Vanderbilt Hotel NYC Terra Cotta Bacchus Dionysus Bust

The Vanderbilt Hotel was a luxurious landmark in New York City. Built in 1913 by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, it showcased opulent architecture and hoste...

These statues are commonly referred to as Wengzhong. They are so named after a mythological Ruan Weng Zhong who was a highly regarded general during the Qin Shi Huang period. Ruan is said to distinguished himself in fighting their arch rival; the Huns...

From the 1912 Vanderbilt Hotel in New York City, Manhattan, located on Park Ave. In the 20th century, the hotel business declined, and the Vanderbilt Hotel suffered foreclosure in 1935 during the Great Depression. In 1966, an investment group purchased the 54-year old structure with intentions of renovating it into a dual function office and apartment building. The top 18 floors would become studio and one-bedroom apartments while the lower floors would be offices and commercial space. “New aluminum-and-glass curtain walls are being erected to sheath the office floors, while the masonry façade of the hotel will be retained on the upper stories,” said one article. But that was just the beginning of the brutality. Penthouse apartments were being constructed on the roof, but the view was obstructed by the terracotta parapet and its massive sculptures. In June 1966 eighteen of the heads were removed, resulting in a gash in the roofline. “The heavy pieces were removed over a period of several days by a 10-man crew of the Drachman Demolition Company,” said The New York Times, “which used jack...

Pair of terra cotta decorative panels. Probably from a fireplace.