Ancient Chinese Bronzes
Unknown Artist
late 1800s
Medium
Ten-panel folding screen; embroidery, gold silk threads on black silk
Dimensions
219.7 × 488 cm · overall framed: 224.9 × 493.2 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Korean Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the Honorable Joseph P. Carroll, KM, and Roberta Carroll, M.D., in recognition of the contribution of Marjorie Williams to the development of The Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession Number
2020.86
About this artwork
This embroidered folding screen depicts a set of bronze vessels. While the subject of bronze vessels is part of mainstream male elite culture, which centered on ancestral rituals, the written text that accompanies each bronze vessel expresses the idea of evoking good fortune and wishing for many children. The is perhaps related to the idea that those who diligently perform rituals for the spirit of ancestors could have all their aspirations realized.