The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Oval Cup Stand with Animal Masks

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong mark and period

(1736–95)
white jade with black markings and incised decoration
Overall: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.)
Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.327
Location: 240B Chinese Decorative Arts

Description

This tablet is engraved with minuscule characters; the inscribed text is an essay by the Qianlong emperor. The supreme jade quality and similar carving style (for example, the sharp inverted edges) suggest that this jade scepter could have been made during the 1700s with the artistic intent to "model after the past."
  • ?–1971
    (John Sparks, London, England, sold to Severance and Greta Millikin)
    1971–1989
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. cat. no. 202
  • The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Oval Cup Stand with Animal Masks|url=false|author=|year=1736–95|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.327