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To 2000 Past Programs

Personal Experiences in Collecting Chinese Jade, Ceramics and Metalwork

Robert C. Tang

The sensuous nature of jade and the fact that it holds such a special place in Chinese culture is why Robert Tang calls jade his main collecting passion. His collection is, however, much more diverse. The objects he showed during his conversation with Asian Art Curator Ronald Otsuka ranged from a decorative Tang silver mirror to the huge sarcophagus panels dating from the Northern Wei and currently on loan to the museum. Besides the aesthetic qualities of such objects and the fact that they represent such a swathe of Chinese history, Robert Tang also noted a purely practical reason for not restricting himself to any one area of collecting—he is able to collect whatever is available at the time. The unthinkable alternative might well mean a period when there was simply nothing available to collect.

As might be expected from a collector of such experience, Robert Tang adopts an instinctive approach to his purchases. He told the Denver audience that he makes up his mind as soon as he looks at the object on offer. Naturally, it has to be an object that he likes, but this first glance is for him the most important, and tells him whether the object is right or wrong.

Of all his personal collecting experiences, the saga of his jade camel best illustrated what he describes as his "addiction". Probably dating from the Tang, the small jade camel was one of his favorite objects and he would carry it in his pocket wherever he went. One day, however, it fell out without his noticing and was lost, he assumed, forever. To cut a long story short, it reappeared nine years later through a dealer, having been found by a sharp-eyed individual at a flea market. Despite the fact that it was now several times more expensive than when he bought it the first time, Robert Tang could not resist buying it back. He still keeps it with him but is now careful to have it attached to his belt by a string.

Those lucky enough to be at the workshop were shown not only the famous camel but also the objects that Robert Tang had recently loaned to the museum, including saddle fittings, belt fixtures, and two finely worked crowns from his fine collection of Liao dynasty silver. His scholarly consideration of the historical background to his collection was very much in evidence, but so was his open-mindedness. His first purchase after his return to Hong Kong, he said, would be a beautiful decorative ceramic figure - dating back just thirty or so years to the Cultural Revolution.

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