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Guardian Lion

CultureChinese
Datelate 7th-early 8th century C.E.
MediumMarble with traces of color
DimensionsOverall: 11 3/4 × 8 × 9 3/4 inches (29.85 × 20.32 × 24.77 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number46-85
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 204
Collections
Exhibition History

Masterpieces of Sculpture, Minneapolis Institute of Arts. November 1-December 11, 1949.

Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin (OH) College. March-April 1954.

Arts of the Tang Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. January 8-February 17, 1957, no. 41.

Masterpieces of Asian Art in American Collections, Asia Society, New York, January 5-February 14, 1960, no. 5.

Provenance

Dr. Otto Burchard;

Purchased from Dr. Otto Burchard by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1946.

Published References

The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, The William Rockhill Nelson Collection, 3rd ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1949), 154 (repro.).

Laurence Sickman, “Recent Acquisitions” Art Quarterly (Autumn 1946), 345 (repro.).

Dagny Carter, Four Thousand Years of China’s Art (New York: Ronald Press, c 1948), 168 (repro.).

Hugo Munsterberg, A Short History of Chinese Art (Michigan State College Press, 1949), pl. 27 (repro.).

J. Pope, “The Chinese Mind” Wisdom (Aug. 1956), 50 (repro.).

Laurence Sickman and Alexandra Soper.  The Art and Architecture of China.  The Pelican History of Art.  (Harmodsmorth, 1956), pl. 61B;  paperback ed., 1971, p. 156, fig. 108 (repro.).

The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty.  Los Angeles County Museum, Jan 8-Feb 17, 1957, Cat. 41 (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), 188 (repro.).

Rene Grousset, Chinese Art and Culture (New York: 1959), pl. 37 (repro.).

Journal of the American Association of University Women.  Oct 1959, vol. 53, no. 1 (repro.).

Masterpieces of Asian Art in American Collections, Asia Society, New York, Jan-Feb 1960, no. 5 (repro.).

T’ang three-color glazed pottery lion.  Chinese Ceramics.  Takashimaya, Tokyo, Apr-May 1960, p. 1, no. 8 (repro.).

The New York Times, Jan 7, 1960, Asia Society exhibition (repro.).

Tan Danjiong, Chinese Art (Taipei: 1960), pl. xii (repro.).

M. Vaughan, “The Connoisseur in America” Connoisseur (May 1960),  210 (repro.).

Capolavori nei Secoli (Milano, no. 27, May 26, 1962), p. 45 (repro.).

Sekai bijutsu zenshū (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1960-), vol. 4 Tang, p. 229 (repro.).

Horizon Book of the History of China (New York: 1969), frontispiece (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), 38 (repro.).

Laurence Sickman, “Monsters and Elegance: Nine Centuries of Chinese Sculpture” Apollo, special issue for the Asian art collection in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Vol. XCVII, no. 133 (March 1973) , 245, no.9 (repro.).

Bradley Smith and Weng Wango, China: A History in Art (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1979), 118 (repro.).

J. Strayer and Gatzke, H.W.  The Mainstream of Civiization. 3rd ed. (New York: Harcourt Brance) (repro.).

Ellen R. Goheen, The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988), 90 (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), 308 (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), 324, fig. 124 (repro.).

Colin Mackenzie, with contributions by Ling-En Lu, Masterworks of Chinese art: the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Mo.: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2011), 46-67, cat. 11 (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.


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