Horn Scepter

Maker(s)
Artist: Jin Nong (1687-1763)
Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, 1726
Medium
Horn
Dimensions
H x W x D: 24.9 x 4.3 x 4.3 cm (9 13/16 x 1 11/16 x 1 11/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1918.49a-e
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Sculpture
Type

Scepter

Keywords
China, fungus, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance

To 1918
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1918 [1]

From 1918 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), given by You Xiaoxi in 1918 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1374, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
You Xiaoxi (C.L. Freer source) late 19th-early 20th century

Label

This small scepter is carved to resemble a woody fungus known in Chinese as lingzhi ("sacred fungus"). The plant is also called the "fungus of immortality" because it was believed to be a powerful ingredient in elixirs intended to prolong human life. An inscription on the base contains a cyclical date and a sobriquet, or art name, used by the painter and antiquarian, Jin Nong (1687-1763). Thus it is likely that this horn object was made for (or possibly made by) Jin Nong.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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