Storage jar (lei)

Object Details

• Description

  Jar (mouth broken and repaired).

  Clay: hard, white, unglazed.

  Decoration: carved design in countersunk relief in two registers. Three pierced knobs in true relief in the form of water-buffalo heads. Traces of red pigment around neck.

• Label

  The rare Shang white pottery has been found in such small quantities, all in the vicinity of the late Shang capital at Anyang, that it may have been the product of a single specialized workshop. The brittle ware, formed from pure white clay, was probably made for ceremonial and burial purposes. The carved and stamped motifs on white pottery resemble bronze vessel decor but developed as an independent sequence.

• Provenance

  To 1939

  Tonying and Company, New York [1]

  From 1939

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company, New York [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

  Clay and Metal: Ancient Chinese Ceramics and Metal (February 25, 1997 to August 9, 2011)

  Chinese and Korean Ceramics (July 11, 1986 to March 13, 1987)

  Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)

  Chinese Calligraphy and Ceramics (April 18, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 13 (November 10, 1955 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1947 (January 7, 1947 to April 11, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (May 6, 1946 to November 17, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1944 (December 13, 1944 to May 7, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork, Pottery, and Painting (March 23, 1944 to May 2, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to December 13, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Ceramics (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Tonying and Company

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE), Ceramics

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)