Our Start in Chinese Antiques

We contracted Asian antique fever when we moved to Singapore in 1990. Poking around one day in Tanglin Shopping Center, a haven of antique shops, Tom spotted a pair of black panels on which figures of a Chinese Emperor and Empress had been superimposed. The figures were made up of many colors of carved soapstone. We'd never seen anything like them. We spent some time in the shop chatting with the owner and while we did not purchase them, they remained in Tom's mind. So I started plotting. I thought they would make a terrific surprise anniversary gift and the following November surprised Tom when he returned home from work one day and there were, hanging in our living room. Little did we know that with that first purchase of a Chinese antique, we were opening the doors to a new world of learning and travel that would some day lead us to open our own shop selling antiques from Asia. Sherry