Kalavinka Musician
CultureChinese
DateTang dynasty (618-906 C.E.)
MediumFine, dark gray limestone
DimensionsOverall: 10 × 6 3/4 × 2 3/8 inches (25.4 × 17.15 × 6.03 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number31-122/8
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionOne side of the upper frieze of a small, octagonal cinerary pagoda. Imagery depicts a celestial musician of half-human, half-bird form playing a harp.Exhibition HistoryThe Art of Ink Rubbings: Impressions of Chinese Culture, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, July 20, 2024–February 2, 2025, no cat.
This small block depicting heavenly musicians (kalavinka) were part of eight reliefs that once decorated the pedestal or wall panel of a Buddhist altar. According to Buddhist literature, a kalavinka is a creature with an angelic human head, torso, and arms and bird wings, legs, and billowy tail. It sings in a beautiful voice, following the rhythm of the instrument it plays. The hybrid figure became popular in Chinese Buddhist art from 600 to 1000 C.E. In the early 1900s, collectors commissioned ink rubbings of the limestone fragments.
With Celestin Liu, Peiping (Beijing), China, by August 1931;
Purchased from Celestin Liu, through Laurence Sickman, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1931.
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.
