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Palace Ladies Playing Double Sixes

Image 1 of 7

IIIF

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At A Glance

Period

late 12th to mid-13th century
Geography

China
Material

Ink and color on silk
Dimension

H x W (overall image): 30.5 x 69.1 cm (12 x 27 3/16 in)
Accession Number

F1939.37
EDAN ID

edanmdm:fsg_F1939.37

Object Details

Artist

Traditionally attributed to Zhou Fang (傳)周昉 (ca. 730-ca. 800)
Calligrapher

Chu Deyi 褚德彝 (1871-1942) , frontispiece and colophon
Previous custodian or owner

Mr. Lee

C.T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
Provenance

1938

Mr. Lee, from at least May 25, 1938 [1]

From 1938 to 1939

C. T. Loo & Company, New York, purchased from Mr. Lee on May 25, 1938 [2]

From 1939

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company in July 1939 [3]

Notes:

[1] See C. T. Loo’s stockcard no. F417: “Painting on silk ‘Ladies at Chess Play’ 9th century, attributed to Chow Fang. Tang dynasty,” C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, copy in object file. According to a note on the stockcard, the painting was brought to Loo’s gallery by “Mr. Lee” on May 25, 1938. It is not known whether Lee was the owner of the painting or acted as an intermediary.

[2] See C. T. Loo’s stockcard, cited in note 1. In June 1938, the painting was sent to the Freer Gallery for examination.

[3] See C. T. Loo’s invoice, dated July 6, 1939, copy in object file. According to Loo’s stockcard cited in note 1, the purchase was made in January 1939. The right-hand section of the painting with two standing figures was acquired by the Freer Gallery in 1960 and then reattached to the painting. It is not known when the fragment had been cut. The colophon by Chu Deyi on the main section of the painting, dated July 8-August 5, 1937, refers to a complete copy of the scroll in the National Palace Museum, Taipei and concludes that a section of the painting “was cut away at some point in a distant past.” See documentation for the painting in “Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy,” http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/F1939.37/F1939-37andF1960-4.Documentation.pdf.

For information on the acquisition of the right-hand section of the painting by the Freer Gallery, see provenance record F1960.4.
Origin

China
Credit Line

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Type

Painting
Restrictions and Rights

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