Taste & Connoisseurship: The Chinese Porcelain Company

Since its founding in 1984, The Chinese Porcelain Company has remained at the pinnacle of taste and connoisseurship in the world of art and antiques. Property from this prestigious venue for rare and beautiful fine and decorative arts will be offered at STAIR on Thursday, September 18, 2025.

Since its founding in 1984, The Chinese Porcelain Company upheld an unwavering commitment to the highest standards of taste and connoisseurship in New York’s art and antique scene. Guided by the discerning vision of Pierre Durand and Khalil Rizk, the gallery earned renown by embracing quality above all, championing Old Master paintings, European furniture, Venetian glass, contemporary artisan objects, and Asian works of art. Durand and Rizk were true connoisseurs, deeply attuned to both the aesthetic and the stories behind every piece. Their shared passion for the provenance and history of each object fostered a partnership that became a benchmark for collectors and designers.

By the 1990s, in the heyday of The Chinese Porcelain Company, walking into the gallery was nothing short of a visual feast. At one time, emerald-green velvet walls enveloped the space, with recessed niches dramatically framing rare blue and white porcelain. The rooms were alive with extraordinary finds—Dutch, Italian, and French furniture, from finely wrought marquetry cabinets-on-stand to elegant commodes—each chosen for its rarity, quality, and beauty. Durand and Rizk’s ability to source the unusual and exceptional fostered a deep trust among collectors, dealers, and curators, who knew the material was both genuine and fine. Their sophistication was matched by a warmth and kindness that drew New York’s high society into their orbit, allowing them to move effortlessly among those with the discernment to appreciate such treasures.

Inside the Chinese Porcelain Company

As the gallery moved into the early 2000s, this legacy of refinement and vision remained central. Though Pierre Durand maintained a successful career in finance, his passion for the gallery and its material culture never waned. Khalil Rizk continued to be the driving force behind the day-to-day curation, cultivating the gallery’s reputation as a destination for both seasoned collectors and those newly discovering the world of fine art and antiques. The sudden loss of Rizk in 2001 marked a profound turning point, but under Durand’s stewardship, The Chinese Porcelain Company not only endured—it flourished. Drawing on their shared ethos of quality and storytelling, Durand guided the gallery forward, ensuring that each object, whether centuries old or freshly commissioned, carried the same emotional, historical, and aesthetic resonance that had always defined The Chinese Porcelain Company experience. 

In essence, The Chinese Porcelain Company was more than a gallery, it was a curated universe where every artifact, whether centuries old or newly crafted, held its own kind of elegance. Through the vision of Durand and Rizk, it became a place where the highest quality, history, and creative display converged—reminding us that true connoisseurship is not just about acquisition, but about emotional, historical, and aesthetic resonance.

On September 18th, 2025 STAIR will present Taste & Connoisseurship: The Chinese Porcelain Company, offering material across all of the collecting categories for which the gallery is renowned, from signed French furniture to 17th century works on paper, Asian works of art, fine porcelain, and more.