The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Tripod Container with Dragon-Head Handle (Zhadou)

Tripod Container with Dragon-Head Handle (Zhadou)

500s
(386-589)
bronze
Overall: 22.8 cm (9 in.); Diameter of mouth with rim: 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1983.214
Location: 241B Arts of Ancient China

Did You Know?

The tripod is supported by three splayed legs issuing from mouths of lion heads and ending in pawed feet.

Description

This dragon, winged chimera (CMA 1980.184), and grotesque monster's face (CMA 1930.731) exhibit uninhibited imagination in the representation of fantastic animals--all are full of energy, vigor, and magical power. Whether as purely sculptural forms or decorative elements of utilitarian vessels, they are characterized by a sensitive modeling of dynamic forms with the typical Chinese elegance of line.
  • December 7, 1983
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY, Sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Paintings, Wednesday, December 7, 1983, lot 63)
    1983–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc. Fine Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Paintings. 7 December 1983. Sale 5133. Lot 63
    "Year in Review for 1983." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (February, 1984): 38-79. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 44, no. 269 www.jstor.org
    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: cat. no. 11, p. 315 www.jstor.org
  • CMA 1990: "Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia," Bull., 77 (October 1990), cat. #11, p. 315, repr. p. 315
    Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 25, 1990).
    Images of the Mind. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 7-August 30, 1987).
    The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
    CMA 1984: "Year in Review 1983," Bull., LXXI (Feb. 1984), no. 269, p. 79, repr. p. 44
  • {{cite web|title=Tripod Container with Dragon-Head Handle (Zhadou)|url=false|author=|year=500s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.214