The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 7, 2026

A weathered cream ivory sculpture depicts a headless figure standing on a circular lotus base atop a dark-brown, flower-shaped wooden pedestal. The figure holds a small child with textured curls to its chest while wearing beaded necklaces and robes with deep folds. Patches of green and brown mottle the ivory surface. Broken cleanly at the neck, the figure stands with bare feet planted firmly in the center of the carved lotus petals.

Hariti Statuette

618–907

China, Tang dynasty

(618–907)
ivory
Overall: 8.7 cm (3 7/16 in.)
Gift of A. W. Bahr 1915.333
Location: Not on view
  • ?-1915
    Abel William Bahr [1877–1959], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Ar
    1915-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition June 6-September 20, 1916. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916. Mentioned: no. 131, p. 185 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “Two Early Chinese Ivories.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 16, no. 4, 1953, pp. 257–264. Reproduced: p. 259, figs. 1, 2 and 2a 3248646
    The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty; A Loan Exhibition Organized by the Los Angeles County Museum from Collections in America, the Orient, and Europe, January 8-February 17, 1957. Los Angeles, CA: The Los Angeles County Museum, 1957.
    Jenyns, Soame, and William Watson. Chinese Art: The Minor Arts [Vol. 2]. London: Oldbourne, 1965. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 111, p. 176
  • Arts of the T'ang Dynasty. Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA (January 8-February 17, 1957).
    Exhibition of the Month: The Mother Symbol. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 13, 1953-January 27, 1954).
    The Madonna in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 9, 1947-February 9, 1948).
    Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Hariti Statuette|url=false|author=|year=618–907|access-date=07 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.333