Circular plaque with dragon interlace

To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Ridgefield, CT [1]

From 1959 to 1960
Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr [2]

From 1960 to 1997
Paul Singer (1904-1997), Summit, New Jersey, purchased from Edna Bahr in 1960 [3]

From 1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC [4]

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 [5]

Notes:

[1] Paul Singer’s acquisition of the plaque from Edna Bahr, the daughter of Abel W. Bahr, was mentioned in his correspondence with Henry Trubner and Zheng Dekun, see letter from Henry Trubner to Singer, dated June 21, 1960 and letter from Zheng Dekun to Singer, dated 24 July, 1960, Paul Singer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The collector Abel W. Bahr was born in Shanghai and lived in China until about 1911, when he moved first to London, then to New York, Montreal, and eventually Ridgefield, Connecticut.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1. Singer discussed the circumstances of the acquisition of the object from the Bahr collection in his memoirs completed in February 1993, see Paul Singer, “Reminiscences of a Transient Custodian,” ms., Paul Singer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, p. 106-108. The plaque was reproduced in a catalogue of the exhibition organized by Paul Singer in 1972, see Early Chinese Gold and Silver (New York: China Institute in America, 1972), cat. 6 (ill.). The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Paul Singer over time 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.

[4] Upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997, his collection was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery by order of the Executors of the Estate under a loan agreement signed on February 1997. Shortly thereafter, the Sackler Gallery was vested with full ownership and title to the collection in full agreement by the Sackler Foundations and Sackler family members.

[5] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement” from March 1999, Collections Management Office. The formal accession of the Singer collection was completed in 2012.