Collection Online as of March 28, 2023

Textile Ornament(?): Phoenix

c. 700s

Part of a set. See all set records

China, Tang dynasty

(618-907)

Beaten gold with chased detail

Overall: 12 x 10.4 cm (4 3/4 x 4 1/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1942.1083.1

Location

not on view

Description

This phoenix bird made of thin gold foil has tiny holes all along its edges, suggesting that it was sewn onto a textile.

Provenance

?–1942

(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1942–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Von Spee, Clarissa. “Acquisitions 2018.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): 14-16. Reproduced: P. 15; Mentioned: P. 16.

Exhibition history

Henry Trubner, Arts of the Tang Dynasty (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1957), cat. 305

Paul Singer, Early Chinese Gold and Silver (China Institute in America, NY, 1971-72) cat. 52

Barbara A. Kathman, A Cleveland Bestiary, CMA Dept. of Art History and Education, Oct. 14-December 9, 1981), fig. 44

Dayton Art Institute, "Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty from American Collections," Showings: 11/3/1984-1/6/1985, Dayton; 2/5/1985-4/21/1985, Cooper Hewitt Museum, NY

Early Chinese Gold and Silver. China Institute Gallery, New York, NY (organizer) (October 21, 1971-January 30, 1972).

China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).