Square fragment: showing Buddhist procession

Object Details

• Label

  Four male figures are depicted in this sculptural fragment, which agrees in style and scale with a missing section from the front, or south, wall of Cave 1 at Gongxian, Henan Province. If it is the lost fragment, these figures belonged to a larger group of fifteen or more men in a procession led by a Buddhist monk. The distinctive headgear and robes of the main figure (second from right) indicate that the scene depicts a wealthy patron, who is surrounded by attendants, one holding a fan and one raising a canopy.

  Recent cleaning of this fragment has revealed that the surface has many layers of paint, including greens and reds-an appearance consistent with the presumed age of the object. But small details-hands clutching the handles of the poles, for example-are not found in the relief sculptures still in place in the Gongxian cave-temple. While it is likely that this fragment in the Freer Gallery is genuine, it is also possible that it is a copy of the original. If so, it was created in the early twentieth century for sale as a genuine antiquity, and the location of the original image is unknown.

• Provenance

  To 1913

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1913 [1]

  From 1913 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1913 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 432, pg. 131, 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

  Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 17: Promise of Paradise

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Parasol, Stone, Northern Wei dynasty (386 - 534)

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes