Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara (Suwol Gwaneum bosal)

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    mid-14th century
  • Geography

    Korea
  • Material

    Ink, color and gold on silk
  • Dimension

    H x W (image): 98.3 x 47.7 cm (38 11/16 x 18 3/4 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1904.13
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1904.13

Object Details

  • Provenance

    To 1902
    Yamanaka & Company, to April 15, 1902 [1]
    From 1902 to 1903
    Charles Gillot (1853-1903), Paris, purchased from Yamanaka & Company on April 15, 1902 [2]
    From 1904 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased through Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), from the sale of the Charles Gillot Collection, Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Collection Ch. Gillot: objets d'art et peintures d'extreme-orient, February 8-13, 1904, lot 2004 (ill.) [3]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
    Notes:
    [1] A label accompanying the painting indicates that Charles Gillot purchased the painting from the Japanese dealer, Yamanaka & Company, on April 15, 1902. See also, Curatorial Remark 8 in the object record, which states, "A paper accompanying the painting seems to indicate that Gillot had purchased the painting from the Japanese dealer, Yamanaka, in 1902."
    [2] See note 1.
    [3] See undated folder sheet note. See L. 31, Original Panel List, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. After Gillot’s death in 1903, a sale of his Asian art collection took place in February 1904 at the Durand-Ruel gallery in Paris. This object was purchased by Siegfried Bing for Charles Lang Freer at that sale (see Curatorial Remark 1 and Curatorial Remark 8, A. Yonemura, September 1983, in the object record).
    [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece (September 21, 2019 to March 13, 2020)
    Goryeo Buddhist Paintings: A Closer Look (February 25 to May 28, 2012)
    Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
    Korean Art (July 15, 1981 to September 15, 1981)
    Korean Art (March 20, 1980 to March 3, 1981)
    Korean Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to October 13, 1978)
    Korean Art (June 24, 1977 to April 8, 1978)
    Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Sculpture (November 15, 1944 to February 25, 1956)
    Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Gillot (1853-1903)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
    Siegfried Bing (1838-1905)
  • Origin

    Korea
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Painting
  • Restrictions and Rights

    CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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