Sir Michael Butler GCMG (27 February 1927 – 24 December 2013) was a British diplomat and a collector of 17th century Chinese porcelain.
This collection was described by daughter Katharine Butler in her book "Leaping The Dragon Gate".
[2] He served in New York, Baghdad, Paris and Geneva before spending a year as Fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs 1970–71.
"[8] After his death, the collection was divided following a High Court ruling, at the end of a lengthy court case involving his four children, which determined that each of his children was entitled to a quarter share, 250 pieces from the 850 collected by Sir Michael were removed from the museum built to house them.
[9] But the whole family collection lives in a book by Katharine Butler "Leaping The Dragon Gate" published in 2021 and in the museum reopened with over 650 pieces on display.