Alfred Baur was born in 1865 in the village of Andelfingen (Zurich). Having 
completed his studies at a Winterthur commercial school, he joined a local trading 
company which sent him to their branch in Colombo (Sri Lanka). In 1897, Mr Baur 
founded his own business there, setting up a company to manufacture organic 
fertilisers; A. Baur & Co. celebrated its centenary in 1997.

In 1906, Mr Baur returned to live in Switzerland, choosing to settle in Geneva, the 
home town of his wife, Eugénie Baur-Duret’s. He nevertheless continued to 
manage his business in Colombo, expanding and diversifying it over the years, 
most notably through the acquisition of several tea plantations.

Mr Baur’s return to Switzerland also marks the beginning of his activities as an art 
collector, with his first purchases of Japanese ceramics, lacquer ware, netsuke and 
sword fittings as well as Chinese jades. In all fields of art, he sought out works 
which displayed faultless craftsmanship and were aesthetically perfect. Alfred 
Baur’s meeting in 1924 with Tomita Kumasaku, an art dealer based in Kyoto, 
provided new impetus for his collection. Mr Baur regarded Tomita as an extremely 
knowledgeable expert, a man of sure and refined taste who understood his own 
demands and requirements. The major part of Baur’s collections, including many of 
the most exceptional pieces, was acquired through the guidance of this advisor.

The year 1928 marks an important stage in the development of the collection: this 
was the moment when Mr Baur began to show an interest in Chinese ceramics, a 
field which was to become one of his dominant interests. The 756 pieces which he 
acquired form a coherent collection ranging from the Tang (618-907) to the Qing 
(1644-1911) dynasties.

Shortly before his death in 1951, Mr Baur purchased a town house in the centre of 
Geneva with the intention of turning it into a museum for his collections; the 
museum first opened to the public in 1964.

Webseite: www.fondation-baur.ch