Dr Derek da Cunha

Dr Derek da Cunha is a Singaporean academic in the field of the social sciences. His

specialisations are electoral politics, especially Singapore politics, regional defence and

security issues, and international relations. He is the author of four books and the editor of

several other volumes.

Dr da Cunha’s interests are eclectic and include the rarefied field of collecting Chinese

ceramics and works of art. He has pursued this passion for twenty-five years, collecting from

well-known dealers, including the Kwok Gallery (in Singapore), and the main fine art auction

houses Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

In 1995 Dr da Cunha predicted that Chinese Works of Art would be a highly attractive form

of investment art as newly rich mainland Chinese would actively begin the process of

reacquiring their cultural heritage. (See article below.) He put his own money behind that

prediction and painstakingly assembled a highly prized curated collection of museum-quality

Qing imperial art works.

Dr da Cunha has M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in the field of International Relations from

Cambridge University and the Australian National University respectively.