Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=9E5FA737CE1459419A1EBF0CE18C75F3A5059D1D923C6C43FA8270D880986B7C&s=24247294&se=241304482&v=2&f=1949.156_o2.jpg

Alternate Views

Nov 12, 2009

Alms Bowl

c. 900s

Japan, Heian period

(794–1185)

Gilt bronze

Overall: 12.8 x 23.8 cm (5 1/16 x 9 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1949.156

Location

not on view

Description

Alms bowls used by Buddhist monks to receive donations have traditionally been made of iron or wood. This bowl, made of gilt bronze and decorated with incised designs of birds and flowers in roundels as well as butterflies, is instead a luxury item likely meant for a Buddhist altar, where it would have contained offerings for a Buddhist deity.

Provenance

?-1949

(Hollis & Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1949-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Milliken, William M. “Important Acquisitions of Japanese Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 38, no. 9, 1951, pp. 211–217. Mentioned: p. 212 www.jstor.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 904 archive.org

Feddersen, Martin. Japanese Decorative Art, A Handbook for Collectors and Connoisseurs. London: Faber and Faber, 1962. Reproduced: fig. 76

Rosenfield, John M. Japanese Arts of the Heian Period, 794-1185. [New York]: Asia Society, 1967. Reproduced: pp. 92 and 123, cat. no. 41

Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing. Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 23

Exhibition history

Japanese Arts of the Heian Period: 794-1185. Asia House Gallery, New York City, NY (October 5-December 17, 1967) and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968).

Japanese Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 30-October 15, 1961).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Alms Bowl|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1949.156|year=c. 900s|access-date=28 October 2021|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance information, is based on historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on objects is an ongoing process, but the information about this object may not reflect the most current information available to CMA. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

Request a digital file from Image Services that is not available through CC0, a detail image, or any image with a color bar. If you have questions about requesting an image, please email imageservices@clevelandart.org.

You are here:

Images

Alms Bowl

Alms Bowl

Japan, Heian period

Location

Download and Share

Description

Contact us