Phoenix among rocks and flowers
date: label: Date
content: 16th--early 17th century
label: Period
content: Ming dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: Weavers of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) often produced strong graphic designs. The large blocks of color and bright blue tonalities of this bold image correspond with the visual effects achieved in fahua ceramics, as well as with cloisonné. This composition features the mythological phoenix--the so-called king of birds in Chinese culture and a creature said to appear on earth only when righteousness reigns. The phoenix shown with an effulgent tree peony is an image signifying wealth and nobility.
label: Provenance
content: To 1911
label: Provenance
content: Pang Yuanji (1864-1949), Shanghai, China, to 1911 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1911 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Pang Yuanji, in China, 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 Album List, pg. 41, 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: Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Bird and Flower Painting (January 27, 1986 to June 30, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Flower Paintings (March 18 to September 22, 1983)
label: Exhibition History
content: Bicentennial Exhibition: Chinese Art (December 5, 1975 to November 10, 1976)
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: slit tapestry
label: Topic
content: tapestry
label: Topic
content: flower
label: Topic
content: peony
label: Topic
content: phoenix
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: water
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: rock
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: F1911.163s
objectType: label: Type
content: Costume and Textile
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Tapestry
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 41.8 x 64.7 cm (16 7/16 x 25 1/2 in)