Pendant in the form of a bird, reworked

Object Details

• Description

  Flat plaque representing a bird with wings outspread, as seen from above. Eyes and spiral decoration in low-relief. Engraved striations on tail; reverse undecorated; perforation in fore body. (Veins of calcification; flat-cracks.)

• Provenance

  Around 1946 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 mode of acquisition unknown [4]

  1964 to 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Frank Caro Chinese Art on August 27, 1964 [5]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [6]

  Notes:

  [1] When Frank Caro began leading C. T. Loo’s company – C. T. Loo, INC. – in 1952, he re-inventoried objects, assigning “E” numbers and updated the company’s stock card. This jade bird pendant was inventoried as E 5678 (see note 2). No C. T. Loo & Co. stock card has been found in the C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, housed at the Musée Guimet, Paris. However, stock cards for objects E 5675, E 5677, and E 5680 are in the archive and these stock cards indicate that C. T. Loo acquired the corresponding objects from a Chinese source in 1946 and 1947 (copies located provenance files), when operating as C. T. Loo & Company. It is likely that C. T. Loo & Company acquired the jade bird pendant at that time.

  [2] C. T. Loo formed C. T. Loo, INC. in 1948 when C. T. Loo & Company could no longer access trade in China. Object included in “An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades” an exhibition arranged by and composed of objects belonging to C. T. Loo, INC. See: C. T. Loo INC., An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades arranged for Norton Gallery of Art, January 20 to March 1, 1950, plate XXVIII, no. 4, copy in object file. The object, however, was likely acquired in the late 1940s, from a Chinese source.

  [3] 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.

  [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’s stock that C. T. Loo had added to the inventory before his death in 1957. Frank Caro then opened Frank Caro Chinese Art. Caro acquired pieces from Loo’s original stock (the mode of acquisition is unknown). Frank Caro Chinese Art stock number E 5678. See Frank Caro Chinese Art invoice dated August 27, 1964, copy in object file provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

  [5] See invoice referenced in 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

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

  An Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades (January 20 to March 1, 1950)

• 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

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

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

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

  Art, Animals, Carving, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Nephrite, Birds, Jade

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry