A pair of large Chinese blue and white porcelain "soldier” vases, ex-collection Henry Clay Frick, was prominently shown in the gallery's booth at the Winter Antiques Show in 2009. The early Nineteenth Century vases on finely carved wood bases are decorated with landscapes and seascapes; the borders feature crashing waves.
:Think of Chinese porcelain and the name of Ralph M. Chait Galleries immediately comes to mind.
The gallery is celebrating its centenary this month with a special exhibition during Asia Week. "The Hundred Antiques: One Hundred Years of Dealing in Chinese Art" is on view at its gallery at 724 Fifth Avenue March 20–26. A commemorative, illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition.
The exhibition shares the company's history in a photographic retrospective; as well, it is a selling display of sublime Chinese porcelain and art, the likes of which buyers have become accustomed to seeing offered here throughout the years. The range of objects to be offered include archaic bronze, pottery, porcelain, scholar's objects and Chinese Export silver.
The gallery was founded by Ralph Chait, who came into the field at the age of 18, newly arrived from London as well as new to Chinese art. "Undaunted and with a remarkable intellect and innate sense of taste and quality, he taught himself and quickly became a knowledgeable, respected and trusted dealer and authority in the field," said his son, Allan Chait, who has been the company's president since 1975, when Ralph died.
The gallery has always been a family business, and, today, Allan is still at the helm, along with his sons, Andrew and Steven Chait, who hold key positions in the gallery: Andrew, in administration, and Steven in research and client relations. Allan's sister, Marion Chait Howe, was an integral part of the business from the 1940s until her death in 1997.
Pictured at this antique desk — a mainstay of the gallery's private office in various locations over the years since almost the beginning — are gallery president Allan Chait, seated, and his sons, Steven, left, and Andrew. Many a collector has sat at this very desk, discussing a potential purchase, including President Herbert Hoover, who once spied a window display of blue and white porcelain here. He told the Chaits he would take "it,” and when they asked which piece he meant, he indicated he wanted the whole display.
Aided by a cousin in the early days, who had an antiques business that included Chinese art, Ralph Chait opened his own gallery on East 41st Street. The gallery later moved to the East 50s, where it has had several locations over the years.
The "Hundred Antiques" exhibition features archival photographs from the gallery's various locations, touching on the decades of the 1910s, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as presenting a snapshot of the many fine works of art that have passed through the gallery over the years.
A fine wooden table that is in the gallery's office, where clients sit with members of the Chait family to examine pieces, can be seen in several of the old photographs in virtually the same location. "It has been with us from nearly the beginning. My father often remarks of the variety of collectors — from artists, political figures, executives, scholars and connoisseurs — who have sat at this table," says Steven.
Looking through their archives to find many of these old photographs was a trip down memory lane for the family and made the sense of their history palpable. It also put a fine point on the significance of the gallery's illustrious "Wall of Fame," a wall covered with some 30 photographs of well-known collectors and clients the gallery has worked with over the years.
