Ritual grain server (yu) with masks (taotie) and dragons

Object Details

• Inscriptions

  Inscribed on the bottom of the interior (undeciphered)

• Provenance

  To 1965

  J. T. Tai & Company, INC. New York, NY [1]

  1965 to 1987

  Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, NY purchased from J. T. Tai & Company on January 30, 1965 [2]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift from Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See invoice from J. T. Tai & Company, INC. to Arthur M. Sackler, page 4, object YT-5011, “Bronze Kuei, mask decoration, Yin-Chou,” copy in object file.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] 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

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

  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

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 24a: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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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

  Art, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes