Page 65 - C.T. Loo A paper about his impact and activities in the Chinese art Market

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sculpture in the early 1930s, “…this kind of stone is bound to go higher in price

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because it will be more and more difficult to get anything of this size from China.
Selling Techniques

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From the Mid-1910s into the early 1920s, Loo had a series of auction sales. The Loo
et Cie Sale, for example, was conducted at the American Art Galleries in May 1915. The

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total of the 425 lots was $23,259.50. Items listed in the Catalogue of Antique Chinese
Porcelains; Pottery, Carved Jades, Agates and Rugs and Carpets belonging to Loo &

Cie., Société Chinoise Léyer were mostly decorative objects of the Ming and Qing

dynasties, which were less valuable or important compared to the prominent ancient

objects for which Loo was best known.

Loo became less active in auction sales from the 1920s onwards. As he emerged as the

leading dealer of first-rate Chinese antiquities, Loo concentrated on the type of sales that

relied on a favorable long-term relationship with a group of frequent buyers. The success

of his sales depended largely on his selling techniques as well as his knowledge about his

clients’ preferences and the market conditions.

If Loo’s exhibitions and other publicity campaigns in the previous phase were to get

the word out, his selling activities were behind-the-scene operations. The selective and

exclusive nature of Loo’s salesmanship was observed by Edward von der Heydt, Loo’s

close friend and client: “Like most Chinese dealers Loo had the habit of not showing his

91 Loo referred to a stone animal he offered.
92 C. T. Loo to K. Tomita, November 27, 1931, folder: C. T. Loo, box: Kinosh- to M,
1930-1935, AAOA-MFA.
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American Art News, December 30, 1916. Other auctions of Loo’s collections include
the ones at the Anderson Galleries in January 1917 and April 1921.
94 “End of the Loo et Cie Sale,” American Art News, May 15, 1915.