A Spring Gathering

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Maker(s)
Artist: Shen Zhou 沈周 (1427-1509)
Calligrapher: Attached calligraphy by Shen Zhou 沈周 (1427-1509) Frontispiece by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711-1799)
Inscription: Inscription on front mounting by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711-1799) Three inscriptions on painting by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711-1799)
Colophon: Colophon by Wen Zhengming 文徵明 (1470-1559)
Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, ca. 1480?
School
Wu School
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 26.5 x 131.1 cm (10 7/16 x 51 5/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1934.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Handscroll

Keywords
boat, bridge, China, hill, landscape, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), pine tree, scholar, spring
Provenance

To no later than 1590
Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590), Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China [1]

Jin Jingxuan (17th-early 18th century, Samhan, Korea [2]

To no later than 1799
Imperial collection of Hongli, the Qianlong emperor (1711-1799; reigned 1735-1796) [3]

To no later than 1820
Imperial collection of Yongyan, the Jiaqing emperor (1760-1820; reigned 1796-1820) [4]

By 1932
Private Collector, possibly England, at least by May 1932 [5]

1932 to 1934
C. T. Loo & Company, New York and Paris, on consignment from private collector cited above, May 2, 1932 [6]

From 1934
The Freer Gallery of Art, purchased through C. T. Loo of C. T. Loo & Company on January 8, 1934 [7]

Notes:

[1] See 10 collector seals on handscroll; see object worksheet for locations and descriptions, copy in object file.

[2] See 2 collector seals on handscroll; see object worksheet for locations and descriptions, copy in object file.

[3] See 14 collector seals on handscroll; object worksheet for locations and descriptions, copy in object file.

[4] See 6 collector seals on handscroll; see object worksheet for locations and descriptions, copy in object file.

[5] See C. T. Loo's reference to the painting's owner in his letter to J. E. Lodge, May 5, 1932, copy in object file.

[6] See "list of objects owned by C. T. Loo and left in the gallery for consideration," May 2, 1932, copy in object file. C. T. Loo & Company, Paris and New York served as a consigning agent in this sale

[7] See invoice from C. T. Loo & Company, New York, January 8, 1934, copy in object file.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Xiang Yuanbian 1525-1590
Jingxuan Jin 17th – early 18th century
Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 1711-1799
Yongyan, the Jiaqing emperor 1760-1820; reigned 1796-1820
C.T. Loo 1880-1957
C.T. Loo & Company 1914-1948

Published References
  • Lidai liuzhuan shuhua zuopin biannianbiao《歷代流傳書畫作品編年表》. Shanghai. p.xxx.
  • Nakata Yujiro, Fu Shen. O-bei shuzo Chugoku hosho meiseki shu [Masterpieces of Chinese Calligraphy in American and European Collections]. 6 vols., Tokyo, 1981-1983. pls. 19-22.
  • Suzuki Kei. Chugoku kaiga sogo zuroku [Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Painting]. 5 vols., Tokyo, 1982-1983. vol. 1 (1982 ed.): pp. 200-203.
  • Osvald Siren. Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. 7 vols., New York and London, 1956-1958. vol. 6: pl. 188-189.
  • Robert Hans van Gulik. Chinese Pictorial Art as Viewed by the Connoisseur: Notes on the Means and Methods of Traditional Chinese Connoisseurship of Pictorial Art, Based Upon a Study of the Art of Mounting Scrolls in China and Japan.
    . Orientale Roma, vol. 19 Rome. opp. pp. 39, 126, figs. 19, 61.
  • Richard Edwards. The Field of Stones: A Study of the Art of Shen Chou (1427-1509). Oriental Studies Series, no. 5 Washington, 1962. cat. 34, p. 100, pls. 31; 32B, C, D.
  • Anne de Coursey Clapp. The Painting of T'ang Yin. Chicago. pp. 117, 120, fig. 39.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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