Provenance Information

1988
J. J. Lally & Co. (James J. Lally), New York, NY;

1988 - 2014
C. C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO, purchased from J. J. Lally & Co.;

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.

Provenance Information

C.C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO;

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.

Provenance Information

1985/06/04
At auction, Sotheby's New York, "Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art," June 4, 1985, sale no. 5340, lot no. 12;

1987
J. J. Lally & Co. (James J. Lally), New York, NY;

1987 - 2014
C. C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO, purchased from J. J. Lally & Co.;

2014
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Edith J. and C. C. Johnson Spink

Exhibition Information

None known.

Publication Information

Yang Xiaoneng, "The Shi Ke Xu: Reconsideration of an Inscribed Late Western Zhou Ritual Vessel," Artibus Asiae, vol. 52, nos. 3-4 (1992), pp. 163-214.

Sotheby's New York, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Sale 5340, June 4, 1985 (New York: Sotheby's, 1985).

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.

Provenance Information

J. J. Lally & Co. (James J. Lally), New York, NY;

1992 - 2014
C. C. Johnson Spink (1916–1992) and Edith J. Spink (1921–2011), St. Louis, MO, purchased from J. J. Lally & Co.;

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.

Provenance Information

Peter and Paula Lunder Thomas Colville Fine Art, New Haven, CT. Ku Ngar Antique Limited, Hong Kong

Exhibition Information

n/a

Publication Information

n/a

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

The donors pledged part of the their collection, including this object, to the museum prior to 2008, as per correspondence dated April 11, 2007, on file.

Provenance Information

By 1980: Samuel Eilenberg, New York; Circa 1980-2012: Terence McInerney, New York (Accession Date: September 20, 2012)

Exhibition Information

No information available.

Publication Information

No information available.

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

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work has a provenance established to 1980. The object filled a crucial gap in VMFA’s collection, which heretofore contained no protohistoric metalwork. It also significantly extended the chronology of VMFA’s presentation of South Asian art with an example extraordinary for its scale. VMFA decided to make an exception to the AAMD guidelines in order to bring this object into a free, publicly accessible, educational institution, where it could be studied, displayed, and publicized.

Provenance Information

By 1990: Siddharth Bhansali, New Orleans; Circa 1990 - 2012: Terence McInerney, New York (Accession Date: September 20, 2012)

Exhibition Information

No information available.

Publication Information

No information available.

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

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work has a provenance established to 1990. The object filled a crucial gap in VMFA’s collection, which heretofore contained no protohistoric metalwork. It also significantly extended the chronology of VMFA’s presentation of South Asian art with a superb example of its type. VMFA decided to make an exception to the AAMD guidelines in order to bring this object into a free, publicly accessible, educational institution, where it could be studied, displayed, and publicized.