The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., has acquired a massive collection of 5,000 Chinese antiques from the estate of psychiatrist Paul Singer, the Washington Post reports.

The pieces, worth an estimated $60 million, were housed in the Vienna-born Singer's two-room apartment in Summit, N.J. Thomas Lawton, director emeritus of the Freer Gallery of Art, told the Washington Post that Singer arranged the objects in every corner of the apartment and stacked them on tiered shelves lining the walls.

Singer, who left Austria in 1938 to flee Hitler, bought his first antique item when he was 13. At age 19, he decided to collect only Chinese art. In his adult life, Singer was continually attending auctions and looking in galleries for more Chinese pieces to add to his collection, the newspaper reports.

Singer met gallery founder Dr. Arthur Sackler in 1957 after sending some of his "lesser objects" to Sotheby's for auction, Lawton says. Sackler, who shared Singer's enthusiasm for Chinese antiques, saw the pieces at Sotheby's and knew he had to meet Singer. The two became close friends.

Sackler opened a museum next to the Freer Gallery in the early 1980s. He died in 1987. The Freer was founded in 1923 by Charles Lang Freer, a Detroit industrialist who also had a passion for Oriental art. The two institutions, which are joined underground by tunnels, share a staff and operate as a single entity.

Singer's gift will be added to the large amount of Chinese art held by the Sackler and Freer. Eighteen of Singer's objects are already on display, including a bronze bell that dates back to 1500 B.C.

Many of Singer's pieces come from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, which supported Singer's passion for Chinese art in his later life; the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, and Sackler's children.

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