Palace Ladies Playing Double Sixes

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    late 12th to mid-13th century
  • Geography

    China
  • Material

    Ink and color on silk
  • Dimension

    H x W (overall image): 30.5 x 69.1 cm (12 x 27 3/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1960.4
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1960.4

Object Details

  • Artist

    Traditionally attributed to Zhou Fang (傳)周昉 (ca. 730-ca. 800)
  • Provenance

    About 1960
    Jean-Pierre Dubosc (1903-1988), Paris and Lugano [1]
    From 1960
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift from Jean-Pierre Dubosc in 1960 [2]
    Notes:
    [1] Jean-Pierre Dubosc acquired the right-hand section of the painting "Palace Ladies Playing Double Sixes" around 1960, see James Cahill, “The Return of the Absent Servants: Chou Fang’s Double Sixes Restored,” Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America vol. 15 (1961), pp. 26-28. The main section of the painting was purchased by the Freer Gallery in 1939 from C. T.
    Loo, Dubosc’s father in law, see provenance record for F1939.37. It is not known when the painting was divided. The colophon by Chu Deyi on the main section of the painting, dated July 8-August 5, 1937, refers to a complete copy of the scroll in the National Palace Museum, Taipei and concludes that a section of the painting “was cut away at some point in a distant past.” See documentation for F1939.37/F960.4 in “Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy,” http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/F1939.37/F1939-37andF1960-4.Documentation.pdf.
    [2] After the acquisition, this recovered fragment was reattached to F1939.37 and the painting has been restored, see Cahill 1961, cited in note 1.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song dynasty (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
    Women in Chinese Painting (November 9, 2013 to April 27, 2014)
    Asian Games: The Art of Contest (February 26 to 15 May 2005)
    Masterpieces of Chinese Painting (I) (August 3, 1984 to February 7, 1985)
    Chinese Figure Painting (September 17, 1973 to January 3, 1975)
    Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
    Chinese Paintings (June 5, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Jean-Pierre Dubosc (1903-1988)
  • Origin

    China
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Jean-Pierre Dubosc, Lugano, Switzerland
  • Type

    Painting
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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