The Dragon's Gift: The Story of an Exhibition

by Stephen Little, Director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

This major groundbreaking exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan', organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts and opening there on 24 February 2008, explores the Buddhist art and culture of the Himalayan kingdom and includes over 110 works comprising paintings, sculptures, ritual objects and textiles borrowed mainly from temples and monasteries, the majority of which have never been seen in the West and, when they return, it will be very difficult to see them again. The author gives an account of how the project evolved, how the selection of objects and paintings was made from the many Buddhist sites in Bhutan and also the Honolulu Academy of Arts' objective to create a greater international awareness of Bhutan's unique cultural heritage and its rare treasures.

Punakha Dzong, located at the confluence of the Pho-chhu and Mo-chhu rivers, Bhutan (Photography by Mark Fenn)

From left: Dasho Nado Rinchen, Deputy Minister, National Environment Commission; Lyonpo Leki Dorji, Minister, Information and Communications; His Eminence Dorji Lopon; Stephen Little and Dasho Penden Wangchuk, Secretary, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan at the `sending ceremony'

by Terese Tse Bartholomew, Curator of Himalayan Art at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, and Guest Curator for the travelling exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan'.

The author has selected highlights from the exhibition to illustrate her discussion on the rich artistic heritage of Bhutan. Although at first glance Bhutanese art may seem to be in the same tradition as Tibetan art, it has a flavour uniquely its own. Some of the specific iconographic representations as well as certain aspects of style and various small details are different. For example, an important appliqué thangka depicting Je Jampyel Drakpa, the teacher of the Drukpa Kagyu School who served twice as Je Khenpo, is very likely of Bhutanese origin as it also features Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, another Drukpa Kagyu master who is famous for having unified Bhutan. One of the earliest pieces in the show is a 7th century copper alloy statue of a mother goddess which probably represents the protector called in Bhutan Kongtsedemo, one of the twelve goddesses known as the tenma. Another goddess favoured by the Bhutanese is Dorje Yundroenma who is also given prominence in a painting in the show. The depiction of the arhats Kalika and Vanavasin has features useful for identifying Bhutanese paintings - monkeys which are considered good omen in Bhutan and the Rhododendron arboreum, a tree common in Bhutan.

Je Jampyel Drakpa (1766-1834) Bhutan, 19th century Thangka, embroidery and brocade Height 167 cm, width 112.5 cm Phajoding Goenpa, Thimphu

by John Johnston, Assistant Curator for the travelling exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan' and co-editor of the accompanying catalogue. He is a specialist on Buddhist art, concentrating on the ritual use of sacred art in the Himalayas and China.

The historical Buddhist masters of Bhutan are the most frequent subjects of portraiture in sculpture, painting and textiles and the presence of these figures indicates a Bhutanese origin for the works of art. Brief biographies of several important and greatly loved historical figures are discussed and illustrated in this article. Included are Padmasambhava who is credited with personally introducing and popularizing Buddhism in Bhutan; Pema Lingpa who was born and based in Bumthang and had a major impact on the country's religious life; Drukpa Kunley, the flamboyant eccentric of the Drukpa Kagya school; Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal being one of the most important figures in the history of Bhutan and his father Yab Mipham Tenpai Nyima; also Tenzin Rabgye and Jamgon Ngawang Gyaltshen who were equally important in the Drukpa Kagyu School; and the highly revered Je Khempos, the Chief Abbots of Bhutan such as Shakya Rinchen and Jampyel Jamtsho.

Padmasambhava Bhutan, 18th century Copper alloy with gilding, turquoise and coral Height 60 cm Trashigang monastery, Thimphu (Photography by Michael Tropea)

by Dorji Yangki, Chief Architect and Head of the Division for Conservation of Architectural Heritage at the Department of Culture, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Bhutan.

A discussion on the historic significance of the scared fortresses (dzong) of Bhutan, how these monuments are being conserved and how they are still part of present life. The word dzong is understood to mean a core sanctuary of refuge and protection against negative energies. It functions as both a monastery and a stronghold and is said that in the event of an attack, the entire population of a region took shelter within the precincts. With at least one in each of the twenty districts of Bhutan, these monuments tower over and dominate every major valley. Of particular note and highlighted in this article are the dzongs of Trongsa, Semtokha, Trashichho and Paro.

Trashichho Dzong (right) with the new National Assembly building (left), Thimphu, October 2007

Thangka of Padmasambhava at the annual Tshechu festival at the Paro Dzong, April 2005

by Joseph Houseal, Executive Director of Core of Culture Dance Preservation, and a contributor to Ballet Review, New York.

As part of the exchange to stage the exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan', the Honolulu Academy of Arts sponsored the creation of a unique video archive and database of Bhutan's ancient Cham ritual dance. The author discusses his findings following 24 months of expeditionary research in Bhutan during which time he visited seventeen Cham festivals, viewed scores of murals and other paintings depicting dance, and was privileged to see secret Cham dances never before witnessed by Western eyes. It became clear that dance, art and the philosophy of Tantric Buddhism were inseparable; that `still' art and `moving' art together formed the inherited means of expressing Buddhism. Uniting art and dance in the exhibition is a powerful way to show that art is part of a living culture. High-definition flat screens showing Cham dances documented during the expeditions will be positioned through the exhibition and paintings, sculptures and relics depicting Cham will be on view. In addition, an installation of photographs taken by legendary ballet photographer Herbert Migdoll of the dancers will be installed.

Detail showing the Zhabdrung (left) and his ngey ney performing a Black Hat dance in a mural Wangdu, Phodrang Dzong, Wangdi Phodrang 1638-40 Height 2.5 m, width 6 m (approximate) (Photography by Shuzo Uemoto)

An example of animal-headed Cham, Yungdrung Choeling Dzong, Trongsa, December 2006 (Photography by Gerard Houghton)

by Mark Fenn, Associate Head of Conservation at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

As part of the exchange to stage the exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan', the Honolulu Academy of Arts sponsored the conservation of works of art. The author gives an account of him time spent over a period of two years teaching conservation to Bhutanese monks at the workshop established by the Honolulu Academy of Arts in Thimphu, Bhutan and how bronzes for the exhibition were cleaned and repaired. The problems encountered in preparing 77 bronzes chosen for the exhibition are representative of those faced by the monks in their monasteries and the instruction was applicable to their most common needs. There are now six monks who have the training, resources and experience to continue to maintain the sculptures in their care into the future.

Four-armed Avalokiteshvara Bhutan, 18th/19th century Gilded and lacquered wood with cold gold and pigments Height 17.3 cm, width 12.5 cm Talaka monastery, Thimphu

Image of four-armed Avalokiteshvara after cleaning

by Ephraim Jose, Asian Paintings Conservator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

For this author the training of monks to restore and conserve thangkas for the exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan' has been an extraordinary journey in the rich Buddhist culture of Bhutan. Since 2005 nine monks have been taught basic conservation and sixty thangkas have been conserved for inclusion in the exhibition. However, there are more than 2,000 temples in Bhutan with many thangkas that need to be conserved. The intention is to continue to raise funds to complete the restoration project in Bhutan by 2015.

Monks removing fly specks from brocade

Monks with Junwazhe surfboards on Sandy Beach, Oahu

by Liu Yang, Curator of Chinese Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Using six Liao and Jin period jade carvings from an exhibition from the Palace Museum, Beijing, shown at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the author reveals how preservation of symbolic values was fundamental to the maintenance of political and economic prestige and authority, even in areas under the rule of non-Han people.

Ornament Liao (916-1125) or Jin (1115-1234) period Jade Height 2.9 cm, length 6.5 cm Palace Museum, Beijing (200649)

In January 2006, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and Florida State University announced that Helga Wall-Apelt would fund the setting up of a gallery of Asian art at the museum. Estimated to exceed US$50 million in value, Wall-Apelt's contribution includes the promised gift of her collection, and will enable the museum to create a wing for display and study of Asian art, as well as support curatorial staff, lecture and seminar programmes, research, acquisitions, exhibition publications and other activities related to Asian art and culture. The gift is the largest received by the Ringling and the largest single donation to the University. Orientations spoke to Wall-Apelt at the end last year about her philanthropy and interest in Asian art.

Helga Wall-Apelt in Bhutan, 2006

Alonzo Emery concludes his detailed review of works featured at the 52nd Venice Biennale (10 June – 21 November 2007) and The 10th International Istanbul Biennale (8 September – 4 November 2007) by stating: `Rather than serving the sales function of an art fair, a biennale's purpose is to explore how art and everyday life can coexist outside the confines of a formal museum or a collector's living room. With over 100 years of history — and therefore a high threshold for ushering in the new — the Venice Biennale seemed too scripted and lacking in the kind of spontaneity and serendipity that one finds simply walking down the labrinthe streets. In Venice, my meal went down easily but left me hungry for more, while, as warned, artistic indigestion found me exhausted and delighted as I scurried between exhibitions set up in the textile markets and back alleys in the city on the Bosphorus that never sleeps.'

Hou Hanru at the Istanbul Biennale

In her discussion on The Third Chengdu Biennale, which took place from 13 September to 12 October 2007, and other recent events including the accompanying international symposium organized by the Chengdu Contemporary Art Museum, Britta Erickson reveals how Sichuan province, which possess a distinguished history, has reemerged as a centre for culture.

Opening night performance, Walking with the Ink, by Cindy Ng (Wu Shaoying), Third Chengdu Biennale, 2007

An exhibition `Chinese Classical Furniture Masterworks' from 9 to 21 January comprising some sixty pieces has been organized by the China Association for the Research of Cultural Relics at the Beijing World Art Museum. Participants in the symposium on 9 and 10 January included Lark Mason, Nancy Berliner, Shiu Ying Yip, Grace Wu and Tian Jiaqing. It was the first international classical Chinese furniture symposium held in China.
The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville has announced the appointment of Jason Steuber as Cofrin Curator of Asian Art. `The Asian art collections will continue to grow to benefit the UF community and reach our wider communities. I look forward to working with museum colleagues and donors to highlight the Harn and UF as a leader in the display and study of the arts of Asia,' commented Steuber, who worked at The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas for over 10 years. Steuber holds a BA in both Chinese History and East Asian Languages and Cultures, as well as an MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, all from the University of Kansas.
Robert Bradlow, who has been head of the Decorative Arts Department at Sotheby's Australia since July 2000, is moving to London, where he will head the company's Chinese Department. He is happy to be able to specialize in Chinese art once more and to be returning to London. `I believe that London has always been a global centre for Asian art, with the best institutional collections and proliferation of dealers. I look forward to the challenge of continuing to build London as a strong selling centre for Chinese art,' he said.
In conjunction with the opening of the exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan', the Honolulu Academy of Arts will hold a symposium on 24 February. Presentations by internationally recognized scholars, eminent Buddhist representatives from Bhutan, and the curators and conservators responsible for organizing the exhibition, will discuss the history and visual expression of Buddhism in Bhutan as well as the continuing importance of Buddhism in modern Bhutanese society. Françoise Pommaret of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique will give the keynote address, and other speakers include His Eminence Tsugla Lopon, Chancellor of Buddhist Education, Dratsang; Khenpo Phuntsho Tashi, Director, National Museum of Bhutan; Stephen Little, John Johnston and Ephraim Jose of the Honolulu Academy of Arts; Terese Bartholomew, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; and Gerard Houghton, Core of Culture Dance Preservation and Director of Documentary Footage for the exhibition. Entry is US$25 for non members but free for members and students. For further information, please contact Takako Miyazawa in the Asian Art Department (tel: 1 808 532 8779; email: tmiyazawa@honoluluacademy.org). The exhibition runs until 23 May 2008 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and will travel to the Rubin Museum of Art in New York from 17 September 2008 to 5 January 2009 and then to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in spring 2009.

Stephen Little and Heloisa Oliveira at the `sending ceremony' of objects for the exhibition `The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan' at the National Library in Thimphu, Bhutan on 24 November 2007 (Photography by Shuzo Uemoto)

Robert Tenzin Thurman, Professor, Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Department of Religon, Columbia University, New York and President of Tibet House US, and Shuzo Uemoto with Black Hat dancers at the `sending ceremony' (Photography by Marc Benioff)

Over the last few years the need for conservation and restoration of many of the region's monasteries and their treasures has become increasingly apparent. When in 2004 Victoria Blyth Hill, an independent conservator and retired head of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Department of Conservation, visited a monastery in Kham (in eastern Tibet) as part of a conservation survey team to inspect its important collection, she conceived the idea of writing a basic manual providing instruction to monks and monasteries on how they themselves could better preserve their thangkas. The result is Care and Handling of Thangkas: A Guide for Caretakers, a concise, bilingual publication in basic English with Tibetan translation and numerous easy to follow colour illustrations, which is being distributed free to those who can benefit from it thanks to the support of the Thaw Charitable Trust in the US.
The book begins with a foreword by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche with the main part divided into six sections. Twenty thousand copies of this useful publication have been printed to date. Four thousand have been given to the Director of the National Library in Bhutan, for distribution to all the cultural officers of the twenty districts, to each high school and institute of higher education library, and to dzongs and monasteries. Eleven thousand copies are being offered to all the Rinpoches, Khenpos, monks, nuns and lay practitioners at the Nyingma Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Ceremony) in Bodhgaya, India, which begins on 9 January and continues for ten days, while the other 5,000 copies are intended for all the monasteries and libraries in Nepal, Sikkim, Ladakh and Bir (in northern India).

Errata

In Peter Y.K. Lam's article `"Black Tigers": The Bei Shan Tang Gift of Chinese Calligraphic Rubbings to the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong' in the same issue, the illustrations accompanying Figures 7 and 8 (pp. 84 and 85) are reversed. The illustration on p. 85 should accompany the caption for the Jizi shengjiao xu (Fig. 7), and vice versa.

The image of Narasimha published in the article by John Siudmak in the October 2007 issue of Orientations (p. 56) is incorrect. The correct image is published here.

Narasimha Kashmir, c. 550 Limestone Height 53 cm Sri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar (3086) (Photography by Eileen Costa)

The Antique Dealers Fair of Belgium will take place in the Tour and Taxis mail sorting station in Brussels from 18 to 27 January. One hundred and thirty dealers, primarily from Belgium and other European countries, will participate, with all the artworks being vetted by an independent committee consisting mainly of an international group of museum curators and scientists. Sara Kuehn's exhibition `Central Asian Treasures from the Spiritual Realms' features a collection of Bronze Age large stone vessels, discs, weights and implements made of alabaster, quartz or schist, all of the items having ritual significance.
Among Artcade Gallery's Song ceramics and archaic bronzes are a middle Shang you ceremonial wine vessel and cover carried by an elaborate swing handle with snake head finials, and a pair of early Han lamp holders in the form of chandeliers.
Gallery Tanakaya's star attraction is a Famous Views of Edo, published in 1857 by Uoya Eikichi.
Jacques Barrère's highlight is a 10th/11th century black stone stele of Surya, the Hindu deity of sun and light. This 10th/11th century piece is from Bihar, and is carved in high relief in black stone. Considered the visible form of God, Surya holds a lotus flower in each hand and travels through the heavens on his chariot drawn by seven horses symbolizing the seven chakras.
Georgia Chrischilles will show a selection of Himalayan bronzes, Bactrian terracotta sculptures and new acquisitions from her jewellery collection. A terracotta bust from Kashmir dating to around the 8th century is of particular interest.

You China, middle Shang period (c. 1400-1251 BCE) Bronze Height 23 cm Artcade Gallery

Over 80 dealers are taking part in the Arts of Pacific Asia Show at the Fort Mason Center's Festival Pavilion from 1 to 3 February and will again open with a benefit for the Asian Art Museum's Chong Moon Lee Center for Asian Art & Culture, on 31 January.
It is followed almost immediately by the Tribal & Textile Arts Show, which runs from 8 to 10 February, and a number of Asian art dealers will be attending both events. Its opening will benefit the new de Young Museum.
Participants at the APA include Nankai who plan to bring part of their collection of Vietnamese ceramics, ranging in date from the 1st to the 16th century, as well as various Khmer and Thai pieces. Also featured will be Dong Son culture and Han bronzes, and some bronze figures.
The Zentner Collection will be bringing a large range of Japanese pieces, focusing for the first time on mingei or `folk art' items, including a noteworthy group of textiles. A highlight is a woven straw and indigo fabric backpack pad (bandori) from the Shonai area, a device used to cushion the back against heavy loads.
Laurence Paul of Fleurdelys Antiquités will be returning with her Chinese wood stands. A group of 18th century hongmu stands with intricate aprons and, unusually, carved on top so that each has a different rim, is of particular interest.
A selection of Southeast Asian Buddhas will be the focus for Vigraha Fine Art as well as a collection of 18th and 19th century south Indian bronzes. Another notable exhibit is a 14th century stone panel of Shiva, Parvati and Skanda from north India.
Specialists in art from the Himalayas and East Asia Leiko Coyle Asian Art will be exhibiting an important collection of early Tibetan paintings, among them a 15th century thangka of the Medicine Buddha with attendants. They will also be bringing gilt bronzes and a set of 19th century Indian miniatures.

Medicine Buddha with Attendants Tibet, roughly 15th century Thangka, mineral pigments with gold on prepared fabric Height 104 cm, width 84 cm (approximate) Leiko Coyle Asian Art

The Jade Dragon will be bringing their usual assortment of scholar's pieces, porcelains and snuff bottles, as well as a group of nephrite carvings. A highlight is a Kangxi period doucai basin.
Vicki Shiba's diverse group of objects and textiles reflects the `spirit of water'. The highlight is an Edo period dry lacquer image of a mask depicting a kappa, a mythical water creature known for his humorous antics.
Xanadu Gallery will be showing a number of Khmer bronze and stone sculptures, as well as their extensive collection of Tibetan bronzes. A variety of other Asian works of art will also be included, such as Chinese snuff bottles, Japanese netsuke and inro, and a selection of unusual excavated jewellery.
Backmann Eckenstein Art & Antiques's large collection of kogo includes an eclectic sampling of geta (wood shoes) with a special design dating from the 1950s.
Murni will be bringing a large number of pieces from her private collection of Balinese and other Indonesian textiles, amassed over more than 30 years.
Thomas Murray's highlight at the APA is also from Bali — a wood singha, or mythical beast, dating to the 19th or early 20th century. He will be showing at the textile show as well.

Singha Bali, 19th/early 20th century Wood with pigment Thomas Murray

Wei Asian Arts will present unusual Chinese Buddhist sculptures in stone and bronze, as well as a varied collection of pieces in terracotta, jade and wood. A highlight is a green glazed kundika from the Liao period. They will also be showing at the tribal show.
Likewise attending both shows is Wenhua Liu, who specializes in minority textiles from China and says: `As I do not have to deal only with English speaking Chinese dealers like most American dealers, I can seek out better sources further “upstream” so to speak .... I am pleased to say, thus far it seems to be working out.' She is also very happy to have recently acquired some Chinese textiles from the collection of Roger Hollander.
Tibetan and Himalayan specialist Thomas Mond will also be exhibiting at both venues. Of particular interest is an unusual room sized Tibetan carpet from the 19th century, which features a central foliated medallion inspired by the designs on Eastern European silk brocade imported to Tibet in the early part of the century. Unlike most early large Tibetan carpets, which were woven in narrow sections that were then joined together, this piece was woven on a single loom.
Honeychurch Antiques aim to have a different `look' for each by bringing both traditional Asian art and ethnographic material and textiles. `This year we have found great ethnographic material coming out of the southern tribal regions of China, both in textiles and objects,' commented the gallery's John Fairman. `These are areas that are only recently being travelled by Westerners and, as a result, interesting things are finding their way to Western markets.' He added that they had also found good and unusual 19th century folk and fine arts in Japan this year.
Chinalai Tribal Antiques will be organizing a special `outerwear' exhibition at the Tribal & Textile Arts Show, to underscore the disappearance of clothing as a symbol of tribal identity and rank. An example is an embroidered robe for the highest level Yao priest or shaman, probably made in Guangxi province in China in the early 1900s. As an outer garment, the robe conferred status and religious empowerment.

Michale Hatch reports on the results achieved at China Guardian's auction auctions. `Modern and Contemporary Paintings and Calligraphy' I and II on 5 November featured Fu Baoshi's After a Poem on the Pipa by Bai Juyi. It achieved the highest price of RMB7.84 million. A group of works by Ren Yi for the most part did poorly, as did several strong paintings by Zhu Qizhan, indicating either a lack of confidence in the works or a shallow field of interested collectors. However, paintings by Lu Yanshao showed good results. The first auction totalled RMB73.977 million while the second grossed RMB58.949 million.
The session included also `Contemporary Ink Paintings' as well as a special sale `“Zhang in the South, Qi in the North”, Fine Works by Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi'. Combining various highlights in a focused sale proved effective, and the stable dominance of Zhang and Qi in the field of 20th century painting continued to prevail. All the lots were sold, mostly above the upper estimate, and the auction achieved RMB35.224 million. The top lot, Pine and Eagle, a hanging scroll by Qi Baishi gifted to Xu Beihong, went for RMB7.952 million.
The results of the works of art in `Magnificent Jade Carvings', `Treasures from the Scholar's Studio' and `Exquisite Works of Rhinoceros Horn' revealed large miscalculations in the buyer base. The room was only a third full. A mere 36 of the 102 lots found buyers for RMB3.388 million. All of the more major lots failed. The auction of various inksticks and inkcakes,inkstones, brushes and seals was highly active and made a total of RMB14.6 million. Imperial ink was most in demand, and a set of ten coloured inksticks with scenes of the West Lake from the Qianlong period took a rally of bids from five serious competitors, raising the price to RMB4.48 million.
November 6 began with `Chinese Oil Paintings and Sculptures', a sale headlined by Cheng Conglin's Chinese Workers' Ship. It sold for RMB22.96 million. The surprise lot was Chen Shuzhong's My Home at the Shore of the Wild Grassland; it eventually sold for RMB4.76 million.
The selection for Contemporary Art' and `Fine Art Photography' emphasized the roots of contemporary art in China as well as artists associated with current scholarly circles. Two of the three bold Zeng Fanzhi works went within estimate, as did a group of three strong Xia Xiaowan works. However, a minor Zhang Xiaogang work from his early and formative years, Buddhists, exceeded its estimate handsomely, reaching RMB1.344 million. Total sales were strong with RMB83.674 million achieved. In the photography sale, competition was also lacklustre, suggesting that either the market in Beijing or the Chinese photography market in general still has room to grow. Overall sales totalled RMB5.27 million, at a rate of 56.17 per cent by lot. The classical paintings sales proved the heartiest as Beijing has in fact been the focal point of Chinese paintings auctions for some time. The `Dan Qing Zhu Yan Zhai Collection of Classical Chinese Paintings' sale comprised thirteen works from a Taiwan collection, all of which sold, mostly far above their estimates. For example, Wang Jian's Tall Pines in Cloudy Ravines sold to a client bidding for RMB9.856 million. The total for the sale was RMB32.189 million. `Classical Paintings and Calligraphy' sale could well be China Guardian's most significant sale to date. Bidding on Red Cliff by Qiu Ying started at RMB40 million and sold for RMB79.52 million, a world record for any genre of Chinese painting. Prices for many other classical works soared surprisingly high. For example, Hua Yan's Red Trees and Verdant Mountains made RMB19.6 million. The entire sale of classical Chinese paintings had a highly competitive atmosphere, and totalled RMB191.293 million.

Red Cliff By Qiu Ying (1498-1552) Handscroll, ink and colour on paper Width 23.5 cm, length 129 cm China Guardian's `Classical Paintings and Calligraphy' sale, Beijing, 6 November 2007, lot 1358 Price: RMB79.52 million (estimate unpublished)

Two figures of Guanyin Ming period (1368-1644) Gilt bronze Height 90 cm Nagel `34th Special Auction of Asian Art' sale, Stuttgart, 12 November 2007, lot 798 Price: €558,600 (estimate €120,000)

Sword China, Warring States period, 5th/4th century BCE Bronze Length 56 cm Hermann Historica OHG's `Selected Historical Objects' sale, Munich, 17 October 2007, lot 2085 Price: €21,000 (starting price €15,000)

Meri Arichi's report analyzes the auctions during Asia Week which began with Bonhams' `Fine Chinese Art' sale on 5 November. The saleroom was packed with buyers from Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong, and the auction started well, with some of the white jades attracting active bidding. One of the most hotly contested items was a small white and russet jade carving of a boy and drum from the 18th century, which fetched £28,800. The cover lot was a cloisonné enamel fangding censer and cover with a Wanli mark that once belonged to Sir Basil Gould, a British diplomat who served as Political Officer for Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet in the 1930s. The vessel elicited much interest, pushing the price to £192,000 and making it the top lot.

Gaifu kaisei By Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) Oban yoko-e Christie's `Japanese Art and Design' sale, London, 7 November 2007, lot 715 Price: £288,500 (estimate £80/100,000)

The `Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art' sale at Christie's on 6 November featured a number of exceptional pieces. The centre of attention during the viewing was a striking pair of Yongzheng black ground green enamelled dishes with a design of plants and insects. The price went well above the upper estimate in no time, and Robert Chang finally secured the pair for £412,500. The top price was achieved by a large Yongle blue and white bianhu flask with a floral scroll and crashing wave design. The reasonable estimate of £150/250,000 probably whetted the appetite of buyers, and the lot achieved £1,140,500.

White jade carvings were very much in demand, and a fine Qianlong imperial `dragon' vase in particular saw keen competition by several bidders in the room. Its simplicity stood out among the array of ornate objects, demonstrating another aspect of Qianlong's sophisticated taste, and the vase went to the Asian trade for £216,500. The excellent prices achieved by top lots helped boost the sale total, which came to £4,113,250.

Bianhu China, Yongle period (1403-25) Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration Diameter 34.3 cm Christie's `Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art' sale, 6 November 2007, lot 156 Price: £1,140,500 (estimate £150/250,000)

Sotheby's sale of `The Mu fei Collection of Chinese Paintings' on 7 November offered 120 works assembled by the late Cheng Te k'un. The excellent provenance and conservative estimates attracted numerous East Asian collectors, and from the start the sale was full of surprises, with some works achieving more than ten times the upper estimate. The top price, £192,500, was achieved by an eight leaf album of various subjects painted by Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong and Yu Fei'an. The auction was a resounding success, with a total of £3,045,225.
`Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art' featured a magnificent Qianlong blue and white `dragon' moonflask. It was discovered by Alastair Gibson, Head of Sotheby's Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art Department in London, when a collector remarked that she owned a similar piece to the doucai `dragon' moonflask on show recently at the `China: The Three Emperors, 1662 1795' exhibition at the Royal Academy. The collector's flask had been dismissed as a copy in the 1970s, and had subsequently lain at the bottom of a wardrobe. No fewer than seven bidders fought to secure it, and the price was pushed well above the upper estimate. It was bought finally by Littleton and Hennessy for £2,820,500, setting a record for Qing blue and white porcelain.

A twelve leaf album of landscapes in the style of ancient masters by Tang Dai, two leaves with a seal of the Qianlong emperor, attracted tremendous interest. The relatively modest estimate was quickly eclipsed by major players in the field, and Anthony Lin won the battle to pay £216,500. An unusual cloisonné double peach form jardinière from the same period, rich with auspicious symbolism, was estimated conservatively at £20/30,000, but tough competition obliged Robert Chang to pay £108,500. The total for the sale came to £6,453,475.

Alastair Gibson with moonflask Moonflask China, Qianlong period (1736-95) Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration Height 50 cm Sotheby's `Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art' sale, 7 November 2007, lot 407 Price: £2,820,500 (estimate £0.8/1.2 million)

A continuous stream of astounding prices in the world's auction capitals indicates that the Asian contemporary art bubble shows no sign of deflating. Sotheby's and Christie's autumn sales in Hong Kong reported record results. Sotheby's `
Contemporary Chinese Art (Part I & II) sale on 7 October 2007 raised HK$330,070,250, while Christie's raked in HK$841,986,750 from their auctions of modern and contemporary Asian material on 25 November. The intense competition between the two houses could be seen in the results of two works by Cai Guo Qiang. At Sotheby's `Contemporary Chinese Art (Part I)' sale, an artist's record was set when Project for Extraterrestrials No. 10, Project to Extend the Great Wall of China achieved HK$20,487,500. Christie's went one better in their `Asian Contemporary Art' sale by offering a set of fourteen massive drawings documenting a fireworks display that Cai designed for the 2001 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Meeting in Shanghai. The significance and scale of the work, together with the fact that it is intended for exhibition in Cai's retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in February, prompted determined bidding. A Taiwan bidder eventually paid HK$74,247,500, making this the most expensive piece of Chinese contemporary art in the world.

One of a Set of 14 drawings for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Project By Cai Guo Qiang (b. 1957), 2002 Gunpowder on paper Height 300 cm, length 600 cm Christie's `Asian Contemporary Art' sale, Hong Kong, 25 November 2007, lot 487 Price: HK$74,247,500 (estimate HK$28/36 million)

The top lot at Sotheby's `Contemporary Chinese Art (Part II)' was The Massacre at Chios by Yue Minjun. International interest raised the price to HK$31,687,500. Less than a week later, Yue's Execution, a commentary on Tiananmen, fetched £2,932,500. Interest in Yue continued at Christie's sale. Big Ear fetched HK$20,487,500. There was also active bidding for works from all over Asia. For example, an Indonesian collector paid HK$2,407,500 for Self Portrait by Korean artist Kang Hyung Koo. Another work by Kang Vincent van Gogh in Blue went for HK$4,567,500. Mass Marriage by N.S. Harsha achieved HK$6,487,500. Contemporary Indonesia art crossed the million-dollar threshold at Christie's `Modern & Contemporary Asian Art' sale when an Asian dealer paid HK$2,647,500 for I Nyoman Masriadi's Juling (Cross-eyed). The top lot at Sotheby's Contemporary Chinese Art (Part I) was Taichi for the Living World by Ju Ming. The pair of wood sculptures sold for HK$9,287,500. At Christie's `Chinese 20th Century Art' sale, Zao Wou ki's Et la terre était sans forme established a record when it sold for HK$29,447,500 and Chen Cheng-po's 1935 work Sunset at Danshui fetched HK$50,727,500. Works by Wang Huaiqing, Sanyu, Ju Ming and Wu Zuoren also achieved high prices. This sale achieved a total of HK$310,479,250.
At Sotheby's `Important Chinese Paintings from the Robert Chang Collection (Part II)' on 6 October 2007, 37 of the of the 46 paintings sold for a total of HK$53,752,250. High estimates resulted in cautious bidding, with works selling mostly within estimate. Works by Qi Baishi were particularly sought after - Peaches and Fire Crackers sold for HK$10,183,500 to an Asian collector, making it the sale's top lot. `Fine Chinese Paintings' achieved a total of HK$162,735,500. The sleeper lots proved to be two works by Jiang Zhaohe. Bidding for Street Singers opened at HK$200,000 with competition driving the price to HK$3,487,500. A Good for Nothing Idler sold for HK$967,500. The top lot in the sale was Li Keran's On Mount Loushan, which fetched HK$11,751,500. Sage by Pine a work by Zhang Daqian combining his distinctive splashed ink idiom with the literati figurative style, fetched HK$9,175,500.
The term `museum quality' hardly seems a suitable adjective when museums are not able to afford such works any more, but there were several such pieces in Christie's `Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy' sale on 26 November. It was the success of these trophy pieces that made up most of the HK$151,228,750 total. A twelve leaf album of landscape and calligraphy by Shitao with seals of well known collectors from the late 18th to the early 20th century sold for HK$19,927,500. An Asian dealer on the telephone competed for an album of landscapes and calligraphy by Dong Qichang, establishing a new auction record for the artist when he paid HK$48,487,500.

At `Fine Chinese Modern Paintings' 83 per cent of the 350 lots sold for a total of HK$130,893,000. Bidders went for signature works by established artists, in particular, splashed colour landscapes by Zhang Daqian and renderings of horses by Xu Beihong. A US collector paid HK$9,959,500 for Landscape in Splashed colour, a 1973 work by Zhang, making it the sale's top lot. Eight Horses, a large painting which Xu Beihong dedicated in 1943 to Wu Zhihui went an Asian dealer for HK$7,271,500.

Paintings and Calligraphy By Dong Qichang (1555-1636) Album leaf, one of a set of eight, ink on paper Christie's `Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy' sale, Hong Kong, 26 November 2007, lot 853 Price: HK$48,487,500 (estimate HK$8/10 million)

Head of a horse China, Qianlong period (1736-95) Bronze Height 39.3 cm Sotheby's `Yuanmingyuan, The Garden of Absolute Clarity' sale, Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1321 Price: HK$69.1 million (unpublished estimate HK$60/80 million)

Prior to their sales `Imperial Peking, The Last Days' and `Yuanmingyuan, The Garden of Absolute Clarity', Sotheby's Hong Kong on 9 October announced that casino magnate Stanley Ho had purchased by private treaty a bronze horse head commissioned by the Qianlong emperor and designed by French Jesuit Michel Benoist for an horological fountain at the Yuanmingyuan. He paid HK$69.1 million. It is currently on display at Ho's hotel in Macau, but Ho plans to donate it to `the motherland', probably to the state linked Poly Museum in Beijing. It will join the boar, which Ho donated in 2003, and the ox, monkey and tiger, which the museum purchased at Christie's and Sotheby's, Hong Kong in spring 2000. The 33 remaining lots sold for HK$325,799,500, with seven of the top ten going to mainland Chinese collectors including a white jade seal with four characters reading Taishang Huangdi (`Treasure of the Emperor Emeritus'), suggesting it was ordered by Qianlong to commemorate his abdication. It went for a record HK$46,247,500. Guo Fuxiang of the Palace Museum believes that the seal is genuine based on the quality of the jade, its carving and its size. The same mainland bidder secured a white jade brushpot carved in high relief with a pine tree at HK$18,807,500. It had been removed from the Yuanmingyuan in 1860 but had since sold at Christie's, London in 1995 and, more recently, at Sotheby's, Hong Kong in October 2003, for HK$1,742,400.
A collector from Taiwan, the owner of the twenty lots in the `Qing Porcelain and Works of Art from a Private Collection' sale the same day, also capitalized on his investment. Most had appeared at auction in the last eight years and all but four sold, making HK$143,944,000. The top lot, a Qianlong brushpot with an enamel decoration of Europeans at leisure, went to a Hong Kong dealer for HK$23,847,500. It had previously been sold for HK$1.21 million at the auction of the Paul and Helen Bernat collection at Sotheby's, Hong Kong in November 1988. The most notable trend in the `Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art' sale, also on 9 October, was the rising demand for Ming blue and white ceramics. New York based dealer John Berwald won a Xuande blue and white dragon stembowl at HK$35,047,500. This section achieved a total of HK$179,703,250, bringing the total for these four sales to HK$649,446,750.
Christie's sales on 27 November - `Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Part II', `Reflections: Chinese Art Inspired by the West' and `Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art' - achieved good results and set new records. White jades of Qianlong date took the lead again in the Hartman sale with the top price going to a brushpot, its very white and even stone expertly carved with a landscape making it a trophy for any jade collector. An Asian collector paid HK$54,087,500. There was also interest in the rarer yellow stone examples, particularly a Song/Ming vase and cover of substantial size (20.3 cm high) which is the Hartmans' favourite piece and appears on the cover of Kleiner's book, and it went for HK$12,087,500. More records were set in the ceramics and works of art auctions. Taipei based Robert Tsao added to his impressive collection a Qianlong glass brushpot with a decoration of a European mother and child in exquisite Beijing enamel, typical of the imperial workshops. The record HK$67,527,500 paid was remarkable as the brushpot had failed to sell at Sotheby's, Hong Kong in 1984 and again at Christie's, Hong Kong in 1997. Of the 214 lots, 144 sold for HK$299,978,250, bringing the total for the three sales to HK$497,627,500.

Brushpot China, Qianlong period (1735-95) Glass Height 8.5 cm Christie's` Reflections: Chinese Art Inspired by the West' sale, Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1665 Price: HK$67,527,500 (unpublished estimate HK$30/40 million)

The highlight of Bonhams' sale `Fine Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Paintings' on 26 November was a Yongle gilt bronze image of Maitreya, which went to an Asian collector for HK$3.96 million. Ju Ming's Thrust, one of his taiji series in wood, also did well at HK$1.92 million.

Fishing on Winter River By Ye Kuang (act. 1597-1621) Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk Height 147.6 cm, width 76.1 cm Kaikodo

Textiles from Bhutan will be the theme of Michael Cohn's winter exhibition in New York. Featured also are ghos, kiras (men's and women's dress, respectively) and bundri (wrapping textiles). A highlight is an early 20th century Kushuthara kira in silk and cotton with a long fringe.

Sandra Whitman will be showing rugs from the Silk Route in her exhibition `Oasis Imagery, Carpets from Gansu and East Turkestan' in San Francisco from 22 February to 21 March. Among the highlights are Gansu and Yarkand `RKO' rugs, as well as an early 19th century, large format Aivan rug in the coffered gul design with a full, soft pile. This piece has intense, bright colours with good saturation, and a different weave structure from most Khotan rugs.

Detail of an Aivan rug Khotan, early 19th century Wool Sandra Whitman

Last autumn, visitors to the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (PDF), the famed ceramics museum then administered by the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), would have noticed a small sign by the entrance: `The museum is closing permanently in December 2007'. Despite the pre eminence of the ceramics collection, regarded as the finest in the Western world, the PDF had no endowment or fund raising mechanisms, and when the British government reduced university museum funding in 2005, the foundation could no longer meet its operating expenses. As news of its precarious financial situation spread, the Chinese art community waited anxiously to learn the fate of the beloved institution. Rumours circulated, including the widely held belief that key pieces in the collection may be sold. Finally, on 12 March 2007, a press release announced that the David collection would be moved to a purpose built gallery in the British Museum (BM), scheduled to open in late 2008. Throughout the decision making process, the two `Protection Nominees' (the PDF's effective trustees), SOAS representatives and BM staff released little information to the public, given the sensitive nature of the issues. This commentary will discuss how the foundation's financial troubles came to be, the alternatives explored by the Protection Nominees and SOAS, and the BM's proposed plans for the collection; it will also attempt to situate the story within the wider context of museum funding.
The PDF was opened in June 1952, when Sir Percival David gifted his ceramics collection and library to the University of London in order to further the study of Chinese art at SOAS. While Sir Percival gave £125,000 to establish the foundation, the sum was merely enough to cover initial costs such as renovating the building in Gordon Square, where the collection would be displayed, and fitting out the galleries. As the British government provided operating funds in the 1950s, Sir Percival probably and not unreasonably assumed such an arrangement would continue in the future, as he did not leave additional money for an endowment.
Over the next 55 years, the PDF further developed its international reputation and academic activities. SOAS became the place to study Chinese ceramics, offering the combination of a superb teaching institution with the unique chance to handle and study at close quarters the foundation's 1,752 piece collection. Whether on the academic or the market side of the Chinese art world, SOAS alumni populate the list of luminaries. The foundation also organized a series of biennial Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia, reinforcing SOAS's important position in the study of Asian art.

Sir Percival David and a visiting expert examining bronzes before the opening of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at Burlington House, 1935

Yet in 2001, the PDF's ongoing operation was threatened when the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) announced that it was going to drastically cut funding to university museums by 2005. As the foundation had no endowment, its operating expenses, consisting mainly of security and staff salaries, were completely met by government grants. Its small income, derived from sources such as publications and `Friends' membership dues, could barely cover their own costs. Furthermore, the PDF's Gordon Square site, which was always intended by Sir Percival as temporary, continued to house the collection after over half a century, and was in dire need of a capital upgrade.
Some may think that an institution so popular amongst affluent collectors should have had little trouble raising money. Yet in truth the foundation was understaffed, and lacked resources for a proper fund raising campaign. Moreover, SOAS had requested that the PDF, being under the school's umbrella, not raise funds independently, as it was felt that any such activity may interfere with SOAS's own central fund raising efforts. Tom Tomlinson, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at SOAS, stresses that the development office did in fact devote considerable time and energy to raising funds for the PDF.
However, certain individuals have criticized the school for not offering more support: `Had SOAS wanted to keep the PDF running the way it was, they would have fought for a way to do so,' says one source. On the other hand, SOAS's handling of the situation reflects that of an institution with limited means and constantly being confronted with difficult trade offs. Any monies going to the PDF would have had to be redirected from another of SOAS's departments, ranging from politics to languages to gender studies. To be sure, the mission of SOAS is `to be a leading centre of excellence in research and teaching relating to Asia and Africa', and Chinese ceramics is but a narrow segment within this realm.
Deliberations over the future of the PDF were made all the more complicated given the foundation's idiosyncratic structure, set up by Percival David himself: while there would be a twelve member Expert Advisory Council governing the foundation, ultimate power would rest in the hands of the Protection Nominees, who would have the authority to seize control of the collection should they find management unsatisfactory. Sir Percival and Lady David naturally served as the original two nominees, and set down terms that each nominee serves for life, with succession being at the discretion of the nominees themselves. When Sir Percival died in 1964, Lady David nominated Sir John Figgess, former Christie's Director and President of the Oriental Ceramic Society, who was considered very academic and an excellent choice. Before Lady David died in 1995, she nominated her lawyer, John Franks, to succeed her, and Sir John Figgess, who died in 1997, had selected Colin Sheaf, who is now International Director of Asian Art at Bonhams, to succeed him.
The actions and decisions of Protection Nominees who had absolute discretion but without the vested interest of Sir Percival and Lady David inevitably invited scrutiny, especially in light of the funding crisis triggered by the AHRC's proposed cuts in 2001. Any perceived conflict of interest is as much a reflection of the council's structure as of the Protection Nominees themselves; with the council members not having a vote in the final say, there is a lack of checks and balances, which understandably left some members frustrated. Sheaf maintains that as one of the Protection Nominees, his role has been to `protect the interests of Percival David and make sure that the collection is safely looked after'.
During the next few years, there was much speculation on the fate of the David collection. Sheaf acknowledges that the sale of certain top quality pieces was considered, with the idea that the foundation could then be self funding with the proceeds. The practice of selling from a museum's permanent collection, or deaccessioning, is hugely controversial today, and rare in Europe, where museums are considered public property. That said, in the late 1960s, the foundation did deaccession some forty pieces that were considered duplicates, using the proceeds to establish a small academic fund, which would later pay for the Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia. This arrangement was approved by Sir Percival during his lifetime, and given that Lady David authorized the sales and that the concept of deaccessioning was less contentious then, there was little debate. More recently, the foundation acquired `Accredited' status with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and thus was bound by its disposal procedures, dictating that `except for sound curatorial reasons, there is a strong presumption against the disposal of any items in the museum's collection,' otherwise `the whole purpose of the museum, and public trust in it, may be called into question'. Perhaps the risks of negative publicity and of losing Accredited status were considered too undesirable, as in any case, the Protection Nominees did not pursue this route.
Other avenues were explored, including a proposal by an American financial firm to award a multi million pound grant; this would enable a fund raiser to be hired to build an endowment so the foundation could be self sufficient, and would also cover operating costs in the interim years. To protect its investment, the firm requested a three year moratorium on the Protection Nominees' right to seize control of the collection, while the fund raiser set things in motion. Although this solution was attractive, another came up at the same time that was viewed as more permanent; this alternative also allowed the Protection Nominees to retain their control.
In early 2006, Sir Joseph Hotung, a prominent collector and benefactor of Chinese art, and previously a member of the governing board of SOAS, learned of the difficulties in funding the PDF. Having once served as a Trustee of the BM and gifted £2 million to refurbish its Asia galleries in 1992, Sir Joseph approached the museum's director, Neil MacGregor, about the possibility of moving the David collection to the BM. MacGregor was enthusiastic, and when Jan Stuart joined the staff at the end of 2006 as Keeper of the Asia Department, the two decided to make the David collection one of the museum's top priorities. In Stuart's words: `The David collection would elevate the BM's ceramics to a truly world enviable level.' The museum began working with the Protection Nominees and SOAS to draw up a feasibility study for the establishment of a new structure for the foundation. The three parties agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding; this legal agreement proposed an application to the Charity Commission for a `Scheme' to transfer the charity, the Percival David Foundation, from the University of London to the Protection Nominees, who would then own all the materials of the PDF collection. This new arrangement would make the charity an independent entity rather than a department within the University of London or SOAS. The `independent' PDF would lend all its ceramics (and its one painting) to the BM, and all its shards and library materials to SOAS. These loans are essentially renewable in perpetuity, with the Protection Nominees having the power to recall the objects should certain terms of agreement not be fulfilled. Such terms include: having the collection always exhibited in its entirety; keeping the collection a distinct entity; and having loans, both to and from the collection, be approved by the Protection Nominees – all of which are consistent with Sir Percival's wishes.
The BM has grand plans for the David collection, which will be housed in a dedicated space within a larger centre to include the museum's own Asian art library as well as a secure study room for handling. This new centre will occupy the former Music Library on the museum's mezzanine floor in the King Edward building. Sir Joseph agreed to fund the move, with The Times reporting a rumour that he contributed £3 million to the project. Although the exact titles of the new rooms have yet to be finalized, the gallery will probably bear the title `Sir Percival David Collection', while the centre as a whole is tentatively named the `Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for Ceramic Studies'.
In terms of the display, current plans, which are not yet finalized, propose two types of case design: on the primary level, slightly fewer than 200 `star' pieces will be placed in cases in the centre of the room, spread out so that people can walk around and admire these treasures in their aesthetic splendour. On the secondary level, the rest of the collection will be arranged in high density cases along the walls of the gallery. The `high density' ceramics will be grouped by ware and type; within the displays there will be some variation in the spacing so that a small number of ceramics on a shelf can be used as a focal point to explore a theme, such as reign marks or auspicious motifs – themes that a visitor can then apply when appreciating the surrounding pieces. While the star pieces will have informative label texts, all the ceramics will have ID labels. As Stuart points out, the idea is to create a layered approach, appealing to the self motivated learner or even the casual tourist, as well as those with more specialized knowledge.

Moonflask Yongzheng period (1723-35) Porcelain with famille-rose decoration Height 29.3 cm Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art (824)

To work on presenting the ceramics, Stuart has assembled a team consisting of Carol Michaelson and Jessica Harrison Hall, both BM curators; Luisa Mengoni, a recent PhD graduate of University College London; and Regina Krahl, one of the key organizers of the 2005 06 `Three Emperors' exhibition at the Royal Academy and a Sotheby's consultant. Stacey Pierson, the most recent curator at the PDF, and Rose Kerr, a former Keeper at the Victoria and Albert Museum who sat on the PDF Expert Advisory Council, are also consultants on the project.
The question is sometimes posed as to why Sir Joseph did not give the funds to SOAS to preseve the foundation in its current incarnation. According to Stuart, the answer is twofold – on the one hand, Sir Joseph's vision was to bring this invaluable collection to a more highly visited space, thus widening access to the collection. Furthermore, whilst Sir Joseph's munificence is sufficient to move the collection to the BM, renovate and furnish the display space with specially designed cases and vitrines, construct a library and study centre, and employ temporary consultants, had the gift been spent on renovating the current PDF space, SOAS would still struggle to meet the foundation's ongoing operating expenses. In the new arrangement, the costs of maintaining the collection will be met by the BM. However, given that the Asia Department is not receiving any increase in its annual budget to run the new centre, it is unable to hire the PDF's staff, or to continue the PDF Friends group as a distinct entity.
On SOAS's side, the History of Art and Archaeology Department will retain a teaching post dedicated to Chinese ceramics, taken up by Pierson, while other former PDF staff members are being hired by SOAS in similar capacities. SOAS students will have easy access to the shards for study. Opportunities to handle the David collection will still exist, but via the BM. For the time being, Sir Percival's library, a specialized assemblage of books on ceramics and Chinese art, will remain in its current location at Gordon Square, with its long term location yet to be determined. The building, which is currently rented at a below market rate from the University of London, will become available for other educational purposes. Finally, the Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia should continue as part of SOAS, financed by the academic fund as before. Many are very pleased with this new home for the David collection. Craig Clunas, who served as Percival David Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art at SOAS from 2004 to 2007, terms it an `elegant solution' that represents `a conscious desire of the BM and SOAS to work together'. Roderick Whitfield, Clunas's predecessor, comments: `On the whole I think it is a good thing for the collection and for furthering Sir Percival David's aims. The transfer of the ceramics collection is of course a great loss for SOAS, since the unmatched calibre of the collection made the PDF a premier university museum. But the collection was under used, and had become less accessible.'
Being housed at the BM will certainly make the collection available to a wider audience. While the museum is open seven days a week, with many galleries open late on Thursdays and Fridays, the PDF could only afford to open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday (recent funding cuts reduced these hours further, with the foundation closing at lunchtime). The restricted hours, coupled with the lack of an advertising budget, were reflected in the PDF's annual attendance, which hovered at around 35,000 during the last few years. In contrast, the BM receives nearly 5 million visitors a year. Furthermore, while the ceramics will not be formally accessioned into the BM, the museum will present them as part of its collection online, allowing even more people access to these important works of art.
Yet one might wonder if the foundation's intended purpose was to engage a broad audience rather than give thorough access to the few wishing to specialize in ceramics – perhaps Sir Percival would have preferred the thirty or so SOAS graduate students to study in an intimate environment. Anthony Lin, former Chairman of Christie's Asia, who studied at the PDF, says: `It was more than a privilege to study Chinese ceramics there. It is a tragedy that future generations will no longer have access to the collection as an academic resource once it becomes just a part of another museum collection. This was not the intention of the founder, a unique educational visionary of this or any age.' Rosemary Scott, who spent 20 years at the PDF, first as a student and then as curator, says she is `terribly disappointed that the collection could not stay with the university'. Moreover, while Sir Percival's ceramics are being kept together, they will be separated from his library, which he considered integral to his collection. As Lady David said in a 1992 Orientations interview: `Without the library, the collection would not be of such historical interest.'
With regard to handling, Stuart stresses that the BM will make every effort to accommodate such requests, especially from SOAS academics and their advanced students. The museum's physical proximity to SOAS will also make it easy for students to visit the collection. However, Stuart acknowledges that it would be unrealistic to expect the same ease of accessibility as before. The protocol for taking objects out of their display cases at a large museum is much stricter than it is at a small institute – it must be done before or after public hours, which becomes difficult with longer opening times and more visitors. Also, the fact that the curator of the David collection will no longer be the same person that teaches Chinese ceramics at SOAS will inevitably create some distance between the school and the collection.
Of course, Sir Percival requested the `best museum practice' from the University of London, something that it cannot offer today, whereas the BM can. As mentioned earlier, the Gordon Square building was initially meant to be a temporary location, as it was considered by Sir Percival to be too small. The BM, through Sir Joseph's grant as well as its own resources, would allow the David collection to be presented in a larger gallery (current plans provide double the linear meterage of shelving) and with better lighting, as well as higher conservation and security standards. As Sheaf articulates: `We hope Percival David would be delighted with the way things worked out. His collection will be housed in a manner that will be enormously more beautiful than [would have been] possible in Gordon Square.'
Sir Percival David surely never imagined that in less than 60 years, his painstakingly built foundation would face the challenges it did – he must have assumed the British government would continue to finance it forever. A museum so dependent on state support is not surprisingly vulnerable to policy shifts – as such, a trend is emerging whereby European institutions are starting to seek alternative sources of funding, as is the practice common in the United States. In the US, public funding usually represents a small portion of a museum's revenue, while dedicated professionals devote their time to generating more income through fund raising, endowments and other more creative ideas.
The PDF was also confronted by the troubles all too often shared by other single donor museums. In virtually all cases, the donor's bequest is insufficient to cover increasing running costs, and as the institution is so closely associated with a particular individual, raising money from other private sources becomes challenging. Outcomes vary: when the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was plagued by falling attendance and an inadequate endowment in the late 1980s, the new director, Anne Hawley, added wealthy patrons to expand the board, engaged local schools through partnerships, and initiated lecture and artist in residence programmes – today, the Gardner museum is hugely popular and considered one of Boston's cultural jewels. On the other hand, when the Barnes Foundation in Merion, a suburb in Pennsylvania, was threatened with bankruptcy, it became the subject of numerous legal battles, culminating in a 2004 court ruling to move the collection to downtown Philadelphia.
That is not to say that Alfred Barnes's fabled Renoirs and Cézannes would not find a better home along Benjamin Franklin Parkway, or that Percival David's imperial porcelains will necessarily be compromised in the BM's galleries. Yet, in the case of Sir Percival, records show that although he contemplated donating his collection to other museums, he still chose to take the path he did. The reality is that he did not leave enough money to keep his foundation running in the exact way he intended and those managing it in recent years were either unable to raise the funds required, or had different visions for the collection. Ultimately, while the exact specifications of Sir Percival's museum have been altered by this new arrangement, much of what he wanted is preserved if not enhanced: his collection has been kept intact, it is still in London, and many more people will see it and have a chance to admire his taste as a collector.
On a personal note, having chosen to study at SOAS because of the PDF and truly enjoyed my time as a student there, I am saddened to see the collection leave the university. Yet putting nostalgia aside, I understand that SOAS cannot give this magnificent collection the resources and attention it needs to flourish, and in that sense, the BM would seem to offer it a much better home.