Sophus Black (2 May 1882 – 22 December 1960) was a Danish telegraph manager and art collector.
Born in
Marstal
Marstal () is a town in southern Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. Marstal has a population of 2,120 (1 January 2022)[Great Northern Telegraph Company
GN Store Nord A/S is a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids (GN ReSound/GN Hearing) and headsets ( Jabra (GN Audio)). GN Store Nord A/S is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen (ISIN code DK0010272632).
History The Great Northern Telegraph Company
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and immediately thereafter posted in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Subsequently, he was for twenty nine years from 1902–31 stationed in China, first in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, then from 1907 in Peking, where from 1919 he served as manager of among other things, the company's station in Hong Kong. Sophus Black was early preoccupied with Chinese culture. He learned the language, lived custom of the country, understood and respected Chinese mentality and began collecting distinguished Chinese art and antiques.
In 1915 he married Minna Dich, a goldsmith. Together they collected Chinese art and antiquities. They returned to Denmark in 1931. He donated many pieces from his art collection to the
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...
.
Black's collection also included Chinese paper money, which appears for sale from time to time. For example, Ming notes, and in November 2017, a bundle of 50 Qing dynasty 500-cash notes from Black's collection were sold at auction in Denmark.
Further reading
* Karsten Hermansen, ''Den danske Darduse – Kinafareren Sophus Black 1882–1960'' (Udg. af Marstal Søfartsmuseum, 2015)
* Minna Törmä, ''Nordic Private Collections of Chinese Objects'' (Routledge, 2020).
[https://www.worldcat.org/title/nordic-private-collections-of-chinese-objects/oclc/1140381711 ]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Sophus
1882 births
1960 deaths
Danish art collectors
Danish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Danish expatriates in China