Gilt bronze plaque with animals in a landscape

Object Details

• Label

  The combination of thick gilding and colorful semi-precious stone inlays is characteristic of Han decoration. The subject matter--animals among mountain peaks--alludes to the ideal landscape of the immortals, where man and beast roam free and in harmony with nature. The function of this ornament is unclear, but it may have served as a decorative inset in a much larger piece of furnishing.

• Provenance

  To 1948

  Jun Tsei Tai (1911-1992), Shanghai, to February 1948 [1]

  From 1948 to 1950

  C. T. Loo & Company, New York, purchased from Jun Tsei Tai in February 1948 [2]

  From 1950

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on June 28, 1950 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 46032: "Bronze cover, gilded and inlaid with jade and semi precious stones, four mountain-like waves with animals, finely molded and covered with a heavy gild, in the center a flat round jade knob Late Chou," copy in object file. According to an annotation on the stockcard, Loo purchased the object from J. T. Tai in China.

  Jun Tsei Tai (more commonly known in the West as J. T. Tai), known also as Dai Fubao in Shanghai, was a successful art dealer who was initially based in Shanghai China. Tai became one of C. T. Loo's most prolific suppliers in the 1940s. In 1949, however, J. T. Tai fled with his family to Hong Kong, when Communist leaders came into power. In 1950, he immigrated to New York City, where he established J. T. Tai & Company, a successful company that specialized in the sale of Chinese arts.

  [2] See C. T. Loo's stockcard cited in note 1.

  On June 9, 1950, the object was taken by Loo to the Freer Gallery for examination.

  [3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated June 28, 1950, copy in object file.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Chinese Metalwork (May 9, 1993 to March 21, 1997)

  Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)

  Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)

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

  Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)

  Special Exhibition, Chinese Art (April 20, 1954 to November 16, 1954)

  Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Jun Tsei Tai 戴潤齋 (1911-1992)

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

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  Tai, Jun Tsei, C.T. Loo & Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Landscapes, Art, Inlay (process), Animals, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE), Metal-work

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry