Vasiliki (Vicki) Paloympis, HNC Certificate '10, utilizes her Chinese language and research skills as a specialist in ancient Chinese art and as associate vice president in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie's.
How did you become interested in China and decide to apply to the HNC?
I grew up in Brooklyn, so from a young age I was exposed to a diversity of cultures and a plethora of languages. I always wanted to learn an East Asian language and decided to give Chinese a try in college. I loved studying the language and was particularly drawn to the logic and occasionally hidden meanings in the characters. After my first year of college, I spent a summer in Beijing and fell in love with the city. I enjoyed seeing the architecture, exploring museums and contemporary art districts, and there was a wonderful, creative vibrancy in the city that reminded me of the energy of the New York of my childhood. After my first experience living in China, I delved deeper into studying Chinese language and history in college. I returned to Beijing again to study abroad at ACC my junior year and then went back again once more to study at IUP.
Over these years, I became interested in contemporary Chinese art and history and in college completed an individualized major that focused on specific moments in contemporary Chinese history through the lens of 20th century artists. It was my interest in history, love of living in China, and desire to pursue higher education in Chinese that led me to the HNC. Vasiliki (Vicki) Paloympis, HNC Certificate '10, utilizes her Chinese language and research skills as a specialist in ancient Chinese art and as associate vice president in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie's.
What is your role at Christie’s and how did your experience at the HNC prepare you for your career?
I am a specialist and associate vice president in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie’s. I work with three-dimensional objects from the Neolithic period to the early Republic period, specializing in porcelain and textiles. I travel globally to appraise collections and to source objects for sale. I also help to manage the main auctions of Chinese Art that we hold in New York in September and March of each year, handling everything from the logistics of the sale to the catalogue descriptions and research. At the HNC, my studies focused on contemporary Chinese history and culture. While the objects I specialize in now are ancient rather than modern, my experience at the HNC prepared me in many ways for my career at Christie’s. Of course, the broader social, cultural and political context of China that I was exposed to during my studies plays a role in my understanding of the history of ancient Chinese art. For example, many of the major collections of ancient Chinese art were formed more recently and having an understanding of modern Chinese history was key to understanding these collections
In addition, at the HNC I gained experience using Chinese language sources for research. My current job is very research-heavy, as we need to stay on top of recent scholarship and new archaeological excavations, most of which are in Chinese publications. My experience at the HNC helped form the groundwork to navigate the research I need to do now and the research I undertook in my MA program in History of Art & Archaeology at SOAS. Lastly, being able to speak fluidly about Chinese history and culture outside of a language-school setting lets me have more informed conversations with collectors at work.
What is an interesting project you worked on?
One of the most interesting projects I worked on was the deaccession and sale of several hundred ceramics from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, sold to benefit their acquisitions fund. These pieces were mostly duplicates of objects in their collection and provided an amazing insight into the collecting history of Chinese ceramics in the United States in the early 20th century. Another interesting project was the sale of Robert Ellsworth’s collection. He was one of the most prolific collectors of Asian Art in America. His collection included ceramics, Buddhist art, Chinese huanghuali furniture, and hundreds of archaic jades. The diversity of amazing pieces was a pleasure to work on.
What was your most memorable moment while you were in Nanjing?
This is a hard question! One is probably how painstakingly difficult it was for me to read the first few (and many of the following) texts in Chinese for my courses, but how rewarding it felt and how much I learned from having done it. I distinctly remember observing a court case through my Chinese law class, which was an amazing opportunity to experience the Chinese legal system firsthand. Another was traveling to a nearby waste plant, which has stayed with me to this day and shaped how I think about the environment.
In the city itself, I remember riding my bicycle around the city walls, and buying baozi up the hill from the [Hopkins-Nanjing Center] for lunch. Nanjing, at least ten years ago, had less of an expat community than Beijing and Shanghai, which opened the door for me to meet many Chinese students who I’m still friends with today.
What advice would you give to current and future HNC students?
My advice to current students would be to enjoy Nanjing more! At the time I felt that I was experiencing it all that I could, but in retrospect, I could have spent more time at the countless museums and historic sights, which would have offered a different education altogether.
To future students, I would recommend taking as many additional language courses as possible before beginning the program. I often felt that the stronger my language skills would have been, the more I would have gotten out of the readings and coursework. I developed many of these skills in the program, but I wish I had entered at a slightly higher level. One of the more invaluable parts of the HNC experience is the ability to take classes alongside Chinese students and engage in discussions together, and the better your language skills are, the more meaningful they will be.
Interview conducted by Cady Deck, HNC Certificate '19 + SAIS MA '20.
How did you become interested in China and decide to apply to the HNC?
What is your role at Christie’s and how did your experience at the HNC prepare you for your career?
I am a specialist and associate vice president in the Chinese Works of Art department at Christie’s. I work with three-dimensional objects from the Neolithic period to the early Republic period, specializing in porcelain and textiles. I travel globally to appraise collections and to source objects for sale. I also help to manage the main auctions of Chinese Art that we hold in New York in September and March of each year, handling everything from the logistics of the sale to the catalogue descriptions and research. At the HNC, my studies focused on contemporary Chinese history and culture. While the objects I specialize in now are ancient rather than modern, my experience at the HNC prepared me in many ways for my career at Christie’s. Of course, the broader social, cultural and political context of China that I was exposed to during my studies plays a role in my understanding of the history of ancient Chinese art. For example, many of the major collections of ancient Chinese art were formed more recently and having an understanding of modern Chinese history was key to understanding these collections
What is an interesting project you worked on?
One of the most interesting projects I worked on was the deaccession and sale of several hundred ceramics from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, sold to benefit their acquisitions fund. These pieces were mostly duplicates of objects in their collection and provided an amazing insight into the collecting history of Chinese ceramics in the United States in the early 20th century. Another interesting project was the sale of Robert Ellsworth’s collection. He was one of the most prolific collectors of Asian Art in America. His collection included ceramics, Buddhist art, Chinese huanghuali furniture, and hundreds of archaic jades. The diversity of amazing pieces was a pleasure to work on.
What was your most memorable moment while you were in Nanjing?
This is a hard question! One is probably how painstakingly difficult it was for me to read the first few (and many of the following) texts in Chinese for my courses, but how rewarding it felt and how much I learned from having done it. I distinctly remember observing a court case through my Chinese law class, which was an amazing opportunity to experience the Chinese legal system firsthand. Another was traveling to a nearby waste plant, which has stayed with me to this day and shaped how I think about the environment.
In the city itself, I remember riding my bicycle around the city walls, and buying baozi up the hill from the [Hopkins-Nanjing Center] for lunch. Nanjing, at least ten years ago, had less of an expat community than Beijing and Shanghai, which opened the door for me to meet many Chinese students who I’m still friends with today.
What advice would you give to current and future HNC students?
To future students, I would recommend taking as many additional language courses as possible before beginning the program. I often felt that the stronger my language skills would have been, the more I would have gotten out of the readings and coursework. I developed many of these skills in the program, but I wish I had entered at a slightly higher level. One of the more invaluable parts of the HNC experience is the ability to take classes alongside Chinese students and engage in discussions together, and the better your language skills are, the more meaningful they will be.
Interview conducted by Cady Deck, HNC Certificate '19 + SAIS MA '20.
