Ritual wine ewer (gong) with masks (taotie) and dragons

Object Details

• Provenance

  By 1933-no later than 1941

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (Bettie Fleischmann) (1871-1941), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  ?-1959

  Tonying & Company, Inc., New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  By 1959-1987

  Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), purchased from Tonying & Company, Inc., New York [3]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See Sueji Umehara, “Shina-Kodo Seikwa: or Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America,” [book] (Osaka: Yamanaka & Co., 1933), vol. II, fig. 145.

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes was born Bettie Fleischmann, daughter of Charles Fleischmann, the founder of the Fleischmann yeast company. She married physician Dr. Christian R. Holmes and was an active social leader and philanthropist, as well as a collector of Chinese works of art.

  [2] See object file for copy of Tonying & Company invoice no. 127 for 1 “rare bronze Kuang (…) from the well-known collection of the late Mrs. Christian R. Holmes,” dated July 11, 1959, to Dr. Arthur M. Sackler. The Tonying Company (Tongyun gongsi)

  was established in Paris in 1902 by Zhang Renjie (1877-1950), also known as Zhang Jingjiang. Zhang gained an official appointment in 1902 as an attaché of the Qing government’s Minister to France, and while in Paris he established the Tonying Company for the import and sale of works of art, tea and silk. The Tonying Company remained a family business while branching out to New York, from its original base in Paris and its source in Shanghai, where Zhang’s brother-in-law C. F. Yau was the manager.

  [3] See notes 2 and 4.

  [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. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.

  Research updated May 19, 2023

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

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

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941)

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Holmes, Christian R., Sackler, Arthur M., Tonying and Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Wine and wine making, Art, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE), Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)