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Landscape with Gibbons and Cranes

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At A Glance

Period

18th century
Geography

China
Material

Ink and color on silk
Dimension

H x W (image): 27.7 x 271.1 cm (10 7/8 x 106 3/4 in)
Accession Number

F1904.396
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1904.396

Object Details

Artist

Formerly attributed to Qiu Ying 仇英 (ca. 1494-1552)
Description

Depicting, in the "blue and green style," two cranes, and a total of eighteen gibbons (black, white, gray and brown). Among the gibbons are a mother and her children. They are distributed in a wooded landscape, with pine trees, flowering trees, and pink bamboo, and with a stream running through it and two waterfalls. Some of the gibbons are climbing pine trees, picking berries, catching fleas, and forming a chain from a branch to catch a crab. Forged signature, two seals.
Signatures

Forged signature.
Marks

Two seals.
Label

Gibbons and cranes have a long history as auspicious symbols in Chinese literature and art. Since the Zhou dynasty (1100-221 B.C.E.), gibbons have been associated with wise men, although in many famous poems the shrill calls of gibbons were said to induce deep melancholy in weary travelers. This handscroll features a total of eighteen gibbons, frolicking in a colorful forest and shown with two cranes. This fanciful depiction of gibbons is rendered in the opaque "blue and green" style that prevailed in landscape painting during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and was later revived from time to time owing to its decorative appeal.
Provenance

To 1904

Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1904 [1]

From 1904 to 1919

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michael Tomkinson in 1904 [2]

From 1920

Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Reserved Makimono List, R. 452, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.

[2] See note 1.

[3] 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

Style in Chinese Landscape Painting: The Song Legacy (May 17 to October 26, 2014)

Beyond Brushwork: Symbolism in Chinese Painting (April 29 to November 26, 2006)

Year of the Monkey (May 18, 1980 to February 15, 1981)
Previous custodian or owner

Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) (C.L. Freer source)

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Origin

China
Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Type

Painting
Restrictions and Rights

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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