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Ritual wine cup (gu) with masks (taotie), dragons, and snakes

Object Details

Description
Decorations cast in high and low relief, grey-green patination with patch of azurite blue inside body and occasional specks of light green. One-character inscription cast inside foot.
Previous custodian or owner
Wu Dacheng 吳大澂 (1835-1902)
J.T. Tai & Co. (established in 1950)
Provenance
By 1896
Possibly Wu Dacheng ??? (1835-1902), method of acquisition unknown [1]
By 1951
J. T. & Tai & Co., INC. New York, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]
From 1951
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from J. T. & Tai & Co., New York, New York. [2]
Notes:
[1] See WU Dacheng ???, Kezhai ji gu lu: fu shi wen sheng gao ????? : ????? / ???? (Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan, 1930), vol 21, 6a. A rubbing of the
object's inscription is included within the publication. The preface to the publication dates WU Dacheng's original text to 1896, suggesting that the vessel was in circulation before or by the time of publication.
[2] See invoice,
J. T. Tai & Company INC. to Freer Art Gallery, November 1, 1951, copy in object file. On the invoice, the object is identified as JTT 13 and described as " One bronze Ku (Shang Dyn.). H. 13". Weight 3-1/8 lbs."
J. T. Tai ??? (1911-1992) was an art dealer who was initially based in Shanghai, China. In 1949, Tai fled with his family to Hong Kong when a communist regime came to power. In 1950, he immigrated to New York, where he established J. T. Tai & Company, a gallery that opened in the fall of 1950 and specialized in the sale of Chinese arts.
Research Completed on March 17, 2022
Date
ca. 1150-1100 BCE
Period
Late Shang dynasty
Origin
Anyang, probably Henan province, China
Topic
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE)
China
Chinese Art
Related Online Resources
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Data Source
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
F1951.18
Type
Vessel
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 32.7 × 19.4 cm (12 7/8 × 7 5/8 in)
Record ID
fsg_F1951.18
Metadata Usage
Usage conditions apply
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3ed116b4c-5037-47e6-9c70-1f7014e7f8f8

Related Object Groups

  • Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings

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3d model of Ritual wine cup (<em>gu</em>) with masks (<em>taotie</em>), dragons, and snakes
3D Model
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