The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2024

Pipa

Pipa

1800s
(1644-1911)
Wood, ivory, bone, gut
Overall: 95.4 x 27.4 x 8 cm (37 9/16 x 10 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.)
The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr. 1918.344
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The string holder is made of bone.

Description

The term pipa, known since the 3rd century BC, describes the playing motion of the right hand: pi, “to play forward” (left), and pa, “to play backward” (right). A type of lute played with the fingers, it is used in opera and storytelling ensembles and has an impressive, virtuosic solo repertoire. Historic imagery, such as wall paintings, documents the spread of the pipa, along the Silk Road from western and central Asia to China. The bat finial here is a commonly used device on 19th-century Chinese lutes symbolizing good luck.
  • ?–1918
    Ralph King [1855–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1918–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82-85. Mentioned: p. 82 www.jstor.org
    D. S. M. "Exhibition of Musical Instruments." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 8, no. 9 (1921): 134-43. Mentioned: pp. 134-137 www.jstor.org
    Peng, Wei 彭薇, and Clarissa von Spee. Migrations of Memory: The Poetry and Power of Music by Chinese Artist Peng Wei in Collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art = 平沙落雁—音樂的詩意與力量: 中國藝術家彭薇與克利夫蘭藝術博物館合作. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 14
  • Migrations of Memory––The Poetry and Power of Music (平沙落雁 — 音樂的詩意與力量) (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 19, 2021-May 8, 2022).
  • {{cite web|title=Pipa|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=13 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1918.344