Page 102 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

102

Pediment of a Tomb (MFA 25.10-13, 25.190) (Fig. 12), Loo expressed his willingness to

lower the price he originally quoted for the MFA, “…my compensation would be that I

have the pleasure of placing some objects in your Honorable Museum which is always a

good advertisement for me, so whatever you think reasonable for you and equitable to

me, I will always try to accept and for this case…” 209 Moreover, as a repository of

artworks, a generator and disseminator of knowledge, the museum served as Loo’s

information center and his gateway to other members in the art world.

Sale and Exchange

Loo’s success in selling his objects to museums has much to do with his knowledge of

the mechanism within a museum as well as the dynamics among museums. Loo carefully

studied museum collections and curators’ preferences to ensure that he could offer the

right thing to the right person at the right time and in the right place. It is evident that Loo

was familiar with museum collections. In 1917, Loo offered a stone statue to the MFA,

referring to it as “a very fine specimen of sculpture, some thing (sic.)like the one, which

has the head missing in your museum.” 210 In the early 1920s, the sales of the stone votive

stele (MFA 23.120) and shrine (MFA 22.380) to the MFA were made with Loo’s

awareness of the curator Lodge’s interest in “any fine sculpture, especially with

discount of 20% will be made on any object bought. (C. T. Loo to JDR Jr., April 10,
1930, folder 1370, C. T. Loo 1916-1949, box 137, OMR-RAC) Hirth offered a Coptic jar
to JDR Jr. “Mr. Parsons has quoted you already the lowest possible Museum price of
$2000-(Doll. Two thousand) for this very rare and beautiful object, while the price for a
private collector should be $2500.” (Hirth to JDR Jr., June 6, 1930, folder 1441, box 144,
OMR-RAC.)
209
C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, October. 27, 1924, folder and box unknown, AAOA-MFA.
210 C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, April 28, 1917, folder: Lai-Yuan Co., box: Unofficial
Correspondence L, 1910-1922, AAOA-MFA.