Page 62 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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1939 exhibition, 3000 Years of Chinese Jade, at the Arden Gallery, and the 1935-6

International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London.

In addition to the press, Loo advertised his collections and exhibitions through

personal contact. He wrote to curators, collectors and scholars and sent them catalogues

and exhibition invitations. Before the 1924 exhibition of Loo’s bronze collection at

Montross Gallery, he wrote to the Harvard professor Paul Sachs, “You might have

already heard that I have actually on hand a collection of bronzes and it is rather difficult

to get together an ensemble of so many specimens that I have published a catalogue with

the help of Mr. Pelliot. This catalogue has just came out and I wish you to have one for

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your personal library…” Later he sent Sachs an invitation card for the exhibition. Loo’s

promotional strategies were often quite effective. After receiving Loo’s catalogue of the

1947 Exhibition of the Wares of the Sung Dynasty, the MFA curator K. Tomita wrote to

Loo, “…what an incredible array of splendid examples of Sung ceramics! Who but you

alone could assemble such a collection single-handed! I am planning to be in New York

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about the 24 th of this month to feast my eyes on the fine pieces in the exhibition.”

Exhibitions, together with publications and media exposure, created a favorable

environment for Loo’s sales by attracting public attention, stimulating scholarly interest,

and whetting collectors’ appetite. In response to the RISD’s interest in a fresco displayed

in the 1949 exhibition of Chinese Frescos of Northern Sung, Loo boasted about the

positive reception of the show, “…this Exhibition has provocated (sic) many enthusiastic

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C. T. Loo to P. J. Sachs, November 8, 1924, folder Loo, T.C. Dealer, Paul J. Sachs
files, HUAMA.
83 K.Tomita to C. T. Loo, April 10, 1947, folder C. T. Loo, box: I to L, 1936-1947,
AAOA-MFA.