Square lidded ritual wine container with lid (fangyi)

Ceremonial vessel of the type “fang-i,” with cover. Part of the foot rim missing. A tiny hole in one side.
Carved wood stand.
Surface: rich malachite green patina over brown. One area of blue.
Decoration: in low and high relief and engraved. An engraved two-character inscription inside the bottom, with the same occurring in the cover in relief.

Historical period(s)
Middle to late Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1200-1050 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 21.8 x 15.2 cm (8 9/16 x 6 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1915.136a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: fangyi

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China, dragon, inscription, wine
Provenance

To 1915
Tonying and Company, New York to 1915 [1]

From 1915 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tonying and Company, New York in 1915 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 689, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. By at least 1917, Tonying and Company maintained business locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, London, and New York, NY.

[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)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Tonying and Company (C.L. Freer source) established 1902

Description

Ceremonial vessel of the type "fang-i," with cover. Part of the foot rim missing. A tiny hole in one side.
Carved wood stand.
Surface: rich malachite green patina over brown. One area of blue.
Decoration: in low and high relief and engraved. An engraved two-character inscription inside the bottom, with the same occurring in the cover in relief.

Inscription(s)

2-character inscription.

Published References
  • Chin wen tsung chi. Taipei. vol. 6: p. 2715.
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. cats. 5444-5.
  • Bernhard Karlgren. Yin and Chou in Chinese Bronzes. no. 8, 1955 article reprint. Stockholm. cat. A50, p. 100.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 37, p. 207.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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