Object Details
- Label
- Two seated gentlemen enjoy this garden setting, which is imbued with symbols of longevity such as a pine tree and the fungus of immortality (at the lower left). In front of the pavilion, large rocks are arranged to imitate a mountain with a cavelike doorway, an allusion to a paradise of the immortals that is entered through a grotto. The man holding a wand may be a Daoist sage and his visitor a disciple seeking the secrets of immortality. As soon as the student becomes an immortal, the swooping crane will carry him heavenward to join other transcendent beings.
- The precisely carved geometric patterns in the background--a different one for air, water, and land--are hallmarks of the exemplary workmanship of early fifteenth-century lacquer ware.
- Provenance
- From at least 1949 to 1953
- F. Low-Beer & Co., New York, N.Y., from at least May 1949 [1]
- From 1953
- Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976) on April 1, 1953 [2]
- Notes:
- [1] Fritz Low-Beer offered the box to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration in his correspondence with John A. Pope, Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art, see F. Low-Beer to J.A. Pope, May 2, 1949.
- It was approved for purchase in March 1950, see document confirming the examination of the object and approval by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Katherine Rhoades, dated to March 1950, copy in object file.
- [2] See Fritz Low-Beer & Co.’s invoice, dated to March 23, 1953, where the object is listed as “Circular box and cover, carved red lacquer decorated with a figural scene on top of the cover and with flowers and foliage on the side.
- Early 15th century, probably Yung-lo,” copy in objet file.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan (December 13, 2014 to June 14, 2015)
- Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)
- The Idea of China in Japan: The Tea Ceremony in Japan (December 19, 1999 to June 11, 2000)
- On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)
- Japanese and Chinese Lacquer (September 22, 1982 to June 30, 1983)
- Ming Dynasty Paintings (December 4, 1978 to June 14, 1979)
- Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)
- Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- 1403-1424
- Period
- Ming dynasty, Yongle reign
- Accession Number
- F1953.64a-b
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Container
- Medium
- Carved red lacquer (tihong) on wood core
- Dimensions
- H x W: 7.9 x 26.6 cm (3 1/8 x 10 1/2 in)
- Origin
- China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- lacquer
- landscape
- crane
- pine tree
- Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
- Yongle reign (1403 - 1424)
- sage
- pavilion
- China
- scepter
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1953.64a-b
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3662eb4b3-4e5b-4162-aff3-83b19075742f
