A Pair of Three-legged Toads

Object Details

• Artist

  Formerly attributed to Li Di (active late 12th-early 13th century)

• Label

  The magic toad, which represents the “essence” (zhenjing) in internal elixir (neidan) practices, was believed to appear whenever Daoist immortal Liu swung a string of coins. The coins signify Liu’s enlightenment by an immortal who stacked ten eggs on one coin by way of alluding to the precariousness of human existence. In the late Qing period (1644– 1911), a three-legged toad was also used to pray for beneficial rain.

• Provenance

  To 1916

  Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1916 [1]

  From 1916 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang in 1916 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Album List, S.I. 36A, pg. 50, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history. See Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details. See especially, Curatorial Remark 4, Ma Su, 1917, in the object record, which states: "The seal on the left upper corner of the picture is that of the Ch'ien-lung Imperial Galleries."

  [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

  Daoism in the Arts in China (December 16, 2006 to July 1, 2007)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• 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

  1640s, 1300s

• Name

  Wang, Jiantang, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Daoism, Chinese Art, Toads, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings