Lobed ladle with floral scrolls

Ladle, with a seven-lobed bowl. Silver. Surface: intact with one small dent in forward lobe of bowl.

Historical period(s)
Early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century
Medium
Hammered silver with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration
Dimensions
H x W x D: 31 x 6.1 x 4.5 cm (12 3/16 x 2 3/8 x 1 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
F1944.58
On View Location
Freer Gallery 16: Center of the World: China and the Silk Road
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Tool and Equipment
Type

Ladle

Keywords
China, Tang dynasty (618 - 907)
Provenance

From at least 1929
Mrs. Christian R. Holmes (1871-1941), New York and "The Chimneys," Sands Point, Port Washington, Long Island, from at least January 1929 [1]

From at least 1944
Tonying and Company, New York, from at least February 1944 [2]

From 1944
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Tonying and Company on September 21, 1944 [3]

Notes:

[1] Mrs. Holmes lent the object to the 1929 exhibition in Berlin, Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst (Berlin: Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst and Preussischen Akademie der Künste, January 12 –April 2, 1929), cat. 425 (ill.) and to the International Exhibition of Chinese Art at Royal Academy of Fine Arts in London in 1935-36, see Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, exh. cat. (London: Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935-March 7, 1936), cat. 786 (ill.).

[2] See “List of Objects Contemplated for Purchase by the Freer Gallery of Art,” approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on February 4, 1944, copy in object file.

[3] See Tonying & Company’s invoice, dated September 21, 1944, in which the object figures under no. G. 14: “Large Chinese Silver Ladle / Tang,” copy in object file. See also A. G. Wenley’s letter to C. F. Yau, Tonying & Co., dated September 19, 1944, in which Wenley confirms the purchase of the object.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mrs. Christian R. Holmes 1871-1941
Tonying and Company established 1902

Description

Ladle, with a seven-lobed bowl. Silver. Surface: intact with one small dent in forward lobe of bowl.

Published References
  • Bo Gyllensvard, The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. T'ang Gold and Silver. no. 29 Stockholm. cat. 29, pl. 15a.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 26.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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