Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1997

Museum Co l l ec t i on cent of the museum's collection ate donations from local collectors, and of these Bei Shan Tang and the B. Y. Lam Foundationarethe most generous. Other benefactors include Mr. Rogerio Lam and Dr. T. T. Tsui, who have recently helped set up the art Museum Development Fund to expand and improve the collection. The 7,000 plus items in the collection fall under two categories: those acquired for their general collecting value and those for research purposes. The 'Chinese Art Treasures in Academia: Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Silver Jubilee Exhibition', held last year to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the museum, featured highlights of the collection in such areas as painting, calligraphy, rubbing, sculpture, ceramics, bronze, and jade. The exhibition was also a gesture of gratitude to the museum's supporters. Research, Publication, and Teaching The Art Museum also organizes lectures and symposia in connection w i t h its exhibitions. And from time to time, artists and scholars are invited to speak on these occasions. Activities of this kind were given a boost last year with the establishment of the Professor and Mrs. Cheng Te~kun Academic Fund for Chinese A r t and Archaeology, made possible by donations from Prof, and Mrs. Cheng. The museum has published more than 50 titles with the majority being exhibition catalogues, which are fully illustrated with in-depth research articles. Studies on the museum collection and related research topics are published as monographs. The museum's artefacts are a valuable source of teaching material for departments teaching Chinese history and culture. Museum staff are also involved in teaching art history courses run by the Department of Fine Arts, and staging the department's graduation exhibitions and faculty shows. Facilities Authentication and Dating The Yeung Shui Sang Laboratory for the Thermoluminescence of Ancient Chinese Ceramics was established in 1986 with a generous donation from Mr. Yeung Wing-tak and his brothers. Operated jointly by the Art Museum and the Physics Department, the laboratory serves the dual purpos e of conducting research into the dating of ancient Chinese ceramics and offering authentication services to the public. The museum is also involved in research on surface science techniques to identify the properties of aging elements on the surface of antique objects such as bronzes, ceramics, jade, and other hard stone carvings. The Dish decorated with peaches and bats in famille rose enamels, Qing, Yongzheng, gift from B.Y. Lam Foundation Wooden slips with inscriptions, Eastern Han, gift from Bei Shan Tang Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1997 14