Mr Lee Choy Ken

Honorary President

Mr Lee Choy Ken, a Singapore citizen, is one of the Collectors' Association's (Singapore) founders. He had served three terms (2006-2008, 2016-2018, 2018-2020) as the President. He is now the Honorary President of the Singapore Collectors' Association. He is engaged in furniture design, engineering, manufacturing, building materials and the hardware trading industry. As early as 1985, he often went to Macau, Hong Kong and Shenzhen for business and inadvertently embarked on the road of collecting ceramics. His collection range from 1950 onwards with exceptional quality, especially the "7501" porcelain dedicated to Chairman Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. Other collection also includes the works of many famous artists during the Cultural Revolution from the Republic of China, such as "Cheng-Men", "Jin Pinqing", and "Zhushan Bayou". Mr Lee's contemporary porcelain collections include renowned masters artists, namely Wang Bu, Hu Xianya, Wang Xiliang, Zhang Songmao, Li Jin, Dai Ronghua and Zhang Jian. Porcelain sculptures master include Zeng Longsheng, Zhang Yuxian, Zhou Guozhen, Kang Jiazhong and He Shuigen. During the millennium anniversary of the founding of Jingdezhen in 2004, the association organized a delegation to participate in the "2004 Jingdezhen Annual Meeting of China Ancient Ceramic Society and Jingdezhen Millennium Ceramic Culture" (International) Seminar. Mr Lee served as the head of the delegation and led members to attend this rare and commemorative international event. The association also warmly invited many famous contemporary ceramic artists in Jingdezhen to gather for an occasional dinner, leaving precious memories and unforgettable friendship. In June 2013, the Chinese Association of Collectors, Shandong Dezhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, held the "Commemorating the 120th Anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong's Birth" National Red Collection Exhibition. As a notable collector, Mr Lee was invited to the exhibition and showcase of the16 pieces of "7501" porcelains the utensil for Chairman Mao. These exhibits won the attention and appreciation of the organizer. Mr Lee roped in the "official kiln rare treasure award", "Porcelain Projects Special Award", and "Top Ten Sculptures third position award" in the event. On September 16, 2014, Mr Lee participated in the 9th National Red Collection Exhibition held in Panjiayuan, Beijing. He gave a speech on "Mei Yuan Xin Lu", reviewing his hard work and research achievements in collecting "7501' Porcelain the utensil for Chairman Mao ". On July 1, 2016, Mr Lee was invited to participate in the "Ode to the Motherland - The Main Melody of the Times in the Collection of Handicrafts" and "The Storm-Red", jointly organized by the China Red Collectors Association and Guangdong Folk Craft Museum, and made a keynote speech at the seminar on "Collection Research and Appreciation of Red Cultural Relics". After ten years of preparation and two years of meticulous planning, Lee Choy Ken, in collaboration with China Ceramics Journal, published the "Ruixue Hongmei-‘7501'" art book, the contents of the utensil porcelain for Chairman Mao in 2019. On December 26, 2019, the publication ceremony of the Artbook "Ruixue Hongmei-‘7501'" was grandly held at the Jingdezhen National Porcelain Museum. Mr Liu Chaoyang, head of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee, attended the event and unveiled its release. Subsequently, he invited Professor Jiang Jianxin, the Jingdezhen Ceramic Research Institute director and the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum curator, to come to Singapore to hold a Jingdezhen Yuan speech Mingguan Kiln Porcelain Research and Appreciation. This speech was warmly welcomed and praised by the audience. In January 2020, he again invited Professor Jiang to hold a lecture on "Research and Appreciation of Qing Dynasty Official Kiln Porcelain", which was also well received and successful.

Mr Tay Beng Yam

President

Tay Beng Yan is a Singaporean born in 1953. He is the President of the Collectors' Association (Singapore) for the term of 2024-2026. Since the 1990s, he has been actively participating in the Association's activities and served as deputy treasurer and deputy secretary for many years for the Collectors' Association (Singapore) Council. Mr Tay graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Singapore Advertising Association in 1976. He studied professional art painting during the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. While at the Singapore Advertising Association, he studied commercial advertising art design. With the above-mentioned professional knowledge and abilities, he set up his own advertising company in the 1980s with the courage of "applying what he learned to use". At the same time, he also operated the business of painting and calligraphy mounting and framing. Besides, he also established a company, M/s Six Laws Gallery, to run the business of buying and selling calligraphy and painting. With his flexible business acumen and professional ability, his calligraphy and painting business became more and more successful, so he naturally sprouted an interest in collecting calligraphy and paintings. He began to collect famous artist paintings and calligraphy works. Antiques and artworks are all related to each other. Whether calligraphy, ceramics or jade, they are all sublimated products of five thousand years of Chinese culture. They also demonstrate the wisdom of the descendants of Yanhuang. Knowing this and mastering this logic, Mr Tay became interested in ceramics and jade collections. He began to study tirelessly and finally master the knowledge of collecting ancient ceramics and jade. Then, he started to collect Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, porcelains, jade and various cultural relics. In February 1988, Mr Tay organized the "Wu Guanzhong Painting Exhibition" jointly with Mr Huang Mengtian, editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Fine Arts and the National Museum of Singapore. The exhibition achieved a brilliant result. In 2002, He participated in the appraisal course of Ming Dynasty Hongwu, Yongle, and Xuande blue and white porcelain workshops organized by Beijing Palace Museum for overseas collectors. At that time, the course's lecturers were the chief appraisers of the Palace Museum Geng Baochang, Li Huibing, Wang Liying, Feng Xiaoqi and Chen Runnin. And Professor Wang Qingzheng, former curator of Shanghai Museum. From 2002 to 2017, He participated in the annual International Academic Conference on Ancient Ceramics:
  • November 2002, the International Symposium on "Laohu Dong" kiln Sites of the Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Ceramics in Hangzhou, China.
  • November 2003, Annual International Symposium on Changsha Kiln Ceramics in Changsha, China.
  • October 2004, Annual International Symposium on Millennium Ceramic Culture in Jingdezhen, China.
  • November 2005, Annual International Symposium on Jun Kiln Ceramics in Yuzhou, China.
  • November 2011, the Annual International Symposium on Border Region Blue and White Ceramic in Yunnan China.
  • November 2012, Annual International Symposium on Ancient Ceramics from the South China Sea and Southern Glazed Ceramics in China.
  • October 2013, Annual International Symposium on Yue Kiln and Xing Kiln Ceramics in China.
  • December 2015, Annual International Symposium on Fanchang Kiln Celadon in China.
  • October 2017, Annual International Symposium on Ru Kiln & Lushan Kiln Ceramics in China.
In January 2020, Professor Jiang Jianxin, the honorary director of Jingdezhen Archaeological Institute and the honorary curator of Jingdezhen Museum, gave high praise after appreciating Mr Tay's ancient ceramic collections.  

Mr Lee Wee Giap

Vice President

Lee Wee Giap is a Singaporean citizen born in Malaysia in 1954. He is the Vice President of the Collectors' Association (Singapore) for the term of 2024-2026. In his early years, Mr Lee was in the clothing industry and invested in China in the 1980s. He indeed devoted himself to the embrace of this country with millennia of rich history, living in it, fascinated by his eyes and ears, and truly experienced the charm and greatness of this country with five thousand years of culture. The crystallization of five thousand years of culture deeply attracted him, so he fell in love with famous Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and ancient ceramics. Mr Lee's collection mainly involves famous Chinese and Singaporean calligraphy and painting, including paintings by the well-known Singaporean first-generation painter Chen Wen Hsi; the porcelain collection includes official kiln and exquisite ancient porcelain. This energetic and cheerful collector admitted frankly that he is just at the beginning of his long collection journey. Bless him as he works doubly hard!

Mr Lau Wee Soong

Honorary Advisor

Lau Wee Soong is a Singaporean, Honorary Advisor of the Collectors’ Association (Singapore), hailing from a prominent family. According to the《Biographies of Historical Figures in Xinhua》published by the Clan Association in 1995, Lau Wee Soong’s great-grandfather, Low Cheang Yee, was the leader of the famous Tide Gang at that time. With Xu Liang Cheng and Chen Yong Xu attending the "Strait British Chinese Association" founding ceremony on behalf of the Teochew Clan, he became highly respected and elected as the first executive committee of the Association. Lau Wee Soong’s grandfather Low Peng Yam was the Director of Sze Hai Tong Bank and its largest shareholder. On February 4, 1915, the Bank specially mentioned in the eighth annual report that Low Peng Yam lent Five Hundred Thousand Singapore Dollars to the Bank to enhance the capital flow and the Bank’s status. Lau Wee Soong’s forefathers loved the motherland, had profound friendships and never forgot the hometown, always remitting money regularly to support their hometown relatives and friends. They were eager to do charity works for the public good, contributing money and effort to work with others. They too had a fondness and passion for antiquities collecting. Lau Wee Soong himself believes that high-grade artworks can expand the scope of appreciation and exchange, creating positive social effects and economic benefits. Lau Wee Soong’s research on cultural relics for more than 40 years can be regarded as a life-long work. He traces the relics back to their source, origins, understanding and compiling them into the set. However, he professes he is still unsatisfied with the status quo and continues his efforts to enrich his collection of rich and precious antiques to fulfil his desire of having "true, good and beautiful" and original. In the 5,000-year-old history of Chinese culture, Lau Wee Soong believes his knowledge and collection are just "a drop in the ocean" and a tiny one. He is always hungry for more perfect pieces and knowledge. Lau Wee Soong heard his forefathers quietly singing at a highly spiritual moment. “Yue-Kiln open at the high of the windy dew of autumn.” “It has drawn thousands of brilliant greenish charms.” Lau Wee Soong bathed in a torrent of ceramics, He indulges in pleasure, obsesses in collection!