Colonel Norie's Asian Art Collection at Auction

At Bruun Rasmussen's upcoming Asian auction you can experience both the finest decorative art and get a taste of history as well. Some of the most spectacular lots on the auction will be exhibited in London during "Asian Art Week" (5-8 November) - including decorative art from the collection of the later Colonel and adjutant of George V of Britain, Evelyn Williams Medows Norie (1862-1915).

“During Colonel Norie’s stay in China from 1900-02, he acquired an art collection, which his granddaughter is now selling as part of this auction. The 30 lots include sublime hair ornaments with Kingfisher feathers, gems and pearls from around 1900 and a wedding cup from the Qianlong dynasty in white jade decorated with flowers, bats, lingzhi mushrooms and dragon handles.Ten plates in Chinese porcelain of the finest quality from the Qing dynasty depict scenes from well-known Chinese poets, including Han Gong Wang and Li Bai, not to mention a few small dishes with "tea-poems",” says Ralph Lexner, head of the Asian Art Department at Bruun Rasmussen.

Norie and The Boxer Rebellion

Colonel Norie was born in India to English parents, but at the beginning of the 1870s he was sent to a boarding school in Edinburgh and later completed a military education in England. With his art collection, we dive into the Boxer Rebellion in China in the years around 1900, where Norie participated as a Captain in the international military coalition, which was assigned to fighting the Chinese insurgents. The uprising was a result of the West's growing political and commercial influence in China up through the 19^th century as a result of trade agreements, postings and colonialism.

During this period China was characterized by internal disintegration, and many Chinese longed for a return to greatness and to bring an end to Western dominance. The populist and nationalist movement Yihequan – "The Righteous and Harmonious Fists" – initiated, with the support of the Empress Dowager Cixi, a rebellion that, due to traditional fighting techniques, became known as the "Boxer Rebellion". The brunt of this rebellion was felt by the foreign missionaries and railroad and telegraph workers, and the uprising culminated when the boxers and the imperial forces together laid siege to the legation quarter in Beijing. The Western powers response to the uprising came promptly, and China paid a heavy price for the troubles caused. An alliance of the largest imperialist forces in East Asia was formed with 45,000 soldiers. The rebellion was quelled as bloodily as it had begun, and it was a contributing factor to the final downfall of the Chinese Empire in 1911. Norie was awarded a medal and lauded for his efforts in the international expedition force – as can be read in the London Gazette from 14 May 1901: "Captain E.W.M. Norie, Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General for Intelligence, has carried out his duties with judgment and zeal and has shown much ability in using all sources of information".

Danish Collections of Asian Art

Collectors such as Telegraph Manager Sophus Black (1882-1960) and Director of East Asiatic Company Henrik V. Jacobsen (1887-1955) are familiar names at our auctions, both were posted in Southeast Asia for many years and with great passion and sense of quality built prominent art collections. From Black's collection, we can for instance present rare Chinese paper money from the 1300s and four beautiful scrolls decorated with different religious and profane scenes. Jacobsen's collection offers a pair of porcelain wall vases from the first half of the 1800s.

Exhibition in London

Shapero Modern Gallery, 32, St. George Street, London W1S 2EA

Exhibition: 5-8 November

Reception: 6 November from 5-9 pm

International Auction in Copenhagen

Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art, Bredgade 33, Copenhagen

Preview: 23-27 November

Asian Art Auction: 29 November

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