Lunette

Lunette: engraved design on obverse in very low relief; three figures, a Taoist triad, placed within interlacing floral scrolls. Two characters beneath central figure. Border raised; incised floral design. Limestone. Color, dark grey with golden-brown patina (?). Broken. Repaired.

Historical period(s)
Tang dynasty, middle 8th century
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
H x W x D: 74.6 x 165.5 x 25 cm (29 3/8 x 65 3/16 x 9 13/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1924.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Sculpture, Stone
Type

Sculpture

Keywords
China, Daoism, flower, Laozi, Tang dynasty (618 - 907)
Provenance

To 1924
C. T. Loo & Company, New York. [1]

From 1924
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from C. T. Loo & Company, New York in July 1924. [2]

Notes:

[1] Freer Gallery of Art accession file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Description

Lunette: engraved design on obverse in very low relief; three figures, a Taoist triad, placed within interlacing floral scrolls. Two characters beneath central figure. Border raised; incised floral design. Limestone. Color, dark grey with golden-brown patina (?). Broken. Repaired.

Inscription(s)

1. (From original folder sheet note 5) (Undated folder sheet note, C.T. Loo)

On the seat are two words "Ching Ren" meaning "Gold Statue" which is the maxim of Taoism. The so-called gold statue has three seals on its mouth. In the dialogues of Confucius, it relates the fact of the visit of Confucius to the Imperial Ancestral Temple of Chow Dynasty. This Gold Statue was erected with the three seals on its mouth, on the back of which is the inscription saying this is the ancient man who was very careful of words- thus forbidding the people to talk too much.

Published References
  • Catalogue of Objects of Chinese Art. pl. 25.
  • Osvald Siren. Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century: Over 900 Specimens in Stone, Bronze, Lacquer and Wood, Principally from Northern China. 4 vols., London. vol. 4: pl. 438.
  • Sadajiro Yamanaka. To-so seikwa [Selected Relics of T'ang and Sung Dynasties from Collections in Europe and America]. Osaka, 1928-1929. vol. 2, pl. 18a.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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