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Arts & Communication Reflections on the issues of the Journal of the History of Collections

“collect,” as a word, has many other connotations. Scholars Acknowledgments
are vulnerable to elitism with an all-pervasive spirit of
dominance, in which their individual tastes are valorized I would like to express my sincere thanks to Professor Zhao
as the general guideline for all collecting activities. This Li, doctoral supervisor of the School of Art Management
tendency undoubtedly hinders the advancement of further and Education, Central Academy of Fine Arts, for his
research. Broadening research horizons and developing advice to me.
a clear understanding of all connotations of “collecting,” Funding
both as a word and a concept, are prerequisites for the
realization of an in-depth analysis of documentation Capital Normal University’s Innovation and
relevant to collection history. Switching research vantage entrepreneurship training program for college students.
points, such as standing in the shoes of the masses or
minority groups to appreciate the collecting behavior, is Conflict of interest
also recommended. Another research angle is to track the The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All research data
circulation of collectibles, which is considered vital for the were obtained from Journal of the History of Collections,
extension of research on the history of collections. Oxford Academic.
Research practice has illustrated six new research angles
for the scholarship: (1) Collectibles per se, images, sources, Author contributions
and contexts; (2) individual or institutional collectors: Conceptualization: Da Zeng
their motivations, tastes, and values; (3) the establishment Writing – original draft: Da Zeng
of the connoisseur circle: how top collectors motivate Writing – review & editing: Ruihan Shuai, Jialin Mo
other collectors and how collectors within and beyond
the circle interact with each other; (4) the establishment Ethics approval and consent to participate
of collection systems and specific investment strategies; Not applicable.
(5) intergenerational cultural capital inheritance; and
(6) the display, transaction, and circulation of pedigree Consent for publication
collections. The best solution to the problems inherent
in Chinese studies on collection history is to identify Not applicable.
the social identities of collectors, their motivations for Availability of data
collecting, and the extent of their influence in this field.
Thereafter, scholarly investigations can shift their focus Not applicable.
to the authenticity, circulation, and value of collections.
In other words, explorations of collectors per se rather Endnote
than collections should be the priority of research on the 1 Surely, there have been earlier periodicals that have published
history of collections. After all, without core collectors, the research on art history and collection history; for example,
collector circle would not exist, and the need to evaluate the Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. However, they
the pros and cons of their collection systems is rendered are far less specialized than the Journal of the History of
superfluous. When all is said and done, however, this Collections; therefore, these journals and/or magazines are
research is just taking tentative steps toward a theoretical not of interest to this paper.
framework that still requires refinement. References
Collection history studies share the characteristics of
applied research. Our predecessors have already concocted 1. Zhou WH, 2019, Zhongguo Yishu Shoucang Shi [Chinese
a research paradigm, but there is still room for improvement Art Collection History]. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.
with interdisciplinary input. The restoration of specific 2. The Committee of the Chinese Collectors Convention,
historical scenes, in particular, requires techniques drawn 2009, Mingjia Tan Shoucang: Wenhua Pian [Master Talks
from various disciplines, including history, statistics, on Collections: Culture]. Vol. 1, 2. Uttar Pradesh: Orient
geoinformatics, and computer science, not to mention case Publishing Center.
inspection and supplementation based on new supporting 3. Haskell F, 1980, Patrons and Painters: A Study in the
materials. Materializing this will be of great benefit to the Relations between Italian Art and Society in the Age of the
development of this field. Baroque. Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Volume 1 Issue 1 (2023) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.359