Kneeling winged monster
date: label: Date
content: 550-577
label: Period
content: Period of Division, Northern Qi dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: This mythical, composite animal and the similar one on the opposite side of the doorway are guardian-demons whose repellent ugliness was believed to avert evil. They were created as pillar bases, or architectural supports, inside the Buddhist cave-temple of the northern Chinese site known as Xiangtangshan, which straddles the border of Hebei and Henan provinces. The presence of these guardians beneath a row of Buddha images in Cave 7 at Xiangtangshan signaled their role as protectors of Buddhist Law.
label: Label
content: Cave 7 originally contained at least twenty-four similar sculptures, but they proved so appealing to Japanese and Western collectors that most of them were removed in the early twentieth century for sale. Many museums bought pairs of the guardian figures. Charles Lang Freer purchased only one (in 1916), but the Freer Gallery of Art purchased an additional two in the 1950s, and the gallery was later given two more in the 1970s. Each sculpture is slightly different.
label: Label
content: The specific site of these pieces has been clearly known in the West since the 1950s, but when Mr. Freer made his purchase in 1916, he was unaware of where it came from in China and was told the work was slightly earlier than it actually is.
label: Provenance
content: To 1916
label: Provenance
content: Lai-Yuan and Company, New York, to 1916 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1916 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Lai-Yuan and Company in 1916 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 927, pg. 206, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
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: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, North Corridor (November 20, 1969 to December 11, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 17 (November 17, 1955 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Stone Sculpture, Gallery 17, 1923 (May 2, 1923 to November 17, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Asian Sculpture, North Corridor (May 2, 1923 to October 28, 1955)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Lai-Yuan & Company (ca. 1915-April 1921) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Northern Xiangtangshan, Middle Cave, Hebei province, China
topic: label: Topic
content: stone
label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: demon
label: Topic
content: Period of Division (220 - 589)
label: Topic
content: Northern dynasties (386 - 581)
label: Topic
content: Northern Qi dynasty (550 - 577)
label: Topic
content: lotus
label: Topic
content: temple
label: Topic
content: cave
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: monster
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: F1916.345
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Limestone freestanding sculpture
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 88.4 x 47.3 x 28.5 cm (34 13/16 x 18 5/8 x 11 1/4 in)