Badge for third rank civil official with two peacocks, peonies, clouds, and lingzhi fungus

Object Details

• Description

  This Badge depicts two peacocks--the peacock being the insignia for a Third Rank Civil Official (and by some accounts was also used for fourth-rank officials in the Ming). One peacock soars in flight and the other stands on a rock near water. Peony blossoms, symbolic of prosperity and honor, and a sprig "lingzhi, the so-called fungus of immortality, fill the middle ground. Auspicious, colored clouds appear at the top and bottom borders. The original red color of the peonies and cloud bands has faded to a mute, brownish tone.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Loon Gu-sai, Beijing, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

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

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 741, 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.

  [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

  Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing's Phoenix Project (April 27 to September 2, 2013)

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)

  Chinese Art (May 9 to November 29, 1993)

  Chinese Bird and Flower Painting (January 27, 1986 to June 30, 1986)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

• 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

  Costume and Textile

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1500s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Sai, Loon Gu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Peacock, Rank badge, Landscapes, Art, Peony, Chinese Art, Rocks, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Fungus-of-immortality

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Costume, Textiles