The Collector | Victim of Hong Kong’s biggest gold trading scam sells part of legendary Chinese antiques collection

It was an assemblage like no other, but after losing US$74 million in a gold bullion trading scam, Ko Shih-k’o is having to offload some of his precious ceramics to recover his losses

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Antiques collector Ko Shih-k’o. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Enid Tsui

Published: 7:16am, 8 Mar 2019Updated: 10:48am, 8 Mar 2019

The collection of Chinese ceramics belonging to Hong Kong’s Ko family is legendary in antiques circles. Connoisseurs who have been to 85-year-old Ko Shih-k’o’s Repulse Bay home often describe it as a treasure trove filled with museum-quality pieces. Called “Tianminlou” (which can be translated as Hall of the People, or Hall of the Wise), the collection was begun by Ko’s father, Ko Shih-cao, who started buying imperial Yuan-, Ming- and Qing-dynasty ceramics in the 1950s, soon after he moved to Hong Kong from Shanghai, following the Communist takeover in China.

Ko Snr, who had been a journalist in the mainland, had an eye for business as well as antiques. He made a fortune in electronics manufacturing, having established Continental Electric Industries in Hong Kong in 1972. In the early 80s, he asked his mainland-based son, Shih-k’o, to join him to help manage his antiques collection.

Ko Shih-k’o (who also writes his name Kot See-for) has publicly stated that, before Ko Snr’s death, in 1992, he had promised his father that he would not sell the collection, which has grown to more than 600 pieces under his watch. Sadly, Ko Shih-k’o, a former president of the Min Chiu Society – a group of local antiques collectors – fell victim to Hong Kong’s biggest “London Gold” scam in 2016 and ended up pouring HK$580 million (US$74 million) into the fake bullion-trading scheme over two years. Fourteen people were arrestedthis January and police have frozen HK$220 million in bank accounts related to the case. The eye-watering losses mean Ko will have to part with some of his beloved collection.

Auction house China Guardian’s mid-season sale in Beijing, to be held from March 23 to 25, will feature 110 pieces from “Tianminlou”, ranging from a 70,000 yuan (US$10,400) to 100,000 yuan green dish from the Qianlong Emperor’s reign (1735-1796), to a Ru-type glazed vase with ruyi handles from the Yongzheng Emperor’s rule (1723-1735) that is valued at 1.2 million to 2.2 million yuan.

A piece from the ‘Tianminlou’ collection that will be auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 3. Photo” Sotheby’s