Page 55 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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Repair

There is abundant evidence showing that some objects were cleaned, repaired or

mounted after they came into Loo’s hand due to their age, or the damage caused in the

process of removal, shipping, or handling. For instance, Loo had a stone slab cleaned

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upon the request of J. E. Lodge. A Tang dynasty silver plate was repaired at Turnbach

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for $25 before it was sold to Minneapolis. Some sculptures were framed and mounted.
In the 1940s, Loo reached an agreement with the MFA curator K. Tomita that if the

museum purchased the painting he offered, Loo would send it to China to be

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remounted.

Repair was a sensitive issue in antique trade. It was a standard practice that Loo would

have photographs taken before an object was repair. In his offer of the Buddhist stele

(MFA 23.120) to the MFA, Loo mentioned, “As we always do, I have those photos taken

before the repairing so you will be able to see all the damages, they are now being

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repaired and will be finished in the next month.” (Fig. 14) When the stele was sold to

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C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, December 29, 1920, folder: Lai-Yuan Co., box: Unofficial
Correspondence L, 1910-1922, AAOA-MFA.
68 Turnbach might be a professional restorer or a company. There existed a group of
professionals who engaged in artwork repair. For example, JDR Jr. employed Kiyo
Okajima from “The Art Company, Inc. Works of Art, Fine Art Repairs, 690 Madison
Ave. Cor, 62 nd St.” to repair his ceramics (JDR Jr. to K. Okajima, July 21, 1944, folder
99 Art objects 1939-1961, box 11, OMR-RAC). “Minneapolis” may refer to Minneapolis
Institute of Arts. Inventory card LI-9/126, FCA.
69 C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, October 6, 12, 1917, folder: Lai-Yuan Co., box: Unofficial
Correspondence L, 1910-1922, AAOA-MFA.
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C. T. Loo to K. Tomita, May 9, 1946, folder C. T. Loo, box: I to L, 1936-1947,
AAOA-MFA.
71 C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, August 23, 1922, folder: Lai-Yuan Co., box: Unofficial
Correspondence L, 1910-1922, AAOA-MFA.