Ritual wine container (you) with dragons
![Detail of a pattern](https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/themes/custom/nmaa/nmaa-frontend/public/images/hero-bkgrnd-desktop.jpg)
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
ca. 1100-1050 BCE -
Geography
China -
Material
Bronze -
Dimension
H x W x D: 25.4 x 23.5 x 14.2 cm (10 x 9 1/4 x 5 9/16 in) -
Accession Number
S1987.281a-b -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_S1987.281a-b
Object Details
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Provenance
By 1959Tonying & Company, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]By 1959-1987Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), purchased from Tonying & Company, New York [2]From 1987Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [3]Notes:[1] See object file for copy of Tonying & Company, Inc., invoice # 131 to Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, dated January 12, 1959, for 1 “Rare Bronze Yu with cover, in the form of two winged animals and birds with two T’ao-T’ie masks.” The TonyingCompany (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.[2] See Noel Barnard, “Reviewed Work(s): Prehistoric China, Volume One in the series entitled Archaeology in China by Cheng Te-k’un: Shang China, Volume Two of Archaeology in China by Cheng Te-k’un: China, Volume Twenty-three in the series Ancient Peoples and Places by William Watson, Glyn Daniel” in “Monumenta Serica,” vol. 22, no. 1 (1963), fig. 4a, pp. 213-255. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.[3] 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.Research updated May 19, 2023 -
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection -
Previous custodian or owner
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
Usage Conditions Apply
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