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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. NG:- Mr. Chairman, when you say refuse collection point, you mean refuse is there 24 hours a day?
CHAIRMAN:- Not at all.
MR. NG: Mr. Chairman, may I table two pictures that I happened to take at various times. One is at p.m. on a Monday and the other is at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. You can see they are films of refuse and also utensils of the U.S.D.
CHAIRMAN:- Thank you Mr. NG. As I say, it no longer is a collection point. We know there was a problem in the collection, and the nuisance, if there was one, has now been removed.
MR. NG: But, Mr. Chairman, whenever I see a refuse collection point, it seems to me that it is a refuse dumping point, not a collection point.
CHAIRMAN:- You will realize, Mr. NG, that it is not necessarily our people who put it there.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, can I ask Mr. NG, through you, when did he take those photographs?
MR. NG: Those were taken before I asked the question, of course. One was on the 26th February and the other on the 28th February.
MRS. E. ELLIOTT:- Mr. Chairman, are the residents of Stanley Street happy about having the rubbish dumped on them?
CHAIRMAN:- It was moved to a collection point which has been there for many years. No doubt many people object to refuse collecting points, but they have to be somewhere until we can organize a better arrangement for off-street collection points.
MRS. ELLIOTT:- But do you know when we are going to start getting an off-street point?
CHAIRMAN: We have already got 5 and I think there are 20 in the programme.
(3) MR. PETER P. F. CHAN asked the following question:
In view of the recent press reports on fake paintings, may I be informed of any precautionary steps taken when purchasing acquisitions for the Council's museum?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo, CHAIRMAN OF THE MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:
In oriental art the question of authenticity of art objects is complicated by the fact that original works of art, particularly paintings, have been copied. This has been done with no intention to deceive but out of reverence for the art of the past. Thus we find copies of works of art which may be almost as old as the original. There exist also fakes which have been made deliberately to deceive, usually to satisfy a demand. Tang figurines are a good example. Between the humble copy and the deliberate fake, there are a great many variations which can be exploited by the unscrupulous dealer. Any buyer must therefore be on his guard.
(Mr. Peter C. K. CHAN arrived at this point.)
The precautions we take are firstly to appoint, as far as possible, museum staff with particular expertise and knowledge of Chinese Art, secondly to appoint members to the Advisory Panel who have knowledge and experience in particular branches of Chinese art and thirdly to know other authorities, particularly colleagues abroad, from whom advice can be sought if necessary.
Since, however, we are human, we are capable of making mistakes particularly when faced with the unknown and unexpected which is part of art. Because of this there are perhaps few private or public collections which do not include copies and fakes (often as yet undetected).
The example that follows serves to illustrate the kind of detailed study which goes into the examination of Chinese painting by the Museum staff and advisers in order to establish its authenticity before it is recommended to the Urban Council for acquisition. Firstly the materials of the painting are examined, including the type of paper or silk, the colour of paper or silk, the quality and tonal value of ink and colours used and colour of seals. Secondly a comparison is made between the painting and the style of the period in which the subject matter, means of expression, major textural strokes, composition and foreign influence are observed. Thirdly the relationship of the painting with personal style of artist is examined according to his different styles, biographical details and character of artist and his seals and signature. Fourthly an examination of the colophons and inscrip-
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