Two old wooden chairs once owned by a University of Cambridge economist who befriended Chairman Mao have sold for a jaw-dropping £786,000 – nearly 20 times their estimate.
The rare Chinese huanghuali armchairs belonged to Solomon Adler, a former US Treasury official later accused of being a Soviet spy.
Adler went on to live in China, where he worked as an economist, translated Mao Zedong’s writings, and became part of the Communist leader’s inner circle.
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The pair of 17th-century “official’s hat chairs” sparked a frenzied bidding war between collectors from China and Hong Kong.
Bidding opened at £40,000 – before instantly leaping to £100,000 over the phone.
The hammer almost came down at £580,000, until a last-second call pushed it up to its final, staggering total.
Auction expert Bill Forrest said: “Works of art like these rarely come with such a singular personal history.
“Adler was a complex figure – these chairs reflect his extraordinary life.”
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The chairs were part of Adler’s personal collection, which sold for a total of £808,900 at Roseberys Auctioneers, in Norwood, south east London, yesterday (4 Nov), as reported by What’s The Jam.
Born in England to a Jewish family from Belarus, Adler studied at Oxford and UCL before joining the US Treasury in 1936.
During WWII, he was posted to China and reportedly became close with Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai – even starting his collection of antique Chinese furniture there.
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But after being named as a Soviet informant by defectors Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley, Adler quit the Treasury in 1950 and later joined the University of Cambridge.
In 1962, he moved permanently to Beijing at the invitation of Zhou Enlai, working as an adviser and translator of Mao’s works until his death in 1994.
It’s the first time Adler’s collection has ever been seen by the public and it’s caused shockwaves in the antiques world.
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