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Chimera Head

CultureChinese
Date3rd-4th century C.E.
MediumLimestone
DimensionsOverall: 16 1/4 × 10 1/2 × 18 1/2 inches (41.28 × 26.67 × 46.99 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number34-95/2
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 229
Collections
DescriptionCounterweight for a gate post. Head of a chimera with an open mouth and tongue extended.Provenance

Purchased through Laurence Sickman by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.

Published References

Catalog of The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 3rd ed., exh. cat., (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1935), no. 2362 (repro.).

Illustrated London News (November 30, 1935) (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 183 (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, George L. McKenna, and Marc F. Wilson, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. II, Art of the Orient. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 27 (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 302 (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 309, pl. 84 (repro.).
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


Chimera Head
3rd-4th century C.E.
34-95/1
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early 3rd century C.E.
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PR side overall
early 3rd century C.E.
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recto overall
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recto overall
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recto overall
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