id:			147053
accession number:	1972.76
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.76
updated:		2023-03-22 14:08:03.706000

Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs, 500s. China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Gray earthenware with traces of slip; overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1972.76

title:				Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			500s
creation date earliest:		500
creation date latest:		600
current location:		241B Arts of Ancient China
creditline:			The Norweb Collection
copyright:			

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culture:	China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)
technique:	gray earthenware with traces of slip
department:	Chinese Art
collection:	China - Northern Dynasties
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture
	opening date:   1975-09-24T04:00:00
	<i>Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

	title:		Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia
	opening date:   1990-07-24T04:00:00
	<i>Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Mrs. R. Henry [Emery May Holden] Norweb [1895–1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–1972
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1972–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall 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.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Wilson, J. Keith. "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 77, no. 8 (1990): 286-323.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 305
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161297

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

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

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.76/1972.76_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.76/1972.76_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.76/1972.76_full.tif