37.5 cm.（14 3/4 in.）high

Provenance：
Sir Chentung Liang Cheng（1864-1917）Collection，and thence by descent within the family

Property from the Liang Family Collection

PROPERTY FROM THE LIANG FAMILY COLLECTION（LOTS 116-126）
Sir Chentung Liang Cheng（1864-1917）was a Chinese ambassador to the United States during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Panyu，Guangdong Province. At the age of 12，he was sent to study in the United States as part of the Chinese Educational Mission. He studied at Phillips Academy in Andover，Massachusetts，and became a star baseball player for the school.
During his early career as a diplomat，he was in London as part of delegation for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee（60th anniversary of her coronation），and was named an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George，the first of many honours that would be bestowed on him throughout his career.
Liang was appointed as ambassador to the United States and became friendly with President Theodore Roosevelt. During his time as ambassador，one of his most important achievements was to negotiate the return of a portion of the money that China paid in war reparations to the Eight-Nation Alliance as part of the Boxer Protocol.
The monies that Liang negotiated to have returned were used to establish Tsinghua University in Beijing and to fund the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program.
Upon his return to China，he served as the Director of the Guangdong–Hankou Railway，President of the Board of Foreign Affairs，and Comptroller General of Maritime Customs at Beijing. In 1910–11，he became the Chinese Minister to Berlin，and during that time was conferred the Order of the Red Eagle，First Class. His final assignment was as China's representative to the International Opium Convention at The Hague in 1912.
When the Qing dynasty fell，he retired to Huangpu village in Guangdong，and then later to Hong Kong，where he passed away in 1917. The following lots（lot 116 – 126）from his collection were passed down through the family.

Price estimate:
HKD: 50,000 - 70,000
USD: 6,500 - 9,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 115,640