The couple’s new digs will be roughly half the size of their beloved 2,800 sq ft flat, which, like the others in the 30-yearold building, is due for an overhaul by the landlord. That means a judicious cull of the furniture, artefacts and artwork they’ve been collecting for the past few decades: Clark, who grew up in Hong Kong, returned to the city from London 30 years ago and it was here that she met her Kenyan-born English husband, who, soon after, co-founded a corporate finance business in the territory.
Some pieces, says Clark, are destined for their weekend house in Sai Kung; others will be going to their home in Britain.
That little will be junked is testament to Clark’s strategic collecting of ageless, nay priceless, items. As customers at Altfield Gallery and Altfield Interiors – the antiques, home furnishings and furniture business she established three decades ago with lawyer David Halperin – may have heard her say: “If something is good and has a classic element to it, it will get better with age.”
An interior designer before starting the company, Clark advises clients to mix and match, and that means materials and cultures as well as new and old. Her open living-dining room, which segues into a balcony affording generous city and sea views, is full of fascinating examples of that design principle.
At one end of the dining area, for instance, is a pair of rare wooden sculptures of saints (santos), picked up in the Philippines, between which are Tang dynasty-inspired goose boxes, designed by Clark and made by silversmiths in Cambodia. And to one side is a collection of Ethiopian Coptic crosses on a Chinese rosewood table, above which is a 16th-century Italian painting of a Madonna.
“That is exactly the mix of cultures I think works and is lovely to live with,” says Clark. “If something is of a certain standard and quality, you can mix it with anything and it will all work beautifully.”
While she has created pockets of interest throughout the three-bedroom flat, forcing the eye constantly to rove in search of the new and unusual, the walls are reserved for her husband’s artworks, many of them old master drawings bought at auction through Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
“He’s been a banker for 35 years but he is an artist and his great passion is drawing,” Clark says, adding, “He is illustrating more as he gets older and has more time.”
Stephen’s collection extends to the walls of the open study, off the living area.
Here, a modern lamp sits among 16th- to 18th-century Italian drawings and 17thcentury Chinese famille-rose jardinières flower pots.
“You need the metallic American lights so it doesn’t look like you’re in a museum,” says Clark.
While, in the living room, the fabric gallery consists of Pollack, Rubelli, Larsen and Jim Thompson, among others, in the master bedroom, it is a Manuel Canovas that takes centre stage.
“I’ve had this bedspread for 16 years and it still looks fantastic,” says Clark.
“Well-constructed fabrics are worth more than cheap fabrics and it’s not just a brand thing. Good-quality fabrics outlast you.”
That conviction ties in with the advice by which she has lived and which she continues to dispense to people shopping for their homes.
“Buy as little as you need and buy the best that you can afford,” she says. “If you’re careful, you will keep what you buy all your life.”
Study nook Most of the artwork on the wall behind Stephen Clark’s desk was bought at auction through Sotheby’s and Christie’s over the past 25 years. The art, mostly 16th- to 18thcentury Italian old master drawings, are in old European carved gilded frames, acquired from Rollo Whately (
rollowhately.com), a specialist dealer in London, Britain. The 18th-century portrait is by French artist Francois Dumont (sitter unknown). The desk was acquired years ago through Grange (
www.grange.fr) in Paris, France. The chair is covered in a Zoffany cut silk fabric (HK$1,380 a metre) from Altfield Interiors (
www.altfield.com.hk), which also carries the antiqued brass desk lamp (HK$7,000 with shade) from American lighting store Visual Comfort (
www.visualcomfortlightingstore.com). The Chinese huanghuali scholar’s box under the portrait; the ebony and silver-topped small box (HK$3,500 from Christofle, Prince’s Building, Central, tel: 2869 7311) next to the lamp; and the 17th-century Chinese famille rose jardinières flower pots (from Sue Ollemans Oriental Works of Art, in London;
www.ollemans.com), were all bought years ago.
Dining area The 19th-century walnut cabinet, from Shanxi province, cost between HK$25,000 and HK$30,000 from Altfield Gallery. The wall behind the cabinet was put up to separate the entrance from the dining area. In pride of place is a pair of 19thcentury wooden santos (St John of the Cross and St Vincent of Ferrara) from the Philippines. In between the geese (HK$48,000 a pair from Altfield Gallery) is an English mahogany Georgian tea caddy acquired years ago through Christie’s, in London. Above it, on the wall, is a 17th-century portrait of Louise Hollandine of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of King James I of England; it was bought from Julian Simon Fine Art (
www.19thcenturypaintings.com), in London. The curtains were made from Jim Thompson silk (HK$450 a metre at Altfield Interiors). Beside the window is a 19thcentury Chinese blackwood table accommodating 19th-century Ethiopian Coptic crosses, sourced through Sue Ollemans Oriental Works of Art, and a wooden folding travelling icon. Above them is a painting of Madonna by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, a Venetian 18th-century master, bought through Christie’s. The dining table has been with the Clarks for years. The antiqued brass chandelier, by Visual Comfort, is available through Altfield Interiors for HK$24,000. The chairs are covered in faux suede (HK$1,000 a metre at Altfield Interiors). The Indian silver elephants, Italian pewter storm candles and Thai celadon vases were all bought years ago.
Entrance Hanging on the room divider are 16th-century drawings, by Italians Paolo Farinati and Orazio Samacchini, bought from Sotheby’s, in New York. On either side of the antique elmwood side table (sourced through Altfield Gallery) are antique Chinese scholar’s chairs (similar chairs are available at Altfield Gallery for HK$22,000 a pair) with cushions covered in Pollack blue cut velvet (HK$1,250 a yard at Altfield interiors). On the table is a Warring States stone head from China, acquired from a private family collection 20 years ago, and hand-worked silver leaves (from HK$500 each), which are part of a collection from Altfield Gallery.
Balcony The outdoor chair and table set (HK$5,000) came from Patio Mart (16/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2555 8988). The porcelain tea set is by Portuguese company Vista Alegre (
www.myvistaalegre.com), whose products Altfield used to stock.
Living room Opening onto a scenic balcony is the living room, which is filled with keepsakes, including a pair of pigs (a wedding present); a pair of English Georgian giltwood chairs, in Moore & Giles suede (HK$180 per square foot at Altfield Interiors); and an 18th-century bamboo and lacquer kang table accommodating early 19th-century Tibetan silver bowls collected on sourcing trips to Tibet in the 1980s. The French cherrywood chest of drawers was bought years ago from Grange. The Ming low table with red lacquer over woven bamboo was acquired through Altfield Gallery. The tai chi figure, by Ju Ming, on the low table was bought by Amanda Clark on a visit in the early 90s to the Taiwanese sculptor’s home/ studio. Also on the low table is a pig, which was a gift and is by Ju’s son, Ju Jun. The art collection on the living room wall is mainly English, with paintings by Philip Wilson Steer (beige scene of Thames at Chelsea), Edwin Landseer (small dog) and James Webb (moody evening scene with moon). The portraits were by Henry Walton and Thomas Hickey, and the boats by 19th-century Belgian artist Paul Jean Clays. The cream sofa (upholstered in chenille, at HK$380 a metre) and brown suede sofa (in Larsen fabric, at HK$1,700 a metre) were made by Altfield Interiors for HK$15,000 (not including the fabric). Against a wall in the dining area is an 18th-century table from Shanxi, on which are two 17th-century Japanese Imari baluster vases with lids, and a woven-bamboo, lacquered Ming-dynasty box. Flanking the table are two Maitland- Smith (
www.maitland-smith.com) mahogany occasional chairs, Stephen’s first purchases in Hong Kong on his arrival in 1983. The silver bowls (about HK$7,000 each) holding the pansies are part of the collection of hand-worked silver from Altfield Gallery. The sisal carpet cost HK$65 per square foot at Altfield Interiors.
Kitchen Lee Jofa willow pattern linen (HK$800 a yard) was used for the kitchen blind. The gold elephant candle was bought in Thailand years ago. The chairs are the same as in the living room, as is the silver pot holding the pansies. 6 & 7 Master bedroom The Chippendale mahogany desk and chair came from Maitland-Smith. The chair is covered in silk lampas fabric from Colony in Rome (
www.colonyfabrics.com), available through Altfield Interiors for HK$2,000 a metre. The pair of Chinese 18th-century plates on the desk were bought from Sue Ollemans Oriental Works of Art. Above the desk, the 19th-century Chinese watercolours of insects and flowers were from London’s Martyn Gregory Gallery (
www.martyngregory.com). The lead-glass crystal lamps (HK$6,500 each, without shades) were from Altfield Interiors. The fabrics used for the bedspread (Manuel Canovas cut velvet, HK$1,500 a metre), cushions (Pierre Frey striped cut velvet, HK$1,350 a metre), bedskirt (Jim Thompson silk, HK$350 a metre) and curtains (Jim Thompson silk, HK$750 a metre) were all from Altfield Interiors. Above the bed is a set of 18th-century Chinese export pith-paper paintings, also from Martyn Gregory Gallery. The antique rugs were bought 20 years ago in Tibet. The silk boxes by the window came from Anita Silk (
www.anitasilk.com) in Bangkok, Thailand.
In their new flat, the 19th-century elm table from Jiangsu province will be flanked by two sofas. In their old flat, it sits between a sofa and a Georgian giltwood chair and discreetly accommodates a sound system. Amanda Clark explains that the table would have sat beneath an altar table in a Chinese home and be brought out to display things such as fruit and incense.
"I find them useful because they fill a corner and act as a stand as well."
The group of Tang dynasty "fat ladies" and man was purchased over the years from various dealers on Hollywood Road. The cushion on the chair is covered with a fragment of antique English tapestry.
