Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

MORE than 500 precious relics and antiques will be exhibited at one of the country’s largest private museums, Wangye Museum, in Longhua New Area starting mid-October.

The collections feature precious ancient porcelain products, furniture and bronze antiques, all of which are from the famous antique expert and president of the museum, Yan Yan.

Among these, there is a gold-decorated Buddha figure from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which is one of Yan’s most valuable collections. The figure introduced advanced techniques to display the Buddha’s peaceful facial expression and fine posture. “It was made for the imperial family during the Ming Dynasty and similar products are hard to find nowadays. The figure was initially bought for more than 1 million yuan and is now worth more than 10 million yuan on the global market,” Yan said.

A small introductory exhibition featuring about 120 relics was held Sept. 27.

The relics included bronze censer made during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and colored porcelain Buddha figures from Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577).

Yan has been an enthusiastic antique collector his whole life. The 39-year-old bought his first antique for 0.5 yuan at the age of 8 and has never stopped collecting since.

“When I was young, garbage recycling and treatment sites were my favorite places. I would often find valuable things such as old coins and bronze mirrors. It just goes to show that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. When I was 22 years old, I had already become a collector of some renown,” he said.

For Yan, collecting antiques is a way of staying in touch with the past. “Collecting antiques helps remind us of the glory of our ancestors. For some people, collecting antiques is an investment, but for me it is, above all else, recreational,” he said. Yan says that some of the best discoveries have come by accident.

In the late 1980s, Yan went to a friend’s house to look at some second-hand products. “When I arrived, I heard my friend arguing with his wife. She was angry because he had bought a porcelain vase for 600 yuan,” he said.

Six hundred yuan was a lot of money to a normal family at that time and many experts told his friend that it was a fake vase and worth nothing. His wife was so angry that she threw the vase out.

“When I saw the vase, I was overcome with surprise. It was such a beautiful vase so brilliantly painted. They, including the original owners and experts, thought it was meant to be used for holding tools. Now people realize that it is a hugely valuable work of art from the Ming Dynasty,” he said.

Because of his devotion to collection and culture, Yan is now a well-known collection master and antique theorist. He also has the largest collection of “red-and-green porcelain relics,” a type of precious porcelain art piece made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province.

With more than 10,000 precious collections, Yan finally found a home for his “cultural memories.” Covering an area of 1,500 square meters in Longhua Cultural Center, Wangye Museum is now one of the largest and most prestigious private museums in the country. It has more than 10,000 ancient relics and paintings, most of which were donated by Yan.

10,000 ancient relics and paintings, most of which were donated by Yan.

Add: 2/F, Longhua Culture and Arts Center, intersection of Donghuan Road 2 and Meilong Road (龙华文化艺术中心2楼望野博物馆)

Metro: Longhua Station (龙华站), Exit C