The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Harpist

Harpist

mid-700s
(618-907)
glazed earthenware
Overall: 32.1 cm (12 5/8 in.)
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1931.450
Location: 239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork

Did You Know?

The angular harp, like the one held by this musician, occupied a prominent position in the court orchestras by the mid-eighth century.

Description

After four centuries of political turmoil and social disorder, a reunited China during the first half of the Tang Dynasty (618–906) was an age of unprecedented prosperity and vitality. Figurines placed in Tang tombs give a vivid glimpse of everyday life. The elegant earthenware ladies in various hairstyles, costumes, and activities suggest the fashions of the time.

This lady musician is seated on a circular plinth, playing a harp balanced on her right thigh. The plump face has well-defined features, with straight nose, pursed lips, and round cheeks. Her hair is drawn into a coiled chignon over the forehead. A long, high-waisted robe flows down to her shoes' upturned tips.
  • ?–1931
    (Robert Rousset [1901–1982], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1931–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sirén, Osvald. :Stilentwicklung der Chinesischen Grabfguren." Wiener Beitrage in Kunst and Kultur Asiens, Band VI, 1931.
    Hollis, Howard C. “A T’ang Dynasty Tomb Figure.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 19, no. 1 (January 1932): 7–8 and 2. Mentioned: pp. 7–8; Reproduced: p. 2 www.jstor.org
    Cox, Warren E. The Book of Pottery and Porcelain. New York: L. Lee and Shepard Co.; distributed by Crown Publishers, 1944. Reproduced: I, pl. 30
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 828 archive.org
    Ono, Katsutoshi 小野勝年. Chūgoku 4. Zui Tō [中国隋・唐 = China, 4. Sui and T'ang dynasties]. Tōkyō: Kadokawa Shoten, 1961. Reproduced
    Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1964. Reproduced: p. 279, fig. no. 361
    Munro, Thomas. Oriental Aesthetics. Cleveland: Press of Western Reserve University, 1965. Reproduced: pl. V, facing p. 54
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 251 archive.org
    Aida, Yūji 会田雄次. Sekai rekishi shirīzu [世界歴史シリーズ]. vol. 7 Daitō no han'ei [大唐の繁栄 = The prosperity of the Great Tang]. Tōkyō: Sekai Bunkasha, 1968. Reproduced: p. 30
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 251 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 332 archive.org
    Ancient Chinese Sculpture. London: Eskenazi, 1978. Reproduced: fig. 13
    Watson, William. L'art de l'ancienne Chine. Paris: Mazenod, 1979. Reproduced: colorplate no. 52 and pl. 409, p. 418
    Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1982. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 385, fig. 374
    Neils, Jenifer. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 99, pp. 93 and 95
    Watson, William. Tang and Liao Ceramics. New York: Rizzoli, 1984. Reproduced: fig. 209
    Des Forges, Roger V., and John S. Major. The Asian World, 600-1500. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 19
  • The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 30-September 5, 1982).
    Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956).
    Exhibition of the Month: Music in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2, 1945-February 4, 1946).
  • {{cite web|title=Harpist|url=false|author=|year=mid-700s|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1931.450