Miniature tripod vessel (li-ting)

Miniature gray pottery li-ting. Hand-formed body with three short mammiform legs. Abruptly everted rim finished on turntable or slow wheel shows marks or throwing.
Clay: earthenware, light gray on surface. Adhesions of earth.
Decoration: deep horizontal grooves incised around midpoint of body and on neck just below angle of rim.

Historical period(s)
Zhou dynasty, 11th-3rd century BCE
Medium
Unglazed earthenware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6.3 x 8 x 8 cm (2 1/2 x 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1984.21
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vessel (li-ting)

Keywords
China, earthenware, unglazed, Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 221 BCE)
Provenance

To 1982
Helen Dalling Ling (d. 1982), Shanghai and Singapore. [1]

From 1982 to 1984
Dr. Tien Gi Ling, Singapore, by bequest from his wife, Helen Dalling Ling in May 1982. [2]

From 1984
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dr. Tien Gi Ling, Singapore. [3]

Notes:

[1] According to Dr. Tien Gi Ling, this object was in Mrs. Helen D. Ling’s general collection and was probably acquired in Singapore. Also see Curatorial Remark 3 in the object record.

[2] Helen Dalling Ling left a bequest to her husband, Dr. Tien Gi Ling on May 1982.

[3] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mr. Tien Gi Ling
Helen D. Ling died 1982

Description

Miniature gray pottery li-ting. Hand-formed body with three short mammiform legs. Abruptly everted rim finished on turntable or slow wheel shows marks or throwing.
Clay: earthenware, light gray on surface. Adhesions of earth.
Decoration: deep horizontal grooves incised around midpoint of body and on neck just below angle of rim.

Published References
  • Sarah Booth. The Freer's Rare Catch: Gallery Acquires 30 Flawless Ancient Chinese Ceramics. Washington, May 23, 1984. p. B2.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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