Page 11 - 2020 Nov 30 Christie's Hong Kong Scholars Art Of China

Before 1926, most of the archaeological materials obtained
from Western-led excavations were all transported to the
West. Even after Li Ji and Yuan Fuli, when the Chinese were
able to conduct excavations themselves, constant warfare
and turbulence meant that things continued to be dispersed
to Western institutions or private collections. Therefore, in
order to successfully trade in ancient works of art, apart from
immersing oneself in the museum attached to the Institute
of History and Philology, Academia Sinica and the National
Palace Museum, one needs to go to the West in search of
knowledge.

The first time I was captivated by an ancient Chinese work
of art was when I was studying in the University of Art in fig. 2 Chinese Archaic Jades, catalogue published by
C. T. Loo (1880-1957), 1950
Taipei. The National Palace Museum opened its doors in 圖二 盧芹齋 1950 年出版的《Chinese Archaic Jades》
November 1965, and I paid my homage in 1967, on which
visit I was immediately struck by a carved marble kneeling is covered overall with incised decoration: on the arms are
humanoid figure with a tiger head excavated from tomb bottle-horned dragons; on the legs and hips are upright
1001 in Yinxu (fig. 1). This marble carving is the finest dragons with curled tails. The base has a short central groove
example of stone carvings from Yinxu, standing at 37.1 cm. which runs vertically up along the back, probably to be fitted
high, 21.4 cm. deep and 26.8 cm. wide, weighing 28.5 kg. into a wooden architectural structure as decorative motifs. I
The material is translucent and the decoration finely carved. remember I was so mesmerised by the creativity and artistry
The figure is kneeling with its head tilted upwards and its of this object that I returned to the museum to look for it
mouth agape, revealing its teeth. It has oblong eyes and fan- soon after, but it was no longer on display. I later learned
shaped ears, its claw-like hands are placed on its knees. It that it was on loan from Academia Sinica and had since been

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