Pavilions by a mountain stream

Object Details

• Label

  Two figures in separate pavilions among the hills gaze at each other across an expanse of water. The elaborate one-room viewing tower at right is built on a sturdy stone foundation and the covered walkway behind it may connect to a larger public structure of some kind. Supported above the water on pilings, its simpler counterpart at left is more likely part of a private dwelling, which includes the walled garden in back.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Album List, pg. 36, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), Loon Gu Sai was possibly Lunguzhai, a store in the antiques district of Liulichang.

  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

  Palaces and Pavilions: Grand Architecture in Chinese Painting (September 29, 2002 to March 30, 2003)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Loon Gu Sai (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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1690s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Sai, Loon Gu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Water, Mountains, Fans, Charles Lang Freer collection, Landscapes, Art, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Rivers

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings