M5791

Overall excellent condition.

• Formerly in the collection of Gustaf Oscar Wallenberg (1865-1937), Sweden, and thence by descent.
• Gustaf O. Wallenberg, a prominent Swedish businessman, diplomat, and politician, was the son of André Oscar Wallenberg, founder of Stockholm Enskilda Bank (now SEB). Following a career in the Swedish Navy, he transitioned into commerce, where he contributed significantly to the development of transoceanic shipping. Appointed Sweden’s Envoy to Tokyo from 1907 to 1918, Wallenberg also undertook a diplomatic mission to Beijing in 1907, where he engaged directly with the Qing court to revise the Treaty of Canton (1847). His negotiations with High Commissioner Lien Fang culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation in 1908, with an additional article ratified in 1909, thereby strengthening formal relations between Sweden and China. His close connections with the Qing government proved instrumental in supporting Swedish engineers, scholars, and entrepreneurs active in China at the time. During his diplomatic tenure in East Asia, Wallenberg assembled a significant collection of Chinese porcelain, reflecting his engagement with the region’s culture and aesthetics. This collection, portions of which are now held at the Östasiatiska Museum in Stockholm, later formed part of the domestic environment of his grandson, Raoul Wallenberg, who was raised partly under Gustaf’s care following the death of Raoul’s father. Raoul would go on to become a renowned diplomat and humanitarian, credited with saving thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Second World War. After his arrest by Soviet forces and subsequent disappearance, Raoul’s share of the porcelain collection was placed in the Östasiatiska Museum and was later returned to the family.