The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Basin with Inscribed Figures and Calligraphy

Basin with Inscribed Figures and Calligraphy

1100s–1200s
Overall: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.); Diameter of mouth with rim: 21.7 cm (8 9/16 in.)
Location: 236 Korean

Did You Know?

A child, one of the main decorative elements for this basin, is possibly a young Buddhist pilgrim named Sudhana, who took a long spiritual journey to search for enlightenment.

Description

This bronze basin may have been used for containing purified water. What makes this work charming is its intricate decoration done in silver inlay: the five-character, four-line poems interspersed among images of a child. The poems, which evoke the concept of nonattachment and nonduality, were written by Buddhist monks.
  • ?–1985
    (London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1985." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 73, no. 2 (1986): 26-71. Reproduced: p. 42, no. 194; Mentioned: p. 70, no. 194 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 232-233
    Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
    Choi, Eung-chon. “Craftsmen in Metal Arts in the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 金屬工藝의 匠人].” Misulsahak yeongu (2004): 171-192. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Lee, Young-hee. "The Study on the Craft technique of Koryo Dynasty-Centering on Interrelation [고려시대 공예기법 연구 상호관련성을 중심으로]." Misul sahakbo 22 (2004): 133-170. www.dbpia.co.kr
    Korean Art from the United States [미국, 한국미술을 만나다 ]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2012. Reproduced: pp. 166-167, no. 71
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 250
    Cho, Chiyun and Yi Seunghye. Exquisite and Precious: The Splendor of Korean Art [세밀가귀]​. Seoul: Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: p. 66, no. 20, Mentioned: p. 362
    Goryeo: The Glory of Korea [대고려, 그 찬란한 도전]. Seoul: National Museum of Korea, 2018.
    McCormick, Sooa Im. "The Past and Present of the Korean Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art." In The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, 국외소재문화재재단, and An Min-hŭi, ed., 22-37. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 30, fig. 23
    Ch'a, Mi-rae, Kwi-suk An, Cleveland Museum of Art, and 국외소재문화재재단. The Korean Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Edited by An Min-hŭi. First edition, English ed. Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Series, 16. Seoul, Republic of Korea: Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 126-129, no. 92
  • Korean Art from the United States. National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea (Republic of) (organizer) (June 4-August 5, 2012).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 16–October 28, 2003).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Basin with Inscribed Figures and Calligraphy|url=false|author=|year=1100s–1200s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.112