Tiger with cubs and magpies

Object Details

Label: A tiger standing protectively over her cubs seems to ignore two magpies scolding from the branches of a pine tree. When combined as the subject of paintings, tigers are messengers of the mountain spirit and magpies are the envoys of the shrine deities that protect house hold and community. Paintings with this motif were displayed in doorways of Korean homes at the New Year to ward off evil. Court artists painted the theme on silk, as in this example, while itinerant painters serving village households used mulberry paper.
Provenance: To 1911; Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, to 1911 [1]; From 1911 to 1919; Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Riu Cheng Chai, Beijing, in 1911 [2]; From 1920; Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]; Notes:; [1] See Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 810, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.; [2] See note 1.; [3] 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.
Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Previous custodian or owner: Riu Cheng Chai (C.L. Freer source); Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Related Online Resources: Google Cultural Institute
See more items in: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic: tree; pine tree; tiger; Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644); China; magpie; Chinese Art; Charles Lang Freer collection

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye39adea796-6a10-4791-9080-5a0b33b80bde