H x W x D: 29.1 x 31.5 x 31.7 cm (11 7/16 x 12 3/8 x 12 1/2 in)
Type:
Vessel
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 800-700 BCE
Period:
Spring and Autumn period
Provenance:
By 1958-?
C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]
Likely 1961-1964?
Frank Caro Chinese Art, New York, by transfer from C. T. Loo Chinese Art around 1961 [2]
Possibly by 1964-1987
Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), purchased from Frank Caro Chinese Art, New York [3]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [4]
Notes:
[1] See Wadsworth Atheneum, “4000 Years of Chinese Art” [exhibition catalog] (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, October 17-November 30, 1958), cat. no. 12 (no illustration). C. T. Loo (1880-1957) was one of the most prominent and well-known figures in the world of Chinese art in the first half of the twentieth century. Loo owned and operated eponymous galleries in New York and Paris, where he offered Chinese, Indian, and South Asian antiquities for study and sale. See also note 2.
[2] On September 1, 1952, C. T. Loo’s associate, Frank Caro (1904-1980) took over daily operations of the New York business. C. T. Loo, INC. was dissolved by the summer of 1953 and Caro operated as C. T. Loo Chinese Art. Loo continued to play a large role in the business, as he and Caro struck a deal in which profits made on Loo’s stock would be evenly divided and Loo would maintain the lease and rental payments on the company’s gallery space. About 1950, Caro assigned new inventory numbers to C. T. Loo & Company’s stock. See also note 1.
[3] See object file for copy of Sackler Foundation index list, indicating that Frank Caro Chinese Art sold stock no. B-20 to Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on August 26, 1964. The Frank Caro Chinese Art invoices include August 26, 1964, but the details have been redacted. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.
[4] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.
Research updated May 25, 2023
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
In Praise of Ancestors: Ritual Objects from China (September 28, 1987 to January 1, 1989)
