Lot details
A blue glazed altar vessel and cover, Dou, of archaic form, the domed cover with interlocking rope finial and carved wave border, square seal mark of Jiaqing and of the period, the base with stylised 'Shou' characters and carved decoration, base with square seal mark of Xianfeng and of the period, 9 1/4in. (23.5cms) high. PROVENANCE Collection of The Rt. Hon. Sir Conyngham Greene (1854-1934), acquired before 1919 and thence by descent, sold by direction of the family. This lot was presented to Sir Conyngham Greene whilst His Majesty's' Ambassador to Tokyo 1912-1919. See also sale MH173 in these rooms for other items from this collection. The Rt. Hon. Sir Conyngham Greene (1854-1934) ''A Great Ambassador'' Born into a well know Irish family Conyngham Greene entered the Foreign Office in 1877 and became acting 3rd Secretary at Athens and in 1880 acted as Charge d'Affaires at Stuttgart and then Darmstat. In 1887 he entered the Diplomatic Service and was 2nd Secretary at The Hague and at Brussels, followed by time in Tehran. In 1893-96 he was H.M's agent at Petoria with rank of Charges d'Affaires. Conyngham Greene was appointed to be the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation from 1901-5 and to Romania and Denmark. From 1912-1919 he was His Majesty's Ambassador to Japan. His obituary in The Times called him ''A Great Ambassador.''