Chinese and Himalayan Works of Art

来源：永谷商会（前山中商会芝加哥分公司）创始人永谷寿三后人

永谷商會由日裔古董商永谷寿三（1905-1994）創立，前身是山中商會芝加哥分店。永谷寿三出身阪神一帶的西宮市，父親早逝，由寡母撫養成人。中學畢業入山中商會儅學徒，17嵗派駐北京煉眼力、長見識，經手了大量高古造像瓷器。旋赴波士頓，1930年遷紐約。不久，山中商會有意在芝加哥設分店，初由紐約店經理下間豊吉兼管，后為永谷寿三全權負責。該店開設在素有“華麗一英里”之稱的密歇根大街北段，比鄰各大高奢精品店，豪客雲集，往來如織。

好景不常在，太平洋戰爭爆發後，山中商會在北美的私產慘遭查封，各大店鋪由敵国資産管理局接手。1942年春芝加哥分店被勒令清倉，永谷寿三作爲店長，博學強識又爲人和善，故被管理局破例委托負責該計劃。此信一出各大博物館、古董商、豪客紛至沓來，排成一片長龍，以至於需要屢屢閉店以便控制人數。山中商戶結業后，永谷寿三沒有回囯，留在芝加哥創立了永谷商會，時為1944年秋。

永谷商會發展很好，此地老錢新貴諸多，如布倫戴齊（前奧組委主席、舊金山亞洲藝術博物館主要捐贈人）、近年叱吒拍場的瓊肯三世、喜馬拉雅藝術收藏巨擘阿兹多夫家族等皆是常客。這份成功離不開永谷寿三的賢内助山田千夏。兩人相識于教會，1935年成婚。山田曾任賓州最高法院首席法官之秘書，善社交，英文流利，極大地推動了永谷商會的業務。1979年山田驟然去世，永谷寿三無限傷痛，生意也受到巨大打擊。此後閉門謝客，八十年代初關店作了寓公。結業所得贈與伊利諾伊州立大學開設千夏獎學金，以念亡妻。此外，永谷寿三還將大批藏品捐給了芝加哥自然歷史博物館。

永谷的兄弟皆死於二戰，只有小妹相依爲命；山田的長姊同樣早逝，留下一雙子女由夫婦倆撫養成人。永谷與山田僅有一子，子又生孫，系本次送拍的委托人。家族的二代、三代均無從業于古董行者，在此釋出碩果僅存的一批藏品，望藏家珍重。

Hizaso Nagatani (1905-1994) was a collector, connoisseur, and dealer of Asian works of art. Born in Osaka in 1905, and raised by a single mother in Nishinomiya, Nagatani developed a passion for Asian art during his adolescence. At age 17, he joined Yamanaka & Co., a highly renowned firm known for its commitment to quality and rarity. He spent his young adulthood based in Beijing, traveling throughout China handling porcelains, bronzes, stone sculptures, jades, and pottery. Soon after, he was dispatched to Boston before relocating to Chicago. He rose to manage the Yamanaka & Co. storefront on the Magnificent Mile until the firm was directed to cease business operations in the United States. In 1944, he opened a new gallery on North Michigan Avenue in his own name, Nagatani & Co. His providence in nurturing relationships with those who shared his passion for the material helped him develop a robust client roster including both local celebrities and important figures in the field, including Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, Louis Hill, Robert Mayer, Avery Brundage, and the Alsdorfs. 

In 1935, he married Chica, who became his partner in business and life. Chica was an indispensable talent, even having served as a secretary to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania prior to joining her husband’s firm as president. Within a few years of her passing, Hizaso closed their business, and donated funds to build the Nagatani Academic Center for student athletes at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, a unique space designed to nurture and celebrate student athletes’ academic success. His collection of rare books on the Chinese and Japanese art was granted to the College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning Resource Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and he donated many of his works of art to the Field Museum and established the Nagatani Fund for Collections in memory of his wife. The property in this sale comprises some of last remaining objects directly from the collection of Hisazo Nagatani, an important figure whose tastes are represented among the world’s foremost private collections and museums to this day.