The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 5, 2020

Amulet in the Form of a Seated Figure with Bovine Head

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c. 4700-2920 BC

Northeast China, Neolithic period, probably Hongshan culture

(4700-2920 BC)

Jade (nephrite)

Overall: 13.2 cm (5 3/16 in.)

Gift of Severance A. Millikin 1953.628

Location

241A Arts of Ancient China

Fun Fact

CMA daringly acquired this masterpiece without knowing exactly what it was. Only after Chinese archaeologists started excavating similar jades in Northeast China could it be attributed to the Hongshan culture.

Description

With a bovine head and four horns, this seated figurine was a powerful ritual and shamanic symbol. Drill holes above its shoulders form two interconnected perforations for suspension, suggesting that the jade was originally used as a pendant, presumably by the shaman performing the tasks of journeying to and communicating with the supernatural realms.

Provenance
John L. Severance [1863-1936], Cleveland, OH
?-1953
Severance A. Millikin [1895-1985], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1953-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Chinese Jade. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania [Museum], 1962. no. 150
Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 8 (1994): 270-347. Reproduced: p. 275; Mentioned: p. 275, 277, 346 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

Primitive to Contemporary Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 6-October 31, 1956).

Chinese Jade. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (organizer) (November 30, 1962-February 3, 1963).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).

Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).

Source URL: https://cmaweb23-bbn-2.clevelandart.org/art/1953.628