Object Title
Short Sword (duan jian)
Measurements
14 1/4 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/8 inches
Creation Date
4th–3rd century BC
Credit Line
Spink Asian Art Collection, Bequest of Edith J. and C. C. Johnson Spink
Museum Name
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
www.slam.org
Provenance Information
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, England;
1989 - 2014
C. C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Bluett & Sons Ltd.;
2014
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Edith J. and C. C. Johnson Spink
1989 - 2014
C. C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Bluett & Sons Ltd.;
2014
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Edith J. and C. C. Johnson Spink
Exhibition Information
None known
Publication Information
None known
Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970
Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008
Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above
In a letter dated August 16, 1988, C.C. Johnson Spink wrote to a Hong Kong dealer explaining that his purchase was “destined for the St. Louis Art Museum” and that “the collection…will be given to the Museum at some future date.” This object was part of a collection of 215 works of Chinese or Japanese origin, collected by C. C. Johnson Spink and Edith J. Spink from the 1970s through the 1990s. The Museum formally received the collection by bequest in 2014.