The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Rubbing of Imperial Procession with Empress, taken from Northern Wei dynasty (386-534) Central Binyang Cave, Longmen, Henan Province
1910–16
(1644-1911) or Republican period (1912-49)
Rubbing only: 205.6 x 388.4 cm (80 15/16 x 152 15/16 in.); Overall: 227.3 x 406.4 cm (89 1/2 x 160 in.)
Gift of Yamanaka & Company 1916.65
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
A rubbing is taken directly from a carved stone’s surface, so the resulting image has the same orientation as the original carving.Description
This rubbing was taken from stone reliefs commissioned by the Northern Wei emperor Xuanwu (reigned 500–515) in honor of his deceased parents.In this rubbing, the empress mother is in the center, crowned with an elaborate headdress and attended by an entourage of palace ladies. The empress mother is about to place an incense stick into a censer held by a lady on the left side. Other attendants carry offerings for the Buddha, such as lotus flowers, a symbol of purity in Buddhism.
The second part of the imperial procession, showing the emperor with male attendants, is depicted in another rubbing in the CMA collection, 1916.64.
- ?-1916Yamanaka and Company, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1916-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Coleman, Fletcher. "Encountering Chinese sculpture in America: the early pedagogy and exhibition of monumental ink rubbings from Longmen" Orientations 51, no. 1 (January/February 2020): 92-102. Reproduction: p.95, fig. 3; Mention: p. 92; p.102
- From Caves to Tombs: Chinese Pictorial Rubbings from Stone Reliefs (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 11-November 14, 2021).
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Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.65