id:			153635
accession number:	1987.160
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.160
updated:		2023-02-08 18:13:20.168000

Dog-shaped Paperweight, 676–935. Korea, Unified Silla period (676-935). Gilt bronze; overall: 5 x 2.7 cm (1 15/16 x 1 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Robert H. Ellsworth in honor of Sherman E. Lee 1987.160

title:				Dog-shaped Paperweight
title in original language:	개모양 금동 문진 (犬形金銅文鎭)
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			676–935
creation date earliest:		676
creation date latest:		935
current location:		236 Korean
creditline:			Gift of Robert H. Ellsworth in honor of Sherman E. Lee
copyright:			

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culture:	Korea, Unified Silla period (676-935)
technique:	gilt bronze
department:	Korean Art
collection:	Korean Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 5 x 2.7 cm (1 15/16 x 1 1/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1987
	opening date:   1988-02-24T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1987</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

	title:		Scholar's Studio
	opening date:   1989-09-19T04:00:00
	<i>Scholar's Studio</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).

	title:		Interpretation of Materiality: Gold (Korean art rotation)
	opening date:   2021-04-29T04:00:00
	<i>Interpretation of Materiality: Gold (Korean art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 29-October 24, 2021).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Robert H. Ellsworth [1929–2014], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?–1987
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: December 16, 1987–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
This is a dog and lion hybrid.

digital description:


wall description:
This small object in the shape of a hybrid dog-lion is believed to have been used as a paperweight. Since the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC−668), mercury amalgam gilding had been widely employed to embellish metal objects as well as to make their surface resistant to acids. This technique involves mixing pure gold powder with liquid mercury to form a paste-like mixture. As heat is applied, the mercury evaporates, but an opaque layer of gold remains on the surface. This coating must be polished by first rubbing it with dried rice seedlings, then processing it in ash lye to eliminate impurities; next, the piece is washed and rinsed in a plum vinegar bath.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 75, no. 2, 1988, pp. 30–71.
	page number: 	Mentioned: cat. no. 212, p. 71; Reproduced: p. 65
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25160017

	Lee, Soyoung, and Denise Patry Leidy. <em>Silla: Korea's Golden Kingdom</em>. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Nelson, Sarah. <em>Gyeongju: The Capital of Golden Silla</em>. Routledge, 2019.
	page number: 	
	url:		

	“Exhibitions through November 2022.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>59, vol. 62 no. 3 (September, 2022): 13.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 13.
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.160/1987.160_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.160/1987.160_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.160/1987.160_full.tif