Object: Basin (jian) with narrative scenes F1915.107

Classification: Vessel

Historical period(s): Middle Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. 5th century BCE

Object Date: ca. 5th century BCE

Medium: Bronze

Dimension(s): H x W: 28 x 61.4 cm (11 x 24 3/16 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1915.107

Provenance: To 1915
Marcel Bing (1875-1920), Paris, France [1]

1915
Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), Washington, DC and Mt. Kisco, NY purchased on behalf of Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) from Marcel Bing through C. T. Loo of Lai Yuan &Co., New York in early December 1915 [2]

1915 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Eugene Meyer on December 14, 1915 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] Bing’s ownership is documented in several locations. See, for example: November 11, 1915 letter from Marcel Bing to Charles Lang Freer; letters from December 10 and 15 from Eugene Meyer to Charles Lang Freer; telegrams exchanged between Marcel Bing, Charles Lang Freer, and Eugene Meyer dating from November 15 to December 5, 1915; February 2, 1916 letter from Charles Lang Freer to Marcel Bing; and Freer Gallery of Art Original Bronze List S.I. 675. Copies of aforementioned documents in object file.

[2] Eugene Meyer, Agnes E. Meyer, and Charles Lang Freer negotiated with Marcel Bing to arrange a joint purchase of Bing’s collection of 11 Chinese bronzes and 1 jade. See correspondence cited in note 1. The Meyers and Freer decided to divide the collection - Meyers acquiring 5 bronzes and Freer acquiring 6 bronzes in addition to the jade – and the price, calculating each party’s payment was based on the appraisal values assigned to each piece. The Meyers ultimately sent the entire payment to C. T. Loo, Lai Yuan & Company (sometimes spelled Lai-Yuan), who in turn wired money to Bing. Meyers made the payment in early December 1915, with Freer paying the Meyers for the objects destined for his collection on December 14, 1915. See also: Freer Gallery of Art, Original Bronze List, S. I. 670; invoices from Lai Yuan & Company addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Meyer and Mr. Charles L. Freer; and Dorota Chudzicka, “’In Love at First Sight Completely, Hopelessly, and Forever with Chinse Art’: The Eugene and Agnes Meyer Collection of Chinese Art at the Freer Gallery of Art” in Collections Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 2014), p. 334-335, copies in object file. All the objects included in this large sale, which were originally divided between the Meyers and Freer, are now in the museum’s collection ( F1915.102; F1915.03a-b; F1915.104; F1915.105; F1915.106a-f; F1915.107; F1915.108; F1961.30a-b; F1961.32a-b; F1968.28; F1968.29).

[3] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 675, copy in object file. See also note 2.

[4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous owner(s): C. T. Loo 盧芹齋 (1880-1957)
Lai-Yuan & Company (C.L. Freer source) (ca. 1915-April 1921)
Marcel Bing (1875-1920)
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer ((1875-1959) and (1887-1970))
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Ceremonial basin ("chien"). Several small holes.
Surface: mingled green, red and brownish patina.
Decoration: engraved for inlay with mouldings in low relief. Inside: low relief, mask and ring mandles.

Past label text: 1. Ritual water basin, Jian
China, Shanxi or Henan province
Eastern Zhou dynasty, late 6th--early 5th century B.C.
Bronze 15.107

While the same group of workshops probably produced this water basin and the one directly across the room, the surface decoration of the two is entirely different. The pictorial images on this basin are among the earliest instances of pictorial representations in China.
Repeated seven times around the outside is a series of animals, fish, and birds among hunters on foot and on chariots drawn by two or four horses. Some of the hunters carry swords and shields; others are armed with bows and arrows. The images are flatly rendered, more like pictographs than accurate descriptions.
The interior wall of the basin is lined with an orderly parade of ducks, fish, and turtles molded in high relief and rendered in great detail. With the basin full of water, the creatures would appear much in their element.

2. (Keith Wilson, "Art and Industry: China's Ancient Houma Foundry," October 14, 2017 to Apr 15, 2018, Gallery 18, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Basin (jian) with hunting scenes
Middle Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. 500–450 BCE
State of Jin, Houma foundry
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1915.107

Conceptual Art
Capturing the tumult of a hunt, three registers of decoration on the exterior of this basin duplicate the same packed composition of figures pursuing, stabbing, and shooting animals. Look for the repeated appearance of two chariots, one drawn by two horses, the other by four. While the chariots and their drivers are depicted in profile, the horses and their harnesses are shown from above, splayed to each side. Joining this exciting chase are groups of three archers using tethered arrows to ensnare long-necked birds. Fish suggest the marshy setting of their quest. Meaning is conveyed through pictorial conventions in this early effort to depict real-life events.

Capturing Nature
Alive with activity, this basin is decorated with naturalistic imagery both inside and out. On the interior, three bands of aquatic life—water birds, fish, and turtles—convey the basin’s function as a container for liquids. Denser, more pictorial compositions on the exterior show a lively hunt in progress.

Pattern blocks were used to create this ornamentation. The raised creatures on the interior were probably made by stamping individual motifs into the clay mold for the cavity, while the sunken patterns on the exterior belong to larger narrative units that were repeated around the circumference of the clay model.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0): This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

Save this image | Terms of use

Basin (jian) with narrative scenes

Related Objects

Related Media

Web Resources