Page 56 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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the MFA, it had been repaired in Paris. The restoration of the stele seemed to concern

curator Kojiro Tomita, as indicated by his letter to J.E. Lodge, “Have you finally decided

to remove the French head of the central figure and the other restorations on the stela

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(sic)?” Loo was aware that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. would pay meticulous attention to
marks of repairs in ceramics (Altman 2006, 70). In the offer of a Ming vase, Loo,

therefore, enclosed a photograph with handwritten notes about its condition.

On the middle left
∗ “Crackled also on the other side.”

On the upper right

∗ “section movable from the lower part.”
On the middle right

∗ “ section.”
On the lower right

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∗ “When fired this section (stick?)? dropped apart. Very (? ) (? ) (between?).”
(Fig. 15)

72 C. T. Loo to J.E. Lodge, November 7, 1922, folder: Lai-Yuan Co., box: Unofficial
Correspondence L, 1910-1922, AAOA-MFA.
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K. Tomita to J. E. Lodge, March 8, 1923, folder and box unidentified, AAOA-MFA.
The MFA seemed suspicious about dealer’s repair practices, which was also reflected in
the museum’s response to the conditions of the painted Han tiles acquired from Loo
(MFA 25.10-13). Tomita reported to Lodge, “Mr. Thompson has one of the tiles in his
room observing the condition of the paint. I think he is inclined to believe that a certain
matter applied to the surface in France has a tendency to pull off the paint, and therefore
he may find it necessary to clean it before he treats the surface in his own way. Dr. Ross,
however, wished to have nothing done until Mr. Loo has been asked in regard to the work
done in Paris.” (K. Tomita to J.E. Lodge, January 28, 1925, folder and box unidentified,
AAOA-MFA)
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1005 Art Collections, See family RG2, B137, F 1370, FID 4743 and C. T. Loo to T.
Hobby, Aug. 10, 1931, folder 1370, C. T. Loo 1916-1949, box 137, OMR-RAC.
Information on the back of the photo, “Wan Li (1573-1619)/Photographed by Sydney