Ritual food vessel (ding)

Historical period(s)
Probably Anyang period, ca. 12th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 20.4 × 16.7 cm (8 1/16 × 6 9/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1959.15
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: ding

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

From at least 1953 to 1959
C. T. Loo & Company, New York, from at least December 1, 1953 [1]

From 1959
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on August 31, 1959 [2]

Notes:

[1] See C. T. Loo & Co.'s Approval Memorandum, dated December 1, 1953, where the object is listed under stock no. FC-332: "Bronze sacrificial vessel, TING, on three high straight legs, rounded body with upright lip, handles on rim. Decorated with diamond shaped field with bosses in high relief and a band of stylized birds on meander background. Inscribed. Shang. Green patina," copy in object file. A negative of the bronze's photograph is located in C. T. Loo & Frank Caro Archive, Musée Guimet, Paris, no. (15) cnmB 260-261; its envelope is inscribed with information that the bronze came from Anyang.

[2] See C. T. Loo & Co.'s invoice, issued by Frank Caro, dated August 31, 1959.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Published References
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. cat. 0699.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 10.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 29, p. 165.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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