Museum director wins international award

Lutz Bethge (left), CEO of Montblanc International GmbH and vice-chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, presents the 2009 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award to Chinese art collector and museum director Ma Weidu. File photo

Chinese art collector and museum director Ma Weidu was presented with the 2009 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award for promoting China in the international art arena and also for his work protecting the country's cultural relics.

A prize of 15,000 euros accompanied the award from one of the world's leading makers of fine jewelry and watches.

Ma is the founder and chief director of the Guanfu Museum, the first privately funded museum on the Chinese mainland to focus on the preservation of Chinese classical art and antiques.

Ma has written numerous books, articles and television scripts on Chinese history and culture.

He began collecting antiques while a literary editor at China Youth Press in the 1980s.

"The experience of being a literary editor and a writer helped me to have a better understanding of the cultural meaning of antiques," Ma said.

Ma eventually quit his job as an editor to focus more attention on his collections.

At first his collections centered on Chinese pottery and furniture from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

By the 1990s, his collection included more than 1,000 items.

"These antiques show us the living conditions and attitudes of ancient people," Ma said.

He used an antique bed as an example of how people slept in beds surrounded by curtains to create an atmosphere of safety.

Looking back

In 1997, Ma established Guanfu Museum in Beijing.

The word guanfu comes from a sentence in the classic book Dao De Jing (Classic of the Way and Virtue) written by ancient philosopher Laozi. The word means looking back.

His Guanfu Museum of Classic Arts, China's first private museum, opened to the public in 1997 on West Liulichang Street in the historic Xuanwu District in Beijing.

The museum's major collections include more than 50 porcelain pieces from the late Ming Dynasty.

Also on exhibit are furniture, carpets and costumes from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Historic setting

The museum itself is located in a building, surrounded by Suzhou purple elm, dating back to the Qing Dynasty. A pear plancon engraving is located in a corner of the property.

Inside the two-story building, more than 150 sq m of exhibit space also house antique trunks, cases, bags, boxes and utensils.

The museum continually changes the contents and themes of its exhibits.

The museum has held an exhibit on arts and crafts from the Ming and Qing dynasties, a furniture exhibit featuring items from the two eras and also one entitled "Porcelain Exhibition from the Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties".

Ma opened two more museums - also named Guanfu Museum - in Hangzhou in Jiangsu province and Xiamen in Fujian province in 2001 and 2005, respectively.

Award-winning books

Ma published the book Ma Weidu Talks about Ceramics in 1992 about traditional Chinese ceramic arts, crafts and culture.

In 2003, his book Classic Chinese Doors and Windows won the Sixth National Book Award and also first prize in the Finest Art Book Awards competition.

The Beijing resident since last year has been hosting lectures on television on Chinese arts and antiques.

Lutz Bethge, CEO of Montblanc International GmbH and vice-chairman of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, praised Ma for amassing a rich collection of artworks representing 5,000 years of Chinese history.

"Creating China's first private museum was a great achievement, but we still have a long way to go," Ma said.

"I will continue to dedicate myself to the growth of the Guanfu Museum, making it a cultural symbol of the times," Ma said.

Ma said the 15,000 euros he won with the award will fund two upcoming exhibits - one on China's antique chairs and the other on antique boxes - scheduled to open in September.

The Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, a program of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, each year selects one arts patron for worldwide recognition.

The award goes to those individuals who dedicate their time, energies and financial support to artistic and cultural development.

(China Daily 07/27/2009 page10)