Seal of Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997): Kuhuang

Object Details

• Artist

  Wu Zijian (born 1947)

• Label

  About the Seal Carver Wu Zijian:

  This seal (as well as F1998.76.34 and F1998.76.46) was selected from a group of 113 personal seals created for the late artist and scholar Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997) by his protégé, the seal carver Wu Zijian (born 1947). Aside from a pair of seals giving Xie's name, each of the seals on display relates to one of the "three friends of winter," which were among Xie's favorite subjects for painting. Xie Ziliu once wrote admiringly of his younger friend:

  "[Wu] Zijian has a deep passion for seal carving. . . There is no form of writing on metal and stone, on either official or private seals, that he has not gathered and collected from far and wide and subjected to rigorous analysis. . . When carving a seal, Zijian does not first write the text on the surface of the stone [as other carvers do], but sets directly to carving it with his knife. . . I have searched through all the earlier masters and no one before has done anything like this, so an ability such as his must truly be hard to achieve."

  (Translation by Stephen D. Allee)

• Provenance

  From 1971 to 1997

  Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997), commissioned carving from Wu Zijian in 1971 [1]

  From 1997 to 1998

  Chen Peiqiu (born 1922), widow of Xie Zhiliu [2]

  From 1998

  Freer Gallery of Art, given by Chen Peiqiu in 1998 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remarks, Joseph Chang, May 1, 1998.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Three Friends of Winter: Pine, Bamboo, and Plum in Chinese Painting (August 12, 2001 to February 3, 2002)

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Xie Zhiliu 謝稚柳 (1910-1997)

  Chen Peiqiu (born 1922)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of the Xie Family

• Type

  Tool and Equipment

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1970s

• Name

  Xie, Zhiliu, Chen, Peiqiu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Stone, Modern period (1912 - present)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Tools and equipment