Vessel

Chinese
Recent Late Western Chou, 9th-8th centuries B.C.

Vessel of the type “kuei,” with cover.
Surface: green patina.
Decoration: in low relief and horizontal flutings. One inscription inside the bowl. and one inside the cover.

Historical period(s)
Western Zhou dynasty, ca. 9th-8th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 24.8 x 35.6 cm (9 3/4 x 14 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1909.259a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: gui

Keywords
China, Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 771 BCE)
Provenance

To 1909
Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, in 1909 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 84, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Riu Cheng Chai (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Chinese
Recent Late Western Chou, 9th-8th centuries B.C.

Vessel of the type "kuei," with cover.
Surface: green patina.
Decoration: in low relief and horizontal flutings. One inscription inside the bowl. and one inside the cover.

Inscription(s)

Translation reads: Date (600-610 B.C.) The inscription can be partly translated, the rest remains to be studied. It reads in modern Chinese like this (eight lines, numbering one to eight, of Chinese characters follow, written in the original translation). The general idea is as follows: 'On the 12th month, after the 15th day, the date Jin-wu, Count Pi-fu was at..., the queen says...give you armour...the King Chu...yellow...give you splendid red coverlet, black coat, and leather cover,...thousands of years...so made this valuable jar for the use of offering, generation after generation, date not...'
The interesting thing of this inscription is that the sixth line is similar to those on the three jars, which were made by the King for the lame person, Pi-fu, who was a vassal, and lived in Chung-chu period (about 600(?) B.C.).
(See Curatorial Remark number 4)

Published References
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. cat. 3013.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 78, p. 431.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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