Landscape carved in low relief
date: label: Date
content: 1735-1796
label: Period
content: Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign
notes: label: Label
content: Decorative rocks embellished with mountain scenes were often kept as ornaments on the desks of scholars. The unknown carver of this stone skillfully utilized its natural form and fissures in creating the composition. The crane, bat, and deer seen here are common Chinese symbols of long life, happiness, and wealth, and carry overtones of popular Daoist belief. With its knotty pines and swirling clouds, the scene may depict a mountain paradise inhabited by gods and immortals.
label: Label
content: The caramel-colored stone of this carving belongs to a kind of soapstone called agalmatolite and probably comes from the area of Shoushan (Mount Longevity) in Fujian Province. Shoushan stones occur in a wide variety of colors and have been highly prized for their luster and purity since before the twelfth century.
label: Provenance
content: To 1911
label: Provenance
content: Y. Fujita and Company, Kyoto, to 1911 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1911 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Y. Fujita and Company in 1911 [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 Miscellaneous List, S.I. 328, 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: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Style in Chinese Landscape Painting: The Song Legacy (May 17 to October 26, 2014)
label: Exhibition History
content: Guests of the Hills: Travelers in Chinese Landscape Painting (August 23, 2008 to March 15, 2009)
label: Exhibition History
content: In the Mountains (January 31 to August 2, 1998)
label: Exhibition History
content: On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Y. Fujita and Company (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: stone
label: Topic
content: landscape
label: Topic
content: Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
label: Topic
content: Qianlong reign (1736 - 1796)
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: F1911.430
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Stone (agalmatolite)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 9.2 x 12.7 x 7.4 cm (3 5/8 x 5 x 2 15/16 in)