IT WAS at a formal dinner in Canberra two years ago that Betty Churcher first knew for sure that her dream for Australia to have a Chinese art gallery was going to be realised.
The director of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra had met Hong Kong's most famous art collector Tsui Tsin-tong (T.T. Tsui), on several occasions in the past, but nothing had prepared her for his surprise.
He suddenly stood up and said: 'I'm going to give you this,' and produced a rare terracotta horse, dating from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), Churcher recalled.
This was not just any piece from Tsui's extensive collection, she said. Before it was given to Australia, the 84cm-high horse was an important centrepiece in his private museum in the Old Bank of China building. Only three such horses are recorded to be in existence today, and none is now in private hands.
This is the first of several gifts that Tsui will make to the gallery, which is scheduled to open next year, said Churcher, who stopped off in Hong Kong on her way to Beijing to discuss the chances of China lending one or more of its famed Xian terracotta warriors for the gallery opening.
Terracotta warriors have never been loaned outside China on an individual basis, although Churcher has already set a precedent for borrowing Chinese art works, with an agreement with the Shanghai Museum for loans of up to two years.
