Page 11 - Chang Wei-Hwa Collection Hong Kong Nov 2019 Christie's
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of this event was not restored until 2011 when it was addressed in two sales at Christie’s. Ms. Teng Shu-ping from the National Pal-
a detailed postscript that appeared in a revision for the book Old ace Museum, Taipei, and Ms. Xu Lin from the Palace Museum,
Jades, New Inventions, p. 177, published by the National Palace
Beijing, also contributed academic essays. Through the participa-
Museum, Taipei. I still recall the words of the senior collector Xia
tion of seasoned and emerging collectors, a buoyant archaic jade
Bo-xun: “With your professional training and years of experience,
market that has not been seen in the last 20 years re-emerged.
whatever you deem a treasure cannot be bogus”. These words
were of great encouragement, and I began to collect archaic jades
This season, with the intention of satisfying the anticipation of
with the historical development of jade carvings in mind. The
international collectors, and to meet the demands of the archaic
main source of my personal collection was from a process of ‘re-
verse collecting’, where I purchased pieces originally sold by me jade market, I decided to offer my personal jade collection in four
to various collectors. I was particularly touched by the support of parts, under the title A Heavenly Feast of Jades Amidst the Clouds, to
Dr. Yang Chun-Hsiung (1938-2012), master of the Yangdetang be complete in four years. Starting with this inaugural sale covering jade
Collection. With the help of Dr. Yang, we were able to exchange
pieces from the Neolithic period, my collection will be organised in three
a number of jade pieces to complement each other’s collections.
further categories based on their historical periods, namely the Xia-Shang-
In 2016, archaic jades collected by Susan Chen (1940-2014), Zhou period; the Spring and Autumn-Warring States period; and Qin-
master of the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, were entrusted to me Han period. Such systematic classification is based on academic research,
and Hong Kong dealer Cai Cheng for the curation of two sales
aesthetic considerations, as well as historical context of the jade pieces. In
in Hong Kong. The results of these sales garnered unprecedented
2010, I had the pleasure to meet Mr. Lu Wenbao, director of the
interests in archaic jades in the art market. Later on, I was tasked
with selecting items from Dr. Yang’s Yangdetang Collection, to Jiangnan Water Region Culture Museum, through introduction
be sold in two sales at Christie’s Hong Kong, in Autumn 2017 by Mr. Xiong Yi-Jing of the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeol-
and Autumn 2018 respectively. I received generous support from ogy in Taipei. I am grateful to have Director Lu’s help in enlisting
Mr. Wu Tanghai and Mr. Cai Cheng, who provided additional
Mr. Wang Mingda, a senior expert from the Archaeology Institute
supplementary reference materials for some of the pieces in the
of Zhejiang Province, to help further refine my collection and to
contribute research essays in this catalogue. I hope to set a good
Born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1956, Yi-Ching Hsiung
graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at example in collecting practices and contribute to the building of a
the Chinese Culture University. He is currently healthy and robust market for archaic jades.
an art critic and curator, a columnist for “ART
COLLECTION + DESIGN” monthly, a professor at
the Department of Calligraphy and Painting Arts Born in Kunming, Yunnan Province, Zhihang Wang graduated from Yunnan
at the Chang Jung Christian University in Tainan, University and Central Academy of Arts and Design. He is currently a freelance
and a professor at the Department of Fine Arts and photographer and a web-editor. Geography and Chinese traditional works of art
Culture Creative Design at Hua Fan University. are the main subjects of his photography.
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