The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Serpent (Virgo)

500s

China, Northern Wei dynasty

(386-534)
gray earthenware with traces of slip
Overall: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1972.76.6
Location: Not on view

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
  • La voie du Tao, un autre chemin de l'Etre. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 29-July 5, 2010).
    RMN/Musée Guimet (organizers). Galeries Pu Grand Palais, Paris (3/29/2010 - 7/5/2010): "La voie du Tao, un autre chemin de l'Etre", ex. cat. no. 7.1, p. 124, 126-127.
    CMA 1990: "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia," Bull., 77 (October 1990) cat. 32
    CMA 1975: "Traditions and Revisions," cat. #38a-d
  • {{cite web|title=Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Serpent (Virgo)|url=false|author=|year=500s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.76.6