Ritual cauldron (ding) with masks (taotie)

Historical period(s)
middle Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1150 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 24.5 × 19.7 × 21 cm (9 5/8 × 7 3/4 × 8 1/4 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1960.18
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 23b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: ding

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

To 1960
J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York. [1]

From 1960
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from J. T. Tai & Co., New York, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] See object file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

J.T. Tai & Co. established in 1950

Inscription(s)

Inscribed on interior wall, Ci 垖 (次) (“Military Outpost Officer”)

Published References
  • Shang Chou chin wen shi ch'eng. Multi-volume, Taipei. no. 0132.
  • Hai wai i chen [Chinese Art in Overseas Collections]. Taipei, 1985. vol. 2: p. 5.
  • Chugoku bijutsu [Chinese Art in Western Collections]. 5 vols., Tokyo, 1972-1973. vol. 4: fig. 13.
  • Chin wen tsung chi. Taipei. vol. 1: p. 48.
  • Eileen M. Berry. Heritage Studies 6: To Know the Past., 2nd ed. Greenville, SC. p. 101.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Rutherford John Gettens, James Cahill, Noel Barnard. The Freer Chinese Bronzes. Oriental Studies Series, vol. 1, no. 7 Washington. cat. 28, p. 161.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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