The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Monster Caryatid

Monster Caryatid

late 500s
(550–577)
Limestone
Overall: 28 x 40 cm (11 x 15 3/4 in.)
Anonymous Gift 1957.357
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The complex of Buddhist cave temples at Xiangtangshan, “Mountain of Echoing Halls,” is a central achievement of the Northern Qi period.

Description

This squatting monster with claws on its knees, braces its shoulders against an overhanging molding. The half-human, half-animal creature was likely part of a Buddhist cave-temple complex at Xiangtangshan, in Hebei Province, northwest China. Found in the lower registers of stone monuments of either architectural structures or statues of Buddhist deities, such monsters had a supportive function. Their scary appearance was believed to keep evil spirits away from the sacred sites.
  • ?–1957
    Private Collection, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1957–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Weisberg, Gabriel P. and H. W. Janson. Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975. cat. no. 100
    Watson, William. L'art de l'ancienne Chine. Paris: Mazenod, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced: pl. 388, p. 415
    Xu, Jin. "Monsters on an Imperial Stone Base: Reconstructing Seven Stone Panels from Xiangtangshan." Orientations 55, no. 1 (January/February 2024): 12–20. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 12–13, fig. 2
  • The Arts of China from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, OH (February 27–April 10, 1983).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Monster Caryatid|url=false|author=|year=late 500s|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1957.357