溥儒 翠嶺松巖

設色紙本 鏡框

款識︰陟巘俯青嶂，流目浮雲低。穹巖抱幽石，眾松相與齊。奔泉下崇阿，百曲成清溪。飛梁帶其巔，迢迢拂虹霓。叢薈攀藤樹，蔽翳騰丹梯。孤高近斗宿，浩渺安能💙躋。天門雲路高，縈紆屢迴折。白石臨斷巖，峨峨皎如雪。綢繆出谷雲，檀欒忽明滅。平視列群峰，青翠如可結。尋泉境轉深，邱陵盡奇絕。汧潭鑑蔆藻，澹瀲自澄澈。西山逸士溥儒。

鈐印︰「舊王孫」、「溥儒」、「明夷」。

註：心畬先生渡臺後寓居臨沂街斗室，筆下多作墨戲小品，如手卷、斗方冊頁等。本幅則取四呎整紙，寫夏山叠嶂，峰不見頂，高低互峙，集北宋巨嶂與南宋邊角構圖於一爐。嶙峋山石勾砍刻畫，俐落灑脫；取石堅介之質，鋒稜剛硬，突兀崢嶸。施青、赭二𝓰色，陰陽相背層次自生。上見直筆橫點，參差疏密，筆力千鈞。勁松若龍蟠蛟騰，簇簇松葉攢針於枝，濃密蓊鬱。松陰茅舍兩椽，此情此景，或寄昔年西山戒台寺隱居之憶。上題〈游山詩九首〉之前二首，收入〈南游集‧卷二〉。構圖頗近一九五八年作〈秋嶺蒼松〉，細緻處則過之，屬其晚期用心之作。

參考資料：〈秋嶺蒼松〉可參見香港蘇富比，二〇一八年四月，中國書畫拍賣，編號1260

130.7 x 67 cm 51½ x 26⅜ in.

美國私人藏畫（編號6170-6172） 

本輯乃保險業巨擘史⛎帶 (Cornelius Vander Starr，1892-1968) 舊藏，後贈予朱孔嘉（1907-1998）。 

史帶，美國著名企業家，美亞保險公司和美國國際保險集團創始人，即AIG American International Group 前身。他商業頭腦精♏明，一九一〇年入柏克萊加州大學，不久輟學，經營雪糕店並出售獲利。時僅二十出頭，雄心勃勃，勇於嘗試不同行業，對保險業尤其熱衷，曾協助創辦保險經紀公司。他勤奮賣力，白天工作，晚上唸書，考獲律師資格。然未囿於一職一地，遠赴日本發展，未及半年，轉赴上海。他看♔準當時利息高，而衛生環境逐步改善，人均壽命增長，故在未及而立之齡，在當地成立美亞、友邦、四海等保險公司，並逐步擴展至全國及東南亞地區。抗日時將公司總部遷往紐約，並於一九四八年，將上海公司轉往香港，業務亦擴充至歐美。一九六七年，註冊成立美國國際集團（AIG），涵蓋旗下過百企業，一躍成為全球保險業巨頭。翌年，因心臟病發遽逝於紐約。 

他知人善任，以當地人管理在地企業，加之生性慷慨，生意大獲成功，與下屬朱孔嘉逾四十載交誼即例證。他樂善好施，捐離世後大部份個人資產捐贈史帶基金會，至🤪今仍活ꦿ躍於慈善事務。 

史帶經商之餘亦好收藏，不時為個人或不同地區的辦公室選購藝術品，涉獵甚廣，野獸派油畫、宗教藝術、中國工藝品、雕塑等。他對中國感情至深，曾曰「中國為我家鄉，🌜中國人爲我同胞」，觀乎本輯，足見對中國書畫之鑑賞品味。 

朱孔嘉（1907-1998），江蘇常熟人。畢業於上海大學，一九二七年五月加入美亞保險公司，逐漸成爲史帶在華倚重的左右手，綜理中國及東南亞地區業務。上海淪陷前夕與光復之初，他力保公司資料免毀於戰火；四八年，又偕公司檔案和員工飛赴香港，令業務得以延續。爲公司服務逾七十載，逝世時仍是美亞保險香港有限公司主席。他熱心社會事務，大力贊助教育及慈善事業，並曾資助香港中文🍎大學文物館購置藏品。 

六十年代中，史帶將位於紐約市以北布魯斯特 (Brewster)佔地地四十英畝的一處住宅，連同宅中的藝術品贈予朱孔嘉伉儷。此後又陸續以所藏相贈，🔯本輯三幅即源出於此。 

---------------------------------------------

Pu Ru

1896 - 1963

Mountains and Pine Trees

ink and colour on paper, framed

signed, with 3 seals of the artist

130.7 x 67 cm 51½ x 26⅜ in.

FROM AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION (LOTS 6170-6172) 

This collection belonged to insurance tycoon Cornelius Vander Starr (1892-1968), before bei♋ng bestowed upon K.K. Tse (1907-1998). 

An eminent American entrepreneur and magnate, Starr founded the insurance company American Asiatic Underwriters, Inc. (AAU), which is now AIG. Known to have an astute sense of 🤪business acumen, he withdrew from the University of California Berkeley after enrolling in 1910 to begin his first business venture: selling ice cream. At just 20 years old, Starr’s ambitions drove him to try various industries, with insurance particularly becoming his passion, having already by then helped found an insurance organization. Employee by day, student by night, Starr toiled diligently to qualify as a solicitor. Yet, he refused to be held down: Starr headed for Japan and moved to Shanghai in less than half a year. Taking advantage of the growing interest rates and increased lifespan, the latter owing to improved hygiene conditions, Starr established insurance companies in Shanghai, including AAU, the Great American Insurance Company, the Firemen’s Fund Insurance Company, and Hartford Fire Insurance Company, all before reaching 30. Gradually, Starr set his eyes upon expanding to the whole of China and Southeast Asia. In response to the Second Sino-Japanese War, he relocated his headquarters to New York. By 1948, he moved his office from Shanghai to Hong Kong, intending to branch out to Europe and the United States. In 1967, Starr incorporated American Asiatic Underwriters Corporation (AAU). With over 100 companies under its umbrella, AAU became a colossal insurance empire globally. The following year, Starr passed away from a heart attack in New York at the ripe age of 76. 

With a keen eye for budding talents and charitable nature, Starr enjoyed a flourishing business, as exemplified by a 40-year-long partnership and camaraderie with employee K.K. Tse. A philanthropist even in death, Starr donated most of his personal assets to the C.V. Starr Foundation, by which⛎ its charitable works continue till this day. 

Beyond being a business tycoon, Starr was also an esteemed connoisseur. Every so often, he would collect artworks either for his own personal decor or for his offices in various regions, gathering a myriad of works ra🍬nging from fauvist oil paintings to religious art, to Chinese art and sculptures. Starr was deeply attached to China, once commenting “China is my ho๊metown, and the Chinese are my compatriots”. This collection shall testify to his impeccable taste and appreciation for Chinese paintings and calligraphy.   

K.K. Tse (1907-1998) was born in Changshu of Jiangsu Province. Graduated from Shanghai University, Tse joined AAU, climbing through the ranks to become Starr’s right-hand man in managing the affairs in China and Southeast Asia. On the eve of the Battle of Shanghai, Tse succes✨sfully shielded the company’s data from the flames of war; in 1948, he made his way to Hong Kong, alongside with company records and staff, thereby continuing Starr’s business. Having served the company for more than 70 years, Tse, on his death bed, was still the chairman of AAU Far East, Inc. A compassionate benefactor in society, Tse generously championed educational and charitable causes, and had sponsored the acquisition of exhibits for the Heritage Museum at Chinese University of Hong Kong.  

In the mid-1960s, Starr bestowed upon Tse a forty-acre residence in Brewster, just north of New York city, along with its artworks. Since then, he continued to gift from his collection,💫 from which three paintings deb👍uting this season are derived from.