Gulbenkian was born into an Armenian family in Scutari (now a district of Istanbul) and studied engineering at King's College, London. He became deeply involved in the development of the oil fields of the Ottoman empire and earned the nickname 'Mr Five Percent', for the five percent of stock he received for negotiating complex mergers and deals in the oil industry.

Gulbenkian moved from Paris to London in the 1930s and planned to install his art treasures in a purpose-built museum behind the National Gallery. In April 1942, he sought refuge from World War II in Lisbon. Baron Henri de Rothschild was also living in Portugal and in need of funds. He had been declared an enemy alien by the British and his collection remained in Britain. Gulbenkian was therefore able to buy the important jasper ewer with gold mounts, which had been in the Hamilton Collection, from the Baron in 1943. It is now in the Gulbenkian Museum, in Lisbon (which opened in 1969), along with French silver from the Hamilton and Russian imperial collections.