Central Asian groom pasturing a horse
date: label: Date
content: 14th century
label: Period
content: Yuan or Ming dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: A turbaned Central Asian groom intensely watches over a white horse tied to a tree. The red tassel hanging from the bridle and the red string on the tail indicate the horse's high value and the likelihood that it was intended to be a gift to the throne. Such a theme-a foreign groom and a tribute horse waiting for imperial presentation-suggests that the original composition may have been created when China was under Mongol rule during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and contacts with Central Asia were particularly strong. Since several later paintings with identical or similar compositions are known, this work was most likely produced by a workshop during the subsequent Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when the horse trade with Central Asia was still an important economic factor.
label: Label
content: Although the label slip in the upper right corner attributes this painting to Zhao Yan (died 923), a famous horse painter of the Five Dynasties period (907-960), this is certainly spurious. The true identity of the painter was lost with the replacement of a large rectangular piece of silk at the upper left of the painting, where his original signature probably appeared.
label: Label
content: Joseph Chang, Associate Curator of Chinese Art
label: Label
content: "Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings" exhibition label
label: Label
content: 2/10/02 - 9/2/02
label: Provenance
content: ?-1959
label: Provenance
content: Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), method of acquisition unknown [1]
label: Provenance
content: 1959-1970
label: Provenance
content: Agnes E. Meyer inherited upon the death of her husband, Eugene Meyer [2]
label: Provenance
content: 1970-1992
label: Provenance
content: Ruth Meyer Epstein (1921-2007), by descent from her mother, Agnes E. Meyer [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1992
label: Provenance
content: The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, bequeathed by Ruth Meyer Epstein in 1992 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See note 4.
label: Provenance
content: [2] Eugene Meyer died in Washington D.C. on July 17, 1959. Upon his death, his wife, Agnes E. Meyer inherited the entirety of the couple's collection.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The object was part of the Estate of Agnes E. Meyer. Her daughter, Ruth Meyer Epstein inherited the work upon her death.
label: Provenance
content: [4] See Ruth Meyer Epstein’s Deed of Gift, dated July 9, 1992, copy in object file. This work is part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.
label: Provenance
content: Research updated on June 27, 2024
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings (February 24 to September 2, 2002)
label: Exhibition History
content: In Human Form: Images of the Secular and Divine in Chinese Painting (January 31, 1996 to January 7, 1997)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Mrs. Ruth Meyer Epstein (1921-2007)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: groom
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Ruth Meyer Epstein
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1992.40
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 166 x 93 cm (65 3/8 x 36 5/8 in)