Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) standing on a lotus emerging from waves

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to the Shen Shao'an Family Workshop

• Description

  A hollow dry lacquer statue of Guanyin wearing a hooded cape over billowing garments that sweep to the right. The deity stands on cresting waves with an open lotus flower at the center. The figure's waist is slightly bent and the upper back arched, creating a gentle curve. Hands are held in the teaching gesture. A jeweled necklace (yashti) is exposed on the chest.

• Provenance

  1947-1950 to 1964

  Rolf Jacoby (c.1907-1989) acquired in Seoul, Korea [1]

  1964 to 1989

  Rolf Jacoby and Maureen (T. Roche) Jacoby (1927-2002) owned jointly upon their marriage in 1964 [2]

  1989 to 1990

  Maureen Jacoby inherited upon the death of her husband on May 8, 1989 [3]

  1990 to 2021

  Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection, given by Maureen Jacoby in 1990 [4]

  From 2021

  Transferred from the Freer Study Collection to the Freer Gallery of Art Collection, May 2021 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] Born in Dortmund, Germany, Rolf Jacoby was a professional musician who immigrated to the United States from Vienna in 1938. He became a professor of music at Goddard College, conducting the choir and orchestra. In 1941, he joined the United States Army. He became an American citizen in 1943 and then became a government intelligence officer in North Africa and Italy. After World War II, the American government sent him to Vienna. Around 1947, Jacoby began his career in the Foreign Service as a diplomat in Seoul, Korea. While there, he helped to establish the Seoul Symphony Orchestra and began collecting Asian art. Leaving his post in Korea around 1950, Jacoby also held diplomatic postings in Bari, Italy; Manchester, England; Dakar, Senegal; Paris, France; and Tokyo, Japan. He married Maureen T. Roche on September 21, 1967. The couple resided in Washington, DC and Chestertown, MD. Rolf Jacoby likely purchased this object between 1946 and 1950, when serving his diplomatic post in Seoul Korea, see memo to Jan Stuart, January 26, 1990, in accession file F1991.70.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] Rolf Jacoby died on May 8, 1989, in Centerville, MD and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington D.C.

  [4] See deed of gift, June 13, 1990, copy in accession file.

  [5] See transfer form, June 1, 2021, copy in accession file.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Collector's Cabinet (May 17 to November 1, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Rolf Jacoby (1907–1989)

  Mr. Rolf R. Jacoby and Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby

  Mrs. Maureen R. Jacoby (1927– 2002)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Rolf and Maureen Jacoby

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1640s, 1750s

• Name

  Jacoby, Maureen R., Jacoby, Rolf R., Jacoby, Rolf

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Wave, Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Lacquer, Avalokite?svara (Buddhist deity), Lotus, Bodhisattva, Guanyin

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture