Ritual wine cup (gu) with taotie and dragons

Historical period(s)
middle or late Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 12th-11th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 29 x 16.6 cm (11 7/16 x 6 9/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint 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
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2012.9.575
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Metalwork
Type

Ritual vessel: gu

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China, dragon, gu, Paul Singer collection, taotie
Provenance

1967
Sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Oriental Art, December 14, 1967, Sale #2636, lot 185: “Bronze Beaker (Ku).” [1]

To 1997
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), Summit, New Jersey. [2]

From 1997 to 1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC [3]

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. [4]

Notes:

[1] See auction catalogue for the Sale of Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Oriental Art, December 14, 1967, Sale #2636.

[2] See object record.

[3] Between 1997 and 1999, The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art was in the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC

[4] See “The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art Gift Agreement” from March 1999, Collections Management Office. The object was formally accessioned into the museum’s permanent collection in 2012. See Acquisition Consideration Form, object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Parke-Bernet Galleries
Dr. Paul Singer 1904-1997

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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