A treasure trove of over 350 Asian and European artefacts, artworks and collectors’ items, owned by the well-known Yorkshire-based businessman and anthropologist C. Roger Moss OBE, will be offered at the Cheffins Fine Sale on 9th and 10th December.
Adam Schoon, Consultant at Cheffins says: “Considered, outside a museum, to be one of the largest private collections of the genre to come on to the market in many years, the Roger Moss items reflect a lifetime of travel, study and passion for artistic expression. Completely fresh to the market, this significant sale is bound to draw interest from collectors, dealers and interior designers on an impressive scale.”
Many of the items on offer are Chinese in origin, along with others from cultures including Tibet, Nepal, Africa, India, Thailand and Indonesia. From ancient and powerful Chinese dynasties to more recent times, there is a vast breadth and depth of artworks for collectors to choose from. The sale includes stone sculpture, bronzes, vessels, ceramics, Chinese Art (particularly Buddhist-related), calligraphy, textiles, wall hangings, pictures and furniture.
The late Roger Moss grew up in Yorkshire and was a life-long collector of art. Mr Moss studied Social Anthropology at Cambridge University before following an international career in global finance. He was Finance Director of British Airways during the launch of Concorde, and in 1984 went on to become the highly regarded Finance Director of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation in Hong Kong, and was then a senior advisor to Goldman Sachs. During his time in Hong Kong, Roger Moss was Chairman of The Community Chest, and participated on the boards of The Hong Kong Ballet and The Chinese International School, whilst developing his passion for Asian art as President of the Oriental Ceramic Society. Returning to the UK in 2003, Roger bought an historic farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales where he brought his collections of art and sculpture and his extensive art library.
Hugh Moss, Roger Moss’s son, comments: “Counting some of the world’s most respected curators, collectors and artists amongst his friends, Roger loved to seek out unusual and challenging finds and to share his passion for those historic and cultural objects with others, regularly giving talks on ‘Collecting and the Collector.’ This sale presents a rare chance to share the love and wonder of the collector himself, to acquire the very pieces which have adorned the rooms and walls of his beloved historic farmhouse home.”
Highlights of the collection include a limestone Buddha, perhaps Northern Wei, China, probably from the vicinity of Qingzhou, Shandong Province, dating from 386 – 534 AD, which carries an estimate of £5,000 - £8,000. There is also a Chinese stone Buddhist stele, perhaps from the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386 – 534), which is set to sell for between £3,000 - £5,000 and a cream stone recumbent water buffalo, probably from the Tang Dynasty or earlier, which has the same estimate.
Also available are a handful of ancient European sculptures and carvings, including a French carved limestone torso fragment of a bishop saint, probably from Burgundy and circa 1450 – 1500, which has an estimate of £3,000 - £5,000; and a French carved limestone Head of Christ, circa 1450, which is estimated to sell for between £1,500 and £2,500.
Auction: The Fine Sale – 9th and 10th December 2020
Location: Cheffins, Clifton House, 1-2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, UK, CB1 7EA
For further information contact the Fine Art Department on 01223 213343, fine.art@cheffins.co.uk