id: 141645
accession number: 1965.239
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.239
updated: 2023-05-13 11:08:22.423000
Jonah Under the Gourd Vine, AD 280–90. Late Roman, Asia Minor, early Christian period, 3rd century. Marble; overall: 32.3 x 46.3 x 18 cm (12 11/16 x 18 1/4 x 7 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1965.239
title: Jonah Under the Gourd Vine
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: AD 280–90
creation date earliest: 280
creation date latest: 290
current location: 104 Late Antiquity
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: late Roman, Asia Minor, early Christian period, 3rd century
technique: marble
department: Medieval Art
collection: MED - Early Christian
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 32.3 x 46.3 x 18 cm (12 11/16 x 18 1/4 x 7 1/16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions
opening date: 1966-09-10T04:00:00
Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-October 16, 1966).
title: When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story
opening date: 1981-12-01T05:00:00
When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).
title: Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2007-05-10T00:00:00
Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008).
title: Byzantium, 330-1453
opening date: 2008-10-25T00:00:00
Byzantium, 330-1453. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (October 25, 2008-March 22, 2009).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007) and the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
Royal Academy of Art, London (10/25/2008 - 3/22/2009): "Byzantium, 330-1453", ex. cat. no. 2, p. 53.
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PROVENANCE
according to William Wixom, one unconfirmed report tells us that the entire group (1965.237-1965.247) was found in a single, huge pithos or jar. (J. J. Klejman, New York).
date:
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
The sculpture shows the dramatic moment when the Jonah, having languished in the desert, is saved by the shade of a gourd vine. The sculptor paid great attention to detail such as Jonah's bushy beard echoing the large leaves overhead.
digital description:
wall description:
After disobeying the Lord’s command to proclaim judgment on the city of Nineveh, the Old Testament prophet Jonah was cast into the sea, swallowed by a sea monster, and ultimately cast ashore. When asked a second time, Jonah obeyed the Lord but became displeased when the city was spared. After pleading for Nineveh’s destruction, Jonah left the city and rested in the shadow of a large gourd vine. The Lord, however, made the vine wither, exposing Jonah to the burning sun.
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RELATED WORKS
id: 141651
The Good Shepherd, AD 280-90. Asia Minor, Late Roman-early Christian. Marble; overall: 49.5 x 26 x 16.2 cm (19 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 6 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1965.241
relationship:
id: 141650
Jonah Praying, AD 280-90. Late Roman. Asia Minor, early Christian, 3rd century. Marble; overall: 47.5 x 14.8 x 20.3 cm (18 11/16 x 5 13/16 x 8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1965.240
relationship:
id: 141644
Jonah Cast Up, AD 280–90. Late Roman, Asia Minor, early Christian, 3rd century. Marble; overall: 41.5 x 36 x 18.5 cm (16 5/16 x 14 3/16 x 7 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1965.238
relationship:
id: 141643
Jonah Swallowed, AD 280–90. Late Roman, Asia Minor, early Christian, 3rd century. Marble; overall: 50.4 x 15.5 x 26.9 cm (19 13/16 x 6 1/8 x 10 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1965.237
relationship:
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CITATIONS
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page number: Reproduced: p. 36
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n60
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page number: Reproduced: p. 36
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n58
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), Margaret English Frazer, and Kurt Weitzmann. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art Third to Seventh Century. New York: The Museum, 1977.
page number: Mentioned: p. 407-411
url:
Weitzmann, Kurt, and Margaret English Frazer. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art Third to Seventh Century ; Based on the Catalogue to the Exhibition "Age of Spirituality", Metropolitan Museum New York, 1977. [New York, NY]: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.
page number: pp. 406-411
url: https://books.google.com/books?id=efLuB7QPDm8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=cleveland&f=false
Kitzinger, Ernst. 1978. "The Cleveland Marbles". I Monumenti Cristiani Preconstantiniani.
page number: Mentioned: p. 653-675
url:
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page number: Reproduced: p. 34
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n54
McColl, Donald Alexander. Early Christian Sculptures at Cleveland in Their Eastern Mediterranean Context. 1991.
page number:
url:
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page number: Reproduced: p. 14
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n29
Lehman, Karen M. "Sacred and Profane Hellenizing Marbles of the Late Third Century Roman Empire: Secular Portraits and Religious Narrative Sculptures in the Cleveland Museum of Art Reviewed in the Cultural Context." M.A. thesis, Kent State University, 2004.
page number: Mentioned: p. v; Reproduced: p. 108, fig. 25
url:
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 34-37, no. 1
url:
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 260-261
url:
Meyer, Mati. Omanut yeme ha-benayim be-Eropah uba-biznaṭyon. Raʻananah: ha-Universiṭah ha-petuḥah, 2017.
page number: Reproduced: p. 69, #26
url:
Hornik, Heidi J. "Freestanding Sculpture." In The Routledge Handbook of Early Christian Art.Jensen, Robin Margaret Jensen and Mark D. Ellison, editors. Abingdon Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018.
page number: Reproduced: p. 75, fig. 5.4
url:
Rumscheid, Frank, Sabine Schrenk and Kornelia Kressirer. Göttliche Ungerechtigkeit?: Strafen und Glaubensprüfungen als Themen antiker und frühchristlicher Kunst. Petersberg: Dr. M. Imhof, 2018.
page number: Reproduced: p. 302-303; IV.2.3 Abb. 9-11; Kat 5
url:
Bol, Peter, Carola Reinsberg, Renate Bol, D. Kreikenbom, Hans-Ulrich Cain, Heike Richter, and Britta Özen-Kleine. Plastik der römischen Kaiserzeit vom Regierungsantritt des Antoninus Pius bis zum Ende der Antike. Worms : Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbh, 2019.
page number: Mentioned: p. 189, 191, 193, 195; Reproduced: Abb. 183 (bd. 2)
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.239/1965.239_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.239/1965.239_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.239/1965.239_full.tif