Three Ming and Qing dynasty artefacts worth $77 million broken by Taiwan museum: Insights from the art world

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

$10 Million donation to acquire \”masterpieces\”

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is using a $10 million gift from the family of a former trustee to fund the acquisition of works by women artists. The money comes from the relatives of Vicki Sant, the late collector who became the museum’s first female president in 2003. It will now be put toward addressing historical gaps in the museum’s collection. Sant was a member of the museum’s board from 2000 until her death in 2018. She served as chair of the board from 2003 to 2014. Two works of European art have been approved to be purchased with the fund: a portrait painting and a sculpture by Lavinia Fontana and Luisa Roldán, respectively. The former, produced in the 16th century portrays the Italian musician Lucia Bonasoni Garzoni in a seated pose; the latter, dated from the 17th century, is a figurine depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ as a child. In a statement, the museum’s director, Kaywin Feldman, said the new endowment fund, which will be distributed under the official title Victoria P. Sant Fund for Women Artists, will be used to acquire “masterpieces.” Read more on Artnet News.

Auction of a Royal Bronze Dragon Deal, halted by the Vietnamese Government

The French auction house Millon is auctioning these Vietnamese royal treasures, which were once used by our Emperior Minh Mạng. These treasures are of signigicance to all Vietnamese and should be returned to Việt Nam. Millon should cancel the auction!https://t.co/mSGl5fWVoR pic.twitter.com/bbTIOhWRfP

— Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (@nguyen_p_quemai) October 29, 2022

 

The sale of a 19th-century Vietnamese bronze seal at a French auction house has been postponed after government officials in Vietnam stepped in. Originally scheduled to hit the block as part of the “Great Civilizations: Vietnam Arts Sale” on October 31 at Paris-based Millon, the seal was removed from the online catalog, and a statement on the auction house website said that due to “strong interest” from the Vietnamese State, “we are postponing the sale of this coin.” The sale was rescheduled for Thursday, November 10, though a deal between the house and officials in Hanoi may occur before that time. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, the director general of the International Cooperation Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said that the country halted the sale with the goal of “a direct negotiation between the two sides” to discuss returning the object to Vietnam. “The imperial golden seal is an antique which represents a lot of values from a historical period of Vietnam,” she told Bloomberg. Details on Artnet news.

Chinese artifacts broken at Taiwanese museum

A bowl, teacup, and plate from the Ming and Qing dynasties worth £66 million ($77 million) were broken in three separate incidents at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum over the past 18 months. These incidents were previously undisclosed, and only came to light last week following questioning from a Taiwanese legislator. On Friday, Taiwan’s opposition legislator Chen I-shin claimed he received a tip that the museum director Wu Mi-cha instructed staff to cover up the incidents and to treat all paperwork as classified. “We have absolutely not hidden anything about this,” Wu said at a press conference, according to the Guardian. Wu and the museum denied the allegations. They claim that any precautions taken were to ensure that the evidence was not tampered with while the breakages were under investigation. More at Art news.