Manuscript fragments found in woven bamboo case with lid (fragments now encapsulated)

Manuscript fragments found in woven bamboo case with lid (fragments now encapsulated)

Zidanku Silk Manuscripts

silk manuscripts

provenance research

repatriation

cultural heritage stewardship

Silk manuscript fragments in ink and cinnabar on silk with an associated woven bamboo case and leather components, dated by the holding institution to the Eastern Zhou dynasty (5th–3rd centuries BCE). The museum record identifies the object as accession no. S1992.84.1-5 and notes that provenance research is underway. In this exhibit, the object is described not only as a rare ancient manuscript, but also as a provenance-sensitive cultural heritage record whose modern custodial history remains ethically important.

Unknown creator

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. (n.d.). Manuscript fragments found in woven bamboo case with lid (fragments now encapsulated) - Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/S1992.84.1-5/

National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution

5th–3rd centuries BCE

Anonymous donor

National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution

National Cultural Heritage Administration of the People’s Republic of China

CC0 1.0 for the digital asset context, as stated in the source record

isContextualizedBy: National Museum of Asian Art Announces the Transfer of Ancient Manuscript Fragments to China

isContextualizedBy: Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art repatriates ancient silk manuscript to China

Ink and cinnabar on silk with bamboo and leather case

Classical Chinese

PhysicalObject

S1992.84.1-5

Eastern Zhou dynasty

China