Seated Bodhisattva

Object Details

• Provenance

  To 1913

  Edgar Worch (1880-1972), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  To 1913

  Marie (Nordlinger) Meyer-Riefstahl (Mrs. R. Meyer-Riefstahl) (1876-1961) purchased from Edgar Worch [2]

  From 1913 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Marie Meyer-Riefstahl [3]

  From 1920

  The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Born in Kassel, Germany, Edgar Worch was a prominent dealer of Chinese art. Before the outbreak of World War I, he worked in Paris for his uncle, Adolphe Worch (1843-1915) who sold Chinese and Japanese antiquities. During World War I, the French government confiscated all his uncle's property and Edgar Worch returned to Germany. After the war, he opened his own gallery in Berlin and sold Chinese art, primarily ceramics. In 1939, he and his wife, Hedwig moved to New York City.

  Worch owned this sculpture by August 1913; see letter from Marie Meyer-Riefstahl to Charles Lang Freer, August 10, 1913. In this letter, she introduces the sculpture to Freer as "a very fine piece of Chinese sculpture owned by our old friend (!) Worch." Meyer-Riefstahl continues: "The carving is enhanced by the traces of the old colors and although unfortunately the hands are missing their loss is not too strongly felt, so powerful the expression of the head." Copy of letter in accession file. In another letter from Marie Meyer-Riefstahl to Charles Lang Freer, September 21, 1913, she reports that Worch believes the sculpture "came from the Honan [Henan province]." Copy of letter in accession file.

  [2] Marie Meyer-Riefstahl (Marie Louise Nordlinger) and her husband, Rudolf Meyer-Riefstahl were social acquaintances of Charles Lang Freer. The couple frequently purchased books and works of art on his behalf. Marie Meyer-Riefstahl was a cloisonne artist and friend and collaborator with Marcel Proust (1871-1922). Additionally, she worked as an art agent of the Paris dealer Siegfried Bing. Sometime after 1913, Marie and Rudolph divorced and Marie became known by her maiden name once more, Marie Louise Nordlinger. She helped Freer catalogue his collection of East Asian and Middle Eastern objects around the time when Freer was devising a plan to gift his collection to the nation. For information on Nordlinger's aid in cataloguing Freer's collection, see Gabriel P. Weisberg, Art Nouveau Bing: Paris Style 1900 (New York and Washington DC: Harry N. Abrams, INC Publishers with Smithsonian Institution, 1986), 41-42.

  Meyer-Riefstahl purchased this sculpture on behalf of Freer in September of 1913; see letter from Marie Meyer-Riefstahl to Charles Lang Freer, September 13, 1913 and letter from Charles Lang Freer to Marie Meyer-Riefstahl, September 16, 1913, copies in accession file. Meyer-Riefstahl purchased the sculpture from Worch and had it shipped to Washington, DC by October 13, 1913; see letter from Marie Meyer-Riefstahl to Charles Lang Freer, October 13, 1913, copy in accession file.

  [3] Charles Lang Freer issued payment to Marie Meyer-Riefstahl on October 13, 1913; see voucher 11869, October 13, 1913, from Charles Lang Freer to Mrs. R. Meyer-Riefstahl, copy in accession file.

  [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

  Research updated June 21, 2021.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Promise of Paradise: Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (December 1, 2012 to January 3, 2016)

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Sculpture (November 15, 1944 to February 25, 1956)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

  Marie (1876-1961) (C.L. Freer source)

  Edgar Worch (1880-1972)

• Origin

  northern Xiangtangshan, North Cave, Hebei province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• 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

  Worch, Edgar, Freer, Charles Lang, Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie Louise

• Place

  northern Xiangtangshan, China, North Cave, Hebei province

• Topic

  Period of Division (220 - 589), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Temple, Maitreya Buddha, Chinese Art, Northern Qi dynasty (550 - 577), Northern dynasties (386 - 581), Lotus, Stone, Bodhisattva, Halo

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes