Ritual wine cup (gu) with masks (taotie), dragons, and snakes

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3D Model

Object Details

Description

Decorations cast in high and low relief, grey-green patination with patch of azurite blue inside body and occasional specks of light green. One-character inscription cast inside foot.

Inscriptions

Inscribed in the foot, Xi 徒 (Undeciphered title composed of a road intersection next to striding feet)

Provenance

By 1896

Possibly Wu Dacheng 吳大澂 (1835-1902), method of acquisition unknown [1]

By 1951

J. T. & Tai & Co., INC. New York, New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]

From 1951

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from J. T. & Tai & Co., New York, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] See WU Dacheng 吳大澂, Kezhai ji gu lu: fu shi wen sheng gao 愙齋集古錄 : 附釋文賸稿 / 吳大澂輯 (Shanghai: Shang wu yin shu guan, 1930), vol 21, 6a. A rubbing of the

object's inscription is included within the publication. The preface to the publication dates WU Dacheng's original text to 1896, suggesting that the vessel was in circulation before or by the time of publication.

[2] See invoice,

J. T. Tai & Company INC. to Freer Art Gallery, November 1, 1951, copy in object file. On the invoice, the object is identified as JTT 13 and described as " One bronze Ku (Shang Dyn.). H. 13". Weight 3-1/8 lbs."

J. T. Tai 戴潤齋 (1911-1992) was an art dealer who was initially based in Shanghai, China. In 1949, Tai fled with his family to Hong Kong when a communist regime came to power. In 1950, he immigrated to New York, where he established J. T. Tai & Company, a gallery that opened in the fall of 1950 and specialized in the sale of Chinese arts.

Research Completed on March 17, 2022

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings (February 25, 2023 to April 28, 2024)

Clay and Metal: Ancient Chinese Ceramics and Metal (February 25, 1997 to August 9, 2011)

Ancient Chinese Bronzes (May 9, 1993 to February 10, 1997)

Chinese Art (February 18, 1983 to April 1, 1987)

Chinese Art (June 15, 1982 to September 24, 1982)

Chinese Art (March 15, 1982 to June 15, 1982)

Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

Chinese Bronze, Jade, Marble (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)

Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to February 25, 1956)

Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Jade and Bronze (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)

Special Exhibition, Chinese Art (April 20, 1954 to November 16, 1954)

Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1945 (January 9, 1945 to August 20, 1955)

Previous custodian or owner

Wu Dacheng 吳大澂 (1835-1902)

J. T. Tai & Co. (established in 1950)

Credit Line

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Date

ca. 1150-1100 BCE

Period

Late Shang dynasty, middle Anyang period

Accession Number

F1951.18

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Vessel

Medium

Bronze

Dimensions

H x Diam: 32.7 × 19.4 cm (12 7/8 × 7 5/8 in)

Origin

Anyang, probably Henan province, China

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

casting

metal

bronze

Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty (ca. 1300 - 1050 BCE)

China

Chinese Art

Metadata Usage