To Have and to Hold—Collecting Chinese Jades

Dr. and Mrs. Henry Wong

When Curator Ronald Otsuka asked the Wongs to describe how they became interested in collecting jades, Maisie Wong smilingly passed the microphone to her husband, Henry, saying, "I always have the last word." The playful exchanges were to continue throughout the evening. As a dentist, Henry's love for jade is primarily based on technical considerations, while Maisie is first moved by the beauty of the piece. When they occasionally disagree on a purchase, beauty usually wins!

Over the past several decades, their shared passion, wide contacts among the dealers in Hong Kong, and an apparently unerring eye have enabled them to put together a magnificent collection that is focused on white jades, many of which they showed in a slide presentation. The audience listened raptly as Maisie described in loving detail a wealth of decorative and functional objects, mostly jades but also agates, ranging from a large white jade log boat to tiny and intricately worked hairpieces and belt buckles. Henry explained how the natural shapes of jade pebbles are often incorporated into the design, and how the artisans sometimes worked even the "skin" of the pebble into the decorative scheme. When Dr. Wong described the goose bumps he got when encountering a finely worked jade, many in the audience shivered appreciatively. The technical workmanship and pure beauty of the pieces were truly astounding.

The workshop attendees were able to experience for themselves the joy of "to have and to hold." Following a detailed look at the traditional jade carving process and more slides of their collection, Henry and Maisie Wong invited all present to touch and feel a number of pieces that they had brought with them, which added yet another dimension to our appreciation of their jades. The museum's China Gallery is sadly the poorer, now that the pieces the Wongs had generously lent for five years are returning to Hong Kong for an exhibition, but there is a promise that further loans will come to Denver.

At the dinners kindly hosted by Emmy Bunker on the night of June 26th, and by Diana Lee and Roy Stahlgren the previous night, guests talked excitedly about the Wongs' stimulating jade collection. A reception at the Lee/Stahlgren home on the day of the workshop was attended by sixty guests from Denver's civic, art, and Asian American communities, and many of the twenty dinner guests lingered at Johnny Hsu's Palace Restaurant until nearly midnight.



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