Ritual wine container (fangyi) with masks(taotie), serpents, and birds

Object Details

Description

Ceremonial vessel with cover, type fangyi. White bronze patinated with azurite (chiefly inside), malachite and cuprite. Two inscriptions in ancient seal script.

Previous custodian or owner

Tonying and Company 通運公司 (established 1902)

Provenance

To 1930

Tonying and Company, New York, to 1930 [1]

From 1930

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company, New York, in 1930 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. See also Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Date

ca. 1100 BCE

Origin

Luoyang, probably Henan province, China

Topic

bird

dragon

Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)

mask

China

Chinese Art

taotie

Related Online Resources

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

On View

Sackler Gallery 23a: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings

Credit Line

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Data Source

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Accession Number

F1930.54a-b

Type

Vessel

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

H x W x D: 35.3 x 24.8 x 23.3 cm (13 7/8 x 9 3/4 x 9 3/16 in)

Record ID

fsg_F1930.54a-b

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye335879a27-d65c-4ae1-a94e-ee0429770c86