Anthony Wu Art Consultants

One of Canada's most respected authorities on Asian Art and Antiques

Based in Toronto, Canada, we specialize in valuation and appraisal services,

consultations, and collection management

My Latest Article - 'A Former ROM Imperial Treasure Resurfaces at Christie's Auction'!

Nov 18, 2019
2 min

My Latest Article - 'A Former ROM Imperial Treasure Resurfaces at Christie's Auction'!

My latest article just came out and can be found in the Fall 2019 issue of the Royal Ontario Museum's 'Friends of East Asia: Newsletter of the Bishop White Committee'! Published in the Fall and Spring, this newsletter reports on departmental news, upcoming events, and commentaries that deal with the ROM's East Asian department. The Bishop White Committee was founded in 1960 by a group of museum volunteers led by Louise Hawley Stone (1904-1997) to support the ROM's Far Eastern

Gods in My Home - Celebrating Chinese New Year at the Royal Ontario Museum

Feb 25, 2019
3 min

Gods in My Home - Celebrating Chinese New Year at the Royal Ontario Museum

Happy belated Chinese New Year! February 5, 2019 marks the beginning of the year of the pig - the twelfth and final animal in the Chinese Zodiac. Chinese families celebrated the New Year with large family gatherings, grand feasts, ancestor worship, and temple visits. In the Chinese Art world, many international museums will be featuring new exhibitions to celebrate this event. In particular, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is currently showcasing their original exhibition 'God

The Thomson Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles at the Art Gallery of Ontario

Jan 26, 2019
4 min

The Thomson Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles at the Art Gallery of Ontario

For those who have been following my blogs over the past three years, you probably noticed that I write a lot about my visits to Asian Art collections in museums and auction house previews from all over the world. These include stops to New York, Chicago, London, Paris and Hong Kong. I do feel guilty since my hometown of Toronto definitely features fantastic Asian Art collections. These are spread out through a couple of institutions, with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) being

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the Year of the Dog!

Feb 18, 2018
3 min

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the Year of the Dog!

Happy Chinese New Year! February 16 2017 marks the beginning of the year of the dog (and the end of the year of the rooster). In the Chinese Zodiac, people born in the year of the dog are known to be loyal, serious and hardworking. Here's a good link to the characteristics of those born in the dog year, including their interactions with people from other zodiac signs, potential job prospects and lifestyle choices. In Chinese Art, dogs have been appearing in art objects for ov

Chinese Art Library 101

May 15, 2017
4 min

Chinese Art Library 101

One of the prerequisites for my work is to have a strong Asian Art reference library - this is necessary for tasks such as writing an article, researching and finding comparables for a specific item, or checking for provenance. For those of you who visited my Toronto office, you have probably seen my research library and the hundreds of catalogues and books from international auctions, museums and dealers that are contained in over five Ikea Billy bookcases (note: Billy bookc

April Bishop White Committee Newsletter from the Royal Ontario Museum

Apr 22, 2017
2 min

April Bishop White Committee Newsletter from the Royal Ontario Museum

My latest article can be found in the Spring 2017 issue of the Royal Ontario Museum's 'Newsletter of the Bishop White Committee'. Published twice a year (Fall and Spring) by the ROM, the BWC Newsletter reports on current departmental news, upcoming events, and commentaries that deal with the museum's East Asian department. The Bishop White Committee was founded in 1960 by a group of museum volunteers led by Louise Hawley Stone (1904-1997) to promote the ROM's Far Eastern depa

Keep Track of Me with Instagram!

Feb 25, 2017
2 min

Keep Track of Me with Instagram!

Thank you to everyone following @anthonywuart on Instagram over the past couple of months! The app has been a lot of fun and I really enjoy featuring the (mostly) Asian antiques and artwork I have encountered throughout my travels in Canada, the USA and Europe. For those who are new to social media, Instagram is fairly simple to use. You basically sign up, create a profile, upload a couple of photos and post them! There are many Instagram tutorials online such as this one fro

Hidden Chinese Imperial Treasures at the Royal Ontario Museum in Orientations Magazine

Jan 30, 2017
1 min

Hidden Chinese Imperial Treasures at the Royal Ontario Museum in Orientations Magazine

For those who subscribe to Orientations Magazine, please check out my new article in their January/February issue. Titled 'Representing Current Market Trends in the Modern Asian Art Institution', I selected three impressive pieces of 18th Century Chinese Imperial porcelain kept in the storage area of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. In addition to describing the importance of these pieces, I ask why they are in storage and not on public display. The international m

Ming Marvels in Manheim Pennsylvania

Dec 1, 2016
2 min

Ming Marvels in Manheim Pennsylvania

The last few weeks have been busy in the Toronto Art market. With sales of Canadian, Inuit and Asian Art, it was a great opportunity to see what’s happening in these respective fields. I was also (finally) able to send off my latest contribution to Orientations Magazine in Hong Kong. It is a commentary on whether or not Asian Art museums should be displaying items that correlate to ‘big-ticket’ sales in the current auction market. I used three Imperial porcelain examples from

ACAA Forum 2016 in Toronto

May 21, 2016
2 min

ACAA Forum 2016 in Toronto

The 2016 American Curators of Asian Art Forum was held on May 19th and 20th in Toronto. Hosted by the Royal Ontario Museum and the Aga Khan Museum, the forum had over sixty Asian Art curators from Canada, the USA and Mexico descend upon Toronto. Despite lacking the curator credentials, I was kindly invited to the event by ROM hosts Dr Chen Shen and Dr Sascha Priewe. The majority of museums across North America with Asian Art collections were represented, from larger instituti

Welcome!

Feb 22, 2016
3 min

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting my new website and reading my first blog! Many people may have met me over the past decade while I was the head Asian Art specialist at two of Toronto’s largest regional auctions houses. It was a lot of fun putting Asian Art sales together and learning about the auction trade. I met many interesting people – many who have now become good friends and mentors. Seeing the top Asian works of art in Canada was a real honour, as well as seeing spectacular Can