Base with dragons

Historical period(s)
Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE
Medium
Bronze with gilding
Dimensions
H x W: 15.5 x 16 cm (6 1/8 x 6 5/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1968.49a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork
Type

Base

Keywords
China, dragon, Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE)
Provenance

From at least 1908
Duanfang (1861-1911) [1]

From at least 1967 to 1968
Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC and Mt. Kisco, NY, from at least 1967 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] The bronze is included in Duanfang’s catalogue of his bronze collection, originally published in 1908, see Duanfang, Taozhai ji jin lu (Shanghai gu ji chu ban she, 1995), p. 6:59a. Duanfang was a late Qing dynasty government official and a well known collector of Chinese art. For the discussion of Duanfang’s collection see Thomas Lawton, A Time of Transition: Two Collectors of Chinese Art (Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1991), pp. 5-45.

[2] The object is included in Agnes E. Meyer’s Deed of Gift, listed as no. 33 in the document’s Annex, dated July 24, 1967, copy in object file.

[3] See Agnes E. Meyer’s Deed of Gift, cited in note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Duanfang 1861-1911
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer (1875-1959) and (1887-1970)

Published References
  • Duanfang. Tao-chai chi chin lu [Bronzes in the Collection of Tuan Fang]. 8 vols. Shanghai. .
  • Herman Floris Eduard Visser. Asiatic Art [in private collections of Holland and Belgium]. New York and Amsterdam. cat. 137, pl. 71.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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