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.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

• 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.

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 24a: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. 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 1000s

• Name

  Tonying and Company

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes