How a love for Buddha statues inspired collector to buy more than 200 of them
How did you start collecting Buddha statues?
My collection started all because of Sars in 2003. I have a software sales company and was busy making money, but the Sars epidemic gave me a chance to take a break. I could spend a lot of time hanging around the antiques market. At first, I just wanted some old furniture for a courtyard house I bought near Houhai but soon after I touched these antiques, I fell in love with them. They reminded me of my childhood in Tianjin when I did some carpentry for fun. Later in 2004, a friend urgently needed some money and wanted to sell me 30 Buddha statues he had collected. I had only seen Buddha statues in temples before and didn't expect to see small handcrafted statues. They were beautiful, with different expressions and positions. I have more than 200 Buddha statues, although sometimes I trade old ones for new.
Why did you choose Buddha statues as your main focus?
First of all, I love the handcrafting. It often took years to sculpt and make a Buddha statue. They were made for worship and Buddhists put their hearts and souls into making the statues. That's why Buddha statues are so beautiful. Without the same devout belief in Buddhism, people nowadays just can't create such beautiful statues any longer. Neither can they afford the time and energy to make a fake statue. And that's the second reason: there are relatively few fake statues on the market and they are easy to recognise. Besides, compared with antique furniture, paintings and ceramics, Buddha statues are smaller in size and easier to keep without too much care. The last reason is that Buddha statues were worshipped by everyone and weren't buried with the dead. Even emperors couldn't give such orders. So antique Buddha statues, such as those from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, aren't categorised as excavated antiques. It largely diminishes the risk for private collectors as our government hasn't legalised individuals to collect buried artefacts.
Does your interest have anything to do with belief? Is there a rising general interest in Buddha statues?
No. It has nothing to do with the belief. Of course, you have to study Buddhism and its history when you want to start a collection. But it doesn't necessarily mean you have to believe in Buddhism to be a good collector. At least, I'm not a Buddhist myself. I don't think the rising social interest in Buddha statues has anything to do with belief, either. I think most people consider the investment value first when they decide to enter this field. It's an area with great rising potential and the price has soared in recent years. Three or four years ago, a refined statue [from Ming Dynasty Emperor Yongle's reign (1403-24)] cost less than 2 million yuan. But now even if you add one zero to the end of that figure, it may not be enough for the same statue. A lot of mainland entrepreneurs started collecting art around 2005 and pushed up the prices. There is a high financial threshold to collecting Buddhist statues. You have to set aside a lot of money, at least 100 million yuan, if you want to get into this market. You also have to look for some really good experts to appraise statues for you. There are not many experts in this field. It's important to learn appraisal skills yourself.