Kentish Express Ashford & District
Expert’s Chinese collection in lap of the gods at auction
The lifelong collection of a former Foreign Office official who amassed thousands of carvings of Chinese gods and goddesses is expected to fetch £100,000 when it goes up for auction.
Keith Stevens lived in the village of Mersham and had become a world expert with his collection of more than 1,000 carved deities from China before he died in July last year.
The ex-Royal Navy, army and former Foreign Office official kept the collection at his home, which became known to visitors as the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas.
The collection includes a who’s who of Chinese gods, with door gods, hungry ghosts, a heavenly dog who eats the moon and even a sex-changing goddess with 1,000 arms.
It has been described as one of the most extensive collections ever gathered and includes pieces such as a carving of the Chinese Imperial Commissioner, Lin Tse-hsu, who attempted to crush the opium trade in the 19th century. It alone could fetch up to £5,000.
Now 350 pieces from Mr Stevens’ collection will go to auction in Canterbury on what would have been his 90th birthday in October.
Canterbury Auction Galleries saleroom consultant Alastair Gibson said: “Keith Stevens’ dedication to the subject of Chinese gods has resulted in a collection unsurpassed anywhere, each one recorded with the meticulous attention to detail of a true scholar with deep knowledge and understanding.
“We are honoured and delighted to have been instructed to handle its sale.”
Mr Stevens was originally from Heswall on the Wirral in Merseyside. According to an interview with the South China Morning Post in 1991, he would catch the ferry across the Mersey and visit Chinatown in Liverpool and see ships unloading their exotic cargo.
His fascination with the sights, sounds and smells grew and he was enthralled by the Chinese words on the walls of businesses and the people who worked in them.
He served in the Royal Navy then the Royal Gurkha Rifles during the Second World War.
Later, he learned literary Chi- nese at the School of African and Oriental Studies in London.
When he joined the civil service, he purchased his first porcelain deity from an antique shop for just £5.
After joining the Foreign Office, Mr Stevens got the chance to explore China, visiting remote villages and exploring more than 3,500 temples.
The items can be viewed at the Canterbury Auction Galleries from Saturday, October 1, and the auction sales will take place between Tuesday and Thursday, October 4-6.
For more information call 01227 763337 or email auctions@ thecanterburyauctiongalleries. com.