Ritual wine warmer (jia) with masks (taotie) and dragons

Object Details

• Inscriptions

  Inscribed on the bottom of the interior, Zheng 正 (“Military Officer of Campaigns Abroad”)

• Provenance

  By 1968-1987

  Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See Robert Poor, “The Sackler Collections: Bronze Ritual Vessels of Ancient China” [slide lecture] (International Arts Press, New York City, 1968), slide no. 1-1-20. 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. 5, pp. 159-161. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.

  [2] 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 July 5, 2023

• 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

  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.

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)