Page 207 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

207

example among them is the bronze mirror dated to the early fourth and late third century

BCE from the Winthrop collection. It is decorated with glass beads, a jade disk, and a

fluted jade ring (Sackler 1943.50.157) (Fig. 65). Equally impressive is the bronze vessel

with silver inlay made in the same period in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art (F.

15.103) (Fig. 66).

Another popular category in Loo’s collection is a group of exotic beasts in various

media with grotesque bodies and ferocious expressions (Fig. 67). The Chinese sculpture

authority Osvald Siren’s description of Loo’s chimera displayed in the International

Exhibition of Chinese Art leaves no doubt of these beasts’ ability to evoke awe and

wonder. Siren remarked, “The body has become slim, almost serpent-like, and the neck

has swollen out enormously, yet it seems weighed down or compressed by the gigantic

head with the broad muzzle and thick wavy skinflaps at the eyes and the ears. The crest

over the head adds to the grotesque terribilità of the head. The sculptor has used every

means to increase the impression of bestial fury, nervous tension and agility.” (Siren

1936, 21) The Art Digest review of Loo’s 1940 Exhibition of Chinese Stone Sculptures

described a group of grotesque animals as examples of “carved drama”, which

commanded the viewer’s attention. “One is a Chimera, very real notwithstanding, from

the Wei period, and, from later dynasties, two ferocious heraldic demons, and a lion in

high relief which is a companion piece to one that glares at visitors to the Kansas City’s

Nelson Gallery.” 408

408 Art Digest, January 15, 1940, 31.