Pouring vessel (gong) in the form of an elephant with masks (taotie), dragons, birds, snakes, and felines

Historical period(s)
Shang dynasty, ca. 1150-1100 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 18.7 x 21.4 x 8.1 cm (7 3/8 x 8 7/16 x 3 3/16 in)
Geography
China, middle Yangzi River region, Hunan province
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1987.65a-b
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 23a: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Container: gong

Keywords
China, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE), wine
Provenance

To 1965
J. T. Tai & Company, INC. New York, NY [1]

1965 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, NY purchased from J. T. Tai & Company on January 20, 1965 in New York, NY [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See records from Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, copy in object file.

[2] See note 1.

[3] 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987
J.T. Tai & Co. established in 1950

Published References
  • Dawn Ho Delbanco. Art from Ritual: Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. Exh. cat. Washington. cat. 20, pp. 64-65.
  • et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 111, pp. 168-169.
  • Robert W. Bagley. Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections: Volume 1 of Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. vol. 1, Washington and Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1987. cat. 74, pp. 416-420.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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