Provenance Information

Acquired by the father of Charlotte Krueger in Beijing, China prior to 1912; Krueger family relocated to Germany around 1912; inherited by Charlotte Krueger, Germany, after 1912 (exact date unknown); inherited by anonymous collector (name on file at the Art Institute of Chicago), Berlin, Germany, 1999; purchased by anonymous collector (name on file at the Art Institute of Chicago) (residence unknown) at auction in Cologne, Germany in 2007; purchased by Fred Eychaner and Tommy Yang Guo of Chicago, Illinois at auction at Christie’s, New York, New York in 2008; donated to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois in 2008.

Exhibition Information

On view in the Art Institute of Chicago's gallery of Chinese bronzes since May 2009, Chicago, Illinois.

Publication Information

Asiatische Kunst — Asian Art (auction catalog, Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, Germany, December 7/8, 2007), lot 939;

Masterworks of Ancient and Imperial China (auction catalog, Christie’s, New York, New York, September 17, 2008), lot 555, pp. 26-27;

The Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report, 2008-2009 (posted on AIC web site), colorplate and p. 19;

Elinor Pearlstein, “Wine Flask (Hu),” Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 35, 2 (2010), pp. 32-33, 93, Chicago, Illinois.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

A collector, who asked to remain anonymous but whose name is on file at the museum, purchased this object at auction in Cologne, Germany, in 2007 and then sold it at Christie’s in 2008. When he sold it at Christie’s, he gave Christie’s a letter he had received from the immediate prior owner (i.e., the person who sold it at the Cologne auction). That letter explained that the object was originally acquired by the father of Charlotte Krueger sometime before 1912 while the Krueger family was living in China. The Krueger family left China for Germany in approximately 1912, apparently taking the object with them. Ms. Krueger inherited the object from her father and then subsequently bequeathed the object to the prior owner, who decided to sell it at the Cologne auction about ten years later. The museum has a copy of this letter in its files and has confirmed that the person whose name appears as the author of the letter is a retired, well-published biochemistry professor in Berlin. The museum has been unable to contact the writer, however, because he also asked to remain anonymous. The acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it illustrates an important stylistic prototype for two vessels in the museum's collection that are from one century later.