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Catalog Data

Artist:
Fei Danxu (1802-1850)  Search this
Medium:
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (image): 124.7 x 56.5 cm (49 1/8 x 22 1/4 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
China
Date:
1832
Period:
Qing dynasty
Description:
The painting depicts the Daoist deity Zhong Kui lounging at a low table under a tree while five of his assistants play around him.
Signatures:
The artist's signature follow the inscription.
Marks:
Two seals of the artist follow the inscription, reading "Tzu-t'iao" and "Fei Tan-hsu yin." The seals of two unidentified collectors also appear on the painting in lower right.
Inscriptions:
The artist's inscription at upper right states that the painting was done after Gong Kai (1222-1307) and gives the title as "Demon frolicking" (Chung-nan kuei-ch'u). The inscription is dated the year jen-ch'en (1832) at the T'iao-hsi hsien-kuan.
Provenance:
To 1960
Chen Rentao (1906-1968), Hong Kong, and Frank Caro, C. T. Loo & Co., New York, to 1960 [1]
From 1960 to 1979
U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury [2]
From 1979
Freer Gallery of Art, from October 23, 1979 [3]
[1] This object is one of a group of 88 objects (F80.104-F80.180, FSC-S-22-25 and FSC-O-11a-h) seized in 1960 by the U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury, from the dealer and collector Chen Rentao, Hong Kong and Frank Caro of C. T. Loo & Co., New York.
The objects were deemed to have been introduced into the commerce of the United States in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1592 (Trade with Communist China).
[2] See note 1. The object’s ownership title is based on the settlement agreement, dated November 1971, between the United States, Chen Tung Siang Wen, the executrix for Chen Rentao Estate, and Frank Caro, copy in object file.
See U.S. Customs Service Memorandum, April 23, 1979 and a letter from Thadeus Rojek, Chief Counsel, Department of the Treasury, U.S. Custom Service, to Marie C. Malaro, Assistant General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution, dated November 29, 1979, copy in object file. The objects remained in the custody of the U.S. Customs Service office in New York until 1979.
[3] The object was transferred to the Freer Gallery of Art on October 23, 1979.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Chinese Paintings: Recent Accessions (March 20, 1982 to October 13, 1982)
Previous custodian or owner:
Chen Rentao 陳仁濤 (1906-1968)
Frank Caro (1904-1980)
U.S. Customs Service
Topic:
portrait  Search this
snake  Search this
Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)  Search this
wine  Search this
drinking  Search this
toad  Search this
festival  Search this
Zhong Kui  Search this
China  Search this
Chinese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Transfer from the United States Customs Service, Department of the Treasury
Accession Number:
F1980.139
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3ac2dd298-c9b0-4cd3-916c-15063a2d723f
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F1980.139