The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Tiger

Tiger

c. 1250–79
(Chinese, 1220–1280)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Hanging scroll; ink and slight color on silk
Painting: 125.2 x 57.2 cm (49 5/16 x 22 1/2 in.); Overall with knobs: 227.1 x 78 cm (89 7/16 x 30 11/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1958.427.2
Location: 240A Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy

Did You Know?

Fachang Muqi's ink paintings, like this pair, were highly appreciated and collected in Japan.

Description

The dragon and tiger are tied to the philosophical concept of yin and yang, which describes opposite but complementary forces. The dragon occupies a tiered background of waves and mist. Its luminous head emerges from the darker passages, and its narrow twisting body is serpent-like. By contrast, the close-up view of the tiger emphasizes its bulk. The tiger bends its head to lick its paw while its tail curls in the foreground.

In their original Chan Buddhist context, this pair of scrolls likely flanked a central image, like the Bodhisattva Guanyin. The silk has darkened over the centuries, and the slight reddish shading in the tiger’s tongue and nose has faded.
  • Ashikaga Yoshimitsu 足利義滿 [1358–1408]
    1400s
    Ashikaga Yoshinori 足利義教 [1394–1441] or Ashikawa Yoshimasa 足利義政 [1436–1490] (Zakka shitsu yin 雜華室印)
    1600s
    Tokugawa Iemitsu 德川家光 [1604–1651]
    Viscount Sakai 子爵 酒井氏 [late 1800s–early 1900s]
    ?–1958
    (Howard Hollis and Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1958–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” June 5, 1959, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Goepper, Roger. 1000 Jahre chinesische Malerei. München: Haus der Kunst, 1959. Reproduced: cat. no. 24b
    Chinese Art: An Exhibition of Paintings, Jades, Bronzes and Ceramics: Being a Contribution Made by Smith College Museum of Art to the College Interim Session, 1962. Northampton, Massachusetts: The Smith College Museum of Art, 1962. Reproduced: cat. no. 3b, pl. V
    Lee, Sherman E. Japanese Decorative Style. Tokyo: Makoto Nakao, 1962. Reproduced: pp. 6, 7
    Cahill, James. The Art of Southern Sung China. New York: Asia House, 1962. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 27, pp. 62 and fold-out
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 260 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 260 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman Emery, and James Robinson. The Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: Asia Society; distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1974. cat. no. 4
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 343 archive.org
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 63, p. 82
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 90-93
  • Six Dynasties of Chinese Painting (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 10, 2023-May 5, 2024).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 12-July 16, 2003).
    Roaring Tigers and Leaping Carp: Decoding the Symbolic Language of Chinese Animal Painting. The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (October 9, 2009-January 3, 2010).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974).
    Southern Sung. Asia House Gallery, New York, NY, (1967?). Cahill, cat. no. 28.
    The Art of Southern Sung China. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (February 15-April 15, 1962).
    Chinese Art. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (organizer) (January 8-26, 1962).
    Japanese Decorative Style. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 30-October 15, 1961)
    Chinese Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 19-August 7, 1960).
    1000 Jahre Chinesische Malerei. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Mùnich, Germany (organizer) (October 16-December 13, 1959).
  • {{cite web|title=Tiger|url=false|author=Fachang Muqi|year=c. 1250–79|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.427.2