"New China" and an old-fashioned collector : Václav Stejskal's collection in the 1950s

• Published in: Journal of the history of collections Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 307 - 314
• Main Author: Heroldová, Helena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2014
• DOI: 10.1093/jhc/fht009
• ISSN: 0954-6650

Václav Stejskal (18511934), a Czech naval officer in the Austro-Hungarian navy, visited East Asia in 18868, bringing home a large collection of items from his travels. Stejskal later enjoyed a prestigious social position as his collection was widely praised, but after his death the situation changed. Stejskal was forgotten by the public, and his once-valuable collection of 900 items languished unnoticed in storerooms of the Náprstek Museum in Prague. In 1950, a prestigious exhibition of Chinese art was held in the city, but while items from the Náprstek Museum were exhibited there, no material from Stejskal's collection was included. The history of the collection serves as an example of how social and intellectual changes during the early years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia influenced the country's perception of Chinese art. It is argued that "romantic idealism" in the Czechoslovak imagination concerning China caused the misunderstanding and rejection of the collection. [Publication Abstract]