Dr.
George Fan
and Dr. Jenny So
Photos
by Celeste Fleming.
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2002 Past Programs
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Collecting
Chinese Art Today
Dr.
George Fan and Dr. Jenny So
For the last program in the 2002 Curator’s
Circle series, Drs. George Fan and Jenny So joined Curator
Ronald Otsuka in a panel conversation on the current state
of the Chinese art market. Well-chosen questions from both
Curator Otsuka and the audience, and the often contrasting
viewpoints of his guests, made for a lively and informative
discussion.
As a private collector, Dr. Fan is free of the restrictions
that Dr. So experienced in her ten years as Senior Curator
of Asian Art at the Freer and Sackler galleries, which,
as part of the Smithsonian Institution, are faced with a
particularly stringent acquisitions policy with regard to
provenance, authenticity, and quality. Currently Professor
of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, So
enjoys broad contacts with collectors and curators from
Hong Kong and China, but her professional activities are
still tempered with institutional caution. Dr. Fan, though,
faces a moral issue when he purchases an object of questionable
provenance. He may suspect that an object that he has legitimately
purchased has been removed without permission, but feels
that, if he can offer it a safe home, he is entitled to
it. Nonetheless, he always offers to return to China any
of the objects in his collection if the Chinese authorities
ask him to. He never collects objects of historical importance,
a lesson he learned from his father-in-law, also a noted
collector, who felt strongly that such items should not
be kept in private hands.
Both Dr. Fan and Dr. So agreed that China’s proposal
to establish a system of national treasures, comparable
to that of Japan, was still fraught with difficulties. China
has so much art and so comparatively few financial resources
that basic requirements such as safe storage and conservation
are a major problem. Fortunately, there is now no shortage
of art lovers and Dr. Fan and Dr. So see dedicated art professionals
and private collectors from China certain to have a growing
influence on the collecting trends and prices of Chinese
art in the coming years.
Dr. Fan also raised the issue of forgeries, which he claims
presents one of the most interesting challenges of collecting.
This was demonstrated during Friday’s workshop, when
a number of bronzes from the museum collection were brought
out for the comments of the two visiting experts. Dr. So
detailed to a highly appreciative audience her reasons for
questioning the authenticity of a jia tripod, opinions
with which Dr. Fan happily concurred. His presentation on
ceramics was prompted by the May auction sale—for over
five million dollars—of a Yong Zheng period (1723-35)
vase that had until recently been used as a lamp base. Titling
the presentation "The Importance of Being Imperial,"
Dr. Fan raised doubts about some of the established views
on the imperial control of kilns and ceramic production
during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). He believes
that the "imperial" designation can be justified
only for objects that are totally flawless.
The diverse yet detailed topics covered in the workshop
were the perfect foil to the more general nature of the
conversation. After such a stimulating conclusion to the
2002 series, the audience is already eager for the restart
of Curator’s Circle events next season.
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