Two seals belonging to the Qianlong Emperor, with fitted stands and decorated box

Object Details

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711-1799)

  Puyi, Emperor of China (1906-1967, reigned 1908-1912)

  Puxiu

  Anonymous

• Provenance

  About 1780

  Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799; reigned 1735-1796), about 1780 [1]

  Puyi (1906-1967; reigned 1908-1912), Emperor of China [2]

  To 1945

  Puxiu, relative of Puyi, by descent, to 1945 [3]

  From 1945 to 1978

  Private collection, Washington, DC, acquired from Puxiu in 1945 [4]

  From 1978

  Freer Gallery of Art, given by a private collector in 1978 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] The objects were probably made for Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799; reigned 1735-1796), circa 1780 (see Curatorial Notes 3, 4, and 5, Jan Stuart, 1991-1995, in object record).

  [2] The donor acquired the objects in 1945 from Puxiu, a relative of Puyi (1906-1967; reigned 1908-1912), the last emperor of the Qing dynasty. According to Puxiu, the seals and the covered box had belonged to the Qing emperor, Puyi (see Curatorial Note 2, T. Lawton, 1979, in object record).

  [3] See note 2.

  [4] See note 2.

  [5] The object was transferred from the Freer Study Collection to the Freer Permanent Collection, on March 3, 1978 (see Curatorial Note 9 in the object record).

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Anonymous gift

• Type

  Tool and Equipment

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1770s, 1780s

• Name

  Hongli, Puxiu, Pope, John Alexander, Puyi

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Seal script, Kings and rulers, Qianlong reign (1736 - 1796), Dragon

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Tools and equipment