COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1938.9
amicoid
CMA_.1938.9
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Sculpture
oty
Sculpture
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
China
cdt
China
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
China, said to be from Changsha, Hunan Province, State of Chu, Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Late Warring States Period
crt
China, said to be from Changsha, Hunan Province, State of Chu, Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Late Warring States Period
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Drum Stand
otn
Drum Stand
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
300-221 BC
oct
300-221 BC
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
-300
ocs
-300
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
-221
oce
-221
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
lacquered wood
omd
lacquered wood
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 132.1cm
met
Overall: 132.1cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1938.9
ooa
1938.9
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
ooc
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
This astonishing object, designed to support a light drum, was once part of one of the large orchestras that were the fashion in southern China during the late Bronze Age. Judging from the musical instruments that have been unearthed from the tombs of southern Chu nobility, such sculptural supports were especially popular for percussion instruments. Sets of bells and stone chimes, in addition to drums, were frequently supported by stands featuring a range of naturalistic forms including humans and animals in addition to birds and serpents. In the case of the museum's stand, the missing drum--probably made from a sheet of leather stretched on a lacquered wood frame--would have been suspended between the tall necks of the standing cranes. Function helps explain the form and structure of the creatures that compose the stand. The tall birds with extraordinarily long necks allowed the drum to be suspended at an appropriate height, and the densely intertwined snakes provided a weighty base to stabilize the object during performances. Such considerations must also have guided the construction, for the base, unlike the separately assembled birds, was carved from a single massive block of wood. After it was carved, the stand was embellished with several coats ofbrilliantly colored lacquer that also sealed and protected the wood beneath. The intricate patterns--painted in vermilion on a black ground--are in some places naturalistic, and in others, geometric. Feathers appear on the wings and tail of each bird, forexample, and scales are drawn on one of the serpents. The geometric designs on the other serpent and on the birds, however, resemble the lively decorative painting found on lacquer vessels used in banquets in aristocratic households at the time. Birds andsnakes were popular subjects in the burgeoning naturalistic art of the late Bronze Age, especially in southern China. Featured together, frequently engaged in combat, graphic representations occur on inlaid bronze vessels, lacquerware, and jade objects.Despite the prevalence of the theme, it is difficult to access its significance. Compounding the mystery, related drum stands excavated more recently from aristocratic tombs in southern China have bases composed of tigers instead of snakes. Thus, despitethese discoveries, Cleveland's "Cranes and Serpents" is still unusual and the most impressive example of its type. K.W.
cxd
This astonishing object, designed to support a light drum, was once part of one of the large orchestras that were the fashion in southern China during the late Bronze Age. Judging from the musical instruments that have been unearthed from the tombs of southern Chu nobility, such sculptural supports were especially popular for percussion instruments. Sets of bells and stone chimes, in addition to drums, were frequently supported by stands featuring a range of naturalistic forms including humans and animals in addition to birds and serpents. In the case of the museum's stand, the missing drum--probably made from a sheet of leather stretched on a lacquered wood frame--would have been suspended between the tall necks of the standing cranes. Function helps explain the form and structure of the creatures that compose the stand. The tall birds with extraordinarily long necks allowed the drum to be suspended at an appropriate height, and the densely intertwined snakes provided a weighty base to stabilize the object during performances. Such considerations must also have guided the construction, for the base, unlike the separately assembled birds, was carved from a single massive block of wood. After it was carved, the stand was embellished with several coats ofbrilliantly colored lacquer that also sealed and protected the wood beneath. The intricate patterns--painted in vermilion on a black ground--are in some places naturalistic, and in others, geometric. Feathers appear on the wings and tail of each bird, forexample, and scales are drawn on one of the serpents. The geometric designs on the other serpent and on the birds, however, resemble the lively decorative painting found on lacquer vessels used in banquets in aristocratic households at the time. Birds andsnakes were popular subjects in the burgeoning naturalistic art of the late Bronze Age, especially in southern China. Featured together, frequently engaged in combat, graphic representations occur on inlaid bronze vessels, lacquerware, and jade objects.Despite the prevalence of the theme, it is difficult to access its significance. Compounding the mystery, related drum stands excavated more recently from aristocratic tombs in southern China have bases composed of tigers instead of snakes. Thus, despitethese discoveries, Cleveland's "Cranes and Serpents" is still unusual and the most impressive example of its type. K.W.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1938.9.tif
ril
CMA_.1938.9.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false