Removing the Saddle, Inspecting the Arrows 解鞍調箭圖
date: label: Date
content: 12th century
label: Period
content: Song dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Traditionally attributed to Zhang Kan (傳)張戡 (active mid-10th century)
label: Calligrapher
content: Wu Rongguang 吳榮光 (1773-1843) , colophon
label: Calligrapher
content: Kong Guangtao 孔廣陶 (1832-1890) , colophon
notes: label: Label
content: This finely executed painting shows a grizzled cavalry warrior who has removed his armor and rests while he inspects his arrows. Glad to be rid of its saddle, his horse rolls on the ground, happily kicking its legs in the air. The horse has an incision in its ear, a practice followed by the Khitans. These seminomadic people lived on the northeastern border regions of the Northern Song (960-1127) empire in the general area of modern Manchuria, where they established their own Liao dynasty (907-1125).
label: Label
content: The painting is attributed to Zhang Kan, a native of Waqiao (modern Xiongxian, Hebei Province), located near the Yan Mountains on the border of Liao territory. Zhang was particularly renowned for his accurate depictions of his nomadic neighbors and their horses. As seen here, his paintings are enlivened with a close attention to detail, such as the notched ear of the horse and the dress and armaments of the warrior. While none of Zhang's original paintings has survived, this work exhibits the features most closely associated with his style and may be a slightly later copy of a genuine composition by Zhang.
label: Label
content: A rare official seal from the Northern Song dynasty in the upper right corner helps to date this painting to the late eleventh or early twelfth century. This seal, which reads Shangshusheng yin (seal of the imperial secretariat), was only employed from around 1083 to 1126 on paintings and calligraphy belonging to the imperial collection of the Northern Song dynasty.
label: Label
content: To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.
label: Provenance
content: To 1916
label: Provenance
content: Pang Yuanji (1864-1949), Shanghai, China, to 1916 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1916 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Pang Yuanji, through Pang Zanchen (1881-1951) and Seaouke Yue (You Xiaoxi) (late 19th-early 20th century), 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. 1125, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, P'ang Catalogue: Antique Famous Chinese Paintings Collected by P'ang Lai Ch'en, no. 13. 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] According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pg. 23 and pg. 37, note 118.
label: Provenance
content: Larsen explains that Pang Zanchen (the younger brother of Pang Yuanji) and Seaouke Yue were tasked by Pang Yuanji with bringing his paintings to New York to show them to Charles Lang Freer. See also, Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1125, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
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: Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song dynasty (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings (February 24 to September 2, 2002)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Pang Yuanji 龐元濟 (1864-1949) (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: Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127)
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: Related Online Resources
content: Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy
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: F1916.526
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): 120.7 x 46.4 cm (47 1/2 x 18 1/4 in)