string(20) "edanmdm:fsg_F1945.41" Couplet in cursive script - National Museum of Asian Art

Couplet in cursive script

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 1
IIIF

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At A Glance

  • Period

    mid-late 15th century
  • Geography

    China
  • Material

    Ink on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W: 183.4 x 91.5 cm (72 3/16 x 36 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1945.41
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1945.41

Object Details

  • Artist

    Chen Xianzhang ( 1428-1500)
  • Description

    Poem of fourteen characters in ink on paper. Signature of two characters. One seal. Part of original paper missing at lower left corner, the rest worn and cracked. Panel.
  • Inscriptions

    The inscription written in ts'ao shu [chn], or "grass" writing, is a poetic couplet composed of two seven-character lines which run:
    [chn]
    "Wherever the light of body tread on the steaming mist There are the countless years of the pine pitch at Stone Cave."
  • Provenance

    To 1945
    Mrs. Edith Drake, Chicago, Illinois. [1]
    1945
    American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement, Chicago, Illinois. [2]
    From 1945
    Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from the American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement, Chicago, Illinois. [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See object file. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, “owned by Mrs. Drake Tonying acted as agent”.
    [2] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.
    [3] See note 1.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1947 (January 7, 1947 to April 11, 1955)
    Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)
    Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Mrs. Edith L. Drake
    American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement (Founded 1920s)
  • Origin

    China
  • Credit Line

    Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
  • Type

    Calligraphy
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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