Page 23 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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the African art trader, who is “mediating between art producers and art consumers-adding

economic value to what they sell by interpreting and capitalizing on the cultural values

and desire from two different worlds” (Steiner 1994, 14). This dissertation, therefore,

examines an object’s physical and aesthetic properties as well as its movement through

different hands and uses.

The range and complexity of Loo’s activities demands yet another synthesis.

Disciplinary-based art scholarship is no longer adequate to address the dynamic nature of

the mechanism that framed “Chinese art”. While the knowledge of Chinese art history

and connoisseurship are indispensable to this study, to reconstruct a multifaceted picture

of Chinese art in America, economics, museology, anthropology, international relations,

and feminism are also drawn upon. This dissertation employs tools from art business and

international trade to analyze Loo’s modes of transaction and selling techniques. Given

that a large number of Chinese antiquities Loo handled are in American museum

collections, the knowledge about the history and mechanism of museums is also

important to this dissertation. In addition, Loo’s negotiation of knowledge in a cross-

cultural context can be viewed from an anthropological perspective. Moreover, feminism

throws light on the gendered objects, clients, and events in Loo’s dealing. Lastly, an

investigation into the U.S.-China relations helps illuminate the nationalistic sentiment and

international cultural diplomacy behind Loo’s dealing.

For such a vast and complex topic, my dissertation by no means aims at

comprehensiveness. Instead, it takes a sampling approach by identifying the most

representative objects Loo handled, the most representative museums, collectors, and