In 1952, because of his "special experience" of recovering the national treasure as a representative of the Qing Damage Association, Wang Shixiang was characterized as a "big tiger" to be fought in the "Three Antis" movement, and after more than a year of examination, although his innocence was proved, after "release on bail", the Forbidden City expelled him from his public office.
Wang Shixiang
One elegant, two disasters.
Wang Shixiang was born into a rich family, with an elegant style and talents, his grandfather Wang Qingyun and his grandfather Wang Rendong were all high-ranking officials, his uncle Wang Renkan was the leader of the Guangxu Dynasty, his brother-in-law Chen Baochen was the "imperial master of the late Qing Dynasty", and his father Wang Ji had served as Zhang Zhidong's staff and later as a diplomatic ambassador... Wang Men's poetry is rich in elegant style, but Wang Shixiang, who grew up here, is a playful person, raising dogs, making pigeons, playing with eagles, catching rabbits, playing with calligraphy and painting, sculpture, furniture, bamboo carvings when he is young... In the end, it became "play" to "learn" and became a generation of collectors.
Mr. Huang Zimiao said that he was "a plaything to make a family", and Mr. Ma Weidu said: "Wang Shixiang's uniqueness lies in the fact that he was born in the upper class, but he pays attention to the fun at the bottom of the society, which is rare among Chinese literati." ”
Wang Shixiang played with eagles, and Wang Shixiang's hobby of raising eagles continued until he was old.
In the early 1940s, Wang Shixiang, who had just graduated from Yenching University, began to associate with the Forbidden City, and for more than a decade, Wang Shixiang served as the head of the antiquities section of the Palace Museum, and in 1951, he became the director of the exhibition department of the Palace Museum. After being expelled from the Forbidden City, he got up early every day to go dark, delved into the self-proclaimed "partial door" of learning, and began to study the collection of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, etc. "The Palace Museum was imprisoned three times, could not find out the problem, released on bail but dismissed from public office." After release, I bought more. ”
Wang Shixiang rode on the street to buy vegetables
In another decade, in the discussion with folk craftsmen, in the collection of Ming-style furniture objects, techniques, and literature materials, Wang Shixiang felt that he could study his own "partial door" and study his own collection. However, when the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, Wang Shixiang's friends Chen Mengjia, Qi Gong, and Shi Shuqing were raided one after another.
Wang Shixiang knew that the things he collected in his hands could not escape this disaster, so he applied to the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Cultural Relics Bureau of his work unit at that time to "raid the home" and "self-revolution". In September, Wang Shixiang's collection was "copied" by a large number of people, and according to relevant registration materials, a total of 25,676 antiques, 1,242 calligraphy and paintings, and 8,156 books were copied that time.
Qi Gong and Wang Shixiang
Collectibles: "By me, by me"
For his own collection and research, Wang Shixiang once concluded: "I do not collect calligraphy and paintings, do not collect porcelain, and do not collect bronzes, due to the limitations of economic ability, I dare not ask about these." Only a few yuan or one or twenty yuan of price, pick up in stalls, visit old homes, people give up me, insignificant...", but such a "no collection" person, his involvement in the field of collection has built a rich collection, furniture, lacquerware and other fields of academic research is more pioneering.
In the summer of 1973, Wang Shixiang ended his four-year dry school life and began to recover the cultural relics that were copied. He persevered in writing letters to authorities until 1986, when he recovered most of the artifacts, books and manuscripts. By the mid-1990s, Wang Shixiang's collections began to flow into the market, becoming sought after and rising in price.
In 1993, Wang Shixiang's collection of 79 pieces of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture changed hands for 1 million US dollars, when the domestic classical furniture collection had just started to develop, the price of millions of DOLLARs at that time can be described as sky-high, to know that the next year Jiade Autumn Auction a Piece of Ming Dynasty Huanghua rosewood three-legged large square incense, but also only for 187,000 yuan. Wang Shixiang's book "Ming-style Furniture Appreciation" published by Wang Shixiang for many years of research on Ming-style furniture has directly promoted the development of domestic classical furniture collection.
Wang Shixiang also collected copper stoves, and he wrote in the "Self-Cherished Collection": "There are more than forty furnaces in the collection, all of which have sandalwood and pear wood seats, ten years of catastrophe, all of which were copied, and when they were returned, about one-third of the furnace was lost, and there was no survivor of the furnace seat, but this mane rosewood seat was unharmed, and it was also fortunate to be yun. ”
In 2003, Wang Shixiang's wife Yuan Quanyi died of illness, and the grief-stricken Elder Wang entrusted the 143 antiquities he treasured to China Guardian Auction, "Li Songju Long Objects - Wang Shixiang Yuan Quanyou Treasures of Chinese Art" special sale of more than 63 million yuan, of which 21 of the 30 copper furnaces were auctioned, the transaction rate was 100%, the total turnover was 11.792 million yuan, the buyer was the same person, is a Shanghai collector. In 2010, the collector entrusted the copper furnace to Beijing Kuangshi for auction, but only 20 pieces were auctioned. The special turnover rate of the "Jin Ash Jijin - Wang Shixiang Tibetan Furnace" was also 100%, and the total turnover of 20 copper furnaces was 98.45 million yuan, achieving a market performance of ten times the overall increase in seven years. Among them, the Ming Chongzhen Cupola gold tablet three-legged furnace was sold for 1.66 million yuan in the 2003 China Guardian auction, and the transaction price in 2010 was as high as 15.12 million yuan, refreshing the world's highest record in the Auction of Copper Furnaces in China at that time.
Ming Chongzhen "Chongzhen Noon Winter Moon Blue to supervise the manufacture" Cupola gold piece three-legged furnace
Beijing Kuangshi 2010 autumn auction 15.21 million yuan transaction
This furnace has a diameter of 12 cm, engraved "Chongzhen Nong Noon Winter Moon Qing to supervise the manufacture" letter model, the furnace is three-legged, round belly, cupola ears, the shape of the instrument is simple and dignified. The furnace body is thick and thick, and the feel is very good. The whole body is covered with gold flakes, and the pulp is bright in color. The copper furnace also has a Chongzhen year model, the name of the producer, and the production is so exquisite, this piece is the most important. On March 31, 1951, Mr. Zhao Ruzhen presented it to Mr. Wang Shixiang. Since then, China Guardian, Beijing Poly, Beijing Hanhai, etc. have successively set up special or special auctions for copper furnaces, such as Beijing Poly's 2013 spring auction "Qianxiang Gathering - Qu's Treasured Ming and Qing Copper Furnace", 2013 Autumn Auction "Joyful Cloud Smoke - Ming and Qing Copper Furnace" and the 2014 Spring Auction began to set up "Jijin - Important Private Collection Ming and Qing Copper Furnace", Beijing Hanhai Collection "Liuxiang", "Smoke Cloud on the Case", "Smoke Collection", "Incense Sanxia", "Prosperous and Prosperous" and a series of special auctions, and the copper furnace market has entered a period of vigorous development. And become an indispensable category in the auction sector.
Guqin, lacquerware, gourds, ancient books, Buddha statues, etc. Wang Lao also has a collection, and in the perennial interest guidance, continuous appreciation, the professional standard of his research and collection has also been continuously improved. Long-term practice and research, but also he has accumulated a wealth of first-hand information, so far Wang Lao has written more than 10 monographs, more than 90 papers. "Celebrities are popular all over the world, and the dialects are deeply affectionate. The young Yan City is called the play master, and the boss Jinghua Ji Yiwen. The famous translator Yang Xianyi once wrote a poem for this multi-year-old, four short sentences, telling the most quintessential life story of Wang Shixiang.
A true collector," the views on cultural relics are scattered, and Wang Shixiang finally chose to "scatter". In the twilight years of his life, The Elder Wang spent half a century collecting Ming and Qing dynasty furniture and finally donated it to the Shanghai Museum.
Part of Wang Shixiang's old collection is displayed in the Ming and Qing Dynasty Furniture Museum of the Shanghai Museum