Ritual wine warmer (jue)

Decorations cast in low relief and intaglio; single character inscription under handle; handle broken and repaired. Grey-green malachite patina with touches of azurite inside and cuprite in the fossae.

Historical period(s)
Shang dynasty, ca. 1150-1050 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 19.7 x 16.7 cm (7 3/4 x 6 9/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1956.19
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: jue

Keywords
animal, China, inscription, mask, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE)
Provenance

By 1955-1956
Warren E. Cox Associates, New York, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]

From 1956
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Warren E. Cox Associates, New York, New York [2]

Notes:
[1] See letter from Warren E. Cox (1895-1976) to Mr. Archibald G. Wenley (1898-1962), December 13, 1955, copy in object file. The letter reports that Cox sent the "small bronze" with the Freer Gallery of Art's curator, Richard Ettinghausen (1906-1979), for Wenley to inspect.

[2] See invoice from Warren E. Cox Associates to Freer Gallery of Art, July 6, 1956, copy in object file. Warren E. Cox Associates describes the object as "XM-1377 Shang dynasty bronze chüeh." The invoice is annotated, indicating that the Freer Gallery of Art purchased the object on July 10, 1956.

Research Completed on March 17, 2022

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Warren E. Cox & Associates, Inc.

Description

Decorations cast in low relief and intaglio; single character inscription under handle; handle broken and repaired. Grey-green malachite patina with touches of azurite inside and cuprite in the fossae.

Published References
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 9.
  • The Horizon Book of the Arts of China. New York. p. 45.
  • Higuchi Takayasu. Kijin to ningen no Chugoku. Tokyo. p. 111.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 23, p. 139.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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