Twelve flowers and poems

Object Details

• Artist

  Xu Wei 徐渭 (1521-1593)

• Provenance

  ?-1954

  Tonying & Company, New York, NY method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1954

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying & Company [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Tonying and Company was a gallery established in Paris in 1902 by Zhang Renjie 張人傑 (1877–1950), who was also known as Zhang Jingjiang 張靜江. The gallery specialized in high-quality Asian arts and antiquities. The company later established a branch in New York, NY (665 Fifth Avenue in 1925 and 5 East 57th Street in 1946). See invoice from Tonying and Company to Freer Gallery of Art, January 22, 1954, where work is described as :1 Chinese handscroll painting in ink on paper.”

  [2] See invoice referenced in note 2. On January 25, 1954, the Smithsonian approved payment to Tonying and Company.

  Research updated January 8, 2024.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Seasons: Chinese Flowers (July 2, 2011 to January 8, 2012)

  Chinese Art (May 9 to November 29, 1993)

  Ming Dynasty Calligraphy and Painting (February 8, 1985 to August 26, 1985)

  Chinese Flower Paintings (March 18 to September 22, 1983)

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

  Chinese Paintings (June 5, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Calligraphy

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1570s

• Name

  Tonying and Company

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Peony, Chrysanthemum, Chinese Art, Orchids, Poetry, Flowers, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Lotus, Hibiscus

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)