Lacquer box

Object Details

• Provenance

  From at least 1949 to 1953

  F. Low-Beer & Co., New York, N.Y., from at least May 1949 [1]

  From 1953

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976) on April 1, 1953 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Fritz Low-Beer offered the box to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration in his correspondence with John A. Pope, Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art, see F. Low-Beer to J.A. Pope, May 2, 1949.

  It was approved for purchase in March 1950, see 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 to March 1950, copy in object file.

  [2] See Fritz Low-Beer & Co.’s invoice, dated to March 23, 1953, where the object is listed as “Circular box and cover, carved red lacquer decorated with a figural scene on top of the cover and with flowers and foliage on the side.

  Early 15th century, probably Yung-lo,” copy in objet file.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan (December 13, 2014 to June 14, 2015)

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  The Idea of China in Japan: The Tea Ceremony in Japan (December 19, 1999 to June 11, 2000)

  On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)

  Japanese and Chinese Lacquer (September 22, 1982 to June 30, 1983)

  Ming Dynasty Paintings (December 4, 1978 to June 14, 1979)

  Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Container

• 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.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Low-Beer, Fritz

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Pine tree, Pavilion, Landscapes, Art, Yongle reign (1403 - 1424), Chinese Art, Lacquer, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Sage, Crane, Scepter

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Containers