Basin with frogs

Object Details

• Provenance

  By 1933-at least 1941

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  About 1942-1948

  Location of object is not known

  By 1959

  Tonying and Company, New York, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  1959-1987

  Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), purchased from Tonying and Company, New York [3]

  From 1987

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See Sueji Umehara “Shina-Kodo Seikwa, or Selected Relics of Ancient Chinese Bronzes from Collections in Europe and America” [book] (Osaka: Yamanaka & Co., 1933), vol. III, fig. 210. See also Royal Academy of Arts London, “Catalog of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art 1935-6” [exhibition catalog] (London: William Clowes and Sons, Limited: 1936), cat. 135, p. 11, fig. 135. “Selected Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Collections of Mrs. Christian R. Holmes” (Japan: C. F. Yau of Tonying & Company, Inc., 1941-1942), pl. 16. Additionally, see Otto Fischer, “Chinesische Plastik” [book] (München: R. Piper & Co., 1948), p. 194, fig. 20. Mrs. Christian R. Holmes was born Bettie Fleischmann, daughter of Charles Fleischmann, the founder of the Fleischmann yeast company. She married physician Dr. Christian R. Holmes and was an active social leader and philanthropist, as well as a collector of Chinese works of art. Following Mrs. Holmes death in 1941, C.F. Yau, manager of the New York branch of Tonying and Company, published the portfolio of her collection of bronzes, possibly as a promotional effort, and as such the object may have been consigned to, or purchased by, Tonying and Company. Much of her Chinese collection was sold in 1942, in part by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 15-18. The object’s location is not known during the period of 1942-1948, although at the time of his writing, Otto Fischer cited it as having been in the collection of Mrs. Holmes.

  [2] See object file for copy of Tonying and Company, Inc., invoice no. 140 to Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, dated January 18, 1959. A type-written note on the invoice states that the object was “Unearthed in the vicinity of Ch’ang-Sha 1920.” The Tonying (Tongyun) Company 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.

  [3] See notes 2 and 4.

  [4] 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. Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.

  Research updated June 2, 2023

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Monsters, Myths and Minerals (September 28, 1987 to November 26, 1995)

  International Exhibition of Chinese Art (November 28, 1935 to March 7, 1936)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941)

  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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Holmes, Christian R., Sackler, Arthur M., Tonying and Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bronze, Frogs, Art, Animals, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)