Qin tuning key (qin zhenyao) with tiger and snake

Object Details

• Label

  Several types of zithers were played in ancient China. The earliest (the se, zheng, and zhu) used movable bridges for tuning, but the qin, a seven-stringed zither that evolved between the fifth and second century B.C.E., has tuning pegs on the underside that are turned with a metal key. The decoration of these tuning keys-combative animals and a bear native to China's northern territory-may have been inspired by the goods traded with seminomadic peoples along China's northern frontier. Some scholars believe this may indicate that the qin developed, at least in part, in response to foreign musical traditions.

• Provenance

  To 1916

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1916 [1]

  From 1916 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1916 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Bronze List, S.I. 972, 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

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

  The Dragon's Moan (February 6 to October 1, 2000)

  Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Community, 480-222 B.C. (September 30, 1982 to February 17, 1983)

• 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

  Musical Instrument

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), Chinese Art, Snakes, Tiger

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Musical instruments