Hound

Object Details

• Description

  A hound sits alertly with legs pointing forward and head held forward. Its slender figure is subtly modelled, with faint concentric arcs indicating ribs. Its sensitive face, with pointed muzzle and round moulded eyes framed by brow ridges above, suggests an intense readiness. A wide collar with a jingle encircles the neck. The curled tail hugging the rump and the shapely comma-shaped ears provide an elegant accent. On the underside, its limbs are depicted in low relief.

• Label

  Small jade animals were enjoyed by China's elite as handsome decorations but also as objects to caress because of jade's unctuous, cool surface. Hounds are, in general, well regarded in China, and one of the years of the zodiac is named after the dog. This jade object might have been presented to someone born in the year of the dog. This slender animal's collar with a bell suggests it is a hunting dog.

• Provenance

  By 1933 to 1955

  Edith Rosenheim-Randon (later Mrs. Edith Bennett (1901-1965)), Paris, France, New York, NY, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, IL [1]

  1955

  Sale, London, Sotheby & Co, The Well-Known Collection of Early Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes, and Jades: The Property of Mrs. E. Bennett, May 24, 1955, lot 98: “A Fine Jade Figure of a Hound” [2]

  By 1960 to 1968

  Desmond Gure (1905-1970), London, England mode of acquisition unknown [3]

  1968 to 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York purchased from Desmond Gure on January 1, 1968 [4]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See: Desmond Gure, “Selected Examples from the Jade Exhibition at Stockholm, 1963: A Comparative Study” in The Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm No. 36 (1964), 146 – 147. Gure reports that Edith Rosenheim-Randon (then Ms. Bennett) told him that the object was exhibited as early as 1933 at the Musée Guimet, Paris. By 1938, Edith Rosenheim-Randon loaned the object as part of her collection to the Brooklyn Museum, New York in 1938 and it was then released to the Arden Gallery for exhibition. It then went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for exhibition in 1941. The dog was out of Europe ahead of the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, when Nazi officials looted Edith Rosenheim-Randon’s collection.

  [2] See Sotheby & Co. Catalogue of the Well-Known Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, Rare Antique Bronzes, and Fine Archaic Jades: The Property of Mrs. E. Bennett (London: May 24, 1955), lot 98. An insert in the auction catalogue reports that lot 98 sold to Manson for $340.00. Manson’s identify remains unclean; it could refer to Manson, Christie & Woods, however this cannot be verified.

  [3] Object’s ownership listed as Mr. & Mrs. Desmond Gure in : Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt and Jean-Claude Moreau-Gobard, Chinese Art: Bronse, Jade, Sculpture, Ceramics, Vol. 2.

  New York: Universe Books Publishers, 1960, figure 67.

  In the Gure Collection, the object was identified as #179, “A jade carving of an alert recumbent hound; olive yellow with dark brown and black markings – 3 ½ in. long – T’ang Dynasty or slightly earlier – fitted box,” see Gure’s inventory of “Objects Exhibited at Stockholm 1963,” copy in object file.

  [4] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October, 9, 2009.

  See “List 2 – Objects Exhibited at Stockholm 1963,” Desmond Gure’s lists of jades.

  [5] 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

  5000 Years of Chinese Jade (October 1, 2011 to February 19, 2012)

  Chinese Jade Animals (April 19 to July 14, 1996)

  The Arts of China (November 18, 1990 to September 7, 2014)

  Monsters, Myths and Minerals (September 28, 1987 to November 26, 1995)

  Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution at the Royal Scottish Museum (August 11, 1984 to November 5, 1984)

  Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages (May 1 to June 22, 1975)

  Celadon, Jade: Finds, Specimen, Scientific Results (May to June 1963)

  3000 Years of Chinese Jade (January 10 to February 11, 1939)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Edith Rosenheim-Randon (1901-1965)

  Desmond Gure (1905-1970)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1790s, 1400s

• Name

  Sackler, Arthur M., Rosenheim-Randon, Edith, Gure, Desmond

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Animals, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Dogs, Jade, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture