A Chinese Soapstone sculpture of the warrior god Guandi, Qing dynasty, 19th Century.

From the Collection of Gösta Thames (1916-2006). Thence by descent.

Gösta Thames is well known in design circles as the designer of the Ericofon, also called ”the Cobra”, designed for L.M. Ericsson. The model was presented in 1953.

Gösta Thames was employed in 1938 as an engineering apprentice at Ericsson. Gösta Thames was appointed to lead development work for the Ericofon, as the one-piece phone was called.
That he was fascinated with beautiful things is well known, but not many knew about his passion for Asian Art. He had from an early age a fascination with aesthetics and beauty of the Asian Art. He was a true academic collector and catalogued his collection and discussed the pieces with his friend Dr Bo Gyllensvärd, (director of the East Asian Museum in Stockholm 1959-1981. Head of Gustaf VI Adolf Asian Collection 1955-1973.)

Exhibited at B von Platen, Motala Sparbank, 1988.

Guan Yu (died 220), was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei – in the Three Kingdoms period. Guan is respected as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness.