Garment hook with dragons and mask

Object Details

• Provenance

  From at least 1933

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871–1941), New York, NY, and The Chimneys, Sands Point, Port Washington, Long Island, from at least 1933. [1]

  From at least 1944 to 1946

  Tonying and Company, New York, NY, from at least February 4, 1944. [2]

  From 1946

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company, New York, NY, on February 18, 1946. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Umehara Sueji, Shina kodo Seikwa, Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America: Part III Miscellaneous Objects, vol. 1 (Osaka: Yamanaka and Co., 1933), pl. 69. Mrs. Holmes lent the object to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at Royal Academy of Fine Arts in London in 1935–36, see Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, exh. cat. (London: Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935–March 7, 1936), cat. 571 (ill.).

  [2] The bronze is included on List of Objects Contemplated for Purchase by the Freer Gallery of Art, approved by C. G. Abbot, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on February 4, 1944, copy in object file.

  [3] See Tonying and Company’s invoice, dated February 18, 1946, in which the bronze figures under no. B 59: Gilt Bronze Buckle, inlaid with green jade, dragon decoration on both sides / Han, copy in object file. See also Archibald Gibson Wenley’s letter to C. F. Yau, Tonying and Co., New York, NY, dated February 15, 1946, copy in object file, in which Wenley confirms the acquisition of the bronze for the Freer Gallery’s collection.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941)

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Holmes, Christian R., Tonying and Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Art, Inlay (process), Sculpture, Chinese Art, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE), Jade, Taotie, Masks, Dragon, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry