Bottle

To 1945
Professor Ernst Herzfeld (1879-1948), Princeton, NJ [1]

1945
Sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Chinese, Japanese, and Persian Art: Property of Mr & Mrs. H. Adams Ashforth, Edward G. Kennedy, the late William Glyn together with the property of E.D. Church and Prof. Ernst Herzfeld and other owners, Parke-Bernet Galleries, April 5-6, 1945, likely part of lot 329: “Six Small Blue and White Cabinet Porcelains, Late Ming and K’ang Hsi” [2]

1945 to 1948
C. T. Loo & Company, New York, NY purchased at the Parke-Bernet sale, April 5-6, 1945, likely lot 329 [3]

1948 to 1953
C. T. Loo, INC., New York, NY by transfer from C. T. Loo & Company, New York [4]

1953
C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York, NY by transfer from C. T. Loo & Company, NY [5]

1953 to 1982
John Alexander Pope (1906-1982), Washington D.C. purchased from C. T. Loo Chinese Art on November 22, 1953 [6]

1982 to 1997
Mrs. John Alexander Pope (Annemarie (1907-2001)), Washington D. C. assumed ownership after the death of her husband, John Alexander Pope on September 18, 1982 [7]

From 1997
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Annemarie Pope on December 24, 1997 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Freer Gallery of Art [8]

Notes:

[1] See note 3.

[2] See “Chinese, Japanese, and Persian Art: Property of Mr & Mrs. H. Adams Ashforth, Edward G. Kennedy, the late William Glyn together with the property of E.D. Church and Prof. Ernst Herzfeld and other owners,” Parke-Bernet Galleries, April 5-6, 1945, likely part of lot 329: “Six Small Blue and White Cabinet Porcelains, Late Ming and K’ang Hsi”, page 70. See also note 3.

[3] See C. T. Loo & Company stock card no. NLP-4/1517: “Porcelain globular vase, decorated with detached branches of peonies, lotus, peaches and pomegranates, between colors of trefoil lapels and overlapping petals. In cobalt blue. Six-character mark of Yung-Cheng underfoot. Ht. 5 ins.” The stock number NLP-4/1517 was scratched out and replaced with C 3081. This second stock number dates to Frank Caro’s leadership of Loo’s company (see note. 4). The stock card notes that C. T. Loo & Company bought the object “from Parke-Bernet Apr-1945,” and sold to Mr. Pope on November 22, 1953, copy in the object file. See also John Alexander Pope’s collection cards, no. 13, copy in object file reports that he purchased it from C. T. Loo on November 22, 1953.

The only sale at the Parke-Bernett Galleries, New York in April 1945 to included Chinese porcelains was the April 5-6 sale (cited above). The lot that best matches this object is #329 and at the time of sale, it was the property of Prof. Ernst Herzfeld.

[4] 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.

[5] See note 4.

[6] See the stock card cited in note 3. Pope’s purchase on November 22, 1953 is written in Frank Caro’s handwriting.

[7] Upon her husband’s death, Mrs. Pope (Annemarie) assumed ownership of her husband’s collection and managed the gift to the Freer Gallery of Art.

[8] Pursuant to the agreement between Mrs. John Alexander Pope (Annemarie) and the Freer Gallery of Art, December 24, 1997, copy in object file.