Desmond Gure (1905-1970), London, from at least August 1954 [1]
From 1968 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York, purchased from Desmond Gure on January 10, 1968 [2]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, gift of Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]
Notes:
[1] Gure lent the object to the exhibition The Art of the Ming Dynasty, organized by Oriental Ceramic Society in London in 1957, see S. Howard Hansford, “The Arts of the Ming Dynasty: Carvings in Jade, Ivory, Rhinoceros Horn and Bamboo,” Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society 1955-56 1956-57 (London, 1958), p. 55, no. 356, pl. 95.
See also an undated typed inventory of Desmond Gure’s collection, “List 1 – Objects Not Exhibited at Stockholm 1963,” no. 32: “A pale green jade figure of Yen T’zu with russet markings, one of the examples of filial piety, holding a milk bucket and clothed in the deerskin which he wore in order to mingle with the herd and obtain goats-milk as a cure for his parents’ eye disease – 4 in. high – Ming Dynasty – Fitted Box,” copy in object file.
[2] According to information provided by Arthur M. Sackler Foundation in October 2009, Arthur M. Sackler purchased the jade as part of Desmond Gure’s jade collection on January 10, 1968.
See “Arthur M. Sackler Gift: Chinese Jades: Summary,” where the object is listed under Sackler Collection no. J-1375 and identified as S1987.759.
[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. 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.
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)
Pavilions and Immortal Mountains: Chinese Decorative Art and Paintings (September 28, 1987 to February 28, 1988)
The Art of the Ming Dynasty (November 15 to December 15, 1957)
