sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind

Table screen
Chinese, Qing Dynasty, 19th century AD
wood and jade; screen (without stand) 19.0 x 12.6 x 2.5 cm
LDFRD 3001
Collection Freud Museum London
Freud arranged his most exquisite Chinese object on his desk, directly
behind Athena. Table Screen is inset with the fi gure of a scholar,
carved in white jade, and surrounded by delicate, curving, wooden
leaves and branches. A meditative object for the Chinese scholar’s
desk, the natural forms were meant to encourage the mind to roam in
an ideal landscape.
Freud, who revelled in the natural world, was no stranger to such
imaginary journeys. His similarity to the Chinese scholar does not
end there. Scholars were collectors of high-quality art objects, some
functional, some inspirational, most small enough to decorate their
desks or complement their studies. The scholar’s studio was a place of
study and contemplation, where he surrounded himself with specially
created ‘treasures’ – brushes, inkstones, water droppers, netsukes and
fi gurines that embodied the shared wisdom, traditions and values of
the Chinese literati. Objects of beauty as well as status symbols, the
treasures projected ‘allusive and symbolic meanings’ that ‘encouraged
and inspired [the scholar] in his work.’ 1
Freud had been collecting jade, mainly bowls, for many years. It
was his introduction to Chinese art. Called the ‘stone of heaven’,
jade was the sacred gem of China, symbolising a range of virtues,
including justice, wisdom and courage, and meant to confer good
luck and protection. The Chinese have treasured jade even more
than westerners have valued gold. 2 Jade is an extremely hard stone,
so carving it is a slow and diffi cult process, another reason it is
regarded as precious. During the Qing Dynasty, which lasted from
1644 to 1911, jade carving improved substantially because the ruling
Manchu emperors established workshops where carvers refi ned
their techniques. Table Screen is an elegant example of their craft.
The Qing Dynasty was ‘an antiquarian age when, as never before,
men looked back into the past, burrowing into the Classics, dabbling
in archaeology, forming huge collections of books ... porcelain and
archaic bronzes.’ 3
1. Fang Jing Pei, Treasures of the Chinese Scholar, Weatherhill, New York, 1997, p.2.
2. Jane Portal in Lynn Gamwell and Richard Wells (ed.s), Sigmund Freud and Art, p. 130.
3. Michael Sullivan, An Introduction to Chinese Art, Faber & Faber, London, 1971, p.190.
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