The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs

Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs

500s
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

These earthenware mortuary figures appear to have been made in molds.

Description

The twelve-animal zodiac series—rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar—signifies a traditional Chinese concept of time structured in a cyclical order. The twelve animals are also linked to the art of fortunetelling that underlies human existence in connection with the changes of the universe. The use of the twelve zodiac animals as tomb furniture suggests they provided a cosmological structure for the afterlife.
  • ?–1972
    Mrs. R. Henry [Emery May Holden] Norweb [1895–1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1972–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wilson, J. Keith. "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 8 (1990): 286-323. Reproduced: p. 305 www.jstor.org
    Delacour, Catherine. La Voie du Tao: Un Autre Chemin de l'Etre: Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, 29 Mars-5 Juillet, 2010. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux: Musée Guimet, 2010. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 126–127
    Chung, Anita. Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: July 27, 2013-January 26, 2014, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Reproduced: pp. 20–21, fig. 4
  • Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).
    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=Mortuary Figures of the Zodiac Signs|url=false|author=|year=500s|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.76