The current circulation of pictures featuring Rose Hanbury and her estate, Houghton Hall, alongside claims about the origins of certain oriental decor, has fueled speculation on social media platforms.
Especially, online users have drawn attention to pieces of furniture potentially acquired from China during the late Qing Dynasty in the late 19th century.
This renewed focus on Rose Hanbury’s lifestyle and possessions has led to discussions across various Chinese social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Douyin, as well as international platforms like TikTok.
According to posts circulating on these platforms, her husband, David Rocksavage, inherited the furniture from the Sassoons, with whom he shares ancestry through his paternal grandmother, Sybil Sassoon.
Claims circulating on Xiaohongshu and other social media platforms linking the Sassoon family to the looting of late Qing China have been refuted by historical accounts.
The Sassoons, known as “the Rothschilds of the East,” were a Jewish Baghdadi family renowned for their 19th-century trading empire.
Their immense fortune was amassed through ventures in textiles, tea, and notably opium trading across India, China, and beyond.
As subsequent generations of Sassoons transitioned to England, the family solidified their position in British society, with the family patriarch’s son, Abdallah, receiving a knighthood in 1872 as Sir Albert.
Over time, the Sassoons became influential figures in business, and politics, and established connections with the royal family, further cementing their place in British aristocracy.
