Private donations are an important channel for enriching public museum collections, but recent controversies surrounding donated cultural relics have prompted reflection.
Donated collections should not be "water spilled on the ground" (i.e., lost or forgotten).
Introduction:
◆In practice, cultural relic donations are usually obligatory, meaning that the donation agreement specifies that, based on the donor's wishes, the cultural relic collecting institution's capabilities, and the results of negotiations between the two parties, the cultural relic collecting institution must assume certain obligations.
◆While not all donated artifacts require complex authentication procedures, professional appraisal is essential for disputed or highly valuable artifacts. If their authenticity is unclear, museums typically take a cautious approach, temporarily withholding or refraining them from storage until a definitive conclusion is reached.
◆There are many administrative regulations, departmental rules, normative documents, and industry standards governing museum management, and the system is rather disorganized. Museums need to strengthen their awareness of problems and laws when establishing management systems, and incorporate the more institutional and normative content.
Museums are considered the best home for privately owned cultural relics, a consensus widely held in my country's collecting community. However, a crisis of trust stemming from a donation of cultural relics has left many collectors hesitant.
Recently, a scroll painting titled "Spring in Jiangnan" by Qiu Ying, a Ming Dynasty artist, donated to the Nanjing Museum by the descendants of Pang Laichen, a renowned collector in modern China, unexpectedly appeared at an art auction in Beijing, with an estimated value of 88 million yuan. This event not only overturned the public's understanding of museum artifact management but also exposed numerous problems in the protection of rights and interests after artifact donation.
Cultural relic donations, serving as a bridge between private collections and public museum collections, embody the donor's deep affection for history and culture and their earnest expectation for cultural inheritance. However, according to interviewed experts, insufficient supply and ineffective implementation of the cultural relic donation system have led to an imbalance in the rights and obligations between donors and recipients, hindering the healthy development of the cultural relic donation cause.
Donations of cultural relics are usually obligatory gifts.
Accepting donations is a common way for cultural relic collecting institutions to acquire cultural relics. Because it involves both civil donation legal relationships between equal parties and is closely related to cultural relic protection, the legal relationships surrounding cultural relic donations are more complex than those for general donations.
my country's Cultural Relics Protection Law stipulates four ways for cultural relics collecting institutions to acquire cultural relics, one of which is "accepting donations." Some scholars have defined cultural relics donation as a donation with cultural relics as the specific object and for public welfare purposes. It refers to a contractual act in which the donor gives his or her own cultural relics to the recipient free of charge, and the recipient expresses acceptance of the donation.
Reporters noted that in practice, cultural relic donations are usually conditional, meaning the donation agreement clearly stipulates that, based on the donor's wishes, the collecting institution's capabilities, and the results of mutual agreement, the collecting institution must assume certain obligations. Some donation agreements include clauses stipulating that the collecting institution should respect and follow the donor's wishes in collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the donated cultural relics. Other agreements stipulate that museums should provide free access to the relics for the donor's descendants and assist in protecting the donor's privacy.
To balance the rights and obligations between donors and recipients, Article 661 of the Civil Code stipulates that gifts may be subject to obligations. If a gift is subject to obligations, the recipient shall fulfill those obligations as agreed. This means that if a donation agreement stipulates accompanying obligations, the cultural relics collecting institution should fulfill them. In this regard, Article 69 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics stipulates: "The State encourages citizens and organizations other than cultural relics collecting institutions to donate their collected cultural relics to cultural relics collecting institutions or lend them to cultural relics collecting institutions for exhibition and research. Cultural relics collecting institutions shall respect and, in accordance with the wishes of the donors, properly collect, preserve, and display the donated cultural relics."
"Donations of cultural relics, as a form of public welfare donation, are protected by the Law on Donations for Public Welfare Undertakings," an industry insider who declined to be named told reporters. According to the relevant provisions of the Law on Donations for Public Welfare Undertakings, donors have the right to inquire with recipients about the use and management of donated property and to offer opinions and suggestions; recipients should use donated property in accordance with the purposes agreed upon in the agreement and shall not change the purpose of donated property without authorization; recipients should disclose the circumstances of accepting donations and the use and management of donated property and accept public supervision.
In fact, donations between museums and donors are not limited to cultural relics. A reporter noticed a notice from the Lüliang City Museum accepting donations from the public. This notice states that the Lüliang City Museum accepts donations not only of historical and folk cultural relics, but also of documents and other items with cultural value and historical significance. In other words, any item that reflects the cultural characteristics and historical memory of the Lüliang region and is of significant value to the museum's exhibitions, education, and research is eligible for donation.
The donation process at the Lüliang City Museum reveals its effective management of donated items. For instance, in the "Intent Communication" stage, after the donor contacts the museum and expresses their intention to donate, the museum conducts initial communication with the donor regarding the basic information of the donated items. In the subsequent "Item Evaluation" stage, the museum organizes professionals to evaluate the items to be donated, including their historical, artistic, and scientific value, as well as their authenticity and preservation condition, to determine if they meet the museum's collection standards. Once the donated items are deemed to meet the collection requirements, the museum signs a donation agreement with the donor, clearly specifying the name, quantity, current status, donation method, and the rights and obligations of both parties, ensuring the legality and standardization of the donation. In the "Item Receipt" stage, the museum receives the donated items according to the agreement, conducting detailed registration, numbering, and photographing to establish a comprehensive collection archive. Simultaneously, the museum issues a donation certificate or provides a loan certificate to the donor.
Setting collection standards for donated items is, in the view of scholars, absolutely necessary. "Eliminating items that do not meet the collection requirements, especially for donated cultural relics, is a practical necessity. Museums, as important cultural landmarks, are not only material evidence for preserving memories and retracing the past, but also resources beneficial to the spirit and enlightening the public. Distinguishing the genuine from the fake is their primary task. If a large number of forgeries are among the donated items, the consequences could be disastrous," said Chen Lei, associate professor at the School of Arts and Humanities, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts.
There are rules to follow when determining the authenticity of donated cultural relics.
Once a private collection is transformed into a museum collection, does it become completely unrelated to the donor?
The reporter noted that a statement issued by the Nanjing Museum indicated that "since November 2024, our museum has twice received court documents regarding a 'gift contract dispute' involving Ms. Pang Shuling (Pang Laichen's great-granddaughter)." This reflects that in the aforementioned cases, the Nanjing Museum was primarily bound by the terms of the gift contract.
In the Nanjing Museum incident, the descendants of the donor, the Pang family, were completely unaware that the artwork had been identified as a "forgery" and subsequently disposed of, only realizing the unusual activity when the painting appeared on the auction market. "If the donation contract clearly stipulates the obligations of the donee, and the donee fails to fulfill those obligations, the donor has the right to revoke the donation according to Article 663 of the Civil Code," said Guo Lulu, a lawyer at Beijing Dadao Zhengtong Law Firm.
However, experts believe that for institutions like museums that collect cultural relics, even without an agreement, "taking good care" of the donated relics is a legally mandated obligation—a constraint under public law. The Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and its implementing regulations clearly stipulate that recipient institutions must establish archives for their collections, ensure their safety, and, where conditions permit, conduct exhibitions and research. This not only respects and protects the rights of donors but also demonstrates a commitment to the preservation of historical and cultural heritage.
Article 51 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics stipulates that museums, libraries and other cultural relic collection units must classify the cultural relics in their collections according to the relevant national standards for the classification of cultural relics, set up archives, establish strict management systems, and report to the competent cultural relic administrative department for record.
Literally speaking, museums must undertake at least three tasks related to their collections: classifying cultural relics by grade, establishing archives for cultural relics, and setting up strict management systems.
In the industry's view, classifying museum collections as cultural relics is a prerequisite for protecting them in accordance with the law and an important part of the research work of cultural relic collecting institutions.
"The process of warehousing donated cultural relics typically includes receiving, registering, authenticating, and storing them. Among these, authentication is a crucial step. Although not all donated cultural relics require a complex authentication process, professional authentication is essential for disputed or highly valuable relics. If the authenticity is unclear, museums usually take a cautious approach, temporarily refraining from storing or displaying them until a definitive conclusion is reached," said the aforementioned industry insider. He added that museums, as recipients of donated cultural relics, do not have absolute disposal rights after acquiring ownership. For state-owned museums, once donated cultural relics are accepted and added to their collections, the relics become state-owned cultural relics and must comply with the various management regulations for state-owned cultural relics under the Cultural Relics Protection Law and other relevant laws.
From the current legal perspective, the identification of cultural relics is a formal administrative confirmation act initiated by administrative organs ex officio or upon application to confirm the legal status of cultural relics. Wang Yunxia, professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China and director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage Law, points out in her recently published book, *Understanding and Application of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics*, that many professional cultural relic protection institutions also have experts in cultural relic appraisal or related technical personnel, possessing the qualifications and capabilities to conduct research on the value of cultural relics, and some institutions have even obtained cultural relic appraisal qualifications according to law. However, these professional institutions are not administrative bodies legally entitled to identify cultural relics; their assessments or appraisals are only for reference and are not the decisive basis for cultural relic identification by the cultural relic administrative departments of county-level (or higher) people's governments, nor do they have the legal significance and effect of cultural relic identification.
Some scholars have pointed out that when an object, a property, or a piece of land is transformed from its original status into a cultural relic under special legal protection, the rights and obligations of the relevant rights holders will undergo tremendous changes.
It is precisely because of this significant change that the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics delegates the power to identify the identity of cultural relics to the relevant administrative departments, and the way to exercise this power is through registration. Article 2 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics stipulates that "the subjects, standards and procedures for the identification of cultural relics shall be stipulated and promulgated by the State Council." In the "Interim Measures for the Management of the Identification of Cultural Relics" formulated by the former Ministry of Culture, the above-mentioned principle legislation was specifically stipulated. Article 3 of the measures stipulates that "the identification of cultural relics shall be the responsibility of the local cultural relics administrative departments at or above the county level."
Make the donation of cultural relics from private collections easier
In the view of the cultural relics protection community, my country has a rich collection of cultural relics, but many of them have been lost to private individuals. Donations of cultural relics initiated by the public are not only conducive to the protection of privately collected cultural relics, but also enable state-owned cultural relics collection units to continuously enrich their collections and optimize their collection structure under the condition of limited funds.
How can we better integrate private collections into public museum collections and bring more historical treasures to the world's attention? To achieve this goal, we must not only strictly control the "entry point" but also regulate the "exit point".
According to the "Interim Measures for the Management of the Withdrawal of State-Owned Cultural Relics" promulgated by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2018, when a state-owned cultural relics collecting institution intends to withdraw its collection of cultural relics, it shall organize an expert group to assess the basic information of the cultural relics to be withdrawn, the reasons for withdrawal, and the disposal plan after withdrawal, and obtain the consent of the institution's board of directors or collective discussion. When a state-owned cultural relics collecting institution intends to withdraw donated cultural relics, it shall do so in accordance with the agreement agreed with the donor; if there is no agreement, the donor's consent shall be obtained in advance.
"If donated cultural relics are later identified as fakes, the museum should handle them with care. If the recipient (museum) decides not to collect or exhibit the relics because they are fakes, the museum should fulfill its obligations to properly preserve, approve, and publicize the relics as required by relevant laws and regulations. At the same time, the museum should handle the relics properly in accordance with the donation contract or reach an agreement with the donor," the industry insider, who declined to be named, emphasized.
Compared to the rigorous authentication process before a cultural relic is donated, the management of cultural relics after they enter a museum's collection should be even more cautious. "If a 'fake' is discovered during subsequent authentication, the authentication result must be handled properly," Chen Lei explained. For artifacts that are not genuine but are still antiques, the authentication and exhibition of the collection should be based on "transmission" (referring to the relationship of inheritance or a suspected author) and "signature" (the work bears the author's signature and seal, but lacks conclusive evidence of its provenance) and be properly preserved.
"For example, the Qing Dynasty imperial collections recorded in the Shiqu Baoji, although there may be some forgeries, still have an earlier time limit, so their collection value is still relatively high," Chen Lei said. He added that some modern and recent forgeries, or even deliberate forgeries by donors, should be dealt with promptly because of their lower value.
In Chen Lei's view, the appraisal results should be clearly and publicly disclosed in any case, not only to the donors but also to the public. "This is not only a matter of respect for the donors but also a requirement for transparency in the museum's actions. Before disposing of donated cultural relics, the museum should proactively communicate with the donors, explain the reasons for the disposal and the destination, and ensure the donors' right to know."
In her article "A Study on Legal Issues of Cultural Relics Donation," Wang Yunxia offered her insightful thoughts on "improving the supervision mechanism for cultural relics donation": "The management of donated cultural relics by the recipient is a matter of great concern to donors and the public. Whether the legitimate rights and interests of donors can be protected and whether donated cultural relics can be used in accordance with the donor's wishes are the main factors affecting the donation."
To this end, she suggested that, in improving the oversight mechanism for donated cultural relics, a comprehensive oversight mechanism should be established, including not only oversight by the donors but also by social and judicial oversight. State-owned cultural relic collecting institutions should designate a specific department within their organization to handle inquiries, oversight, and suggestions from donors and their close relatives regarding donated cultural relics, and promptly provide feedback on the results of such inquiries and handling to the donors and their close relatives. Donors have the right to revoke donations and claim compensation if they discover that the recipient has intentionally misappropriated, withheld, or privately distributed donated cultural relics.
The article “A Study on Legal Issues of Cultural Relics Donation” was published in 2012, but the above content remains a focus of academic attention today.
On December 9, 2025, Ge Weijun, professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Law of Fudan University, published an article entitled "Omissions and Suggestions for Improving the Rules for the Management of Cultural Relics Donations". He summarized four omissions in my country's current rules for the management of cultural relics donations: the generalization of provisions related to the rights of donors, the defects in the procedures for identifying forgeries, the lack of clear provisions on the mechanism for withdrawing from collections and disposal, and the imperfect supporting system for the management of cultural relics.
Regarding the overgeneralization of regulations concerning donor rights, Ge Weijun analyzed in his article: "The right to know is only a principle provision. The law stipulates in principle 'respecting the wishes of donors,' but does not specify the frequency, method, or scope of inquiries. The right to supervise lacks effective implementation. There is a lack of a rigid mechanism for donors to regularly inspect collections and obtain professional maintenance reports. Donors can only passively wait for museums to 'selectively inform' them, and cannot effectively supervise the preservation of cultural relics. The right to object is lacking. There are no clear channels for appeal and review procedures for museum appraisal conclusions and disposal decisions."
In her book, "Understanding and Application of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics," Wang Yunxia points out that there are a large number of administrative regulations, departmental rules, normative documents, and industry standards governing museum management, and the system is rather disorganized. Content related to the management of cultural relics is scattered throughout these regulations. Museums need to strengthen their awareness of problems and the law when establishing management systems, and incorporate the more institutional and normative content.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government have recently established an investigation team to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the management of cultural relics at the Nanjing Museum. Comments in the comment section, such as "Looking forward to a fair and just result" and "Hoping the truth will come to light soon," reflect public concern for more standardized procedures and management systems for cultural relic donations. We have reason to believe that as the investigation deepens, the truth will eventually come to light, and a more scientific and standardized system for cultural relic donations can be expected.
(Procuratorial Daily, Yu Xiao, Wang Jiyi)
