Scandalous Silver: The Remarkable Collection of Supt. Lovell

September 3, 2026

This remarkable collection of antique to near antique Chinese export silver pieces came from the estate of Supt. James “Jim” Franklin Lovell (1892-1964), who served in the Shanghai Municipal Force from 1914 to 1939. His remarkable life and career spanned the tumultuous years of post-Republic China and the Warlord Period, experiencing the heady decadence of the roaring 20s in Shanghai as well as the threat of Japanese aggression, Communist sentiment on the rise and the seething underbelly of Shanghai society. In particular from 1935 to 1939, Supt. Lovell was in charge of the Reserve Unit, the world’s first modern SWAT team.

Near antique Chinese export silver 3 piece tea set with rosewood tray, estate of Shanghai Police Supt. Lovell. Price marked at $15,000.00 AUD. Shop here.

Born in 1892 in Sandy, Bedfordshire, James Lovell left in 1914 for Shanghai to begin his policing career. Unfortunately WWI soon broke out; answering his country’s call, he swiftly returned to enlist in the Royal Bedfordshire Regiment Regiment (which would later be amalgamated into the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964).

James “Jim” Franklin Lovell would serve throughout the war for four and a half long years, during which he faced bloody combat in France and met it with steely valour.

On 5th May, 1917, the 12th Battalion took part in a raid upon the town of La Vacquerie; all along the Hindenburg Line, small but pitched battles took place in formerly bucolic French villages and towns, as the Allies struggled against the Germans and the Germans resisted fiercely. Leading a small bombing section of seven men, Lovell struggled to rejoin the main force amidst “darkness and barrage smoke”; losing his way Lovell’s small force encountered a German patrol. Nevertheless he was able to advance, killing several enemies and taking four captive. For his courageous actions, he was awarded the DCM the second highest award for a soldier asides from the Victoria Cross.

When the Great War finally ended in 1918, he left the army as a Sergeant with his memories and his medal. Once more, he would make the long voyage to Shanghai, the Pearl of the Orient- where people danced and drank all night in glittering private clubs on the Bund and the darker, seedier bars in the French Concession. By 1920, he was a Sergeant in the Shanghai Municipal Police Force, facing a world that under its glitz and glamour was no less dangerous than the war he’d left behind.

1920s Shanghai was not just a shining jewel on the Bund, but also a city where American bootleggers and kingpins mingled amongst Comintern spies and European socalites. The turbulence of the Chinese Republic Period meant that constant threats on public safety were made by Communist agitators, pro-Japanese forces, Chinese warlords and more- several key establishments included the espionage ring helmed by Richard Sorge, the pro-Japanese Tung Wen Spy College, as well as assassination attempts on the life of modern China’s founding father Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who lived at 7 Xiangshan Road. All this as well as the usual state of affairs in Shanghai- murders in opium dens, stabbings and brawls amongst drunken sailors in the notorious Rue Chu Pao San (known affectionately by Westerners as “Blood Alley”). Shanghai policemen certainly had their work cut out for them, and it was in this seething chaos that Sergeant Lovell climbed up the ranks. By 1929 he was a Police Inspector, working within the Reserve Unit to bring the worst injustices to light.

This card holder shows the original cards Supt. Lovell used during this period.

Near antique Chinese export silver Tuck Chang card holder, estate of Shanghai Police Supt. J.F. Lovell. Price marked at $1,500.00 AUD. Shop here.

The Reserve Unit was comprised of the very best and brightest of the policemen that served and protected Shanghai, with members from various countries including England, Russia and Japan. Established in 1925 by Assistant Commissioner William E. Fairborn after a diastrously managed protest on 30th May which led to multiple injuries and deaths and precipitated the nationwide anti-imperialist May Thirtieth Movement, the Reserve Unit pioneered modern riot control measures. The skills developed by the SMP’s Reserve Unit in riot control as well as in various areas including sniper tactics, early body armour, submachine gun raids and close-quarter combat proved vitally necessary in 1920s Shanghai, and remain utilised by special forces around the world to this day. The Reserve Unit’s Red Maria, a scarlet-painted, heavily modified armoured bus, would soon become a symbol of law and order in the city.

In particular from 1935 to 1939, Inspector Lovell was in charge of the Reserve Unit, the world’s first modern SWAT team. Promoted again to become Chief Inspector in 1936, he would maintain order during numerous strikes in Japanese owned cotton mills in Shanghai (1936) as well as the Kung Yik Cotton Mill Riot in 1937. He was also responsible for investigating several terrorist attacks and assassination attempts by various secret societies, such as that by the Yellow Way Society in 1938, bringing the perpetrators to justice. Note that this is the same incident covered in a previous Scandalous Silver article. Several of them however evaded justice during this period- China’s largest triad, the Green Gang (Qing Bang) was a criminal syndicate that dominated 1930s Shanghai, with connections to the Chinese Nationalist Government and French authorities. The SMP was only able to bring lower-ranked members to justice, while the “Three Tycoons”, sworn brothers Du Yuesheng, Huang Jinrong, and Zhang Xiaoli, would remain free until the 1940s.

Near antique Chinese export silver cigarette case, presented to Supt. Lovell upon his retirement in 1939 by Russian members of the Reserve Unit which he led from 1935 to 1939. Shop here.

Asides from police work, Mr. Lovell’s hobbies included pigeon racing, which enjoys a long history in China. Whilst pigeon fancying was a hobby amongst Chinese literati dating to the Ming Dynasty, the first racing pigeon club was built by Westerners in Shanghai, 1929- the Shanghai Homing Pigeon Club, of which Mr. Lovell was one of the founders. Some of the best Chinese pigeon breeds at the time, including the Shanghai Sion, was bred by pigeon enthusiasts at the club. A handsome set of Chinese export silver fish servers, presented to Supt. Lovell upon his retirement by members of the club, is also within this collection.

Near antique 12 piece set of Chinese export silver fish eaters, Shanghai Municipal Police Supt. Lovell's estate. Shop here.

Retiring in 1939, Superintendent Lovell would move to Australia, where he would live out the rest of his life in peace. He would bring with him treasured mementos, including beautiful pieces presented to him upon his retirement by members of the Reserve Unit, such as this tray inscribed with signatures from the Reserve Unit members that he led. A remarkable man, whose life and career spanned a fascinating period of Shanghai history.