The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 20, 2025
Tide-Changing Jewel with Dragon
early 1900s
(1868–1912)
height with stand: 35.6 cm (14 in.); Diameter: 20 cm (7 7/8 in.)
Bequest of Cornelia Blakemore Warner 1947.682
Location: 235A Japanese
Description
An early Japanese legend describes a god of the sea who possesses two jewels responsible for controlling the ebb and flow of the tides. In other legends, the jewels belong to the Dragon King who rules from a palace beyond or beneath the sea. Tales received from China feature dragons that can generate rain by using pearls. This okimono (a small sculptural object without a function) mines imagery associated with these tales while aiming to appeal to the interest in gems and minerals embraced by some Americans and Europeans of the late 1800s and early 1900s.- ?–1947Mrs. Worcester R. [Cornelia Blakemore] Warner [1859–1947], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art1947–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Foxwell, Chelsea, and Bradley M. Bailey. Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan. Lexington, MA: Japanese Art Society of America, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 109, no. 2-22
- Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).Meiji Modern: 50 Years of New Japan. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (October 3, 2023-January 7, 2024) https://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions/meiji-modern-fifty-years-new-japan; The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL (March 21-June 9, 2024); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (June 30-September 15, 2024).Millionaires' Row: The Legacy of Euclid Avenue. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24, 2005-May 31, 2006).
- {{cite web|title=Tide-Changing Jewel with Dragon|url=false|author=|year=early 1900s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1947.682