Ritual wine container (Hu)

Object Details

• Provenance

  From at least 1940 to 1948

  C. T. Loo & Company, New York, NY [1]

  1948 to 1953

  C. T. Loo, INC., New York, NY by transfer from C. T. Loo & Company, NY [2]

  1953 to 1961

  C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, NY by transfer from C. T. Loo, INC, NY [3]

  1961 to 1964

  Frank Caro Chinese Art, New York, NY from C. T. Loo Chinese Art, NY, mode of acquisition unknown [4]

  From 1964 to 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, NY purchased from Frank Caro, Chinese Art, New York, NY on 26 August 1964 [5]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C., gift of Arthur M. Sackler [6]

  Notes:

  [1] Published in C. T. Loo & Co., Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ritual Bronzes, The Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan) 18 October to 10 November 1940, cat. 44 (illustrated)

  [2] In 1948, when C. T. Loo & Company lost direct access to trade in China, C. T. Loo formed the company C. T. Loo, INC. In 1950, C. T. Loo announced his retirement. Loo appointed his daughter, Janie Emanuel Loo as the head of the Paris branch of C. T. Loo & Company (C. T. Loo & Cie) and his associate, Frank Caro, as the head of the New York Branch, which operated as C. T. Loo Chinese Art.

  C. T. Loo, INC. was dissolved by the summer of 1953.

  [3] See note 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. When Caro assumed leadership, he re-inventoried the gallery stock, assigning new numbers, many of which began with “E.” This object was part of that inventory process; E 5002.

  [4] In 1961, Loo and Caro’s agreement ended. C. T. Loo & Cie., Paris, France took control of C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York stock, which C. T. Loo added to the inventory before his death in 1957.See invoice from Frank Caro, Chinese Art to Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and dated “Auust 26, 1964,” E-5002: “Tall bronze HU. Ht: 18 ins. (two large ring handles) four small rings at neck.” Copy located in accession file.

  [5] See note 4.

  [6] 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

  Chinese Bronzes from the Sackler Collection (November 19 to December 30, 1989)

  In Praise of Ancestors: Ritual Objects from China (September 28, 1987 to January 1, 1989)

  Exhibition of Chinese Arts, Special Sale (November 1, 1941 to April 30, 1942)

  An Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ritual Bronzes (October 18 to November 10, 1940)

• Previous custodian or owner

  C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)

  C.T. Loo, INC. (ca. 1948-no later than July 1953)

  C.T. Loo Chinese Art (1953-1961)

  Frank Caro Chinese Art (1962-1980)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Frank Caro Chinese Art, Sackler, Arthur M., C.T. Loo Chinese Art, C.T. Loo, INC., C.T. Loo & Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Wine and wine making, Art, Sculpture, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), Chinese Art, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)