FishFriday :
Akio Takamori (American, b. Japan, 1950-2017) Self-Portrait with Fish, 1982 Stoneware, 14-1/4 x 1-7/8 x 5 in (36.2 x 40.3 x 12.7 cm) on display at Palmer Museum of Art 2021.43
#MetalMonday :
Ángel Botello (b. Spain, d. Puerto Rico, 1913-1986)
Egyptian Cat, n.d.
Bronze
On display at University of Delaware Museums’ new exhibit “Sight, Sound, and Motion: The Dimensions of Sculpture”
#MetalMonday :
Caparisoned Elephant
China, Liao dynasty, ca. 11th c.
Gilt bronze, 8.5 cm (7 5/16 in.)
The Cleveland Museum of Art 1980.24
“The six-tusked elephant holds the throne of Puxian (Samantabhadra), the Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue, who often appears with Wenshu (Manjusri), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, on his lion-vehicle.
This impressive gilt bronze statue is solidly cast, except for the hollow at the center of its belly. The richly ornate saddlecloth exhibits superb craftsmanship and vivid representations of dragons among clouds, echoing the worldly splendor of the Liao material culture.”
Rabbit-Shaped Lime Paste Pot
Cambodia or NE Thailand, Angkor period, 12th-13th c.
Stoneware,4 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 4 1/4 in (11.7 x 14.9 x 10.8 cm)
Philadelphia Museum of Art 1970-11-1
#WorldLemurDay :
Stella Crofts (British, 1898-1964)
Ring-tailed Lemurs, 1926
stoneware, glazed in colors, H22cm
For #InternationalGibbonDay :
Gunnar Nylund (Sweden, 1904-1997)
Rörstrand sculpture: Gibbon mother and baby, 1940s
Chamotte stoneware, H 24.5cm
#TwoForTuesday :
Cranes and Serpents, 475-221 BCE (Warring States Period)
China, State of Chu (reportedly from Hunan province,Changsha)
Lacquered wood with polychromy
132.1 x 124.5 cm (52 x 49 in.)
On display at Cleveland Museum of Art 1938.9
“A different style of ritual art developed in the state of Chu in South China. In addition to bronze vessels, lacquered wood artifacts expanded the repertory of ritual implements.
This extraordinary sculpture was probably a drum stand for supporting a suspended drum in ritual ceremonies. It is unique among other excavated drum stands of the Chu, which typically show two birds standing on tigers. The theme of the bird stepping on the serpent was common in the Chu visual culture. Yet the slender proportions and seemingly flimsy structure of this particular set raise the question of whether it was utilitarian or mostly served symbolic functions in the tomb.
The birds' and serpents' bodies have designs painted in red lacquer and yellow pigment against the black lacquer. Scientific analyses confirm the additional use of a blue or green pigment that has been discolored over time.”
#WorldOkapiDay :
Dahlov Ipcar (USA, 1917–2017) Okapi, 1991 Cotton, wool, buttons, wire, Kapok batting 14 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. Portland Art Museum 1993.26
#TwoForTuesday + #TurtleTuesday :
Paul Wayland Bartlett (USA, 1865-1925)
1. Frog on Tortoise, c. 1915
Bronze
1. Crane on Turtle, c. 1890-1905
Bronze
On display at Washington County Museum of Fine Arts A1039,59.0446, A1039,59.0427
#TwoForTuesday: two heads are better than one?
Composite Lion and Bull
Northwest Iran, possibly Koffrabad, western Gilan Province, 1500–1000 BCE
Bronze, cast, 11.4 x 9.7 x 14.8 cm (4 1/2 x 3 13/16 x 5 13/16 in.), 0.98 kg
On display at The Cleveland Museum of Art 1969.122
Additional description from CMA:
“Combining the strength of the lion and the fertility of the bull, this creature must have served as an object of worship in a temple or shrine.”
For #MetalMonday :
Deborah Butterfield (USA, b. 1949)
Riot, c. 1990
Steel, 81.5 × 120 × 34 in. (207 × 304.8 × 86.4 cm)
On display at Delaware Art Museum DAM 1991-126
“Deborah Butterfield used found objects - scraps of metal, including letters from discarded movie theater signs - in her sculpture, Riot. Butterfield's work drew its title from the letters she featured.”
For #InternationalRaccoonAppreciationDay 🦝:
Sergio Bustamante (Mexico, b.1949)
Raccoon, n.d.
Paper Mache, 25.25" x 42" x 19”
For #GooseDay 🪿:
Incense burner in the form of a goose
China, Ming dynasty, early 15th c.
Bronze, H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm); W. 18 3/4 in. (47 6 cm)
“This incense burner is an extremely rare example of an imperially-commissioned bronze from the early Ming dynasty. Cleverly designed so that the fragrant incense is exhaled from the bird’s open beak, the censer artfully combines naturalism, ornamental detail, and a sense of history as it references similar incense burners first created during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) and revived during the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties. These earlier examples are typically simpler and less animated. The massive size, lively form, and meticulous details of the current work perfectly demonstrate the new taste and high standards of the early Ming period, when the imperial art patronage reached a new peak.”
For #WorldGorillaDay 🦍:
Dean Millien
Tin Thing Gorilla, 2011
Aluminum foil
On display at last year’s “ABUNDANCE: Too Much, Too Little, Just Right” at AVAM
#FrogFriday 🐸:
Paul Wayland Bartlett (USA, 1865-1925)
Frog on Tortoise, c.1915
Bronze
On display at Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
#TwoForTuesday :
William Zorach (USA, b. Lithuania, 1889-1966)
Pumas, 1948
Plaster with paint & coating
On display at University of Delaware Museums’ new exhibit “Sight, Sound, and Motion: The Dimensions of Sculpture”
“Animals, and particularly cats, were among William Zorach's favorite subjects. This pair of sculptures was inspired by two pumas that lived at the Staten Island Zoo. Zorach studied and drew them for a week in preparation for producing the sculptures. These plaster models were produced to make the molds used to cast the sculptures in bronze. Surface residue and abrasions indicate that these plasters were used in the foundry. Following the casting process, they were returned to Zorach, who painted them to look like bronze. Six bronze casts were created of the pumas, including a pair in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. A related Puma made in Labrador black granite in 1954 was installed in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia in 1962.”
#TwoForTuesday :
Sculptures of Roosters
Igun Eronmwon (Brass Casting Guild), Nigeria, Edo, Benin City, 18th c. CE
Copper Alloy
Penn Museum display AF2065A,B
“The lyoba's unique political status made her the highest-ranking woman in Benin. Placing roosters on her altar highlights how she took on a position of power in the Royal Court.”