Ritual wine container (fangyi) with masks (taotie) and dragons

Object Details

• Provenance

  Before 1945

  Excavated at Anyang, China [1]

  ?-1968

  Unknown collector, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  1968

  Sale, London, Sotheby & Co., “Important Chinese Ceramics, Archaic Bronzes and Works of Art,” December 10, 1968, lot 31 [3]

  1968-1971

  J. T. Tai & Co., purchased at Sotheby & Co. sale in London, United Kingdom [4]

  1971-1987

  Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York [5]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [6]

  Notes:

  [1] See Sotheby & Co., “Important Chinese Ceramics, Archaic Bronzes and Works of Art,” [auction catalog] (London: Sotheby & Co., 10 December 1968), lot 31, p.14-15, “A certificate from T. Y. King, dated 18th October, 1949, which describes this piece as recently excavated at Anyang, Honan [sic] Province, accompanies the lot.” See also “Oriental Art” Winter 1968 v. XIV, p. 239.

  T. Y. King (b. 1904), possibly Jin Congyi 金从怡 (or alternately Jin Cai Ji 金才记 T. Y. King and Sons?), was a Shanghai dealer of Chinese art and antiquities, which he regularly supplied to collectors and dealers in America and Western Europe. He left Shanghai in 1949 for Hong Kong, where he founded T. Y. King & Sons. He then traveled to Singapore and resumed his relationships with other dealers, including Helen D. Ling for whom he was a mentor. By 1954, King had returned to Hong Kong where he became a respected adviser to an international clientele of collectors of Chinese art and antiquities.

  [2] See note 1, p. 14, “The Property of a Gentleman”.

  [3] See notes 1 and 2. See also “Oriental Art” Winter 1968 v. XIV, p. 239.

  [4] See object file for copy of J. T. Tai & Co. stock record for stock no. YT-5817, described as a “Rare archaic bronze covered vessel, rectangular shape, Shang Dynasty.” Tai records that he purchased the object at the December 10, 1968 Sotheby sale, and that it was sold in 1971. While he does not identify the buyer, this stock record was part of the files Tai labeled as “Sackler Purchases,” and the record is stamped “SoldS.. See also note 1, Price List, lot 31. Tai Jun Tsei, known as J. T. Tai (1911-1992), was an incredibly important dealer in Chinese antiquities whose influence shaped American collections of Chinese art throughout the second half of the twentieth century. He began his career in China, and in early 1950 he emigrated to New York City with the help of C. T. Loo (1880-1957). Tai established himself as an independent dealer and opened a gallery on Madison Avenue by the autumn of 1950.

  [5] See note 4. Stock record YT-5817 was part of the files J. T. Tai labeled as “Sackler Purchases”. See also Robert W. Bagley, “Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections: Volume 1 of Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections” [book] (The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, and The Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University: Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, MA, 1987), cat. 79, pp. 441-444. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.

  [6] 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 August 28, 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

  J. T. Tai & Co. (established in 1950)

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, 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

  Sackler, Arthur M., J. T. Tai & Co.

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• 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)