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The Metropolitan Museum in New York has one of the most extensive collections of 18th c. Chinese jades in the world, donated by Heber R. Bishop in 1902. The collection used to have its own rooms, as stipulated by Bishop in his will(available online).

Now the collection isn't even on display, and most of the pictures haven't even been updated to color. Most of the jades are still disfigured by the file numbers placed in a manner that can only be called vandalism; luckily they can and have been removed from a few pieces.

Why is this magnificent jade not on display? when it is the most important material to the Chinese culture?

More troubling is that pieces are being auctioned. Bishop left the collection to the museum for safekeeping and because he wanted to share it with the world and their role was to honor that. He trusted them. It should be a lesson to other collectors. He could have sold it himself if that's what he wanted to do. He would have been better off starting his own museum.

Link :Met\'s Bishop Coll. Being Auctioned

Looks like this was held last year. No idea why the Met is auctioning its items, you might want to write Mike Hearn who heads the Asian department and ask.

The auctioned pieces are very similar pieces to those in the Met from the Bishop coll. He must have left some in the family, so that isn't a problem, for now.

It is a problem that the collection isn't being displayed. Write the Met: asianart@metmuseum.org or call 212 570-3838.

I asked the moderators to delete this when I discovered the auctioned pieces were different from those in the Met. I hope I have explained that the Met hasn't auctioned pieces from their Bishop Coll.

However, any basic check will show that most of the collection is warehoused. Bishop explicitly stated in his bequest(available online) that the collection be displayed in rooms, he funded the construction of rooms that replicated the Louis XV style rooms where he displayed the jades in his home.

The jades were displayed for several decades(also online: Met Bulletin 1920s), then suddenly vanished into the warehouse.

This is one of the most important, maybe the most important, collections of Ching jades outside of China. Why is the supreme material to Chinese art and culture not on display? Yet, the B.Altman coll. of porcelain occupies a central position in the museum, along the wall near the central staircase.

Email from the Met:

"A selection of Bishop jades have always been on display in the Chinese Decorative Art Galleries. It is currently off view as the Chinese Decorative Art Galleries are under repair. It will be back on display when the repair is completed at the end of the year. An exhibition titled "Bishop Jades" was held in 2005-2006, when many examples from the collection and historical photographs of Chinese jade carving were on view. The recent exhibition "Colors of the Universe", which was on view from September 2012 to this January, also featured many Bishop jades."

I'm a Bishop, and I can assure you that Heber R.'s descendants are acutely aware that his collection is not displayed according to the conditions of his gift. True, had he split the collection between his eight children, it would be mostly scattered to the wind now, but perhaps that would have been better than having it locked up in a basement warehouse, never seeing the light of day.

From time to time Bishops have complained, but we have always gotten the runaround. "Times change and you can't expect us to follow unreasonable terms from a century ago, etc etc..."

Based on our experience, I'd recommend someone think twice before giving a major gift.

actually you can expect unreasonable terms to be followed. a lot of art at boston's MFA is on display precisely because the terms of its bequest require it; if the museum is not abiding by those terms you may be able to take the items back, though I realize this may be a challenging coordination problem at this point in time.

The Met's answer says there is always a selection of Bishop jades on display but it must be a very small selection if the Bishop relatives are also dissatisfied.

Claiming tastes in Chinese art have changed as the reason the collection isn't displayed is ludicrous. Ching jade art is and always has been immensely popular and fascinating and the Bishop represents some the best 18th and 19thc. pieces. Are they suggesting that people would rather see porcelain? Why would they even make the distinction?

There seems to be a lot of wasted space in the displays anyway. Look at the Altman collection of porcelain that occupies the entire length at the top of the main staircase. I think it would be beautiful and informative to put some Bishop jades in the case along with the porcelains. The mentality behind museum display is too rigid I think with either strict chronological order or strict segregation of large donor bequests.

The many neolithic pieces could also be displayed. Why aren't the important European adzes and axes shown? I don't think any answer short of displaying most of the collection is credible. I'd try to get the collection back as it is worth a great deal and could help the heirs and would be more appreciated by collectors.

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