Annual Winter Antique, Asian & Fine Art Auction

Auction: Jan. 30-31 & Feb. 1, 2013: 10am
Preview: Jan. 29th, 2013: 9am-5pm | Jan 30th - Feb. 1st, 2013: 8am-5pm

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Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium , which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

The Collection of P.Y. Wang (1893-1977) and Eu Tong Sen (1877-1941) Family and Descendants

Lot numbers 3307-3319

P.Y. (Pah-Yuen/ Boyuan) Wang, known as the “Gold King” in Shanghai during the early 20th century, was born in Zhengjiang in 1893. Wang started his early career as a young apprentice in a gold shop and accumulated original capital by trading gold. Although there were no contracts and cash deposit at that time, Wang established an impeccable reputation and earned respect from peers by always paying even when suffering a loss. His outstanding credibility enabled him to conduct some rather large transactions despite limited resources. In 1921, Wang opened his own gold shop, Yu Fa Yong in Shanghai. Later that year, with the conviction that currency inflation and rising gold prices were inevitable, Wang pledged all his assets as collateral and took in a lion's share of gold in the Shanghai market. After the announcement that the dollar price would be adjusted, gold prices in the international market rose abruptly. Wang made a fortune from this and became known as the "Gold King," on par with "the Bond King" Yang Shousheng.

Later on, Wang took over the reorganization of the Land Bank, and invited well-known figures in the finance circle (Qin Runqing, Li Ming, and Xu Jiqing, among others) to join the board of committee. His steady style in managing the bank and successful transitions during several crises earned him the reputation of a reliable businessman. Wang ventured into other fields as his primary focus became insurance and real estate. He also supported domestic industry and small businesses by investing and giving out generous loans. Some of Wang's other investments were purely motivated by his desire to preserve national treasures. His love and patronage of art earned him long-term friendships with many famous Chinese artists in the 20th century, such as Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), Wu Hufan (1894-1963), Feng Chaoran (1882-1954), Wang Yachen (1894-1983), and many others.

In the winter of 1948, Wang went to Taiwan. He later moved to Hong Kong and then New York in 1954. All through his life, Wang was intensely interested in Chinese painting and calligraphy. He made friends with the artists of his day and was accomplished in calligraphy himself. P.Y. Wang passed away in 1977 at the age of 84. C.C. Wang bought and assisted with the sale of part of his art collection, some of which was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Part of the collections offered in this auction belonged to P.Y. Wang and his family. Another part traces back to his relatives by marriage - Eu Tong Sen (1877-1941) and his fifth wife Jenny Eu (Liu Suk Ching / Liao Zheng’er, who passed away in 1978 at the age of 75) (P.Y. Wang’s son marriage the daughter from Eu family). Eu Tong Sen was a business tycoon in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia from the late 19th to the early 20th century. At one time, he was known as the “Malayan Tin King." The Eu Tong Sen Street in Singapore was named after the leading businessman in 1919 to honor his achievement and his contribution to the Singapore economy. Eu’s patented traditional Chinese medicine business (Eu Yan Sang) is still well operated in Hong Kong, Macau, China, Malaysia, and Singapore by his descendants. A biography on Eu Tong Sen was published in 2009, Path of the Righteous Crane: The Life & Legacy of Eu Tong Sen, written by Ilsa Sharp, Landmark Books Pte. Ltd, Singapore, 2009. Jenny Eu’s memoir recounts how Eu Tong Sen explained his ability to successfully anticipate and adapt to changing business conditions, realign his business interests and survive the Great Depression: "When the sun is high, it begins to set, when the moon is full, it begins to wane. This is the Tao of the universe. Today the production of Malaya's tin and rubber has hit saturation. From all the readings of the markets, it will only be a matter of time before they go into recession."

Mrs. Eu was an accomplished artist in Chinese ink and color painting and an ardent philanthropist. Many of Jenny’s paintings bear her Chinese seal as well as the unique English seal she designed. The English seal, in the shape of a horseshoe, with J and E in the middle, relates to her husband to Eu Tong Sen's interests in stables and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

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