LONDON.- The collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain to be auctioned by Olympia Auctions was begun twenty-five years ago, to decorate the dining room of an 18th century house in Covent Garden. A mix of Chinese, Japanese and Delft blue and white, it was arrayed on open shelves and coral brackets over black lacquer and dark grey panelling, designed to reflect and absorb candlelight. Additional purchases of Kangxi porcelain in Islamic style were made around 2010 for the owner’s apartment in Paris.

The sale of 294 lots also includes the collection of Louisa Service O.B.E., who died in 2021. Her life was devoted to working voluntarily in promoting girls’ education, encouraging youth interest in music and her work as a J.P. She had a great interest in art and antiques and many items from her collection are being offered in our Asian and European sales this Spring. Of particular interest are two paintings by the celebrated Bengali artist, Jamini Roy (1887 – 1972), whose characteristic folk art inspired paintings are now highly sought after in India and across the world. In addition, from her collection is a fine Ming Celadon dish from the Longquan kilns.

Also noteworthy are a group of Islamic Tiles from two private collections. Some are from the same collection sold at Olympia Auctions in 2020 which also includes the Chinese porcelain in this sale, and the others are from an enthusiast in the west of England who has been collecting mostly Damascus tiles over the last three decades.

There is also an interesting collection of Gandharan sculpture from the collection of a late diplomat, now being sold by his family. The Greco-Roman influence in the art of this region which flourished in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. dates back centuries earlier to the invasion of Alexander the Great. Although Buddhism was the inspiration for this surge of artistic activity, the sculptural style and much of the decorative detail would have been very familiar to Europeans of the time.