Related News
For an art connoisseur, it's all in the eye
By Guan Wenfei |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A pool filled with great talent, many of whom are devoted to the study of curios" is the way Jiading Association of Collectors President Zhao Shengtu describes his group.
There's no better example of that depiction than the association member Chen Guocheng, a successful entrepreneur who started the Shanghai Renle Science & Technology Co in the Jiading Hi-tech Industrial Park on an investment of 250 million yuan (US$38 million).
But it's more than the industrial switches his factory makes that interest Chen. He's also a serious art collector.
In terms of seniority, he is a junior in the association, who joined it only early last year. But in terms of connoisseurship, his friends are unanimous in their conclusion: He is a rare talent, able to achieve in just a short span of two years what other collectors have worked to achieve in scores of years.
At the beginning, Chen knew nothing about art, but his ears perked up when conversations turned that way over dinners with clients and friends.
"One tries to be noble after acquiring wealth and goes after elegance," the Chinese says.
Chen decided to join the collectors' association to improve his cultural knowledge and art appreciation, but once in, he got hooked. He began research into cultural artworks, and the more he read, the more interested he became.
Nearly 80 percent of the artifacts in Chen's collection trace their origins back to royal treasures. His most famous piece is a lotus-edged pot decorated with patterns of flowers and fruits.
The piece was in the Rockfeller family collection of the United States in the 1920s. In 1994, it turned up in a British auction house and later at an auction in Hong Kong.
Chen spent more than 3.5 million yuan to acquire the pot. Three months later, its value was assessed at 6.5 million yuan.
There's no better example of that depiction than the association member Chen Guocheng, a successful entrepreneur who started the Shanghai Renle Science & Technology Co in the Jiading Hi-tech Industrial Park on an investment of 250 million yuan (US$38 million).
But it's more than the industrial switches his factory makes that interest Chen. He's also a serious art collector.
In terms of seniority, he is a junior in the association, who joined it only early last year. But in terms of connoisseurship, his friends are unanimous in their conclusion: He is a rare talent, able to achieve in just a short span of two years what other collectors have worked to achieve in scores of years.
At the beginning, Chen knew nothing about art, but his ears perked up when conversations turned that way over dinners with clients and friends.
"One tries to be noble after acquiring wealth and goes after elegance," the Chinese says.
Chen decided to join the collectors' association to improve his cultural knowledge and art appreciation, but once in, he got hooked. He began research into cultural artworks, and the more he read, the more interested he became.
Nearly 80 percent of the artifacts in Chen's collection trace their origins back to royal treasures. His most famous piece is a lotus-edged pot decorated with patterns of flowers and fruits.
The piece was in the Rockfeller family collection of the United States in the 1920s. In 1994, it turned up in a British auction house and later at an auction in Hong Kong.
Chen spent more than 3.5 million yuan to acquire the pot. Three months later, its value was assessed at 6.5 million yuan.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
