Fitting with masks (taotie)

Object Details

• Description

  Ornamental carving in high and low relief slightly damaged at top apparently by calcination.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976)

• Provenance

  From at least 1948

  F. Low-Beer & Co., New York, N.Y., from at least January 1948 [1]

  From October 1948

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976) on October 26, 1948 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Fritz Low-Beer mentioned the carving in his correspondence with John A. Pope, Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art, see F. Low-Beer to J. A. Pope, January 8, 1948.

  The object was shipped to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on February 2, 1948, and approved for purchase next month, see R. W. Edwards to F. Low-Beer, February 2, 1948, and the document confirming the examination of the object and approval by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Katherine Rhoades, dated March 24, 1948, copy in object file.

  [2] See Low-Beer’s invoice, dated October 26, 1948, where the object is listed as “Marble carving with T’ao t’ie decoration. Said to come from Anyang (Honan). Shang,” copy in object file.

• Origin

  Anyang, probably Henan province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• On View

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

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Low-Beer, Fritz

• Place

  China, Henan province, Anyang

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry

• On View

  Yes