Ovoidal cup

Object Details

• Description

  Chinese

  Han dynasty

  Cup, ovoidal, rounded bottom without foot; opaque white with gray area having a pale lavendar cast, green stains and dark patches of earth incrustation on exterior; interior has black, green, red, and yellow granular deposits; decoration: incised, a wide band of double scroll design between meander borders. (One chip and cracks). Box.

• Provenance

  To 1916

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), New York, NY, to 1916 [1]

  From 1916 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Abel William Bahr, New York, in 1916 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 830, pg. 180, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) was a collector and dealer born in Shanghai, China. After he left Shanghai in 1910, he lived, at various points in time, in London, Montreal, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. He established a gallery in New York City in 1920.

  [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

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

  Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s, 200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Bahr, Abel William

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)