Museum's jade quality doubted

Lawmakers Cheng Feng-shih, left, Lin Tseng-nan, center, and Hung Hsiu-chu, look at a display of jade organized by fellow legislator Chen Chin-jun, to see if they could distinguish the real thing from fakes. PHOTO: CHUANG CHUNG-LUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

A lawmaker lashed out at the professional knowledge and procurement procedures of the National Palace Museum (故宮博物院) yesterday, saying at least 400 objects displayed at the museum are of questionable quality.

This is the third time in five months that DPP lawmaker Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) has expressed doubts in the legislature over museum researchers' academic capabilities and their purchasing processes.

"After months of investigations, with the assistance of various national jade specialists, we've come to the conclusion that the quality of at least 400 items exhibited at the museum are in doubt, the total value of these exhibits reaching into the millions of NT dollars," Chen said.

Chen also said the museum has been dragging its feet in dealing with the questions that he raised in June.

Chen said that the museum had never offered any explanations concerning the authenticity of three pieces he asked about on June 19.

What Chen was referring to are a stone palette -- supposedly from the Shang Dynasty -- bought for NT$1.35 million and two "Neolithic period" jade ornaments, which cost the museum more than NT$420,000.

"The duplicating techniques of some Chinese craftsmen are unbelievable."

Chen Chin-jun, DPP lawmaker

According to Chen, up to 50 pages of academic research regarding the objects in question -- compiled by the lawmaker with the aid of art professionals -- were sent to the museum on Sept. 22 and Oct. 3, in a bid to "exchange opinions with them," but he has yet to receive any reply.

To elaborate his point, Chen presented two items in an attempt to show that museum officials don't know what they are talking about.

He showed the lawmakers present a bird made of jade he bought at Taipei's Jade Market for NT$300. He said the museum had a piece, nearly identical to his in terms of craftsmanship and jade quality, but the museum piece cost NT$760,000.

Another example, he said, was a jade ornament supposedly from the Han Dynasty, procured by the museum for NT$2.65 million. Yet Chen bought a very similar piece for NT$1,000, after he sent a photograph of the one exhibited at the museum to a craftsman in China, asking him to make a copy of it.

"The duplicating techniques of some Chinese craftsmen are unbelievable. One can hardly tell the authentic objects from fake ones," Chen said.

Chen said if the museum was unable to provide satisfactory answers in a timely manner, he would suggest freezing its NT$45 million budget for the next fiscal year.

Bombarded by the lawmaker's questions, museum Director Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) said he had launched an investigation into the museum's procurement procedures.

Responding to the lawmaker's skepticism about the quality of certain exhibits, Tu said though he could not guarantee that all items displayed at the museum were first-rate, he said that quality and authenticity of artifacts could not be determined merely by photos or one-sided judgements.

"The issue needs to be addressed with caution so the truth can be revealed," Tu said, adding that a seminar is scheduled to be held later this month to look into the issue.