​.gov​.sg​/biblio​/200659731. Sloboda, Stacey. “Porcelain Bodies: Gender, Acquisitiveness, and Taste in Eighteenth-Century England.” In Material Cultures, 1740–1920: The Meanings and Pleasures of Collecting, 19–36. England: Ashgate, 2009. Smith, Kate. “Manly Objects? Gendering Armorial Porcelain.” In The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857, 113–30. London: UCL Press, 2018. Tharp, Lars. Hogarth’s China: Hogarth’s Paintings and Eighteenth Century Ceramics. London: Merrell Holberton, 1997. Tudor-Craig, Algernon. Armorial Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century. London: The Century House, 1925. Vickery, Amanda. The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003. Vinhais, Luísa, and Jorge Welsh, eds. Pocket Treasures: Snuff Boxes From Past Times. London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2019.

32  Chinese Porcelain in European Style Vinhais, Luísa, and Jorge Welsh, eds. Through Distant Eyes: Portraiture in Chinese Export Art. London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2018. Weatherill, Lorna. “A Possession of One’s Own: Women and Consumer Behavior in England, 1600–1740.” The Journal of British Studies 25, no. 2 (April 1986): 131–56. Weddell, Joanna. “The Ethos of the Victoria and Albert Museum Circulation Department 1947– 1960.” In Design Objects and the Museum, 15–26. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. Welsh, Jorge, ed. Out of the Ordinary: Living With Chinese Export Porcelain. London and Lisbon: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2015. Wong, Sarah, and Stacey Pierson. Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021. London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021. Yan, Zhu, and Stephen W. Bushell, trans. Description of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: Being a Translation of the T′ao Shuo. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1910.

2

Basil Ionides Collecting, Interior Design, and Museums Helen Glaister

This chapter reconstructs the personal biography of the architect and interior designer Basil Ionides, the leading actor in the life of the Ionides Collection, charting the ­trajectory of his life prior to his marriage in 1930. Details of his Anglo-Greek ­heritage and early career as well as social interactions with artists and writers, friends, and associates reveal the accumulation of cultural capital over the first decades of his life, offering insights into his motivations as architect/designer and the role of Chinese art objects in his self-fashioning as collector.1 The relationship between art collecting, in particular Chinese art, and interior design is an important strand of this book and is first introduced in this chapter. Photographic and textual sources provide valuable insights into Basil’s professional body of work, from large commercial projects to domestic interiors, and the manner whereby Chinese designs and motifs, colour combinations, and visual effects were adopted and deployed by the designer to evoke a range of emotional and sensory responses. The utility of Chinese art objects, including porcelain, and the display of decorative objects in the interior are discussed, illustrating the versatility of Ionides as designer and his ability to successfully produce designs of drastically different scale and purpose. The largely unrecognized work of Basil Ionides will be situated within wider trends of interior design, notably Art Deco and Neo-Georgian Revivalism in which he played a significant role. Finally, this chapter will consider how Chinese art and Chinese art objects were inserted into broader discourses of modern art and modernism then taking shape, reflecting dominant patterns in collecting and taste during the interwar period. From the mid-nineteenth century, the Ionides family were well-known collectors and generous museum benefactors, donating large art collections to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and elsewhere. Basil Ionides also donated objects to the V&A prior to his bequest of “Famille Rose Chinese Porcelain,” indicating early affiliations between the designer and design museum. The connections between private collecting and the public museum will be examined, revealing the role of personal relationships – between specialist curators and collectors – and the significance of art collecting and public patronage in the construction of individual and group identities.

The Ionides Family: Collectors, Patrons, and Benefactors Basil Ionides was born to a prominent Anglo-Greek dynasty that had by the midnineteenth century become leading collectors and patrons of the arts.2 His great grandfather Constantine Ioannou (1775–1852) was a Greek textile merchant known by the DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779-2

34  Basil Ionides name “Ipliktzis” meaning “trader in yarns and fibres,” who had moved to Manchester in 1815 to establish a business exporting Manchester cloth to Greece and Turkey.3 His fourth son and Basil’s grandfather, Alexander Constantine Ionides (1810–90), took British nationality in 1837 and was responsible for anglicizing the Greek name from Ioannou to Ionides (Ion was the mythical ancestor of the Ionians, therefore Ionides means “the Greek”), and founding the firm Ionides and Co. Officially listed as “Turkey Merchants,” the family firm prospered, initially trading in a variety of products including grain, cotton, and dyes and later extending their commercial interests into banking, insurance, stockbroking, and the directorship of numerous business ventures including the Crystal Palace Company.4 In the period 1854–1866, Alexander was appointed Greek Consul-General and was later succeeded in this role by his youngest son Alexander “Alecco” Ionides (1840–1898). The family moved to London in 1834, living first at 9 Finsbury Circus and later at Tulse Hill, then from 1864 at a fashionable residence at 1 Holland Park.5 Alexander and his extended family were noted for their enthusiastic patronage of the arts and intimate friendship with avant-garde artists; James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834– 1903), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), and Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898) all enjoyed close and longstanding relationships with the family and shared membership of the Burlington Fine Arts Club, along with Constantine Alexander (C. A.) Ionides (1833–1900) discussed below.6 George Frederick Watts (1817–1904) painted five generations of the family, including a family portrait of Alexander and his wife Euterpe Sgouta Ionides (1816–1892) with their four eldest children, now in the V&A collection (Figure 2.1). The painting reaffirms their Anglo-Greek heritage, the two eldest boys including Basil’s father, Luke dressed in traditional Greek national costume in contrast to their parents depicted in modern European dress. According to Luke, there was “open house” at Tulse Hill and later Holland Park on most Sundays as well as evening parties where the Ionides hosted friends from across the arts. The family home was decorated in the latest style, the entrance lined with blue William De Morgan tiles and William Morris wallpaper displayed throughout the interior.7 The eldest of five children, C.A. Ionides established a family home at nearby 8 Holland Villas Road for which the architectural drawings and interior designs of Philip Webb are now preserved in the V&A collection.8 An energetic collector and patron, C.A. Ionides amassed an extensive collection of paintings, prints, and drawings from Tintoretto and Botticelli to the works of contemporary Pre-Raphaelite artists and French painters including Delacroix, Millet, Degas, and Rousseau who were yet to gain popular recognition.9 Following his death in 1900, 1,138 pictorial works were bequeathed to the V&A, to which a further twenty were added upon the death of his wife in 1920, and displayed in accordance with his will in a dedicated gallery. The display of objects in Gallery 81 is today based upon original photographic sources from his home in Hove, East Sussex where he lived permanently with his art collection from the early 1890s.10 In the museum space, paintings have been doublehung and placed alongside furniture, sculpture, and other objects associated with the Ionides family including Chinese ceramics and bronzes, the whole assemblage offering “a unique insight into progressive artistic taste in Victorian Britain.”11 The donation of the collection of C.A. Ionides “for the benefit of the nation” is significant, being the first generation of the Anglo-Greek dynasty to do so. Whilst his forefathers had enthusiastically embraced the collecting habits of their country of residence, the first and second generations of the Ionides maintained strong bonds with

Basil Ionides 35

Figure 2.1 The Family of Alexander Constantine Ionides, oil on canvas, painted by George Frederick Watts (1817–1904), c.1840. V&A: CAI,1147. Left to right: Mr Alexander Ionides, Aglaia Ionides, Mrs Alexander Ionides, Alexander Ionides, Luke Ionides, Constantine Alexander Ionides. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Greece, supporting several educational and religious establishments; the donation by Constantine Ioannou for the foundation of the University of Athens (1844, 1846) was twice as large as that of King Otto (1815–1867).12 However, the third generation of the family appear to identify more closely with their country of residence and birth. In leaving his art collection to the British nation and stipulating that the collection be preserved in its totality and displayed in one location, C.A. Ionides was able to secure a prominent place for the Ionides name within the national collection in perpetuity. In a similar manner, Basil Ionides would choose to leave his collection of Chinese porcelain fifty years later to the V&A, although in contrast to his uncle, objects from his bequest would be dispersed across the museum, his name largely unknown as collector and museum benefactor. Luke Alexander Ionides (1837–1924) was the second son of Alexander and father to Basil. His early years in Paris and the Near East are recollected in a selection of letters published shortly after his death as Memories (1926). Through this short and incomplete collection of writings, his intimate relationships with artists James Abbot McNeill Whistler (“Jimmy”), Edward Burne-Jones (“Ned”), and designer William Morris (1834–1896) become immediately apparent.13 His literary friends included the author Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), poet A.L. Tennyson (1809–1892), and dramatist W.S. Gilbert (1836–1911), who in 1880 rewrote the play Sweethearts (1874) for

36  Basil Ionides Luke’s children to act out on Christmas Day. The book is peppered with references to leading artists and aesthetes, including the more scandalous names of Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) and Simeon Solomon (1840–1905). On 29 August 1869, Luke married Elfrida Elizabeth Bird (1848–1929) and the couple lived at 16 Holland Villas Road with their seven children. For their first child, Burne-Jones, Rossetti, and Morris gifted a ­sixteenth-century Dutch cradle which they restored and personalized for their friends.14 Following Luke’s early success in the family firm, the family moved to 17 Phillimore Gardens which was decorated under his supervision and admired by Morris who “had Burne-Jones’ drawing room done with the same paper and the same colouring.”15 The Ionides’ house embodied the ideals of what became known as the “Aesthetic Movement” in its interior design and decoration, as articulated by their artist friends and close associates and exemplified in the portrait of Basil’s mother, Mrs Luke Ionides by William Blake Richmond (1842–1921) of 1882 (Figure 2.2). The ornate sofa upon which she sits had featured the previous year in a book on advanced interior decoration and is here set against an oriental screen of embroidered Japanese kimono silk; her silk clothing, silver belt buckle, and amber beads are all in keeping with the latest style.16 The painting was acquired for the V&A in 2003 and now hangs in Gallery 81 with the C.A. Ionides collection and other objects associated with the Ionides family. By the second half of the nineteenth century when this portrait was painted, collecting antiques had become a popular pastime for the middle and upper classes and while

Figure 2.2 Portrait of Mrs Luke Ionides (1848–1929), oil on canvas, William Blake Richmond (1842–1921), Exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, 1882. E.1062:1&2–2003, V&A. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Basil Ionides 37 long-established and negative female connotations of china collecting persisted, male aesthetes increasingly dominated the field. For many, collecting antique porcelains was then regarded as a sign of refinement, promising originality in an increasingly massproduced world. At the same time, the fashion for collecting and displaying blue and white Chinese porcelain as articles of interior design, soon known as “Chinamania,” was promoted by Whistler and Rosetti from the 1860s. The artists developed their own jokey nomenclature for objects in their collections, describing round lidded pots as “ginger jars,” the classic “prunus” pattern as “hawthorn” and the tall, straight vases depicting female figures as “long Elizas” after the Dutch term Lange Leizen (“long ladies”). Whistler famously placed blue and white porcelain at the centre of his paintings; in Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks of 1864 (Philadelphia Museum of Art), a Chinese blue and white vessel absorbs the gaze of both the female sitter and the viewer. The emphasis at that time was firmly on blue and white porcelain, “Nankin” china or “Old Blue” as it was known; terms commonly associated with late seventeenthcentury Chinese porcelain prized for what was seen as its authentic “oriental” character but as Anne Anderson observes, could also include ceramics from Delft, Spode, Early Worcester, Caughley, and Derby which by then were regarded as “antique.”17 By 1891, A.T. Hollingsworth recorded that blue and white was prized, “first as an undeniably exquisite decoration for the interior of our houses, and secondly, as a thing of rare beauty in itself, and apart from all consideration of its adaptability to its surroundings.”18 This remark indicates the increased engagement of men with the domestic interior and Deborah Cohen notes that by the 1880s, the business of furnishing the home was almost entirely a man’s world. The earliest home decoration manuals were written by married men for married men. Decorators were men; the cause of design reform was led by men; upholsterers were men, as were the clerks on the shop floor.19 The exhibition “Blue and White Oriental Porcelain” organized by members of the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1895, all of whom were male, attests to the continued popularity of these wares amongst collectors in the final decade of the century.20 Understanding the late Victorian taste for blue and white Chinese porcelain, as collectable object or article of decoration, is significant here due to the direct personal connections between Basil Ionides, his family, and leading aesthetes as outlined above. The large house in Phillimore Gardens in which Basil Ionides spent his formative years was designed and furnished by leading proponents of the Aesthetic ideal, as prescribed in The House Beautiful, which emphasized the beauty of everyday objects and was widely credited with revolutionizing attitudes towards the lived environment.21 There can be little doubt that Basil Ionides was familiar with Chinese porcelain, in particular blue and white, from an early age and observed its decorative utility within the lived interior which in turn may have influenced his own approach to interior design, display, and collecting Chinese porcelain later in life. Dorothea Butterworth (née Ionides), later recalled an idyllic childhood cut short following her father’s financial difficulties beginning in 1895. The breakdown of the marriage of Luke and Elfrida swiftly followed, both moving to alternative lodgings and avoiding each other at social occasions for the rest of their lives. On 10 January 1900, Luke was declared bankrupt or “hammered” on the Stock Exchange and left £533 when he died aged 87 in March 1924.22

38  Basil Ionides

Basil Ionides: Architect and “Decorator” Basil Ionides was born on 20 June 1884, the fourth son of Luke Ionides and the youngest child by some six years. According to his sister Dorothea, Basil was “indulged” and “spoiled” when young, but she acknowledged that due to the financial difficulties of his father, Basil did not enjoy an elite education at Harrow like his brothers but was instead sent to Tonbridge School, a respected public school nonetheless. Basil spent the first sixteen years of his formative life mixing with artists and aesthetes associated with his father and wider family circle, and according to his later friend, Margaret Jourdain, “was brought up on the knees of the Pre-Raphaelites.”23 His early exposure to avant-garde art and design, and in particular developments in interior design is worthy of note as it was in this field that he was later to excel. Furthermore, the prominent reputation of the Ionides family as collectors and patrons of the arts, including Chinese ceramics, no doubt familiarized the young Basil Ionides with Chinese art objects and the practice of collecting from any early age. From 1900 to 1903, Basil Ionides studied architecture at Glasgow School of Art where he was apprenticed to Alexander Nisbet Paterson (1862–1947). At just eighteen he designed his first building, a double villa in Winton Drive in Glasgow, and upon completion of his professional training moved to London where he briefly joined the offices of Leonard Stokes (1858–1925) and later Harold Ainsworth Peto (1854– 1933).24 Ionides was admitted Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1931, being elevated to Fellow in 1938.25 In 1908, Basil Ionides entered independent practice at Hadlow Down, Sussex, designing small houses for private clients such as the poet and novelist Maurice Hewlett (1861–1923).26 In 1912, he undertook his first major restoration project for Captain Frederick Granthan (1870–1915) at the medieval Beeleigh Abbey in Maldon, Essex, described by its current owner as “in the main, sympathetic.”27 During the First World War, Basil served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, initially receiving a commission which he swiftly relinquished, stating that he preferred not to give orders to more experienced men. He returned later to the forces as an ordinary seaman but was disabled in 1917, returning shortly after to practice in London. Ionides worked on a range of projects over subsequent years, including commercial premises such as the restaurant at Swan and Edgars, Piccadilly Circus (1929), the showrooms for Messrs Boots in Birmingham (1929) and Regent Street (1932), the exclusive car salesroom of Armstrong Siddeley, Bond Street, and the historic teashop, Gunter’s of Berkeley Square and Bond Street. The decorative scheme for the Society of Herbalists in Baker Street was featured in his second book Colour in Everyday Rooms, published in 1934.28 Ionides also designed the interiors of tube stations at Ealing Common and Hounslow West, both remodelled in the early 1930s in the latest Art Deco style.29

Professional Recognition and Commercial Success: Claridge’s Restaurant (1926–1927) The most highly acclaimed and well-known achievements of Basil Ionides’ career are the interiors of Claridge’s Hotel (1927) and the Savoy Hotel and Theatre (1929) London, both of which exemplified Art Deco style and have retained their status as British icons of this genre.30

Basil Ionides 39 The refurbishment of the restaurant at Claridge’s Hotel received praise from within the architectural establishment and significantly raised Ionides’ professional profile.31 It is likely that the society painter William Bruce Ellis Ranken (1881–1941) contributed to the project, who also collaborated with Ionides on his first book around this date.32 Created between 1926 and 1927, the scheme embodied the Art Deco design aesthetic then dominating continental Europe.33 The innovative use of new materials and reflective surfaces combined sheet steel with coloured and glazed glass illuminated with electric lighting to create light and spacious interiors. The use of colour was a central preoccupation of designers of the time who used fabrics and textiles to enhance mood and atmosphere and “to extend a rooms palette beyond the predictable brown tones of its wood furniture and wall paneling.”34 The use of burnished gold and silver further enriched interiors with gloss and glamour. Photographic sources provide valuable insights into the original restaurant scheme where design elements of Chinese inspiration are plentiful, creating a mood of exotic luxury. Along the walls, engraved mirrors framed in red and gold offer a modern reinterpretation of East Asian lacquer screens (Figure 2.3), each flanked by niches of leafed gold housing large white elephants bearing silver pagodas. These sculptures closely resemble Chinese ceramic prototypes, such as those painted by Ranken some years later (Figure 4.10), but are here modelled in plaster and fitted with internal lighting, demonstrating Ionides’ appropriation of Chinese tropes to suit modern purposes.

Figure 2.3 Photograph of recess in Claridge’s restaurant with etched glass screen, 1930. RIBA23749, RIBApix. © Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections.

40  Basil Ionides

“Modernism with a Chinese Flavour”: The Savoy Hotel and Theatre (1929) At the Savoy Hotel, London, Ionides redesigned communal areas such as the Reception Room, the Pinafore Room, and the Ladies Reading Room in addition to a number of bedrooms. In the Foyer, the inventive use of lighting included half-lamps reminiscent of Chinese lanterns, successfully illuminating once dark recesses. The walls were decorated in gold, hung with large mirrors and niches of glass in white, grey, gold, and pink, further expanding the illusion of light and space. Arguably the most striking of all his design projects, the Savoy Theatre has been lauded as one of the great achievements of Art Deco design in England and can be enjoyed in its restored but authentic form today. In The Architectural Review, Raymond McGrath applauded Ionides both for his attention to recent innovations in acoustic design from America, and for the ambient atmosphere of the theatre through the use of reflective surfaces, shades of gold lacquer, and gilded silver. The use of colour in the fabric of the seats and curtains, and indirect lighting is a key component of the decorative scheme and Chinese style relief panels decorated with temples, lanterns, dragonflies, and pheasants provided a fresh alternative to traditional theatre ornamentation (Figure 2.4). According to the periodical Building, “One carries away from this theatre a memory of silver and gold, black and green lacquer; and with it the thought that there is modernism with a Chinese flavour.”35 The influence of East Asian design permeates both projects as do the visual effects of distinctive colour combinations and decorative finish achieved through reflective and gilded surfaces and luxurious fabrics. These themes would dominate his publications, discussed below, which offered practical design solutions to a wider public in the domestic setting. In contrast to the Edwardian interiors which preceded them, the design schemes developed by Ionides in Art Deco style emphasized simple, clean lines, and geometric or stylized representational forms, embracing a modern metropolitan way of life which owed much to new technologies and mass-produced goods.36 The success of the design projects at Claridge’s and the Savoy secured Basil Ionides a place in the history of Art Deco design in Britain and 1920s chinoiserie, but surprisingly the rest of his significant body of interior design work remains largely unknown today. For this reason, we must turn to his contributions in the field of publishing, through books, magazines, and specialist periodicals, in order to reveal the breadth and scope of his private and commercial design projects and his engagement with the discourse of twentieth-century interior design.

Interior Design in Print: Writing and Publishing (1922–1936) Basil Ionides was most actively engaged in publishing during the years 1922–1936 when the subject of interior design featured in a growing number of magazines from specialist periodicals such as The Architectural Review (1896–) to those tailored towards a wider readership.37 This trend coincided with a revival of interest in contemporary architecture and interior design in Britain, stimulated through public exhibitions such as the Exhibition of the First Architecture Club held at Grosvenor House in 1923 which invited submissions from the profession with the aim of “promoting good architecture and discouraging bad.”38 The exhibition proved so successful that it was followed in 1924 by a second featuring lesser-known architects.39 In the same

Basil Ionides 41

Figure 2.4 Savoy Theatre, 1929. RIBA8663, RIBApix. © Architectural Press Archive/RIBA Collections.

42  Basil Ionides year, Country Life launched its own interior design competition, promoted in connection with the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, where a series of historical rooms were planned in the Palace of Arts to represent key interior design styles of the past two centuries. The competition invited contemporary designers to create designs for a suite of rooms to represent the year 1924.40 Judges included notable architects Edwin L. Lutyens (1869–1944), Ellen G. Woolrich, Lawrence Weaver (1876–1930), P. Morley Horder (1870–1944), and artist Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971) and their final decisions were published alongside the winning designs.41 Country Life magazine was an important mouthpiece for the emerging debate surrounding interior design and architecture, not only in its traditional rural heartland but in the growing metropolitan centres. Features throughout the 1920s regularly included commentaries on country estates in tandem with articles on recent developments in furniture design, lighting, and the modern interior. Tailored principally to male audiences and focusing overwhelmingly on male architects and designers, despite the growing number of successful “Lady Decorators” at the time, Basil Ionides appeared both as commentator and designer.42 He wrote his first article for the magazine on 25 February 1922, titled “Decoration of Country Houses,” in which he stressed the importance of adhering to the physical and historical context of a property in its later incarnation. He reiterated this stance the following month in his review of the recent refurbishment of the early nineteenth-century town house at No. 86, Vincent Square, London, commending the architects Oswald P. Milne (1881–1968) and Paul Phipps (1880–1953) for preserving “all the feeling of the original work without slavishly copying details, and they have given it a look of importance which it did not formerly possess.”43 It is perhaps worth noting at this juncture the apparent contradiction between these remarks and the extensive refurbishment undertaken by Ionides on behalf of his mother at Howbridge Hall, Essex, completed in 1924.44 The sixteenth-century property was in a semi-derelict state before its purchase by Mrs Ionides and became Basil Ionides’ country residence until he married in 1930. Despite the Tudor origins of the building, Ionides introduced later Georgian interior design features and one of the bedrooms was boldly decorated in early nineteenthcentury wallpaper, superimposing “decoration foreign to the style of the house” he had warned so vigorously against. An increased awareness and understanding of architectural and design history can be detected in the work of a new breed of architectural historian, such as the specialist Margaret Jourdain. A regular contributor to Country Life, Jourdain promoted a more academic approach to the interior, challenging established mores of her day and offering new perspectives in this emerging field. A prolific writer, Jourdain produced twenty books either singly or as co-author, systematically studying individual aspects of the interior from textiles and wallpaper to furniture, ironwork, or carvings.45 Books included detailed line drawings and photographs of case studies, including those taken by Basil Ionides for her 1923 publication English Interiors in Smaller Houses: From the Restoration to the Regency, 1660–1830.46 In the Preface to the book, Jourdain notes the decline of the country house, “having been swept away in the present century”; a growing concern in the interwar years which will be returned to later in this book. Successful collaborations included publications with V&A Keeper of Woodwork and Furniture, Ralph Edwards and British Museum specialist in Chinese art, R. Soame Jenyns.47 Their work, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, published by Country Life in 1950, was extensively illustrated with objects from the

Basil Ionides 43 Ionides Collection in a range of media including examples of European style Chinese export porcelain now held in the British national collections.48 Another leading author who published extensively on interior design during this period was R. Randal Phillips (1878–1967). From The Servantless House in 1920 to Houses for Moderate Means in 1936, Country Life published nine books by Phillips and he was a regular contributor to Country Life magazine. In 1928, a selection of Basil Ionides’ work was featured alongside other leading designers in The Modern English Interior.49 The following year, Phillips praised Ionides’ scheme for his wealthy Chicago client, Mr McCormick, noting “It is encouraging to find that an American has employed an Englishman, Mr. Basil Ionides, to decorate his apartment in Chicago in modern taste.”50 Ionides was invited to write on “Modern Interior Decoration” for the American journal, Creative Art Magazine of Fine and Applied Art soon after, indicating the international status he had by then achieved.51 In 1931, Phillips once more showcased Ionides’ work alongside acclaimed designers Ambrose Heal (1872–1959) and Serge Chermayeff (1900–1996), in Country Life magazine, illustrating a range of projects undertaken for private clients in Britain and the USA.52 By the end of the decade, Ionides had achieved considerable international recognition and commercial success, demonstrating his versatility and ability to skilfully produce designs of vastly different scale, aesthetic, and purpose, from a modernist house, apartment, and theatre to a shop interior or tube station.53 While the primary focus of this book are the country house interiors created for the home established by Ionides and his wife at Buxted Park, the achievements of Ionides as a “modern” designer are significant and provide an interesting counterpoint.

Colour Theory and Interior Decoration: Books by Basil Ionides In addition to numerous articles and features written by Basil Ionides for the architectural and “leisure” press, the designer authored two books on interior design which today offer important insights into his distinctive approach to the interior and the utility of Chinese art objects, in particular ceramics, within the schemes he created. Furthermore, through these visual and textual sources, it may be possible to identify individual objects which later formed part of the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain at the centre of this book and the subsequent bequests in the British national museums. In 1926, Basil Ionides’ first book, Colour and Interior Decoration, was published by Country Life and offered a fresh and pragmatic approach to its reader.54 Unlike earlier works on interior design, Ionides’ book demonstrated a systematic, pseudoscientific method to a subject which was increasingly gaining recognition as a serious and independent field of study. The intended readership of the book is alluded to by Ionides in the Foreword, who acknowledges the assumed financial limitations of his audience, in contrast to his usual portfolio of affluent clients. The theory and psychology of colour is central to his thesis, developing notions propounded by German chemist and philosopher, Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932) and other influential colour theorists, which correlated colour harmonies with emotional responses in the viewer.55 Ionides explained his approach in the following terms: Colour, therefore, plays a major part in decorative schemes, and with colour texture and surface should count … First, the aspect of the room should be

44  Basil Ionides considered; if north, then cheery light-giving colours must be chosen; if dark, then bright colours are best. If the room is very light, then delicate colours may be used and window curtains chosen that will give beautiful reflections. The psychology of colour effect is held to influence many people and to show character greatly. Most people do this with colour. Blues in the deeper tones are said to be restful and to tend to contemplation and philosophy. It is a peaceful colour. Green having blue in it and also yellow, which is a cheerful colour, is happy and is affected by those whose life is contented. Mauve belongs to the weak, morbid, and discontented. Pink is apt to be cruel as it has red rays in it, and red is essentially a cruel colour. Pink is often quoted as the colour of love, but it is a cruel form of love. White is held for innocence, and black is apt to fall to the lot of the vain. Purple suggests pretension, and yellow happiness, but these are only theories which the reader must be left to prove for himself by a closer examination of the subject. Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration, pp. v–viii Taking colour as its primary concern, the book is organized thematically as the author applies his theories to case studies based largely upon his own body of work. Photographic images and paintings by W.B.E. Ranken include a number at Howbridge Hall, such as “The Blue Room” and “The Pink Room,” “decorated by the author for himself” (Figure 2.5). Other case studies include “A Red Room in the house of Mr. Martin de Selincourt” and schemes created for Guy Bethel and Lionel Holland. A table at the end of each chapter juxtaposes rooms based on location and function; is the room in the town or city? A south facing bedroom or sunny living room? Individual aspects of decoration are then addressed, in relation to the “Walls, Woodwork, Ceiling, Floor” and for textiles the “Curtains, Covers and Cushions” (Figure 2.6). Finally, in the category of “Ornaments” Ionides identifies the appropriate use of glassware, metalware, and most importantly for this book, ceramics. The ceramic typologies are at times specific; “Leeds and Wedgewood ‘Queens Ware’ for use in a Sunny Sitting Room in Green,” “Spode for a South-facing drawing room in Purple.” Elsewhere more generic terminology is employed; “White earthenware: Town Bedroom in Green” or “Old English china: Panelled Room in Green.” As a whole, the book operates as an interior design manual for the novice of limited means which, if correctly followed, offers a fully integrated and coordinated lived environment to suit the demands of a rapidly modernizing society. Within this scheme, ceramics are a key design accessory, accessible to the general public and readership of Ionides’ book. An interest in Chinese inspired colour combinations and decorative effects is evident; from the merits of “black and red” or “blue and yellow” which suggest “a Chinese origin” or show “the Chinese influence” to the use of decorated and plain ornament and the visual effects of gloss and sheen associated with East Asian lacquer in Ch XII. Chinese wallpapers are separately identified and illustrated and large Chinese screens can be seen in the “Loggia in the Chinese Manner.”56 Elsewhere, Ionides states that, “A plain coloured wall with many coloured Oriental objects against it will give a riot of colour, but a patterned wall with patterned ornaments, etc. will make too many divided colours for any of them to really tell,” reducing the properties of “Oriental objects” to colour and pattern alone, demonstrating the low value he placed on individual objects in these contexts.57

Basil Ionides 45

Figure 2.5 “A Furnishing Scheme Showing a Successful Use of Pinks,” from a picture by W.B.E. Ranken, in Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (Country Life Publishing, 1926), Plate III, p. 16.

The visibility of Chinese ceramics in photographs and painted works is not immediately evident in the publication, although ceramics are consistently mentioned in the design matrix at the end of each chapter. On East Asian ceramics, Ionides occasionally distinguishes between Chinese and Japanese wares, suggesting an awareness of different porcelain typologies and their design properties, but as no bibliography is included, it is unclear where he sourced his information. References to Chinese porcelain typologies are non-specific and Ionides continues to employ terminology more closely associated with the late nineteenth century; “Nankin Blue” was used by collectors associated with the Aesthetic movement and may have been popularized by Whistler, whose close relationship to Basil’s father has already been discussed. The continued use of the term by Ionides in 1926 may reflect both his own personal relationship to Chinese porcelain, from childhood to adulthood, and the divergence between the popular appreciation of Chinese porcelain, including the readership of his book, with the more scholarly and historically accurate study of Chinese porcelain which prevailed in specialist circles by that time.58 Ionides was not alone in taking colour as his principle design inspiration. A similar approach can be detected in an earlier feature of House and Garden magazine in December 192059 which proposes the decorative scheme of a ‘“Famille Verte” Flat’

46  Basil Ionides

Figure 2.6 “Decorative Schemes in Pink,” in Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (Country Life Publishing, 1926), p. 15.

inspired by three porcelains in the Salting Collection at the V&A (Figures 2.7​–2.9). The unidentified author states that “These three pieces, the plate, the jar, and the figure, represent a single fundamental harmony of colour, as it is elaborated and added to, from its simplest to its most complicated form.” The article suggests the harmonization of colours based on the glassy and translucent Chinese enamels typical of this style of Kangxi period porcelain. Starting with the plate, the bedroom should introduce the key colours of pale butter yellow, grass-green, and aubergine and form the basis of the décor throughout the apartment, with additional notes of black, which are used to define the outline and detail of the porcelain original. To these colours, “a luminous mauve pink” is added in the adjoining bedroom, calling to mind the flowers of the four seasons which decorate the flat-sided vase. A strong red enamel appears in the robes of the smiling figure of the God of Longevity, whose head and hands remain white – both these elements are emphasized in the living room to complete the famille verte scheme. Chinese blue and white porcelain had long inspired interior design schemes in Britain, but this novel approach indicates how designers were seeking new sources and alternative ways of thinking about the art and material culture of China to invigorate their design practice. The second and final book authored by Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms, was published by Country Life in 1934.60 In contrast to his earlier publication, this book is less prescriptive and more cautionary in its approach, warning the reader about “Colour in Odd Places” Ch. VII, “Things out of Place and Badly Mixed” Ch.

Basil Ionides 47

Figure 2.7 Bowl, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662– 1722), Jingdezhen. Height: 7.6 cm x Diameter: 22.9 cm. V&A: C.1065–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

VIII, and “Good Things that are Gone and Might be Revived,” Ch. IX. Once more, the book is illustrated with examples drawn from his professional and private portfolio, including the town house at 49 Berkeley Square and country mansion house at Buxted Park, East Sussex, where he was by that time living with his wife. Other examples are striking for their diversity and modernity, from a dining room with textiles designed by artist Duncan Grant (1885–1878) and H.J. Bull, to an “off-white” bedroom with a large white rug by Marion Dorn (1896–1964) and painting by Gluck (1895–1978).61 While overall Ionides presents a more considered and conservative approach, he continues to demonstrate his versatility as designer and familiarity with the latest avant-garde trends in interior design. On the display of “china” his remarks once more emphasize the subsidiary role of ceramics as an accessory to the decorative scheme. However, the accompanying photographs are striking today precisely for the bold display of Chinese ceramics, systematically arranged on raised tiers and individually scalloped shelves in order to showcase selected groups of objects to the viewer (Figures 2.10 and 2.11). While precise identification of individual objects is difficult to verify, and not mentioned by Ionides, it is clear that many pieces are shaped in archaistic style in imitation of ancient Chinese bronze vessel types, or traditional Chinese forms such as the meiping vase. All appear to be undecorated and glazed in monochrome, possibly in the style known as flambé in Europe after its fiery red and purple glaze which had been popular amongst collectors since the nineteenth century.62 How the colour translated to the rest of the

48  Basil Ionides

Figure 2.8 Vase, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Jingdezhen, Height: 49.5 cm x Width: 14 cm. V&A: C.1286–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Figure 2.9 God of Longevity, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels, Kangxi period (1662–1722), Jingdezhen. Height: 48.3 cm. V&A: C.1271–1910. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

room cannot be deciphered from the black and white images, but Ionides explains in the accompanying captions that he has adapted old architectural features to modern use in the latest Art Deco style. Despite the limitations of the photographic record, two distinct approaches to the display of Chinese ceramics and art objects may be observed throughout Ionides’ books. First, the utility of objects as “ornament” whereby pieces have been carefully selected and placed within a designated space, uncased, and directly approachable by the viewer. In this context, single objects are integrated within the design scheme, selected principally for their formal qualities of colour, design, texture, and aesthetic, as illustrated in the interiors of the Blue Room or Pink Room in 1926. The displays of 1934 demonstrate a second approach, whereby ceramics have been systematically organized and arranged according to glaze type and place of origin, that is China, their shared characteristics allowing the group to form a coherent set which can be readily understood by the viewer. The formal placement of objects on shelving simultaneously separates them from the rest of the room and endows them with a “museum-like” quality – these are objects to be regarded but not touched. While this display must also harmonize with the overall colour scheme, the manner of selection, placement, and subject/object relationship is quite different. It is to these alternative display strategies that we will return later in this book.

Basil Ionides 49

Figure 2.10 “Set of shelves with ceramics,” in Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms (Country Life Publishing, 1934), p. 76.

Figure 2.11 “Georgian corner cupboard with striped shelves,” in Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms (Country Life Publishing, 1934), p. 78.

Through the lens of Ionides’ professional body of work - as architect, “decorator” and writer – his approach towards the interior and the display of art objects, including Chinese ceramics, can be more clearly understood. The trajectory of his personal life had swung from a childhood of exceptional privilege to an adulthood driven by financial necessity, but one in which he had by the 1920s achieved considerable commercial success and professional recognition.

Modernism and Chinese Art: Aesthetic and Cultural Debates The work of Basil Ionides, architectural historian Margaret Jourdain, and their circle was united in its anti-Victorianism, seeking to shed the clutter and baggage of an earlier society which no longer resonated in the stripped interwar world. Reactions against the Victorian took many forms; Modernism in art, literature, and design offered new ways of seeing and interpreting the world, promoting clean lines, and emphasizing function and form. In contrast, “Jourdain was part of a group of selfstyled cognoscenti and mutual admirers who found salvation from Victorian ‘bad taste’ in a re-invention of the eighteenth century.”63 For these individuals, the Georgian was regarded as “a superior aesthetic” and “a new modern fashion.” This emphasis

50  Basil Ionides on “newness” and “modernity” are key to understanding the Neo-Georgian not as a movement motivated by sentimental nostalgia or retrospection but as a catalyst for the reinvigoration of contemporary design to create a new design aesthetic suitable for modern life. Understood from this perspective, the progression of Basil Ionides from modernist Art Deco designer to the Neo-Georgian interiors of his later projects reflect both his adaptability and understanding of current trends in interior design and aesthetics and correlates with modernist trends of the day. By extension, his choice of largely eighteenth-century Chinese porcelains to furnish his private interiors is entirely in keeping with his design theorem, simultaneously anti-Victorian and “modern” in the context of interwar Britain. The connections between the Art Deco movement and Neo-Georgian Revivalism and Chinese art have been noted by scholars in recent years. Sarah Cheang and Clare Taylor both acknowledge the contributions made by Basil Ionides in the field of interior design in this sphere. In the 2015 publication British Modernism and Chinoiserie, the influence of China is discussed in a range of parallel fields, from art, design, and aesthetics to literature, architecture, fashion, and the performing arts.64 In his study of the art critic, Roger Fry and The Burlington Magazine, Ralph Parfect maps the relationship between the field of Chinese art in the first decades of the twentieth century, and modernist aesthetics. In this context, Fry and his peers such as artist Clive Bell, looked to Chinese art to reinvigorate the Western artistic tradition, through its significant form, emphasizing the principal of “rhythmic vitality” first developed by Xie He in fifth-century China.65 Fry praised the plastic qualities of Chinese art objects, made by hand, in contrast to the machine-manufactured objects which increasingly dominated the material culture of the Western world. The question of definition and terminology here requires further interrogation. When Fry speaks of Chinese art, which types of objects does he mean? On close examination, most pictorial arts he reveres are brush paintings in traditional Chinese style; ceramics are overwhelmingly of an early date, in particular objects then thought to be Song wares (960–1279 AD) – undecorated or with an abstracted motif – which highlighted the perceived individualism of the hand-made pot and the assumed role of the artist or potter. In Fry’s view, these objects emphasized “pure form” and were simultaneously “modern” and ancient. As Craig Clunas observes, these objects were “‘modern’ without the destabilizing connotations of the phrase ‘modern-art,’ a sort of non-threatening modernism,” which appealed to the British upper classes.66 The terms “modern,” “modernist,” and “modernism” therefore overlapped and were subject to a range of interpretations in a variety of fields, from art and aesthetics to literature or interior design. In 1929, Ionides spoke of an “intelligent modernity” where “the first essential to original design is a very sound knowledge of preceding periods,” emphasizing the connectivity between past and present.67 It is against this backdrop that the work of Basil Ionides should be understood and the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain set. Furthermore, it was during this period that the distinction between “Chinese art” and “Chinese export art” emerged, placing objects including those in the Basil Ionides Bequest outside the field of serious scholarship and cultural discourse championed by Roger Fry and his peers, helping to explain why European style Chinese export porcelain has received so little attention over the intervening years.68

Basil Ionides 51

The Bequest of “Eastern Ceramics with Armorial Decorations” at the V&A Evidence of Basil Ionides’ early relationship with the V&A during the 1920s survives in correspondence preserved in the museum archives which allude to his professional occupation as interior designer. An interest in industrial design is evident in his early gifts to the museum which were valued principally as study objects. In 1921, two Liverpool printed tiles and four specimens of mid-nineteenth-century wallpaper were welcomed by the curator, Martin Hardie, who anticipated the arrival of more.69 Samples of eighteenth-century wallpaper and textiles were accessioned in 1922 and 1926, and a supportive relationship appears to develop between the designer and museum at this time.70 I saw this morning a Flock Wallpaper of about the date 1700, belonging to Mr B Ionides, a decorator of No 7a Grafton Street. It consists of a number of strips (H about 8ft, W2 to 3ft), decorated in flock coloured brown and green with a design of vases and scrolls with a dado below. It was removed from a house in Folkstone, but is supposed to be Dutch; there is a suggestion of Marot about the designs. Mr Ionides proposed to put up the wall-paper in a library, but thinks he may have a strip over, in which case he will let us know and present the strip to the Museum. O. Brackett, 23 October 1922. MA/1/1245, V&A Archives The design history of wallpaper and its development by contemporary designers remained an area in which Ionides maintained an interest and encouraged others, later taking on the role of Chairman of the Jury for Wallpaper for the Industrial Art Bursaries Board (1947), first introduced by the Royal Society of Arts in 1938 in order to recognize and financially support the work of young British industrial designers.71 Ionides became a member of the Society in 1933 and with a short intermission a Member of Council from 1935 to 1947.72 Following his marriage to Nellie Ionides in 1930, whose connections to both the V&A and British Museum are discussed in the following chapter, dialogue continued between the V&A and both collectors, independently and occasionally together.73 Chinese porcelain does not feature in the correspondence until the first mention of the bequest in 1935: Dear Ionides I am afraid I have kept you a long time waiting for a definite answer to the very kind and welcome proposal which you made to me a week or two ago about your collection of Eastern ceramics with armorial decorations. I spoke to Rackham about this as soon as I had a chance (he was away at the moment) and he naturally agrees with me that there is little doubt that our successors would accept such a bequest with the greatest gratitude when it materializes; particularly as you were kind enough to imply that you did not propose to make any legal conditions as to the way in which the pieces were to be shown. I can assure you that it is a very great encouragement to all of us when people such as you and your wife tell us of beneficent intentions like this; even though

52  Basil Ionides we are not ourselves in the least likely (fortunately for you!) to have the handling of them. Leigh Ashton, 15 November 1935, Basil Ionides Nominal File, MA/1/I245, V&A Archives. The timing of this letter, written shortly before the opening of the groundbreaking International Exhibition of Chinese Art on 28 November 1935 in which the museum specialists Ashton and Rackham played a significant role, and the wording of the bequest are worthy of note.74 The singular focus of the collection on armorial porcelain at this time is far narrower than that of the final bequest as specified over a decade later. Nevertheless, the interest expressed by Ashton indicates that while the taste amongst private collectors of Chinese ceramics had undoubtedly shifted towards objects from early China or imperial provenance, as exemplified by the Burlington House exhibition, European style Chinese export porcelain continued to hold the interest of influential curators at the leading national museums. The bequest of “Famille Rose China with European Decoration,” as it was later described, resurfaces in the museum archives in 1946 after the Second World War, when Ionides made a number of significant changes to his updated will, the implications of which will be discussed in the final chapter of this book.

Basil Ionides the Collector Our attention will now turn to consider the role of Basil Ionides as private collector. As no personal diaries, letters, or other ephemera have been passed down to us, nor did he write on the subject, little is known regarding his attitudes towards the objects he collected. We must therefore seek alternative visual and textual clues in order to reconstruct now fragmentary aspects of his collecting activities and taste in the years prior to his marriage. Turning first to purchases made on the London art market, the sales records of dealers known to specialize in Chinese art objects during this period provide a useful starting point. The archives of John Sparks Ltd,75 which had become one of the leading dealers in East Asian art in London, reveal that Basil Ionides began to purchase items through them prior to 1928, when three transactions can be identified.76 On 9 January 1928, he acquired six pieces, all examples of “Canton enamels” in a range of forms, including a cake basket, tea pot, rice bowl, and cover. Later that month on 19 January, an “incense burner and cover” and “Tazza” (stem cup) were purchased, also classified as “Canton enamel.” The term “Canton enamels” was widely used in Britain to describe predominantly eighteenth and nineteenthcentury enamels on metal, usually copper, made in the port of Canton (Guangzhou) in response to European enamelling techniques, principally for export to Europe but also for domestic consumption and popular at the court in Beijing.77 An enamelled plaque decorated with European figures “from the collection of Mr and Mrs Basil Ionides” is featured by Jourdain and Jenyns in their later publication of 1950 and may refer to one of these objects. One further transaction took place on 27 January 1928, details of which are difficult to verify, being the final purchase made through the dealer before Basil Ionides married in May 1930. Visual evidence of the interior design scheme at Howbridge Hall, illustrated first in Country Life magazine in 1924 and later in Ionides’ book of 1926, help to identify

Basil Ionides 53 objects situated within the country house where he lived with his mother at that time. Through these painted and photographic images, Chinese art objects including Chinese export paintings and a large Buddhist sculpture can clearly be seen alongside Chinese porcelains (see Figure 2.5). Whether these objects were purchased by Basil Ionides or his mother is unclear, but their selection and inclusion in the publication imparts something of his taste. From his 1926 publication, it is also possible to identify a small number of individual Chinese porcelains, such as the rare model of a dancing woman in Turkish costume, which would later pass into the national collections. Along with the striking gilded Buddha, these articles would resurface in later photographs of the Chinese Room at Buxted Park, published in Country Life magazine, confirming their continued ownership by Ionides following his marriage (See Figure 5.9). It is through the medium of photography that the Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain finally comes into focus, through a series of articles for Country Life in 1934, 1940, and 1950, and private images recently unearthed, providing the first reliable record of the expansive collection and its innovative display by the designer within the eighteenth-century country house he shared with his wife by that time at Buxted Park. The relationship between interior design and collecting Chinese art objects is a key strand of this book and the project at Buxted Park will be fully explored in the chapters to come.

Notes 1 Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984). 2 Athena Leoussi, “The Ionides Circle and Art” (PhD, London, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1982). 3 J Atkins, “The Ionides Family,” Antique Collector, June 1987. 4 Luke Ionides, Memories, Second Edition (Ludlow: Dog Rose Press, 1996). Afterword by Julia Ionides, p. 69. 5 C Harvey and J Press, “The Ionides Family and 1 Holland Park,” Journal of the Decorative Arts Society, no. 18 (1984). 6 From 1866, the Burlington Fine Arts Club became an important nexus for collectors, artists, and museum specialists to mix socially, discuss, and exhibit art objects in their collections, including Chinese ceramics. Stacey Pierson, Private Collecting, Exhibitions and the Shaping of Art History in London: The Burlington Fine Arts Club (New York and London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017). 7 See Interior of 1 Holland Park, 1 Holland Park Album by Bedford Lemere & Co, ca.1898, VA/LVLH/X/95. 8 Architectural Drawings, E.105/4–1916, Design Drawings, E.414,413,340–2014, V&A. 9 A Watson, “Constantine Ionides and His Collection of Nineteenth Century French Art,” Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, n.d. 10 The Study of C.A. Ionides, Hove, East Sussex, 1870s. Photographic Album, PH.2-1980, V&A. 11 V&A panel text, Gallery 81, 2018. 12 Leoussi, “The Ionides Circle and Art.” 13 Personal messages and ephemera shared between Luke and his friends also survives in the private collection of John Ionides, Cambridge. Consulted 8 May 2014. See also “The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler: Biography,” accessed 1 May 2018, https://www​.whistler​.arts​.gla​.ac​.uk​/correspondence​/people​/biog/​?bid​=Ioni​_L​ &initial=. 14 The cradle was used by four generations of the family and is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 15 Ionides, Memories, pp. 21–22.

54  Basil Ionides 16 Mark Evans, “An Aesthetic Sitter on an Empire Sofa: William Blake Richmonds Portrait of Mrs Luke Ionides,” in Burning Bright, Essays in Honour of David Bindman (UCL Press, 2015), 171–179, http://www​.jstor​.org​/stable​/j​.ctt1g69z6q​.20. 17 Anne Anderson, “‘Chinamania:’ Collecting Old Blue for the House Beautiful, c.1860– 1900,” in Material Cultures, 1740–1920, The Meanings and Pleasures of Collecting (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), 109–128. 18 A.T. Hollingsworth, Old Blue and White Nankin China, vol. Odd Volumes XXVI (London: Chiswick Press, 1891), p. 25. 19 Deborah Cohen, “In Possession: Men, Women and Decoration,” in Household Gods: The British and Their Possessions (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006), 89–121, p. 90. 20 Pierson, Private Collecting, Exhibitions and the Shaping of Art History in London, pp. 75–81. 21 The house boasted a large staff and extensive garden with glasshouses, a skating rink, and tennis courts. The interior combined Persian rugs, ideal for “tobogganing down on kitchen tea-trays,” with contemporary design and modern conveniences. The emphasis on functionality and the hand-crafted is further evidenced by the inclusion of a large workroom, equipped with lathe, circular saw, a darkroom for photography and equipment for glass-blowing, Dorothea Butterworth, Random Memories of Dorothea Butterworth (née Ionides): Born 1878 – Recorded 1960 (Unknown Binding, 1960). Clarence Cook, The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks, 1878. 22 Ionides, Memories, pp. 94–95. 23 Letter from Margaret Jourdain to Arthur Elliot Felkin, 29 May 1927, AEF 3/1/86, Kings College Archives, Cambridge. 24 “Dictionary of Scottish Architects – DSA Architect Biography Report (20 December 2017, 2:21 Pm),” accessed 20 December 2017, http://scottisharchitects​.org​.uk​/architect​_full​.php​ ?id​=200317. 25 RIBA Nomination Papers, L no.3832 (box 17); F no.3501 (box 24). RIBA Archive, V&A. 26 Basil Ionides, “Candidates Separate Statement (Licentiate),” Nomination Papers (RIBA, n.d.), 1931. 27 Christopher Foyle, Beeleigh Abbey (London: Christopher Foyle, 2012), 7–31. 28 See penultimate chapter: “Commercial Decoration” in Basil Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms: With Remarks on Sundry Aspects of Decoration (London, 1934), 101–110. 29 Ed Glinert, The London Compendium (Penguin UK, 2012). Both stations were designed by London Underground architects, Stanley Heaps and Charles Holden and follow similar hexagonal layouts. 30 See Arnold Schwartzman, London Art Deco (Manchester: Hudson Hills Press, 2006). 31 Alfred C. Mambrino, “Reflections on Atmosphere: The Modern London Hotel,” The Architectural Review LXI (June 1927): 129–137. 32 A successful painter of society portraits and interiors, Ranken’s work has received little recognition in art-historical circles. His first retrospective exhibition took place at the RussellCotes Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, William Ranken: Gorgeous, Stately, Splendid, 24 September 2017–29 January 2018. A surviving plaque appears to link Ranken to the Claridge’s project, see www​.williamranken​.org​.uk. 33 The Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes of 1925 showcased the work of leading Art Deco interior designers, predominantly from France. Germany, the USA, and Britain did not participate having just hosted the British Empire Exhibition the previous year. See Maurice Dufrène, Authentic Art Deco Interiors from the 1925 Paris Exhibition (London: Antique Collectors Club, 1989). 34 Dufrène, p. 25. 35 “Two Modernist Theatres,” Building 4 (December 1929): 527–536. 36 For more on the connections between Chinese design and Art Deco, see Sarah Cheang, “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity,” in Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930 (Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008).

Basil Ionides 55 37 Basil Ionides, “Textiles,” Architectural Review LIX (April 1926): 182–187. On the development of print source during this period, see Elizabeth McKellar, “Representing the Georgian: Constructing Interiors in Early Twentieth-Century Publications, 1890–1930,” Journal of Design History 20, no. 4 (2007): 325–344. Jeremy Aynsley and Francesca Berry, “Publishing the Modern Home. Magazines and the Domestic Interior 1870–1965,” Journal of Design History 18, no. 1 (2005): 1–5, https://doi​.org​/10​ .1093​/jdh​/epi001. 38 Leader, “Twenty Year of Architecture,” Country Life, 10 March 1923. 39 “The Architecture Club at Grosvenor House,” Country Life, 15 March 1924. 40 “Modern Room Decoration. Awards in the ‘Country Life’ Competition,” Country Life, January 1924. 41 The panel noted in their considerations the variable quality of submissions; the designs for the hall and dining room were “lacking in invention,” and no single design considered worthy of first prize for bedroom. Ibid., pp. 46–47. 42 Sibyl Colefax, Elsie de Woolfe, and Syrie Maugham contributed significantly to this field but their designs, and those of other female designers, appeared in magazines targeting a female readership; Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Homes and Gardens. On the gendered approach of magazines during this period, see Pat Wheaton, “High Style and Society: Class, Taste and Modernity in British Interwar Decorating” (PhD., Kingston upon Thames, Kingston University, 2011). 43 Basil Ionides, “A Lesser Town House of To-Day: No.86, Vincent Square, SW.,” Country Life, 18 March 1922, p. 388. 44 R.S., “Howbridge Hall, Witham, Essex, and Its Restoration by Basil Ionides. I,” Country Life, 23 February 1924. R.S., “Howbridge Hall, Witham, Essex, and Its Restoration by Basil Ionides. II,” Country Life, 8 March 1924. 45 For a selection, see Margaret Jourdain, Decoration in England from 1660–1770 (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1914). Margaret Jourdain, English Interiors in Smaller Houses, From the Restoration to the Regency, 1660–1830 (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1923). Margaret Jourdain and Anthony Frank Kersting, English Interior Decoration, 1500–1830; a Study in the Development of Design (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1950). 46 Jourdain, English Interiors in Smaller Houses, From the Restoration to the Regency, 1660–1830. 47 Margaret Jourdain and Ralph Edwards, Georgian Cabinet-Makers (Country Life Ltd, 1946). 48 Margaret Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1950). 49 R. Randal Phillips, The Modern English Interior (London: Country Life, 1928). 50 Randall Phillips, “Modern Interior Decoration: An Apartment in Chicago Designed by Basil Ionides,” Country Life, 27 April 1929. 51 Basil Ionides, “Modern Interior Decoration,” Creative Art Magazine of Fine and Applied Art 4 (May 1929): 341–344. 52 R.F.B., “Modern Furniture and Decoration,” Country Life, 14 February 1931. M. Dane, “The Trend of Interior Decoration,” Country Life, 6 December 1930. 53 In 1928, Ionides designed a large seaside house in modernist style in Sandgate, Kent. See “Modernist House, Sandgate, Kent,” Architectural Review, December 1928. 54 Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (London, 1926). 55 See Wilhelm Ostwald, Die Farbenfibel (The Colour Primer) (Leipzig, 1916). H.B. Carpenter, Colour (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1915). John M. Holmes, Colour in Interior Decoration (New York, London: The Architectural Press, 1931). 56 For more on the use of antique Chinese wallpaper in fashionable interiors during this period, see Clare Taylor, “‘Painted Paper of Pekin:’ The Taste for Eighteenth-Century Chinese Papers in Britain, c.1918–c.1945,” in The Reception of Chinese Art across Cultures, ed. Michelle Ying-ling Huang (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013), 44–64. Anna Wu, “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture” (Ph.D., Royal College of Art, 2019). 57 Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration, p. 61.

56  Basil Ionides 58 In 1925, Robert Hobson published the third in a series of scholarly surveys of Chinese ceramics. A.L Heatherington and R.L. Hobson, The Early Ceramic Wares of China (London: Benn Brothers, 1922). R.L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty (London: Benn Brothers, 1923). R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1925). 59 “How To Make A Colour Scheme: A Suggestion for a ‘Famille Verte’ Flat Based on a Chinese Colour Harmony,” House and Garden, December 1920. 60 Ionides, Colour in Everyday Rooms: With Remarks on Sundry Aspects of Decoration. 61 The USA-born textile designer, known for her sculpted carpets, also contributed to the interiors of the Savoy and Claridge’s. 62 First produced in China during the eighteenth century, this style was widely copied at the French factories of Sèvres in the nineteenth century. See Zhangshen Lu, ed., Passion for Porcelain. Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange (Beijing, 2012), 244–245. 63 Alison Light, Forever England: Femininity, Literature, and Conservatism between the Wars (London; New York: Routledge, 1991), 35. 64 Anne Witchard, British Modernism and Chinoiserie. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. 65 See Clive Bell in Ralph Parfect, “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and The Burlington Magazine,” in British Modernism and Chinoiserie (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 53–71, p. 56. 66 Craig Clunas, “A Collector and Expert,” in The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: An Introduction (Brighton: University of Sussex, 1997), 3–11, p. 5. 67 Ionides, “Modern Interior Decoration.” 68 Vimalin Rujivacharakul, “China and China: An Introduction to Materiality and a History of Collecting,” in Collecting China: The World, China, and a History of Collecting (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011), 15–28. 69 Gift submitted for approval, 19 July 1921, E.1113–1116. MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. Minute note, Martin Hardie, 18/7/21, MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. 70 V&A: E.3614&3615–1922 Two panels of “Flock” wallpaper. V&A: T.23–1926 Panel of silk damask. 71 “Report on the Industrial Art Competition, 1947,” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 96, no. 4763 (27 February 1948): 193–199. 72 From January to March 1935, the RSA and Royal Academy held the exhibition of British Art in Industry at Burlington House, showcasing the work of contemporary architects and designers. As a member of the Council, it is likely that Basil Ionides had some involvement with the event but he receives no formal acknowledgement in the official catalogue. Royal Academy Exhibition of British Art in Industry (Royal Academy of Arts, 1935), https:// www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/exhibition-catalogue/1935-exhibition-of-british-art -in-industry. ​ 73 Both Nellie and Basil Ionides participated in discussions regarding the gift of two objects: a leather medallion of Louis XIV and a carved partridge in 1935. MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. 74 Leigh Ashton and Bernard Rackham were both members of the Executive Committee for the 1935 exhibition. See Neill Malcolm et al., Chinese Art: The Exhibition at Burlington House (London: London Mercury, 1935). “1935-36 – International Exhibition of Chinese Art | Exhibition Catalogues | RA Collection | Royal Academy of Arts,” http://www. royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/exhibition-catalogue/1935-36-international-exhibition-of -chinese-art. ​ 75 For a short history of Sparks, see Liz Hancock, “John Sparks, Sea Captain and Dealer in Japanese and Chinese Art.” https://carp.arts.gla.ac.uk/essay1.php?enum=1370358740, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2013. Ching-Yi Huang, “John Sparks, the Art Dealer and Chinese Art in England, 1902– 1936” (PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2012).

Basil Ionides 57 76 Ledger Book Jan 1928–Dec 1934, p. 103. John Sparks Ltd Archive (1826–1997), Archives and Special Collections, Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, accessed 15 August 2017. 77 See Ch. V “Painted (Canton) Enamels” in Jourdain and Jenyns, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, pp. 53–55. For recent research concerning the production of enamels in Guangzhou, or “Guang falang” and at the imperial workshops in Beijing, see Ching-Fei Shi, 日月光华 :清宫画珐琅 Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court /[施静菲著]. Ri Yue Guang Hua: “Qing Gong Hua Fa Lang,” 2012, https://www​.nlb​.gov​.sg​/biblio​/200659731. Shih Ching-fei, “A Record of the Establishment of a New Art Form: The Unique Collection of ‘Painted Enamels’ at the Qing Court,” in International Symposium, Art in China: Collections and Concepts, University of Heidelberg and the National Palace Museum (Bonn, 21–23 November 2003), 2005.

Bibliography “1935–36 – International Exhibition of Chinese Art|Exhibition Catalogues|RA Collection|Royal Academy of Arts.” http://www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​ -36​-international​-exhibition​-of​-chinese​-art. Anderson, Anne. “‘Chinamania’: Collecting Old Blue for the House Beautiful, c.1860–1900.” In Material Cultures, 1740–1920: The Meanings and Pleasures of Collecting, 109–28. England: Ashgate, 2009. Atkins, J. “The Ionides Family.” Antique Collector, June 1987. Aynsley, Jeremy, and Francesca Berry. “Publishing the Modern Home: Magazines and the Domestic Interior 1870–1965.” Journal of Design History 18, no. 1 (2005): 1–5. https://doi​ .org​/10​.1093​/jdh​/epi001. Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984. Butterworth, Dorothea. Random Memories of Dorothea Butterworth (Nee Ionides): Born 1878 - Recorded 1960. Unknown Binding, 1960. Carpenter, H. B. Colour. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1915. Cheang, Sarah. “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity.” In Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930. Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008. Clunas, Craig. “A Collector and Expert.” In The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: An Introduction, 3–11. Brighton: University of Sussex, 1997. Cohen, Deborah. “In Possession: Men, Women and Decoration.” In Household Gods: The British and Their Possessions, 89–121. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006. Cook, Clarence. The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks. 1878. Dane, M. “The Trend of Interior Decoration.” Country Life, 6 December 1930. “Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (December 20, 2017, 2:21 Pm).” http://scottisharchitects​.org​.uk​/architect​_full​.php​?id​=200317. Dufrene, Maurice. Authentic Art Deco Interiors From the 1925 Paris Exhibition. London: Antique Collectors Club, 1989. Evans, Mark. “An Aesthetic Sitter on an Empire Sofa: William Blake Richmond’s Portrait of Mrs Luke Ionides.” In Essays in Honour of David Bindman, edited by Burning Bright, 171– 79. UCL Press, 2015. http://www​.jstor​.org​/stable​/j​.ctt1g69z6q​.20. Foyle, Christopher. Beeleigh Abbey. London: Christopher Foyle, 2012. Glinert, Ed. The London Compendium. London: Penguin UK, 2012. Hancock, Liz. “John Sparks, Sea Captain and Dealer in Japanese and Chinese Art.” http://Carp. Arts.Gla.Ac.Uk/Essay1.Php?Enum=1370358740, 2013.

58  Basil Ionides Harvey, C., and J. Press. “The Ionides Family and 1 Holland Park.” Journal of the Decorative Arts Society, no. 18 (1984). Heatherington, A. L., and R. L. Hobson. The Early Ceramic Wares of China. London: Benn Brothers, 1922. Hobson, R. L. The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty. London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1925. Hobson, R. L. The Wares of the Ming Dynasty. London: Benn Brothers, 1923. Hollingsworth, A. T. Old Blue and White Nankin China. Vol. XXVI. London: Chiswick Press, 1891. Holmes, John M. Colour in Interior Decoration. New York, London: The Architectural Press, 1931. “How to Make a Colour Scheme: A Suggestion for a “Famille Verte” Flat Based on a Chinese Colour Harmony.” House and Garden, December 1920. Huang, Ching-Yi. John Sparks, the Art Dealer and Chinese Art in England, 1902–1936, 2012. Ionides, Basil. “A Lesser Town House of To-Day: No.86, Vincent Square, SW.” Country Life, 18 March 1922. Ionides, Basil. “Candidate’s Separate Statement (Licentiate).” Nomination Papers, RIBA, n.d. Ionides, Basil. Colour and Interior Decoration. London, 1926. Ionides, Basil. Colour in Everyday Rooms: With Remarks on Sundry Aspects of Decoration. London, 1934. Ionides, Basil. “Modern Interior Decoration.” Creative Art Magazine of Fine and Applied Art 4 (May 1929): 341–44. Ionides, Basil. “Textiles.” Architectural Review LIX (April 1926): 182–87. Ionides, Luke. Memories. 2nd Edition. Ludlow: Dog Rose Press, 1996. Jourdain, Margaret. Decoration in England From 1660–1770. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1914. Jourdain, Margaret. English Interiors in Smaller Houses, From the Restoration to the Regency, 1660–1830. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1923. Jourdain, Margaret, and Anthony Frank Kersting. English Interior Decoration, 1500–1830; a Study in the Development of Design. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1950. Jourdain, Margaret, and Ralph Edwards. Georgian Cabinet-Makers. London: Country Life Ltd, 1946. Jourdain, Margaret, and R. Soame Jenyns. Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century. London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950. Leader. “Twenty Year of Architecture.” Country Life, 10 March 1923. Leoussi, Athena. “The Ionides Circle and Art.” PhD, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1982. Light, Alison. Forever England: Femininity, Literature, and Conservatism Between the Wars. London and New York: Routledge, 1991. Lu, Zhangshen, ed. Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012. Malcolm, Neill, Basil Gray, R. L. Hobson, Leigh Ashton, and Una Pope-Hennessy. Chinese Art: The Exhibition at Burlington House. London: Mercury, 1935. Mambrino, Alfred C. “Reflections on Atmosphere: The Modern London Hotel.” The Architectural Review LXI (June 1927): 129–37. McKellar, Elizabeth. “Representing the Georgian: Constructing Interiors in Early TwentiethCentury Publications, 1890–1930.” Journal of Design History 20, no. 4 (2007): 325–44. “Modern Room Decoration: Awards in the “Country Life” Competition.” Country Life, January 1924. “Modernist House, Sandgate, Kent.” Architectural Review, December 1928. Ostwald, Wilhelm. Die Farbenfibel (The Colour Primer). Leipzig, 1916.

Basil Ionides 59 Parfect, Ralph. “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and the Burlington Magazine.” In British Modernism and Chinoiserie, 53–71. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. Phillips, R. Randal. The Modern English Interior. London: Country Life, 1928. Phillips, Randall. “Modern Interior Decoration: An Apartment in Chicago Designed by Basil Ionides.” Country Life, 27 April 1929. Pierson, Stacey. Private Collecting, Exhibitions and the Shaping of Art History in London: The Burlington Fine Arts Club. New York and London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. “Report on the Industrial Art Competition, 1947.” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 96, no. 4763 (27 February 1948): 193–99. R. F. B. “Modern Furniture and Decoration.” Country Life, 14 February 1931. Royal Academy of Arts. Royal Academy Exhibition of British Art in Industry. Royal Academy of Arts, 1935. https://www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​ -exhibition​-of​-british​-art​-in​-industry. R. S.“Howbridge Hall, Witham, Essex, and Its Restoration by Basil Ionides. I.” Country Life, 23 February 1924. R. S.“Howbridge Hall, Witham, Essex, and Its Restoration by Basil Ionides. II.” Country Life, 8 March 1924. Rujivacharakul, Vimalin. “China and China: An Introduction to Materiality and a History of Collecting.” In Collecting China: The World, China, and a History of Collecting, 15–28. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011. Schwartzman, Arnold. London Art Deco. Manchester: Hudson Hills Press, 2006. Shi, Ching-Fei. “日月光华 :清宫画珐琅 Radiant Luminance : The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court/[施静菲著]. Ri Yue Guang Hua :Qing Gong Hua Fa Lang.” 2012. https://www​.nlb​.gov​.sg​/biblio​/200659731. Taylor, Clare. “‘Painted Paper of Pekin’: The Taste for Eighteenth-Century Chinese Papers in Britain, c.1918–c.1945.” In The Reception of Chinese Art across Cultures, edited by Michelle Ying-ling Huang, 44–64. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. “The Architecture Club at Grosvenor House.” Country Life, 15 March 1924. “The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler : Biography.” Accessed 1 May 2018. https:// www​.whistler​.arts​.gla​.ac​.uk​/correspondence​/people​/biog/​?bid​=Ioni​_L​&initial=. “Two Modernist Theatres.” Building 4 (December 1929): 527–36. Watson, A. “Constantine Ionides and His Collection of Nineteenth Century French Art.” Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History, n.d. Wheaton, Pat. High Style and Society: Class, Taste and Modernity in British Interwar Decorating. PhD, Kingston: Kingston University, 2011. Witchard, Anne Veronica. British Modernism and Chinoiserie. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd, 2015. Wu, Anna. “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture.” PhD, Royal College of Art, 2019. http://researchonline​.rca​.ac​.uk​/3939/.

3

Fashioning the Collector Nellie Ionides and Chinese Porcelain Helen Glaister

As Nellie Ionides began collecting Chinese porcelain and other artworks early in her life, she followed a long tradition of Anglo-Jewish art collectors, patrons, and museum benefactors who had significantly contributed to and shaped the artistic and cultural heritage of Britain over the preceding centuries. This chapter considers the role of art collecting in identity formation amongst the Anglo-Jewish elite and the capacity of art objects to enhance and amplify notions of Britishness or Jewishness in the early decades of the twentieth century. The collecting activities of Nellie Ionides will be situated within that social milieu, reconstructing social and familial networks as well as commercial contacts which connected her to dealers, agents, and auctioneers as well as collectors at the highest levels of British society. In the public sphere, the engagement of Nellie Ionides with leading national museums in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum, as well as the newly formed Jewish Museum (founded 1932) will be explored, shedding light on her diverse collecting interests, including Chinese porcelain, and her continued commitment to the Jewish community in Britain and the wider global Jewish diaspora. In addition, Nellie Ionides was one of a number of Anglo-Jewish collectors, including the leading aesthete, Sir Philip Sassoon, who staged the pseudo-public display of art within their private apartments, highlighting the alternative arenas in which Chinese art objects could be encountered and further emphasizing the contribution made by Anglo-Jewish art collectors during the interwar period.

The Anglo-Jewish Elite and Art Collecting The history of art collecting among leading members of the Jewish community has attracted significant scholarly attention in the past decade, spawning a range of collaborative research projects which shine a light on the relationships between and amongst Jewish collectors, dealers, and cultural institutions.1 In 2019, The Journal of the History of Collections, was dedicated to the subject of “Jewish Collectors and Collecting” and included papers which traversed an extensive chronological and geographical terrain, from Noam Sienna’s study of Judaica in early modern European collections to Shirin Fozi’s investigation into the Swazenskis and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, indicating the multidimensional scope of the field.2 In the same year, the Jewish Country Houses project was launched under the auspices of Oxford University and with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) set out to establish “Jewish Country Houses as a focus for research and a site of European memory.” Both art collecting and the English country house constitute important strands DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779-3

Fashioning the Collector 61 of this book, through which the activities of the Jewish collector, Nellie Ionides and her circle, can be understood. Any discussion of “Jewish art collecting” or art production is of course problematic. Collectors’ interests have always been diverse, ranging from strictly religious artefacts of Judaica to contemporary European painting and Chinese art objects. Furthermore, attempts to define “Jewish taste” are reductive and as historians Silvia Davoli and Tom Stammers suggest, it is only by “adopting an enlarged definition of Jewish collecting, we can shed fresh light on the activities and social circles of figures not studied through a Jewish lens.”3 It is from this starting point that the collecting activities of Nellie Ionides will be considered, reconstructing as far as possible the complex web of networks which connected her to the Anglo-Jewish elite and the artworld, facilitating access to art objects from multifarious sources and to public arenas in which they could be displayed, playing a key role in the public image and self-fashioning of the collector. The first comprehensive survey of Jewish art collectors of Great Britain was provided by Charles Sebag-Montefiore in 2013.4 Starting with the readmission of the Jews to England by Oliver Cromwell in 1656, Montefiore successfully connects the leading families of continental Europe to those in Britain, reflecting successive waves of immigration from different sectors of the Jewish community – principally Sephardi Jews originating from the Iberian peninsula and Ashkenazi Jews from Northern Europe – and the rise of Jewish individuals and familial networks in British society.5 Early settlers frequently anglicized their names and in some cases abandoned their Jewish faith; Jewish-born Ralph Bernal (1783–1854), converted to Christianity, probably in order to become an MP, which was then impossible for a Jew. While early collectors focussed on pictorial works, Bernal’s expansive and important art collection reflected a wide-ranging interest in assorted media and styles, from French Medieval and Italian Renaissance artefacts to Chinese porcelain, including a rare eighteenthcentury “magic” bowl decorated with Arabic inscriptions from the Quran, intended for export to the Middle East (Figure 3.1). The significance of the collection was such that attempts were made to secure it for the nation and a large portion was acquired for the British Museum and South Kensington Museum (as the V&A was then known), the remainder being dispersed through the high profile sale of 1855 to numerous leading collectors including members of the Rothschild dynasty.6 The dominance of the Rothschild family as collectors of art in Britain began in the nineteenth century and was sustained by six generations up to the Second World War. Art collecting not only expressed their exceptional wealth and growing political importance but marked their assimilation into the English elite, enacted through the extravagant interiors of country houses at Mentmore Towers and Waddesdon Manor in French Renaissance style, as well as homes at Aston Clinton, Ascott, Halton, and Eythrope, whose names have become synonymous with collected objects held within their walls. In 1898, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898) MP bequeathed to the British Museum his magnificent collection of Renaissance treasures; known as the Waddesdon Bequest, these collected objects have become a benchmark for outstanding quality and unimpeachable authenticity.7 Marcus Samuel, First Viscount Bearsted (1853–1927), Nellie’s father, is perhaps less well known for his collecting activities than his commercial acumen, business success, and as a result, exceptional wealth. His remarkable rise to the highest levels of British society was first charted by a later family member, the writer and broadcaster Robert Henriques (1905–1967), who dedicated his book in 1960 “with affection”

62  Fashioning the Collector

Figure 3.1 Dish, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China. Diameter: 20.3 cm. V&A: 1944–1855, ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

to his mother-in-law, Nellie Ionides.8 Marcus is one of the key actors in the later popular history of “swashbuckling oil tycoons” authored by Peter B. Doran in 2016 in which his partnership with Henri Deterding (1866–1939) (Royal Dutch Petroleum Company) and rivalry with John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) (Standard Oil, USA) provide entertaining insights into his life and career.9 Born in Houndsditch in close proximity to the River Thames to an immigrant Jewish family of Dutch-German origins, Marcus was raised in an oasis of petit bourgeois respectability in the largely impoverished East End of London. His father, the elder Marcus Samuel (1798–1870), was prominent in the affairs of the New Synagogue, then situated nearby in Great Saint Helens Street, Bishopsgate10 and established a successful business specializing amongst other things in the sale of Victorian trinkets, souvenirs decorated with exotic seashells, and “curios” imported from East Asia. Marcus and his younger brother Samuel built upon this foundation, adopting the insignia of the family business for their internationally successful venture, trading in global commodities and oil, founding the Shell Transport and Trading Company in 1897. The early success of M Samuel & Co in the trade of curios is evident in the pages of the Christmas Catalogue of 1891, illustrated throughout with an extensive range of Japanese products available to the consumer at three separate addresses in the Jewish East End.11 Japanese fans, lacquer screens, and furniture are all featured with accompanying descriptions, as well as a range of recently manufactured ceramics, bronzes, cloisonné, lanterns, and basketware.12 In the category of “Toys” the customer is promised an “endless variety” of entertaining products which include monkey acrobats, frog

Fashioning the Collector 63 soldiers, and mice. The goods are exclusively Japanese in origin and were secured in Japan through powerful brokers (known in Japan as bantō), such as Zensuke Tanaka, originally a silk trader who worked for Samuel Samuel & Co. in Yokohama from 1876 to 1907.13 Although most business was based in London, the Samuels also set up in Paris in 1883 as Samuel Frères et Mitchell and developed trade in curios in Australia from the late 1890s, indicating the global dimensions of their business interests.14 By the early twentieth century, the Samuels appear to direct their efforts elsewhere, selling their English shell and curio business to their nephew Henry Harvey (née Abrahams) but continued to trade through the company in East Asia, establishing a base for Samuel & Co. in Shanghai in 1908.15 While none of the articles they sold were antique, being manufactured for the mass export market, the trading networks established in Japan and China during this period would have offered ample opportunity for the brothers to access art objects of a higher pedigree for their own private collections. As a young man, Marcus travelled extensively, including extended visits to trading partners in the commercial hubs of present-day Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines as well as the burgeoning markets of China and Japan which were increasingly opening up to Western trade in the final decades of the nineteenth century. It was during such visits that he may have acquired twenty religious artefacts, principally Japanese with a single Chinese example, which he sold to the British Museum in 1886 (Figure 3.2).16 These assorted pieces range in scale, media, and functionality, from a small Daoist ceramic figurine to large lacquer Buddhist deities and portable shrines, making a significant contribution to museum holdings of East Asian objects in the formative years of the collection’s history. Marcus Samuel was one of a growing number of individuals – traders, diplomats, or government officials and administrators – who acquired art objects directly from their source, extending the scope of East Asian art objects in Britain and stimulating scholarship in the field.17 Marcus’ enthusiasm for Japanese art objects was further pursued by his eldest son, Walter Samuel (1882–1948), who also travelled to Asia and began collecting in 1905, lending a diverse assortment of Japanese articles to the 1915 “Loan Exhibition of Japanese Works of Art and Handicraft” held in aid of the British Red Cross Society in the London premises of the Japanese art dealer, Yamanaka & Co.18 His extensive collection of Japanese sword fittings, lacquer, netsuke, and inro as well as ukiyo-e woodblock prints was presented through the National Art Fund in 1923 to the Maidstone Museum in Kent where it was prominently displayed in the Bearsted Wing the following year. Marcus Samuel funded the construction of new galleries to accommodate his wife’s collection of nineteenth-century prints by George Baxter on the upper floor and his son’s collection of Japanese art in a lower gallery.19 The wing also served as a memorial for his youngest son Gerald Samuel (1888–1917), who was killed in action on the Western Front but had also spent time in Japan and China before the War. The museum was located near the family estate at The Mote, purchased in 1895 from Lord Romney, where Marcus housed his private art collection of predominantly European art. Some years later in 1930, Nellie Ionides offered a Japanese stupa first to the V&A who passed it over to the British Museum, which may have originated from her father’s collection or been inspired by early family connections to East Asia, although unlike her brothers she would never personally travel to China or Japan.20 In 1902, Marcus Samuel received formal recognition for his remarkable commercial and civic achievements, becoming Lord Mayor of London and a baronet the following year. He was commended for “services of the utmost importance” during the

64  Fashioning the Collector

Figure 3.2 Figure, Boddhisatva Kannon, lacquered and gilded wood, gilt bronze, crystals, and stones, Kamakura Period (early fourteenth century), Japan. One of pair. Height: 87 cm. BM: 1886, 0322.7. © Trustees of the British Museum.

Fashioning the Collector 65 First World War and in June 1925, Lord Bearsted became one of the first members of the Jewish community to be granted title as Viscount on the birthday of King George V. While relishing his elevated status within the British establishment and the AngloJewish elite, Marcus maintained an active role within the wider Jewish community; his name was memorialized in the Marcus Samuel Social Hall at the New Synagogue, which moved premises to Stamford Hill in 1915, indicating the prominent position he held there. He supported numerous charitable causes, acting as Vice-President of the League of British Jews, Jews’ College, and the Hayes School for Jewish Boys, all later supported by Nellie and her brother Walter.21 Upon his death on 18 January 1927 and on the same day that of his wife, Fanny Elizabeth Benjamin (1857–1927), Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz remarked, “We have lost a great Jew and a great Englishman; we have lost a true woman of worth – a noble daughter of Israel…They were lovely and pleasing in their lives, and in their deaths they were not divided” (Willesden Jewish Cemetery). Walter Samuel inherited his father’s title in 1927, becoming Second Viscount Bearsted, and a generous sum of over £1,000,000; his sisters Nellie and Ida each received over £500,000.22 Soon after, Walter purchased the eighteenth-century mansion at Upton House, Warwickshire, in which he would entertain society friends, politicians, and leading members of the military over subsequent years. The house was first refashioned by architect Percy Morley Horder (1870–1944) in 1927–1928 to accommodate and display Lord Bearsted’s extensive collection of principally British and European art, including paintings inherited from his father’s collection, which he presented to the National Trust in 1948 shortly before his death. The catalogue of paintings and porcelain published in 1950 by Country Life for the National Trust includes a foreword by James Lees-Milne (1908–1997)23 and postscript by Sotheby’s expert, Jim Kiddell, whose connections to the Ionides and the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain will be returned to later in this book.24 Detailed entries for individual paintings and porcelain were authored by Walter, including comprehensive artist biographies, exhibition and provenance histories, and visual descriptions of works, demonstrating a keen awareness of established art historical frameworks and his direct personal engagement with the objects he collected. The display of European porcelain at Upton House was carefully orchestrated and explained to the reader in order to enhance their visit to the property, including shelf numbers and cabinet placement within designated rooms, giving a clear sense of how the collector intended the visitor to physically and intellectually navigate objects in his collection. The absence of Japanese articles at Upton is notable, in particular given his earlier interest, indicating that his field of collecting and taste had evolved, being then focused principally on European and British art in keeping with other leading Jewish art collectors of the time. Walter Samuel had already taken over the chairmanship of Shell upon his father’s retirement in 1921 and continued in this role until 1946. Additional business interests were extensive, including the directorship of the family firm of M. Samuel & Co. Ltd, Lloyds Bank, and the Alliance Assurance Company, and were at one time reported to include up to fifty-two companies.25 Family ties to the Jewish East End of London and support for numerous charitable causes continued throughout his life; he was President of the Home and Hospital for Jewish Incurables and of the Stepney Jewish Lads Club, a cause that had been supported by his younger brother Gerald. On the national and international stage, Walter played a significant role in the years leading up to the Second World War, raising money for the evacuation of German Jews from continental Europe in 1936 and travelling to America in 1938 and 1939 as part

66  Fashioning the Collector of a then urgent international relief effort.26 As member of the Council for German Jewry, Walter was instrumental in raising funds for the Kindertransport (Children’s Transport) which eventually secured the safe passage of up to 10,000 refugee children to Britain.27 The shared involvement of Nellie Ionides with this cause is also noteworthy and discussed later in this chapter. In 1939, Lord Bearsted donated artwork along with leading Anglo-Jewish collector, Nathaniel Mayer (Victor), Third Lord Rothschild (1910–1990), which were sold at Christie’s in support of Lord Baldwin’s Fund for Refugees.28 Bearsted was one of the trustees of the fund which raised over half a million pounds from the British public to help fund the Kinderstransport. The sale included works presented by leading Jewish artists, Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) and Lucien Pissarro (1863–1944), who also gifted a work by his famous Impressionist father, Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), as well as several artists associated with the Newlyn School in Cornwall. Objects represented a range of media – ceramics, textiles and rugs, furniture, manuscripts, and books – ­totalling 386 items. In the same year, appeals for support were made through The Jewish Chronicle for a further £40,000 for the Bearsted Memorial Hospital (Jewish Maternity Hospital Incorporated) in Stoke Newington, a replacement for the “cramped” facility in East London.29 In the arts, Lord Bearsted’s support for public museums and galleries was significant, serving as Chairman of Trustees at the National Gallery (1936) and Tate Gallery (1938) in London and through generous donations to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 1938.30 He was a longstanding member of the executive committee of the National Art Collections Fund, through which he made numerous donations and encouraged others to do the same. In the field of contemporary British design, he was a member of the general committee for the important Exhibition of British Art in Industry which took place at Burlington House in January–March 1935 and showcased the work of leading British manufacturers and designers, including two posters produced for Shell-Mex in the gallery dedicated to Commercial Printing.31 In the Jewish East End, he served as Chairman of the Whitechapel Art Gallery and became President of the Jewish Museum in 1948, shortly before his untimely death. Objects of Judaica donated by Lord Bearsted in the formative years of the museum include two gold and enamelled marriage rings and a miniature Torah scroll.32 A ­nineteenth-century tabletop depicting the New Synagogue in Great St. Helens, Bishopsgate recalls an earlier period of Anglo-Jewish history, when his grandfather, Marcus Samuel (Sr), occupied a leading role within the religious institution.33 Nellie Ionides gifted a silver Torah breastplate, a pair of silver-gilt Kiddush cups, and two brass Hanukah lamps over the same period.34 The children of the First Viscount Bearsted are named as the donors of a large Venetian Ark; an imposing piece of furniture which constitutes a key article in the museum collection and remains prominently displayed today. The connection between art collecting, museums, and the formation and continuity of individual and group identities within the Jewish community is clear through the actions of Nellie Ionides and her family members.

“Knew What She Wanted and Got It!” Nellie Ionides’ Chinese Porcelain Collection The reputation of Nellie Ionides as art collector and generous benefactor received public recognition in the exhibitions, “Nellie Ionides: Collector” (2002) and “Private Passions

Fashioning the Collector 67

Figure 3.3 Nellie Ionides, photographed with Chinese porcelain in her collection.

for Public Pleasure” (2010) at the Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham; the historic building she saved from demolition in 1926 and presented to the local community in her bequest in 1963.35 These exhibitions celebrated her generous gift of 467 pictorial works to Twickenham (now part of the Richmond Borough Art Collection), many of local significance, but do not consider her significant and nationally important collection of Chinese porcelain and Chinese art objects which concern us here (Figure 3.3). Nellie Samuel was born on 2 July 1883, the eldest daughter of Marcus and Fanny Samuel whose connections to Asian art objects and collecting has already been discussed. Nellie was an enthusiastic collector from an early age and according to her friend and advisor, Jim Kiddell of Sotheby’s, started collecting at the age of sixteen, travelling to famous firms in Paris and other cities on the Continent, “Knew what she wanted and got it! As she grew up, she specialized in Enamels, Chinese Porcelain and Meissen figures.”36 At nineteen, Nellie married Walter Henry Levy (1876–1923) in the first wedding ever held at Mansion House, London, on 7 April 1903; an occasion of such significance it received front-page coverage in the St Louis Republic (12 April 1903) and The San Francisco Call (17 May 1903) in the USA as well as the British press. Over 1,200 guests attended the lavish occasion in the Egyptian Hall, including leading members of the Anglo-Jewish elite, Sir Edward Sassoon (1856–1912) and his wife, Colonel and Mrs Goldsmid,37 and the Rothschilds, in addition to international ­delegations from the Japanese and Chinese Ministers to the Court of St. James, ­indicating the high status her father by then enjoyed.38 The couple had four children

68  Fashioning the Collector over the course of their twenty-year marriage and Major Walter Levy was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) for services during the First World War but would never fully recover from the impact of the conflict, dying of septic pneumonia in 1923. The first appearance of Chinese porcelain from the collection of the Hon Mrs Walter Levy took place in 1925, when nine pieces featured in the book, Later Ceramic Wares of China, compiled by leading ceramic historian and British Museum curator, Robert Lockhart Hobson (1872–1941).39 Illustrating a variety of ceramics “from the best private collections rather than the public collections which are well known,” selected objects appeared alongside leading collectors including Anthony de Rothschild (1887– 1961), Leonard Gow (1859–1936), and founding members of the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS), Stephen Winkworth (d. 1938), and George Eumorfopoulos (1863– 1939). The formation of the OCS in 1921 by a small and select group of ceramic ­collectors and connoisseurs highlights the extent to which London had become a nexus for collecting and collectors of East Asian ceramics.40 The book illustrates the diversity of Qing dynasty porcelain in leading ­private collections during the mid-1920s at a time when earlier wares were becoming ­ ­increasingly available and desirable to many collectors. All the pieces featured in the name of Levy date to the Kangxi period (1662–1722) and are enamelled and decorated in “Chinese style” and it is this style of porcelain which would dominate her collection over subsequent years. For European style porcelain in Chapter X, examples are drawn from the collections of Anthony de Rothschild, Capt A.T. Ware, Mr Reginald Cory (1871–1934), and the Franks Collection at the British Museum and Manchester City Art Gallery, indicating the leading private collectors and museums where this specialist category could be found. This publication confirms Nellie Ionides’ primary focus in the field Chinese porcelain but as her later purchases suggest, her interests in Chinese art objects were diverse, incorporating multifarious forms and media which embodied a variety of decorative styles and tastes. During the 1920s, the Hon Nellie Levy acquired Chinese art objects from a range of sources in the private and commercial sphere, enlisting the assistance of special advisors, auctioneers, and dealers, who were able to source objects of interest and facilitate their acquisition. According to the archives of John Sparks Ltd, Nellie began purchasing through the dealer in 1921, expending £484 on Chinese art objects between June and November. Purchases in subsequent years are somewhat sporadic; single transactions in 1923, 1924, 1927, and in 1926, the purchase of a jade Buddha and glass painted snuff bottle for the sum of £154.11.41 On 8 October 1928, the Hon Mrs Levy purchased eight lots of predominantly seventeenth and eighteenth-century Chinese porcelains; one large famille verte dish (Yongzheng), two eggshell cups and saucers (Qianlong), and a small basket shaped vase (Kangxi) are amongst the group.42 One “Famille Rose Armorial Plate (Qianlong)” is identified, confirming that while the majority of items were not manufactured specifically for export, she occasionally purchased European style Chinese export porcelain prior to her marriage to Basil Ionides. As leading collections of Chinese art became increasingly available on the London art market, Nellie Ionides further expanded her private collection. The sale of Stephen D. Winkworth’s collection lasted four days from 25 to 28 April 1933 and included not only a large number of early East Asian ceramics as might be expected but also examples of later European style Chinese export porcelain.43 On 27 April, Nellie Ionides made three purchases through Sparks, including Lot 591, “An Interesting Presentation Bowl” decorated in famille rose enamels, with the figure of “an Englishman in eighteenth

Fashioning the Collector 69 century costume below a wreath held by two cupids.” The following day, Lot 661, a “Glass Picture” was acquired, all with an additional 5% commission. These purchases indicate not only the presence of such objects in the Winkworth Collection but suggest that Nellie Ionides may have shared her husband’s interest in Chinese objects manufactured for European markets such as these or may have acquired them for him. The later purchase of two Chinese porcelain figurines in 1936 through Sparks for the sum of £250, described as a “Pair of rare famille rose standing Dutch women” further suggests an overlapping of interests between Nellie and her husband Basil (Figure 3.4).45 The exceptionally rare models were long misidentified as representing Dutch or German (Swabian) women and paired with male figures in a similar costume by twentieth-century collectors and antique dealers.46 In 2008, Ronald Fuchs II discovered a close print source, consequently identifying both models as German Jews, as illustrated in the copperplate engraving entitled Franckfurther Jud und Jüdin (Frankfurt Jew and Jewess) from the compendium of costume prints produced around 1700 by the Dutch illustrator and etcher Casper Luyken (1672–1708), and published by Christoph Weigel (1654–1725) in Neu-eröffnete Welt-Galleria. Worinnen sehr curios und begnügt unter die Augen kommen allerley Aufzüg und Kleidungen unterschiedlicher Stände und Nationen (Newly Opened World Gallery. In which all manner of very curious and pleasing attire and garments from various ranks and nations are brought before your eyes) (Nuremberg, 1703).47 The Ionides figurines constitute both important examples of European style Chinese export porcelain, and rare depictions of Jewish subjects, perhaps manufactured as special commissions for eighteenth-­century Jewish clients or as an amusement for collectors of the exotic “other.” To what extent Nellie Ionides recognized their Jewish identity is unclear, but her engagement with this aspect of her personal identity and awareness of the historical and cultural traditions of the Jewish diaspora suggest it is likely. The provenance of these figurines prior to 1936 is absent from the historical record, preventing any further investigation of their object history, but coincides with the movement of German Jews from continental Europe in the years leading to the Second World War and the subsequent dispersal of Jewish art collections at that time. The range of Chinese art objects acquired by Nellie Ionides through Sparks is perhaps surprisingly diverse. In addition to Kangxi porcelain for which her collection was known, the collector purchased examples of Tang tomb wares, Ming ceramics, and Qing monochromes; Chinese jades and precious stones, bronzes, cloisonné, lacquer, ivory, and decorative carvings in a range of materials were also acquired during this period and as we will see, were displayed in the private interiors of the home she shared with Basil Ionides at Buxted Park. The timing of certain purchases, many taking place leading up to the Christmas period, suggests that such items were intended as gifts. Nellie’s gifts to her friend, Queen Mary (1867–1953) are discussed below and it is likely Chinese art objects played an important role in gift exchange amongst British high society. 44

Social and Commercial Networks: Dealers, Agents, and Auctioneers From the late nineteenth century, a growing number of London based dealers specialized in the sale of East Asian art, stimulating interest amongst collectors and supplying art objects to private collectors and public museums. Established in 1888 by John Sparks (1854–1914), the dealer soon secured the patronage of leading members

70  Fashioning the Collector

Figure 3.4 Figure of a woman in Jewish costume, Chinese porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels and gilding, c.1740, Jingdezhen, China. Height: 42.3 cm. V&A: C.94– 1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Fashioning the Collector 71 of British high society, including Queen Mary, who bestowed the Royal Warrant of Antiquary of Chinese Art in 1926, and was famously photographed leaving the premises in Mount Street with the founder’s son, Peter Sparks (1896–1970).48 The collecting and display of Chinese art objects by Queen Mary has received special attention in recent years, documented by Kathryn Jones and John Ayers in the encyclopaedic publication of Chinese and Japanese objects in the Royal Collection in 2016.49 The painter Richard Jack captured the design scheme of “Queen Mary’s Chinese Chippendale Room,” in 1927, pictorializing the aristocratic fashion for Chinese style and c­ hinoiserie interiors in the 1920s and her own personal taste in collected Chinese art objects.50 Queen Mary and Nellie Ionides had by that time become well acquainted and became lifelong friends.51 Speaking of their respective interests, Nellie later recalled, Her Majesty and I each had several collections of various sorts. She took not the least interest in my Chinese porcelain – of which I am very proud – while I knew next to nothing about the English porcelain factories. As I said, our first common ground was our Eighteenth Century Enamels.52 Eighteenth-century English enamels, or “Battersea enamels” as they were widely albeit inaccurately known, became an area of expertise in which Nellie offered advice to fellow collectors through the specialist magazine, The Connoisseur.53 She gifted assorted examples to Queen Mary during the interwar period, including plaques depicting King Charles I and George II, decorative boxes with inkwells, a needlecase and étui, holding scissors, penknife, dividers, rule, and pencil end. The nine decorated objects, some of which were presented at Christmas, reflect eighteenth-century ornamental fashions, mirroring many of those designs found in European style Chinese porcelain of a similar date as outlined in the first chapter of this book.54 Parallels between enamels on metal and porcelain in England and counterparts produced in China provide an interesting counterpoint, not only in terms of decorative style and technique but subjects and motifs, such as portraits, picturesque landscapes, and armorial devices. Basil Ionides collected Chinese enamels, or Canton enamels as they were widely known, during the 1920s before his porcelain collection began to take shape, indicating an early attraction to this decorative style and suggesting a shared interest between husband and wife. In 1938, Nellie’s extensive collection received a full review in Apollo magazine by her friend and advisor, Margaret Jourdain, displayed in bespoke cabinets designed by her second husband, Basil Ionides and photographed in her townhouse at 49 Berkeley Square, London (Figure 3.5).55 The series of rooms seen here, with shelved alcoves and display cases, created the formal and orderly atmosphere of a small museum rather than a private residence or home. The later Country Life book, English Painted Enamels (1951) was illustrated exclusively from the collections of Nellie Ionides and Queen Mary with objects photographed in display cabinets in museum-mode.56 Perhaps the most unusual example in the publication is a knife sheath, manufactured in England and mounted in metal in China where the Qianlong reign mark (1736–95) was added.57 The current whereabouts of this object is unknown, but this rare piece demonstrates the movement of English enamels to China, whereupon it was mounted in Chinese style, inverting the more widespread process of exporting Chinese enamels to Europe and highlighting the desirability of such objects in China. Whether this piece of euroiserie remained in the hands of a Chinese merchant or official, or ever made its

72  Fashioning the Collector

Figure 3.5 Interior of 49 Berkeley Square, in Margaret Jourdain, “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs Ionides’ Collection,” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XXVII (June 1938), pp. 300–305.

way to the Chinese court is unclear, but an object of its kind would have been a prized commodity in any context in China. Throughout the 1920s, Nellie Ionides was assisted in building up her collection by Margaret Jourdain, whose literary achievements have already been discussed but will here be considered for her contributions to the fields of collecting and interior design. Whilst Jourdain’s scholarly capabilities were clear from an early age, her financial circumstances necessitated she secured paid work throughout her life. From 1911, Jourdain worked with Francis Lenygon (1877–1943) who would go on to form the noted interior design partnership, Lenygon and Morrant,58 publishing most of her early work under male pseudonyms.59 Over subsequent decades, Jourdain worked for dealers such as Acton Surgey and Phillips, obtaining pieces on commission from the trade and placing them with her own wealthy clients. From 1922 Nellie Ionides was an important patron and according to her lifelong partner, author Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884–1969), Jourdain visited Nellie’s London townhouse, then at Lowndes Square, almost daily for luncheon before accompanying her on visits to the sales rooms and dealers.60 In addition to her advisory role, Jourdain secured smaller jobs for fashionable interior designers such as Herman Schrijver,61 Derek Patmore (1908–1972),62 and Basil Ionides. It was due to her introduction towards the end of the decade that Nellie met Basil and invited him to “decorate” her new house in Berkeley Square:

Fashioning the Collector 73 Basil found himself summoned one day to build a bow window in Berkeley Square, and shortly afterwards married his client. He and Nelly dined on 23 May 1930, the night before the wedding, with Margaret and Ivy who for once both warmly approved Basil’s scheme for hanging up his hat in his wife’s hall.63 By the late 1920s, the success of Ivy Compton-Burnett as author and Jourdain as architectural and furniture historian allowed the two women access to the highest social circles as well as more avant-garde literary and artistic friends. She and Mortimer (Raymond) were both entertained at parties composed otherwise entirely of Margaret’s more presentable furniture friends like the Kings,64 together with a choice selection of her young men – Roger Hinks from the British Museum, Leigh Ashton (eventually head of the V&A), the architect Basil Ionides and the society painter Willie Ranken: a guest list calculated to leave envoys from Bloomsbury feeling almost as flummoxed as Ivy’s own skilled impersonation of a governess of the old school.65 The connection between Basil Ionides and Willie Ranken has already been made in relation to their earlier design and publishing collaborations and will be revisited once more in the following chapter. Leigh Ashton also developed a longstanding relationship with the Ionides and played a key role in the transfer of the Basil Ionides Bequest to the V&A. What is significant here is that all of the individuals listed as Margaret’s “young men” were well-known homosexuals.66 While the sexuality of Basil Ionides has never been publicly discussed, according to later family members the marriage of the couple, in a similar manner to others of the time, was one of companionship. As Jane Stevenson observes, “interior designers, i.e. ‘decorators’ were assumed to be homosexual, if male, and divorcées if female. Many of them were.”67 Leigh Ashton also married but later divorced, whilst Ranken’s lifelong partner, the actor Ernest Thesiger (1879–1961), married his sister, Janette Mary Fernie Ranken (1877–1970) in what was described as “An Interesting Marriage” on 29 May 1917.68 The nonconformist and flamboyant behaviour of Thesiger was widely known and according to Violet Henriques, Nellie’s daughter, he delighted the children by showing them his green-painted toenails.69 The socially diverse circles in which Compton-Burnett and Jourdain moved undoubtedly informed their literary output. While the majority of Jourdain’s work was of a serious and academic nature, Hilary Spurling recalls reading the transcript to the play, Buchanan’s Hotel of 1933.70 The play is cast with professionally charming, generally well-connected but moneyless men and their patrons, mostly wealthy, much older women; the new poor preying on the nouveau riche. At the conclusion of the play, the protagonist is unmasked as a Jew, exposing, “the spectacle of the English upper classes ganging up against a Jewish outsider.”71 Undoubtedly based upon Margaret’s social circle, Spurling notes that the Ionides and others “could scarcely have been best pleased to see themselves even faintly reflected in Buchanan’s Hotel, supposing it had ever reached the stage.”72 The literary fictions conjured up by Compton-Burnett throughout her prolific career consistently return to the interior life of the petite bourgeoisie and their financially impoverished but propertied counterparts, against the backdrop of small country estates and mansion houses.73 The anti-Victorian sentiments of her works

74  Fashioning the Collector bring issues of class, gender, sexuality, and cultural identity to the fore, not in the manner of her better-known feminist literary counterparts, such as suffragist Vera Brittain (1893–1970) or experimentalist Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), but in the polite language of a bygone era with a visceral humour which defies easy categorization.74 Alison Light argues that far from being traditionalists, ComptonBurnett and Jourdain may be regarded as “moderns” at a time when notions of taste and “Britishness” were profoundly transforming against a rapidly changing socio-­cultural landscape. The final mechanism for circulating art objects during this period was the auction house; the auctioneer Jim Kiddell of Sotheby’s played a key role both in the formation and final dispersal of the Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain, from the initial purchase of objects on the art market to their later selection by museum experts and ultimately the public sale of the residue collection in 19631964. Kiddell was acquainted with Nellie Ionides prior to her marriage to Basil, and shared her enjoyment of Chinese ceramics, seeking her valued opinion on individual pieces, and drawing her attention to items as they reached the market. His influence on ­twentieth century British art collecting is significant – to museums and private ­collectors - and his name will recur later in this book.

Public Engagement: Museums, Art Galleries, and Exhibitions From the first decades of the twentieth century, Nellie Ionides cultivated and maintained an active relationship with the national museums of Britain, in particular the V&A, connecting her to specialist curators and museum experts in diverse fields from historic furniture and carvings to Chinese ceramics and artworks. The first correspondence between the Hon Mrs Walter Levy and the V&A dates to February 1917, and details the loan of a Japanese embroidered kimono for a period of twelve months in the Loan Court at a time when the museum relied on private collectors to supplement the museum collections and enhance the range of exhibits on display.75 Over subsequent years, her catholic taste is evident in the range of material gifted and loaned to the museum; a collection of glass (including a Chinese glass bottle) in 1922 and an important carving by Grinling Gibbons, bought for the sum of £100 in 1928.76 In the field of ceramics, her collection of 117 Meissen Harlequins were displayed in the Loan Court in 1930 and offered once more for display the following year. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the possible bequest of her significant collection of “Battersea enamels” dominates correspondence between Mrs Levy and the museum. First offered in 1924, the bequest was revoked in 1927 following the publication of the Royal Commission on Museums and Galleries that gave museums discretionary powers over the dispersal of collections. At that time, Mrs Levy makes clear her intention to preserve the collection in its totality as “The Levy Bequest.” Despite this setback, the collector later donated a sub-collection of seventy-one English enamelled wine labels and a single snuff box in 1948, in addition to five eighteenth-century porcelain cups from the Worcester porcelain factory.77 A small selection of pieces were presented in her memory to the museum by her executors following her death in 1962, the remainder being sold with the rest of her extensive art collection through Sotheby’s in 1963–1964. Following the death of Basil Ionides in 1950, and despite the resulting discord surrounding his bequest, as discussed in the final chapter of this book, Nellie Ionides

Fashioning the Collector 75 maintained an active relationship with the V&A, gifting an eighteenth-century “Gaming Board” and loaning a “Silver-mounted Razor Case” in 1952. In 1956, ­eighteenth-century embroidered textiles from her collection were exhibited on the marble staircase entrance, indicating her continued willingness to participate in the public display of articles in her collection at the national museum.78 In the same year, a selection of chinoiserie Rococo silverware featured in the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition but were returned in poor condition. As a result, Nellie Ionides refused a request made by the V&A in 1957 for the loan of her silverware for inclusion in a touring exhibition to continental Europe.79 At the British Museum, articles gifted by the collector are small in number and surviving correspondence with Nellie Ionides scarce. The first item in her name appears in 1924, an eighteenth-century Italian clock, and the later gift of a Battersea enamel toilet-box mirror in 1928 coincided with her demanding negotiations with the V&A regarding the possible bequest of her much larger collection of this type. In 1953, the British Museum received eight pieces of Chinese porcelain donated by Nellie Ionides, including five sets of cups and saucers, a single coffee cup, and two plates.80 All constitute rare examples of European style Chinese export porcelain with the exception of a porcelain set of bowl and dish produced for the Yongzheng court (1723–1735) (Figure 3.6).81 The timing of her gifts to the British Museum of European style Chinese export porcelain in 1953 and later in 1960 must also be understood in relation to

Figure 3.6 Bowl and dish, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, Yongzheng mark, and period (1723–1735). Bowl diameter 10.4 cm. Dish diameter: 14.2 cm. BM:1015.7.a–b. © Trustees of the British Museum.

76  Fashioning the Collector parallel events at the V&A where the question of the Basil Ionides Bequest had not been settled. In addition to her engagement with public museums, Nellie Ionides participated in the pseudo-public exhibition of her Chinese ceramic collection in the home of fellow collector and aesthete, Sir Philip Sassoon.82 At the age of twenty-three, the Third Baronet had inherited his fortune from the combined legacies of his maternal ­grandfather, Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829–1911) and his father Sir Edward Sassoon (1856–1912), whose contributions as Jewish collectors are now well-known.83 Over subsequent years, inherited properties in town and country as well as a sizeable art collection were refashioned according to his personal taste, reflecting emerging interior design trends and distinguishing his own art collection from that of his forefathers. With the assistance of architect Philip Tilden (1887–1956), Sassoon remodelled his London residence at 25 Park Lane “bit by bit, filling it with treasures, each a very definite expression of his taste in art”84 and it was here that he hosted a series of loan exhibitions between 1928 and 1938 with the help of his cousin, Hannah Gubbay (née Ezra, 1885–1968), also a close acquaintance of Nellie Ionides and an enthusiastic collector of Chinese porcelain.85 Exhibitions ranged in media and subject, from the Age of Walnut in 1932 to the paintings of Thomas Gainsborough in 1936, to which Nellie’s brother, Lord Bearsted contributed.86 The exhibition “Porcelain Through the Ages” of 1934 is of particular interest and received an enthusiastic review in Apollo magazine, offering insights into the range of European and Chinese ceramic typologies incorporated within the display and the manner of its arrangement within the private interiors.87 As visitors progressed through the house, they first encountered the ceramics of Song dynasty China (960– 1279 AD), moving on to later Chinese porcelains in blue and white, monochrome and polychrome, including Kangxi period porcelain in the central room from the “splendid collection” of the Hon Mrs Basil Ionides. Exhibit 555 is described as “one of the most remarkable of the whole show” and featured Basil’s collection of European style Chinese porcelain, including articles now in the V&A collection. This “transitional” section provided a link between the ceramic traditions of China and Europe which constituted the remainder of the show. The list of lenders to the exhibition is impressive, bringing together high society collectors, family members and leading members of the Anglo-Jewish elite; Queen Mary contributed twenty-five items, Mrs Meyer Sassoon nineteen items, and Sir Philip fifteen articles from his private collection. The participation of leading Chinese ceramic collectors George Eumorfopoulos and Sir Percival David indicates the breadth of material included in the display, being both relatively early in date and varied in decorative style and aesthetic, and the quality of exhibits, their collections then as now being valued for their perceived authenticity and provenance.88 In the exhibition catalogue, the dealers Peter Sparks and Frank Partridge are thanked amongst other exhibition organizers and they too loaned objects, as did Bluett & Sons and other dealers of East Asian art, highlighting the extent to which the activities of collectors and dealers were ­interwoven. This exhibition, and others in the series, were organized as charitable events to raise funds for the Royal Northern Hospital, once more illustrating how Jewish collectors mobilized their art collections in order to raise money for a common cause. In July of the same year, Walter Samuel opened his own London residence at 1 Carlton Gardens to over a thousand visitors where he exhibited his collection of paintings on behalf of the National Art Collections Fund.89 On 31 January 1936, The

Fashioning the Collector 77 Jewish Chronicle notified its readers that the Hon Mrs Ionides would open her house at 49 Berkeley Square “to those interested in Chinese and Dresden Porcelain and Battersea Enamel from 11 am to 6 pm on Wednesday and Thursday, February 5 and 6, on payment of a sum of five shillings per head.” The proceeds from the event were to be given to the Extension Appeal of the Jewish Maternity Hospital. Invitation cards could be obtained from the Secretary at 49 Berkeley Square, W1, or from the Secretary at the Hospital, indicating that this pseudo-public event was squarely pitched to a Jewish audience. In a similar manner to the exhibitions staged by Sir Philip Sassoon, Nellie Ionides utilized her art collections as a means of raising money for a Jewish cause, reaffirming her place within the Anglo-Jewish elite and the agency of Chinese art objects in that context.

Nellie Ionides and the Chinese Art World From the late 1920s, the Royal Academy of Arts held a series of “Exhibitions of Foreign Art,” celebrating the “outstanding achievements” of Flemish, Dutch, Italian, Persian, and French art, drawing on leading collections in the public and private sphere. In 1934, Lord Bearsted lent to the “Exhibition of British Art” and the following year, the landmark “International Exhibition of Chinese Art” took place.90 Organized under the directorship of Sir Percival David, leading members of the Oriental Ceramic Society were instrumental in bringing together Chinese art objects from notable private and public collections in Britain, Europe, and the USA and for the first time directly from China at the behest of the Chinese government.91 The Burlington House exhibition typified the approach of OCS members who championed Chinese domestic and imperial wares and twenty-one OCS members lent to the exhibition. A small number of private collectors refused, including Nellie Ionides who decided that it is not worthwhile sending the few things selected from my large collection for the Exhibition – as they neither fairly represent my collection nor any period of Chinese porcelain. I am so sorry Mr Hobson had the trouble of coming here, as you were able to get so much elsewhere.92 This polite rebuff might at first appear surprising considering the prestige in which the exhibition was held, being the first major public exhibition dedicated to Chinese art in Britain, offering insights into the personality of Nellie Ionides, her strength of feelings towards her collection and the manner whereby it should be seen.93 Only a year earlier, a significant selection of Kangxi porcelain from her collection had featured in the pseudo-public display in the home of Sir Philip Sassoon and she would open her own London residence to the public the following year for the full display of her collection of Chinese and European porcelains. Nellie had also exhibited works in her collections on loan to the V&A for many years, indicating a willingness to display objects – on her own terms – in the public sphere. The emphasis placed by Nellie Ionides on maintaining the integrity of her named collection in full would resurface some years later in relation to her bequest to the national museums, who were no longer able, or willing to accommodate such expectations from their generous benefactors.

78  Fashioning the Collector Sir Percival David played a pivotal role both in the initial conception of the Burlington House exhibition and bringing the ambitious project to fruition. By 1935, David had become a key actor in the international Chinese art world, and his personal contribution to the field of Chinese art in Britain – as collector, scholar, museum and university benefactor – has long been recognized amongst specialist Chinese ceramics circles and has formed the basis of numerous academic studies.94 His Jewish identity and family connections through the Sassoon network remain largely secondary to such discussions but are of particular relevance here. Born in 1892 in Bombay, Percival David was the eldest son of Sir Sassoon David (1849–1916), owner of Sassoon J. David & Co and Hannah Sassoon (1857–1921, daughter of E.D. Sassoon); two of the several prominent Jewish families originally from Iraq who had settled and prospered in India.95 David was related through his maternal line to the Sassoons who had been dispatched to England in 1858 to supervise the ever growing activities of the flourishing family business. His formative years were spent in colonial India and he travelled extensively throughout Asia, both commercially and increasingly to support his collecting interests from an early age. David first travelled to China in 1927 and rapidly formulated his personal approach to collecting Chinese art, modelled on traditional Chinese hierarchies of collecting and connoisseurship – a radical departure for a non-Chinese collector. As a result, the Percival David Collection closely reflects Chinese taste, in particular the wares of the Song dynasty, which were promoted by David and his fellow OCS peers through their publications and exhibition activities, and later Chinese porcelains, much of exceptional imperial provenance (Figure 3.7). David frequently exhibited objects in his collection in the public domain of the museum and gallery, often with the assistance of museum experts, in contrast to the more informal display of objects in the private apartments of his cousin, Sir Philip Sassoon mentioned above. Despite their common ancestry and Jewish heritage, the two men embodied alternative modes of collecting, the former rooted in Chinese traditional connoisseurship while the latter followed well established European traditions. In both cases, the ownership of Chinese art objects contributed significantly to the construction of their self-identities as collectors.

Art, Identity, and Jewishness This chapter has shown the importance of art collecting in the construction of public and private identities among the Anglo-Jewish elite, the leading dynasties of the Rothschilds and the Sassoons swiftly coming to the fore and many more could be mentioned. National and international familial networks linked individuals across Britain to Europe, colonial India and beyond, supporting globally successful trade and commerce which by the twentieth century ensured they enjoyed a life of exceptional wealth and privilege. Such networks secured access to art objects of all kinds, including objects from Japan and China which had become increasingly available by that time on the global art market. While some collectors, such as Percival David, travelled to Asia and purchased objects directly from their source, many more enlisted the expertise of specialist dealers, agents, and auction houses in London which by the 1920s had become the nexus for collecting Chinese ceramics and other art objects. The history of collecting among the Samuels, from Marcus to his children Nellie and Walter, is in contrast little known but deserves special attention, each identifying their own distinct areas of interest. Japanese art objects had a particular significance for the

Fashioning the Collector 79

Figure 3.7 Incense burner, Ru stoneware, Northern Song, late eleventh to early twelfth century, Henan Province, China. Diameter: 248 mm x Height: 153 mm. PDF A44. © Trustees of the British Museum.

Samuels due to their close associations through trade with East Asia, as reflected in the collections of both Marcus and Walter. For Nellie, her interest was firmly rooted in Chinese art objects, in particular Kangxi period porcelain, which she continued to accumulate throughout her life. It is interesting to question whether she inherited any of these objects from her father, considering the company’s commercial activities not only in Japan but also in China – Samuel Samuel, her uncle, set up Samuel, McGregor & Co in China around 1908 and Samuel & Co. Ltd (Shanghai) remained operational until 1923, although effectively ceased trading at the end of the First World War. While Nellie never personally travelled to China, it is certainly possible that Chinese porcelain could have been acquired from this source or through other family members such as her cousins, Henry Harvey (née Abrahams), Gustave Arone, and Frederick Dudley Samuel, who all travelled and lived in East Asia. The participation of Jewish collectors, including Nellie and her brother Walter, with other art collectors in the public and pseudo-public sphere indicates the variety of contrasting arenas in which they acted out their public role, as museum or gallery benefactor, exhibition lender, fundraiser, or patron of a common cause. At a national level, this is evident at the museums and galleries of art in London where their names are memorialized at the British Museum, V&A, and National Gallery, staking their claim as members of the British establishment and cultural elite. Their engagement with provincial institutions such as the Maidstone Museum in Kent or Twickenham

80  Fashioning the Collector (now the Richmond Borough Art Collections) reflects a more personal engagement between the collectors and local communities and causes. Furthermore, the support of Nellie and Walter to the Jewish Museum and Whitechapel Art Gallery in East London and associated Jewish causes indicates their continued commitment to the Jewish community in Britain and diaspora communities overseas, expressing the importance of their cultural identity and “Jewishness.” In contrast, Nellie’s reluctance to participate in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art or join the Oriental Ceramic Society until 1945 placed her outside the Chinese art world, despite her personal connections to specialists and agents in the field and notable expertise in this area, raising interesting questions about her attitude towards her collection and how it was perceived in the public sphere. From the formal arrangement of a museum or art gallery to the private apartments of wealthy collectors such as Philip Sassoon or Nellie Ionides, Chinese art objects were encountered in diverse settings during the interwar period, by serious collectors, interested amateurs and members of the public, each space defining the response of the viewer. The relationship between the interior and the display of Chinese art objects is an important theme of this book and forms the focus of the following chapter.

Notes 1 Held in September (Part One) and December (Part Two) 2021, the online workshop “Jewish Dealers and the European Art Market c.1850–1930” was organized by the Jewish Country Houses project (University of Oxford) in partnership with the National Trust and in collaboration with the Gilbert Collection at the V&A, London. 2 Noam Sienna, ‘“Remarkable Objects of the Three … Main Religions”: Judaica in Early Modern European Collections,’ Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 17–29, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhx053. Shirin Fozi, “‘The Time Is Opportune’: The Swarzenskis and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,” Journal of the History of Collections 27, no. 3 (November 2015): 425–439, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhu041. Silvia Davoli and Tom Stammers, eds., “Jewish Collectors and Collecting,” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (2019). 3 Davoli and Stammers, “Jewish Collectors and Collecting.” Davoli and Stammers are chief investigators of the major AHRC project, “The Jewish Country House: Objects, Networks and People,” 2019–2023. 4 Charles Sebag-Montefiore, “Taste, Discrimination and Money: Jewish Art Collectors of Great Britain,” Report of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (University of Oxford, 2013). 5 For more on the history of the Jews in Britain, see Jewish Museum (London, England), ed., The Jewish Museum: An Illustrated Guide (London: Jewish Museum, 2002), 4–17. 6 On the rise of the Rothchilds from the Frankfurt ghetto to the British elite, see Fritz Backhaus, “The Last of the Court Jews – Mayer Amschel Rothschild and His Sons,” in From Court Jews to the Rothchilds 1600–1800: Art, Patronage and Power (Munich; New York: Prestel, n.d.), 78–95. 7 Dora Thornton, “Baron Ferdinand Rothschild’s Sense of Family Origins and the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum,” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 181–198, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhx052. Phillippa Plock, “Rothschilds, Rubies and Rogues: The ‘Renaissance’ Jewels of Waddesdon Manor,” Journal of the History of Collections 29, no. 1 (1 March 2017): 143–160, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhv043. Dora Thornton, Ferdinand Rothschild, and British Museum, eds., A Rothschild Renaissance: Treasures from the Waddesdon Bequest (London: British Museum Press, 2015). 8 Henriques was born to one of the oldest Sephardic Portuguese families in Britain and married Nellie’s daughter, Vivien Doris Levy (1907–2003) in 1928. He wrote two award winning novels, No Arms, No Armour (Watson, 1939) and Through the Valley (Collins, 1950),

Fashioning the Collector 81 and in the 1960s produced two biographies based on the lives of Marcus Samuel and Sir Robert Waley Cohen, another leading member of the Anglo-Jewish community. See Robert Henriques, Marcus Samuel: First Viscount Bearsted and Founder of The ‘Shell’ Transport and Trading Company 1853–1927 (London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1960). Robert Henriques, Sir Robert Waley Cohen, 1877–1952: A Biography (London: Secker and Warburgh, 1966). 9 Peter B. Doran, Breaking Rockefeller: The Incredible Story of the Ambitious Rivals Who Toppled an Oil Empire (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 2017). 10 Founded in 1761 in Leadenhall Street, the New Synagogue moved to Bishopsgate in 1837. The New Synagogue was one of the original five synagogues in London which grouped together in 1870 to form the United Synagogue. In 1915, it moved to Egerton Road, Stamford Hill, as a large part of its congregation moved to the suburbs. After the Second World War, its membership began to decline and in 1987 the United Synagogue sold it to the Bobov, a Chasidic community. See Geoffrey Alderman, Modern British Jewry, [New ed.], reprint (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2008). 11 At 31 Houndsditch, Shell Wharf at 80 Wapping Wall (also the site of the shell-box factory), at 52–56 Duke Street, London. M Samuel & Co. Christmas Catalogue, 1891, Museum of the Home, London. 12 Kinkosan, the famous producer of Satsuma-style earthenware, is identified as one of the suppliers. 13 Zensuke was later credited with transforming a moderate business in “China, Japanese lacquer and sundries” to a major firm with its Petroleum, Rice, Silk, Sundry and Textile Departments, see “Zensuke Tanaka” by Y. Noma, translated from The Shell Times, Vol. 6, no. 5, December 1956, Box 62–63, Robert Henriques Papers, Reading University Special Collections. For more on the Samuels’ exports of Japanese objets d’art, see Harold S. Willams, Tales of the Foreign Settlements in Japan, 1958. 14 Samuel Frères had ceased trading by the 1900s. 15 Clarence-Smith, William, “Marcus and Samuel Samuel: Jewish Importer of Curios from Japan 1878–1914,” in “Jewish Dealers and the European Art Market c.1850–1930 (Part One),” 9–14 September 2021, online workshop organized by the Jewish Country Houses project in partnership with the National Trust and in collaboration with the Gilbert Collection, V&A. 16 BM: 1886, 0322.1–19. 17 Jessica Harrison-Hall, “Collecting Ceramics: London Fashion,” in Passion for Porcelain. Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, ed. Zhangshen, Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange (Beijing, 2012). Jessica Harrison-Hall, “Oriental Pottery and Porcelain,” in A.W.Franks – Nineteenth Century Collecting and the British Museum (London: British Museum Press, 1997), 220–229. 18 Other notable lenders were the collectors George Eumorfopoulos, Oscar Raphael, and William Gulland, whose collections would contribute significantly to the national collections of Japanese and Chinese art in Britain in later years. Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition of Japanese Works of Art and Handicraft from English Collections (London: Riddle, Smith and Duffus, 1915). 19 Samatha Harris, “George Baxter: The Picture Printer of the Nineteenth Century, Maidstone Museum,” Kent, https://museum​.maidstone​.gov​.uk​/george​-baxter​-the​-picture​-printer​-of​ -the​-19th​-century/ 20 BM: 1930, 0424.1 MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. It was common practice as in this case for objects to pass between the museums on the advice of curators who guided collection policy. 21 Jewish Daily Bulletin, Thursday, 20 January 1927. 22 “Viscount Bearsted a Millionaire: How Father’s Fortune Is Divided,” The Evening Telegraph, 7 February 1927. 23 James Lees-Milne was an architectural historian and expert on country houses who worked for the National Trust from 1936 to 1973. His published diaries provide humorous anecdotes recalling his visits around the historic houses of England and his encounters with their occupants, including Nellie and Basil Ionides. James Lees-Milne, Diaries, 1942–1945: Ancestral Voices & Prophesying Peace, Reprint (London: Murray, 1995), 373, 385. James

82  Fashioning the Collector Lees-Milne, People and Places: Country House Donors and the National Trust (London: J. Murray, 1992). 24 A.J.B. Kiddell, Catalogue of Pictures and Porcelain at Upton House, Banbury (Country Life Ltd, 1950). 25 “Death of Viscount Bearsted: Patron of the Arts,” The Banbury Advertiser, 10 November 1948. 26 Lord Bearsted and Lady Reading hosted a luncheon in aid of the German Jewry Liquidation Scheme, Windsor House, on 26 April 1936, reported in The Scotsman, 27 April 1936. The British delegation to the USA consisted of Viscount Bearsted, Sir Herbert Samuel, and Mr Simon Marks and helped raise two million pounds from the American-Jewish community to fund the emigration of German Jews. 27 Lord Baldwin (1867–1947) aspired to rescue all of the 50,000–60,000 Jewish children living in the German Reich. On 15 July 1938, Lord Bearsted received thanks for his donation of £1,430 as an instalment for his Covenant towards the work of the Council for German Jewry. Upton House Archive. 28 Artists who presented works included leading Jewish artist Epstein, Lamorna Birch, and Frank O. Salisbury. Works by Sickert and Pissarro were also presented through family members and the Council for German Jewry. “The Refugees,” The Jewish Chronicle, 19 May 1939. 29 Financial receipts surviving at Upton House indicate the diverse range of causes supported by Lord Bearsted and his wife in 1937–1938, from educational institutions and bodies such as Jews’ College and the Central Committee for Jewish Education, to those assisting the poorest members of Jewish society; Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor (1938), Society for Distributing Bread, Meat and Coal, amongst the Jewish Poor during the Winter Season (1938), Hampsted Orphan Aid Society (1938), Upton House Archive. 30 Lord Bearsted gifted £18,000 to Oxford University for the enlargement of the Ashmolean Museum. 31 Designed by Rowland Hilder (Exbn. No. 1665) and Edgar Ainsworth (Exbn. No. 1672). The catalogue includes full product details and estimated retail price of a range of products including ceramics, glassware, metalware, textiles, metalware, and leatherware. Royal Academy Exhibition of British Art in Industry (Royal Academy of Arts, 1935), https:// www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​-exhibition​-of​-british​-art​ -in​-industry. 32 JM12, JM31, JM463, Jewish Museum, London. 33 JM464. Jewish Museum, London. 34 JM144, JM392, JM394, JM268, JM252, JM393, JM395. Jewish Museum, London 35 The palladian villa known as Orleans House (constructed 1710) was demolished by gravel merchants in 1926. Nellie Levy purchased the remaining outbuildings, the Octagon Room, and riverside land in order to prevent further industrial use and preserve the arcadian view from Richmond Hill, protected by law from 1902. A 1930 Deed of Covenant restricted future development of the land. Toby Jessel, “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections with Twickenham” (York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000). 36 Hermann Papers, Box 17, File “Jim Kiddell,” Cambridge University Library. 37 Albert Williamson Goldsmid (1846–1904) belonged to one of the oldest Jewish families in England. Although born a Christian, Goldsmid returned to his ancestral faith and became a leading campaigner for Israel’s restoration in post-Victorian England. Emil Lehman, The Tents of Michael: The Life and Times of Colonel Albert Williamson Goldsmid (Lanham: University Press of America, 1996). 38 Nellie Samuels. 2/1/1, A3042 Henriques family archives, MSA 371, Anglo-Jewish Archives, University of Southampton. Accessed 14 September 2015. 39 R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1925). 40 Frances Wood, “‘To Widen Appreciation and to Acquire Knowledge’: The Oriental Ceramic Society,” in Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021 (London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021), 12–19.

Fashioning the Collector 83 41 See Ledger Book 37, p. 325, John Sparks Ltd Archive, Archives and Special Collections, SOAS University Library. 42 Two ivory figures are also identified, Qianlong. Ibid. 43 OCS members, including Winkworth, championed the taste for early Chinese ceramics and imperial wares. Wood, “‘To Widen Appreciation and to Acquire Knowledge’: The Oriental Ceramic Society.” 44 Lots 389, 486, and 591 were bought by Sparks and sold to Mrs Ionides. 45 Day Book, September 1936, 103, File 7. John Sparks Archive, SOAS Archives and Special Collections, SOAS University Library. 46 Only four pairs are currently known, one of which was recently exhibited by the dealer, Jorge Welsh, 2021. Luísa Vinhais and Jorge Welsh, eds., Porcelain People: Figures from the Qing Dynasty (London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2021), 160–167. 47 For a full discussion of these figurines and related models, see Helen Glaister, “7. Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes,” in Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics with an Agenda, from the 14th to the 20th Century (British Museum Press, 2021), 67–75. 48 Ching-Yi Huang, “John Sparks, the Art Dealer and Chinese Art in England, 1902–1936” (PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2012), 21. 49 Vol III: Introduction, Incorporating a Study of Queen Mary’s Collection of Asiatic Art, in John Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen (London: Royal Collection Trust, 2016), 711–743. 50 “Queen Mary’s Chinese Chippendale Room,” oil painting by Richard Jack, 1927, Royal Collection. This room was also the focus of the chapter, Sarah Cheang, “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity,” in Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930 (Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008). 51 Queen Mary recorded an earlier visit to see Mrs Levy’s collection of Battersea enamels and Oriental china at Lowndes Square in her diary on 6 December 1923. Royal Archives QM/ PRIV/QMD/1923: 6 December 52 Nellie Ionides, “Tribute to Queen Mary,” 1953, private collection. 53 A factory was established at York House, Battersea, by Stephen Theodore Janssen, and operated from 1753 to 1756. The term was later used more broadly to refer to painted enamels on metal produced elsewhere in England. See Nellie Levy, “What to Avoid in ‘Battersea Enamels.’ Some Hints by the Hon. Mrs Levy,” The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, April 1925. 54 Royal Collection Trust: 22156, 22458, 22515, 22519, 11555, 11571, 23377, 422098. A watch in tulip-shaped enamel case has not been digitized. 55 Margaret Jourdain, “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs. Ionides’ Collection,” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XXVII (June 1938): 300–305. 56 Bernard & Therle Hughes, English Painted Enamels (London: Country Life Ltd, 1951). 57 Figure 47, Hughes, p. 92. 58 Eleanor Sarah Dew, “Lenygon & Morant: The American Connection,” The Furniture History Society Newsletter 200, November 2015. 59 Jourdain described herself as the hard-up daughter of a hard-up country parson, and worked from necessity throughout her life. In 1911, Lenygon provided her for the first time with a living wage. For more on the life of Margaret Jourdain, see Hilary Spurling, Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett (London: Faber and Faber, 2009), 305–348. 60 From 1924, the annual sum of £100 was paid to Jourdain on the condition she made no attempt to discover its source. Hilary Spurling argues that the most likely donor was Nellie Levy, See Spurling, p. 341. 61 A Dutch Jew, Schrijver’s high society clients included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Herman Schrijver, Decoration for the Home: With an Introduction by Herman Schrijver, 1939. 62 Derek Patmore, Colour Schemes for the Modern Home (London: The Studio Limited, 1933). Derek Patmore, Modern Furnishing and Decoration (London: The Studio Limited, 1934). 63 Spurling, Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett, pp. 310–311.

84  Fashioning the Collector 64 William King (1894–1958) was a specialist in British and European ceramics and glass who worked as curator under Bernard Rackham at the V&A before moving to the British Museum in 1926. A founding OCS member, King published on Chinese ceramics. Bernard Rackham, William King, and R.L. Hobson, Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections (London: Halton & Truscott Smith Ltd, 1931). 65 Spurling, Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett, p. 266. For more on social networks linking Jourdain and Compton Burnet to museum specialists Leigh Ashton, Soame Jenyns, and William King, see Viva King, The Weeping and the Laughter (London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1976), 126–127. 66 See “Roger Hinks,” https://dic​tion​aryo​fart​hist​orians​.org​/hinksr​.htm. “Leigh Ashton Dictionary of Art Historians,” https://dic​tion​aryo​fart​hist​orians​.org​/ashtonl​.htm. On William Ranken, see “Ernest Thesigers Family of Choice,” http://ernestthesiger​.org​/Ernest​ _Thesiger​/Family​_of​_Choice​.html. 67 Jane Stevenson, Baroque Between the Wars. Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939 (Oxford University Press, 2021). p.1. 68 “Ernest Thesigers Family of Choice.” 69 Spurling, Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett, p. 275. 70 The typescript dated 1933 was loaned to Spurling in 1973 by Ralph Edwards, from the V&A Furniture Department, where it had been stored among Jourdain’s papers deposited there after her death in 1951. It is no longer in the departmental archives. 71 Spurling, Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett, p. 309. 72 Spurling, p. 311. 73 Compton-Burnett published nineteen novels at roughly one book every two years from Pastors and Masters in 1925 to The Last and the First in 1971. 74 Alison Light, “The Demon in the House: The Novels of I. Compton-Burnett,” in Femininity, Literature and Conservatism between the Wars (London: New York: Routledge, 1991), 20–60. 75 MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. The Octagon Court or Loan Court was used at that time for the mixed display of loaned objects from private collectors who might gift objects in future. See John Physick, The Victoria and Albert Museum, the History of Its Building (London: V&A Publications, 1982), 191. 76 Lace Cravat of carved lime wood by Grinling Gibbons, W181:1–1928. Formerly in the collection of Horace Warpole and bought at the Hercules Read Sale at Sotheby’s, 8 November 1928, Lot 528. Bought on the request of the museum by M. Spero on behalf of Nellie Ionides. Sotheby’s Sale Catalogue October–December 1928, NAL 23.UU. 77 V&A: C.5 to L–1948. V&A: C.92+A–1948. 78 1 Embroidered Coverlet and 3 embroidered pillows, “en suite,” English. MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. 79 Organized in conjunction with the British Council, MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. 80 BM: 1953, 1015.1–8 81 BM: 1953, 1015.7.a & b. 82 Peter Stansky, Sassoon: The Worlds of Philip and Sybil (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003). 83 Cecil Roth, The Sassoon Dynasty (London: Robert Hale, 1941). 84 E. H.-S., “The Beauty of the London Home: A Study in the Art of Interior Decoration,” Illustrated London News, 23 September 1922. 85 Marc Fecker, “Sir Philip Sassoon at 25 Park Lane: The Collection of an Early TwentiethCentury Connoisseur and Aesthete,” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 151–170, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhy007. 86 Lord Bearsted also exhibited paintings from his collection in the “Old London” Exhibition of 1938. Other exhibitors included Hannah Gubbay, Sir George Leon, Lord Rothschild, and Sir Philip Sassoon. The Jewish Chronicle, 25 March 1938, p. 47. 87 Porcelain through the Ages: Loan Exhibition in and of the Royal Northern Hospital at 25 Park Lane: 13th February to 27th March 1934 (London: Batley Brothers, 1934). Adrian Bury, “Porcelain Through the Ages: At 25, Park Lane, W.1,” Apollo: A Journal of the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XIX, no. 111 (March 1934): 159–162.

Fashioning the Collector 85 88 Eumorfopolous was a major lender and member of the exhibition committee for the ground breaking exhibition organized by the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1911. George Eumorfopoulos, C.H. Read, and R.L. Hobson, Exhibition of Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 1910 (London: Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1911). 89 Letter dated 24 July 1934, National Art Collections Fund, Upton House Archive. 90 “1935–36 – International Exhibition of Chinese Art  |  Exhibition Catalogues  |  RA Collection | Royal Academy of Arts,” http://www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​-36​-international​-exhibition​-of​-chinese​-art. Stacey Pierson, “The OCS Council Makes (Art)History. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy, 1935–36 and Its Organisers: Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, R.L. Hobson, Oscar Raphael,” in Collectors, Curators and Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021 (London: The Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021), 20–29. 91 Pierson, “The OCS Council Makes (Art)History. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy, 1935–36 and Its Organisers: Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, R.L. Hobson, Oscar Raphael.” 92 Hon Mrs Ionides, 49 Berkeley Square: W1. RAA/SEC/24/25/8: “Photograph lists and further correspondence relating to loans and loans refused.” 93 Earlier exhibitions were more akin to ethnographic displays, such as “Chinese Life and Art,” 25 July–4 September 1901, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. 94 Stacey Pierson, “The David Collection and the Historiography of Chinese Ceramics,” Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No.20 (Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2000). Judith Green, “‘A New Orientation of Ideas’: Collecting and the Taste for Early Chinese Ceramics in England: 1921–36,” in Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, ed. Stacey Pierson, Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia 20 (London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2000). Pierson, “The OCS Council Makes (Art) History. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy, 1935–36 and Its Organisers: Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, R.L. Hobson, Oscar Raphael.” 95 Stacey Pierson, Collectors, Collections and Museums: The Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain, 1560–1960 (Oxford; New York: P. Lang, 2007), 100–103. Stansky, Sassoon, pp. 1–10.

Bibliography “1935–36 - International Exhibition of Chinese Art|Exhibition Catalogues|RA Collection|Royal Academy of Arts.” http://www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​ -36​-international​-exhibition​-of​-chinese​-art. Alderman, Geoffrey. Modern British Jewry. New ed., Reprint. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2008. Ayers, John. Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen. London: Royal Collection Trust, 2016. Backhaus, Fritz. “The Last of the Court Jews - Mayer Amschel Rothschild and His Sons.” In From Court Jews to the Rothchilds 1600–1800: Art, Patronage and Power, 78–95. Munich and New York: Prestel, n.d. Bury, Adrian. “Porcelain Through the Ages: At 25, Park Lane, W.1.” Apollo: A Journal of the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XIX, no. 111 (March 1934): 159–62. Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition of Japanese Works of Art and Handicraft From English Collections. London: Riddle, Smith and Duffus, 1915. Cheang, Sarah. “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity.” In Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930. Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008. Davoli, Silvia, and Tom Stammers, eds. “Jewish Collectors and Collecting.” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (2019).

86  Fashioning the Collector Dew, Eleanor Sarah. “Lenygon & Morant: The American Connection.” The Furniture History Society Newsletter 200, November 2015. Doran, Peter B. Breaking Rockefeller: The Incredible Story of the Ambitious Rivals Who Toppled an Oil Empire. New York: Penguin Books, 2017. E. H.-S. “The Beauty of the London Home: A Study in the Art of Interior Decoration.” Illustrated London News, 23 September 1922. “Ernest Thesiger’s Family of Choice.” http://ernestthesiger​.org​/Ernest​_Thesiger​/Family​_of​ _Choice​.html. Eumorfopoulos, George, C. H. Read, and R. L. Hobson. Exhibition of Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, 1910. London: Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1911. Faith, Nicholas. Sold: The Rise and Fall of the House of Sotheby. New York: Macmillan, 1985. Fecker, Marc. “Sir Philip Sassoon at 25 Park Lane: The Collection of an Early TwentiethCentury Connoisseur and Aesthete.” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 151–70. https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhy007. Fozi, Shirin. “‘The Time Is Opportune’: The Swarzenskis and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.” Journal of the History of Collections 27, no. 3 (November 2015): 425–39. https:// doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhu041. Glaister, Helen. “7.  Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes.” In Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics With an Agenda, From the 14th to the 20th Century, 67–75. London: British Museum Press, 2021. Green, Judith. “‘A New Orientation of Ideas’: Collecting and the Taste for Early Chinese Ceramics in England: 1921–36.” In Collecting Chinese Art: Interpretation and Display, edited by Stacey Pierson. Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia 20. London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2000. Harrison-Hall, Jessica. “Collecting Ceramics: London Fashion.” In Passion for Porcelain. Masterpieces of Ceramics From the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, edited by Zhang Shen. Beijing: Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012. Harrison-Hall, Jessica. “Oriental Pottery and Porcelain.” In A. W. Franks - Nineteenth Century Collecting and the British Museum, 220–29. London: British Museum Press, 1997. Henriques, Robert. Marcus Samuel: First Viscount Bearsted and Founder of the “Shell” Transport and Trading Company 1853–1927. London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1960. Henriques, Robert. Sir Robert Waley Cohen, 1877–1952: A Biography. London: Secker and Warburgh, 1966. Hobson, R. L. The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty. London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1925. Huang, Ching-Yi. John Sparks, the Art Dealer and Chinese Art in England, 1902–1936 (PhD, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2012). Hughes, Bernard, and Therle. English Painted Enamels. London: Country Life Ltd, 1951. Ionides, Nellie. “Tribute to Queen Mary.” 1953. Private Collection. Jessel, Toby. “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections With Twickenham.” Presented at the York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000. Jewish Museum (London, England), ed. The Jewish Museum: An Illustrated Guide. London: Jewish Museum, 2002. Jourdain, Margaret. “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs. Ionides’ Collection.” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors XXVII (June 1938): 300–305. Kiddell, A. J. B. Catalogue of Pictures and Porcelain at Upton House. Banbury: Country Life Ltd, 1950. King, Viva. The Weeping and the Laughter. London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1976. Lees-Milne, James. Diaries, 1942–1945: Ancestral Voices & Prophesying Peace. Reprint. London: Murray, 1995.

Fashioning the Collector 87 Lees-Milne, James. People and Places: Country House Donors and the National Trust. London: J. Murray, 1992. Lehman, Emil. The Tents of Michael: The Life and Times of Colonel Albert Williamson Goldsmid. Lanham: University Press of America, 1996. “Leigh Ashton - Dictionary of Art Historians.” https://dic​tion​aryo​fart​hist​orians​.org​/ashtonl​ .htm. Levy, Nellie. “What to Avoid in ‘Battersea Enamels.’ Some Hints by the Hon.Mrs Levy.” The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, April 1925. Light, Alison. “The Demon in the House: The Novels of I. Compton-Burnett.” In Femininity, Literature and Conservatism Between the Wars, 20–60. London and New York: Routledge, 1991. Patmore, Derek. Colour Schemes for the Modern Home. London: The Studio Limited, 1933. Patmore, Derek. Modern Furnishing and Decoration. London: The Studio Limited, 1934. “Personalities of the World of Art and Antiques: Mr. A. J. Kiddell of Sotheby’s.” The Antique Collector, February 1943, 2–3. Physick, John. The Victoria and Albert Museum, the History of Its Building. London: V&A Publications, 1982. Pierson, Stacey. Collectors, Collections and Museums: The Field of Chinese Ceramics in Britain, 1560–1960. Oxford and New York: P. Lang, 2007. Pierson, Stacey. “The David Collection and the Historiography of Chinese Ceramics.”Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No.20. Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2000. Pierson, Stacey. “The OCS Council Makes (Art) History. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy, 1935–36 and Its Organisers: Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, R. L. Hobson, Oscar Raphael.” In Collectors, Curators and Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021, 20–29. London: The Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021. Plock, Phillippa. “Rothschilds, Rubies and Rogues: The “Renaissance” Jewels of Waddesdon Manor.” Journal of the History of Collections 29, no. 1 (1 March 2017): 143–60. https://doi​ .org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhv043. Porcelain Through the Ages: Loan Exhibition in and of the Royal Northern Hospital at 25 Park Lane: 13th February to 27th March 1934. London: Batley Brothers, 1934. Rackham, Bernard, William King, and R. L. Hobson. Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections. London: Halton & Truscott Smith Ltd, 1931. “Roger Hinks.” https://dic​tion​aryo​fart​hist​orians​.org​/hinksr​.htm. Roth, Cecil. The Sassoon Dynasty. London: Robert Hale, 1941. Royal Academy Exhibition of British Art in Industry. Royal Academy of Arts, 1935. https:// www​.royalacademy​.org​.uk​/art​-artists​/exhibition​-catalogue​/1935​-exhibition​-of​-british​-art​-in​ -industry. Schrijver, Herman. Decoration for the Home: With an Introduction by Herman Schrijver. 1939. Sebag-Montefiore, Charles. “Taste, Discrimination and Money: Jewish Art Collectors of Great Britain.” In Report of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Oxford: University of Oxford, 2013. Sienna, Noam. “‘Remarkable Objects of the Three... Main Religions’: Judaica in Early Modern European Collections.” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 17–29. https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhx053. Spurling, Hilary. Ivy: The Life of Ivy Compton Burnett. London: Faber and Faber, 2009. Stansky, Peter. Sassoon: The Worlds of Philip and Sybil. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Stevenson, Jane. Baroque Between the Wars. Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939. Oxford University Press, 2021. The Banbury Advertiser. “Death of Viscount Bearsted: Patron of the Arts.” 10 November 1948.

88  Fashioning the Collector The Evening Telegraph. “Viscount Bearsted a Millionaire: How Father’s Fortune Is Divided.” 7 February 1927. The Jewish Chronicle. “The Refugees.” 19 May 1939. Thornton, Dora. “Baron Ferdinand Rothschild’s Sense of Family Origins and the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum.” Journal of the History of Collections 31, no. 1 (9 March 2019): 181–98. https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhx052. Thornton, Dora, Ferdinand Rothschild, and British Museum, eds. A Rothschild Renaissance: Treasures From the Waddesdon Bequest. London: British Museum Press, 2015. Vinhais, Luísa, and Jorge Welsh, eds. Porcelain People: Figures From the Qing Dynasty. London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2021. Willams, Harold S. Tales of the Foreign Settlements in Japan. 1958. Wood, Frances. “‘To Widen Appreciation and to Acquire Knowledge’: The Oriental Ceramic Society.” In Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021, 12–19. London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021.

4

Chinese Art and the English Country House Elite Fashion, Taste, and Display Helen Glaister

In 1930, the recently married Basil Ionides and his wife, Nellie, purchased the Palladian mansion and country estate at Buxted Park, East Sussex. For the next two decades, the refurbishment of the house and the display of art objects within that setting would form the principal preoccupation of the designer, highlighting his “capacity to turn values, desires and aspirations into visual, material and spatial ideals and realities.”1 The contemporary fashion for the “Neo-Georgian” materialized at Buxted was rooted in diverse eighteenth-century interior design traditions – from the Baroque and Rococo to the Neoclassical – which enjoyed a revival during the interwar years, offering an eclectic and exuberant mix of past and present, an alternative to the strict doctrines of modernity which dominated aesthetic discourse, architectural and design practice but to many remained inaccessible and unappealing.2 To a strand of society who valued individualism and luxury, the eighteenth century provided a rich reservoir of historical reference points which were interpreted and transformed by a new breed of professional designers and “decorators” in a modern mode. The plurality of styles which emerged during the 1920s and 1930s spawned a range of new terms from “Curzon Street Baroque,” “Empire Revival,” and “Vogue Regency,” indicating how contemporary commentators and later design historians attempted to classify and define a host of alternative and innovative developments in design history.3 Christopher Hussey, influential architectural historian and editor of Country Life magazine, introduced a more didactic approach, far removed from Country Life’s former sentimental pursuit of romantic buildings and gardens, and his features on the Ionides residence at Buxted Park offer valuable insights into the historical context of the property and how it was fashioned by the designer. The role of magazines in disseminating, promoting, and perpetuating leading design trends, and the relationship between commentators, interior designers, patrons, and dealers is a recurrent theme; unusually, Basil Ionides simultaneously fulfilled multiple roles which were most visibly and coherently played out at Buxted Park. Through the lens of the English country house, this chapter considers how interior design trends of the past were deployed to carry new meanings for collectors, patrons, and aesthetes in British high society between the Wars. The wealth of such individuals can hardly be ignored, being the only sector of society who could afford to regularly refurbish their homes, supporting networks of decorators and dealers, who facilitated and promoted shared patterns of taste. The rapid ascent of the English country house during the eighteenth century, in large part due to the successful colonial enterprises of the British in Asia and the Americas,4 was matched by its dramatic decline which began in the nineteenth century and accelerated during the century that followed, DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779-4

90  Chinese Art and the English Country House threatening not only the fabric of its buildings, interiors, and contents, including Chinese art objects, but the unravelling of society itself. This period of loss for some presented opportunity for others, such as the Ionides; outsiders with no claims to British heritage or aristocracy but exceptional wealth, who accumulated cultural capital through their lived environment, its décor, and their art collections.5

The Historiography of Chinoiserie Despite its early beginnings, it was not until 1715 that the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), as it was then known, was given permission by the Chinese to establish a “factory” or hong on the Guangzhou (Canton) waterfront, from where the British would dominate trade over the following century. Back in Britain, the newly found wealth of returning East India Servants and the booming domestic economy which prospered as a result stimulated the building of town houses in the commercial hubs in London, Bristol, and Plymouth and the spa towns of Bath, Buxton, Harrogate, and elsewhere. The country estate was expanded and gentrified during this period, as professional architects and landscape gardeners fashioned the English countryside in a style suited to the leisurely pursuits of the landed aristocracy and newly wealthy classes.6 Design elements of Chinese inspiration could be found in the exterior, in Chinese style bridges, pavilions, or summerhouses in carefully curated gardens, while interior design often combined objects of European and Chinese manufacture in a style later known as “chinoiserie.”7 Chinoiserie first gained popularity as a decorative style in architectural interiors, paintings, and art objects in continental Europe from the first decades of the eighteenth century, before reaching its peak in Britain during the 1750s.8 By that time, Chinese porcelain constituted one of an expanding range of products catering to European tastes available in the port city of Guangzhou; hand-painted Chinese wallpaper and textiles, export paintings, furniture, carvings, and other luxury goods could all be purchased to furnish the fashionable British interior.9 As we have seen, one of the earliest studies of this material, known by then as Chinese export art, was published in 1950 and written collaboratively by British Museum curator, Soame Jenyns and architectural historian Margaret Jourdain, whose personal and professional connections to the Ionides have already been established.10 Ionides objects are illustrated extensively throughout this publication, indicating both the breadth of their interest as collectors and the extent to which Ionides objects have been used to define this field. In her critical reassessment of chinoiserie and decoration “in the Chinese Taste,” Stacey Sloboda observes that in the absence of a shared textual or pictorial language, decorative objects constituted an important site of contact between China and the West. Chinoiserie, as a decorative style, was “an especially powerful and resonant connective agent” linking objects and the people who used them into a coherent (but artificial) system. The success of decorative objects as sites of cultural encounter was due to their “semiotic flexibility and marginal aesthetic position, being often relegated to bedrooms and private apartments, garden buildings, and other private or peripheral rooms in the house and linked rhetorically to feminine taste.”11 By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Chinese Room constituted an essential component of the fashionable British interior. Clare Taylor notes the distinction between country house propriety and London fashion, where Chinese wallpapers

Chinese Art and the English Country House 91 were deemed appropriate for the public rooms on the main floor as well as the upstairs chambers which was more commonplace.12 Traditionally the ladies’ quarters, these rooms frequently combined imported objects of Chinese, Japanese, or Indian origin with furniture, fireplaces, and mirrors produced in Britain in chinoiserie style after leading British designers such as William Chambers, William Halfpenny, Mathias Lock and Henry Copeland, and Thomas Chippendale, all of whom published on the subject around this date.13 Chinese wallpaper, frequently depicting exotic birds and flowers or the idealized landscapes of China, provided the decorative backdrop for these assembled objects, perpetuating the fantasy of China in the European mind.14 Emile de Bruijn reminds us that although there was a long tradition of bird and flower painting and landscape imagery within China, these subjects were only produced on wallpaper in response to European demand. “While to Europeans these panoramic wallpapers would have looked quintessentially Chinese, to a Chinese viewer they must have seemed a radical, perhaps even transgressive innovation.”15 These two dominant decorative themes frequently traverse a range of media intended for export, creating a common visual language that was recognizably exotic; black and gold lacquer known in China as yang qi or “foreign lacquer,” glass, and mirror-painting, Canton enamels, and porcelain decorated with enamels were all produced in this style in the region of Guangzhou and can be seen in the Chinese Room at Buxted Park (Figure 4.2).

The Neo-Georgian Revival: Chinoiserie, the Chinese Room, and Chinese Porcelain The historiography of chinoiserie as outlined above charts the rise and fall of this decorative movement, which once more gained popularity in 1920s Britain and was subject to a range of interpretations. In its broadest sense, design historians have used the term to refer to the use of colours or visual effects deemed to be quintessentially “Chinese” in style. Basil Ionides’ first book on interior design of 1926 is often quoted in this context, in particular with regards to the use of dramatic colour combinations and decorative surface – red and black/glossy and matt/metallic.16 Described by design historian Sarah Cheang as the embodiment of the “vibrant modernity of 1920s chinoiserie,” bold design elements and motifs of Chinese inspiration certainly constitute an important aspect of his large commercial projects such as Claridge’s and the Savoy Theatre and Hotel discussed earlier (Figures 2.3 and 2.4).17 Basil Ionides was not alone in combining modernist “twentieth century chinoiserie” with a more traditional approach. At Upton House, Warwickshire, the bedroom and bathroom suite designed in the 1930s by architect Morely Horder for Nellie’s sister-in-law, Lady Bearsted, provides an excellent example of the two decorative styles in close proximity.18 In its furnishings, the bedroom closely followed its eighteenth-century forerunner, the bed lacquered in Chinese style as well as chairs, cabinets, and a chinoiserie mirror. The centrally positioned electric light fitting was in contrast crafted from modern materials and styled in the latest Art Deco fashion. The room also included a Japanese print – perhaps a remnant from her husband’s earlier collection – and was said to contain two Tang dynasty tomb figures still held at the property, most certainly twentieth-century additions purchased for this room which will be returned to later. The most remarkable creation was the Art Deco bathroom which awaited through the adjoining door (Figure 4.1).

92  Chinese Art and the English Country House

Figure 4.1 Art Deco Bathroom at Upton House, 1936. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

The entire room, recently restored by the National Trust, is decorated with carefully applied silver foil which encases the arched ceiling and walls, reflecting light around the modern and spacious bathroom; dark red pillars and a glossy black floor call to mind traditional Chinese lacquer, adding to the sense of exotic luxury. This is the only room in the house decorated in this Chinese inspired Art Deco style and was notably

Chinese Art and the English Country House 93

Figure 4.2 Chinese Room at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

hidden from public view. However, the juxtaposition of these two rooms indicates the manner whereby alternative modes of “chinoiserie” coexisted and were deployed as expression of high society fashion within the English country house. At Buxted Park, a Chinese room remained on the upper floor of the property in 1798, according to surviving architectural plans, by which time the fashion for chinoiserie had been supplanted by the more orderly Neoclassical manner – many such rooms had been removed by the end of the century and none survived when Ionides took ownership some 150 years later.19 Ionides positioned his twentieth-­ century design on the ground floor between the blue and yellow drawing rooms and overlooking the lake, where many more visitors to the house would encounter the chinoiserie interior he created, heightening the profile and status of the room, its décor, and displayed objects. The room was photographed by Arthur E. Henson for Country Life in 1934, in the first of a series of articles authored by architectural historian Christopher Hussey (Figure 4.2).20 Decorated on all four walls with traditional hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, the windows were framed with embroidered silk curtain pelmets decorated with Chinese dragons, the remainder of the room a mix of Chinese and chinoisierie articles; black latticework furniture, cabinets, and assorted Chinese art objects in porcelain, cloisonné, lacquer, and other carved materials. The striking inclusion of a large gilded Buddha, captured earlier in the Pink Room at Howbridge Hall, reminds us we are firmly in twentieth-century territory. A statement piece such as this would never have been seen in an eighteenth-century British

94  Chinese Art and the English Country House interior, religious sculpture from Asia being neither available nor desirable as interior design objects until the twentieth century, but here adding a flavour of fashionable and exotic glamour.21 According to Sarah Cheang, chinoiserie both “served as a location for European excess and social transgression … but also provided a reassuring set of continuities referring back to the eighteenth century,” echoing views expressed by the Neo‑Georgian Revivalists.22 During a period of profound political and social upheaval, the country house was itself an important site of cultural encounter, in which objects associated with Britain’s pre-industrial and colonial past spoke of a mythical bygone era in which British citizens prospered and enjoyed the fruits of successful enterprise and international trade. In reality, the future survival of the country house was itself called into question at this time, a subject which resonated with Basil Ionides as evidenced in his final will which lays out his intentions for the preservation of the house and its ­contents to the National Trust.23

Collectible Object/Article of Display? By the eighteenth century, distinctions based upon age and rarity were important factors separating collectible objects from those in use. Anna Somers Cocks cites an episode in 1778 at Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire when Lady Dashwood invited her guests to identify one piece of porcelain “so much more superior to the others” in her China Cabinet.24 This incident indicates the selection and privileging of individual objects in her China Cabinet, from everyday use Chinese porcelain elsewhere in the house. A preference for “old china” of the seventeenth century distinguished collectible porcelain from fashionable and newly acquired contemporary European or East India porcelains which became increasingly accessible to the growing middle classes.25 Specially commissioned wares, of the type represented in the Ionides Collection, were distinguished not by their age but their exclusivity, rarity, quality of manufacture, originality of design, and hence high monetary value. As such, this category of porcelain became an essential marker of status in a society where class boundaries had become increasingly blurred. The largest quantity of Chinese porcelain was traditionally to be found out of sight in the kitchens of the English country house, or dining areas of less elevated households, stored in bespoke cabinets ready for use.26 In the more public reception rooms, Chinese porcelain vessels or figurines were frequently displayed in pairs on console tables, as replicated at Buxted Park. From the seventeenth century, sets of vessels or garnitures first consisted of groupings of disparate ­ Chinese porcelains, put together on arrival in Europe and presented as a set above the central mantelpiece. By the eighteenth century, garnitures of five, seven, or even nine vessels were commissioned in China for a deliberately coordinated display in a range of d ­ ecorative styles.27 Garnitures were enthusiastically collected by late ­nineteenth-century collectors such as William Hesketh Lever (1851–1925) or George Salting (1835–1909) who represented an earlier “British” taste but did not appeal to the Ionides as none are represented in the porcelain collection. However, other twentieth-century collectors in their social circle, such as Mrs Hannah Gubbay, continued to purchase Chinese porcelain garnitures to furnish their country residences, indicating the persistence of interest in this style of porcelain and display in certain quarters.28

Chinese Art and the English Country House 95

The Ionides at Buxted Park: Restoration and “Decoration” Before the War Following their marriage in 1930, the Ionides divided their time between town and country; whilst in London they resided at 49 Berkeley Square and Riverside House in Twickenham just outside the metropolitan centre.29 The Grade II mansion house at Buxted Park, East Sussex was purchased by the Ionides as a country retreat and saved a fortnight before its planned demolition, at a time when “the sale of the fittings of the mansion were being advertised.”30 The early history of the Buxted Park Estate is mapped by Christopher Hussey in his feature on the property for Country Life in 1934, who cites the first documented owners as the de Marinis or Marynes, who had “­complained in 1279 about somebody breaking into his park at Bocstede.”31 Over the following centuries, the property passed in quick succession through numerous hands until its ­purchase by Thomas Medley in 1722, then over the age of seventy. His son, also Thomas Medley, shortly inherited the property and undertook the building of the early Georgian mansion completed around 1725, which concerns us here.32 Surviving plans of the house and estate dating from 1798 illustrate the grand and stately nature of the house before later alterations were made.33 From the Medley family, the estate was inherited by the third Earl of Liverpool upon his marriage to Miss Medley-Shuckbrugh-Evelyn in 1810, and famously received notable dignitaries and royal guests including the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Victoria, both as Princess and Queen.34 The property later passed to the Portman family whereupon it fell into gradual decline before its purchase by the Ionides following the death of the fourth Viscount Portman in 1929. The country estate at Buxted Park offered a spacious and relaxed environment in which the Ionides entertained an extensive social network of friends and family. Regular visitors included Margaret Jourdain and artists Philip Connard RA and Dame Laura Knight. Queen Mary had known Nellie Ionides prior to her marriage and wrote on 31 March 1938, “I can’t tell you how I enjoyed yesterday afternoon and seeing all your beautiful things – I never thought that there could be any collection quite so lovely – and of so many things which I admire and appreciate.”35 Surrounded by ancient woodland, parkland, and gardens, the large house and grounds provided Basil Ionides with his most ambitious restoration project to date which would occupy much of the next twenty years. Beyond the camomile lawn and tennis courts, the kitchen gardens were extensive and included a peach and orchid house. Jane Stevenson reminds us that the display of cut flowers within the interiors of country and town houses not only enhanced the lived environment but spoke of access to the year-long supply of floral decorations, grown in glass houses on large country estates.36 Basil Ionides wrote on the subject three times for Country Life magazine in 1934, first on the “History of Picked Flowers,” then the “Flowers of November” and “Flowers of December,” emphasizing the relationships between the colour and design of display vessels and how to achieve a harmonious effect with flowers, berries, and foliage.37 A series of photographs were produced at this time, many of which juxtaposed plants and flowers with Chinese figurines, ceramic vessels, or textiles, such as “Crab apples with their leaves left on in a Chinese Vase” (24 November 1934, Country Life ). In an unpublished image, Basil Ionides is seen arranging a floral display in a room set aside for this purpose, surrounded on all sides by assorted vessels of glass and ceramic in a variety of sizes, shapes, and forms, from small globular jars to large pear-shaped transparent vases

96  Chinese Art and the English Country House

Figure 4.3 Basil Ionides arranging flowers at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd

(Figure 4.3). A number of Chinese examples can be seen, which include not only decorated porcelains as might be expected but a diverse range of ceramics with monochrome glazes in traditional forms, such as the double-gourd or meiping, straightsided bottles and jars. This image highlights the utility of Chinese ceramic vessels of all styles in the display of flowers, then regarded as an important aspect of interior décor. Another floral display photographed for Country Life magazine, set in a black ceramic vessel with Egyptian style obelisk, evokes a parallel trend in 1930s visual and material culture, “Egyptomania,” which found expression in numerous fields, from dress design to furniture, architecture, and interiors.38 The carefully orchestrated and experimental floral arrangements indicate once more the breadth of Basil Ionides’ creative abilities and the active relationship between the magazine and decorator. Articles of this type were a common feature of contemporary magazines and lifestyle journals such as House and Garden and Harper’s Bazaar, who encouraged readers to enhance and personalize their homes with floral displays, combining collected objects with natural colours and forms, as expressions of individualism, creativity, and taste. The house was featured three times by Country Life, in each case authored by Christopher Hussey who charted the shifting fortunes of Buxted from its first “rehabilitation” in 1934, to the period following its destruction by fire in 1940, and its final restoration, reviewed in 1950 shortly before Basil’s death and discussed in the final chapter of this book.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 97 In the first series, Hussey observes that despite a fall in the price of such large country estates at the time, demand for grand mansion houses remained high among individuals seeking substantial properties to accommodate their sizeable collections of art, antiques, and furniture. Mr Ronald Tree, MP is cited in his purchase of Ditchley the previous year, famously refurbished by his American wife and interior designer Nancy Lancaster of Colefax and Fowler, who codified what later became known as “Country House Style.”39 Architectural salvage from properties recently sold or dispersed was used extensively at Buxted Park, reflecting the increased availability of architectural and interior design features during this period as a direct by-product of the sale and destruction of the English country house.40 While some properties were modernized or found new owners, many more fell into disrepair or faced an irreversible fate.41 John Harris estimates that nearly 700 properties were demolished between the Wars but many more were in fact destroyed in the 1950s.42 Leading dealers in the trade of architectural salvage included Lenygon & Morant, White Allom & Co, Charles of London, and Robersons of Knightsbridge, many of whom established salesrooms across the Atlantic to meet demand increasingly coming from those quarters.43 The availability of architectural salvage made possible design schemes then being promoted by designers, including Basil Ionides, which revived and promoted a fashion for eighteenth-century-style architectural interiors. Fine art dealers successfully collaborated with these companies – such as Joseph Duveen with White Allom – offering clients a complete service, sourcing paintings and decorative art objects to inhabit a historically accurate setting.44 Other individuals, such as Walter Thornton-Smith, specialized in period style interior décor but concentrated on dramatic effects rather than authentic detail, including japanning and hand-painted wallpaper in Chinese style.45 Chinese porcelain and art objects had always occupied a prominent place within an eighteenth-century design context and would continue to do so. Photographs taken for Country Life allow us to observe the manner whereby Chinese art objects, in particular porcelain in the growing collections of husband and wife, were displayed throughout the mansion house. In addition to the Chinese Room mentioned above, individual rooms worthy of note include the Pink Bedroom on the first floor where elements of Chinese and European origin coexist, emphasizing harmonious aspects of colour and the coordinated display of decorative art objects (Figure 4.4). On the walls, which are cream, glass pictures of Chinese life form a bold pattern which, about the yellow and white marble chimneypiece, is carried on by ‘blue john’ obelisks, cameo miniatures and Oriental enamel vessels. The arrangement of the latter group is especially happy.46 It is likely that the glass pictures mentioned here are examples of reverse painting on glass, produced in Guangzhou from the eighteenth century for export to the markets of Europe and America.47 Unlike Chinese export watercolours of the same period which typically depict idealized scenes of daily life in China, glass paintings frequently reference European pictorial traditions and techniques, both in their material composition, utilizing oils or colours mixed with gum on a glass base, and the visual realization of European subjects in Western style in a similar manner to European style Chinese export porcelain.48 The bracketed display of Chinese vessels mounted above and around the fireplace is of particular interest and had a historical precedent of which the designer would have

98  Chinese Art and the English Country House

Figure 4.4 The Pink Bedroom at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd

been aware. While difficult to identify individual objects with certainty, three ewers seen here are striking for their profile; originating in Near-Eastern metalware, Chinese vessels of porcelain and cloisonné of this shape began to arrive in Europe during the seventeenth century.49 Identified as “Oriental enamel,” this terminology may refer to Chinese cloisonné or to enamels on copper, namely Canton enamels. Basil Ionides collected Canton enamels prior to his marriage, as evidenced in the Sparks archive, and Nellie Ionides purchased a “Glass Painting” formerly in the S.D. Winkworth Collection, on 28 April 1933, which may be one of those featured in this photograph.50 Elsewhere in the property, a similar bracketed display is employed to showcase rare examples of blanc de Chine figurines positioned over and around the mantlepiece, many of which are now in the V&A collection. Apart from a traditional representation of the popular Chinese goddess, Guanyin, the figurines all represent European subjects and include a large model of Christ, two seated European merchants and a European on a horse, produced between the late seventeenth and nineteenth centuries at the southern Chinese kilns at Dehua, Fujian. This room appears sparsely furnished in comparison to others in the magazine and includes modern furniture and light fittings in conjunction with historical pieces, illustrating how Ionides updated historical settings to suit a modern purpose. Photographed in 1934, this room was not selected for Country Life magazine but featured in Basil’s second book, Colour in Everyday Rooms (also published by Country Life), alongside other architectural interiors at Buxted Park and 49 Berkeley Square which he showcased in order to illustrate his design theories. It is likely that Arthur E. Henson photographed all that Country Life required on a

Chinese Art and the English Country House 99 single visit, staying for a number of days, staging and orchestrating the images to meet his exacting ­ ­requirements.51 Recently discovered private photographs confirm his interventions, indicating a less formal arrangement of furniture and art objects within the interiors at Buxted, reminding us of the artificiality of photographs produced for public consumption in contrast to the functionality of the property as a private home. In addition to the mounted displays of Chinese porcelain and art objects, individual or groups of objects can be observed carefully placed throughout the house, constituting an important aspect of the overall design scheme. In the Regency Library, large Chinese vessels are prominently displayed on tables and consoles and a series of Chinese porcelain punch bowls have been regularly positioned between the window bays (Figure 4.5). On closer inspection, a variety of decorative styles and aesthetics can be observed; a large lidded vase, decorated with Chinese pictorial scenes typical of the Kangxi period (1662–1722) contrasts with a modest stoneware bottle with crackled glaze and floral arrangement to its side. Another equally impressive jar, set on another table, is painted with bold and fluid decorative markings against a white or cream ground, in a style associated with popular stonewares of northern China, widely known as Cizhou wares. This style of Chinese ceramics proved popular with contemporary British potters such as Bernard Leach, who admired the vitality of the work and evidence of the hand of the potter, in contrast to the flawless finish of mass-produced Chinese porcelains, handmade nevertheless, which were more familiar in Europe. The arrangement of Chinese ceramics on the mantlepiece demonstrates once more how collectors of Chinese porcelain, including the Ionides, experimented with new modes of display within the private sphere of their homes. Here, five flat-sided blue

Figure 4.5 The Regency Library at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

100  Chinese Art and the English Country House and white porcelain bottles, modelled on European forms and manufactured for export to Europe, are flanked by two Tang dynasty (618-906AD) san cai (three colour) camels, mounted on modern wooden stands. The juxtaposition of early Chinese tomb wares with Chinese export porcelain would appear to be most unusual but the Ionides were not alone in this fashion. As we have seen, Lady Bearsted combined these two styles of ceramics in her chinoiserie bedroom at Upton Park and Willie Ranken painted a similar arrangement of Tang horses and figurines over the mantlepiece at his country home at Warbrook Hall (Hampshire) around the same time (Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6 Young Man at Warbrook, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1932. Worcester City Museum.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 101 In China, associations between tomb objects and mortality, designed as they were to accompany the spirit of the deceased into the afterlife, placed this category of ceramics outside the realms of traditional connoisseurship, but no such concern was expressed nor understood by collectors in Britain. On the contrary, tomb wares were enthusiastically collected by leading figures such as George Eumorfopoulos, one of the first collectors to champion such wares, where they were displayed in museum mode rather than as articles of display.52 Elsewhere at Buxted Park, it is possible to identify individual works which later passed into the British national collections. A large porcelain punch bowl, expertly decorated in polychrome enamels and gilding with the scene widely known as “The Gates of Calais” by eighteenth-century artist, William Hogarth, is perhaps the most famous single piece in the Basil Ionides Bequest and has frequently been used to illustrate European style decoration on Chinese porcelain (Figure 4.7).53 Placed between two smaller punch bowls depicting the British hunt, the bowl sits in Basil’s study, where two eighteenth-century satirical prints are displayed nearby on the wall, indicating his interest in this subject matter (Figure 4.8). Other notable examples of Chinese art objects include paintings on glass of European women and bird and flower subjects. Chinese ceramics include a rare pair of large porcelain geese, and a series of Qing monochromes in a variety of forms, indicating once more an eclectic mixing of objects, of contrasting style and aesthetic, and offering valuable insights into the personal taste of Ionides.

Figure 4.7 Punch Bowl, polychrome enamels and gilding on porcelain, Jingdezhen, China, c.1750–1755. Height: 15.8 cm x Diameter: 40.5 cm. C.23–1951. ©Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

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Figure 4.8 Basil Ionides’ Study at Buxted Park, 1934. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

Large quantities of Chinese porcelain can be seen housed elsewhere throughout the property, in historical cabinets and atop furniture, indicating the scale of the private collection in 1934 and the extent to which it would grow further. No doubt numerous pieces remained in London and Twickenham prior to the War, reminding us that the objects seen at Buxted were part of a much larger collection whose full extent at this stage is difficult to quantify. It is only at a later date, when Country Life returned to Buxted Park in 1940 and 1950, that the fully-formed collection of European style Chinese export porcelain comes into focus.

Shared Patterns of Taste in Elite Society Our attention will now turn to consider how the Buxted Park project can be understood in the wider context of interior design trends in Britain, and the pivotal role that “decorators” such as Basil Ionides played in promoting and transmitting shared patterns of taste amongst the wealthy interwar elite. On the rise of interior designers during this period, Penny Sparke observes, “the creation of the modern interior required a controlling hand … it was the role of ‘design,’ implemented by the occupants of the interiors themselves, by engineers, architects, space planners, upholsterers, interior decorators, or interior designers, among others, to play that determining role.”54 The architect Oliver Hill (1887–1968) was one such designer whose design influences and career progression in many ways mirrored that of Basil. His London home at West

Chinese Art and the English Country House 103

Figure 4.9 “A Little Portfolio of Good Interiors,” Oliver Hill, House and Garden, 1921, p. 33.

Eaton Place, Belgravia provides further evidence of the fashion for Chinese style décor and the utility of Chinese art objects, as interior design, in interwar Britain. First photographed for House and Garden magazine in December 1921, a year after the launch of the British publication,55 the entrance hall of Hill’s Belgravia home was selected for the regular feature “A Little Portfolio of Good Interiors” (Figure 4.9).56 The influence of Chinese style is evident in the bold treatment of the ceiling, decorated in gold against a glossy black ground recalling the visual effect of Chinese lacquer and simultaneously providing a dramatic contrast to the cream walls and display cabinets framed in “Chinese woodwork.” Chinese art objects feature throughout the interior, from the model of a pagoda, perhaps of carved ivory or mother of pearl, and porcelain vessels which are prominently displayed on a centrally placed table. A large porcelain lidded jar is set within the fireplace and to one side, a wooden Chinese stool acts as the base for a dramatic floral display. An interest in collecting Chinese porcelain is clear, not only in the display of Chinese porcelain dishes, vases, and other vessels symmetrically arranged on brackets around the fireplace but within the large cabinets which provide “a fine setting for the old porcelain.” The whereabouts of this collection is currently unknown and the extent to which Hill pursued his interest in collecting Chinese porcelain unclear, but these snapshots of his private interior space offer insights into his personal interests and tastes at this time, in which Chinese style and Chinese porcelain played a significant role. Hill’s home was featured the following month in January 1922 to introduce “The Possibilities of a Small Hall” to the reader.57 From the photographic image, Hill’s

104  Chinese Art and the English Country House striking use of Chinese wallpaper demonstrates the innovative utility of traditional decorative materials in a modern mode. The wallpaper covers not only the walls of the staircase but continues in a cut-away panel above the adjoining door and is papered over the door itself which leads into the study. We are told that the bold design of diminutive figures set amongst large Chinese pavilions, bridges, willows, and pines is coloured grey-green. Ionides also recut and repurposed Chinese wallpaper in his first refurbishment at Buxted Park, in order to decorate the panelled walls of a bedroom and drawing room, in each case disrupting the original design composition, instead emphasizing the colour and overall decorative effect of the Chinese style wall coverings. The reuse of historic or reproduction Chinese wallpaper in new modes was widespread at this time and encouraged by the magazine, which stated, “One frequently picks up in antique shops fragments of Chinese wallpaper which can be used in making a decorative screen. It affords a pleasing contrast with plain surface wall.” The screen in question is the property of Willie Ranken, photographed for the first edition of the magazine in November 1920 and the subject of a painting by the artist a decade later (Figure 4.10).58 Another House and Garden article features the hand-painted yellow ground Chinese wallpaper in Sir William Bennett’s dining room in Hyde Park Place. The author notes, As there was not sufficient of the original paper for the whole room, it was copied in English workrooms under the direction of Green and Abbott and was so

Figure 4.10 Elephants at Warbrook Hall, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, 1930

Chinese Art and the English Country House 105 ingeniously done that it is hardly possible to distinguish the reproduction from the original. (Sept 1921, House and Garden) Green and Abbott regularly advertised in the magazine, indicating the important role such publications played in promoting contemporary fashions and stimulating demand for Chinese style interior furnishing amongst a range of consumers. The affordability of reproduction wallpaper, furniture, or architectural features brought eighteenth-­ century style within the means of those unable to acquire salvaged originals. During this period, Hill concocted extravagant designs in Chinese style for his ­clients, such as James Hunter, whose flat in Chantrey House, London was photographed for House and Garden in February 1921 (Figure 4.11).59 In the drawing room, jade-green walls were decorated with Chinese motifs incised into the plasterwork; a curved valance “in the Chinese manner” around the ceiling added to the exotic allusion and the windows were extravagantly veiled in silver net. Hill replaced the chimneypiece with a Chinese motif and traditional wooden Chinese furniture was arranged throughout the room. Paintings of Chinese figures, porcelain, and other decorative objects, including a Buddhist devotional sculpture, completed the Chinese style decorative scheme which continued into the dining room. These magazine features provide valuable insights both into the personal taste of Hill in the early 1920s, his design practice, and the wider fashion for Chinese style

Figure 4.11 Mr James Hunter Gray’s Flat in Chantry House, by Oliver Hill, House and Garden, February 1921. p. 26

106  Chinese Art and the English Country House interiors. In a similar manner to Basil Ionides, Hill’s professional achievements as modernist Art Deco architect, notably the Midland Hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire (1932–1933), or Joldwynds, Hombury St. Mary, Surrey (1934), have o ­ vershadowed his extensive portfolio of domestic projects in diverse modes, indicating once more how the modernist discourse has dominated the historiography of twentieth-­century design.60 By the 1930s, Hill’s interior design work was characterized as a form of luxurious Art Deco and he was invited by society hostess and interior ­decorator Syrie Maugham to collaborate on her house at No. 213 Kings Road, London, indicating the status his work had by then achieved. Earlier in his career, Hill was strongly influenced by Edward Lutyens and garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll and produced a number of country houses in Arts and Crafts style, such as the Thatched House, Knowle, Warwickshire (1923–1929), Woodhouse Copse, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey (1924–1926) and Cock Rock, Croyde, Devon (1925–1926). Hill later recalled his early friendship with Basil Ionides during this period, who he described as a “­journalist-photographer who used to bicycle over the countryside writing and photographing for another journal,” ­perhaps House and Garden which was launched at this time, but whose feature writers are unnamed and therefore remain beyond our reach. Ionides soon caught the attention of Edward Hudson of Country Life, who supported his first book in 1926 which subsequently led to his commission at the Savoy Theatre.61 Following Basil’s marriage in 1930, Hill spent “many happy weekends” at Buxted and following Basil’s death in 1950, was invited to design his memorial.62 From the 1920s, the professional portfolio of architects and interior designers became increasingly visible to a wider public, through the publication of photographs and painted works circulated through existing and newly founded magazines and books dedicated to the subject. The society painter, Willie Ranken, played a significant role in recording the interiors of private and public buildings of the Anglo-American elite, and his collaboration with Basil Ionides on his first book and Claridge’s Hotel in 1926–1927 has already been noted. Around the same time, Ranken was invited by the American actress turned decorator and socialite, Elsie de Wolfe (1859–1950) to paint her Green Lacquer Cabinet and other interior room schemes at her French retreat, the Villa Trianon, demonstrating his connection to and popularity amongst high society designers who invited him to pictorialise their achievements.63 In 1928, Ranken travelled to the USA where he painted the remarkable interiors of the China Trade Room and the Octagon Room, with its extensive display of Chinese lacquer, at Beauport; the house designed by leading American antiquarian, collector, and interior designer, Henry Davis Sleeper (1878–1934) at Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Arts and Crafts style house was constructed with salvaged architectural features and showcased Sleeper’s designs to potential clients, such as Henry Francis du Pont, who employed Sleeper to expand the family house, Winterthur, Delaware (now the Winterthur Museum). It was here that du Pont housed his important collection of Chinese export porcelain, which bears close similarity to the Ionides Collection at the centre of this book, as well as his extensive collections of furniture and art objects which recall the early colonial history of America, demonstrating the agency of Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts.64 During the early twentieth century, the popularity of Chinese or chinoiserie style was transnational, linking the fashionable households of Britain with continental Europe and the USA.65 In addition to his important contributions to the growing discourse of interior design, it is evident from early photographic sources that Ranken also collected Chinese art

Chinese Art and the English Country House 107 objects for his personal use. The first edition of House and Garden magazine in Britain (November 1920) included a six-page feature on predominantly East Asian screens, indicating the prominence of the trend at that time, illustrated with two Chinese examples from Ranken’s collection and others from the Rt Hon Frederick Huth-Johnson and Lady Sackville. In August the following year, the interior of his house was selected for the article “The Use and Misuse of Black in Decoration: When Treated with Discretion it Gives Emphasis, Contrast and Brilliancy As No Other Colour Can” (August 1921), where the dining room was dramatically decorated with black varnished walls and white paintwork (Figure 4.12). The correlation between black gloss finish and Chinese lacquer was further emphasized through the inclusion of black and gold lacquer cabinets and chests on European mounts. Large gilded dragons appear to fly over an archway separating two areas of the room, and porcelain vessels, which we are told are coloured, provide contrast to the otherwise monochromatic scheme. Unusually, a lacquered panel decorated with large Chinese characters can also be seen displayed upon the wall. Objects of this type were rarely used as decorative items, as so few English speakers understood the words or concepts they expressed, and it is possible that Ranken purchased this piece during a visit to China, as confirmed some years later.66 These images affirm Ranken’s personal engagement with Chinese art as interior decoration at an early stage, and the fashionability of this style amongst leading society artists and designers during the 1920s. The wording of this article closely echoes the sentiments and methodology of Ionides’ book, Colour and Interior Decoration published a few years later, and it is possible that he contributed to the magazine.67 As the aforementioned examples demonstrate, the trend for Chinese style or chinoiserie interiors, furnished with Chinese art objects, reached from the metropolitan centre of London to the country estate in twentieth-century Britain as it had done so two centuries earlier. In a similar fashion, the wealthy elite rotated between multiple residences throughout the year, acting out a variety of roles in contrasting urban and rural settings. The London residence of Sir Philip Sassoon at 25 Park Lane has already been discussed in connection with the important art exhibitions he hosted within his private apartments between 1928 and 1938, heightening his status as collector and connoisseur, in particular in the field of eighteenth-century art and including Chinese ceramics. The architect Philip Tilden was responsible for remodelling Park Lane to Sir Philip’s taste and fashioned his flamboyant country estate at Port Lympne in Kent soon after where he spent much of the summer months.68 The theatrical interiors and bold garden design were both marvelled upon and derided by those who interpreted the designs as a reflection of Sassoon’s “exotic” and “oriental” character, indicating the persistence of antisemitic and racial prejudices amongst British high society. Nevertheless, visitors flocked to enjoy Sir Philip’s lavish hospitality and regular guests included members of the royal family, King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson,69 his brother King George VI and his family, leading politicians Sir Winston Churchill and Lloyd George as well as notable figures from across the arts; Charlie Chaplin was famously photographed in the grounds. In contrast, Sassoon’s third residence at Trent Park just outside the metropolitan centre of London was praised by Christopher Hussey in 1931 as an expression of the pure English tradition. The remodelling of the house between 1925 and 1931, perhaps on the advice of Tilden although this remains speculative, transformed the former Victorian edifice into an elegant eighteenth-century mansion house. Salvaged materials from William Kent’s Devonshire House in Piccadilly were extensively used,

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Figure 4.12 Ranken’s House in Black and White, House and Garden, August 1921. p. 43.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 109 including rose-pink bricks to face the exterior walls. Photographed for Country Life in 1931, the interiors bear close similarity to those at Buxted Park, furnished in eighteenth-century style, Chinese porcelain and art objects constituting an important aspect of the ­decorative scheme. The drawing room was decorated with Chinese hand-painted wallpaper, arranged with latticework chairs and ornamental displays of porcelain, calling to mind its eighteenth-century predecessor. Following his early death in 1939, Sassoon left his house at Lympne to his cousin, Hannah Gubbay who was by then a widow. Mrs Gubbay was also a friend of Nellie Ionides and shared her interest in collecting Chinese porcelain, indicating once more the social and familial networks which linked leading collectors and members of the Anglo-Jewish elite. As Trent Park demonstrates, for some, Chinese art objects played an important but secondary role to the overall design scheme and as such, were selected for their historical associations with eighteenth-century “Britishness.” For other collectors, such as Anthony de Rothschild (1887–1961), Chinese porcelain occupied a more prominent position and can be understood as an expression of individual taste. At his country house at Ascott, near Leighton Buzzard, which was remodelled and expanded in 1937–1938, the selection of bold turquoise and purple fahua and san cai ceramics of the Ming dynasty, as well as Kangxi porcelains of the early Qing dynasty make this one of the most outstanding private collections of its time.70 Rothschild employed agents in China to source pieces for his collection but he also acquired from London dealers; John Sparks Ltd recorded the purchase of “a turquoise ground vase and stand” on 7 January 1928. A few years earlier, examples of European style Chinese export porcelain from his collection had been chosen by Robert Hobson to illustrate his 1925 book, The Later Ceramic Wares of China indicating the range of his interests at that time.71 An active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society, Rothchild loaned a pair of egg-shell porcelain lanterns painted in famille verte enamels to the Burlington House Exhibition of 1935. His extensive collection was displayed in specially designed bamboo cabinets in the Porcelain Room and throughout the house which survive to the present day.

Object as Artefact/Object as Ornament From London town house to country mansion and across the range of examples presented here, two contrasting modes of display can be observed, characterized here as “object as artefact” and “object as ornament.” In the first instance, as artefact, objects were ordered and cased in a museum manner, setting them apart from their surroundings and emphasizing the visual, removing the possibility of touch or a close sensory encounter.72 It is in this context that cased porcelains in Oliver Hill’s home in Belgravia or the Ionides country mansion at Buxted Park should be understood. Staged in historical display cases, the designers situated these objects within a visually eighteenth-century context. Secondly, as ornament, there are those objects valued principally for their aesthetic properties and design features which have been immersed in their physical environment. These objects could be viewed singly at close quarters or as part of the coordinated room design, from various angles and in relation to objects set around them; the immediacy of the unmediated object and the potential of a haptic or sensory experience reducing the conceptual space between object and subject. This style of

110  Chinese Art and the English Country House display both recalls earlier eighteenth-century design trends, embedded with notions of “Britishness,” and reflects newly formulated attitudes and approaches to the modern twentieth-century interior, such as those promulgated by Basil Ionides. The two modes of display were frequently employed in tandem, separating and defining the meaning of collected objects according to the context in which they were encountered. Each individual object is defined not only by its design, materiality, and origin but the manner whereby it is experienced; the setting is therefore transformative.

Gilded Buddhas, Ancestor Portraits, and Tang Figurines: Chinese Art as Interior Design By the first decades of the twentieth century, the range of Chinese art objects available in Britain had significantly expanded in style and scope and were increasingly visible in the homes of the wealthy elite as articles of interior design. As we have seen, decorators and designers sourced objects from art dealers who in turn advertised their services to a range of clients through magazines such as Country Life, House and Garden, Homes and Gardens, and Harper’s Bazaar. For example, two Chinese jardinières of enamelled copper with ornamental jade trees, marketed through the firm Yamanaka & Co Ltd, were presented in “Some Suggestions for Christmas Gifts” in the December edition of House and Garden, 1921.73 A similar pair of Chinese jardinières can be seen in the Chinese Room at Buxted Park in 1934 indicating the continued popularity of these items (Figure 4.2). These same magazines also reviewed Chinese Art exhibitions which dealers such as John Sparks Ltd and Bluetts held on their premises on a regular basis, further promoting the profile of such firms amongst their wealthy clientele and magazine readership. The archives of John Sparks Ltd offer insights into the diverse range of Chinese art objects available in London during this period and reveal which collectors, decorating companies, and fellow dealers, were actively purchasing Chinese art. Perhaps unsurprisingly, titled and military men are plentiful in the documentary records, and include the Duke of Gloucester, Viscount Bury, Captain E.G. Spencer Churchill, Colonel R. Oppenheim, and Major the Hon Sir John War to name a few. Among the many female clients, the Duchess of Roxborough, the Marchioness of Crewe, HRH the Duchess of Kent, and Lady Louis Mountbatten are listed alongside European royalty, the Queen of Spain, and HE Contessa Grandi, confirming the high pedigree of those who visited the dealer.74 Queen Mary appears on numerous occasions and her support for Sparks and enthusiasm for collecting Chinese art has already been observed. Among this impressive list of clients, Anglo-Jewish art collectors include Baroness Goldsmid, the Hon Mrs Sebag-Motefiore, Mrs Meyer Sassoon, and Sir Philip Sassoon, indicating that they too turned to John Sparks Ltd to purchase Chinese art objects for their expanding collections. What kind of Chinese art objects were these wealthy clients collecting? It should first be noted that Sparks did not specialize in paintings, and Chinese paintings were rarely seen in sales rooms or auction houses in London, or in fact elsewhere in the Euro-American art market at this time, being regarded by many private collectors as inaccessible, due to their content, language, and unfamiliar aesthetic, which appeared remote and difficult to decode. Collectible articles therefore focussed on Chinese art objects in a range of more familiar media; jade and hardstones, lacquer, bronze, cloisonné and enamels, and carvings in ivory and a variety of other naturally occurring

Chinese Art and the English Country House 111 materials. Ceramics was certainly the largest and most popular category and ranged from Tang dynasty tomb objects and Song ceramics to Ming dynasty roof tiles and Qing dynasty porcelain figurines, indicating the increased availability of diverse ceramic typologies by this time, including those favoured by “serious” collectors and Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) members, Sir Percival David, Sir Bernard Ingram, Professor Seligman, and Alfred Clark, who also purchased from the dealer. It is worth acknowledging that even though the “modern” Chinese ceramic collectors, as OCS members regarded themselves, expressed “extremely good taste” in selecting early ceramics over later porcelains, these were often displayed in a very traditional mode. In his introduction to the OCS exhibition of Chinese Celadons in 1947, the collector Arthur Hetherington (1881–1960) remarked that “as receptacles for fruit on the dining table, for the display of flowers or for growing bulbs, and for adding distinction to a room containing old furniture, the celadons have no equal.”75 On Alfred and Mrs Clark, Lady David (1914–1995) later recalled that, They too wanted to make a collection that would fit in with the furnishings. They had an old bureau-bookcase with a glass front filled with their blue-and-white ceramics. They also had a little room upstairs in which they kept their Song pieces in showcases around the walls, and in their drawing room they had later wares.76 These examples illustrate the treatment of early Chinese ceramics as articles of use and display, in contrast to the scholarly approach to this category of wares so frequently emphasized in specialist ceramic literature. The utility of Chinese ceramics in this manner and the experimentation with historical modes of display reflects a period of cultural and ideological flux during which the parameters of traditional and modernist aesthetics were being renegotiated and explored. Chinese art objects played an important role in that discourse.77 In addition to individual collectors who purchased through Sparks, fellow dealers Messrs Bluett & Sons, Messrs Mallet & Son, Messrs Spink & Sons Ltd, and Frank Partridge & Sons frequently appear in the sales records, indicating the importance of dealer-to-dealer business exchange. Chinese born art dealer C.T. Loo (1880–1957) made multiple purchases throughout the 1930s, by which time his commercial network flourished across the globe.78 Based in Paris, the remarkable townhouse he remodelled in 1925 in the prestigious 8th Arrondisement became known as “Pagoda Paris” and combined jade-green roof tiles with a red brick building and Chinese gargoyles. The interior featured sixteenth and seventeenth-century Chinese lacquered panelling and an Art Deco ceiling incorporating Chinese characters, once more illustrating how traditional Chinese materials and visuality were combined with modern interior design trends. Loo sourced Chinese art objects for his wealthy clients which included leading America collectors J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Clay Frick, which were subsequently used to decorate their palatial homes before they later made their way into museum collections.79 On 13 February 1931, Loo purchased a set of twentyfour famille rose plates for the sum of £52.10 from Sparks, which may have been destined for once such household. Leading decorators Lenygon & Morant also turned to dealers such as Sparks to purchase Chinese articles to furnish the interiors of their wealthy clients. “A pair of galloping kylins (porcelain) and stands” are recorded in September 1934 and a “Sage Green Vase (KL)” in 1935. The later purchase of a “Large Ancestor Portrait, Lady

112  Chinese Art and the English Country House with Turq: Head-dress Ming” refers to the bright turquois appearance of traditional ­headdresses worn by women in China and decorated with kingfisher feathers. Reserved for members of the elite, this would suggest a high-ranking individual but such an early date is unlikely, most surviving ancestral portraits dating to the nineteenth century towards the end of the Qing dynasty. Another ancestor portrait, described as “Man in a green robe,” was sold to Mrs Dreyfus a week earlier on 1 February 1937, suggesting these paintings may originally have been acquired by Sparks as a pair. Ancestor portraits were valued for their spiritual significance in China, recording for posterity male and female members of the ancestral lineage, capturing their physical and spiritual likeness, which were then passed down and venerated through the generations. The notion that such articles could be sold, separated, and then displayed as decoration would then, as now, be unthinkable according to traditional Chinese practice, but Sparks were not the only dealers to do so. It is interesting to note that Sparks traded in such objects, but not traditional Chinese painting, perhaps due to their emphasis on realistic figural representation which was in many ways more familiar and accessible to collectors in the West. The whereabouts of both paintings is now unknown. The names of lesser-known furnishers and decorators can also be found in the Sparks archive. In October 1931, Heaton Tabb & Co (Liverpool and London) purchased four lacquer barrel stools for the sum of £4, perhaps for the interior of a public house; the saloon at the White Horse in Shepherds Bush, London is prominently featured on an advertisement around this time. Gregory & Co of 19 Old Cavendish Street (London), specialized in seventeenth and eighteenth-century furniture, carpets, and decorations and reproduced historical textiles for contemporary use. On 16 October 1931, the company purchased a small, three-colour figure of Guanyin (Kangxi period), for the sum of £9. They later acquired one large and two small sets of porcelain fruits on a tray for the sum of £9 (8 November 1933). Perhaps the most surprising discovery in the Sparks archive is the extent to which the dealer was repairing, repurposing, and mounting objects for their clients as well as providing apparently newly manufactured and usable pieces such as ashtrays, smoker sets, and cigarette boxes. This included objects of ancient origins, such as “One pair of fine pottery Temple Vases with decoration encircling round neck. Early Sung or T’ang dynasty, mounted as lamps on wood bases” on 22 July 1942 for Mrs Simon Marks for the sum of £85. The number of lamps is striking and numerous examples could be cited, such as “Mounting Five Colour Jar as Lamp” for Mrs Rosenthal in February 1935 and “Modern apple green vase lamp, painted shade” in January 1931 for the Hon Mrs Basil Ionides, perhaps destined for one of the interiors at Buxted Park. Other purchases made by Nellie that year included six Chinese lanterns, a bronze gong on a lacquer stand, and one dozen wire stands, presumably to display her porcelain. Stands were of course an important aspect of the traditional display of art objects in China and by this time, dealers were well aware of their significance. Unfortunately, many objects were separated from their original carved wooden stands, resulting in the manufacture of newly made stands upon arrival in the West; a service widely undertaken by Sparks on behalf of their clients. On 23 October 1930, Sparks records undertaking “Repairs to (Pottery) plaster figure” for Mrs Whitehead of Harrogate, “Making wood stands for two pottery figures” for Mrs Vestey, “Mounting tile as lamp with shade” for Mrs Eleanor Digby and “Making wood stand for pottery figure, repairing clay figure” for Mrs Napier, in order to make such pieces suitable not only for display but for use.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 113 Large items, such as screens, are occasionally mentioned and rugs are also recorded, such as a “Peach ground rug with blue” purchased by the Dorchester Hotel for £20 in May 1931, indicating that commercial establishments turned directly to the dealer to purchase articles for newly refurbished interiors. Chinese rugs, many of which were recently manufactured, were another means whereby “Chinese style” could be introduced into a decorative scheme and they were frequently used alongside older items at Buxted Park. The dealer Sparks therefore offered a range of products and services to his clients, not only providing collectible Chinese art objects but actively assisting in the process of displaying and in some cases utilizing objects, ancient and modern, within the lived interior. Letters surviving in the Royal Archives offer rare insights into the close relationship which developed between the dealer – in the role of advisor and supplier – and the collector, Queen Mary. On 4 August 1938, John Sparks recalls, “the delightful day I spent at Sandringham yesterday” and goes on to express “how deeply I appreciate your Majesty’s kindness in asking me to see the Chinese Collection … Time passed so quickly yesterday, that I could not do all the re-arranging of the blue and white” but Sparks suggests he might come down again to complete the process of selecting and rearranging pieces in the collection.80 Sparks gratefully received an ivory card case in return for his services which he added to his small private collection, indicating how such Chinese art objects were deployed as a form of cultural currency. A decade later, he was invited to offer his opinion on the Queen’s large case of jade “being so full” to which he suggested removing articles of inferior quality and substituting individual objects on his suggestion, so she might retain “the thrill of pleasure at some new acquisition that was outstanding in some way or another.”81 Sparks also advised on the arrangement of the Chinese collection at Buckingham Palace and Marlborough House. Dealers in Chinese art therefore not only supplied Chinese art objects but were active agents in the promotion and circulation of art objects as collectible artefacts and articles of interior design. Social and commercial networks linking collectors, “decorators” and dealers with magazines and publishing houses active during the second quarter of the twentieth century both stimulated and responded to the eighteenth-century turn in interwar Britain, reviving and promoting an interest in Chinese art objects and chinoiserie style. For many collectors, their interests were eclectic and modes of display experimental, incorporating newly available Chinese art objects with those already in circulation, resulting in a style of interior decoration which expressed individuality, luxury, and taste as well as proclaiming their status amongst British high society.

Notes 1 Penny Sparke, The Modern Interior (London: Reaktion Books, 2008), 17. 2 Jane Stevenson, Baroque Between The Wars: Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939 (S.l.: Oxford University Press, 2021). 3 “Curzon Street Baroque” and “Vogue Regency” were both terms coined by English cartoonist, art critic, and stage designer, Sir Osbert Lancaster (1908–1986). His drawings, accompanied by witty commentaries, Home Sweet Home were published regularly in the Daily Express (1939–1980). Pat Wheaton, “High Style and Society: Class, Taste and Modernity in British Interwar Decorating” (PhD, Kingston upon Thames: Kingston University, 2011), 248. 4 Anthony Farrington, Trading Places: The East India Company and Asia 1600–1834 (London: British Library, 2002).

114  Chinese Art and the English Country House 5 Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction, A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984). 6 Margot Finn and Kate Smith, “The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857,” UCL Press. 7 The term was first defined in an English dictionary of 1883, then meaning Chinese conduct, or a “notion” of China. David Beevers, ed., Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain, 1650–1930 (Brighton: Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008), 13. 8 Beevers. Dawn Jacobson, Chinoiserie, 1st pbk. ed (London: Phaidon, 1993). 9 Access to “exotic” Chinese articles was often facilitated by individuals engaged by the East India Company. For example, Elizabeth Montague furnished the interior of her Chinese Room with the assistance of her brother, William Robinson, a captain in the East India Company, who visited China in 1748 and 1752. Stacey Sloboda, “Fashioning Bluestocking Conversation: Elizabeth Montagus Chinese Room,” in Architectural Space in EighteenthCentury Europe: Constructing Identities and Interiors (Farnham: Ashgate, 2010), 129– 148. Unlike many commodities which were sold at auction in London by the EIC, Chinese wallpaper was gifted, indicating its heightened status, rarity, and individuality of design. 10 Margaret Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1950). 11 Stacey Sloboda, “Surface Contact: Decoration in the Chinese Taste,” in Qing Encounters: Artistic Exchanges between China and the West (Getty Research Institute, 2015), 248– 265, p. 250. See also Stacey Sloboda, Chinoiserie: Commerce and Critical Ornament in Eighteenth-Century Britain, Studies in Design (Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 2014). 12 Clare Taylor, The Design, Production and Reception of Eighteenth-Century Wallpaper in Britain, The Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1700–1950 (London New York: Routledge, 2018). Sloboda observes that the Chinese Room created by Elizabeth Montague for her London townhouse produced a new hybrid space in which domestic, political and intellectual culture mingled. See Sloboda, “Fashioning Bluestocking Conversation: Elizabeth Montagu’s Chinese Room,” p. 133. 13 Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, etc., 1757. New Designs with Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste, 1752. A New Book of Ornaments in the Chinese Taste, 1752. The Gentleman and Cabinet Makers Director was first published in 1754, subtitled, A large collection of the most Elegant and Useful Designs of Household Furniture in the Gothic, Chinese and Modern Taste. It was reprinted in 1755 and reissued in 1762, pp. 130– 132. On the design books of John Stalker and George Parker (published in London and Oxford, 1688) and Jean-Antoine Fraisse (published in Paris, 1735), their circulation and influence on professional and amateur craft production, see J. Bellemare, “Design Books in the Chinese Taste: Marketing the Orient in England and France, 1688–1735,” Journal of Design History 27, no. 1 (1 March 2014): 1–16, https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jdh​/ept032. 14 Surviving examples of Chinese wallpaper preserved in their original setting can be seen in Yorkshire at Nostell Priory, Temple Newsam, and Harewood House, and in Devon at Saltram. Examples such as this are rare, most Chinese wallpaper having been removed when chinoiserie fell out of fashion. 15 Emile de Bruijn, “Emblems of China: The Prominence of Landscape and Bird-and-Flower Scenery in 18th Century Chinese Export Art,” The Oriental Ceramic Society Newsletter 27 (May 2019): 7–11. For more on Chinese wallpaper and the English country house, see Helen Clifford, “Chinese Wallpaper: From Canton to Country House,” in The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857 (UCL Press, 2018), 39–67. Emile de Bruijn, Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland (London: PWP, 2018). Anna Wu, “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture” (PhD., Royal College of Art, 2019). 16 Basil Ionides, Colour and Interior Decoration (London, 1926). 17 Sarah Cheang, “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity,” in Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930 (Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008), 78. 18 Upton House, Country Life, 5 September 1936. 19 “Views and Plans of the Estate of Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn 1798” (The Keep, Brighton, 1798), East Sussex Record Office, BMWA/15/75a.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 115 20 Christopher Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex – I The Residence of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Ionides,” Country Life, 21 April 1934. 21 Photographs in the Rockefeller archive show the display of large Chinese sculptures of Buddhist bodhisattvas in the foyer of one of the private residences of the American collector, J.D. Rockefeller Jr and his wife Abby in the 1920s. See Stanley Abe, “Rockefeller Home Decorating and Objects from China,” in Collecting China. The World, China and a History of Collecting (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011). Buddhist sculpture was also widely collected by museums in Europe and North America at this time. See Crispin Paine, ed., Godly Things: Museums, Objects and Religion (New York: Frances Pinter Publishers Ltd, 1999). Chuang Yiao-hwei, “An Investigation into the Exhibition of Buddhist Objects in British Museums” (PhD., University of Leicester, 1993). Louise Tythacott, The Lives of Chinese Objects: Buddhism, Imperialism and Display (Oxford and New York: Berghahn, 2011). 22 Cheang, “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity,” p. 80. 23 Last Will and Testament of Basil Ionides, 8 November 1946, Principal Probate Registry of the High Court of Justice, London. 24 Anna Somers Cocks, “The Nonfunctional Use of Ceramics in the English Country House During the Eighteenth Century,” Studies in the History of Art 25 (1989): 195–215, p. 211. 25 More than a million pieces of porcelain were imported by the EIC from the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. This number is dwarfed by the enormous quantities of tea, spices, and Indian cottons imported as part of the Company’s trade over the same period. Maxine Berg, Luxury and Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century Britain: Debates, Desires and Delectable Goods (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 56. 26 In her study of the social function of the kitchen in the eighteenth century, Steedman observes the absence of this “Nowhere-place” in contemporary literature. See Carolyn Steedman, “No Body’s Place: On Eighteenth-Century Kitchens,” in Biography, Identity and the Modern Interior (UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2013), 11–22. 27 Joshua Yiu observes a similar pattern of standardization in the production of Chinese wugong altar vessels over the past 500 years in China. The Chinese display of five vessels, consisting of two vases, two candlesticks, and one censer may have influenced the displays which became so popular in European interiors. See Chun-chong Joshua Yiu, “The Display of Fragrant Offerings: Altar Sets in China” (PhD., University of Oxford, United Kingdom, 2006). On the history of garnitures in Britain, see Patricia F. Ferguson, Garnitures: Vase Sets from National Trust Houses (South Kensington, London: V&A Publishing, 2016). 28 A five-piece set of Kangxi famille verte porcelain was displayed at Gubbay’s country house at Clandon Park, Surrey. See Ferguson, Garnitures, p. 35. The property was devastated by a fire in 2015 and much of the porcelain collection destroyed. A rare survival is a Chinese jade cup. 29 Toby Jessel, “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections with Twickenham” (York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000). The Jewish Chronicle records that Nellie Ionides regularly hosted events for the North London Jewish Girls’ Club and the Jewish Lads Brigade at Riverside House. See 3 July 1931; 12 August 1932; 14 July 1933; 3 August 1934. 30 The planned demolition on 4, 5, and 6 December 1930 was cancelled. “Buxted Park Sold,” Sussex Agricultural Express, Friday 28 November 1930. 31 Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex – I The Residence of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Ionides,” p. 404. Other sources identify Buxted as part of the manor of Framfield, dating to 1199. “Felbridge & District History Group: Buxted Park,” http://www​.felbridge​.org​.uk​/index​ .php​/publications​/buxted​-park/. 32 Medley married Annabella Dashwood, daughter of the Lord Mayor of London. The arms of Medley impaling Dashwood and Medley quartering Reynes of Coneyburrows appears in the hall over the east and west fireplace respectively. Ibid., p. 406. 33 “Views and Plans of the Estate of Sir George Shuckburgh Evenlyn, 1798,” East Sussex Record Office, The Keep, Brighton. BMWA/15/75a. 34 Lord Liverpool was Prime Minister from 1812 to 1827. Considerable alterations were made to the house from 1810, including the demolition of stables and building of the

116  Chinese Art and the English Country House portico and colonnade on the South side. Victoria was said to enjoy feeding fallow deer on the estate. “Felbridge & District History Group: Buxted Park,” http://www​.felbridge​.org​ .uk​/index​.php​/publications​/buxted​-park/. 35 MS371 A3042/2/5/1 Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton. 36 Stevenson, Baroque Between the Wars, pp. 265–276. 37 Basil Ionides, “Correspondence – History of Picked Flowers,” Country Life, 1 December 1934. Basil Ionides, “The Flowers of November,” Country Life, 24 November 1934. Basil Ionides, ‘The Flowers of December,’ Country Life, 15 December 1934. 38 The impact of ancient Egyptian material culture on European art and design was first felt following the campaigns of Napoleon in Egypt during the nineteenth century. The discovery by British archaeologist Howard Carter of the tomb of Tutankhamun in November 1922 reignited interest in Britain and across the globe. 39 For a detailed discussion of the Ditchley Park project, see Adrian Tinniswood, The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars (London: Jonathan Cape, 2016), 155–172. Martin Wood, Nancy Lancaster: English Country House Style (London, 2005). 40 In 1936, Basil and Nellie Ionides along with Queen Mary visited Radnor House, Twickenham in order to save the seventeeth-century riverside property. In 1938, the Ionides served on The Radnor House Preservation Society Ltd but the building received a direct hit in 1940. Mike Cherry, Radnor House Twickenham: The Story of a Thameside House (Twickenham Local History Society, n.d.). 41 See Peter Mandler, The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997). 42 John Harris, Moving Rooms (New Haven; London: Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2007), 93. 43 Margaret Jourdain was first employed by the London-based Lenygon and Morant. In 1926, Robersons of Knightsbridge listed twenty clients including Edsel Ford in Detroit, William Randolph Hearst, and Mrs. Childs Frick, daughter in law of art collector Henry Clay Frick. Harris, pp. 255–256. Anna Wu discusses the fashion for eighteenth-century “colonial-revival” style in America, which included the restoration of historic houses and stimulated the creation of period rooms in museums, such as the Powel House Parlor (originally from Philadelphia) which was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1918. See Wu, “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture.” 44 Wheaton, “High Style and Society: Class, Taste and Modernity in British Interwar Decorating,” pp. 15–45. 45 From 1915 to 1937, the London premises of Walter Thornton-Smith incorporated studios from which all the furniture and decorative effects were produced, a percentage of which were exported to America. Wheaton, p. 60. 46 Christopher Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex - II. The Residence of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs Ionides,” Country Life, 28 April 1934, p. 436. 47 First developed in Europe, the technique was skilfully practised by craftsmen in Guangzhou by the early eighteenth century, who had learnt to produce sheet glass from French experts in 1699. For more on this technique and the production of glass in China, see Emily Byrne. Curtis, Glass Exchange between Europe and China, 1550–1800: Diplomatic, Mercantile and Technological Interactions, Transculturalisms, 1400–1700 (Farnham; Ashgate, 2009). 48 Craig Clunas, ed., Chinese Export Art and Design (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987). 49 Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum (London: British Museum Press, 2001), 221. 50 Lot 661, Sale of Stephen D. Winkworth, 25–28 April 1933, Sotheby’s Sales Catalogue. For details of purchase, see Day Book, April 1933, p. 216, File 6, John Sparks Ltd Archive, SOAS Archives and Special Collections, SOAS University Library. 51 On the work of Henson and the evolution in photography at Country Life, see John Goodall, “A Moment in Time,” Country Life, 5 April 2017, 76–80.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 117 52 The collection of Eumorfopoulos was displayed in a two-storey museum extension to his home at Chelsea Embankment which he opened on Sundays. A large part of his extensive collections were later acquired by the V&A and British Museum. 53 For a recent catalogue entry, see Zhangshen Lu ed., Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Beijing: Book Series for the National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012, 152–153. 54 Sparke, The Modern Interior, pp. 16–17. 55 House and Garden magazine was launched in the USA twenty years earlier. 56 “A Little Portfolio of Good Interiors,” House and Garden, December 1921, p. 33. 57 “The Possibilities of a Small Hall,” House and Garden, January 1922, p. 18. 58 “Screens in the Decorative Scheme,” House and Garden, November 1920. 59 “Mr. James Hunter Gray’s Flat in Chantrey House,” House and Garden, February 1921, p. 26. 60 Vanessa Vanden Berghe, “Oliver Hill and the Enigma of British Modernism during the Inter-War Period” (University of East London, 2013). 61 Oliver Hill, “An Architect’s Debt to ‘Country Life,’” Country Life, 12 January 1967. 62 The memorial can be seen in Buxted Parish Church. 63 Elsie de Woolfe produced striking designs in Chinese style, such as the Entrance Hall for Anne Vanderbilt at 1, Sutton Place, New York City in 1921. See Penny Sparke, Elsie De Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration, ed. Mitchell Owens (New York: Acanthus Press, 2005). 64 Ronald W. Fuchs, “A Passion for China: Henry Francis Du Pont’s Collection of Export Porcelain,” in Collecting China. The World, China and a History of Collecting (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011), 124–129. 65 Wu, “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture.” 66 See letter from Margaret Jourdain to Nellie Ionides, 1941. MS371 A3042 2/5/4 AngloJewish Archive, University of Southampton. 67 Other features, such as “The Troubles and Triumphs of Grey” or “The Value of Gold in Decoration” also suggest Ionides as the possible author. 68 Tinniswood, The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars, pp. 95–108. 69 The royal couple spent two weeks of their honeymoon at Lympne at the invitation of Sir Philip. 70 Tinniswood, The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars. 71 R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1925). 72 On the impact of traditional museum practices which emphasized the visual over the sensory encounter, see Fiona Candlin, Art, Museums and Touch, Rethinking Art’s Histories (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2010). Wing Yan Ting, “Communicating Chinese Ceramics: A Study of Material Culture Theory in Selected Museums in Britain” (PhD: University of Leicester, 2008). 73 Yamanaka & Company began trading initially from Osaka, Japan in the late nineteenth century but had by the twentieth century become one of the leading dealers in Asian art to Western clients. For a recent discussion, see Masako Yamamoto Maezaki, “Innovative Trading Strategies for Japanese Art,” in Acquiring Cultures, ed. Bénédicte Savoy, Charlotte Guichard, and Christine Howald (De Gruyter, 2018), 223–238, https://doi​.org​/10​.1515​ /9783110545081​-014. 74 Sparks had royal warrants from Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden. 75 “TOCS​-1946​-1947​-Volume​-2​2​.pdf,” http://ocs​-london​.com​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2015​/10​ /TOCS​-1946​-1947​-Volume​-22​.pdf. 76 Anthony Lin, “An Interview with Lady David,” Orientations, April 1992, p. 57. 77 Ralph Parfect, “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and The Burlington Magazine,” in British Modernism and Chinoiserie (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 53–71.

118  Chinese Art and the English Country House 78 A controversial figure, Loo was later criticized for illegally exporting Chinese cultural relics to the West. Loo supplied some of the leading museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and the British Museum (London). Daisy Yiyou Wang, “The Loouvre from China: A Critical Study of C.T. Loo and the Framing of Chinese Art in the United States, 1915–1950” (Ohio, 2007). 79 Abe, “Rockefeller Home Decorating and Objects from China.” 80 RA QM/PRIV/CC47/1726. 81 RA QM/PRIV/CC47/2238.

Bibliography Abe, Stanley. “Rockefeller Home Decorating and Objects From China.” In Collecting China: The World, China and a History of Collecting. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011. Beevers, David, ed. Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain, 1650–1930. Brighton [England]: Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008. Bellemare, J. “Design Books in the Chinese Taste: Marketing the Orient in England and France, 1688–1735.” Journal of Design History 27, no. 1 (1 March 2014): 1–16. https://doi​.org​/10​ .1093​/jdh​/ept032. Berg, Maxine. Luxury and Pleasure in the Eighteenth Century Britain: Debates, Desires and Delectable Goods. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984. Candlin, Fiona. Art, Museums and Touch: Rethinking Art’s Histories. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2010. Cheang, Sarah. “What’s in a Chinese Room? 20th Century Chinoiserie, Modernity and Femininity.” In Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650–1930. Brighton & Hove: The Royal Pavilion & Museums, 2008. Cherry, Mike. Radnor House Twickenham: The Story of a Thameside House. Forlag: Twickenham Local History Society, n.d. Clifford, Helen. “Chinese Wallpaper: From Canton to Country House.” In The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857, 39–67. London: UCL Press, 2018. Clunas, Craig, ed. Chinese Export Art and Design. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987. Cocks, Anna Somers. “The Nonfunctional Use of Ceramics in the English Country House During the Eighteenth Century.” Studies in the History of Art 25 (1989): 195–215. Curtis, Emily Byrne. Glass Exchange Between Europe and China, 1550–1800: Diplomatic, Mercantile and Technological Interactions. Transculturalisms, 1400–1700. Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. de Bruijn, Emile. Chinese Wallpaper in Britain and Ireland. London: PWP, 2018. de Bruijn, Emile. “Emblems of China: The Prominence of Landscape and Bird-and-Flower Scenery in 18th Century Chinese Export Art.” The Oriental Ceramic Society Newsletter 27 (May 2019): 7–11. Farrington, Anthony. Trading Places: The East India Company and Asia 1600–1834. London: British Library, 2002. “Felbridge & District History Group:Buxted Park.” http://www​.felbridge​.org​.uk​/index​.php​/ publications​/buxted​-park/. Ferguson, Patricia F. Garnitures: Vase Sets From National Trust Houses. South Kensington, London: V&A Publishing, 2016. Finn, Margot, and Kate Smith. “The East India Company at Home, 1757–1857.” London: UCL Press. Fuchs, Ronald W. “A Passion for China: Henry Francis Du Pont’s Collection of Export Porcelain.” In Collecting China. The World, China and a History of Collecting, 124–29. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2011.

Chinese Art and the English Country House 119 Goodall, John. “A Moment in Time.” Country Life, 5 April 2017, 76–80. Harris, John. Moving Rooms. New Haven and London: Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2007. Harrison-Hall, Jessica. Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum. London: British Museum Press, 2001. Hill, Oliver. “An Architect’s Debt to ‘Country Life.’” Country Life, 12 January 1967. Hobson, R. L. The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty. London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1925. House and Garden. “A Little Portfolio of Good Interiors.” December 1921. House and Garden. “Mr. James Hunter Gray’s Flat in Chantrey House.” February 1921. House and Garden. “Screens in the Decorative Scheme.” November 1920. House and Garden. “The Possibilities of a Small Hall.” January 1922. Hussey, Christopher. “Buxted Park, Sussex - I The Residence of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Ionides.” Country Life, 21 April 1934. Hussey, Christopher. “Buxted Park, Sussex - II. The Residence of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs Ionides.” Country Life, 28 April 1934. Ionides, Basil. Colour and Interior Decoration. London, 1926. Ionides, Basil. “Correspondence - History of Picked Flowers.” Country Life, 1 December 1934. Ionides, Basil. “The Flowers of December.” Country Life, 15 December 1934. Ionides, Basil. “The Flowers of November.” Country Life, 24 November 1934. Jacobson, Dawn. Chinoiserie. 1st pbk. ed. London: Phaidon, 1993. Jessel, Toby. “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides - History and Connections With Twickenham.” Presented at the York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000. Jourdain, Margaret, and R. Soame Jenyns. Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century. London, 1950. Krahl, Regina. Chinese Ceramics: The Anthony de Rothschild Collection. The Eranda Foundation, 1996. Lin, Anthony. “An Interview with Lady David.” Orientations, April 1992. Lu, Zhangshen, ed. Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Beijing: Book series for the National Museum of China International Exchange, 2012. Maezaki, Masako Yamamoto. “Innovative Trading Strategies for Japanese Art.” In Acquiring Cultures, edited by Bénédicte Savoy, Charlotte Guichard, and Christine Howald, 223–38. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018. https://doi​.org​/10​.1515​/9783110545081​-014. Mandler, Peter. The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. Paine, Crispin, ed. Godly Things: Museums, Objects and Religion. New York: Frances Pinter Publishers Ltd, 1999. Parfect, Ralph. “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and The Burlington Magazine.” In British Modernism and Chinoiserie, 53–71. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. Sloboda, Stacey. Chinoiserie: Commerce and Critical Ornament in Eighteenth-Century Britain: Studies in Design. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2014. Sloboda, Stacey. “Fashioning Bluestocking Conversation: Elizabeth Montagu’s Chinese Room.” In Architectural Space in Eighteenth-Century Europe: Constructing Identities and Interiors, 129–48. England: Ashgate, 2010. Sloboda, Stacey. “Surface Contact: Decoration in the Chinese Taste.” In Qing Encounters: Artistic Exchanges Between China and the West, 248–65. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2015. Sparke, Penny. Elsie De Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration. Edited by Mitchell Owens. New York: Acanthus Press, 2005. Sparke, Penny. The Modern Interior. London: Reaktion Books, 2008.

120  Chinese Art and the English Country House Steedman, Carolyn. “No Body’s Place: On Eighteenth-Century Kitchens.” In Biography, Identity and the Modern Interior, 11–22. England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2013. Stevenson, Jane. Baroque Between the Wars: Alternative Style in the Arts, 1918–1939. S.l.: Oxford University Press, 2021. Taylor, Clare. The Design, Production and Reception of Eighteenth-Century Wallpaper in Britain: The Histories of Material Culture and Collecting, 1700–1950. London New York: Routledge, 2018. Ting, Wing Yan. Communicating Chinese Ceramics: A Study of Material Culture Theory in Selected Museums in Britain. PhD: University of Leicester, 2008. Tinniswood, Adrian. The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between the Wars. London: Jonathan Cape, 2016. “TOCS-1946-1947-Volume-22.Pdf.”  http://ocs​-london​.com​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2015​/10​/ TOCS​-1946​-1947​-Volume​-22​.pdf. Tythacott, Louise. The Lives of Chinese Objects: Buddhism, Imperialism and Display. Oxford and New York: Berghahn, 2011. Vanden Berghe, Vanessa. Oliver Hill and the Enigma of British Modernism During the InterWar Period. London: University of East London, 2013. “Views and Plans of the Estate of Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn 1798.” The Keep, Brighton, 1798. East Sussex Record Office. BMWA/15/75a. Wheaton, Pat. High Style and Society: Class, Taste and Modernity in British Interwar Decorating. PhD: Kingston University, 2011. Wood, Martin. Nancy Lancaster: English Country House Style. London, 2005. Wu, Anna. “Chinese Wallpaper, Global Histories and Material Culture.” PhD, Royal College of Art, 2019. http://researchonline​.rca​.ac​.uk​/3939/. Yiao-hwei, Chuang. An Investigation into the Exhibition of Buddhist Objects in British Museums. PhD: University of Leicester, 1993. Yiu, Chun-chong Joshua. “The Display of Fragrant Offerings: Altar Sets in China.” PhD, University of Oxford (United Kingdom), 2006. Yiyou Wang, Daisy. The Loouvre From China: A Critical Study of C.T. Loo and the Framing of Chinese Art in the United States, 1915–1950. Ohio, 2007.

5

The Impact of War Collecting Chinese Art 1940–1950 Helen Glaister

The final chapter of this book maps the fortunes of the Ionides and their Chinese art collections over a decade of transformative change, from the years during the Second World War to those which immediately followed. As we will discover, while the house at Buxted Park suffered the unexpected catastrophe of fire, the Ionides continued their quest to create a suitable setting for their collections of largely eighteenth-century paintings, furniture, ceramics, and decorative art objects which continued to grow. Photographs produced for Country Life magazine present the most complete, although staged, picture of the extensive collection of Chinese art objects in a range of media and how their display was carefully orchestrated by the designer, Basil Ionides. Private photographs which have recently come to light offer alternative perspectives on the interiors, allowing us to observe how the Ionides inhabited the space in and around the historic mansion house and their relationship to the Chinese art objects they collected. In the midst of war, the British art ecosystem continued to facilitate the circulation of Chinese art objects from heirloom collections that were broken up at this time, in addition to articles arriving directly from China. Beyond the sales rooms, the private transfer of Chinese art objects – between networks of high society friends and acquaintances – facilitated exclusive access to art objects and reinforced shared patterns of taste. The Ionides were able to capitalize on their high social standing and exceptional wealth, expanding and enhancing their art collections through agents, dealers, and auctioneers acting on their behalf. The involvement of the Ionides with the specialist collecting society The Oriental Ceramic Society in the years immediately following the War suggests an increased engagement with the Chinese art world. Around the same time, Basil Ionides reassessed the status of his collection and his vision for the future of the mansion house at Buxted Park in the public domain. The fate of the residue collection a decade later and the extensive collections of Nellie Ionides highlight the shifting relationship between collectors and museums in the post-war period. The final dispersal of numerous objects over a series of sales at Sotheby’s in 1963–1964 allow us to see, for the first time, the full breadth of the collection of European and Chinese art objects which exemplify the taste of the Ionides, and their preoccupation with the decorative traditions and design history of the arts of the long eighteenth century.

Buxted Park during Wartime: Destruction and “Rehabilitation” Buxted Park was featured for the second time in Country Life magazine on 24 February 1940, once more authored by Christopher Hussey but ominously titled “Memories of DOI: 10.4324/9781003230779-5

122  The Impact of War Buxted: Art Treasures lost in the recent fire.” The fire in question took place earlier that month, starting on Friday 2 February and taking two days to finally extinguish. According to the Sussex Express & County Herald, the fire started in a chimney and rapidly spread through the roof, utterly destroying the upper level of the house and gutting the lower floor.1 Due to the efforts of the Uckfield Fire Brigade, the fire was confined to the central portion of the mansion house, sparing the kitchen, stables, and outer buildings including a wing which during wartime had been taken over by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).2 Only recently, the threat of bomb damage had motivated the Ionides to move many valuable art objects from their London residences in Berkeley Square and Twickenham to Buxted in the mistaken belief they would be safer there.3 Two notable paintings by Johann Zoffany (1773–1810) were destroyed in the fire, along with numerous lesser artworks as more valuable objects were prioritized in the salvage operation.4 To prevent looting, troops were placed around the property where they were able to guard not only the Ionides’ art collections but the important paintings by James Barry, “The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture” which had been removed from the Great Room in RSA House (Royal Society of Arts) in London.5 Remarkably, Hussey notes that Mrs Ionides’ “famous collection of Battersea enamels” and “Mr. Ionides’ collections of clocks and of Chinese porcelain made for the European market – the latter a no less unique contribution to connoisseurship” were saved. This is the first time the author distinguishes between the two collectors and their respective interests; the ownership of Ionides objects would be the subject of some confusion when the Basil Ionides Bequest was later claimed by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). While most of the valuable art objects were saved, the carefully designed and arranged interiors were destroyed, including furniture and fittings, textiles and wallpaper, carpets, and rugs. It is the loss of these “cleverly selected ensembles” which Hussey bemoans, and which marked out Buxted Park as “an exceptionally interesting and attractive home rather than a collection of valuable pieces.”6 The Neo-Georgian style first showcased at Buxted in the early 1930s had by this date become an established and popular interior design trend, widely known as “Country House Style.” News of the fire rapidly reached beyond Buxted to family and friends, including Queen Mary who sent a telegram to Nellie Ionides the following day: 4 Feb 1940 Dear Mrs Ionides I am much distressed to read in the papers of the terrible fire at Buxted and feel deeply for you both at this catastrophe. I fear you have lost much, if not everything you loved, and what has happened to Mr Ionides’ lovely collection of porcelain – to think that that beautiful house is spoilt is a real grief to me after all the trouble you had both taken in making it so perfect and filled with such lovely things. I have such pleasant recollections of several visits there. When you have time do send me a line to say what has been saved, and how much of the house remains for I am anxious to know – With all my sympathy Believe me Yours very sincerely Mary R MS371 A3042/2/5/2(1), Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton

The Impact of War 123 The ambitious restoration project undertaken by the Ionides following the fire is explained in full by Hussey who published his final survey of Buxted Park over three features in August 1950, one month before Basil Ionides’ unexpected death on 23 September. In the face of wartime restrictions upon building materials, the reconstruction of the house was achieved almost exclusively with existing or salvaged architectural features and took seven years to complete, radically altering the structure and orientation of the house, now with a flat roof and single storey. King George VI wrote to the Ionides in 1942 stating, “I would very much like to see what you have done to the house” (23 March 1942). Following his visit four years later he praised the near-complete design scheme: You cannot think how much I enjoyed our afternoon with you both in your beautifully reconstructed house, looking at all the lovely things in those decorated rooms arranged with such perfect taste – by you both, a marvelous and inspiring combination. Everything was a joy. Letter from King George VI, 20 May 1946, A3042/2/5/2 Part 2, Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton The mansion house was now entered through a new side entrance and doorway. Once the servants’ quarters, the New Entrance Hall was decorated in a blue and white colour scheme, the Chinese style accentuated by Dehua white porcelain figurines placed over the mantelpiece and a large blue carpet depicting a Chinese monk flanked by a tiger (Figure 5.1).7 Blue and white had long been synonymous with Chinese porcelain in the West, constituting a recurrent trope in interior design from sixteenth-century Portugal to seventeenth-century Holland. This style of decoration may have resonated for Ionides on a number of levels, recalling the late Victorian “Chinamania” of his youth, if not directly to his own personal memories and experience, then to the design history which was well-known. In fact, blue and white porcelain represents a small proportion of objects visible in the display cabinets, which are dominated by polychrome enamelled porcelain, but could be seen elsewhere in the property. This photograph provides the most reliable visual record of the largest part of the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain before its dispersal shortly afterwards. Arranged in an original eighteenth-century six-light cupboard, it is possible to identify individual objects now in the V&A collection, such as a large “Seated Dutchman” cistern (Figure 5.2) and a series of enamelled punch bowls, including the piece decorated with the “Gates of Calais” seen earlier in Basil’s Study (Figures 4.7 and 4.8).8 Elsewhere in the house, Ionides created bespoke display cases including “dummy” cabinets behind concealed doors in the Saloon (Figure 5.3) and Library (Figure 5.4) on the ground floor. In the Saloon, white ivory figurines, boxes and other small decorative carvings are displayed in a Chinese style shelving unit of black and gold lacquer in contrast to the horizontal shelving in the Library which is arranged according to familiar European conventions. Groups of Ionides porcelains, now in the V&A collection, can here be clearly identified, including a large group of plates, cups, jugs, and other items decorated with “The Trumpeter” motif which originally formed part of a tea set (Figure 5.5). Other recognizable designs include a semi-erotic reclining nude and Harlequin “peeping Tom,” and a monk attempting to embrace a young woman (Figure 1.15). The display of these objects in this secret cabinet is in keeping with eighteenth-century mores which restricted objects of this nature from public view.

124  The Impact of War

Figure 5.1 The New Entrance Hall with display cabinets, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

Figure 5.2 “Seated Dutchman” cistern, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, made in Jingdezhen, decorated in Guangzhou, China, c.1760–1780. Height: 33 cm. V&A: C.6–1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

The Impact of War 125

Figure 5.3 In the Saloon, concealed display of Chinese ivories and other carvings, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

Figure 5.4 Concealed display cabinet in the Library, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

126  The Impact of War

Figure 5.5 Cup and saucer, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China, c.1740. V&A: CIRC.148&A–1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

On the bottom shelf, larger items include two large and two small boars head tureens which originally provided an entertaining focal point for diners. The first floor of the house underwent considerable reconstruction at this time. Where the two-storey hall originally stood a new China Room was created which housed an extensive collection of predominantly Kangxi period porcelains (Figure 5.6). This room acted as the approach to and setting for the Cabinet in which Nellie’s c­ ollection of Battersea enamels were “enshrined” and Hussey asserts constitute “the heart and motive of the whole.”9 (Figure 5.7) The “museum style” display closely mirrors that created by Ionides at 49 Berkeley Square, the juxtaposition between the China room and the Cabinet making clear the connection between these two areas of interest.10 The arrangement of this series of rooms in the female quarters on the upper floors of the house calls to mind the arrangement of some of the earliest European collections of Chinese porcelain, as discussed by Canepa and Bischoff, and later ­eighteenth-century counterparts.11 European style Chinese export porcelain is once more encountered in the Chinese Room, which remained in the same location on the ground floor (Figure 5.8). Once decorated with hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, since lost, the room retains an ­eighteenth-century chinoiserie aesthetic with pale green walls embellished with chinoiserie reproduction overdoors, curtain pelmets of Chinese silk, and black latticework lacquer chairs. New architectural features include doors from Queensbury House, Richmond and the chimney piece from Clumber Hall, Nottinghamshire. The overmantle from

The Impact of War 127

Figure 5.6 The China Room, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

Figure 5.7 The Cabinet, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

128  The Impact of War Stowe incorporates a Chinese painting of daily life above a narrow horizontal mirror, in a similar manner to that seen earlier at Howbridge Hall, the home furnished by Ionides for his mother. Additional Chinese paintings, produced for export markets, flank the doorway leading to the adjacent Boudoir and may have been transferred from the Pink Bedroom following the fire. Hussey identifies the elaborate clocks, in the form of real and imagined animals and displayed on the mantelpiece, as the work of the eighteenth-century English maker, James Cox (d.ca 1791), who famously supplied clocks to the Chinese court, also collected by Basil Ionides.12 The design of these ornamental timepieces, which typically combine decorative elements of Chinese and European inspiration on a single object, share some similarities with Chinese export art, but were in contrast intended for Chinese court consumption. Elsewhere in the room, Chinese objects are displayed in newly acquired black and gold pagoda cabinets, including a number of eighteenth-century decorative carvings worthy of note. An exceptionally rare gilded rhinoceros horn carving of the popular Daoist goddess, Xiwangmu, accompanied by a deer and young boy, is visible to the left of the fireplace as well as two ivory figurines coloured in bold enamels and gilding, displayed on a console table leading towards the hall (Figure 5.9).13 Carvings in a range of precious and naturally occurring materials were popular in export markets but rhinoceros horn was usually reserved for domestic Chinese consumption due to its high material and cultural value; that both pieces were coloured and gilded – ­effectively concealing their essential material character – is most unusual although not unknown. In addition, a large architectural model of a Chinese pagoda, carved in

Figure 5.8 The Chinese Room, 1950. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

The Impact of War 129 mother of pearl with gilded bronze details, can be seen centrally positioned on a black lacquer table. Models of this type, executed in ivory or mother of pearl, were popular exports from Guangzhou during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when this piece was made. A number of significant examples of European style Chinese porcelain which later passed into the national collections can also be identified (Figure 5.9). Of particular interest are the large porcelain figurines of women in Jewish and Turkish costume, here displayed in pairs, but they were never intended to be viewed in such a manner (Figure 3.4).14 A male Jewish figure was also produced, possibly as a companion to the female figure, but no male dancing partner in Turkish dress has ever been found, suggesting this figurine was originally intended to be displayed singly.15 In 1963, following the death of Nellie Ionides, one example of each model passed to the V&A and the British Museum where they are prominently displayed today. A private image of Basil Ionides, who was rarely photographed and as a result, notably absent from the visual record, offers an alternative perspective of the Chinese Room (Figure 5.10). The collector is seen comfortably seated in one corner, surrounded on all sides by Chinese art objects, some displayed in mounted chinoiserie cases, others standing atop ornamental cabinets. An assorted arrangement of objects includes numerous porcelain figurines and a large Chinese vessel, now known to be one of a pair of exceptional enamels on copper made for the imperial court during the Qianlong reign (1736–1795), which were later sold with the remainder of Nellie Ionides’ effects through Sotheby’s in 1963–1964 (Figure 1.16).16 The decorative motif which covers its surface with interlocking floral scrolls in yellow, pink, white, mauve, green, and orange against a greenish-turquoise ground distinguishes this work from those intended for export. Furthermore, the blue six-character reign mark identifies this as the product of Guangzhou, rather than the Imperial Workshops in Beijing where a four-character reign mark was used. Basil was known to collect Canton enamels prior to his marriage and this may have been a shared interest with his wife; the provenance of this piece at an earlier date is currently unknown. In the final feature for Country Life on 18 August 1950, Hussey praised the Ionides as “hybridisers of genius” or to use the French term, ensembliers, in their selection of choice objects, and the positioning and display of art objects within the larger design scheme. The “Art of Synthesis” is described in the following manner: The relationships of things, shapes, colours and ideas to one another and to their setting are seen to be capable of building up in the observer a state of mind similar to that produced by a work of imaginative art.17 The significance of spatial and conceptual relationships between Chinese art objects and in particular Chinese export art within the lived interior is central to this discussion and a recurring theme of this book. In conclusion, Hussey notes that the entire house is in fact “synthetic” – none of the portraits represent family members nor do the contents connect historically with the current occupants. All of the objects have been collected by the Ionides in their lifetime and as such embody their own taste, rather than that passed down to them. On collecting, Elsner and Cardinal observe that “Taste, the collector’s taste, is the mirror of the self” and by extension “As one becomes conscious of one’s self, one

130  The Impact of War

Figure 5.9 The Chinese Room, 1950. Doorway to the Hall. © Country Life/Future Publishing Ltd.

Figure 5.10 Basil Ionides in the Chinese Room, private photograph courtesy of the Buxted Parish Church.

The Impact of War 131

Figure 5.11 Basil and Nellie Ionides in the grounds at Buxted Park, private photograph courtesy of the Buxted Parish Church.

becomes a conscious collector of identity, projecting ones being onto the objects one chooses to live with.”18 While the Ionides chose to act out their life in a staged eighteenth-century environment, one embedded with notions of Britishness, this ­ should not be mistaken for an abandonment of their cultural and religious heritage. When Jim Kiddell later complimented Basil on the “marvellous job you have made of the old house” he replied, “What do you expect from the combination of a Greek and a Jew!?” indicating their continuing attachment to this aspect of their personal identities (Figure 5.11).19

Cased Objects and Systematic Collecting The design project at Buxted Park demonstrates that for the Ionides, display was an important mode of consumption for objects they collected. The meaning of collected objects and their spatial relationships can be understood according to a variety of criteria. In her analysis of alternative display strategies, Susan Pearce identifies three principal mechanisms: first, the use of lateral space, that is the deliberate placement of objects by the collector and second, spatial relationships which allow us to understand pairs or groups of objects as a set. Perceived relationships are the final category and more complex to unpack, fluctuating according to a range of criteria, in meanings intrinsic to the object itself and those the collector can see in them.20

132  The Impact of War This matrix can be applied to the art collections of the Ionides in a variety of contexts. At Buxted Park and the London town house at 49 Berkeley Square, select items and groups of objects were carefully arranged and cased according to material and design typology. Nellie Ionides’ collections of Battersea enamels and Kangxi porcelain were housed first in central London before their relocation to the country estate at Buxted during the Second World War. In both locations, objects were displayed in bespoke cabinets designed by Basil Ionides, seen clearly in the Apollo magazine article by Margaret Jourdain in 1938 (Figure 3.5) and Country Life magazine.21 From the photographic record, objects appear to be systematically organized according to size, shape, and design in museum mode. While the glass cabinets in the China Room do not reference the eighteenth century (Figure 5.6), being entirely modern in design, the creation of the Cabinet is in the spirit of that time (Figure 5.7). The location of these two rooms in close proximity to the private women’s quarters on the first floor has a long history, as discussed earlier, suggesting that this part of the collection may have been reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of the owners and select guests. Furthermore, the intimate scale of the Cabinet draws attention to the fine detail of the enamels, typically decorated with minutely painted and expertly executed designs, which can be most fully appreciated at close quarters. The display of European style Chinese export porcelain in the New Entrance Hall (Figure 5.1) in the post-1940 refurbishment at first glance closely references its ­eighteenth-century forerunner. Arranged in an authentic cabinet of the period,22 shelved objects are glimpsed through a wooden latticework which both interrupts the view and incorporates the collected articles within the room. On closer inspection, these porcelains represent the rare and more valuable examples of their type: punch bowls large and small far outnumbering more commonplace plates and dishes which would have originally constituted a full dinner service in their place. These items have been chosen and collected as unusual exemplars of this specialist sub‑category of Chinese porcelain and as such have been systematically organized and displayed as historical artefacts. The placement of these objects in the New Entrance Hall indicates the public manner whereby these items were immediately encountered by ­visitors to Buxted Park; as Marcus Linell of Sotheby’s later recalled, this location was not considered “pride of place,” which lay closer to the private quarters of the house, but made visible the collection of European style Chinese export porcelain to all who entered, as a statement of discernment and wealth, further enhancing the public persona of the collectors.23 In contrast, the concealed cabinets in the Saloon and the Library (Figures 5.3 and 5.4) are initially hidden from sight, heightening the intimacy of the viewer who is invited to see what lies behind. In the Saloon, carvings are displayed in a style more readily associated with Chinese display cabinets of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), whereby single or grouped objects were compartmentalized, occupying their own designated space. The asymmetrical and vertical arrangement of objects in this manner framed the view, allowing individual items to be observed more closely and was particularly appropriate for the display of small and intricately worked articles such as the ivory carvings at Buxted. It is unclear from surviving photographs whether the black and gold lacquer shelving was produced in Guangzhou for export to Europe, or is a European facsimile of the Japanese maki-e or “sprinkled picture” style of lacquer so

The Impact of War 133 popular throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.24 Furniture of this type could frequently be seen in eighteenth-century chinoiserie interiors, and here the dark display unit provides an effective visual contrast to the light ivory carvings, focusing attention on the collected objects. European style Chinese export porcelain in the Library is displayed according to more conventional European methods, objects placed upon evenly spaced horizontal shelving. The semi-erotic decorative motifs of a number of works suggest these objects may have provided amusement amongst privately invited guests. Placing these items in a concealed display simultaneously isolated them from the public gaze and endowed them with a heightened status as items worthy of special attention. When closed, such displays constituted an integral part of the room design, revealing an orderly arrangement of objects once open. Elsewhere in the property, Ionides placed Chinese porcelain within carefully constructed room settings to perform a specific visual purpose in terms of colour, shape, decorative surface, and aesthetic. The utilization of “object as ornament” is in keeping with his earlier design thesis, whereby Ionides stipulated the inclusion of specific ceramic colours and typologies for individual room settings, depending on their light levels, functionality, and mood. In this context, the formal properties of an object were considered of paramount importance – their “Chineseness” eclipsed by their identity as eighteenth-century objects in a historicist British setting. The duality of Ionides’ approach, characterized here as “objects as artefact” and “object as ornament,” may be considered against the backdrop of leading critical discourses which had linked modernism to Chinese art and collecting since the early decades of the twentieth century. Early scholars of Chinese art, such as Stephen Bushell, R.L. Hobson, or W. Percival Yetts promoted the “scientific study” of Chinese objects, employing their considerable skills in the fields of linguistics, archaeology, history, and ethnography to establish “the facts.” However, on Stephen Bushell, Roger Fry stated, “He is not an art critic,” rejecting his overly scientific methodology, which was itself based on traditional Chinese connoisseurship.25 In contrast, Fry embodied the “aesthetic” approach to Chinese art, which universalized the formal properties of shape, colour, decoration, and form, emphasizing the “spirit” and “vitality” of an artwork but did not engage with China at all. Taking the scientific/aesthetic discourse as our starting point, Basil’s approach to Chinese art objects can be understood in similar terms. In the formal casing and arrangement of objects in a museum manner, he adopts a “pseudo-scientific” strategy, organizing objects in the first instance by design and motif, taking into account the place of manufacture, periodization, and porcelain typology. Elsewhere at Buxted Park, the aesthetic approach is evident, thereby demonstrating the effective utility of both approaches within the eighteenth-century mansion house. It is worth noting at this juncture that despite the increased availability of Chinese art objects in the early decades of the twentieth century, and the heightened profile of Chinese art in contemporary aesthetic debates, little was known concerning the display and juxtaposition of Chinese art objects in their original context. Nor was there apparently any interest in it, particularly as objects were disassociated from their origins. Neither Fry nor Ionides had access to the ample literature published from the Ming dynasty onwards, which defined “good taste”

134  The Impact of War for the Chinese literati, according to the correct placement of objects, furniture, textiles, and paintings in the interior. These manuals bear some similarities to Ionides’ own books, offering guidance and practical solutions in the arrangement of interior space, but would not be translated into English and explained in full until the 1990s by Craig Clunas and others.26

The Wartime Activities of the Ionides At this point in our exploration of the lives of the collectors and collections of Basil and Nellie Ionides, we must expand our vision beyond Buxted Park to the wider political context of the years leading to and during the Second World War. Nellie expressed her horror at the unfolding situation in Europe to her friend Dolly in 1938, stating, “Things so horrible are happening that it is incredible that the whole world, including the German people, don’t recoil in horror from it all.”27 She appealed for financial donations, however small, on behalf of German Jewry revealing that “our family are giving £50,000.” Nellie supported the work of her brother Walter, who was a key political actor at this time, orchestrating the escape of Jewish children from Germany in what became known as the Kindertransport. On 22 November Nellie records that, “things are progressing fairly satisfactorily and that England is going to take all Jewish children they can get out” but expresses her sympathy for Jewish parents “to consent willingly to part with their children, rather than they should continue under the Nazi regime.”28 Her grandson Toby Jessel later recalled that his patriotic grandmother donated funds for the purchase of a Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber for the nation for the sum of £20,000 demonstrating once more her generosity and active support for the Allied cause. The timing of the fire at Buxted, being early in the War, allowed Basil Ionides to gain the support of the Ministry of Health, then in charge of building, to provide work for otherwise unemployed builders in the local neighbourhood; an act which would draw criticism from certain quarters. Basil was, however, community-minded, hosting events in the extensive grounds at Buxted, reviving the annual show of the Buxted Horticultural Society in 1932 after a lapse of nearly thirty years.29 He supported the local church and provided in his will land in trust, which would be carried out in Nellie’s name following his death in 1950. According to the local parish council, there were even plans for a theatre in an old oasthouse in the village of Buxted, an idea first mooted and supported by Basil. Nellie indulged her life-long enthusiasm for horses at Buxted, in particular Hackney ponies which regularly competed in show competitions. She also established England’s largest standard poodle kennel in the grounds for around a hundred animals and “a training centre for a small number of well-educated girls” known as the Vulcan Kennels.30 A number of photographs of Nellie pictured with her dogs are in circulation, including the humorous image of Nellie seated next to one of her favourites, Clicquot – they were named after choice bottles of champagne – she even made poodle-tweed out of their fur which was tailored in Savile Row for her grandsons (Figure 5.12).31 Basil was photographed with dogs and kennel maids for the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News in February 9, 1940 and private photographs suggest a shared interest.

The Impact of War 135

Figure 5.12 Nellie Ionides with Clicquot, c.1945.

The British Art Ecosystem: Auctioneers, Dealers, and Agents In the midst of war, the British art market continued to function under extreme circumstances and as we will see, the Ionides Collection continued to grow. A number of significant collections of Chinese ceramics were sold and dispersed, including the important Martin Hurst Collection of Chinese export porcelain which had featured extensively in Williamson’s Book of Famille-Rose (1927).32 Two sales took place on 11 December 1942 and 29 January 1943 and this source is firmly cited for an enamelled and gilded bowl and saucer decorated with an amorous European couple now in the V&A museum (Figure 5.13).33 A number of other items in the sale correlate to those in the Ionides Collection and it is likely these were acquired soon after. Objects of interest include a pair of coffee pots (Lot.75) purchased by the dealer Charles Staal, and examples of the rare service known as “La Plume” (Figure 1.9). Figure groups and a dish with the arms of Prussia, also illustrated by Williamson, are represented in the Ionides Collection. In the second sale on Friday 29 January 1943, a figure of a “Dutch woman” (Lot.84) received a detailed description and large photographic image in the sales catalogue, indicating the high value such rare objects continued to command (see Figure 3.4). Now known to represent a German-Jewish figure, it is interesting to question why and how this model reached the art market at that time. Nellie Ionides had purchased two porcelain figurines of this type in 1936 through the dealer Sparks for the sum of £250,

136  The Impact of War

Figure 5.13 Bowl and saucer, porcelain decorated in overglaze enamels and gilding, Jingdezhen, China, c.1730–1735. Height: 5.6 cm x Diameter:15.2 cm. V&A: C.51&A-1951. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

far exceeding in value all other items purchased that day, including a “Fine White Jade Ewer and Cover, KL” acquired by Eric Morgan Esq. for £200.34 It seems that the Jewish identity of this model was not widely understood but was perhaps recognized in certain quarters. Around ten examples of this exceptionally rare figurine are currently known; that three reached the British art market during this period of Jewish persecution suggests the impact of broader political currents and highlights the agency of art objects and collections of art during wartime. Other auctions of particular interest include the sale of the property of Sir Algernon Tudor-Craig, specialist and collector of Chinese armorial porcelain, also sold in 1943 at Sotheby’s. Tudor-Craig’s 1925 publication on armorial wares, in particular those for the British market, remains one of the most detailed and extensive studies in the field.35 He also wrote a regular feature for Apollo magazine, “Heraldic Enquiries” whereby readers seeking to identify “British Armorial Bearings on Porcelain, Plate or China” could send a full description and a photograph or drawing to which he would respond. On Friday 16 July, the second day of the auction, Sparks purchased Lot 242, a double-walled “Ling Lung” teapot, with pierced and enamelled decoration, which was sold ten days later to Mrs Ionides. A number of other items in the sale correlate with those in the Ionides Collection and may originate from this source. The wartime sales are here notable, demonstrating the art market was still active at this time and that Nellie Ionides continued to purchase for her and Basil’s collections. All the aforementioned sales were orchestrated by Sotheby’s, who had become the leading London auctioneer specializing in the sale of Chinese ceramics. According to Anthony du Boulay, Director of rival auctioneer Christie’s, “While Christie’s was putting twenty-five lots of Chinese porcelain at the start of a furniture sale, Jim Kiddell

The Impact of War 137 had enough material to organize, to orchestrate, specialist sales in specific periods of Chinese porcelain.”36 Described by The Antique Collector in 1943 as “the Sage of Sotheby’s,” Kiddell was praised for raising the standard of professionalism and research at the auction house and commanded a wide circle of contacts which included collectors, museum experts, and dealers.37 As an active member of the Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS), he was well placed to observe the latest trends in collecting as well as the current state of the art market.38 Kiddell was a longstanding acquaintance of the Ionides, frequently visiting Buxted and accompanying them to sales. He purchased items on behalf of Queen Mary under the nom de guerre of Dawson and it is likely he acted in a similar capacity on behalf of the Ionides whose name is conspicuously absent from Sotheby’s sales records.39 From auction catalogues of the period, it is evident that private individuals rarely purchased directly from sales; the role of auctioneer, dealer and agent, as facilitator between the market and collector increasingly comes into focus. On the collector George Eumorfopoulos, Kiddell later remarked, “He sometimes attended sales but more often he bought through his own agents, probably more than one dealer.”40 From the few surviving labels on objects at the V&A, it is possible to firmly identify other dealers from whom the Ionides sourced items. An early blue and white armorial dish bears the labels of both Hancock and D.M.&P. Manheim of London (Figure 1.3).41 Another blue and white dish decorated with French figures has no catalogue number but also carries the Hancock label (V&A: C.69–1963). It is clear from the auction records of Sotheby’s and Christie’s that the dealers Hancock and Manheim were actively purchasing items from leading sales of Chinese art throughout the 1930s and 1940s, in a similar manner to Sparks and other specialist dealers in the field. The paucity of archival records for many dealers and smaller antique shops leaves the provenance of numerous Chinese art objects beyond the reach of this book, but it is likely the Ionides purchased from a wide range of commercial sources.42

Private Purchase: The Circulation of Chinese Art Objects in Elite Society In addition to purchases made through commercial dealers and auction houses, the Ionides acquired objects privately with the assistance of friends and special advisors. The role of Margaret Jourdain acting in this capacity on behalf of Nellie Ionides during the 1920s has already been mentioned and appears to continue in an unofficial capacity at a later date. A letter written by Jourdain to her friend offers insights into the circulation of Chinese art objects outside conventional commercial circles during the early years of the War. The letter follows her stay with Janette Ranken at Farley Hill who was “clearing up” Willie Ranken’s collections following the death of her brother in 1941.43 Ranken was of course known to the Ionides and had collaborated with Basil earlier in his career. The society painter lived at the eighteenth-century manor house, Warbrook Hall, Hampshire, which featured in his earlier paintings (Figures 4.6 and 4.10). In the letter, Jourdain explains to Nellie that there would be no sale of the collection and a number of pieces would be available should she be interested. Amongst the things there is a large pair of elephants (bought in Pekin) in perfect condition, that would look well in a garden, also a large figure of a goddess in white marble (about 9 feet) that stood at one end of the studio.44 It looked very

138  The Impact of War well, and would be a decorator’s dream lit from behind…There is also a plate of Jesuit China (the kind Basil collects) with one of the stock subjects (the Judgement of Paris). Do you know anyone in the humbler Chinese art line who would buy some of the stuff? (Not Spinks and Sparks and that class of dealer). There is a set of white Fukien figures of the Immortals and one larger God (God of War I think) that are in good condition (only one hand is damaged in the lot!). But most of Willie’s things are chipped and mended, and so of little use. There is one rather amusing Chinese picture on glass (bought in Pekin by Willie) I have also seen and like it. It is a still life of some Chinese collection, scattered objects being packed, such as a French clock, a small scent falcon, mixed up with oriental objects! Really very entertaining.45 This letter highlights the alternative pathways through which Chinese art objects circulated during the War and the apparently fluid relationships between collectors, dealers, agents, advisors, and decorators in establishing informal networks of supply and demand. It is clear that Jourdain understood and differentiated between the taste of Nellie and Basil Ionides and the objects they each chose to collect, seeking Nellie’s advice for individuals dealing in “the humbler Chinese art line,” which attests to her experience in this field. The Chinese items mentioned here share many similarities to those at Buxted Park, including the Chinese glass painting in European style bought by Willie Ranken “in Pekin.” That Ranken visited China is worthy of note, suggesting at least a superficial interest in the country – there is no evidence to suggest that Basil Ionides or his wife ever made that journey, or in fact were interested in the Chinese origin of the art objects they collected. At the time this letter was written, the Ionides were in the midst of the second refurbishment at Buxted following the 1940 fire and as such may have been on the look-out for new objects to fill the recently emptied space. Jourdain further emphasizes the utility of these Chinese art objects as articles of display in the exterior and interior, describing the stone sculpture as “a decorator’s dream.” The majority of art objects listed by Jourdain would now be classified as Chinese export art, but the collection also includes examples of objects for domestic Chinese consumption; for example, the “large figure of a goddess in white marble” was most certainly not originally produced nor intended for export but arrived in Euro‑American markets with other religious stone sculpture in the early decades of the twentieth century where they were enthusiastically collected and displayed. Basil Ionides also owned and displayed a large Buddhist sculpture in the 1920s and 1930s, first visible in the Pink Room at Howbridge Hall in 1926 (Figure 2.5), and later in the Chinese Room at Buxted Park in 1934 (Figure 4.2), once more indicating shared patterns of high society taste. The gilded Buddha does not appear in later photographs, suggesting it may have been destroyed during the 1940 fire or was removed at some other time. The dispersal of private collections outside conventional commercial spheres in this manner raises questions regarding the motivations of both the former collector and “seller” – in this case Willie Ranken – and the secondary owner or “buyer,” be that the Ionides or some other family acquaintance. From the correspondence between agent and “client,” it is unclear how a monetary value would be reached, should Nellie Ionides wish to purchase any articles for herself or her husband, being already

The Impact of War 139 on friendly terms with the Ranken family, but presumably Jourdain would negotiate a private transaction beneficial to all. Furthermore, why the Ranken family chose to follow such a course of action is unclear, although considering the high rates of commission charged by London dealers such as Sparks, and the burden of taxation, it was perhaps financially beneficial to do so. Jourdain calls into question the condition and quality of some articles in Ranken’s collection, suggesting that these items may not have reached the requisite standard expected of art objects at public auction, but this is not true of all pieces mentioned here. Whatever the reasons for doing so, the private circulation of art objects between members of elite circles in this manner both maintained the exclusivity of social networks and transmitted prevailing notions of taste within that social milieu. The implications of these private networks for the Ionides Collection are significant, as many items may have been acquired in this way and therefore remain outside the documentary record. As the Ranken Collection of Chinese art objects reflected a similar taste to that of the Ionides, it is likely that articles of European style Chinese export porcelain passed between these collections and others of this kind; that single collections such as this never reached the sales room inhibits their later study, leaving many questions regarding their provenance unanswered.

The Ionides and the Oriental Ceramic Society The sole society for collectors of Chinese ceramics in England during the second quarter of the twentieth century was the Oriental Ceramic Society. Founded in 1921 as a private society for a select group of enthusiastic collectors who initially met in the comfort of their own homes, the society had by 1933 expanded in membership and scope.46 While the Ionides did not join the society until after the War, they were already acquainted with numerous members including leading ceramic specialists from the British Museum and V&A, auctioneers, and dealers in the field.47 Founding member R.L. Hobson of the British Museum had written on the collection of Nellie Ionides (née Levy) in 1925 and both collectors had a pre-existing relationship with the V&A discussed earlier.48 Dealer Peter Sparks and auctioneer Jim Kiddell were also prominent members and Queen Mary became patroness of the society in 1937 following the hugely successful “International Exhibition of Chinese Art” at Burlington House (1935–1936). The Ionides appear first as members in 1945 and participated in an exhibition shortly after. In the period immediately following the Second World War, the OCS sought new premises and moved to occupy the basement of the dealer Bluett and Sons in 1946.49 Exhibitions were held in the gallery space above bi-annually and the Ionides contributed to the second titled “Chinese Ceramic Figures” from 8 April to 21 June 1947.50 The committee for the exhibition included A.L. Hetherington, W.B. Honey, A.J. Kiddell, and Bernard Rackham with Mrs Walter Sedgwick (1883– 1967) acting as Chair.51 Objects on display ranged from a Han dynasty bear (206 BC–220 AD) lent by Mr C. Lane Roberts to a pair of Tang dynasty tumblers from the collection of Sir Alan Barlow. According to the published catalogue, twenty-four items were lent by the Hon Mrs Ionides, predominantly of the Kangxi period and later eighteenth century, including a number of horses, birds, and figurines. Only one object, a large white glazed figure of Christ, now in the V&A, was lent by Mr

140  The Impact of War Basil Ionides and this appears to be the only time he agreed to participate in such an exhibition. The separate identification of each collector, Nellie and Basil Ionides, with their own specialist area of interest has already been noted. However, on close investigation, it is likely that some of the European-style objects listed here as “Lent by the Hon Mrs Ionides” later passed to the V&A as part of the Basil Ionides Bequest in 1951 or 1963, raising questions regarding the parameters of the collection and the Basil Ionides Bequest itself (Figure 5.14). Mrs Ionides is thanked in “Transactions for the Year” for hosting the society to visit her collection at Buxted Park in July 1947 but Basil’s collection of European style Chinese export porcelain receives no separate mention, suggesting it was considered of little interest to members. A review of “Chinese Ceramics Figures” written by Bernard Rackham, formerly Keeper of Ceramics at the V&A (1918–1938), allows us to consider his personal response to Chinese ceramics of different historical periods and styles, and in turn the status of European style Chinese export porcelain within specialist ceramic circles.52 Rackham adopts a universalist approach, as was the convention, expounding upon the motivations for modelling in clay and the creation of “clay sculpture” before comparing Chinese ceramics to the art and pottery of ancient Greece and the Italian Renaissance, in so doing imposing a Eurocentric narrative onto the history of Chinese ceramics. He recalls the “revelation” on seeing Tang tomb figures for the first time some years earlier, which he compares unfavourably to the “stiff, toy-like images”

Figure 5.14 Figure of a Dutchman and woman dancing, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels and gilding, late eighteenth century, Jingdezhen, China. Height: 23.5 cm x Length: 11.7 cm. V&A: C.96-1963. Basil Ionides Bequest. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

The Impact of War 141 of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Works of later periods such as those loaned by the Ionides are however acknowledged for their mastery of colour and glaze rather than their plastic qualities. On collecting, Rackham concedes, Even if the eagerness with which such things were sought at high prices by an earlier generation of collectors may have abated, no one with an eye for colour or delicacy of material will wish to challenge their admission to a high place in the achievement of ceramic modelling. Rackham’s review echoes the earlier writings of Roger Fry which promoted a formalist or “aesthetic” approach to the study of Chinese art. It is clear that by 1947, collecting figurines from later China was distinctly out of vogue, being more cheaply available than a few decades earlier. The wares of early China which by then were readily available in London were considered by Rackham and his OCS peers to be aesthetically superior to later works of Chinese art and were discussed in those terms.53 While no photographs of Ionides objects in situ at Bluetts in the OCS exhibition survive, extant photographs of OCS exhibitions of a similar date suggest the manner whereby they were displayed at the dealers. From the exhibition, “Celadon Wares” of the same year (20 October– 20 December 1947), objects can be seen formally arranged on horizontal shelving and numbered in a museum manner.54 It is likely that OCS exhibitions were organized according to similar criteria to those at the British Museum or V&A under the supervision of museum experts who lent their academic expertise and exhibition experience to these small, specialist displays. In this context, objects from the Ionides Collection were situated chronologically within the ceramic history of China, emphasizing the classification and periodization of individual works and their place of manufacture.55 Five hundred “public attendances” are cited for the exhibition in addition to those of OCS members, which then numbered three hundred and fifty. In addition to the publication of Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society (TOCS) circulated to members, catalogues for each exhibition were also printed for sale. Limited public access therefore allowed individuals outside the society to attend the exhibitions and purchase the catalogue, although it is likely these visitors had some prior knowledge of or connection to the field of ceramics or Chinese art. The 1947 exhibition is the only occasion when the Ionides participated in an OCS exhibition or hosted the society; their membership ceased in 1949 shortly before the death of Basil Ionides the following year. However, contact between the Ionides and prominent members undoubtedly continued. Leigh Ashton, Arthur Lane, and William B.Honey of the V&A were well acquainted with the Ionides as was Basil Gray of the British Museum. Sotheby’s expert, Jim Kiddell knew the Ionides too and according to Toby Jessel, Nellie’s grandson, “would often bring things to her to sound out her opinion on identification and to ask her view on authenticity.”56 It was Kiddell and Ashton who would visit Buxted Park shortly after the death of Basil Ionides and supervised the implementation of his will. Why the Ionides chose to join the Oriental Ceramic Society in the years immediately following the War is an interesting question. The collectors were on friendly terms with leading experts in the field of Chinese ceramics prior to this time and their personal collections of Chinese art, in a range of media, were well established. As evidenced by the Royal Academy Archive, Nellie Ionides would only agree to lend objects for exhibition on her own terms, no matter how prestigious the occasion. Perhaps the

142  The Impact of War couple were encouraged by their friend and OCS patroness, Queen Mary, to join the Society as its activities resumed in the post-war period. They may have joined in order to lend to the 1947 exhibition, “Chinese Ceramic Figures” – a subject of particular interest to the collectors and this being a requirement then as now for participation in Society exhibitions. Their membership, however, was brief, and Nellie Ionides never rejoined in the years following her husband’s death.

Post-War Aspirations: Collections, Museums, and the National Trust Following a short illness and aged just sixty-six, the death of Basil Ionides on 23 September 1950 at 7 Wilbury Road, Hove, came as a shock to those who knew the couple.57 Collins Baker, Surveyor of the Kings’ Pictures, refers to the “great and sudden loss of Basil” in his letter to Nellie Ionides and this sentiment is echoed by Queen Mary and other members of the Royal Family.58 Kensington Palace 11.10.1950 My dear Mrs Ionides I did not like to intrude upon your grief at once, but I cannot let the days go by without telling you of my husbands and my deep sympathy in your great loss – you and your husband were always so charming and hospitable to us when we visited you with Queen Mary, and one realized what wonderful companions you two were and so happy in your joint love for and understanding of all the things that make a home gracious and beautiful. We do indeed grieve with you dear Mrs Ionides and pray that in time a measure of comfort will be yours and courage to carry on as one must alas alone – Yours very sincerely Mary [Princess Mary, daughter of Queen Mary] MS371, A3042/2/5/1, Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton. Basil Ionides made clear his intentions for his collections – in particular his “Famille Rose China with European decoration” – and the Buxted Park estate and its contents in his will, dated 8 November 1946.59 Ionides stipulated that should his wife succeed him, the estate be placed in trust for the duration of her life or be disposed of at an earlier date if she wished to do so. The Buxted Park estate should in the first instance be offered to the National Trust “with as little delay as is reasonably practical” and if the National Trust acquired the property, this must extend to the entire estate, including out-houses, stables, and other lesser buildings, and crucially the interior of the mansion house, with all its fittings and fixtures. The National Trust must “take all necessary steps by resolution or otherwise to ensure that Buxted Park shall be held by the National Trust for the benefit of the nation and shall be inalienable.”60 In his famous and at times scandalous diaries, James Lees-Milne of the National Trust, recalls meeting Basil Ionides on 29th April earlier that year and inspecting the house, presumably in order to discuss the future of the property as laid out in Basil’s will.61

The Impact of War 143 By this date, the National Trust had finally begun to receive the government support it had long been seeking and started to acquire a number of “first class” properties.62 Upton House in Warwickshire, the country estate of Nellie’s brother, Walter Samuel, was acquired just two years earlier (1948) and in 1944 the offer of Riverside House, the Octagon and the Orleans House grounds (Twickenham) by Nellie Ionides had been accepted by the National Trust, but would never come to fruition.63 The V&A, under Leigh Ashton, was also keen to acquire complete houses with contents as satellite museums and collaborated with the National Trust at Ham House (1948) and Osterley Park House (1949) in order to preserve the historic houses and their interiors, facilitating the study of decorative arts in an authentic historical context which continues to the present day.64 It is likely that Basil Ionides had a similar vision for his collections of Chinese art objects, including European style Chinese export porcelain, set within the restored and refurbished interiors at Buxted Park. Nellie Ionides outlived her second husband by twelve years, moving between her urban and rural residencies until her death on 14 November 1962. She was buried according to Jewish tradition at the Golders Green Jewish Cemetery where her first husband Walter Levy lies. In her will, made earlier that year on 21 June, no mention is made of the possible acquisition of the Buxted Park estate by the National Trust, rather that it should constitute part of a private sale. In a similar manner, the separate sale of the contents of the house is made clear. The bequest of Riverside House and Orleans House had by this stage been withdrawn from the National Trust and redirected to the Twickenham Corporation, on the condition that Orleans House become a gallery for the permanent exhibition of her paintings and that the Octagon Room should not be used for commercial purposes or social gatherings. Neither of these conditions have since been met, indicating the divergence between the intentions of the private collector and the public museum or art gallery.65 The ownership of Buxted Park over the past fifty years has witnessed its transformation from private house to luxury hotel, reflecting wider trends in the evolution of the English country house. The first occupants to succeed the Ionides were Heather and Kenneth Shipman, owners of Twickenham Film Studios, who entertained celebrity friends including Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, and Dudley Moore. Lady Churchill as well as members of the Danish royal family were also guests and in 1966 the property was opened as a spa. In 1971, Sheik Ziad Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, purchased Buxted but visited infrequently until 1987 when the property passed to the Electrical, Electronics, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (EETPU). From 1994, a Thai based development company, Juldis Development Ltd, owned the property up to 1997. Virgin Hotels Ltd first launched Buxted Park as a luxury hotel and since 1999 it has been known as Buxted Park Hotel as part of the Hand Picked Hotels group. The Ionides Collection was featured one final time by Country Life in 1956, indicating its continued status and public profile.66 In “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramics Art” the art historian and curator Victor Rienaecker (1887–1957) placed Ionides objects at the centre of his discussion of the aesthetic merits of Chinese porcelain figurines, animals, and birds of the long eighteenth century, allowing us to identify which objects remained with Nellie Ionides following the accession of the Basil Ionides Bequest to the V&A.67 Some noteworthy items include two large Chinese export porcelain geese, seen earlier in Basil Ionides’ study of 1934 (Figure 4.8), but not selected by the V&A

144  The Impact of War nor the British Museum. Following the final dispersal of the collection, these objects and many others would return to the art market where they continue to circulate today.

The Afterlife of the Ionides Collection The final transfer of the Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain to the British national museums of the V&A and British Museum was complex and protracted, in part due to the difficulties in firmly identifying the parameters of the Basil Ionides Bequest and compartmentalizing the art collections of husband and wife.68 As we have seen, the interests of the couple frequently overlapped in numerous fields, in particular those of Chinese export porcelain and enamels on metal, and many items were undoubtedly gifted – Nellie Ionides certainly purchased more objects than Basil – calling into question notions of ownership and the authorship of their respective collections. As Susan Pearce observes, “when collecting is a conjugal activity it is often difficult, if not impossible to determine which spouse, if any, is the dominant consumer, the taste-maker.”69 This issue was further aggravated by museum professionals whose motivations diverged from those of collectors, who customarily sought to retain the integrity of their personal collections intact and define the manner of their display in the public sphere. During the transformative years immediately following the War, the role of the museum and art gallery – as educational and cultural agent – was re-examined as collections of art were articulated through new gallery spaces and interpretive strategies. This was evident not only at the national museums in London, but across Britain as connections between national and provincial museums and cultural institutions were renegotiated and reinforced, extending the reach of the V&A and British Museum and in turn the accessibility of the national collections, including Chinese art objects, to a wider visiting public.70 Since the 1920s, the shifting relationship between private collectors and national museums had increasingly come under pressure. Recommendations made by The Royal Commission of National Museums and Galleries (1927–1928) called into question the well-established but restrictive practice of displaying bequests in full, causing concern among museum benefactors including Nellie Ionides who revoked the earlier offer of her valuable collection of Battersea enamels to the V&A as a direct result.71 Later in her final will of 1962, she retracted any further bequests, including her significant collections of Chinese porcelain and Meissen figurines which according to V&A Keeper of Ceramics, Arthur Lane “had been mentioned verbally but not in writing… on account of the inadequacy of museum premises generally for the display of objects of art already in their possession.”72 The publication of this statement in The Times newspaper on 18 December 1962 caused concern within museum circles. Basil Gray, British Museum Keeper of Oriental Antiquities warned his director, Sir Frank Francis (1901–1988) that “Not only is it unfortunate in this particular case that the national museum thus lose the benefit of this important bequest, but the likely repercussions of a widely publicized statement of this kind can well be imagined.” The museum’s loss was a market gain and it was not unusual for auctioneers, including Jim Kiddell of Sotheby’s, to encourage private collectors to sell important collections such as this on the art market. The residue of the Ionides Collection was sold over a series of four sales at Sotheby’s in 1963–1964, described by Soame Jenyns as,

The Impact of War 145 a melancholy occasion for those who are interested in the study of Ch’ing porcelain. For not only did the collection contain the largest and finest group of K’ang Hsi famille verte, in particular biscuit, remaining in private hands in this country (and incidentally such rare objects as the pair of Arita eagles, which had once belonged to the Kaiser), but it also included a group of Chinese export wares made in European form or decorated to European taste, brought together by the late Basil Ionides, which must in its own line be unrivalled.73 The significance of the collection is clear and featured prominently in The Ivory Hammer: the year at Sotheby’s 219th Season 1962–1963. Numerous examples in the sales records duplicate pieces which passed to the V&A as part of the Basil Ionides Bequest, including a pair of porcelain figurines widely, although incorrectly referred to as “Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon” (Figure 5.15).74 Figures of this type had featured in the OCS 1947 exhibition in the name of Nellie Ionides, indicating once more how the collections of the two parties have been conflated. Nellie’s interest in figurines, of Chinese and chinoiserie style, extended from Chinese porcelain and Canton enamels to European porcelain, namely Meissen, of early date and exceptionally high pedigree. Of those photographed for Ivory Hammer 2, three were modelled by the famous porcelain sculptor, J.J. Kaendler and formed part of the “Plat de Ménage” made for Count Brühl in 1737.75 The provenance of another early Meissen figure of a Chinese man in an arbour brings into sharp focus the cultural and political agency of art objects in the years leading to and during the Second World War.76 This object, purchased by Nellie Ionides from the Mannheimer Collection sale

Figure 5.15 Figure of a European Man and Woman, porcelain decorated with overglaze enamels, Jingdezhen, China, c.1700. Height: 24.9 cm (male), 22.6cm (female). V&A: C.109 & A-1963. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

146  The Impact of War held by Müller & Co in Amsterdam, 14–21 October 1952 (presumably through an agent), was originally part of the private collection of the prominent German-Jewish art collectors and connoisseurs, Franz and Margarete Oppenheimer in the early decades of the twentieth century (Figure 5.16). On 14 September 2021, around a hundred objects from this source came to auction at Sotheby’s, New York, described as the “most significant collection of Meissen porcelain to come to auction in the last half century.”77 Recently restituted to Oppenheimer descendants from the Dutch state, the porcelains were all produced in chinoiserie style during the first decades of Meissen production for Augustus the Strong. This small but important group of objects was originally part of a much larger collection put together by the Oppenheimers while resident in Berlin. The collectors commissioned a catalogue in 1927 by Professor Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld, curator of the nearby Berliner Scholssmuseum from which the Ionides piece can be identified.78 Following the Nazi rise to power, the Oppenheimers were forced to flee Germany, first from Berlin to Vienna in 1936, then in 1938 to Budapest, and onward to the safety of New York in 1941 where they would remain. While most of their possessions and wealth was lost, the collectors managed to take part of their Meissen collection with them – perhaps two crates of their most valuable pieces – which passed shortly after into the collection of another great Jewish collector, Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939). The Amsterdam-based banker was soon targeted by the Nazi regime and his assets liquidated following his untimely death in 1939, which remains the subject of speculation.79 His art collection was confiscated by the Dienststelle Mühlmann in 1941 following the occupation of the Netherlands, and the Meissen porcelain moved for safe keeping first to Vyšší Brod Monastery in Bohemia and later the salt mines in Bad Aussee. It was here that it was eventually discovered by Allied Monuments Officers and subsequently transferred to the Central Collecting Point in Munich in 1946. It was decided that the surviving collection should pass to the Netherlands where it became the property of the state, being then distributed between the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague, and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Considering her active involvement with the German-Jewish cause, it is extremely likely that Nellie Ionides was aware of the troubled history of this piece and the fate of its former collectors. Furthermore, she had long been a collector of Meissen porcelain and the significance of the Oppenheim Collection was no doubt well-known within collecting circles. It is difficult to speculate on her own position towards acquiring art objects, once owned by German-Jewish art collectors and their subsequent fate. Since the 1950s, the subject of Nazi-looted art has been widely known and discussed, forming the subject of numerous cultural and political studies which situate the plunder of art under the Nazi regime within broader historical studies and restitution debates which continue to reverberate up to the present.80 Returning to the Sotheby’s Sales of 1963–1964, the range of articles offered over four sales helps to expand our understanding of the Ionides Collection as a whole, extending beyond those objects captured in earlier photographs or catalogued in museum collections. A painting of 1826 by the English painter George Chinnery (1774–1852) sold in 1963 for £1,050 and depicts a young Chinese man resting on a stool, the tools of his trade set to his side.81 “The Chinese Barber” is typical of Chinnery’s works in oils on canvas which took scenes of daily life in Guangzhou and Hong Kong as their subject, produced while the artist was resident in Macao during the second quarter

The Impact of War 147

Figure 5.16 Figure of a Chinese Man in an Arbour, porcelain with overglaze enamels, Meissen, Germany, c.1730. Height: 24.1 cm. © 2018 Christies Images Limited.

148  The Impact of War of the nineteenth century.82 Another piece in the Ionides Collection which featured in Jenyns’ book on the “Minor Arts” of China in 1965 shows a young European woman, depicted in European style but in this case painted in oil on glass in Guangzhou by a Chinese artist, signed Falqua. Jenyns speculates that Falqua may have been one of the residents of New China Street, like Lamqua, a Chinese painter in oils, who was first a pupil and later a rival of Chinnery.83 These works indicate once more the collectors’ interest in the artistic and cultural interactions between Chinese and European artists and craftsmen, merchants, and patrons who contributed to the production of a distinctive and diverse range of art objects, not only during the eighteenth century but extending into the century that followed. From later publications and objects which continue to circulate on the art market today, a clearer picture of the Ionides Collection emerges, one which reaches beyond the specialist categories of Chinese porcelain where this book began to the fields of Chinese visual and decorative art objects in assorted media; enamels on metal, decorative carvings in rhinoceros horn, soap stone or malachite, and pictures crafted from ivory and kingfisher feathers to name a few. While many Chinese art objects mirror European shapes and forms, decorative styles and motifs as well as artistic techniques, others were crafted in Chinese style and as such were intended for domestic Chinese or even court consumption. As scholarship in recent years has shown, characteristics traditionally taken to define Chinese art objects for different markets and ­consumers – the quality of materials, skilful craftsmanship, European or Chinese‑style ­decoration – cannot always be relied upon to evaluate artwork. As a more nuanced understanding of art production and consumption in e­ighteenth‑century China emerges, the relationship between a variety of sites of production and nodes of consumption increasingly comes into focus. The Ionides Collection, in its totality, offers valuable insights into this period of artistic production and through this book, the continuing importance of this little-known collection can now be understood.

Notes 1 “Sussex Mansion Destroyed by Fire: Valuable Art Treasures Saved,” Sussex Express and County Herald, 9 February 1940. 2 On the invitation of the Ionides, the RSA moved their operations to Buxted Park for eight months from the onset of war. 3 The house at 49 Berkeley Square received a direct hit towards the end of the War on 28 May 1945. Letter from Baroness Orczy, A3042/2/5/4, Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton. 4 “The Drummund Family at Cadland” and “The Rev.W.Hunloke and his Wife,” (nd.) both by Zoffany (1773–1810). Christopher Hussey, “Memories of Buxted. Art Treasures Lost in the Recent Fire,” Country Life, 24 February 1940, p. 191. 5 The paintings were removed from the walls and rolled onto large cylinders a few days before the outbreak of war and transported to Buxted Park. Thomas Bodkin, “James Barry,” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 89 (13 December 1940): 34–53. 6 Hussey, “Memories of Buxted. Art Treasures Lost in the Recent Fire.” Ibid., p. 191. 7 Hussey identifies this carpet as eighteenth century but this is unlikely. Carpets with large figural subjects, particularly that of a monk, would not have appealed to the Chinese domestic market and would therefore be manufactured for export to Europe or America. See Elizabeth LaCouture, “Inventing the ‘Foreignized’ Chinese Carpet in Treaty-Port Tianjin, China,” Journal of Design History 30, no. 3 (1 September 2017): 300–314, https://doi​.org​ /10​.1093​/jdh​/epw042.

The Impact of War 149 8 For a recent discussion of this model, see Luísa Vinhais and Jorge Welsh, eds., Porcelain People: Figures from the Qing Dynasty (London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2021), 132–137. 9 Christopher Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex – III. The Home of Mr and the Hon. Mrs Basil Ionides,” Country Life, 18 August 1950, pp. 521–522. 10 The collector Charlotte Schreiber (1812–1895) also shared an interest in porcelain and enamels, which were originally displayed in abutting galleries at the V&A. 11 Teresa Canepa, Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer: China and Japan and Their Trade with Western Europe and the New World, 1500–1644 (London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016). Cordula Bischoff, “Women Collectors and the Rise of Porcelain,” Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age (Waanders Uitg, 2014), 171–89. 12 James Cox initially produced complex and elaborate time pieces and automata popular at court during the Qianlong reign (1736–1795). By the early 1780s the firm had established a workshop in Guangzhou and produced on an increasingly large scale. For more on Cox, see Catherine Pagani, Eastern Magnificence & European Ingenuity: Clocks of Late Imperial China (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001). 13 Both featured in a two-volume book on the “Minor Arts” of China, first published in 1965 by R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art: Textiles, Glass and Painting on Glass, Carvings in Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Carvings in Hardstones, Snuff Bottles, Inkcakes and Inkstones, Second Edition (Phaidon Press Limited, 1981). 14 Helen Glaister, “7. Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes,” in Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics with an Agenda, from the 14th to the 20th Century (British Museum Press, 2021), 67–75. 15 Further examples can be seen in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem and the Winterthur Museum, Delaware. 16 R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art Vol.II: Gold, Silver, Later Bronzes, Cloisonné, Cantonese Enamel, Lacquer, Furniture, Wood, 2nd Edition (Phaidon Press Limited, 1980). Sarah Wong and Stacey Pierson, Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021 (Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021), 264–265. 17 Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex - III. The Home of Mr and the Hon. Mrs Basil Ionides,” pp. 518–519. 18 J Elsner and R Cardinal, eds., The Cultures of Collecting (London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 1994), 2. 19 Cambridge University Library, Hermann Papers, Box 17. 20 Susan Pearce, On Collecting. An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition (London and New York: Routledge, 1995), 256. 21 Margaret Jourdain, “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs Ionidess Collection,” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors, June 1938, pp. 300–306. 22 Designed by Carr of York and originating from Basildon, Reading. Christopher Hussey, “Buxted Park, Sussex-I. The Home of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs Basil Ionides,” Country Life, 4 August 1950, p. 376. 23 Marcus Linell accompanied Jim Kiddell of Sotheby’s to Buxted following the death of Basil Ionides in 1950 and recalls spending three weeks at the mansion house cataloguing the collection for valuation. Private Interview, 24 September 2014. 24 On Chinese lacquer produced for export, see Craig Clunas, ed., Chinese Export Art and Design (London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987), 80–95. For nineteenth-century European products, see designs Thomas Jeckyll in Frances Collard, “Art and Utility: Furniture Fit for Purpose,” in The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860–1900 (London: V&A Publications, 2012), 144–148. 25 Ralph Parfect, “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and The Burlington Magazine,” in British Modernism and Chinoiserie (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), 53–71. Bushell translated Chinese texts and employed the same methodology for his own catalogues.

150  The Impact of War 26 Craig Clunas, Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1991). Jonathan Hay, Sensuous Surfaces: The Decorative Object in Early Modern China (London: Reaktion, 2010). 27 Letter dated 18 November 1938, 2015.30.2.a, Jewish Museum, London. 28 Letter dated 22 November 1938, 2015.30.3.a, Jewish Museum, London. 29 Sussex Express, Friday 29 July 1932, p. 14. 30 The Vulcan Kennels, Uckfield Sussex, Proprietress: The Hon Mrs Ionides and Miss S E Walne, pamphlet. 31 A practice continued by her great-grandaughter Georgina Montagu. See https://www​.montagumatysik​.com​/our​-story. This apparently eccentric activity was not the first time dog fur had been woven into fabric in recent history. During the First World War, when wool became short, volunteers at the Royal Academy were trained in the crafts of spinning and knitting with dog hair. See “Spinning Dogs’ Wool at the Royal Academy,” as reported in The Queen magazine, 15 February 1919. 32 G.C. Williamson, The Book of Famille Rose (London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1927). 33 Williamson. List 2: Porcelain from the Collection of the late Basil Ionides Now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. ED/BP.107/2/50, MA/1/1245, V&A. 34 Described as a “Pair of rare famille rose standing Dutch women,” 24 September 1936, Day Book, September 1936, p. 103, File 7, John Sparks Ltd Archive, SOAS Archives and Special Collections, SOAS University Library. 35 See Algernon Tudor-Craig, Armorial Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century (London: The Century House, 1925). 36 Nicholas Faith, Sold: The Rise and Fall of the House of Sotheby (New York, N.Y: Macmillan, 1985), 118. 37 “Personalities of the World of Art and Antiques: Mr. A.J. Kiddell of Sotheby’s,” The Antique Collector, February 1943, 2–3. For more of the history of Sotheby’s, see Robert Lacey, Sotheby’s: Bidding for Class, 1st ed (Boston: Little, Brown & Co, 1998). Faith, Sold. Frank Hermann, Sotheby’s, Portrait of an Auction House (London: Chatto & Windus, 1980). 38 Kiddell was also a member of the English Glass Circle and the English Ceramic Circle. 39 Faith, Sold, p. 38. 40 “Some Collectors, Dealers and Notables: 1900–1950, James Kiddell, 8.3.77,” Hermann Papers, “File ‘Jim Kiddell,’” Cambridge University Library Box 17 (n.d.). Cambridge University Library. 41 Hancock, 37 Bury Street, St.James, SW1, 8053 CTL/1/ See “H.R. Hancock » Antique Dealers » Antiques Dealers,” https://antiquetrade​.leeds​.ac​.uk​/dealerships​/35897. D.M.&P. Manheim Guaranteed Genuine, marked Kang Hsi 17th CY. London 1932-34. See “D.M. & P. Manheim » Antique Dealers » Antiques Dealers,” https://antiquetrade​ .leeds​.ac​.uk​/dealerships​/35927. In the late nineteenth century, there was a Manheim who worked at the Hôtel Drouot auction house in Paris specializing in Chinese art. 42 Toby Jessel recalled that his grandmother, Nellie Ionides enjoyed purchasing art objects from small antique shops as well as larger and better known dealers. Toby Jessel, “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections with Twickenham” (York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000), 4. 43 Janette Ranken had known Jourdain since their years studying together at Oxford and were rumoured to have been in a relationship before Janette married the actor and artist, Ernest Thesiger (1879–1961) in 1917. The marriage was one of convenience as Thesiger, a well-known homosexual, was famed for his outrageous and camp behaviour. His admiration for her brother, Willie Ranken was widely acknowledged during his life. He later became a close acquaintance and sewing partner of Queen Mary. See Hilary Spurling, Secrets of a Womans Heart: Later Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett, 1920–69, 1st edition edition (London u.a: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1984), 93 and 310. Joseph McBrinn, “Queer Hobbies: Ernest Thesiger and Interwar Embroidery,” TEXTILE 15, no. 3 (3 July 2017): 292–323, https://doi​.org​/10​.1080​/14759756​.2017​.1294827. 44 A pair of large white elephants feature prominently in Ranken’s earlier painting, Elephants at Warbrook, dated 1930.

The Impact of War 151 45 Jourdain goes on to describe her visits to other wealthy individuals including Mr Geoffrey Hart, whose art collections had been placed in storage while his house was given over to the military, like many other country houses during wartime. MS371 A3042 2/5/4 AngloJewish Archive, University of Southampton. 46 In 1933 the society extended to all interested in Oriental ceramics. For a recent history of the society, see Frances Wood, “‘To Widen Appreciation and to Acquire Knowledge’: The Oriental Ceramic Society,” in Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921-2021 (London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021), 12–19. 47 The first list of members appears in TOCS Vol. 19, 1942–43, previously only Council Members were included. The Ionides name does not appear until TOCS Vol. 21 (1945–6) and then for Vols. 22 and 23. 48 R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1925). 49 Commonly known as Bluetts, the OCS was based there from 1946 to 1956. For a short history of the dealer, see Dominic Jellinek, “Bluett Essay,” 1 and 2 (2005). https://carp​.arts​ .gla​.ac​.uk​/essay1​.php​?enum​=1120119551 50 Bernard Rackham, “Catalogue of the Exhibition of Chinese Ceramic Figures from April 8th to June 21st 1947,” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 22 (1947): 50–97. 51 Alice Mariquita Sedgwick joined the OCS in 1933 and was the only female member of the council in 1935. She served three terms on the OCS Council from 1944 to 1947 and collected first with her husband and later independently, bequeathing her significant collections of Asian art through the Art Fund to the British Museum, Bristol City Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the V&A, and the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology (now the Oriental Museum at Durham University). 52 “TOCS-1946-1947-Volume-22.Pdf,” http://ocs​-london​.com​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2015​/10​ /TOCS​-1946​-1947​-Volume​-22​.pdf. 53 In his advisory role to Chinese ceramic collector, Berkeley Smith, Rackham actively encouraged him to purchase the wares of early China to make the collection museumworthy. Louise Tythacott, “The Power of Taste: The Dispersal of the Berkeley Smith Collection of Chinese Ceramics at Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum (1921–1960),” Journal of the History of Collections 28, no. 2 (July 2016): 327–43, https://doi​.org​/10​ .1093​/jhc​/fhv033. 54 Plates 23–30 in T.O.C.S. Vol. 24, 1948–49, show a number of displays for the later exhibition, “Monochrome Porcelain of the Ming and Manchu Dynasties.” 55 Dehua porcelain is separately listed at the end of the exhibition catalogue and receives a separate mention by Rackham. 56 Jessel, “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections with Twickenham.” Transcript, p. 5. 57 “Obituary Basil Ionides,” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 6 October 1950, 986. 58 See MS371, A3042/2/5/3. Letter from Queen Mary to Nellie Ionides, 19 November 1950. MS371, A3042/2/5/1 Letters. Anglo-Jewish Archive, University of Southampton. 59 A short Codicil was added on 2 March 1950, principally concerning his Collection of Old Poodle Prints and Drawings, and the selection of personal articles by the daughters of Nellie’s first marriage, p. 10. Last Will and Testament, Basil Ionides Esq. 60 Last Will and Testament, Basil Ionides, p. 5. 61 James Lees-Milne, Caves of Ice (London; Boston: Faber and Faber, 1984). 62 “Ch.8. The Country House and the Welfare State,” in Peter Mandler, The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home (New Haven, CT: Yale Univesity Press, 1997). 63 James Lees-Milne, Diaries, 1942–1945: Ancestral Voices & Prophesying Peace, Reprint (London: Murray, 1995), 385. 64 V&A objects continue to be displayed at Ham House for this purpose. For a discussion of this episode of V&A history, see Anthony Burton, Vision and Accident: The Story of the Victoria and Albert Museum (London: V&A Publications, 1999), 209. 65 Last Will and Testament, the Hon. Nellie Ionides, p. 6, accessed 10 October 2015.

152  The Impact of War 66 Victor Rienaecker, “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art,” Country Life Annual, 1956. 67 Known for his books on European painters Corot (1927), Cotman (1953), and Blake (157), Rienaecker also wrote on Japanese lacquer (1938–1939) and collected Chinese ceramics. He worked as curator at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (1907–1957). 68 For a full discussion, see Chapter 4, Helen Glaister, “Collecting and Display in Public and Private: A Biography of the Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain, 1920–1970” (PhD. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2021). 69 Pearce, On Collecting. An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition, p. 229. 70 The Circulation Department at the V&A played a significant role in this process. See Chapter 5, Helen Glaister, “Collecting and Display in Public and Private: A Biography of the Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain, 1920-1970.” 71 Published 1920, Royal Commission on National Museums and Galleries: Final Report, Part 2 (1930), ZLIB 29/780, National Archives, Kew. 72 22 December 1959, MA/1/1245, V&A Archives. 73 R.Soame Jenyns, “The Hon. Mrs. Basil Ionides’ Bequest of Chinese Export Porcelain,” The British Museum Quarterly 29, no. 3/4 (Summer 1965), http://jstor​.org​/stable​/4422901. 74 Frank Davis, The Ivory Hammer: The Year at Sotheby’s 219th Season 1962–1963 (London: Longmans Green & Co Ltd, 1963), 142. 75 Frank Davis, Ivory Hammer 2: The Year at Sotheby’s 220th Season 1963–1964 (London: Longmans Green & Co Ltd, 1964), 153. 76 Recently sold through Christie’s, “The Collector: European Furniture, Works of Art & Ceramics,” 2018, Live Auction 15465, Lot 323. https://www​.christies​.com​/en​/lot​/lot​ -6142442 77 “Sammlung Oppenheimer, Important Meissen Porcelain,” 14 September 2021, Sotheby’s New York. 78 Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Sammlung Margarete und Franz Oppenheimer, 1927, no. 30, plate 4. 79 Experts from the Rijksumuseum valued the art collection at six and a half million guilders. 80 See Stuart Eizenstat, Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II (New York: Public Affairs, 2003). Wilhelm Treue, Kunstraub: Über Die Schicksale von Kunstwerken in Krieg, Revolution Und Frieden (Düsseldorf: Droste, 1957). Jeanette Greenfield, The Return of Cultural Treasures, 3rd ed (Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007). In the context of China, the looting of the imperial “Summer Palace” by British and French troops in 1860 has become an increasingly contentious issue. See Louise Tythacott, “Exhibiting and Auctioning Yuanmingyuan (‘Summer Palace’) Loot in 1860s and 1870s London: The Elgin and Negroni Collections,” Journal for Art Market Studies 2, no. 3 (5 September 2018), https://doi​.org​/10​.23690​/jams​ .v2i3​.63. 81 Davis, The Ivory Hammer: The Year at Sotheby’s 219th Season 1962–1963, p. 46. 82 Patrick Conner, The Flamboyant Mr. Chinnery, 1st ed (Bangkok, Thailand: River Books, 2011). 83 Jenyns and Watson, Chinese Art: Textiles, Glass and Painting on Glass, Carvings in Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Carvings in Hardstones, Snuff Bottles, Inkcakes and Inkstones, p. 126.

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The Impact of War 153 Clunas, Craig. Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1991. Clunas, Craig, ed. Chinese Export Art and Design. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1987. Collard, Frances. “Art and Utility: Furniture Fit for Purpose.” In The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860–1900. London: V&A Publications, 2012. Conner, Patrick. The Flamboyant Mr. Chinnery (1st ed.). Bangkok, Thailand: River Books, 2011. Davis, Frank. Ivory Hammer 2: The Year at Sotheby’s 220th Season 1963–1964. London: Longmans Green & Co Ltd, 1964. Davis, Frank. The Ivory Hammer: The Year at Sotheby’s 219th Season 1962–1963. London: Longmans Green & Co Ltd, 1963. “D.M. & P. Manheim » Antique Dealers » Antiques Dealers.” https://antiquetrade​.leeds​.ac​.uk​ /dealerships​/35927. Eizenstat, Stuart. Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II. New York: Public Affairs, 2003. Elsner, J., and R. Cardinal, eds. The Cultures of Collecting. London: Reaktion Books Ltd, 1994. Faith, Nicholas. Sold: The Rise and Fall of the House of Sotheby. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1985. Glaister, Helen. “7. Exotic Self-Reflections: Fashioning Chinese Porcelain for European Eyes.” In Pots, Prints and Politics: Ceramics With an Agenda, From the 14th to the 20th Century, 67–75. London: British Museum Press, 2021. Glaister, Helen. Collecting and Display in Public and Private: A Biography of the Ionides Collection of European Style Chinese Export Porcelain, 1920–1970. PhD. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2021. Greenfield, Jeanette. The Return of Cultural Treasures (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Hay, Jonathan. Sensuous Surfaces: The Decorative Object in Early Modern China. London: Reaktion, 2010. Hermann, Frank. Sotheby’s, Portrait of an Auction House. London: Chatto & Windus, 1980. Hermann Papers. “File ‘Jim Kiddell.’” Cambridge University Library Box 17 (n.d.). Hobson, R. L. The Later Ceramic Wares of China, Being the Blue and White, Famille Verte, Famille Rose, Monochromes, Etc., of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng, Chien Lung and Other Periods of the Ching Dynasty. London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1925. “H. R. Hancock  ‘Antique Dealers’ Antiques Dealers.” https://antiquetrade​.leeds​.ac​.uk​/ dealerships​/35897. Hussey, Christopher. “Buxted Park, Sussex – I. The Home of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs Basil Ionides.” Country Life, 4 August 1950. Hussey, Christopher. “Buxted Park, Sussex – III. The Home of Mr and the Hon. Mrs Basil Ionides.” Country Life, 18 August 1950. Hussey, Christopher. “Memories of Buxted. Art Treasures Lost in the Recent Fire.” Country Life, 24 February 1940. Jellinek, Dominic. “Bluett Essay.” Http:​//Car​p.Art​s.Gla​.Ac.U​k/Ess​ay1.P​hp?En​um=11​20119​ 5511 and 2 (2005). Jenyns, R. Soame. Chinese Art Vol. II: Gold, Silver, Later Bronzes, Cloisonné, Cantonese Enamel, Lacquer, Furniture, Wood (2nd ed.). London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1980. Jenyns, R. Soame. “The Hon. Mrs. Basil Ionides’ Bequest of Chinese Export Porcelain.” The British Museum Quarterly 29, no. 3/4 (Summer 1965). http://jstor​.org​/stable​/4422901. Jenyns, R. Soame, and William Watson. Chinese Art: Textiles, Glass and Painting on Glass, Carvings in Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Carvings in Hardstones, Snuff Bottles, Inkcakes and Inkstones (2nd ed.). London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1981. Jessel, Toby. “Hon Mrs Nellie Ionides – History and Connections With Twickenham.” Presented at the York House Society, Twickenham, 29 March 2000.

154  The Impact of War Jourdain, Margaret. “English Enamels in the Hon. Mrs Ionides’s Collection.” Apollo, The Magazine for the Arts for Connoisseurs and Collectors, 300–306, June 1938. Lacey, Robert. Sotheby’s: Bidding for Class (1st ed.). Boston: Little, Brown & Co, 1998. LaCouture, Elizabeth. “Inventing the ‘Foreignized’ Chinese Carpet in Treaty-Port Tianjin, China.” Journal of Design History 30, no. 3 (1 September 2017): 300–314. https://doi​.org​ /10​.1093​/jdh​/epw042. Lees-Milne, James. Caves of Ice. London and Boston: Faber and Faber, 1984. Lees-Milne, James. Diaries, 1942–1945: Ancestral Voices & Prophesying Peace. Reprint. London: Murray, 1995. Mandler, Peter. The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. McBrinn, Joseph. “Queer Hobbies: Ernest Thesiger and Interwar Embroidery.” Textile 15, no. 3 (3 July 2017): 292–323. https://doi​.org​/10​.1080​/14759756​.2017​.1294827. “Obituary Basil Ionides.” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 6 October 1950, 986. Pagani, Catherine. Eastern Magnificence & European Ingenuity: Clocks of Late Imperial China. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001. Parfect, Ralph. “Roger Fry, Chinese Art and the Burlington Magazine.” In British Modernism and Chinoiserie, 53–71. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015. Pearce, Susan. On Collecting: An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition. London and New York: Routledge, 1995. “Personalities of the World of Art and Antiques: Mr. A. J. Kiddell of Sotheby’s.” The Antique Collector, February 1943, 2–3. Rackham, Bernard. “Catalogue of the Exhibition of Chinese Ceramic Figures from April 8th to June 21st 1947.” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 22 (1947): 50–97. Rienaecker, Victor. “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art.” Country Life Annual, 1956. Spurling, Hilary. Secrets of a Woman’s Heart: Later Life of Ivy Compton-Burnett, 1920–69 (1st ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1984. Sussex Express and County Herald. “Sussex Mansion Destroyed by Fire: Valuable Art Treasures Saved.” 9 February 1940. “TOCS-1946-1947-Volume-22.Pdf.” http://ocs​-london​.com​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2015​/10​/TOCS​ -1946​-1947​-Volume​-22​.pdf. Treue, Willhelm. Kunstraub: Uber Die Schicksale von Kunstrwerken in Krieg, Revoluton Und Frieden. Düsseldorg: Droste, 1957. Tudor-Craig, Algernon. Armorial Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century. London: The Century House, 1925. Tythacott, Louise. “Exhibiting and Auctioning Yuanmingyuan (“Summer Palace”) Loot in 1860s and 1870s London: The Elgin and Negroni Collections.” Journal for Art Market Studies 2, no. 3 (5 September 2018). https://doi​.org​/10​.23690​/jams​.v2i3​.63. Tythacott, Louise. “The Power of Taste: The Dispersal of the Berkeley Smith Collection of Chinese Ceramics at Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum (1921–1960).” Journal of the History of Collections 28, no. 2 (July 2016): 327–43. https://doi​.org​/10​.1093​/jhc​/fhv033. Vinhais, Luísa, and Jorge Welsh, eds. Porcelain People: Figures From the Qing Dynasty. London: Jorge Welsh Research and Publishing, 2021. Williamson, G. C. The Book of Famille Rose. London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1927. Wong, Sarah, and Stacey Pierson. Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021. London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021. Wood, Frances. “‘To Widen Appreciation and to Acquire Knowledge:’ The Oriental Ceramic Society.” In Collectors, Curators, Connoisseurs: A Century of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1921–2021, 12–19. London: Oriental Ceramic Society, 2021.

Conclusion Helen Glaister

This book began with a twentieth-century collection of Chinese porcelain, the Ionides Collection, and over subsequent pages has reached across time and space, from the manufacturing centres and port cities of China to the commercial hubs of Southeast Asia and onward, to the dining rooms and salons of England. From its creation two centuries earlier, European style Chinese export porcelain was readily distinguished from other wares due to its design hybridity, serving as a visual and material record of intercultural exchanges between geographically remote but commercially connected nations. Chinese porcelain acted as a vehicle for pictorial designs and decorative motifs, shapes, and forms which reflected the latest European fashions, habits, and social customs of the long eighteenth century which would later form an important aspect of the Neo-Georgian Revival in Britain. This style of porcelain appealed to the designer, Basil Ionides, who focussed his collecting activities in this specialist field, accumulating one of the most comprehensive and extensive collections of its kind during the second quarter of the twentieth century. As details of his personal history reveal, his professional occupation as architect and “decorator,” as well as his affiliation with the Royal Society of Arts and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the leading museum of art and design in London, indicate a deep-rooted interest in industrial art, design, and manufacture, helping to explain his interest in this field. Through the collection, the back and forth of design influences between Chinese and European porcelain manufacturers is clear to see, between Meissen, Sèvres, and Chelsea and Jingdezhen, Dehua, and Guangzhou, and other kilns besides. The collection as a whole provides a valuable platform from which a more nuanced viewpoint of the evolution of porcelain manufacture can be achieved and the historical importance of the collection understood. While individual objects reveal singular stories, their meanings are enhanced across time by fixing and situating their location, be that within the English country house or public museum, emphasizing the importance of context in defining subject/object encounters. As we have seen, since its first appearance in Europe, Chinese porcelain constituted an important aspect of interior design, from eighteenth-century c­ hinoiserie to nineteenth- century “Chinamania.” For those who could afford the luxury, the China cabinet or China Room created a designated space in which Chinese porcelain took centre stage alongside other imported products. During the interwar period, Chinese porcelain once more played its part, constituting a key aspect of Neo-Georgian design schemes such by those created by Basil Ionides at Buxted Park. In such decorative programmes, porcelain shared the interior space with other Chinese art objects – ­decorative carvings and figurines, cloisonné vessels, enamels, and occasionally pictorial 

156  Conclusion works – indicating the popularity of Chinese art objects of diverse media and aesthetic by then available in Britain. Set amongst an assortment of eighteenth-century furniture and fittings, reconstituted and arranged in modern mode, Chinese art objects enhanced the air of exotic luxury and expressed the individual character and taste of its owners. How do we distinguish between collected art objects and articles of display? The design schemes of Basil Ionides and his counterpart, Oliver Hill, indicate the variety of display strategies at their disposal, from formal arrangements in museum mode to the integration of Chinese art objects within the elegant interiors so popular amongst British high society. Through the pages of an increasing number of books dedicated to interior design, specialist periodicals, lifestyle magazines, and pictorial works, such as those by society painter Willie Ranken, the role of Chinese art objects as articles of decoration is clear, and the multifarious modes of display adapted to the display Chinese art works of all kinds. The role of dealers, agents, and auctioneers in this ­process – sourcing and supplying Chinese art objects to professional decorators, patrons, and consumers, such as Nellie and Basil Ionides – has been largely overlooked but as this book shows, multiple actors in commercial and social networks were significant agents of taste, promoting and perpetuated leading trends amongst the British elite. The repurposing, repairing, and mounting of Chinese art objects by the dealer, John Sparks Ltd and no doubt others, is perhaps today surprising, given their ­current monetary value and cultural significance, but emphasizes their role as articles of display during the twentieth century and indicates how attitudes towards Chinese art have changed over the intervening years. This book has also been about people. Through the life stories of the collectors, Nellie and Basil Ionides, the importance of family, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality is clear, shaping their public and private personas, social networks, and ultimately their collecting identities. Neither could boast a British aristocratic heritage but both were connected at the highest levels of society, to the British royal family no less and leading members of the Anglo-Jewish elite. Amongst this social milieu, collecting Chinese art was an important pastime, cementing personal relationships and asserting status and rank. Through their art collections, they were connected to the Chinese art world; museum curators and specialists, auctioneers, dealers, and agents were all on friendly terms and played a significant part in the formation of their art collections. These well-established networks were instrumental in the exhibition and publication of the private collections of the Ionides in the public sphere, and a variety of approaches to these activities can be detected across their lifetimes. For Basil, his involvement was limited, but it was in his name that the Basil Ionides Bequest at the V&A would be known, which forms the primary focus of this book. Nellie Ionides maintained a more prominent public profile, exhibiting art objects from across her extensive collections throughout her life, taking a direct personal involvement with this aspect of her collection. Chinese art could be seen in a variety of arenas at this time, from the British national museums and art galleries to the galleries of specialist art dealers such as Bluetts or Sparks, or in the private apartments of the collectors’ home. Nellie Ionides participated in all of the above and was one of the leading Anglo-Jewish collectors of her time to recognize the monetary potential of her art collections, opening the doors of her London home and mobilizing her collection of Chinese and European porcelain in support of the German-Jewish cause. By the second quarter of the twentieth century, in which this book is firmly sited, the transformation of the British sociocultural and artistic landscape was already well

Conclusion 157 underway. The plurality of styles which flourished between the Wars, including the Neo-Georgian, offered a host of interpretative strategies for the modern age. For those with the means to do so, collecting art and interior décor were just one means of individual expression in an increasingly homogenous world. The impact of the Second World War cannot be overstated, on individual lives, family networks, local and global communities and this is evident in the fate of individual art objects and collections of art which came to the British art market during those years. This is particularly poignant in the art collections of Jewish collectors, which can also be understood through objects in the Ionides collection. The availability of Chinese art objects at this time, due to a variety of factors, continued, enabling collectors in Britain, including the Ionides, to expand and enhance their growing collections. The end of the War heralded a new era, for the Ionides and their art collections in the public sphere. For a short period, the Ionides continued to collect and actively participated with the Chinese art world, as members of the Oriental Ceramic Society. Following the death of Basil Ionides in 1950, the fragmentation of the collection swiftly followed, ultimately dividing the once extensive collection between the two national museums, the V&A and the British Museum, and the art market. It is here that the history of the collection, as a collection, begins to dissipate, but the significance of individual or groups of Ionides objects continues, as it has done up to the present. As Chinese art objects formerly in the Ionides continue to circulate on the art market, the significance of the collectors and their collection increasingly comes into focus. By constructing a biography of the collectors and their art collections for the first time, this book asserts their place in the history of collecting, interior design, and the study of Chinese art objects in twentieth-century Britain.

Index

Aesthetic Movement 36, 37, 45 agents 78, 109, 121, 137 ancestor portraits 112 Anglo-Jewish art collectors 60–63, 65–66 antique collecting 36, 37 anti-Victorianism 49, 50, 73–74 Apollo magazine 71, 76, 132, 136 Architectural Review 40 architectural salvage 97, 107 architecture 38; Country Life magazine and 42–43; see also interior design armorial wares 4, 5, 7, 9, 19, 20, 68, 136 art collecting xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, 34, 38, 60, 79–80, 110–111, 144, 157; Anglo-Jewish elite and 60–63, 65–66; B. Ionides 52–53; gender and 17, 37; interior design and 33; N. Ionides 66–69, 71, 72; Rackham on 141 Art Deco 33, 50, 106; Claridge’s restaurant 38–39; Savoy Theatre 40, 41; Upton House 91–93 “Art of Synthesis” 129, 131 Arts and Crafts style 106 Ashton, L. 73, 141, 143 auctions/auctioneers 74, 78, 121; Second World War and 135–137 Bandinel, J. 20 Barry, J. 122 Basil Ionides Bequest 4, 21–23, 76, 101, 122, 140, 144, 145, 156; armorial wares and 5 Batavia 1, 5 Battersea enamel 71, 74, 75, 126, 132, 144 Benjamin, F. E. 65 Bernal, R. 20, 61 blanc de Chine 5, 98 blue and white Chinese porcelain 2, 37, 46, 47, 99, 100, 123 Bluett and Sons, 76, 111, 139 British Museum xiv, xv, 1, 20–22, 60, 61, 63, 75, 76, 129, 144; acquisition of European style Chinese porcelain 19 “Britishness” xiv, 60, 74, 109–110, 131 

Brittain, V. 74 Building 40 Burlington Fine Arts Club 34, 37 Burlington House xviii, 52, 77, 139 Burlington Magazine, The 20, 50 Burne-Jones, E. 34–36 Bushell, S. 20, 133 Butterworth, D. 37 Buxted Park xvi, xvii, xviii, 23, 47, 53, 94–96, 106, 121, 132, 138, 143; Chinese porcelain 101, 102; Chinese Room 93, 94, 126, 128, 129; fire 122; interior design 89; Library 123, 132, 133; New Entrance Hall 123, 132; Pink Bedroom 97–99; reconstruction 122, 126, 128, 130; Saloon 132–133; tomb wares 100, 101 Calvin, J. 12 Camphuijs, J. 5 Canton enamels 52, 71, 72, 98 Cardinal, R. 129 ceramics xiv, 20, 50, 68, 74, 76, 96, 111, 140; “china” 46, 48; Cizhou wares 99; display strategies 99, 100; interior design and 44, 46–49; tomb wares 100, 101 Cervantes, M., Don Quixote de la Mancha 10 Cheang, S. 50, 91, 94 Chermayeff, S. 43 “china” 47, 48, 94 “Chinamania” 37, 123, 155 Chine de commande xiv–xv Chinese art xvii, xviii, 33, 48, 50, 68, 79, 90, 110–111, 156; B. Ionides’ approach to 133; glass paintings 97, 98; modernism and 50; N. Ionides and 77–78 Chinese porcelain xiv, xv, 2, 50, 68, 79, 96, 106, 109, 137, 155; in Belgravia 103; blue and white 2, 37, 46, 47, 99, 100, 123; at Buxted Park 101, 102; customization of 3, 4; decoration 7; garnitures 94; gender and 17; global trade 22; interior design and 45–46; “Nankin Blue” 45; placement 134 Chinnery, G. 146, 148

Index 159 chinoiserie 90–91, 93–94, 100, 106, 107, 126 Cizhou wares 99 Clive, R. 7 Clunas, C. 50, 134 collections 75, 78; “The Levy Bequest” 74; micro- 25 colour 40, 95, 133; black 107; chinoiserie and 91; interior design and 39, 43–49; Ionides on 43 commercial networks 78, 111, 112, 138 commissions 5, 9–11, 17, 38, 94, 106 Compton-Burnett, I. 72–74 Connoisseur, The 71 country house see English country house Country Life xvi, xvii, 42–43, 46, 53, 65, 89, 93, 95–98, 102, 129, 132; “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art” 143; “Memories of Buxted: Art Treasures lost in the recent fire” 121–122 court art 14, 16–17, 25, 75 Cox, J. 128 Coypel, C.-A. 10 curation xiv, 19

4, 5, 7, 9, 136; British national collections 19–21; Canton enamels 52, 71, 72; commissions 5, 9–12; court arts 14, 16–17; decoration 7, 20; design sources 9–12; figurines 12, 14; mustard pots 4; in the public sphere 21–23, 25; punch bowls 17, 18, 101; trompe l’oeil 16; see also Chinese porcelain exhibitions 25, 40, 52, 60, 63, 75–78, 107; “Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from the British Museum” 22; British Industrial Art xviii; “C27 Chinese Export Porcelain” 22; “Celadon Wares” 141; “Chinese Ceramic Figures” xvii, 139, 140; “Exhibition of British Art in Industry” 66; “International Exhibition of Chinese Art” 77, 139; “Nellie Ionides: Collector” 66; “Passion for Porcelain: Masterpieces of Ceramics from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum” 22; “Porcelain Through the Ages” 76; “Private Passions for Public Pleasure” 66, 67; “Raffles in Southeast Asia” 22; “Self and Other” 22

David, P. 76–78, 111 de Boulay, A. 136–137 de Bruijn, E. 91 de Graeff, P. 5 dealers 72–73, 78, 97, 110–112, 121, 137, 156; see also John Sparks Ltd decoration 90; en grisaille 9, 12, 20; erotic 18; illustrated books and 9–11; religious 11, 12; see also chinoiserie Dehua 5, 14 Deterding, H. 62 display 131–133, 156; object as artefact 109; object as ornament 109–110; stands 112; see also interior design du Pont, H. F. 106

Falqua 148 familial networks 78 famille rose 33, 52, 68–69, 111 famille verte 45, 46, 68 figurines 12, 14, 23, 69, 95, 98, 123, 128, 135, 136, 143, 145; blanc de Chine 98; Meissen 145 First World War 38, 65, 68 flambé 47 flowers 95, 96 Francis, F. 144 Franks, A. W. 19 Fry, R. 20, 50, 133, 141 Fuchs, R. 69 fundraising xvii; raising funds for Jewish causes 76–77

East India Company (EIC) 3, 7; Honourable East India Company (HEIC) 90 Edwards, R. 42 “Egyptomania” 96 Elsner, J. 129 enamel 68–69, 71, 128; Battersea 71, 74, 75, 126, 132, 144; Canton 52, 98; “Oriental” 98 English country house 42, 60, 89, 94, 106, 143; Chinese Room 90–91, 93; chinoiserie 90 Epstein, J. 66 Espírito Santos Collection 10 Eumorfopoulos, G. 76, 101, 137 European style Chinese export porcelain xiv–xv, xvi, xvii, 1, 2, 43, 50, 52, 68, 69, 74–76, 126, 129, 133, 155; armorial wares

garnitures 94 gender 74; art collecting and 17, 37; interior design and 40–41 George V 21 George VI 123 Gibbons, G. 74 gifts 2, 20, 67, 71, 74, 75 Gilbert, W. S., Sweethearts 35–36 Glasgow School of Art 38 glass paintings 97, 98 “good taste” 133–134 Gray, B. 144 Greece 34–35 Guangzhou 9, 16, 17, 25, 90, 91, 97, 129, 132, 146, 148 Gubbay, H. 76, 94, 109

160  Index Ham House xviii, 143 Hardie, M. 51–52 Harper’s Bazaar 96, 110 Harrison-Hall, J. 19 Harvey, H. 63 Heal, A. 43 Heaton Tabb & Co. 112 “heirloom” collections xv–xvi, 19 Henriques, R. 61 Henson, A. E. 93, 98–100 Hercules 14, 20 Hertz, J. 65 Hetherington, A. 111 Hewlett, M. 38 Hill, O. 102, 103, 105–107, 156 Hobson, R. L. 68, 109, 133, 139 Hogarth, W. 101; “Gates of Calais” 123 Hollingsworth, A. T. 37 Horder, P. M. 65, 91 House and Garden magazine 45, 104– 107; “The Use and Misue of Black in Decoration” 107 House Beautiful, The 37 Hudson, E. 106 Hussey, C. xvi, 89, 93, 95–97, 107, 121, 123, 126, 129 identity 60, 78; Jewish 69, 78, 80; taste and 129 illustrated books, pictorial decoration and 9–11 industrial design xviii, 51, 155 interior design xvi, 53, 72, 73, 106, 157; Aesthetic Movement 36, 45; art collecting and 33; Art Deco 38; “Art of Synthesis” 129–131; Arts and Crafts style 106; avante-garde 38; Belgravia 103; Buxted Park 89, 95, 97–102, 104; ceramics and 44, 45; “Chinamania” 37; Chinese ceramics and 47–49; Chinese Room 91–94; chinoiserie 90–94; Claridge’s restaurant 38–39; colour theory and 43–49; Country Life magazine 42–43; display 48, 49, 99, 101, 109–110, 112, 131–133, 156; famille verte 45, 46; flowers 95, 96; gender and 40–41; magazines 40, 89, 110; modernism 50; Neo-Georgian Revivalism 50; ornament 44; Savoy Hotel and Theatre 40; Upton House 92–94; wallpaper 44, 51, 90–91, 93, 104, 126 Ioannou, C. 33–34 Ionides, A. 34 Ionides, A. C. 34 Ionides, B. xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, 22, 33, 35, 37, 49–51, 69, 71, 74, 91, 94, 106, 110, 122, 132, 134, 145, 155–157; art collecting 52; on colour 43; Colour and

Interior Decoration 43, 44, 107; Colour in Everyday Rooms 38, 46, 49, 98; “Decoration of Country Houses” 42; interior design 38–40, 89; OCS and 139, 141–143; writing and publishing 40–43 Ionides, C. A. 34–36 Ionides, E. S. 34 Ionides, L. A. 38; Memories 35–36 Ionides, N. xv, xvi, xviii, 21, 53, 61, 62, 66, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 80, 115, 135, 144, 145; art collecting 66–69; Chinese art and 77–78; OCS and 140–142 Ionides and Co. 34 Ionides Collection xiv, xv, xvii, 1–3, 5, 20, 33, 43, 75, 94, 135, 136, 144, 146, 157; armorial wares 9; auctions and 135–138; commissions 9, 10; court arts 14; Lane on 21; La Plume 11; private purchases 138–140; in the public sphere 21–23, 25; punch bowls 17, 18; Sotheby’s sale of 145–147, 149 Jack, R. 71 Japanese porcelain in European style 21; baluster jugs 5 Jekyll, G. 106 Jenyns, S. 21–22, 42, 52, 90, 148; Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century 22 Jewish art collecting 60–61, 63–66, 69, 80–81, 146 Jewish Museum xvi, 60 Jingdezhen 9, 14, 16, 17 John Sparks Ltd xv, xvi, 52, 68, 69, 71, 110–113, 137 Jorge Welsh Works of Art 23 Jourdain, M. 38, 49, 52, 71–74, 90, 95, 132, 137–139; Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century 22 Journal of the History of Collections 60 Kangxi porcelain 46, 69, 76, 77, 79, 109, 132 Kiddell, J. xviii, 65, 67, 74, 131, 136–137, 139, 141, 144 Kindertransport 66, 134 kinrande 2 Kipling, R. 35 Kleutghen, K. 17 Lancaster, N. 97 Lane, A. 144; on the Ionides Collection 21 Later Ceramic Wares of China 68 La Plume 11, 135 Leach, B. 99 Lees-Milne, J. 65, 142 Lenygon, F. 72; Lenygon and Morant 97, 111 Lever, W. H. 94 Levy, W. H. 67

Index 161 Linell, M. 132 Loo, C. T. 111 Luther, M. 12 Luytens, E. 106 M. Samuel & Co 62–63, 65 Maidstone Museum 63 Martin Hurst Collection 135 Mary, Queen 71, 76, 95, 110, 113, 122, 139, 142 Maugham, S. 106 Mayer, N. 66 McGrath, R. 40 Meissen 14, 145–147, 155 micro-collections 25 Milne, O. P. 42 modernism xvii, 33, 49, 50, 106, 133; Chinese art and 50; Savoy Hotel and Theatre 40, 41 Morris, W. 34–36 museums xviii, 80–81, 121, 144; British national collections 19–21; collaborations 22; curation xiv, 19; gifts 20, 75, 77; see also exhibitions “Nankin Blue” 45; “Nankin” china 37 National Trust xviii, 92, 94, 142–143 Neo-Georgian Revivalism 33, 50, 89, 94, 122, 157 object: as artefact 109; as ornament 109– 110, 133 “old china” 95 Oppenheim Collection 146; Oppenheimer M. 146 Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) xvii, 25, 68, 77–78, 109, 111, 121, 137, 139; exhibitions 140–141; Nellie and Basil Ionides’ participation in 139–142 “Oriental enamel” 98 “Oriental Lowestoft” 1 Orleans House Gallery 67 ornament 44, 48; object as 109–110, 133 Ostwald, W. 43 Partridge, F. 76, 111 Paterson, A. N. 38 patronage 33, 34, 38, 73 Pearce, S. 131, 144 Peixoto, A. 2 period rooms xviii Peto, H. A. 38 Philip II 2 Phillips, R. R. 43 Phipps, P. 42 photography 53, 93, 95, 98–99, 105–107, 109, 121, 123, 129, 141

Pierson, S. 17 Pissarro, L. 66 porcelain trade: armorial wares 3–5, 7; China and 5; Japanese porcelain in European style 5; mustard pots 4; see also European style Chinese export porcelain Pronk, C. 11 punch bowls 17, 18, 101, 123 Rackham. B. 140–141 Ranken, W. B. E. 39, 44, 73, 100, 106–107, 137–139, 156 Read, H. 20 Redgrave, R. 20 Rienaecker, V. 143; “Fantasies of Chinese Ceramic Art” 22–23 Rockefeller, J. D. 62 Rossetti, D. G. 34, 36 Rothschild family 68, 76, 78, 109; art collecting and 61, 67 Royal Commission of National Museums and Galleries 144 Royal Institute of British Architects 38 Royal Society of Arts xviii, 51, 122 Salting, G. 94 Samuel, G. 65 Samuel, M. 62, 63, 65–67 Samuel, McGregor & Co. 79 Samuel, S. 62, 79 Samuel, W. xvi, 63, 65–67, 78–80, 134 Samuel & Co. Ltd 79 Samuel Frères et Mitchell 63 Sassoon, E. 67, 76 Sassoon, P. xvi, 60, 76–78, 107, 109 Sebag-Montefiore, C. 61 Second World War xviii, 121, 134, 157; auctions and 135–138 Sinicization 10, 17 Sloboda, S. 17, 90 social networks 73, 113, 121 Song wares 50, 78 Sotheby’s xv, xvii, xviii, 65, 67, 74, 121, 132, 136–137; sale of the Ionides Collection 144–146 South Kensington Museum 61; acquisition of European style Chinese porcelain 20 Sparks, P. 71, 76 Staal, C. 135 Stevenson, J. 73, 95 Stokes, L. 38 Taylor, C. 50, 90 Thornton-Smith, W. 97 Tilden, P. 76, 107 tomb wares 100, 101 Tree, R. 97

162  Index Trent Park 107, 109 trompe l’oeil 16 Tudor-Craig, A. 136 Upton House 65, 91, 92, 143 Vereenidge Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) 3, 5, 11 Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) xiv, xv, xvii, xviii, 1, 2, 14, 16, 22, 23, 33, 34, 36, 46, 51–53, 61, 63, 75–77, 122, 129, 137, 140, 143, 144; acquisition of European style Chinese porcelain 20–21; armorial wares 5

Waddesdon Bequest 61 wallpaper 51, 105; Chinese 44, 90–93, 104–105, 126 Warbrook Hall 100, 137 Whistler, J. 34, 35, 45; Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks 37 Williamson, G. C. 135 Winkworth, S. D. 68–69 Wolfe, E. 106 women, art collecting and 17 Woolf, V. 74 Yetts, W. P. 133