{
"data": {
"id": 160290,
"accession_number": "1998.169",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Poem on Imperial Gift of an Embroidered Silk: Calligraphy in Running-Standard Script (xingkaishu) (\u884c\u6977 \u66f8), c. 1525. Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470\u20131559). Hanging scroll; ink on paper; calligraphy: 343.5 x 93.3 cm (135 1/4 x 36 3/4 in.); overall with knobs: 446 x 125 cm (175 9/16 x 49 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1998.169",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Poem on Imperial Gift of an Embroidered Silk: Calligraphy in Running-Standard Script (xingkaishu)",
"title_in_original_language": "\u884c\u6977 \u66f8",
"creation_date": "c. 1525",
"creation_date_earliest": 1520,
"creation_date_latest": 1530,
"artists_tags": [
"male"
],
"culture": [
"China, Suzhou, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)"
],
"technique": "Hanging scroll; ink on paper",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Chinese Art",
"collection": "ASIAN - Hanging scroll",
"type": "Calligraphy",
"measurements": "calligraphy: 343.5 x 93.3 cm (135 1/4 x 36 3/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 446 x 125 cm (175 9/16 x 49 3/16 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"painting only": {
"height": 3.435,
"width": 0.935
},
"overall": {
"height": 4.46,
"width": 1.13
},
"overall with knobs": {
"height": 4.46,
"width": 1.25
},
"calligraphy": {
"height": 3.435,
"width": 0.933
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "The text of the calligraphy, which is also included in Wen Zhengming's literary compilation, can be translated as follows:\n\n\tFrom the throne, this exquisite silk was bestowed on me,/\n\tAs I expressed my gratitude to His Majesty by the Goldwater Bridge./\n\tThis heavenly silk is embroidered with five colors./\n\tResplendent it is, draping over my arm with [designs of] twin dragons./\n\tHaving received such a gift, I [bowed] in shame over my lack of achievements./\n\tHumbly I returned to my rank to observe the grand ceremony./\n\tI wish His Majesty shall live on for myriad years,/\n\tAnd the sun will always shine upon His trailing robe.",
"inscription_translation": null,
"inscription_remark": null,
"sortorder": 1
}
],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 312307,
"title": "Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects \u2013 Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c",
"description": "Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects \u2013 Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).",
"opening_date": "2018-08-13T04:00:00"
},
{
"id": 666887,
"title": "The Dancing Brush: Ming Dynasty Calligraphers and Eccentrics",
"description": "The Dancing Brush: Ming Dynasty Calligraphers and Eccentrics. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 8, 2024-March 2, 2025).",
"opening_date": "2024-09-08T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 13-November 17, 2004).",
"opening_date": "2004-07-13T04:00:00Z"
},
{
"description": "Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 21, 2013-July 28, 2014).",
"opening_date": "2013-11-21T05:00:00Z"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "(Kaikodo America Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "?\u20131998",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": [],
"date": "1998\u2013",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": null,
"description": "A poem by the influential Wen Zhengming from Suzhou in southeastern China expresses Wen\u2019s gratitude to the Jiajing emperor (reigned 1522\u201367) for a gift of embroidered silk bestowed in appreciation of his commendable service. The elegant, well-composed, and energetically written large characters in deep black ink reflect the handwriting of a distinguished scholar-artist. Works of calligraphy by Wen of this large scale are rare.
The poem reads:
As I expressed my gratitude to His Majesty by the Goldwater Bridge.
This heavenly silk is embroidered with five colors.
Resplendent it is, draping over my arm with [designs of] twin dragons.
Having received such a gift, I [bowed] in shame over my lack of achievements.
Humbly I returned to my rank to observe the grand ceremony.
I wish His Majesty shall live on for myriad years,
And the sun will always shine upon His trailing robe.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60756809"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1998.169-poem-on-imperial-gif"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, \u201cNew Cleveland Indian Arrives at the CMA,\u201d November 27, 1998, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.",
"page_number": null,
"url": "https://archive.org/details/cmapr4223"
},
{
"citation": "Chou, Ju-hsi, \"A Grand Gesture\", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 40 no. 02, February 2000.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 6\u20137",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2000-02/page/6"
},
{
"citation": "May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: no. 82, p. 119; Reproduced: no. 82, p. 77",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "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. 106",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "\"A Walking Tour.\" Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8\u201333.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 32",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2014-01/page/n31/mode/2up"
},
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 34",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Spee, Clarissa von. \"From the Silk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art.\" Arts of Asia 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018): 50\u201356.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: p. 53, fig. 5",
"url": null
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1998.169",
"images": {
"annotation": null,
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.169/1998.169_web.jpg",
"width": "265",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "54745",
"filename": "1998.169_web.jpg"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.169/1998.169_print.jpg",
"width": "1009",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "525001",
"filename": "1998.169_print.jpg"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1998.169/1998.169_full.tif",
"width": "5409",
"height": "18214",
"filesize": "295586600",
"filename": "1998.169_full.tif"
}
},
"alternate_images": [
{
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt0_web.jpg",
"width": "245",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "39199"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt0_print.jpg",
"width": "563",
"height": "2048",
"filesize": "198872"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt0_full.tif",
"width": "563",
"height": "2048",
"filesize": "205279"
}
},
{
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt1_web.jpg",
"width": "245",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "165501"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt1_print.jpg",
"width": "563",
"height": "2048",
"filesize": "856035"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt1_full.tif",
"width": "563",
"height": "2048",
"filesize": "3460428"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2012-10-23T18:43:51",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt2_web.jpg",
"width": "640",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "102417"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt2_print.jpg",
"width": "2438",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "1229490"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt2_full.tif",
"width": "5499",
"height": "7668",
"filesize": "126522456"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2012-10-23T18:51:05",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt3_web.jpg",
"width": "612",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "95643"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt3_print.jpg",
"width": "2330",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "1115521"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt3_full.tif",
"width": "5483",
"height": "8000",
"filesize": "131615588"
}
},
{
"date_created": "2012-10-23T18:57:35",
"annotation": "",
"web": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt4_web.jpg",
"width": "632",
"height": "893",
"filesize": "84898"
},
"print": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt4_print.jpg",
"width": "2406",
"height": "3400",
"filesize": "1094077"
},
"full": {
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/alternate/1998.169/1998.169_alt4_full.tif",
"width": "5532",
"height": "7815",
"filesize": "129720624"
}
}
],
"creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 160290,
"creators": [
{
"id": 31114,
"description": "Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470\u20131559)",
"extent": null,
"qualifier": null,
"role": "artist",
"biography": null,
"name_in_original_language": "\u6587\u5fb5\u660e",
"birth_year": "1470",
"death_year": "1559",
"use_in_caption": true,
"include_extent": false,
"weight": 1
}
],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1998-11-23T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1520,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "c. 1525",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Poem on Imperial Gift of an Embroidered Silk: Calligraphy in Running Style",
"Poem on Imperial Gift of an Embroidered Silk: Calligraphy in Cursive Script Style (xingshu)"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 00:10:23.828000"
}
}