Covered box, one of a pair with S2012.9.1747.1a-b

1928 to 1929
Discovered in tomb located in in Jincun, Honan Provence, China. [1]

By 1936
Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871–1941), Sands Point, New York [2]

To 1964
J. T. Tai & Company, New York, NY [3]

1964 to 1997
Dr. Paul Singer, Summit, NJ purchased from J. T. Tai & Company on January 7, 1964 in New York, NY [4]

1997 to 1999
In the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997 [5]

From 1999
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler [6]

Notes:

[1] The pair is published in Umehara, RakuyōKinson kobo shuei (Kyoto, 1936) pls. 27 (illustrated) and identified as archeological discovery at tombs in Chin Ts’un (now known as Jincun) in Honan Province.

[2] See note 1; Mrs. Christian R. Holmes is listed as owner. Also see the collector’s stickers affixed to interior of object’s pair, RLS1997.48.515.1a-b: “Mrs. Christian R. Holmes Collection, G 34.”

[3] See invoice from J. T. Tai & Company to Dr. Paul Singer, January 7, 1964, copy in object file, Collections Management Office. Invoice is for object “YT 3951: Pair Silver Boxes with inscription, round shape with star-like decoration, Chou Dynasty.”

[4] See note 3. The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer was purchased by him on behalf of Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities and later was transferred to the children of Arthur M. Sackler.

[5] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997 and a loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Gallery in February 1997.

[6] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement,” March 1999, Collections Management Office. This object was formally accessioned into the museum collection in 2012.