A Cabbage Plant
date: label: Date
content: 14th-15th century
label: Period
content: Late Yuan or early Ming dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Formerly attributed to Gao Huaibao (10th-11th century)
notes: label: Label
content: The illustrious Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770) lived during a period of great turmoil. Bitter after his once promising government career was stalled, he wrote the poem "Planting Stem Lettuce," using the lettuce as an allegory for wasted and uncultivated talent. Painted images of cabbage, may allude, then, to Du's poem and bear subtle political critiques of corrupt government. However, this quick study of lettuce on a fan suggests that some artists took a more optimistic view, seeing the cabbage as a literal representation of the world. The inscription asserts that if there is abundant lettuce, then the world abounds with prosperity.
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 Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1022, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.
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: Seasons: Chinese Flowers (July 2, 2011 to January 8, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Beyond Brushwork: Symbolism in Chinese Painting (April 29 to November 26, 2006)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 19 (February 25, 1956 to February 4, 1957)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 2, 1955 (April 11, 1955 to November 10, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 14, 1955 (November 17, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (May 6, 1946 to November 17, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1943 (October 4, 1943 to August 7, 1946)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting, Gallery 14, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to October 4, 1943)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Paintings, 1924 (June 2, 1924 to March 14, 1931)
label: Exhibition History
content: Chinese Painting and Pottery (May 2, 1923 to March 22, 1943)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Paintings, Sculptures, and Jade Objects from the Collection formed by Charles Lang Freer (November 15 to December 08, 1917)
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: China
topic: label: Topic
content: Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: cabbage
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: F1916.48
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 128.2 x 60 cm (50 1/2 x 23 5/8 in)