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Sep 20, 2012

Finial

475–221 BC

China, Henan province, Jincun, Warring States period

(475-221 BC)

Bronze inlaid with gold and silver

Overall: 13.1 cm (5 3/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.730

Location

241A Arts of Ancient China

Description

Chariots and weapons were associated with hunting and warfare in the ancient world. Those bronze fittings with lavish inlaid decoration were status symbols of rulers and high-ranking officials.

This finial combines extravagance and ferocious beauty to reveal the aesthetics of the time. The birds with hooked beaks are above the intertwined serpent-dragons. Such artistic conception emphasizes the power of the bird in combat. Every facet of this finial is exquisitely crafted to give full play to the inlaid decoration.

Provenance

said to be from Hsin-hsiang in Northern Honan [Henan] Province, China

after 1925–by 1930

Jörg Trübner [1903–1930] acquired in China, to his brother-in-law, Edgar Worch

?–1930

(Edgar Worch [1880–1972], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1930–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Kümmel, Otto. Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis. Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen. Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1930. Mentioned and Reproduced: pl. 47, pp. 94–95

Hollis, Howard C. “Two Chinese Bronzes.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 18, no. 4 (April 1931): 66–73. Reproduced: pp. 70–71 www.jstor.org

Catalogue of the Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of the Cleveland Museum of Art: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition: June Twenty-Sixth to October Fourth 1936. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1936. no. 383

The Chinese Exhibition; A Commemorative Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935-March 1936. London: Faber and Faber, 1936. no. 387

Chinese Bronzes of the Shang (1766-1122 B.C.) Through the Tʻang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906); An Exhibition Lent by American Collectors and Museums and Shown in Gallery D6 from October 19 Through November 27, 1938. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938. no. 177

La découverte de l'Asie. [Exposition] hommage à René Grousset. Paris: Musée Cernuschi, 1954. no. 409

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 803 archive.org

Bunker, Emmy Cadwalader. The Art of Eastern Chou, 772-221 B.C.: A Loan Exhibition [the China House, Nov. 13-Dec. 15, 1962]. New York, NY: Chinese Art Society of America, 1962. no. 7

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 246 archive.org

Bowie, Theodore Robert. East-West in Art: Patterns of Cultural & Aesthetic Relationships. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1966. no. 134

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 246 archive.org

Bunker, Emma C., Bruce Chatwin, and Ann E. Farkas. Animal Style Art from East to West [Catalogue of an Exhibition]. New York: Asia Society; Distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1970. no. 74

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 326 archive.org

Wilson, J. Keith. "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 8 (1990): 286-323. Reproduced: pp. 293, 314, cat. no. 9 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 9 archive.org

Exhibition history

Edgar Worch Collection of Antique Chinese Art. Fifty-Sixth Street Gallery, Inc., New York, NY (1930).

International Exhibition of Chinese Art. Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England (November 1935-March 1936).

Exhibition of Chinese Bronzes. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (October 19-November 27, 1938).

La Découverte de l'Asie: Hommage à René Grousset. Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France (May 14-July 31, 1954).

The Art of Eastern Chou. Chinese Art Society of America, New York, NY (November 13-December 11, 1962).

The Age of Bronze. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 13-October 17, 1982).

The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Chinese Art of Late Eastern Chou Dynasty. Chinese Art Society of America, New York, NY (organizer) (November 13-December 11, 1962).

East-West in Art. Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN.

Animal Style in Nomadic Asia. Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (organizer) (January 14-March 15, 1970); Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (April 2-May 31, 1970); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (June 15-July 30, 1970).

Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Finial|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1930.730|year=475–221 BC|access-date=01 April 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Finial

Finial

China, Henan province, Jincun, Warring States period

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