Lateral stretcher from the base of a funerary couch with Sogdian musicians and a dancer

Object Details

• Label

  The Central Asian musicians and dancer, possibly of the Sogdian culture group, depicted on these panels attest to the international character of the Northern Qi dynasty, established in China in 550 following military conquest by people of Turkic origins. Musicians traveling the Silk Route introduced new instruments, such as harps and the bent-neck lute, which some scholars associate with the Persian barbat. The foreign lute influenced the development of the modern pipa, a lyrical Chinese lute now popular in chamber ensembles.

  These stone carvings once belonged to a stone platform that was made to support the coffin of a Northern Qi dignitary. Inverted lotus petals are a motif frequently seen in images associated with Buddhism, the faith of the Northern Qi rulers-form the border.

• Provenance

  To 1915

  Lai-Yuan and Company, New York, to 1915 [1]

  From 1915 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Lai-Yuan and Company in 1915 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 683, 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

  Center of the World: China and the Silk Road (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Silk Road Exhibition (August 18 to December 25, 2011)

  Silk Road Luxuries from China (November 5, 2011 to January 3, 2016)

  Virtue and Entertainment: Chinese Music in the Visual Arts (October 1, 2005 to May 29, 2006)

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

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 17 (November 17, 1955 to January 1, 1963)

  Stone Sculpture, Gallery 17, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to November 17, 1955)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Lai-Yuan & Company (ca. 1915-April 1921) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Probably Ce Xian, Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 16: Center of the World: China and the Silk Road

• 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, Lai-Yuan & Company

• Place

  China, Ce Xian, Henan province

• Topic

  Period of Division (220 - 589), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Northern Qi dynasty (550 - 577), Funerary, Stone, Pipa

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes