Container (bu) with masks (taotie), dragons, and waterfowl

Object Details

• Description

  Ceremonial vessel with a cover, of the type "p'ou." Rim broken; holes in foot rim and side wall.

  Surface: smooth jade-green patina merging into blue, with areas of green and brown incrustation.

  Decoration: in relief. Crocketed flanges (some broken). Inscription inside.

• Provenance

  To 1913

  Edgar Worch (1880-1972), New York to 1913 [1]

  From 1913 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Edgar Worch in 1913 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 517, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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

  Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

  Ancient Chinese Bronzes (May 9, 1993 to February 10, 1997)

  Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)

  Chinese Jades and Bronze, East Corridor (November 19, 1923 to March 14, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Edgar Worch (1880-1972) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  middle Yangzi River region, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Worch, Edgar, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  middle Yangzi River region, China

• Topic

  Bronze, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Animals, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Birds, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE), Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)