The Golden Triangle

Echoes of the Afterlife - John D Nichols Collection
Opens June 5, 2026
John Nichols was a renaissance man. He was born in Shanghai, where his father, John Sr., was Director of the International Red Cross for China, India and Burma during World War II.  Later, John returned to the US and studied at Harvard and Harvard Business School before starting his corporate career. That included time at ITT, Aerojet General and extensive work for Ford Motor Company, where he was Program Manager for building the NASA manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.   After this, he was CEO of the Illinois Tool Works, retiring after 16 years and leading the firm to exceptional growth.   He was subsequently admitted to the Chicago National Business Hall of Fame.  In 2002, he became CEO of Marmon Group, which managed some of the Pritzker family’s global business holdings.  Under John’s leadership, the firm was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2007.

John began to collect Chinese tomb pottery in the 1980’s on his business trips abroad. His collecting began first in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, and then through European and American dealers, including The Golden Triangle. His collection is unusually diverse, with notable concentrations in the Neolithic and Han periods.  The pieces were chosen from the widest possible selection pool, and many are quite unusual and important examples of their kind.

The Golden Triangle is proud to show the John D. Nichols Collection together to educate and inspire the public here in Chicago and around the world.   These pieces have never been publicly displayed and represent the largest private collection of their kind on exhibit in North America.  All pieces are available for sale and will be posted online.

Maximizing the utility of the chest, while respecting the art on the piece.

A Hungarian reproduction of the 1959 Petala coffee table by Jorge Zalszupin. Now available!