This is the collective name of an Italian private collection, which includes two collections: the Clay&Brush collection of Chinese ceramics and the Five Roosters collection of Chinese snuff bottles. It is an ongoing collection, hence continually subject to changes, whether due to updates, new acquisitions, or deaccessions.
It is not of high-end level because none of the items were bought directly at a major auction house. It is the result of what has been possible to collect by a single collector, without investing large amounts of money and in a relatively short period of time, by keeping an eye at local auction houses, antiquarians, street markets and private homes. In the early years of collecting, it was even possible to find good pieces on the Internet. Today, after only a few years, it would no longer be possible to build up a similar collection by the same ways and means.
The Chinese ceramic’s collection did start at the beginning of 2005, after a visit to the Shanghai Museum, where the collector was deeply impressed by the ceramics seen there. The snuff bottles collection was started in 2011. Collecting can be approached several ways: selecting by quality, or rarity, or value. Here, the focus of the Clay&Brush collection was to show, as far as possible, the great variability of the types of Chinese ceramics. This variability was the result of the progressive evolution of techniques, styles, and availability of materials through the long history of Chinese ceramics. Instead, for the Five Roosters collection the focus was to select bottles made for being used, or at least usable. The selecting criteria, for both collections, were authenticity and how typical were the piece for its era, its intended use, and quality. And of course, if suiting the taste of the collector. Unlike many collections, damaged objects were admitted. In our view, damages are part of the history of the object. After all, many museums would not exist if only objects in perfect conditions were admitted.
All in all, considering the relatively modest investment, we would call this “an honest, down-to-earth collection.” Not everything that was found is still in the collection; some valuable items were sold, especially in the first years of collecting.
The main scope for publishing this collection is to provide students and beginners with a tool for correctly knowing and judging a wide range of Chinese ware. In fact, the possibilities for a student to build up his knowledge are not so all-encompassing, given that books are usually specialized by typology, museums do not allow a detailed vision of the object and viewing at auction houses is requiring to spend time and efforts, besides being reserved to high quality items only. We will therefore be happy if reading these pages will be an educational experience.
To conclude, we would say that collecting Chinese ceramics and snuff bottles is an extraordinary experience. The spent time, studies, and efforts, are paid back by the great pleasure of meeting nice and interesting people, making new friends worldwide, be gratified at each new discovery and, very important, establishing international relationships with scholars. It is an endless experience of acquiring and sharing knowledges, discoveries, and wonders.
Acknowledgements
We owe a lot to people and organizations who have contributed to our knowledge of Chinese art. Useless to say that, without them, this site would not exist. To all them, we would express our deep gratitude.
For the Chinese Ceramics section:
The Gotheborg site https://www.gotheborg.com/ and the many expert members there, scattered across the World. The links below are connecting to useful pages of that site, related to Chinese dynasties, Reign marks, and the Glossary, that can be consulted for names founds in our pages:
Chronology and History of China: https://www.gotheborg.com/chronology/index-chronology.htm
Ming Dynasty Reigns: https://www.gotheborg.com/marks/mingmarks.shtml
Qing Dynasty Reigns: https://www.gotheborg.com/marks/qingmarks.shtml
Glossary: https://www.gotheborg.com/glossary/
For the snuff bottles section:
The Chinese Snuff Bottles Discussion Forum: https://snuffbottle.smfforfree.com/ and the many expert members there, also scattered across the World.
A special acknowledge goes to a friend, Richard Baey from Singapore, whose profound knowledge of Chinese literature and culture have constituted a precious enrichment of the descriptions.
The Mangialupo Collection.