On August 3, 2014 (July 8, 2014 in the lunar calendar), An Siyuan, a well-known antique dealer and collector in New York, passed away. Robert Hatfield Ellsworth is a well-known antique dealer and collector in New York, former chief representative of Sotheby's School of Education in China and senior art market consultant. Born in the United States on July 13, 1929. I have been interested in collecting objects since I was a child, starting from collecting China stamps, and gradually progressing to collecting snuff bottles. In 1960, I opened An Siyuan Gaode Gallery to operate the antique business, and gradually became the most authoritative international Asian art and antique dealer. He is recognized as the most discerning and tasteful antique dealer and collector in the United States and the entire Western art world, and is known as the "Godfather of China Antiques." Life An Siyuan was born in the United States on July 13, 1929. In 1948, An Siyuan worked for an antique shop that dealt in ceramics. There, he was appreciated by Beni, an antique dealer who dealt in Asian art, and learned about China ceramics, furniture and painting. When studying at Yale University, Wang Fangyu, who supervised the study of calligraphy and painting in the late Qing Dynasty, gave him the Chinese name "An Siyuan." Wang Fangyu not only taught An Siyuan knowledge of China art, but also taught him how to be a person and a business. Pang Nai gave An Siyuan financial and channel support, giving An Siyuan more opportunities to learn about China ceramics, furniture and paintings, as well as Asian art such as Japan, India, and Thailand. In 1960, he and antique dealer James Gord opened the An Siyuan Gord Gallery in New York, selling British furniture, crafts and Asian art. In 1981, An Siyuan boldly purchased and collected 1500 pieces of Indian art, half of which were quickly sold. He also became the most authoritative international Asian art and antiques dealer. After years of research and practical operation, he has become a leading collector of ancient China art. He is recognized as the most discerning and tasteful antique dealer and collector in the United States and the entire Western art community. He is known as the "Godfather of China Antiques." The most famous of An Siyuan's China art collections are inscriptions and Ming and Qing furniture collections. He is known as the "King of the Ming Dynasty" for his successful collection of Ming-style furniture. What gives An Siyuan a connection with China also includes the transfer of volumes 6, 7, 8 and 4 of the "Chunhua Ge Tie" in his collection of the Northern Song Dynasty. In September 1996, An Siyuan came to Beijing with the four-volume "Chunhua Ge Tie" of the Northern Song Dynasty and held an exhibition at the Palace Museum. Qigong and domestic experts evaluated these four volumes of calligraphy and agreed that there was no doubt that they were carved from the Song Dynasty and copied from the Song Dynasty. The Palace Museum communicated through Ms. Wang Limei, hoping to facilitate the exchange of other cultural relics, but failed. In early April 2003, the Shanghai Museum invited Wang Limei to negotiate with An Siyuan on behalf of the Shanghai Museum on the purchase of "Chunhua Ge Tie", which was finally sold for US$4.5 million. In 2000, after An Siyuan discovered that a white marble painted embossed warrior stone carvings from the tomb of King Chu of the Five Dynasties that he had purchased in Hong Kong and Macao was stolen cultural relics, he took the initiative to contact the China government and immediately donated it to the China government free of charge. He passed away on August 3, 2014 at the age of 85. Personal collection An Siyuan's collection of ancient furniture, China calligraphy and paintings, inscriptions, cultural libraries and other artworks are collection-level cultural relics, and has successively published books such as "Ancient China Furniture"(1971) and "Modern China Calligraphy and Calligraphy 1800-1950"(three-volume, 1987). An Siyuan also has a special liking for modern and modern calligraphy and painting in China. In 1993, Sotheby's in New York held a special auction for his collection of modern and modern paintings, including works by Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Pan Tianshou and others. Among the inscriptions in the collection are eleven kinds of "Song Tuo Jin Tang Xiaokai"(handed down as "Yuezhou Shi's Edition"), the four best volumes of "Chunhua Ge Tie", Song Tuo's "Huairen's Preface to the Holy Religion", Song Tuo's "Huai Su Cursive Shu" Thousand Character Wen ", Shui Tuo's" Yi He Ming ", Ming Tuo's" Tianfa Shenshen Prophecy Stele ", Ming Tuo's" Rites Stele ", the unfinished edition of" Cao Quan Monument ", and the old edition of" Shigu Wen ". In 1996, the Cultural Relics Publishing House published "Selected Inscriptions Collected by An Siyuan", among which most of the fine inscriptions collected by An's life are among them. Public welfare An Siyuan is keen on public welfare undertakings, donated cultural relics many times, and promoted the return of "Chunhua Pavilion Post" to the motherland. In the 1990s, An Siyuan established a foundation in Hong Kong to rescue ancient houses in Anhui and took the lead in donating money; he donated most of the China collections at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In 1985, a batch of 260 pieces of modern and modern China calligraphy and a 13th-14th century Indian bronze ox statue were donated to the Frier Art Museum. Some of the collections were donated to the Yale University Museum to thank her mentor Alice Beni. As a result, he was honored to serve as one of five advisers to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's Art Donation Review Committee (the other four are experts or curators at major museums). In 2000, after he discovered that a warrior embossed he had purchased in Hong Kong and Macao was a stolen cultural relic, he volunteered to donate it to the China government for free. In 2002, An Siyuan returned a Western Zhou bronze vessel "Guifu Dun" to China. Like the warrior embossed, it is now stored in the National Museum of China. Character evaluation An Siyuan is recognized as the most discerning and tasteful antique dealer and collector in the United States and the entire Western art community. An Siyuan manages and collects many categories. He can almost build a small museum. He is known as the "Godfather of China Antiques." He has made great achievements in the collection of Ming-style furniture and is also known as the "King of the Ming Dynasty." Collector Liang Xiaoxin commented that "his generosity and foresight are praised by the industry."