Yue ware vessel in the shape of a chimera (bixie)
date: label: Date
content: 5th century
label: Period
content: Period of Division, Northern Wei dynasty
notes: label: Description
content: A stand in the form of a chimera (bixie) with a socket on the back
label: Description
content: Clay: gray, porcellanous.
label: Description
content: Glaze: thin, dull grayish-green.
label: Label
content: Molded Yue-ware vessels like this were made in large quantities, but their function is unclear. They may have held a candle, or perhaps scholars dipped their writing brushes in the water-filled interior. In the Jin dynasty (265&#150;420 C.E.), mythical lions, with exaggeratedly curled manes, and winged chimeras were protective images; huge stone examples guarded important tombs.
label: Provenance
content: To 1919
label: Provenance
content: You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1919 [1]
label: Provenance
content: 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1919 [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 Pottery List, L. 2618, 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: Shades of Green and Blue: Chinese Celadon Ceramics (July 15, 1997 to September 7, 2004)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Zhejiang province, China
topic: label: Topic
content: ceramic
label: Topic
content: chimera
label: Topic
content: Yue ware
label: Topic
content: Period of Division (220 - 589)
label: Topic
content: Northern Wei dynasty (386 - 534)
label: Topic
content: green glaze
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: stoneware
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: F1919.93
objectType: label: Type
content: Vessel
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Stoneware with celadon glaze
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 8.9 x 13.3 cm (3 1/2 x 5 1/4 in)
label: Style
content: Yue ware