{"id":138,"date":"2017-06-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/13\/collectors-edition-shopping-1920s-shanghai\/"},"modified":"2021-02-17T22:35:55","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T22:35:55","slug":"collectors-edition-shopping-1920s-shanghai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/06\/13\/collectors-edition-shopping-1920s-shanghai\/","title":{"rendered":"Collector\u2019s Edition: Shopping in 1920s Shanghai"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shanghai in the 1920s was affectionately known as \u201cthe Paris of the East\u201d or the \u201cNew York of the West,\u201d depending on your perspective. It was one of those golden ages, when art and culture converged in a city teeming with new life. Jazz, cinema, theater, and opium dens thrived. Under British rule, merchants set up shop, attracting buyers from the West in search of carpets, furniture and ceramics.<\/p>\n

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\"Five<\/a><\/p>\n

Five Drawer Offering Table, c. 1850<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This collector\u00a0was one of those Western buyers. Based in Chicago, he first came to Shanghai on a business trip, sourcing\u00a0merchandise for his family\u2019s department store. Throughout the 1920s, he\u00a0returned for business many times. As he\u00a0built relationships throughout the region, he came into contact with objects of extraordinary beauty and history: a 19th century offering table crafted without nails or screws, a pair of Hu Vases decorated by a master painter, an embroidered silk Qing Dynasty robe, and a pair of gilt buddhas finished with gold leaf and lacquer.<\/p>\n

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\"Embroidered<\/a><\/p>\n

Embroidered Silk Lady\u2019s Butterfly Short Robe, c. 1850<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He\u00a0purchased many pieces for his private collection, bringing them back to his home in Chicago. Over the years, his relationship with those objects deepened, and they grew in meaning and value. The table, once used to hold incense and offerings for Chinese ancestors, became a reminder of\u00a0the endurance of craft. The gilt buddhas quietly, consistently pointed to the pursuit of\u00a0enlightenment. The ceramics never ceased to offer new details in their color and complexity.<\/p>\n

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\"Pair<\/a><\/p>\n

Pair of Gilt Sakyamuni Buddhas with Steles, c. 1900<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PAGODA RED is delighted to present this collection for the first time. It is the story, not just of each object, but of the person who brought these pieces together. And now, the collection\u00a0awaits its next incarnation, in the home of someone who senses the lifetimes of stories within.<\/p>\n

Hero Image: The Bund, Shanghai, 1920s, Source: Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Shop the Story<\/h2>\n

Collector’s Edition<\/a><\/p>\n