Ritual vessel with cover

Object Details

• Description

  Ceremonial vessel with cover.

  Surface: heavy green aerugo and brownish earth incrustation over gilt bronze.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Chen Kai Chi (1813-1884)

  You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Provenance

  Reportedly excavated in Shansi [1]

  Chen Kai Chi (1813-1884), Wei Hsien, China [2]

  To 1919

  You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1919 [3]

  1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1919 [4]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 3, H.E. Buckman, 1964, in the object record states: "The Envelope file which has now been destroyed, contained only the additional information: 'Excavated in Shansi; obtained by the Shantung connoisseur Chen Kai Chi of Wei Hsien.'" Curatorial Remark 4, H.C. Lovell, 1974, in the object record, states: "The box in which this object came bears this carved inscription on the lid: 'Wei Hsien Ch'en shih ts'ang' [Chn], indicating that the piece had come from the collection of Ch'en Chieh-ch'i [Chn] (1813-1884), the noted Shantung antiquarian and collector. However, it is not included in "Fu-chai chi-chin lu" [Chn], a catalogue of Ch'en's collection."

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 1444, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [4] See note 3.

  [5] 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.

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• 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

  BCE 0s, 200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Chi, Chen Kai, You, Xiaoxi

• Place

  China

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)