Benjamin Shepps & Family

The Flint Institute of Arts has an important collection of Chinese ceramics, 230 of which have been donated by the Shepps family.

The late Benjamin and Roslyn Shepps began collecting Chinese ceramics in the mid-1940s. Their primary interest was in ceramics from the Neolithic period and early Chinese Dynasties through the Tang Dynasty (618–907). As enthusiastic and passionate collectors of Asian art, their interest in ceramics eventually overflowed into Chinese ink painting and jades. They traveled to Asia frequently, maintaining friendships and contacts over a period of more than 50 years. The Shepps created a home environment that stressed the aesthetic of the arts, as well as a socially minded sensibility of involvement with arts organizations. This approach was fostered and encouraged in their children, Lawrence, Howard, Gerald, Kenneth, and Julia.

The Shepps family began donating works from their collection to the Flint Institute of Arts in 1996. Their children have continued the family's tradition of generosity, giving to the FIA a group of more than 100 Neolithic Chinese vessels that will be displayed in an upcoming exhibition from June 30 to September 16, 2012.

Included in the recent reinstallation of the Asian Gallery are two impressive gifts from the Shepps family: a Han Dynasty Model of a Watchtower and one of a large pair of Ming Dynasty Roof Tiles in the shape of a dragon.