Lidded food cauldron (ding) with painted decoration

Ting [Ch] with a deep cauldron covered by a domed lid surmounted by three bird-like forms. The three legs on the body of the vessel are modelled in the form of bears. The two handles are shaped as rectangular loops bent outward. An abstract, swirling pattern is painted on the cover and on the upper section of the body of the vessel above the narrow flange which divides the body of the vessel horizontally.

Historical period(s)
Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 13.5 x 16.9 cm (5 5/16 x 6 5/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1968.34a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 18: Art and Industry: China's Ancient Houma Foundry
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Ritual vessel: ding

Keywords
animal, China, food, Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), painted
Provenance

To 1916
C. T. Loo, Lai-Yuan & Co., New York, to April 1, 1916 [1]

From 1916 to 1968
Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC, and Mt. Kisco, NY, purchased from C. T. Loo, Lai-Yuan & Co. on April 1, 1916 [2]

From 1968
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Agnes E. Meyer in 1968 [3]

Notes:

[1] See C. T. Loo, Lai-Yuan & Co.’s invoice issued to Mrs. Eugene Meyer and dated February 29, 1916, where the bronze is listed as “Tripot incense burner with cover, painted floral design,” copy in object file. A stamped note on the invoice states that the payment for the bronze was received by Loo on April 1, 1916. The invoice includes three other bronzes (see records for F1968. 32a-b, F1968.33, and F1968.35a-b) which with F1968.34a-b form a group probably made as a set to be used as mingqi (funerary objects). The four vessels reportedly came from Changsha, Hunan province, however, there is no certainty of their provenance, see Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition exh. cat. (Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1971), pp. 28-29 (ill.) and Diane M. Nelson, “Bronze ‘Ming-ch’i’ Vessels with Painted Decoration: A Regional Study in Han Pictorialism,” Artibus Asiae 42, 2/3 (1980), pp. 147-8.

[2] See C. T. Loo, Lai-Yuan & Co.’s invoice, cited in note 1.

[3] See Agnes E. Meyer’s Deed of Gift, where the object is listed as no. 20 in the document’s Annex, dated July 24, 1967, copy in object file. The object was accessioned to the Freer Gallery’s collection in 1968.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer (1875-1959) and (1887-1970)
Agnes E. Meyer 1887-1970
C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Description

Ting [Ch] with a deep cauldron covered by a domed lid surmounted by three bird-like forms. The three legs on the body of the vessel are modelled in the form of bears. The two handles are shaped as rectangular loops bent outward. An abstract, swirling pattern is painted on the cover and on the upper section of the body of the vessel above the narrow flange which divides the body of the vessel horizontally.

Published References
  • Thomas Lawton. Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Memorial Exhibition. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 14, pp. 28-29.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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