Percival David

He also formed a collection of Chinese stamps and postal history that has been evaluated as one of the greatest ever assembled.

David was born in Bombay into a Jewish family in British India that originated in Baghdad.

[8] He translated the Ge Gu Yao Lun, a fourteenth century Ming period manual by Cao Zhao.

This was published as Chinese Connoisseurship: The Ko Ku Yao Lun, The Essential Criteria of Antiquities.

[3] It concentrates on the ceramics made for the imperial court, and includes examples of the rare Ru and Guan wares and two important Yuan dynasty blue and white porcelain temple vases (the "David Vases") the oldest dated blue and white porcelain objects, from 1351 A.D.[9] It also holds a large library of Western and East Asian books related to Chinese art.

[3] David built a collection of Chinese stamps and postal history that is thought to be one of the greatest ever created.

[13] He was an officer of the Legion d'Honneur; F.S.A., F.R.A.I., F.R.S.A., Hon Advisor 1928–29 National Palace Museums (Beijing); Governor of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London; Director of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-6.

Percival David
Room 95, British Museum
The David Vases, said to be two of the best-known Chinese porcelains in the world, part of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art collection
An unadopted hand-drawn essay for the 1878–83 Large Dragon stamps of China once in Percival David's collection. [ 1 ]