Architectural Brick with Dancer in Relief (before 870): Art, History and Details

Architectural Brick with Dancer in Relief (before 870) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This brick originally formed part of the exterior wall of the pagoda at the Xiudingsi Buddhist monastery near Anyang, Henan province. The Xiudingsi pagoda, datable before 870 by an inscription carved on one brick, is the only building that survives from the once large monastic complex.

Object facts

• Title: Architectural Brick with Dancer in Relief
• Date: before 870
• Culture: China, Henan Province, Anyang, Xiudingsi pagoda, Tang dynasty (618–907)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: molded terracotta with slip coating
• Dimensions: Overall: 58 x 48.5 cm (22 13/16 x 19 1/8 in.)
• Collection: China - Tang Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1921.263

A detail from the museum

This bearded Western Asian figure is dancing with his scarf twisting into curling streamers.

Collection credit

Gift of C. T. Loo

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.