Incense container with Chinese lion-dog on lid

Freer purchased this Edo period incense container from the sale of the Samuel Colman collection just after the turn of the twentieth century. Colman (1832-1920) was an early collector of "Oriental art" in America: in 1880, a number of his pieces, including Chinese porcelain and a Japanese suit of armor, were displayed at the Ortgies Gallery in New York City. The open-mouthed lion may have been derived from a similar motif on a style of Ming dynasty Chinese bronze incense burner (with the lion's mouth serving as smoke vent). In the Peacock Room, this piece was on the far right end of the mantel; an earthenware cat (F1897.33) was placed on the far left. Between these two animal figures Freer arrayed a number of simple tea bowls in varying shade of brown.