Philadelphia Antiques Show 2016_

✷ 131 ✷ FROM THE COLLECTION OF… FROM THE COLLECTION OF… POLLY LATHAM POLLY LATHAM ASIAN ART, BOSTON, MA irty years ago, when I rst discovered my fascination with Chinese porcelain, I purchased these child’s garden seats in London with the intention of selling them. But I have never quite been able to! ey have held and still hold a very special place for me. When I look at a piece of Chinese porcelain I ask, “Is it beautiful?” “Does it make me feel good when I look at it?” e rarity of the form, the soft pastel enamels, and the pastoral setting with its loose representation of the Eight Immortals gathered for a chat, continues to give me great pleasure. I have moved three times since I purchased them and they still say, “Look at me,” wherever they are…under a card table, by the replace, or on a shelf. ey are part of a larger world: of history, of trade and of beauty. But now are part of my world! FRANK LEVY BERNARD & S. DEAN LEVY, INC., NEWYORK, NY is is an emerald specimen collected near Ekaterinburg, Russia, in the mid nineteenth century. e specimen is in very good condition and is one of the largest Russian emeralds from that period. What I nd most special about the piece is its provenance. It came from Bryce M. Wright (1850–1896), a top 19th-century mineral dealer, who sold it to Philadelphia industrialist Clarence S. Bement (1843–1923). Bement was one of the greatest mineral collectors of all time amassing a collection of over 12,500 specimens. In 1901 he sold his entire collection, which is reported to have taken two box cars to transport, to J. P. Morgan, for $100,000. Morgan immediately presented the entire collection to e American Museum of Natural History in New York. is piece and others have since been deaccessioned. I nd the connection to these remarkable collections invigorating and to be a part of that collecting history a real privilege.