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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=50AB31420D75C29EF0C1AF4A7E5582FC4EB35B382EA798C56E62D36FFAC7E56F&s=24247294&se=100738256&v=0&f=1972.76_o2.jpg

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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=91F94CAE86C87DF48FE20F49761ADBABB4CD67E008F3F23951976E37551BF7A1&s=24247294&se=100738256&v=1&f=%5C1972.76det03_o2.jpg

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Dec 10, 2009

Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs

500s

Part of a set. See all set records

China, Northern Wei dynasty

(386-534)

Gray earthenware with traces of slip

Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)

The Norweb Collection 1972.76

Location

not on view

Did you know?

These earthenware mortuary figures appear to have been made in molds.

Description

The twelve-animal zodiac series—rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar—signifies a traditional Chinese concept of time structured in a cyclical order. The twelve animals are also linked to the art of fortunetelling that underlies human existence in connection with the changes of the universe. The use of the twelve zodiac animals as tomb furniture suggests they provided a cosmological structure for the afterlife.

Provenance

?–1972

Mrs. R. Henry [Emery May Holden] Norweb [1895–1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1972–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

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: p. 305 www.jstor.org

Delacour, Catherine. La Voie du Tao: Un Autre Chemin de l'Etre: Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, 29 Mars-5 Juillet, 2010. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux: Musée Guimet, 2010. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 126–127

Chung, Anita. Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: July 27, 2013-January 26, 2014, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Reproduced: pp. 20–21, fig. 4

Exhibition history

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

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

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.76|year=500s|access-date=11 December 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs

Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs

China, Northern Wei dynasty

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