Kneeling Figure
CultureChinese
DateWarring States period (480-221 B.C.E.)
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 × 4 3/4 inches (24.13 × 12.07 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number32-185/4
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 232
Collections
DescriptionOrnament of a kneeling human figure holding a ring in both hands, with an identical ring directly below, between the knees.Gallery LabelThis figure is the lower part of a stand for a lamp. The hands would originally have held a column supporting a tray for oil and a wick. The sensitively modeled face and details such as the finely striated hair and cap with chin strap reflect a new interest in realistically depicting the human figure. Unlike classical Greek figures, however, which often represent gods and heroes, the figures depicted in Chinese art of this time are almost always of lowly status.
Yamanaka & Co.;
Purchased from Yamanaka & Co. by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
Capolavori Nei Secoli, no. 25 (May 12, 1962), 20 (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), 280 (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), 294, pl. 35 (repro.).
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