About

Meet James Pongrass, an art connoisseur whose passion for collecting began in 1972.

James began collecting tribal art from the South Pacific while living in Australia, after passing by a gallery on the street in Paddington. His collection now contains artifacts from the Torricelli Mountains District, Trobriand Islands, Wosera District, Highlands Districts, Asmat and Dani Tribes, and more, including pieces from renowned collections and museums.

Thirty years later, Jim had moved to China and was passing by another gallery, when a piece of Jingdezhen Porcelain caught his eye. Originating from the ancient city of Chang Nan, these pieces, crafted by the few remaining master ceramists, are some of the finest porcelain works ever made.

He also began collecting Chinese Antiquities, and his collection features rare objects dating back to the Warring States Period, the Tang Dynasty, a collection of Qing Dynasty wood panels, and a neolithic jade pendant from the HongShan Culture, dating back some 8000 years.

Mata Ortiz Pottery, a recreation of traditional pottery works from Chihuahua, Mexico, owes its revival to Juan Quezada, the master potter. His works and those of his family are present in museums and private collections globally.

The collection of Modern and Contemporary Art includes pieces dating back to the 40s, with works from artists like Matta, Seligmann, Magritte, Miles, Bruher, Wray, Songhua Fu, and many others.

His collection of Art Glass and Crystal includes works from artists like Kjell Engman and Bertil Vallien of Kosta Boda Studios, and limited edition pieces from the Daniel Swarovski Collection.

The Esoteric Collection is diverse, from fine art jewelry by Dutch artist Anneka Schat to copper engravings from the 1777 Voyages of Captain James Cook.

Jim is now partnering with ArtAreas.io to create NFTs and digital twins of various objects in his collections.

These objects have now been professionally videoed and photographed, and the NFTs are also being displayed in online virtual exhibitions. Art ID tags are also being created, cryptographically linking the physical objects of art to NFTs minted from his wallet address.

ArtAreas.io and James Pongrass, bringing art history into the digital age.