Kneeling winged monster

Object Details

• Label

  This pillar base in the shape of a guardian-demon originally belonged to the same cave-temple that F1953.87 was taken from in the early twentieth century. Probably this object was removed from China around the same time as the other one, in 1916, and when it surfaced on the art market in the 1950s, the Freer Gallery of Art purchased it. This figure was taken from a flat sidewall, while the angled base of the other guardian-demon (F1953.87) indicates that it was originally positioned at the lower corner of the central pillar in the cave.

• Provenance

  Originally located in the North Cave, northern Xiangtangshan, Hebei province, China [1]

  From at least 1950 to 1953

  C. T. Loo & Company, New York, from at least April 27, 1950 [2]

  From 1953

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on July 10, 1953 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] The removal of the sculpted figures and fragments from the Xiangtangshan caves began ca. 1909 at the time of political upheaval in China and continued throughout several decades, see http://xts.uchicago.edu/, accessed on November 9, 2009. See also J. Keith Wilson and Daisy Yiyou Wang, "The Early-Twentieth-Century 'Discovery' of the Xiangtangshan Caves," in Katherine R. Tsiang et al., Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan, exh. cat. (Chicago: Smart Museum of Art; Washington, DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2010), pp. 106-129 and Katherine R. Tsiang and J. Keith Wilson, "Catalogue of Works in the Exhibition," in Katherine R. Tsiang et al., Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan, 2010, pp. 180-181, cat. no. 11 (ill.).

  [2] See C. T. Loo's letter to Archibald Wenley, dated April 27, 1950, in which Loo discusses shipping the sculpture along with F1953.87 to the Freer Gallery, and "List of Objects Shipped to the Freer Gallery of Art", attached to the letter, copy in object file.

  See also Loo's stockcard no. NN: "Two stone sculptures, Demons," Frank Caro Archives, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, copy in object file.

  [3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated July 10, 1953, copy in object file.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan (February 26, 2011 to January 6, 2013)

  Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)

  A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)

  Korean Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to October 13, 1978)

  Untitled Exhibition, North Corridor (November 20, 1969 to December 11, 1984)

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

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 17 (November 17, 1955 to January 1, 1963)

  Stone Sculpture, Gallery 17, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to November 17, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Asian Sculpture, North Corridor (May 2, 1923 to October 28, 1955)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

• Origin

  Northern Xiangtangshan, North Cave, Hebei province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 17: Promise of Paradise

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s

• Name

  C.T. Loo & Company

• Place

  China, North Cave, Hebei province, Northern Xiangtangshan

• Topic

  Period of Division (220 - 589), Art, Temple, Chinese Art, Demon, Monsters, Northern Qi dynasty (550 - 577), Northern dynasties (386 - 581), Stone, Relief seal

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes