Ritual grain server with lid (gui) and water buffalos

Ceremonial vessel of the type “kuei,” with cover. Relatively recent casting.
Surface: green, black and brown patina; grayish earth incrustation.
Decoration: in low relief. Two inscriptions.

Historical period(s)
Western Zhou dynasty, late 11th-early 10th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 18.6 x 25.7 cm (7 5/16 x 10 1/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1917.193a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: gui

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

To 1917
Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1917 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Bronze List, S.I. 1180, 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)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917-1965

Description

Ceremonial vessel of the type "kuei," with cover. Relatively recent casting.
Surface: green, black and brown patina; grayish earth incrustation.
Decoration: in low relief. Two inscriptions.

Inscription(s)

4-character inscription.

Published References
  • Chin wen tsung chi. Taipei. vol. 3: p. 1079.
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. cat. 2216.
  • Katherine Nash Rhoades. Recent Additions to the Freer Collection. vol. 8, no. 5 Washington, October 1919. p. 284.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 67, p. 375.
  • Jessica Rawson. Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. Ancient Chinese Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. 2 Washington and Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 538, fig. 76.6.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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