Tripod Vessel

Culture: Chinese
Period: Lower Xiajiadian culture, 2200–1600 BCE
Date: late 2nd millennium BCE
Material: Earthenware with incised decoration and carbon black
made in: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, Asia
Classification: Ceramics, containers
Collection: Asian Art
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (26 x 18.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Thomas Alexander and Laura Rogers
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 162:2015

NOTES

Made of coiled clay and finished on a potter's wheel, this tripod vessel was burned in a smoky fire to color it black, and then its surface was burnished to a hard, dull finish. The vessel's three legs are partially hollow, allowing the food it was intended to hold to heat faster over a fire. Low-fired, three-legged jars such as this were used for cooking and provided the model for later tripod vessels made of bronze.

Provenance

mid-1990s – 1998
Arts Du Monde, Inc. [Mei Li Dong-Ydeen and Peter Ydeen], New York, NY, imported from unknown dealer in Hong Kong or China [1]

1998
Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc. [Spencer Throckmorton], New York, NY, USA, purchased from Arts du Monde, New York, NY [2]

1998 - 2015
Alexander Gallery, Inc. [S. Thomas Alexander III], St. Louis, MO, purchased from Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc. [3]

2015 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by S. Thomas Alexander III and Laura Rogers [4]

Notes:
[1] This provenance information is given in an Addendum to Throckmorton Fine Art Purchase and Sales Agreement, signed by Spencer Throckmorton and dated October 2, 2010 [SLAM document files].

[2] See note [1].

[3] Statement from Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc. dated October 2, 2010, confirming original purchase invoice dated May 11, 1998 [SLAM document files].

[4] Deed of Gift signed December 4, 2015 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 7, 2015.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.