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摘要

George Eumorfopoulos stands out in the history of ceramics collectors. Born not in Greece, as his name suggests, but Liverpool, in 1863, he worked for the expatriate Greek merchant business Ralli Brothers, where he rose to become vice-president. His early collecting was of European porcelain, but before long he had been lured by the Orient and, as he amassed Chinese art, he dominated the Oriental art market of the time. He turned part of his home on London's Chelsea Embankment into a private museum and, when the Benaki Museum in Athens was inaugurated in 1931, he donated a group of important Chinese ceramics to that institution. This book is dedicated to that (little known) collection. Authored by archaeologist George Manginis, it is richly illustrated, featuring some 100 treasures, from the exquisite porcelain and white glaze Figure of Guanyin, to a perfect brush pot, with its touches of cobalt blue underglaze and fine decoration of scholar's objects.