Page 101 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

101

the construction and reinstallation of galleries devoted to Chinese art. The availability,

affordability, and quality of Chinese antiquities offered museums, especially those newly

built ones, an excellent acquisition opportunity. Dealers, who were in direct contact with

sources of supply, played a crucial role as mediators between the museum and the

market. 206 Dealers not only had select objects delivered to museums, but also provided

them with information concerning the objects’ provenance, age, condition, and market

207
value. In the first half of the twentieth century, it was not uncommon that some

museums had no Asian or Chinese art specialists. The knowledge of the people from

whom museum purchased objects, therefore, became important. Knowledgeable and

powerful dealers like C. T. Loo were able to leave a strong imprint on the formation of

museum collections. They performed services such as education, consultation, loan, and

patronage.

On the other hand, Loo needed museums to buy and advertise his merchandise.

Museums not only brought him stable and large profit but also enshrined the objects that

he introduced because the museum display and publication added prominence and

visibility to Loo’s collection. Considering museum display of his objects as a publicity

208
gambit, Loo often offered museums a discount. In the transaction of the Lintel and

206
In addition to direct purchases from dealers, the sources of the museum collection
include donations and expeditions. For example, in 1923 Langdon Warner organized and
headed the Fogg’s expedition to China, retrieving the late 7 th century clay sculpture
from Dunhuang and a group of wall-painting fragments from the same site.
207 Provenance, dating, and condition information from dealers might not always be
accurate or reliable.
208
It seems to be a common practice for art dealers to offer museums a discount, which
supposedly would make the price lower than what they quoted for private collectors. In
C. T. Loo’s offer of three porcelains to JDR Jr., he mentioned that a special museum