大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝:记多伦多皇家安大略博物馆百年藏玉之旅 Collecting for Canada: A Brief History of Chinese Jade Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum

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大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝
ColleCting for Canada
加拿大皇家安大略博物馆藏中国古代玉器
10 11
ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
1908 年，一艘载有数十件中国文物的货船，由英国伦敦缓缓开出，经过 15 天海上颠簸后，抵达加拿大的蒙特利
尔市，然后转道铁路，为多伦多大学的博物馆运送了一批来自东方神秘古国的艺术珍品，其中的一件中国玉器成为皇
家安大略博物馆（以下简称 ROM）的第一批玉器收藏，并由此开启了 ROM 百年藏玉之旅。
玉器，千百年来承载着中华民族特有的精神寄托和追求，也受到历代王公、仕子与商贾的追膜与热爱，如今又
成为大洋彼岸博物馆的关注收藏重点。是什么机缘促成了 ROM 以近 1400 件高品质藏品，成为当今海外收藏中国玉
器当之无愧的风水宝地？这批玉器背后又有着怎样的风云际会和人事变迁呢？
一 玉之美，有如君子之德
早在 3000 多年前的中国商代社会，藏玉之风已盛行乐见，商朝贵族们下葬时便佩戴着更早于他们一两千年的史
前古老玉饰。玉石之美不拘囿于材质、功能，文人名士常以玉石之德赞誉君子，纵观中国历史的文化长河，玉具有极
高的鉴赏价值，是身份的象征。
2500 年前，子贡曾请教老师，为何贵族们如此推崇玉石？圣哲孔子释疑曰“君子比德于玉”，意即玉蕴涵着儒
家推崇的仁、智、义、礼、乐、忠、信、天、地、德之精髓。东汉时期的许慎在《说文解字》中也曾概括玉之五德：
“润泽以温，仁之方也； 理自外，可以知中，义之方也；其声舒扬，尃以远闻，智之方也；不挠而折，勇之方也；
锐廉而不技，洁之方也。”谦谦君子，温润如玉，这一诠释将玉和君子的美德永远定格在一起。
然而西方对于中国玉器的欣赏、认知及收藏却是晚近的事情。溯源 ROM 的藏玉之旅，和 19 世纪中叶在清宫先
后执掌过与皇室礼仪密切有关的太常寺的吴大澂有着千丝万缕的关联。曾官居高位至湖南巡抚的吴大澂（1835 ～1902）
不仅极为通晓礼玉文化的涵义，而且在古物收藏、鉴赏、著书等方面同样建树颇丰。通过反复考据商周时期的礼制释
文及后来宋代学者的校注，吴大澂将收录的 227 件玉器编目为 60 余纲，撰书《古玉图考》，并于 1889 年刊刻出版。
吴大澂对中国古玉意涵的精辟分析和解读被后来的西方学者推崇备至，首屈一指的便是芝加哥费尔德自然历史博物
馆的人类学研究员贝特霍尔德·劳费尔，他以吴大澂的相关著述为基础，结合自己在中国实地调查研究的心得，于
1912 年出版了《玉：中国考古与宗教研究》一书，这不仅让西方人很好地理解了中华民族追膜玉器文化历久弥盛的
澎湃热情，同时也向西方世界普及了玉石文化自我丰盈的发展进程。
19 世纪末至 20 世纪初，西方博物馆及私人藏家的收藏关注重点转向玉器，ROM 的藏玉之风渐起。当时，将藏
玉作为消遣爱好的西方人，极为热衷于利用在华的任何良机一睹或攫获上乘的美玉。毫无例外，位于多伦多已初具雏
形的皇家安大略博物馆，也不会错过收藏中国古代艺术品的重要组成部分——玉器。
ROM 的前身实属多伦多大学的教学与研究博物馆，主要以自然科学和考古学为主。第一任馆长查尔斯·柯雷利博士
是多伦多大学教授、埃及考古学专家，也是 ROM 庞大的埃 及艺术品收 藏的最大功臣。柯雷利馆长笃信通过文物和考古
手段研究地域性物质文化材料，是加深对古代文明认知的最好研究方式，他尤其重视埃及、中国、希腊罗马、美索不达米
亚的物质文化。不言而喻，这样的收藏理念成为 ROM 早期关注并收藏来自中国考古出土文物 (包 括 玉 器）的 重 要 宗 旨 。
二 ROM 馆藏中国玉器概述
历经百年的 ROM 藏玉史始于 1908 年的一件翡翠荷叶形笔洗（图一）。1914 年3月19 日，皇家安大略博物馆
首次亮相于公众视野之时，簇新锃亮的桃木展柜中赫然陈列着几十件玉器。而最近入藏的则是前文提及的清廷官员吴
大澂本人早年收藏的一件玉璧，由多伦多的伯纳德·纳什先生于 2012 年捐赠。如今，ROM 的馆藏中国玉器已达近
1400 件，而博物馆数据库可调取的玉器记录则有 1458 件。这两组数据无法完全一一对照确定的原因有三：1. 同一件
玉器上不同部件被分别标注（诸如器盖、帽饰），继而各自被独立编号；2. 现存藏玉上的若干残片被独立编号；3. 服
饰、织物上的玉器杂件也被独立编录于纺织部门的数据库。尽管如此，近 1400 件记录在册的藏玉量让 ROM 成为格
外重要的中国玉器海外收藏地之一。
除了数量可观，ROM 藏玉还呈现很高的品质，其中有为数不少的中国出土玉器。ROM 的退休副研究员多丽丝·窦
汉文博士曾于 1971 年出版的《皇家安大略博物馆馆藏玉器》一书中评述，ROM 所藏玉器是世界上最“脏”的藏品。
究其原因，ROM 的玉器大多来自 20 世纪二三十年代考古遗址的发现，很多玉器上甚至还残存有出土地遗址的余留。
当然，这与首任馆长柯雷利博士的考古学家身份有很大关系。在十分重视出土考古发现的柯雷利博士的关注下，诸多
商代贵族墓地的玉器（图二）被吸纳成为 ROM 的早期馆藏。
如今，ROM 玉器收藏的范围已远远超越了初期的理念。诚如本书所展示，除了发现的出土器物，后世的宫廷皇
家玉器也远渡重洋来到了 ROM。馆藏玉器在数量上主要集中在早晚两期，汉代以前的玉器 682 件及明清的 614 件。
虽然唐至明的玉器数量较少，但从年代接续性的标准来衡量，馆藏玉器是相对完整连续的。在可观的馆藏玉器中，也
不乏清代乾隆一朝的皇家收藏（图版 222、227）。例如，属清宫旧藏的一幅宋代梁师闵《芦汀密雪》图长卷上的玉别子，
于1947 年之前辗转来到多伦多。此玉别子的背面铭刻着“乾隆御赏”，昭示此幅长卷应是经乾隆帝鉴赏并收藏的 (图
版203）。如今，此画依旧藏于北京故宫，只不过画上的玉别子是后来替代之物。北京故宫的研究人员直到 2015 年
才知道原画玉别子的真身就在 ROM。再举一例，1987 年伯纳德·斯特朗夫妇赠予 ROM 一柄连年有余三镶玉如意 (图
版256）。经查，此如意是大臣董诰敬献乾隆帝的生辰礼物，紫檀木托背面所钤刻诗句“亿万人增亿万寿，泰平岁值
泰平春”，正是 1733 年乾隆皇帝的御题诗中的一句 (图三）。无独有偶，这副对联诗句恰巧也被绘制在宁寿宫花园中“玉
粹轩”后墙上的绘画中 (图四）。
总 体而 言，ROM 所藏中国玉器无论在形制上还是功能上都涉及广泛，囊括了实用器皿、私人装饰、摆件以及家居
插件，尤为引人注意的是还包括礼玉和葬玉，而且收藏数量庞大，年代接续性较为完整，既有出土器物，又有传世旧藏。
三 查尔斯·柯雷利：考古学家的征购
1908 ～1915 年，ROM 先后入藏 97 件中国玉器。这批玉器收藏均来自名为 S. M. Franck & Co Ltd 的伦敦古董公
司。该公司 19 世纪 80 年代至 20 世纪 30 年代活跃于伦敦，是一家颇有声誉的古董交易商，并在当时拥有一间占地面
积很大的仓库（位于伦敦凯莫麦尔街 25 号）。据大英博物馆网站消息称，该公司广开财路，曾为包括大英博物馆、
V&A 等博物馆和威廉·巴瑞尔爵士的私人收藏提供藏品来源，其中当然不乏刚发掘出土的器物。20 世纪初，时任
ROM 馆长的柯雷利博士正是通过这家公司，在接下来长达近 20 年的时间里不断为多伦多大学博物馆购买藏品。1914
年ROM 的中国馆向公众开放时，包括那 97 件玉器在内的所有令人惊叹的中国古董几乎都来自这家伦敦古董商。因而，
柯雷利也被当时的伦敦古董界戏称为出手惊人的“大主顾”(图五）。
柯雷利馆长在伦敦中国古董市场上大手笔的海量购买，与一系列慷慨的赞助支持者息息相关。诸如时任加拿大
商业银行主席（同时担任 ROM 董事会主席）的埃德蒙德·沃克爵士鼎力支持柯雷利购买东亚艺术品。这一时期，
ROM 瞄准的玉器多为清代玉雕 (图版 249）。1915 年，沃克爵士资助柯雷利馆长购进了至少 16 件公元前 2000 年前
大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝
记多伦多皇家安大略博物馆百年藏玉之旅
沈 辰
安大略玉器-cs6-P01-111（8.27）.indd 10-11 16-11-8 下午1:12

大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝
ColleCting for Canada
加拿大皇家安大略博物馆藏中国古代玉器
12 13
ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
的古玉（其中一些被证明为后世仿品）。尽管早期收藏的玉器很有可能是出土器物，但因缺乏当时的出土记录成为悬
而未解的谜团，包括现在已确定的也在 ROM 玉藏之列的史前时期的红山文化和良渚文化玉器，可惜能证明它们出处
的记录非常的少 (图版 025）。这当中，有一件特别的“亚”字形玉饰 (图版 117），一面有精美雕饰，另一面无饰素面，
在顶、底部分别均匀间隔纵穿三孔，使整块玉面被分割成三个区域，其间均匀刻划细线几何纹。当时我们对其断代和
源出无法做出任何判断，直到 20 世纪 80 年代，陕西的考古发现证明这实际来自一套玉佩组件。虽然这种玉佩在东周
时期属秦国典型器，但这种纹饰在秦式玉佩中实属罕见。凑巧的是，ROM 收藏它的历史瞬间被凝结在了乔治·克劳
弗斯所拍摄的为伦敦古董商运出的藏品购买照片图册上 (图六）。
四 乔治·克劳弗斯：商人的捐赠
乔治·克劳弗斯 (1871 ～1925），爱尔兰裔英国商人 (图七）。1896 年他在天津设立了永福洋行，开始了在中
国的皮货商贸生意。当时大洋彼岸的天津，成为辛亥革命后清廷贵族的迁徙地，加上其便利的海运条件，成为中国古
董交易的中心。克劳弗斯为人机敏，他捕捉到西方极度渴望中国艺术品收藏的投资契机，并藉此成为伦敦古董市场
的主要古物供应商，包括为大名鼎鼎的 S. M. Franck 公司提供古董货源。他为所有打包海运的文物排序、拍照，并在
每张照片上用笔做出标号，这些像出货单据册般的记录为今天博物馆藏品的历史溯源建立了翔实可信的珍贵档案 (图
八）。如前文提及的精美“亚”字形玉饰，正是在 1915 年前后被标注上 0610 号，之后海运出了中国，而它只是乔治·克
劳弗斯手中，前前后后所拍摄的 21 册共计 962 张照片中所记载的数以万计的中国艺术品中小小一件。1921 年，在克
劳弗斯去世前四年，他将这套照片档案册正式捐赠给了 ROM。
值得关注的是，克劳弗斯对 ROM 的捐赠实源于他和柯雷利之间长久且坚固的友谊。这一切源于 1918 年两人的
巧遇。一战结束后，克劳弗斯从伦敦绕道纽约、多伦多、旧金山去往天津。途中，他暂宿于离博物馆不远的爱德华王
子酒店（位于多伦多国王大街 37 号）。在酒店，他随手拿起一张 ROM 宣传明信片，旋即被明信片上一尊三彩罗汉
坐像的照片所吸引。照片上的那尊辽代罗汉坐像，是 ROM 于1914 年从 S. M. Franck 公司购得，克劳弗斯一眼就认出
了这尊罗汉像正是他几年前亲自代理过的一次货运。这一偶然发现促成了他对刚刚开业的 ROM 的一次特别参观，无
巧不成书，在 ROM 他遇见了正陪同曼尼托巴大学校长参观的柯雷利馆长。在离开多伦多前往联合火车站的前一个小时，
克劳弗斯与柯雷利在爱德华王子酒店进行了短暂会面，克劳弗斯向柯雷利馆长道出，此刻 ROM 在展的全部中国古董
藏品几乎都是由他在天津的货仓运出的。克劳弗斯很可能已厌倦了与欲壑难填的伦敦古董商们打交道，很快与柯雷利
馆长达成共识，表示愿意为多伦多刚落成的以教育研究为宗旨的 ROM 收集藏品。
对于刚刚诞生蹒跚而行的 ROM 而言，从天津直接购买中国艺术品无疑是从天而降的好消息。克劳弗斯向 ROM
的开价仅为伦敦古董商漫天要价的五分之一！接下来的 1918 ～1925 年间，克劳弗斯成为 ROM 收藏中国艺术品的唯
一来源，而他也竭尽所能提供着绝大多数古董商和藏家都无缘一见的顶尖藏品。纵使博物馆有时因购买藏品而负债累
累，8000 多件中国艺术品还是源源不断通过克劳弗斯之手来到了 ROM，这当中就有 521 件玉器。
每一次向 ROM 推荐的藏品，都是克劳弗斯根据博物馆学术研究目标精心挑选、细心猎寻而来的。虽然从天津获
得的玉器藏品大多是清代的装饰玉器，后来的科学考古鉴定却显示出它们当中有些是新石器时代或者先秦时期的。例
如，馆藏中有一件玉璧，虽素面无纹，却以其 48.9 米的直径被断定为迄今尺寸最大的良渚玉璧（图版 006；图九）。
除此以外，还包括新石器时代的玉斧，商代玉璇玑、玉钺 (图版 039）。尤值得一提的是 1921 年入藏 ROM 的一件透
雕玉器 (图版 022）。依照窦汉文博士早年对 ROM 玉器的解读，认为透雕技术应该在金属工具产生时才得以实现，
因而认定这件精美绝伦的透雕玉器应为东周时期的玉佩。不过在 20 世纪 80 年代，山东一座新石器时代的贵族墓穴中
出土一件发簪，呈现了与此相似的透雕技术，ROM 将这件馆藏玉器与山东的透雕发簪联系起来，判断同属于山东龙
山文化遗存。而后峰回路转，2015 年湖北天门的考古发现再一次让 ROM 的这件玉器破茧，显示其真实身份可能是距
今4500 年前长江中游地区的石家河文化遗存。
克劳弗斯没有背弃自己对柯雷利馆长的承诺，始终没有将盈利放在古董贸易的权重天平上，事实上他几乎没有
从中赚过钱，所幸他有颇具规模的皮货生意做支撑。通过查阅现存的克劳弗斯和柯雷利馆长之间的书信往来，可知甚
至有这样的情况：克劳弗斯考虑到某些文物应该纳入馆藏但 ROM 又无力购买，他便将此类文物无偿赠送给博物馆！
克劳弗斯一直持续着对博物馆的默默付出，直到 1924 年他的皮货生意因伦敦码头罢工而陷入破产困境，第二年
他也因一场大病骤然去世。
为纪念其为 ROM 作出的贡献，ROM 将经由他的渠道进入馆藏的文物命名为 George Crofts Collection ( 乔治·克
劳弗斯收藏）。当然这其中也不乏其他资助人的慷慨资助，诸如埃德蒙德·沃克爵士和华伦夫人。
五 怀履光：传教士的热爱
1925 年，克劳弗斯去世，怀履光则进入 ROM 并结识了柯雷利馆长。
19 世纪末怀履光（1873 ～1960）作为一名年轻传教士来到中国，后来成为圣公会河南教区的主教 (图十）。作
为传教士，他受人尊敬并多次因与红十字会合作抗击疾病、抗洪救灾、安抚群众而被民国政府授予嘉奖（图十一）。
由于从 1910 年起就久居开封，且与文化界人士有深度交往，怀履光深深爱上了中国历史与文化。作为主教，他服务
的中原地区自古就是中华文化的发祥地，珍贵的地下文物也常因农作、基建、盗墓等各种原因频频曝光于众。怀履光
认为自己有责任保存人类共同的文化遗产，从此倾心投入到加拿大博物馆的建设中来，以期妥善保存中国的文物。怀
履光对中国历史、文化的渊博学识令柯雷利馆长十分钦慕，而其在中国古董市场上资深的人脉关系，也促成了怀履光
自1925 年起被 ROM 授权代理在中国古董市场上的文物收集工作。
与克劳弗斯如出一辙，怀履光也认为作为关注世界文化的综合百科全书式博物馆，ROM 应倾其全力收集各种藏
品，同时，他也很善于把握收藏中稍纵即逝的机会，眼光极具前瞻性。仅 1925 年这一年，他便向 ROM 船运了 8次
共300 余件文物。据他的传记作家沃姆斯雷记述：“这些器物范围甚广，尺寸各异，小到细碎的装饰部件和小型托架，
大至体量巨硕的墓葬顶盖。”
1934 年怀履光 60 岁，退休回到了多伦多。截至那时，他为 ROM 共收集了近 9000 件中国文物，当中玉器占了 441 件。
ROM 也给予了他极高形式的表彰和纪念——将通过怀履光收录进馆的藏品统一冠以他的名字，形成了今天的“Bishop
William C. White Collection”——威廉·怀特主教（怀履光）收藏。怀氏之名被铭记在博物馆的出版物和藏品标签上。
怀履光对中国玉器的收藏，更贴切来说是对克劳弗斯藏品的补充。如前文所示，克劳弗斯玉器藏品多数是清宫
装饰玉器，而怀氏收藏的重点则是因修建铁路或者农作而毁坏的出土文物。ROM 中怀氏玉器藏品与下文所讲述的明
义士藏品一样，主要来自商代中晚期都城安阳遗址，以及东周、汉、唐时期的洛阳古都。由于怀氏在民国当时的学术
界、文物界交友甚众，人脉广博，大批汉代以前的文物连同出土背景资料在这一时期被源源不断运送到多伦多。怀氏
对中国文物的鉴赏品位备受收藏界推崇，他在当地和全中国的影响力，也令手中握有各种稀世藏品的古董商趋之若鹜。
不过，怀履光主教积极活跃于中国进行文物收集的作为也饱受争议，被看作是致使中华文化遗产流失西方的罪魁
祸首。据说他购买过盗掘东周王陵墓地的文物，他也因此一度被指控为盗掘洛阳金村大墓的主使人。1934 年他出版《洛
阳故城古墓考》一书中所围绕的正是该遗址的出土文物，如今这些文物已散落在中国和海外的十几家博物馆中。事实
上ROM 也确实藏有一定数量的金村文物，还包括一些具有极高美学价值和历史价值的玉器（图版 108 ～110）。然 而 ，
ROM 最近通过对馆藏怀履光书信档案的研究证实，怀履光主教与那时的盗墓毫无关系。没有资料证明，在金村墓葬
文物被当地农民盗掘之时他曾去过洛阳。而巧合的是，有一位来自美国加州讲英语的传教士，在那段时间常常出现在
洛阳金村遗址，他很有可能被错认成怀履光。
除了在安阳和洛阳遗址购得玉器外，怀氏经手的还有一组礼玉藏品。当时怀履光被告知，上海的一位古董商代
安大略玉器-cs6-P01-111（8.27）.indd 12-13 16-11-8 下午1:12

大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝
ColleCting for Canada
加拿大皇家安大略博物馆藏中国古代玉器
14 15
ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
表天津袁家要出手一套原属清廷官员（即大收藏家吴大澂）的玉器，这批玉器的主人乃吴大澂之女吴本娴，后嫁民国
大总统袁世凯的长子袁克定。怀履光当即明白此组玉器何等重要，这意味着他将得到吴大澂对中国礼玉毕生研究后的
集大成之精华。他迫切地写信告知柯雷利馆长这一重大讯息，当时 ROM 的图书馆已存有《古玉图考》的刊印复本，
柯雷利馆长也知晓此套玉器实乃 ROM 志在必得之收藏。接下来的 1927 ～1928 年间，怀履光在上海前后周折五次，
通过文物界朋友的协助，鉴定保留了一些珍品，也退还了他们所认定的某些赝品，最终斩获这批共计 28 件的玉器（图
十二）。如今可以确定，ROM 入藏的这批玉藏，即使个别器件在真伪方面有出入，也不会使整批玉藏的重要性失色。
1930 年ROM 的研究员侯默思出版并介绍了这批藏品，描述吴大澂的藏玉抵达多伦多时都用旧报纸包裹着，外层还有
吴大澂亲笔书写的“古玉”字样。十分遗憾的是，这些早年的包裹物当时并未刻意收藏，如今已不复存在了。
六 明义士：学者的热情
与怀氏主教同在河南传教，对中国艺术与考古也拥有极大热忱的明义士（1885 ～1957），1910 年时作为长老会
传教士在河南传教，当时怀氏刚升任主教。初任安阳传教士的明义士在那里习得中国考古发现的最古老文字——甲骨
文。那时驱动他满腔热情的动力完全源自于他的误解，认为古汉语中的“帝”是指英文中的“上帝”之意。然而这一
误会却最终成就他成为西方甲骨文研究的第一人。凭借这些知识，他受雇于齐鲁大学（今山东大学前身）教授古文字。
后来他在怀履光建立的多伦多大学中国研究系学习，并在导师怀氏的指导下，获得早期中国历史及考古的博士学位，
研究重心便是甲骨文以及青铜时代的武器。
明义士从未想过利用收集文物为自己或博物馆赚取利润。他的收集纯粹是基于对其研究有帮助的文物，包括田
野中裸露的甲骨或者其他考古材料。他的藏品具有极高的学术价值。柯雷利馆长曾试图说服他将藏品捐给 ROM 以丰
富馆藏建设，明义士拒绝了柯雷利，并把其大多数甲骨和青铜器残片（5万多件藏品）留在了中国。这些文物的一部
分最终成为山东大学、山东省博物馆、北京故宫博物院以及南京博物院的收藏。
1936 年明义士离开中国回到多伦多时，把他的收藏留在了中国，他一直期望有一天能重返中国继续进行学术研究，
终因二战时期远东地区日益恶化的战事，再也没能返回中国去研究他的这些藏品。二战结束后，加拿大海外传教联合
教会终止了传教士的传教活动，并把所有教会人员的私人物品运回加拿大。1947 年，在明义士不知情的情况下，他
的教会同仁将误认为是其私人物品的 6个货箱共计 6000 件文物，从天津船运到了多伦多。这 6个货箱一直被封存到
1957 年，直到明义士去世之时都不曾被挪动。他去世后其家人果断将货箱中文物全部捐出，这也成为 ROM 中国文物
收藏历史上最大一笔由单个捐赠者捐出的藏品。其中包含 154 件玉器，5000 多件甲骨残片。
明义士藏品大多是考古材料，基本上都是残器，玉器也如此，许多玉器器身还带有随葬沉积物及朱砂彩料。这
批玉藏中，有一件人首玉佩据说出自安阳某一考古遗址（图版 027）。近年来的研究显示这件玉佩最初应是源自长江
中游地区的新石器时代石家河文化遗存。安阳商墓出土新石器时代玉器的情形证明早在商代，贵族阶层就已形成藏玉
的惯例，意即藏玉的历史在中原已有数千年之久。此外，明义士的玉藏中也有与今河南三门峡地区西周诸侯墓葬出土
物相匹配的器物（图版 095）。借用 20 世纪 60 年代研究中国文物方面的顶尖古董商弗兰克·凯洛的话：“这些物件
只能作为研究材料，大部分都不可能具有市场价值……但是对于任何一个严肃的学人而言，它们都价值连城……这是
全世界最好的考古学收藏之一。”
七 晚近收藏：馈赠弥补缺项
1960 年吸纳明义士的藏品后，ROM 形成了今天馆藏 35000 多件中国文物藏品的规模，其中玉器共计 1000 多件。
20 世纪 60 年代之前，除了上述前辈的努力征购，由其他渠道获得的玉器为数甚少。值得一提的有，ROM 于1920 年
通过伦敦“国家艺术收藏基金会”购得若干箱中国艺术品，其中包括一件重要的莫卧儿王朝风格玉器——八宝如意纹
玉钵（图版 211）；还有一些陆续捐赠而来的藏品，例如 1940 年莱斯蕾夫人捐赠玉器 3件，1947 年包尔先生捐赠红
山文化时期的玉箍形器 1件（图版 024）；1948 ～1961 年期间弗雷德里克·蔻万夫人所捐玉器 22 件。
20 世纪 50 年 代 以 后 ，通 过 克 劳 弗 斯 和 怀 履 光 主 教 这 样 的 渠 道 收 集 中 国 文 物 的 机 会 已 经 一 去 不 复 返 。而 类 似 ROM
这样的博物馆，收集古玉或其他文物的渠道极大程度上是来自个别家族或多或少的偶然性馈赠。例如，1975 年维克多·
林奇 -斯陶顿夫人为纪念其丈夫捐赠给 ROM 了4件 中 国 文 物 ，其 中 1件是玉器，虽只有一件，品质却属于世界顶级玉
器
—
底部钤刻“乾隆年制”的绿色福寿纹玉盘，它极有可能是一件敬献皇室的生辰贺礼 (图版 214）。1976 年起至 1988
年，多萝西·胡佛夫人陆续捐赠了 22 件玉器，其中包括 15 件玉制鼻烟壶。1996 年，33 件异常精美的清代装饰玉器
被高顿·阿姆斯特朗先生引入 ROM，一些纹饰主题和象征意义是 ROM 从未拥有过的新创玉器类型 (图版 247）。还 有
2005 年为加拿大舞蹈、媒体艺术、音乐、舞台剧、视觉艺术、写作和出版专门建立特别奖项的斯陶顿家族，也是 ROM 玉藏
的支 持 者。
赫曼·赫尔左格·列维博士（1902 ～1990）的祖父是 19 世纪末定居加拿大的犹太移民。其祖父在汉密尔顿成
立了名噪一时的专营钻石珠宝的进口生意的家族企业。1923 年，在阿姆斯特丹进行珠宝钻石贸易实习的列维博士，
成为艺术品热忱爱好者及学术级鉴赏家 (图十三）。20 世纪 70 年代起，他因欧洲银器收藏与 ROM 往来频繁，渐渐
喜爱上了中国瓷器，并一直资助 ROM 远东部。1983 年他捐给 ROM 3 件玉器 (图十四）。到 1990 年去世时，他为远
东部留下了价值一千五百多万加币的基金，用以资助往后 5年各种中国文物藏品的购买计划。这笔丰厚的馈赠帮助
ROM 吸纳了三百多件新藏品。
基于列维博士的馈赠，ROM 的研究员精心挑选，精益求精，再次添加了 32 件玉器，继而使得本就可观的玉
器馆藏弥补了若干缺项。这些玉器大多是通过纽约有名望的艺术品交易商购买而来。常年合作的古董商清楚地知道
ROM 的中国文物收藏所需，从而为博物馆提供着恰当的选项。这些潜在藏品范围甚广，有西周鹿形玉佩，也有明代
玉壶；有东周剑饰，也有清代玉兰花形花插 (图版 285）。值得一提的是，其中有一件精美的汉代透雕剑珌，造型与
西汉南越王墓出土的剑珌十分相似（图版 134）。
在列维博士馈赠的玉器中，1992 年入藏的一件直柄形战国嵌鎏金铜虎纹青玉饰尤为稀珍（图十五）。之所以闻名，
是因为它最初的主人乃是名噪一时的古董商卢芹斋（1880 ～1957），之后这件玉饰辗转被欧洲贵族 Klaus D. Baron
von Oertzen 家族收藏，直到 1991 年现身于苏富比拍卖行。时至今日，我们仍然没有在已发表的考古发现中 ,找到
任何与它直接相关的器形。因其造型特别，早期出版的若干书籍中都有关于它的记载。1982 年，它也曾在弗利尔美
术博物馆展出过。然而，最近的 X光检验报告对其真伪提出了质疑，成像效果显示贯穿整个玉饰的内部是铜质金属
片，铜片使得玉饰的若干残片被拼接起来形成现如今我们看到的这件玉饰（图十六）。ROM 的文保专家小心翼翼地
拆解了这件玉饰，基本确定这件玉佩是由两三片残件拼接而成，应是早期古董市场拼接，后期再加工而成的。铜片和
19 ～20 世纪广泛使用的黏胶，将这原本不属于单个玉饰的四个部件被粘合在一起（图十七）。目前，对该原件化学
成分的检验还在继续，初步观察显示，这件一度在史学上具有突破性而被盛赞的玉饰，绝不是东周时期的原装古物，
极有可能是 20 世纪初一件混合两三件东周玉饰残件，并经若干修饰加固的二次加工器物（图十八）。
八 最新入藏的良渚玉璧：故人似玉由来重
近20 年来，ROM 入藏较少。依照联合国教科文组织和艺术博物馆馆长联盟的规则，西方博物馆对待古代艺术
品的收藏愈加严格。为防止非法藏品混入博物馆，ROM 对玉器的捐赠和购买也非常谨慎。无论美学价值有多高，除
非带有明确的出处或能证明其真实流传有序的文件和研究材料，否则一概不会纳入馆藏的考虑之列。
ROM 最新近的一次藏玉是一件新石器时代良渚文化时期的玉璧 (图版 003），源 于 2012 年我收到一封来自退休的建
安大略玉器-cs6-P01-111（8.27）.indd 14-15 16-11-8 下午1:12

大洋彼岸的“玉”华天宝
ColleCting for Canada
加拿大皇家安大略博物馆藏中国古代玉器
16 17
ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
筑工程师伯纳德·纳什的邮件。他向博物馆表示愿意捐赠一件玉璧，这件玉璧原是他家住温尼伯格的姑妈塞西莉·哈金斯
所有。在和纳什先生的交流中，他告诉我这件玉器是大约 20 世纪 40 年代时，他姑妈从身在纽约的一位中国女士手中获得的。
鉴于馆藏玉器中已有几十件良渚玉璧，起初我对此玉也兴趣寥寥。然而伴随这块玉璧同来的木座，却让我发现
了很多意外的惊喜。本来我以为这只是古董商为方便玉器展示而添置的普通木座，直到注意到木座正反两面的铭文，
我开始深入调查和研究，一段长达 150 多年风雨飘摇的藏玉历史画卷方缓缓展开（图十九）。
玉璧下木座的正面铭文显示这件玉璧最初的主人恰是《古玉图考》的作者——清廷官宦文人吴大澂。此玉璧被
吴大澂收纳进入他的私人玉藏 ——“宝六瑞”。木座正面下方的一段 15 字刻文与《古玉图考》第 34 页所书的内容
完全一致（图二十），说明吴大澂得此玉璧的时间应是 1889 年此书出版之前。木座的背面上方钤刻有“旧藏南浔顾
子嘉处，徐翰卿以诸女方尊易得之，今归愙斋”（笔者注：吴大澂，字愙斋）。
之后，通过文献研究和对南浔、上海、香港的走访，古玉被吴大澂收藏之前的历史也慢慢还原。这个过程好似抽
丝剥茧，一层一层揭开真相的面纱；又好似复原拼图，慢慢将一角一块的拼图相互嵌合。最终，一段江南顾氏家族发
展史 ,伴随着这块古玉的一路沧桑缓缓呈现于世人面前。古玉既见证了顾家五代在上海蚕丝生产贸易的崛起，也目睹
了其时在香港致力于教育慈善事业的国际企业家的热忱。19 世纪晚期，南浔因制丝产业兴隆，成为中国最富庶地区
之一。那时的顾子嘉是南浔一带的收藏大家，曾拥有钤刻精美铭文的商代青铜器，包括一件以“亚醜诸 ”铭文著名
于世的晚商青铜方尊。当初顾子嘉正是用这件玉璧与吴大澂交换了“亚醜诸 ”青铜方尊。如今，这件“亚醜诸 ”
青铜尊安然存放在台北故宫博物院的青铜器馆 (图二十一）。
故事中最富有戏剧性的情节当属这块玉璧如何辗转纽约来到了加拿大。通过怀履光和柯雷利的往来书信，我们
已知 1902 年吴大澂去世后，他的部分收藏被女儿吴本娴继承，后来吴本娴通过上海一个古董商将吴氏玉藏出手，由
怀氏购得收藏于 ROM。鉴于木座铭文中对吴大澂名讳和其友人的尊称，以及对此玉璧过往历史的缅怀，我相信这块
玉璧应传给了吴大澂最喜爱的小女儿吴本静。而吴本静唯一的女儿费令宜毕业于哥伦比亚大学，20 世纪 20 年代海归
后成为一位英语教授。1943 年，39 岁的她举家迁至纽约。至此，我们可以大胆推测，后来成为纳什先生姑妈的年轻
加国女士，机缘巧合下在纽约结识了费令宜。由此推断，纳什先生在 2012 年邮件中所声称的那位神秘中国女士当是
费令宜。故事的传奇结局是，这块素面无纹的玉璧在离散于吴氏玉藏“宝六瑞”之后，辗转流转于若干传奇人物之手，
最终在 ROM 与1927 ～1928 年间怀氏先后购得的吴大澂“宝六瑞”藏玉中的其他 27 件礼玉再次团圆。这一辗转便
跨越了悠悠 150 年的光阴。
九 结 语
正如这方小小的玉璧所见证的世事跌宕，收藏史的研究往往让我们无限唏嘘、感慨万千。当我们循序渐进，解读和知
晓了这些玉器年代和起源地的信息时，真正令人感怀的，却是这些玉器一百多年跨海来到加拿大的曲折坎坷之路。ROM
的藏玉之旅，见证着时代的变迁，也记录了文明的延续。它们的到来丰富着 ROM 的馆藏，其背后的人事流转也同样拓展
着我们对于文化遗产和文明的认识。留存下来的精美玉器凝聚着波澜壮阔的大历史，也铭刻着曾与其时空交集的个体
过往，当然还有一代代博物馆人的努力。事实上我们应该记住这一系列名字：柯雷利，克劳弗斯，怀履光，明义士，
列维……正是缘于他们为建设馆藏和扩大中国艺术品收藏的热忱，才为今天的公众提供了欣赏和理解人类文明的机会。
此次由中国文物出版社出版 ROM 藏玉图录，依从时间顺序，以器物描述为主，兼顾美学价值与中国传统文化涵
义的表达，呈现最为齐全的 ROM 藏中国玉器。除了若干雷同残件、服装饰品、家具屏风插件外，全部藏品将藉此机
会出版，其中 361 件玉器编为 1～291 号刊于“馆藏中国古代玉器选粹”部分以图版展示，其他 991 件玉器则以 969
幅缩略图形式刊于“馆藏中国古代玉器概览”部分作为参考，希冀为学术研究人员和收藏爱好者提供翔实的资料，也
为公众呈现关于玉器之美和美玉之德的丰富内涵。
图三 ROM馆藏连年有余三镶玉如意细部和题铭
图四 宁寿宫中的“玉粹轩”中通景画。画中的对联和上述玉如意背后的题铭同出于乾隆御题诗
Figure 3: Details of ruyi charm gifted to Em-
peror Qianlong by Dong Gao, shown
the duplet inscriptions that was ex-
cerpt from Qianlong’s own peom
Figure 4: A painting originally shown on the Yucuixuan pavilion within the Ningshougong garden,
showing the duplet matching to the inscription on the back of the ruyi charm at the left
图二
玉簋
商晚期
高4.5厘米，直径6.1厘米
詹姆斯·明义士博士藏品
960.241.88
Figure 2
Gui vessel
Late Shang dynasty
H. 4.5 cm; Dia. 6.1 cm
The Dr. James M. Me nzies
Collection
960.241.88
图一
荷叶形翡翠洗
清
18世纪至19世纪上半叶
长12.6厘米，宽6.6厘米
908.31.3
Figure 1
Washer in form of lotus leaf
Qing dynasty
18th-1st half of 19th century
L. 12.6 cm; W. 6.6 cm
908.31.3
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ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
图七 乔治·克劳弗斯（1871～1925），20世纪早期天津古董供应商
图五 伦敦S. M. Franck公司1908年出货单据原件
（其中包括ROM第一件玉藏）
图六 克劳弗斯编号并拍摄购进S. M. Franck 公司的藏品
（“0610”为文中所述东周秦式玉饰）
Figure 5: The 1908 original invoice from S. M.
Franck & Co LtD in London, which included
the ROM’s rst jade piece
Figure 7: George Crofts (1871 – 1925), an art supplier and trader
in Tianjin in the early 20th century
Figure 6: A Qin-style plaque (NO.0610) acquired from S. M. Franck & Co Ltd
appeared on this photograph of inventory album by George Crofts
图九 笔者与迄今所知最大良渚玉璧
Figure 9: The author and the largest Liangzhu bi disc known
thus far
图八 乔治·克劳弗斯位于天津的皮货商贸公司仓库（摄于1924年前，此仓库曾转运数万件中国文物）
Figure 8: Photographs of George Crofts’ warehouse of fur trading company in Tianjin, where tens of thousands of Chinese
artworks were collected and photographed here before being shipped out of China before 1924
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ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
图十 怀履光主教 (1873～1960) 图十一 中国红十字会1923年颁发怀氏纪念证书，现藏ROM
Figure 10: Bishop William Charles. White (1873 –
1960)
Figure 11: China’s Red Cross Citation issued to Bishop White in 1923, in the ROM's Chinese
collection
图十四 赫曼·赫尔左格·列维博士1983年捐赠3件玉器
Figure 14: three jade pieces donated by Dr. Herman H. Levy in 1983
玉壶
明
高18厘米，
宽11.9厘米
983.232.17
Ewer
Ming dynasty
H. 18 cm;
W. 11.9 cm
983.232.17
花形玉洗
清
长14厘米
983.232.16
Brush-pen washer
Qing dynasty
L. 14 cm
983.232.16
玉鼠
清至民国
高6.6厘米，
宽5.5厘米
983.231.102
Figure of rat
Qing dynasty-Republic
H. 6.6 cm;
W. 5.5 cm
983.231.102
图十二 怀氏于1927～1928年购入ROM原属上海吴大澂私人藏玉的27件礼玉
Figure 12: Twenty-seven ritual jades that were originally from Wu Dacheng's collection acquired by Bishop
White in 1927 – 1928 in Shanghai
图十三 赫曼·赫尔左格·列维博士(1902～1990)
© 尤斯福·卡什
Figure 13: Dr. Herman H. Levy (1902 – 1990)
© Yousuf Karsh
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ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
图十七 拆解后的四件残片显示若干东周玉饰残片被加工重组
嵌铜虎纹直柄形玉饰
战国
长13.7厘米，宽4.4厘米，厚0.7厘米
赫曼·赫尔左格·列维博士遗赠
器物编号：992.30.1
玉质青白色，半透明，有白色
沁斑。整器呈直柄形，饰卷云
纹。柄顶端及一侧附有透雕的虎
纹。柄体中部有两个长方形孔。
该器原为4件战国玉器残片，近
代以鎏金铜构件拼接为一件完整
器物。
Originally possessed by C. T.
Loo and later in the von Oert-
zen Collection, this beautiful
but puzzling jade was made or
reconstituted from four parts to-
gether between the 19th and 20th
centuries. Greenish-white jade
of openwork carving in form
of felines are among the finest
example of the Warring States
period, and attached to one side
and on the top of a vertical han-
dle ornament, respectively, con-
nected by a few copper plaques.
The vertical handle ornament
is decorated with cloud-pattern
curves surrounding two elon-
gated rectangular gold-inlaid
bronze inserts in the middle of
both sides.
Handle-shaped Orna-
ment with Mounted Fe-
lines
Warring States Period, 475 – 221 BC
Late Neolithic Period, Liangzhu cul-
ture, ca. 3200 – 2300 BC
Length: 13.7 cm; Width: 4.4 cm;
Thickness: 0.7 cm
Dr. Herman Herzog Levy Bequest
Fund, 992.30.1
图十五 相传战国嵌鎏金铜虎纹青玉饰
Figure 15: Supposedly an Eastern Zhou han-
dle-shaped ornament with animal
carvings
图十六 东周玉饰（992.30.1）的
X射线成像显示金属片拼
接起原本不属同一玉器
的残片
Figure 16: X-ray images of the
Eastern Zhou ornament
992.30.1, suggesting the
metal plaque is joined by
three broken fragments,
which may not belong to
a single piece originally
Figure 17: The ornament dismantled to show three disjoined fragments,
noting that the original four Eastern Zhou jade pendant frag-
ments were modied into a single work
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ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
图十八 笔者和文保技术人员共同检查此件存有质疑的玉饰
图十九 吴大澂所藏良渚玉璧的木质底座以及钤刻铭文
Figure 19: The wooden stand that was made by Wu Dacheng for his Neo-
lithic jade bi disc, indicating the collecting history of the jade
Figure 18: ROM curator and conservators examining the questionable jade ornament
图二十一 与良渚玉璧交换的商代晚期“亚醜诸 ”方尊，现藏
台北故宫博物院
Figure 21: A Late Shang bronze vessel zun in exchange with
the bi disc is now housed in the National Palace Mu-
seum in Taipei
图二十 吴大澂旧藏玉璧及其1889年《古玉图考》中所刊图版
Figure 20: The ROM bi disc, owned by Wu Dacheng, was pub-
lished in his own book gu yu tu kao in 1889
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Jade, a naturally hard mineral gemstone, has been carved into various ornamental forms and implements for thousands of
years for the purposes of adornments, decorative arts, utensils, and ritual symbolism in ancient China. Traditionally, in Chinese
societies, the allure of jade for personal pleasure has proven to be more than a passion – it is an obsession. Jade elicits fascination
for its timeless beauty and value. The history of collecting jades can be traced back three-thousand years, when Shang dynasty (c.
16th century BC – 1046 BC) elites were buried wearing jades made from one or two thousand years before during the prehistoric
time. In the 5th century BC, Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius (also known as
Kong Zi
) (551 – 479 BC), the great thinker and
teacher at the time, once asked his master why aristocrats held jade in such high esteem. The Master replied: “it is because the sages
of old beheld in jade the reflection of every virtue – charity, wisdom, propriety, humility, courage, loyalty, and honor”. The cultural
symbolism of jade was described in China’s first dictionary
shuo wen jie zi
( 说文解字 ), composed by Xu Shen (c. 58 – 147 BC)
in Eastern Han dynasty (25 – 220); “Jade, the finest stone”. It goes on to describe “jade has five virtues: benevolences is symbolized
by its luster through bright and warm; integrity by its translucency; wisdom by its sonorous ring when struck; courage by its
hardness; and fastness by its durability”.
The historical significance of Chinese jade, as witnessed throughout scholarship and connoisseurs, goes beyond its material
and numerous functions. Collecting jades as imperial adornments reached its peak in the 18th century during the reign
of Emperor Qianlong (r.1736 – 1795). Imperial jades housed in the Palace Museum (both in Beijing and Taipei), given their
unprecedented quality and quantity, are the finest and most exquisite collections of jades in the world. Carved jades are represented
not only by their decorative and creative designs, but also by characteristics of ritual symbolism and imperial practices. In the
middle of the 19th century, Wu Dacheng (1835 – 1902, also known as Wu Ta-cheng in previous publications), who once served
as a minister in charge of ritual ceremony in the Qing court, probably understood best how ritual jades were needed to represent
national patriotism and cultural connotation. Wu was a statesman, an official, a collector, a scholar, and an author of many books
about antiquities, and actively collected ritual jades. In addition to his many publications on various other forms of artworks, it
would be Wu’s important publication in 1889, entitled
gu yu tu kao
(
Illustrated Study of Ancient Jades
) that would prove to be
noteworthy. In this book, Wu catalogued his 227 pieces of jades into approximately 60 categories falling into a few major classes of
rituals that had been defined in annotations from Shang-and-Zhou periods (16th – 3rd century BC), as well as scholarship in Song
dynasty (960 – 1279). Wu’s analysis of these jades was so significant that his interpretations of jade symbolism based on Chinese
tradition were accepted by western scholars. Berthold Laufer (1879 – 1934), then an anthropologist and a curator of the Field
Museum of Natural History in Chicago, made Wu’s work on jades well known in English, alongside his own field research in
China. It is through Laufer’s book entitled
Jade: A Study in Chinese Archaeology and Religion
, published in 1912, that westerners
came to appreciate how passionate the Chinese people were towards their beloved jade, and how this stone was culturally enriched
in its own importance. The start of the 20th century was an ideal time and opportunity for western museums and private collectors
to amass many remarkable and exquisite jade pieces. Collecting Chinese jades was in vogue and a favorable pastime for westerners,
who welcomed any opportunity to get their eyes or hands on jades while traveling in China. At the beginning of the 20th cen t ur y,
jades were an important component of ancient Chinese art, and so were a significant collecting interest, for a newly emerging
museum in Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
When the Royal Ontario Museum opened to the public in March 19, 1914, its new and shiny glass-on-cherry-wood
display cases of Chinese artworks already contained a few dozens of Chinese jades. The ROM has been collecting jades
in Canada for more than 100 years. In 1908, the ROM received its first jade artifact; a brush-pen washer in the form of a lotus
leaf (Figure 1). In 2012 the ROM received its most recent acquisition of jade, a
bi
disc originally in Wu Dacheng's collection (see
below), which came into the ROM’s collection as a gift from Mr. Bernard Rasch. Today the ROM houses more than 1400 objects
of jade. Although the museum’s database shows 1458 records of jade objects, the precise number is not possible to calculate for
the following reasons: (1) a number of records refer to pieces that should belong to a single object as components (i.e. lids, panel
attachment, hat pendant); (2) there are fragments in records which may belong to existing objects; (3) there are a few dozen
jades that are associated with costumes in the Textiles and Fashions collection that are not part of our jade collection records.
Nevertheless, the approximately 1400 jade objects represent one of the largest jade collections in a museum outside of China. All
of these, except a few duplicate fragments as well as costume adornment and screen panel attachment, are published here in this
volume; 361 pieces are described in details with 291 full images while 991 pieces of the remaining list at the back of the book with
thumbnail images for a complete reference.
In 1971, Dr. Doris Dohrenwend, ROM’s associate curator emeritus, published
Chinese Jades in the Royal Ontario Museum
,
in which she described some of the ROM’s jades as the dirtiest pieces in the world. By that, Dr. Dohrenwend was referring to
the fact that most of the ROM’s jades came from archaeological sites between 1920s – 30s. Numerous ROM jades retained
some of the initial pigments from the burial site as well as original earth from the sites. ROM was once a University of Toronto
museum for sciences and archaeology, and its first director Dr. Charles Currelly was an Egyptian archaeologist who participated
in fieldwork in Egypt during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Dr. Currelly was responsible for the extraordinary
collection of Egyptian art at the ROM. It was Dr. Currelly who believed that the study of ancient civilizations through art and
archaeology must employ a comparative approach that examines materials from Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia.
Therefore, it has been an early focus of the ROM to examine archaeological materials from China, which included jades like the
ones from noble burial sites of Shang societies (c. 16th – 11th century BC) illustrated in Figure 2.
However the status of the ROM’s jade collection has moved beyond this perception and as this book will reveal, that the
collection now includes a significant number of late imperial jades. The ROM’s collection has a fairly complete chronological
sequence of jades, with the early imperial assemblages between Tang and Ming dynasties being in relatively low numbers. While
the ROM has 682 pieces dating prior to the 3rd century AD (the end of Han dynasty), another 614 jades belong to Ming and Qing
dynasties, a few of which have marks indicative of imperial collection especially during the Qianlong period (Cat# 222, 227). For
instance, a jade buckle ( 玉别子 ) used for holding up a well-known Song dynasty painting scroll in the Qing court found its way
Collecting for Canada: A Brief History of Chinese Jade
Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum
Chen Shen
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ANCIENT CHINESE JADES FROM THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
to Canada before 1947 (Cat# 203). The back of the buckle was inscribed with
Qian Long Yu Shang
( 乾隆御赏 ) suggesting the
emperor has inspected and collected the painting
lu ting mi xue
( 芦汀密雪 ) scroll by the artist
Liang Shi-min
（梁师闵）from the
Song dynasty (960 – 1279). The painting is still housed in the painting collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing with a replaced
buckle, and their curators became aware of its connection to the ROM only in 2015.
Another rare imperial object is a jade
ruyi
scepter backed on a high-relief carving with sandalwood handles ( 紫檀嵌白玉如
意), donated by Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Strong in 1987 (Cat# 256). The
ruyi
is identified as a birthday gift to Emperor Qianlong
by his high-ranking official named Dong Gao ( 董诰 ) (Figure 3). The inscription is in the form of a couplet on the back of the
sandalwood handle and reveals an excerpt from Qianlong’s own poem written in 1733, reading “a population of 100 million wishes
(for the emperor) 100 million birthdays, prosperous years that come with prosperous blooming.” The very couplet was drawn on a
back wall painting in the Yucuixuan pavilion ( 玉粹轩 ) within the Ningshougong garden ( 宁寿宫花园 ) (Figure 4).
Overall the ROM’s jade collection is represented by a variety of forms and functionalities that are commonly seen throughout
history, including practical utensils, personal adornments, decorative arts, furnishing attachment, and especially ritual and burial
objects. This publication is organized chronologically in order for readers to experience a wide range of jades represented in the
collection, and to allow the objects to speak for their own aesthetic values as well as symbolic significance in Chinese tradition.
The first group of jades in the collection, 97 in total, came to the ROM from a single source, a major Asian art dealer in
London. S. M. Franck & Co Ltd. The firm specialized in the import of Far Eastern works of art and was active from 1883
until 1943 when it closed. S. M. Franck was a reputable and important antiquity dealer in the city of London, England. The dealer
had a large warehouse located on 25 Camomile Street, and they obtained major acquisitions for museums and private collectors,
including the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Sir William Burrell. S. M. Franck charged less than High Street
Antique shops and so their moderate pricing meant that it was cheaper for a museum to deal directly with them, but it also meant
that they had to be quick to react to the arrival of new objects on the market direct from China. At the turn of the 20th century
until at least 1915 the ROM’s Director Dr. Currelly began purchasing directly from S. M. Franck for the University of Toronto
pre-museum facilities. By 1914, when the museum’s gallery of China opened to the public, almost all of the entire collection
of Chinese antiquities were on display, including 97 jades that were acquired from London. Because of his frequent purchases,
Currelly was known in the London Market as a “big buyer” (Figure 5).
The purchases of Chinese art from London include jades that were supported financially from a number of generous donors
and trustees like Sir Edmund Walker (1848 – 1924), then the president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce (today’s CIBC,
one of the five major banks in Canada). Sir Edmund Walker also served as the Chairman of the museum’s board of trustees. He
gave Currelly tremendous support for his purchases of East Asian arts. Many of the jade objects that came from London during
this period date to the Qing dynasty (Cat# 249). In 1915, Sir Edmund Walker financed Currelly to purchase at least 16 pieces
of antique jades that predated the 2rd millennium BC, although a few were later discovered as copies. Those early jades were
likely unearthed from archaeological sites, but without scientific excavations and records. Some are identified to have been from
well-known prehistoric cultures such as Hongshan and Liangzhu; however, there is no records revealing their true identities at
the time (Cat# 025). Among this group, there was a special plaque ( 亚字形玉饰 ) whose affiliation was probably not identified at
the time (Cat# 117). Late in the 1980s, archaeological evidences from Shaanxi province identified this beautifully carved piece
from a pendant set a type commonly seen among jade ornaments from the Qin state of Eastern Zhou. Shaped like a vertical bow
knot, it has decoration on one face only; the reverse side remains plain. It is pierced at the top and bottom by three evenly spaced
perforations running along an angle through to the back. The decoration is divided into three zones, the spaces between them filled
with a fine incised geometric design. This is a rare example of a Qin-style pendant; and it appeared in one of the old photograph
albums of antiquities taken by George Crofts, who recorded this group of artifacts before shipping them to the S. M. Franck in
London (Figure 6).
George Crofts (1871 – 1925) was a businessman from England of Irish descent, who started his fur trading company in China
in 1896 (Figure 7). Soon after he established his business in Tianjin, Crofts took advantage of the high demands for Chinese art by
westerners. He became the main supplier for London’s antiquity dealers including S. M. Franck. Tianjin, where Qing noblemen re-
located their family mansions after the revolution and being a convenient port, was a hub for trade in Chinese antiquities. Crofts had
an excellent habit, or more precisely a good business sense, to photograph all artifacts that he was selling before packing and shipping
them out of China (Figure 8). Each photograph was then given an inventory number, which was noted on each photograph in pen.
The above mentioned exquisite pendant recorded as Crofts’ number 0610 was likely shipped out of China before 1915. This was one
of the few tens of thousands of Chinese artifacts of George Crofts’ 962 photographs that composed twenty-one albums. The albums
were entrusted by Crofts to the care of the Royal Ontario Museum in 1921, four years before his death. This presentation was built
on a long and solid friendship between Crofts and Currelly, who met accidently in Toronto in 1918.
In the year the world celebrated the end of the Great War (1914 – 1918), George Crofts took a journey from London back to
Tianjin for his business, but travelled through New York, Toronto, and San Francisco. At the King Edward Hotel, established in
1903 and still operating today on 37 King Street in Toronto, Crofts picked up a ROM promotional postcard of a tri-color glazed
ceramic sitting Luohan sculpture that the ROM acquired from the S. M. Franck in 1914. Crofts immediately recognized this
Luohan sculpture because it was part of his shipments to London a few years earlier. This discovery led Crofts to make a special
visit to the newly opened ROM just a few blocks away from his hotel. Here, he met Currelly who at the time accompanied the
president of University of Manitoba during a gallery tour. Later in the meeting between the two, just about one hour before Crofts’
train was to leave Toronto’s Union station, Crofts told Currelly that almost all of the ROM’s Chinese arts on display had all passed
through his warehouse in Tianjin. It is likely that at that time Crofts began to feel uncomfortable with the dealings of greedy
London dealers and so he and Currelly found a common interest in bringing Chinese artifacts to Toronto’s new museum which
had educational and research missions.
For the new museum, purchasing Chinese art directly from Crofts in Tianjin was undoubtedly the best news possible. Now
that Currelly was given an opportunity to acquire objects for the museum at only one-fifth of what he had been paying the London
dealer S. M. Franck. Between 1918 and 1925, Chinese arts came solely from Crofts, who provided excellent first-hand sources before
any other dealers and collectors would have been able to see them. As a result, although the Museum had no choice sometimes but
to go into debt because of the purchases, over 8000 pieces of Chinese arts arrived at the museums through George Crofts, among
which 521 jades were included. Every purchase he made for the ROM was carefully researched based on the museum’s academic
needs, especially for archaeological context. Although the jade collection from Tianjin was primarily exquisite Qing period decorative
jades, there are a few special pieces later identified to be from Neolithic or Early China. One such piece is a Liangzu
bi
-disc, which,
although the face is unfinished, is considered to be today’s largest Liangzu
bi
disc in terms of size, 49 centimeter in diameter (Cat#
006; Figure 9). Other rare jades include a Neolithic
fu
-axe 玉斧 , a Shang dynasty notched disc 玉璇玑
and
yue
-axe 玉钺 (Cat#
039). A special jade pendant in open work design (Cat# 022) came into the ROM’s collection in 1921. In Dr. Dohrenwend’s early
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publication on ROM jades, she identified this exquisite openwork design pendant to be of Eastern Zhou because she did not believe
the carving could be done without metal tools. However, during the 1980s there was an archaeological discovery in Shandong that
revealed a hairpin with similar design and carving technique from a Neolithic elite burial. This discovery has led to the association
of this piece with Shandong Longshan cultural complex. However, in 2015 news about the discovery of an assemblage of carved jade
in Jingzhou, Hubei province, suggests that the origin of this piece should be reconsidered and that it is possibly from the Middle
Yangtze River 4500 years ago, the Shijiahe cultural complex.
Crofts did not sell antiquities for big profits as his primary business was the fur trade. In fact, Crofts made little, if any, profit
from the materials he sent to Toronto. And from existing correspondences between Crofts and Currelly, we also learned that he
often gave the museum objects that he thought it should have but could not afford to purchase. Crofts sacrificed his business
to help Canada’s new museum until his fur-trade business went into bankruptcy. This happened in 1924 because of a major
dock service strike in London. He died suddenly of a great illness the next year. Many of the ROM’s purchases were supported
financially by donors such as Sir Edmund Walker and Mrs. H. D. Warrens, however, acknowledgement is given to Crofts. In
memory of his contribution to the ROM, the museum designated the artifacts that were purchased through him as the George
Crofts Collection.
There was no better timing for Bishop William Charles White to have introduced himself to the museum Director Dr.
Charles Currelly in 1924. William Charles White (1873 – 1960) came to China in the late 19th century as a young
missionary serving in a village in Fujian province near the East coast of China, and became the Anglican Bishop of Honan (Henan)
province and resided in Kaifeng in 1910 – 1934 (Figure 10). Bishop White was a well-respected foreign dignitary in China at the
time, and was often awarded by the government of Republic of China with citations for his contributions to disaster relieve efforts
in working with China’s Red-Cross or other organizations (Figure 11). Because of his long time living in China and working with
cultural professionals and educators, White had fallen in love with the history and archaeology of this country he served. The
region where he acted as Bishop was the Central Plain, the cradle of Chinese civilizations, and precious artifacts were frequently
exposed due to various reasons (e.g., farming, constructing, or looting). The Bishop felt responsible for preserving the cultural
relics he encountered, and he placed his heart and soul into the museum of his home town. Currelly admired White’s knowledge
of Chinese history and his networks in antiquity markets in China, and naturally authorized White to collect antiquities on behalf
of the ROM from 1925.
Like Crofts, White was proactive in seizing once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for collecting. White was similar to Crofts
and collected pieces that represented the ROM as an encyclopedic museum focusing on world civilizations. Regardless of the
museum’s financial situation, he was optimistic that the museum would acquire funds however it was necessary for the pieces
relevant for the museum missions. In 1925 alone, the first year White began to collect for the ROM, he sent eight shipments to
Toronto, totaling about 411 objects. The objects varied in size from tiny decorations and small brackets to massive tomb tiles.
Before he retired at the age 60 and returned to Toronto in 1934, White had collected nearly 9000 objects for the ROM, including
441 jades. Similar with the Crofts collection, any object that was acquired through Bishop White in Henan, although funds came
in as gift of various donors and sources, was credited to “the Bishop Willian C. White Collection” in publications and gallery labels.
White’s jade collection complemented that of the George Crofts Collection. The majority of Crofts’ jades are decorative
from later periods that might have been housed in Manchu noble families. White primarily received artifacts from
archaeological sites that were destroyed by construction of railways and farming. ROM jades from the Bishop W. White collection,
along with those from the James M. Menzies Collection(see below), were mainly from sites in Anyang, a later Shang capital, as well
as Luoyang capital of Eastern Zhou, Han, and Tang dynasties. A large number of pre-Han period artifacts, with archaeological
context, came to Toronto at this time through the efforts of Bishop White with assistances from his wide network of intellectuals
and dealers in China. Because of White’s influential connections nationally and locally, his taste for Chinese art was well known, so
dealers from all over China brought him many wonderful and rare pieces.
Bishop White has been a controversial figure in China; when issues were raised about the loss of China’s heritage to the
western world, his name was revealed as one of the foreigners who actively collected Chinese art early last century. The Bishop was
accused of being responsible for the looting of the Jincun tomb in Luoyang. This was because of his association with purchasing
artifacts that were said to have been excavated from the large Eastern Zhou royal tomb, which contained never-before-seen
exquisite artifacts. The Bishop’s publication in 1934,
Tombs of the Old Lo-yang
, is about the artifacts from the collection from
the site, which are housed in more than a dozen museums inside and outside China. The ROM houses the largest collections
of artifacts, which supposedly came from Jincun, but the jade pendants exhibit unprecedented quality and splendid execution
of carving techniques (Cat# 108–110). Our recent study of Bishop White's correspondence with Currelly confirms that he had
nothing to do with the looting. There is no evidence that the Bishop ever set his foot in Luoyang while the tombs were being
looted by local farmers. However there was an American Lutheran missionary living in Luoyang at the time the site was being
looted, who could have been mistaken for White.
In a addition to the ROM’s jade collection that could well be affiliated with archaeological sites in Anyang and Luoyang, there
is a unique set of ritual jade objects that were acquired through the hands of Bishop White. White was informed through his
contact, well known dealer in Shanghai who acted for the Yuan family in Tianjin to sell off a jade collection that once belonged
to the famous 19th century collector and a statesman of the Qing court, Wu Dacheng (see above). The owner of this collection
was Wu Benxian, the daughter of Wu Dacheng, who married the eldest son of Yuan Shikai, the First President of Republic of
China. Bishop White was immediately aware of the significance of this collection which represented a life-long study of materials
owned by Wu Dacheng of Chinese ritual jades. He wrote several letters to Currelly addressing the importance of this collection,
and referenced to Wu’s book
gu yu tu kao
, which the ROM library already had a copy. A total of 27 objects from Wu Dacheng’s
original collection (Figure 12) were acquired by Bishop White in Shanghai through five purchases in 1927 – 1928. During this
process, Bishop White had some objects from this collection authenticated by his intellectual friends, and returned some he
believed to be later replicas. It is clear today that few of Wu’s objects in the museum are still problematic in terms of authentication,
but their significance should not be dismissed by the ill selection. It was recorded in the first publication on the collection by ROM
former curator Homes that when the Wu’s jades came to Toronto, they were originally wrapped with local newspapers within
the box with a handwriting of “Archaic Jade” 古玉 by Wu himself. It is very unfortunate that those early packing materials no long
survived with the collection.
Working along with Bishop White in Henan, as well as sharing a passion for Chinese art and archaeology, was James
Mellon Menzies (1885 – 1957). Menzies became a Presbyterian missionary and began serving in Henan province in
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1910, the year when Bishop began his highest religious position in the region as Bishop. As Menzies was posted in Anyang, where
he learnt early Chinese writing – oracle bone scripts from archaeological finding. Menzies was intrigued by the antique character
di
帝 referring to “god” in English.While he later realized that the meaning of
di
did not have the same interpretation of the God as
in the Bible, Menzies became the first foreign specialist on Chinese oracle bone script and with that knowledge, he was hired by
Cheeloo University, which is now part of Shandong University, as a professor teaching Chinese ancient scripts. Menizes pursed his
academic life by having obtained a doctoral degree in Early Chinese history and archaeology at the University of Toronto under
supervision of Bishop White, who in the 1930s founded the Department of Chinese Studies (now the Department of East Asian
Studies) at the University. Menzies’ specialty focused on oracle bones and bronze weapons of the Bronze Age history.
Menzies had never intended to collect antiquities for profit, neither for himself nor for museums, but he did collect. He
collected whatever he needed for his research, and he visited farmers to collect oracle bones or any archaeological materials exposed
to the surface. Menzies’ collection was of great archaeological importance so much so that Currelly once approached Menzies to
acquire objects for him in order to raise the museum’s collection of archaeological research materials. Menzies refused and retained
50,000 plus collection within China, mostly oracle bones and bronze fragments, some now housed in Shandong University,
Shandong Provincial Museum, Palace Museum, and Nanjing Museum.
Menzies returned to Toronto in 1936 leaving his collection behind in China, and never able to return back to China to
continue to research his collection. This was due to the deteriorating political situations and the approach of the Second World
War in the East. In 1947, without Menzies’ knowledge, a shipment of six crates from Tianjin arrived in Toronto containing 6000
objects he collected and stored which was mistaken by his missionary colleague as his personal belongings. The United Church of
Canada Board of Overseas Missions aborted their mission in China after the end of the World War II, and all personal materials
were shipped back. The six crates remain packed until Menzies passed away in 1957, as he still hoped to return to China with the
crates. The tragedy led to the hard decision for the family who decided to donate the Menzies collection to the ROM, of which
more than 5,000 were oracle bone fragments. This was the largest single gift of artifacts from one family in the history of museum’s
Chinese collection. Within the Menzies collection, 154 objects are jades.
The James M. Menzies collection contains many archaeological materials but most are fragments, including the jades. Many
jades retained original burial sediment and red pigment, which is illustrated on the one shown on the Figure 2 above. A beautiful
human head pendant (Cat# 027) in the James M. Menzies collection was reported as being collected at one of the archaeological
sites in Anyang. Recent study on this object suggested that this piece originated from Neolithic Shijiahe culture from the Middle
Yangtze River. Collecting this piece from a Shang period burial at Anyang provide another line of evidence that Shang social elites
had already developed a habit of collecting and treasuring jades more than one thousand years old at least. Menzies also collected
jades that later matched with those recovered from Western Zhou state lord burials at Sanmengxia, Henan province (Cat# 095 –
096). According to Frank Caro, a leading dealer in Chinese art in the 1960s, the James M. Menzies collection, including jades, “is
only study material and a great percentage of it is not marketable….but for any serious students, they are most valuable.” “It is one
of the best [collections] concerning archaeology,” later added by Caro.
By 1960, with the acquisition of Menzies Collection, the ROM was able to form the foundation of today’s entire Chinese
collection counting for more than 35,000 objects including more than 1000 jade pieces. Before 1960s, only a few jades were
acquired from other sources. One of the important sources was from the National Art Collections Fund in London in 1920,
allowing the museum to receive several crates of Chinese art, including a single important Mughal style jade - an engraved footed
bowl decorated with eight Buddhist symbols (Cat# 211). Other acquisitions were gifts from donors, such as the three objects from
Mrs. A. Leslie in 1940; a special piece of Hongshan cultural jade cuff-like ornament 玉箍形器 from Mr. A. W. Bahr in 1947 (Cat#
024); and a set of 22 jades from Mrs. Frederick W. Cowan between 1948 and 1961.
After the 1950s, opportunities for collecting Chinese art including jades in the way of Crofts and Bishop White became a thing
of the past. For museums like the ROM, acquiring Chinese jades, or any other type of artwork, is entirely dependant on occasional
gifts, small or large, from individual families who housed artworks earlier on. For example, in 1975, four Chinese artworks were
donated to the ROM by Mrs. Victor M Lynch-Staunton, in memory of her beloved husband. Only one of the four objects is jade,
but one of the best of this kind in the world, a green bowl 福寿纹玉盘 inscribed with a Qianglong reign mark on the bottom (Cat#
214), probably an imperial birthday gift to the Emperor. The family established a prestige award in 2005 for outstanding artistic
achievement by Canadian mid-career artists in the disciplines of dance, inter-arts, media art, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing
and publishing. Mrs. Dorothy Hoover made her donation between 1976 – 1986, the ROM received 20 jades from this generous
donor. In the group of Hoover’s gift, there are 15 jade snuff bottles that came in the ROM in 1983 (Cat# 236). These are part of
ROM’s 450 snuff bottle collection in various materials. Another significant group of Qing decorative jades was donated by Mr.
Gordon Armstrong in 1996. All 33 jades are excellent in quality. Reflecting some types that were not represented in the ROM’s
already strong jade collection, and others were chosen for their subject matter and symbolic meaning (Cat# 247).
Dr. Herman H. Levy (1902 – 1990) (Figure 13) was the grandson of Jewish immigrants from Alsace Lorraine who settled in
Canada in the late 19th century. His grandfather established a very successful family-run business in Hamilton called Levy Brothers
which specialized in diamond and jewelry importing, a business which the young Herman Levy himself joined in 1923. It was
around this time that Levy first developed his interest in art while completing an apprenticeship in fine jewelry and the diamond
trade in Amsterdam. Levy became a devoted art lover and scholarly connoisseur, and since the 1970s became attached to the ROM
European silverware collection. Gradually, he developed his fondness for Chinese ceramics and began supporting the former Far
Eastern Department at the ROM. In 1983, Levy added three jades to his donation to the ROM (Figure 14). Upon his death in
1990, Levy left a fund of more than 15 million Canadian dollars to the Far East Collection, allowing the department to purchase
various Chinese artifacts within the five years. The generous bequest resulted in the acquisition of more than three hundred
objects.
With the Levy Bequest, the ROM was able to add 32 jades, which were carefully selected by the ROM curators in order to fill
in some missing links in its jade collection. These jades were acquired using the available funds through purchases from New York
reputable art dealers who understood the nature of the ROM Chinese collection and were able to provide us with outstanding
selections. Some of these pieces ranged from a Western Zhou deer pendant (Cat# 092) to a Ming dynasty vessel (Cat# 172); and
from an Eastern Zhou sword attachment (Cat# 135) to a Qing dynasty cabbage cup (Cat# 285). A rare special piece was a delicate
open work design Han dynasty sword chape, that is similar to those found in Han noble tombs, e.g., Nanyue King tomb (Cat#
134).
Included in the Levy Bequest jade collection is a very special and rare pendant that came into the ROM’s possession in 1992.
It is a vertical handle-shaped with gold-inlayed ornament decorated with an animal pendant in the shape of a dragon on the top
and on the side ( 战国嵌鎏金铜虎纹玉饰 ) (Figure 15). This is an exceptional piece because it was in the possession of C. T. Loo,
a well know Chinese art dealer in the middle of the 20th century. It later became part of the collection of Klaus D. Baron von
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Oertzen, until it turned up at the Sotheby’s auction house in 1991. So far, we have not been able to find any direct matching
artifacts from archaeological sites that contains any similarity to this handle-shaped piece. This jade piece was also illustrated in a
few early publications, and was on display at the Freer Gallery of Art in 1982. However, the recent X-ray examination raised the
question of its authenticity. Images from the X-ray examination on this ornament suggest that narrow copper metal plaques were
used, through its hollow inside of the handle part, to join two or more fragments that originally could be part of different original
pendants (Figure 16). ROM conservators carefully dismantled the objects, and confirmed that the original fragments, two or more,
had been modified at a later time for the antiquity market. Copper plaques and adhesive gel, likely origins of 19th – 20th ce ntu r y,
were extensively used to hold the four fragments together, are unlikely to have belonged to a single object originally (Figure 17).
We continue to examine the chemical components of the parts that were removed from the original ornament. The preliminary
observation suggests this piece, which has been so highly praised for its historic significance, was in fact a modified hybrid form of
an ornament produced in the early 20th century. A detailed report with scientific studies is to follow elsewhere (Figure 18).
Jades acquired by the ROM in the last two decades are few but very selective. Western museums are restricted to acquisition
of ancient artworks following the UNESCO conventions as well as AAMD (Association of Art Museum Directors)
guidelines. To prevent illegal trading of artworks from entering museum collections, the ROM has taken precaution on any gifts
and purchases of jades. Objects, regardless of their high aesthetic values, will not be considered for acquisition unless they are
accompanied by a clear history of provenance, documentations, or research support materials that prove they are of genuine origin
and legitimate exportation. Such opportunities are rare, but unique offers still do come to the ROM as donations. In the autumn
of 2012, the author received an email inquiring if the ROM would be interested in a jade
bi
disc with an intention as a gift to the
ROM. The sender identified him as Bernard Rasch, who was a retired architectural engineer, and the archaic Chinese jade disc
was in the home of his aunt in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Rasch provided the family history of collecting this
bi
disc, revealing that his
aunt Cecille Hatskin (1919 – 2005), the wife of a well-known Canadian football player and businessman Ben Hatskin (1917 –
1990), received this Chinese jade
bi
disc from a Chinese lady when she was in New York City, sometime in the 1940s.
This gift, a Neolthic Liangzhu
bi
disc, became the latest addition to the ROM’s jade collection (Cat# 003). I was not
particularly enthusiastic about the acquisition, because the ROM already housed a few dozens of Liangzhu
bi
disc. However a
surprise came with a wooden stand supporting the disc for display, at the beginning the author thought it was a common product
from an antique dealer. The engraved scripts retained on both sides of the wooden stand began the author’s investigation on its
provenance that revealed a story of 150 years collecting history (Figure 19).
The inscription on the front side indicates that the original owner of this
bi
disc was the author of
gu yu tu kao
(
Illustrated
Study of Ancient Jades
) and the late Qing statesmen and scholar Wu Dacheng (noted above), who added this new acquisition
to his jade collection named
bao liu rui
(Treasures of Six Rituals). Another 15 characters shown in the front lower panel match
exactly on the page 34 of the above mentioned publication, suggesting Wu likely received this jade before 1889 (Figure 20). The
back of the wooden stand, the upper panel is filled with a passage saying: “[the
bi
disc] was originally possessed by Gu Zijia of
Nanxun, and exchange by Xu Hanqin with a bronze square
zun
vessel inscribed with
zhu nu
. It now belongs to Kezhai”. Kezhai is
an alternative or scholar name of Wu Dacheng.
Further research along with trips to Nanxun, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, revealed the history of five generations of the
Gu family, who turned themselves from silk-producers and traders in late 19th century in Shanghai to a major international
entrepreneur with a focus on education philanthropy in Hong Kong. George Koo, who the author met in Hong Kong in 2014,
was not aware of his great-grandfather, Gu Zijia, having once owned this
bi
disc and had a great relationship with Wu Dacheng.
Gu Zijia was a major collector in Nanxun, one of the richest places in China due to booming silk industry. Gu once owned an
exquisite bronze vessel dated to the late Shang dynasty, with an extraordinary inscription. A similar one with the same inscription
was in Emperor Qianglang’s collection in the 18th century. This bronze vessel was exchanged with the jade disc and supposedly
remained in the town of Nanxun, through the hands of Wu Dacheng. It was probably a tribute to the Qing court at the turn of
the 20th century. Today, this bronze vessel
zun
is part of the imperial collection at the National Palace Museum in Taipei (Figure
21).
The most intriguing part of the story is how the jade
bi
disc came to Canada, via New York City. Through the Bishop White
letters to Currelly (see above), we understand that after Wu passed away in 1902, part of his jade collection was inherited by his
daughter Wu Benxian, who sold the jade pieces to the ROM via a Shanghai antiquity dealer. We have reasons to believe, this
bi
disc was also passed down to Wu’s favourite daughter Wu Benjing, who probably kept the piece because of the memory of her
grandfather and his friends attached to the piece by the engraved names on the wooden stand. My research later suggests that
Wu Benjing’s only daughter, Fei Lingyi, a graduate of Columbia University and an English Professor in Shanghai, moved with her
family to New York City in 1943 at the age of 39. We can only speculate that at this point a young Canadian woman, the late aunt
of ROM donor Bernard Rasch, had an encounter with Fei in the Big Apple at some occasions. Therefore, I believe that Fei was the
mysterious “Chinese lady” referred by Rasch who wrote to this author in the email back in 2012. In brief, this plain un-inscribed
bi
disc with the engraved stand is at the centre of an extraordinary collecting story spanning more than 150 years. It has passed down
through the hands of several legendary figures and is now finally reunited with 27 other ritual jades from the collection of Wu
Dacheng, which came to the ROM through the hands of Bishop White in 1927 – 1928.
As demonstrated with the
bi
disc above, a collecting history is a story of human relationships and societal changes. While
we feel it is informative to know when and where Chinese jades come to the possession of a Canadian museum, in fact
the more intriguing story is how these jades made their way to Canada over more than a hundred years. Every journey of these
jades coming to Toronto become an inseparable part of the collection at the museum. As a matter of fact, we remember the names
of these people, Currelly, Crofts, White, Menzies, Levy, among many others, who had their passion for the museum to build its
collection and for collecting Chinese artworks for appreciation and understanding of humankind and civilizations. For that reason,
collecting for Canada made its meaningful and significant way to have all these jades, published here, from the largest museum in
Canada.
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