H x W x D: 8.6 × 5.1 × 2.3 cm (3 3/8 × 2 × 7/8 in)
Type:
Jewelry and Ornament
Origin:
Anyang, probably Henan province, China
Date:
ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Period:
Late Shang dynasty, Anyang period
Description:
Ornamental carving in high and low relief slightly damaged at top apparently by calcination.
Provenance:
From at least 1948
F. Low-Beer & Co., New York, N.Y., from at least January 1948 [1]
From October 1948
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976) on October 26, 1948 [2]
Notes:
[1] Fritz Low-Beer mentioned the carving in his correspondence with John A. Pope, Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art, see F. Low-Beer to J. A. Pope, January 8, 1948.
The object was shipped to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on February 2, 1948, and approved for purchase next month, see R. W. Edwards to F. Low-Beer, February 2, 1948, and the document confirming the examination of the object and approval by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Katherine Rhoades, dated March 24, 1948, copy in object file.
[2] See Low-Beer’s invoice, dated October 26, 1948, where the object is listed as “Marble carving with T’ao t’ie decoration. Said to come from Anyang (Honan). Shang,” copy in object file.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)
