The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Woman Holding Plum Blossoms

Woman Holding Plum Blossoms

mid-700s
Overall: 43.8 x 16.5 x 12.2 cm (17 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 4 13/16 in.)

Did You Know?

Tang aristocratic women had a high degree of freedom, especially in contrast with the Neo-Confucianism of the later Song dynasty.

Description

Tang figurines placed in the tombs give a vivid picture of everyday life. Images of elegant ladies in various hairstyles, costumes, and activities suggest the fashion of the time. This example of a plump and flamboyant lady is a common type found in mid-8th-century tombs, especially in the cosmopolitan city of Xi'an. Together with other figurines—court officials, musicians, dancers, hunters, foreign travelers, horses, camels, guardian warriors, and guardian animals—such tomb sculptures accompanied the deceased in the afterlife.
  • ?-1959
    Pettingil Collection
    1959-1981
    The Pan-Asian Collection, New York, NY
    1981?-1987
    (Robert H. Ellsworth, Ltd., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1987-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Bickford, Maggie. Bones of jade, soul of ice: the flowering plum in Chinese art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Art Gallery, 1985. Reproduced: p. 192
    Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 75, no. 2, 1988, pp. 30–71. Reproduced: no. 198, p. 47; Mentioned: no. 198, p. 71 25160017
    "Principales Acquisitions des Musées en 1987." Gazette des Beaux Arts, Mars 1988, Vol. 111, Issue 130, pp. 1-56. Reproduced: fig. 158, p. 27
  • The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
    During Pan-Asian Collection period, exhibited at the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
  • {{cite web|title=Woman Holding Plum Blossoms|url=false|author=|year=mid-700s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.13