The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 24, 2023

Monster Face: Door Ring Holder (Pushou)

鋪首

500s

China, Henan province, Northern Dynasties period

(386-581)

Gilt bronze

Overall: 13.6 x 20 cm (5 3/8 x 7 7/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1930.731

Location

241B Arts of Ancient China

Fun Fact

Three rivet holes (one on the forehead and one by each limb) were used to nail the mask onto a door.

Description

This gilt bronze Door Ring Holder is in the form of a monster head with curving horns, protruding eyes, three-clawed paws, curling beard, and flame-shaped hair. The tongue dangles from the mouth, in which the creature originally grasped a ring. While it had a practical function as a door knocker, the intimidating form could also frighten away both intruders and evil spirits.

Provenance
said to be from Sung-Shan in Honan [Henan] Province, China 1
after 1925–by 1930
Jörg Trübner [1903–1930] acquired in China, to his brother-in-law, Edgar Worch
?–1930
Edgar Worch [1880–1972], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1930–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

1 Kümmel, Otto. Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis. Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen. Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1930. Mentioned p. 112, Tafel 57: "Angeblich auf dem Sung-shan, Honan, ausgegraben."
Citations
Kümmel, Otto. Jörg Trübner zum Gedächtnis. Ergebnisse seiner letzten chinesischen Reisen. Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1930. Mentioned and Reproduced: pl. 57, pp. 112–113
Hollis, Howard C. “Two Chinese Bronzes.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 18, no. 4 (April 1931): 66–73. Reproduced: p. 72 www.jstor.org
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. Mentioned: cat. no. 334, p. 28 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
Pacific Cultures, Department of Fine Arts, Division of Pacific Cultures. San Francisco: Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939. cat. no. 55
Morley, Grace. Art in Asia and the West: An Exhibition to Illustrate Varied Aspects of Asian Traditions and Their Importance for Art in the West, San Francisco Museum of Art, October 28-December 1, 1957. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Museum of Art, 1957. cat. no. 16b
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 816 archive.org
Masks: The Many Faces of Man : an Exhibition Presented by the Division of Art and Archaeology of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Canada. Toronto: The Museum, 1959. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. E17
Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1964. Reproduced: p. 145, fig. no. 170
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 249 archive.org
Christie, Anthony. Chinese Mythology. London: Hamlyn, 1968. Reproduced: p. 106
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 249 archive.org
Bao Zunpeng xian sheng ji nian lun wen ji [包遵彭先生紀念論文集 = Essays on a Symposium in Memory of (Bao Zunpeng)]. Taibei: Guo li zhong yang tu shu guan 國立中央圖書館, 民國 60 [1971]. Reproduced: p. 250, illus. B
Weisberg, Gabriel P. and H. W. Janson. Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975. cat. no. 101
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 328 archive.org
Pearlstein, Elinor. “Pictorial Stones from Chinese Tombs.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 9 (1984): 302–331. Reproduced: p. 308, fig. 11 www.jstor.org
Cleveland Museum of Art. Images of the Mind. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1987. Reproduced: [p. 10]
Exhibition history

Chinese Bronzes of the Shang (1766-1122 B.C.) Through the Tʻang Dynasty (A.D. 618-906). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (October 19-November 27, 1938).

Golden Gate International Expositions. San Francisco, CA (1939).

Art in Asia and the West. San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA (October 28-December 1, 1957).

Masks: The Many Faces of Man. The Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (February 11-April 5,1959).

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

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

Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.731