FAMILLE ROSE 'WUSHUANGPU' BOX AND COVER
QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
清 粉彩無雙譜紋蓋盒painted on the cylindrical body with the characters from the ‘Wu Shuang Pu’ inscribed with associated poems, top of the cover further with a figure 
11.2cm high
The Estate of Sir John and Lady Clare Keswick at Portrack House, Dumfriesshire.Sir John Henry Keswick, KCMG (1906–1982) was an influential Scottish businessman in China and Hong Kong. He was the tai-pan of Jardine, Matheson & Co., the leading British trading firm in the Far East, and had established friendships with many Chinese politicians, including Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China, and Madame Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen during his stay in China. He was also a representative of the Special Operations Executive, a British intelligence service during the Second World War. Sir John spoke fluent Chinese. He was a Chinese art collector, particularly contemporary paintings.He married Clare Mary Alice Cynthia Catherine Celia Elwes (1905–1998) in 1940 and had a child Margaret Keswick (1941–1995) who founded Maggie's Centres for those suffering from cancer.