Recent years have witnessed a considerable increase in the number
of people collecting antiques, but a majority of them lack the most
basic knowledge. In one of the recent activities to celebrate the
25th International Museum Day, experts found 99 percent of antiques
cherished by collectors were actually fakes.
From May 18 to 20, nearly 100 museums from Beijing and Tianjin held
various activities in the Working People's Cultural Palace of
Beijing, including scientific knowledge popularization,
intelligence competition and temporary exhibitions. The one on
determining the authenticity of antiques has attracted the most
participants.
During the three days, antique collectors in the two municipalities
queued patiently under the scorching sun to wait for an expert
appraisal of their collections. Some had even traveled from
surrounding provinces.
Most collectors think it a way of investment, which has less risks
than stock dealing and higher expected rewards. "I went crazy for
jade ware a month ago when I happened to see a TV program on jade
collection. I read more than 20 books in the past month on this
subject. I think this is an investment way with great potentials,"
said a Beijing citizen.
A
collector from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said that when he
began collecting antiques more than a dozen years ago, he could buy
some real ones. But now, as more and more people entered the field,
prices had soared and real antiques became rare. "However, I think
it an ideal way of investment, for if I get one real out of the ten
I collected, I am well rewarded."
All the people in attendance had two questions: One was whether
their collection was authentic; the other was how much it was
worth. Dong Jiping, deputy director of the Beijing Ancient Building
Museum, felt a little worried about the phenomena.
"Antiques have historical, art and scientific values. If its
economic value is over-exaggerated, the historical and cultural
information in it will be shadowed. What's more, it might lead to
malignant competition in antique market. The final victim may be
the collectors themselves," she said.
"Antique collection is not as easy as some imagine. To accurately
determine the value of an antique, one must have certain historical
knowledge and rich experiences as well as the ability to speak out
its material, form and quality," said Zhao Guanglin, a porcelain
expert with Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage.
"Of the porcelain I evaluated throughout the day, 99 percent were
fakes. Collectors now cherish many obviously counterfeit relics as
'a big treasure'. So I think it must be put onto agenda to
popularize antique collection knowledge."
Incomplete statistics show that now China has 50 million people
engaging in antique collection, while most of them are worried
about the authenticity and value of their collections.
According to Ma Xigui, former curator of Capital Museum and
secretary general of Beijing Museum Society, the professional
agencies involved in determining the authenticity of antiques are
mainly State Cultural Relics Authentication Committee and cultural
relics authentication committees at provincial or municipal
levels.
Some big museums also have their own experts. However, there are
few people involved on such committees and in museums. For example,
there are only dozens of members in Beijing Cultural Relics
Authentication Committee, and they are entrusted by certain
cultural relics departments to determine the authenticity of
cultural relics collected in museums or unearthed recently.
Therefore, it is impossible for these top experts to assist private
collectors.
Ma
suggest the authentication teams in specialized museums restructure
the bank of talents, along with the technology, equipment and
collections in museums so as to meet the great social demand.
Beijing Zhongrun Cultural Relics Authentication Center, with shares
held by the Capital Museum, has been set up as China's first
cultural relics authentication enterprise.
It
is no easy task for antique collectors to learn how to determine
authenticity, but it is possible for them to know some basic
knowledge in this field, Ma said. The seminars on antique
collection during May Day holiday attracted more audiences than
expected. The Museum Section under the Beijing Administration of
Cultural Heritage said that they will hold such seminars at
irregular intervals in the future.
(www.h5a3.com by Xiao Li 05/25/2001)