Lobed bowl with lotus petals, birds, animals, and floral scrolls

Bowl (silver). Surface: oxidized; a patch of green aerugo. Decoration: a band of foliate design in low relief. Surfaces covered by a delicate ornament executed in fire-gilt; a medallion in fire-gilt ornament under the foot.

Historical period(s)
Early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century
Medium
Hammered silver with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration and mercury gilding
Dimensions
H x Diam: 5.6 x 14.6 cm (2 3/16 x 5 3/4 in)
Geography
China, Shaanxi province, Probably Xi’an
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1931.8
On View Location
Freer Gallery 16: Center of the World: China and the Silk Road
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Bowl

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

1931
Yamanaka and Company, Boston 1931 [1]

From 1931
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Yamanaka and Company, Boston in 1931 [2]

Notes:

[1] Object file, undated folder sheet. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Yamanaka and Co. 1917-1965

Description

Bowl (silver). Surface: oxidized; a patch of green aerugo. Decoration: a band of foliate design in low relief. Surfaces covered by a delicate ornament executed in fire-gilt; a medallion in fire-gilt ornament under the foot.

Published References
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 176, vol. 1: p. 176.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 25.
  • Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation. London. p. 152, fig. 8.6.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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