Gilt bronze plaque with animals in a landscape
date: label: Date
content: ca. 2nd century BCE
label: Period
content: Early Western Han dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: The combination of thick gilding and colorful semi-precious stone inlays is characteristic of Han decoration. The subject matter--animals among mountain peaks--alludes to the ideal landscape of the immortals, where man and beast roam free and in harmony with nature. The function of this ornament is unclear, but it may have served as a decorative inset in a much larger piece of furnishing.
label: Provenance
content: To 1948
label: Provenance
content: Jun Tsei Tai (1911-1992), Shanghai, to February 1948 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1948 to 1950
label: Provenance
content: C. T. Loo & Company, New York, purchased from Jun Tsei Tai in February 1948 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1950
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company on June 28, 1950 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. 46032: "Bronze cover, gilded and inlaid with jade and semi precious stones, four mountain-like waves with animals, finely molded and covered with a heavy gild, in the center a flat round jade knob Late Chou," copy in object file. According to an annotation on the stockcard, Loo purchased the object from J. T. Tai in China.
label: Provenance
content: Jun Tsei Tai (more commonly known in the West as J. T. Tai), known also as Dai Fubao in Shanghai, was a successful art dealer who was initially based in Shanghai China. Tai became one of C. T. Loo's most prolific suppliers in the 1940s. In 1949, however, J. T. Tai fled with his family to Hong Kong, when Communist leaders came into power. In 1950, he immigrated to New York City, where he established J. T. Tai & Company, a successful company that specialized in the sale of Chinese arts.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See C. T. Loo's stockcard cited in note 1.
label: Provenance
content: On June 9, 1950, the object was taken by Loo to the Freer Gallery for examination.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See C. T. Loo's invoice, dated June 28, 1950, copy in object file.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Metalwork (May 9, 1993 to March 21, 1997)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1955 (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Special Exhibition, Chinese Art (April 20, 1954 to November 16, 1954)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Jun Tsei Tai 戴潤齋 (1911-1992)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: C. T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: casting
label: Topic
content: gilding
label: Topic
content: inlay (process)
label: Topic
content: metal
label: Topic
content: bronze
label: Topic
content: animal
label: Topic
content: landscape
label: Topic
content: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE)
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
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: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1950.10
objectType: label: Type
content: Jewelry and Ornament
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Gilt bronze inlaid with jade, turquoise, carnelian, and silver
label: Dimensions
content: H x Diam: 2.8 x 9.5 cm (1 1/8 x 3 3/4 in)