My Philosophy
"Verity Antique began not as a business, but as a personal journal-a quiet space to document a lifelong conversation with Chinese antiquity.
I am a collector, not a dealer. Over the past two decades, each object that has passed through my hands has left its mark: a Song dynasty tea bowl with the trace of a monk's lips still faintly visible on the rim; a Ming scholar's brush rest worn smooth by centuries of fingertips; a Han dynasty bronze mirror that once reflected faces long turned to dust.
This site is my offering to fellow travelers on this path. Here, I share not only the objects I've been privileged to steward, but the questions they raise, the research they demand, and the quiet joy they bring. No certificates, no transactions-just one collector's ongoing dialogue with history, and an open invitation for you to join the conversation."
A Collector's Notebook
By the Numbers
A Collector's Journey in Digits
Generations · One Collecting Soul
Three men, one obsession. My grandfather sought the truth, my father guarded it, and I am here to share it - across time, across borders, across languages.
Years of Family Legacy
From my grandfather's first acquisition to my father's devoted keeping, and now to me. Not a single year was spent chasing profit - only truth, piece by piece.
From Preserving to Sharing
My grandfather kept them safe. My father kept them secret. I say: what good is truth if it stays locked away? Let the world see. Let the world talk.
Connecting Collectors Globally
London, New York, Tokyo, Beijing. I invite every serious collector to sit at the same table - to question, to witness, to become a community.
The Journey So Far
A Family Legacy in Time
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1
1960s
The Beginning
My grandfather made his first trade - a small bronze mirror exchanged for a bag of rice. He didn't know it then, but that was the moment our family began chasing truth instead of fortune.
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2
1980s
Building the Eye
Grandfather spent two decades learning to see what others overlooked. He taught himself through failures, through patient study, through trusting the weight of an object more than the story of a seller. By the 80s, local dealers knew his name.
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3
2000s
The Father's Guard
My father inherited not just the collection, but the burden. He refused to sell a single piece. Instead, he spent years documenting every crack, every seal, every trace of provenance. "To keep them," he said, "is to keep a promise."
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4
2015
The Handover
The collection came to me - hundreds of objects, decades of notes, and two voices still whispering in my ear: See the truth. Guard the truth. But I also heard a third question: Now what?
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5
2024
From Keeping to Sharing
I realized that truth locked away is half a truth. So I began reaching out - to collectors in London, Tokyo, New York. Not to sell. To talk. To compare. To learn together. This site is that conversation made visible.
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6
Present & Beyond
Connecting Generations, Crossing Borders
Today, Verity Antique stands where three generations meet. My grandfather's eye, my father's devotion, and my belief that the best collection is not a locked room - but a global table where real collectors sit together.
How I See Each Piece
Encountering an Object
My Personal Ritual of Discovery
Step 1
First Glance
I never touch immediately. I sit with the object, let it reveal itself at its own pace. The way light plays across a crackled glaze. The unexpected weight of a bronze that shouldn't feel so heavy. The small repairs from centuries ago that tell me someone before me loved this enough to mend it.
Step 2
Provenance & Documentation
Before an object enters our inventory, we trace its lineage. We study old collection seals, auction records, and family archives. We reconstruct the object's journey through time-who owned it, where it has been, and how it survived. This paper trail is the first pillar of trust.
Step 3
Living With It
An antique reveals itself only in daily life. Morning light on a Tang horse. The way a Song cup feels in the hand during quiet tea. A painting that looks different depending on my mood. I don't lock my antiques away-I live with them, and they change as I change.
Step 4
Letting Go
Some pieces stay. Some move on to other collectors. I've learned that letting go is part of the journey-each object deserves to be cherished anew, and each new steward teaches me something about what I missed. This is not loss; it is continuation.
Where I Stand Today
Guiding Principles
What I Believe About Collecting
My Purpose
To document and share the quiet joy of living with ancient things. This site exists not to sell, but to connect-with fellow collectors, with curious newcomers, with anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to hold a piece of the Tang dynasty in their hands.
I believe that private collecting, done thoughtfully, is a form of preservation. We are not hoarders of wealth, but temporary stewards of cultural memory.
My Hope
That this small corner of the internet becomes a gathering place for kindred spirits. I dream of a community where collectors share not just their treasures, but their questions; where a cracked bowl is valued as much as a perfect one, because its cracks tell a story.
I hope to learn from you as much as you might learn from me.
My Values
Curiosity Over Certainty
I collect questions, not just objects. The moment I think I know everything is the moment I stop learning.
Objects as Companions
I don't collect investments; I collect objects I want to live with, drink tea with, grow old with.
Sharing, Not Showing
This is not a gallery of trophies. It's an open notebook-scribbles, doubts, discoveries, and all.
Respect for the Journey
Every piece has passed through countless hands before reaching mine. I honor that chain of care, and hope to pass it forward.