A Horse
date: label: Date
content: 18th century
label: Period
content: Qing dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: The body of this horse is mainly defined with various tonalities of ink wash. Only a few details, such as the eye, mane, bridle, and tail, are depicted with ink lines. An obvious Western influence in this unsigned work can be detected in the subtle silhouette and the obscure contrasts of dark and light.
label: Label
content: The lengthy inscription was written in 1860 by the poet-calligrapher Tang Hengji, who compiled sixteen lines of seven words each from various poems composed by the great Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770). The assembled lines form four verses of four lines each, praising the power and spirit of a legendary fine horse.
label: Provenance
content: To 1916
label: Provenance
content: Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1916 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1916 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1916 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1231, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, LVC Catalogue, 1915, No. 8. Given S.I. 32 to replace a former kakemono. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings (February 24 to September 2, 2002)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
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 Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1916.59
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 50.5 x 49.3 cm (19 7/8 x 19 7/16 in)