PROVENANCE:

Andrew Albert Ernst Franklin (1914-2002), worked as a diplomat in China and Taiwan for several years. Franklin read modern languages followed by a postgraduate diploma in PPE at St John's College, Oxford before joining the Foreign Service.

In his first appointment as a British vice-consul in China around 1938, his remit was to be a full time Chinese studies student. After a year and half of studies (including learning Mandarin) in Beijing and travelling in China, he was in Shanghai at the outbreak of World War II. He was then posted to Kuming in Yunan, and later in Chongqing, the wartime capital. There he met his wife, Babs whose knowledge of Chinese and typing made her a useful member of the British Embassy staff. Her family were living in Chongqing, her father a British businessman and mother the China born daughter of British missionaries.

After about four years out of China (posted in Calcutta, Algiers, Marseilles and London), Mr. and Mrs Franklin returned to China (Amoy, 1946/7 and Tianjin, 1947/9) until the Communist takeover. After postings in Basel and Kabul, Andrew returned to the Far East (Taiwan) in 1956 and was British Consul-General there until 1958.

During the stay between 1956 and 1958, Andrew Franklin got acquainted with Sichuan artist Shiy De-jinn and became the artist's friend and patron. Fascinated with Shiy's talent, Franklin collected several paintings and ceramics from the artist. His main interests outside work included historical links between Europe and China and Chinese ceramics and paintings. He was especially interested in the understanding and cross-fertilisation that develops between cultures in spite of inherent differences, and this extended beyond his interest in links between Europe and China. Franklin had a great love of and curiosity to learn more about Chinese works of art, especially ceramics, which lasted all his life.

In October 1998, Sotheby's Taiwan hosted a sale "In Memory of Homeland: Important Works by Shiy De-jinn: from the Andrew Franklin Collection" and drew much attention. The present three lots were from the former collection of Andrew Franklin and offered by his family.