Chinese Mirrors - Kelun Chen Statement

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Statement from Mr. Kelun Chen Deputy Director, Shanghai Museum, for the Press Conference on “Ancient Chinese Bronze Mirrors from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection”

PRESS RELEASE • STATEMENT FROM STEVEN S. KOBLIK • STATEMENT FROM LLOYD COTSEN •

Nov. 10, 2011

Thank you very much for attending this special event at The Huntington Library today. On behalf of museum director Jiejun Chen, I extend my warm congratulations on the upcoming opening of the exhibition. The Cotsen Foundation's collection of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors runs through every period wherein bronze mirrors were used. Many of them are fine pieces. Some of them have not yet been recorded in the data published on the subject. They are very valuable in terms of collecting, appreciation, and research.

Two and a half years ago, Mr. Cotsen expressed his wish to donate his nearly 100 pieces of ancient Chinese bronze mirrors to the Shanghai Museum. We appreciate and laud Mr. Cotsen and his foundation's decision. Mr. Cotsen has also expressed his wish that all his collections are to be turned over to various, most appropriate museums for collection. To donate his collection of bronze mirrors to the Shanghai Museum was the best choice that he could have made. He also wants to demonstrate an idea he has always been harboring—that is, to have all the cultural relics of various countries, that have been scattered all over the world, to be ultimately returned to the countries to which they belong.

In November 2009, the Cotsen Foundation invited two experts from the Shanghai Museum to attend a seminar that took place at UCLA, as well as to see the collection. In February of last year, the Cotsen Foundation's chairman, Barry Munitz, and I held a very fruitful meeting in San Francisco, at which we discussed the return of the bronze mirrors and further cooperation of both parties. On July 1 of last year, Dr. Munitz met with the deputy director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, Mr. Xing Chou Song. Mr. Song praised Mr. Cotsen and the foundation for the donation, and expressed that the State Bureau of Cultural Relics will participate in the donation ceremony that is going to be held at the Shanghai Museum. I welcome all of you to attend. It will be the Shanghai Museum's 60th anniversary in 2012. We plan to organize a special exhibition for the bronze mirrors donated by the Cotsen Foundation. At the same time, we will hold a grand donation ceremony.

The Shanghai Museum promises that the bronze mirrors donated by the Cotsen Foundation will be exhibited long-term in the museum. At the same time, we will provide bronze mirror experts and scholars around the world to do further work on and share their understanding of this collection. The Shanghai Museum is a very open museum. Any expert or scholar with research needs will be able to study these cultural relics by going through appropriate application procedures.
In the meantime, I wish for the complete success of this exhibition. Thank you.