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 2,077 (1 January 2024)[Great Northern Telegraph Company
GN Store Nord A/S is a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids (GN ReSound/GN Hearing), speakerphones, videobars and headsets ( Jabra (GN Audio) and SteelSeries). GN Store Nord A/S is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen (ISIN code DK0010272632).
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and immediately thereafter posted in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Subsequently, he was for twenty nine years from 1902 to 1931 stationed in China, first in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, 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, 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 S ...
.
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 Book info at WorldCat]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Sophus
1882 births
1960 deaths
Danish art collectors
Danish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Danish expatriates in China