The Whitley Collection: Sharing Joy | October 29, 2024
Lifelong partners and contributors to their community, the Whitleys were also passionate about traveling and collecting, as reflected in their collection of Chinese export porcelain, furniture, and fine art. Beginning with the purchase of a pair of famille rose vases (lot 333) fifty years ago, they followed a scholarly path, ultimately collecting several hundred pieces of Chinese export porcelain, including Armorial, Kangxi, and Kraak, to form a truly impressive collection of Chinese export porcelain, one that we at Brunk Auctions are privileged to present to you.
Whit and JoAnn enjoyed traveling to pottery fairs and antique shows the world over, always making sure to carve out time on their trips, business or pleasure, to peruse a
nearby collection. Their daughters fondly recall trips to England, to the Olympia Art and Antiques Fair and local museums dedicated to the craft. The family often visited friends in Looe, in Cornwall, England, the city depicted on a favorite and rare bowl in the collection (lot 57). Whit, in particular, devoured any information he could find on the
subject, reaching out to experts in the field such as Angela Howard, wife of the late Chinese Armorial expert David Sanctuary Howard, who graciously aided us here at
Brunk Auctions in the cataloging of the Whitleys’ collection along with Becky MacGuire. Whit and JoAnn made their way to seminars on the subject, such as one held at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, with Whit later giving a talk on Chinese export porcelain at a local college that showcased pieces from their own collection.
Taste changed with age, as it does, and the Whitley’s found their eyes drawn from famille rose, to armorial porcelain, to blue and white Kangxi and Kraak ware. Favorite pieces of blue and white porcelain included large Kraak ware bowls (such as lot 97) and a porcelain covered vase (lot 219). JoAnn and Whit cultivated an appreciation for British paintings (such as lot 31), tea caddies (such as lot 108), and English furniture (such as lot 64) as well, and while Whit developed a fondness for blue and white porcelain, he appreciated the ornate in armorial porcelain.
With infectious enthusiasm, he enjoyed talking about the time invested in the craft by artisans, the effort put into the enamel or glazework, and the history associated with each armorial piece. Some favorite pieces were chargers bearing the arms of Spencer (lot 1) and the arms of MacKenzie (lot 10), and two pieces depicting the Judgement of Paris of Greek myth (lots 104 and 120), which Whit found great joy in comparing to other depictions of the scene. We hope that you too will find as much joy in this exquisite collection as Whit and JoAnn did.
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