Bead

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

By 1937 to 1948
C. T. Loo & Company, NY acquired from unknown source [2]

1948 to 1953
C. T. Loo, INC., New York by transfer from C. T. Loo & Company [3]

1953 to 1954
C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York by transfer from C. T. Loo, INC. [4]

1954 to 1997
Dr. Paul Singer, Summit, NJ purchased from C. T. Loo & Company (later operating as Frank Caro Chinese Art) on June 8, 1954 in New York, NY [5]

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 [6]

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 [7]

Notes:

[1] Discovery site noted as Chin ts’un (now known as Juncun). See C. T. Loo & Company invoice to Dr. Paul Singer, June 8, 1954, which includes “E 5883: Tubular glass bead, revolving eye motifs on dark bluish ground. Late Chou. From Chin Ts’in. Exhibited in the Glass Show of Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio in 1948,” see object file, Collections Management Office.

Several tombs near Chin ts’un (Jincun) in Western Honan were discovered in the summer of 1928 after heavy rain, when sinkholes began to emerge. Immediately upon discovery, the tombs were heavily scavenged by locals. Only two tombs were systematically excavated (See: William Charles White, Tombs of Old Lo-Yang: A Record of the Construction and Contents of a group of Royal Tombs at Chin-ts’un, probably dating to 550 bc. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh Limited, 1934 and William Charles White, “China’s Cultural Heritage” in Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada vol. 37 (1943): 151).

[2] See invoice referenced in note 1. See also: C. T. Loo & Company, C. T. Loo, INC, and C. T. Loo Chinese Art stock card 36/065 E 5883 (added to lot 86394): “small cylindrical in glass with eye decorations, Exp à Paris en mars 1937,” copy in accession file. This object was likely part of the stock in C. T. Loo & Cie., Paris. The stock card notes that this bead came from Paris in 1948.

[3] C. T. Loo formed C. T. Loo, INC. in 1948 when C. T. Loo & Company could no longer access trade in China. On September 1, 1952, C. T. Loo’s associate, Frank Caro (1904-1980) took over daily operations of the New York business. C. T. Loo, INC. was dissolved by the summer of 1953 and Caro operated as C. T. Loo Chinese Art. Loo continued to play a large role in the business, as he and Caro struck a deal in which profits made on Loo’s stock would be evenly divided and Loo would maintain the lease and rental payments on the company’s gallery space.

[4] See note 3.

[5] See invoice referenced in note 1 and stock card referenced in note 2.

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.

[6] 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.

[7] 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