Anthony de Rothschild (1887-1961) built up a very unusual collection of Chinese porcelain, mostly consisting of Ming (1386-1644) and K'ang Hsi (1662-1722) wares. The so-called 'san ts'ai' (three colour) wares of the late Ming Dynasty in the collection is outstanding in Britain.
Anthony housed the collection at Ascott, keeping some items in glass vitrines, while others were used to decorate the rooms where they were set against the French and English 18th-century furniture and sumptuous Persian carpets.
The collection included some fine examples of vases and wine jars decorated in the cloisonné style with designs outlined in threads of clay and filled in with coloured glazes to represent scenes of gods and landscapes. A pair of egg-shell porcelain lanterns painted in delicate famille verte enamels with gilding were lent as contributions to the Burlington House Chinese Exhibition of 1935.
In addition to the figures and vessels in pottery, stoneware and porcelain, there were also gods in jade, hard stones and glass, including the jade figure of Shao Lao (God of Longevity) with his stork, and Hsi Wang Mu, the Juno of Taoist lore, with a peacock on a rock.
