The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Beaker

Beaker

c. 700
Location: not on view

Description

This vessel attests to the international climate that pervaded the regions of China, Tibet, and Central Asia during the time of the expansionist Tang dynasty (618-907). It is ornamented predominantly with Central Asian elements, including grape vines, beaded borders, and heart-shaped motifs. Sogdian craftsmen are known to have specialized in the technique of offsetting the silver repoussé design with gilded foil. The form of the animal-headed rhyton as a drinking vessel and the use of silver derive from Persian sources, while the lush, luxurious quality of the design and the form of the lions and curling dragon on one side of the vase reveal an awareness of Chinese forms.

An ownership inscription in Tibetan script on the underside of the cup identifies the vessel as a personal possession of a Chinese queen. Whether a later addition or not, the inscription attests to the importance of marital alliances between the ruling elite in Tibet and neighboring regions during the early decades of the political consolidation and unification of Tibet.
  • ?–1988
    (David Tremayne, Ltd., London, United Kingdom, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1988–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (February 1989): 30–75. Mentioned: cat. no. 231, pp. 37, 46, 75; Reproduced: cat. no. 231, p. 51 www.jstor.org
    Czuma, Stan. "Tibetan Silver Vessels." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 4 (1993): 131-35. Reproduced: p. 131-32; Mentioned: p. 131-35 www.jstor.org
    Carter, Martha L. "Three Silver Vessels from Tibet's Earliest Historical Era: A Preliminary Study." Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 3 (1998) 22-47. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 22-25, figs. 1-5c www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 216
    Kosmin, Paul. "Banqueting on the Move." In Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings.Susanne Ebbinghaus,ed., 310-341. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Art Museums, 2018. Reproduced: p. 340
    Debreczeny, Karl. Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism. New York, NY: Rubin Museum of Art, 2019. Reproduced: fig. 3.5, p. 76
  • Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism. Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (February 1-July 15, 2019).
    Selections from the Tibetan Collection (Galleries 103–104). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1993).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Beaker|url=false|author=|year=c. 700|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.67.2