The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 8, 2023

Plate with a Scene of Revelry

AD 400s

Northwestern India, possibly Tanesara Mahadeva, Gupta period

(320-647)

Silver with alloy of tin and lead with traces of gilding

Diameter: 18.7 cm (7 3/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1972.71

Location

242A Ancient India

Description

This rare example of a silver plate from the Gupta period in India depicts the celebration of a spring festival. Figures made during this period are characterized by smooth and rounded body contours and short hairstyles with rows of curls. Though crowded, the masterful composition appears harmoniously unified in its two-tiered circular arrangement of figures.

Provenance
N. Roerich (per Douglas Barret)
?–1972
Dr. Renee Russek, Männedorf, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1972–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Agrawala, Vasudeva S. Studies in Indian Art. Vol. 1. A history of Indian art from the earliest times up to the third century A.D. Varanasi: Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, 1965. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 33, pl. CXXII
Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1972." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (1973): 63-115. Mentioned: no. 315, p. 115; Reproduced: no. 315, p. 92 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 291 archive.org
Pal, Pratapaditya. The Ideal Image: The Gupta Sculptural Tradition and Its Influence. [New York]: Asia Society in association with J. Weatherhill, 1978. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 111, pp. 64, 65
Harle, James C. “The Tradition of Gupta Sculpture and Its Influence.” Apollo, CVIII:200 (October 1978), pp. 232-237. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 11
Gibbons, Donald F., and Katharine C. Ruhl. "The Metallurgical Technique of the Silver "Plate with Figures," Gupta Period." Ars Orientalis 11 (1979): 177-82. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 178, figs. 1a, 1b, and 2; p. 179, fig. 3 www.jstor.org
Czuma, Stanislaw J. "The Cleveland Museum's Krsna Govardhana and the Early Phnom Da Style of Cambodian Sculpture," Ars Orientalis supplement [Chāchājī; Professor Walter M. Spink Felicitation Volume]. 2000 supplement, pp. 127-135. Mentioned and Reproduced: p 132, fig. 11
Christman, Bruce. "Three Gilded Tibetan Vessels." In Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation. Terry Drayman Weisser, ed. London, England: Archetype Publications in association with the American Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 2000. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 10.10, p. 178
Czuma, Stanislaw J. "A Quest for the Best: The Enduring Legacy of Sherman E. Lee," Orientations vol. 40, no. 5. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 36, fig. 2
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

The Ideal Image: The Gupta Sculptural Tradition and Its Influence. Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (organizer) (October 5-December 3, 1978); Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (January 1-February 25, 1979); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (March 24-May 6, 1979).

All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 23, 1994-January 8, 1995).

Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).

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://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.71