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Unknown Maker, Chinese

Jade Bowl with Human-Fish Figures

Maker

Unknown Maker, Chinese

Culture

Chinese

Title

Jade Bowl with Human-Fish Figures

Period

Qing Dynasty

Year

1736-1795

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

jade

Geography

Origin: China

Dimensions

Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of John M. Crawford, Jr.

Object Number

1989.110.67

Type

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 15: Green

RISD Museum’s Manual 15 Celebrates Green

New life is always shown to us through mokingpu, the color green-the light green stems of rabbitbrush, one of the few colors seen the winter; the tender green shoots of new corn that emerge in the spring against the backdrop of the dry brown earth. Green offers hope. Green represents life.

-Susan Sekaquaptewa

A welcome splash of color after a long winter, the RISD Museum’s fifteenth issue of Manual is awash in shades of green, celebrating the color's myriad associations with nature and growth, environmentalism and sustainable practices, newness and hope (as well as poison and currency) and delving into the histories of specific pigments and processes. Manual 15 opens with an introductory essay by Hopi grower Susan Sekaquaptewa, who details the soft hues of the flora of Northern Arizona. “You appreciate plants more when you develop a relationship with them,” she explains.

This issue of Manual is supported in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional generous support is provided by the RISD Museum Associates and Sotheby’s.

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

Powerful mythical creatures are found across geographies and religious beliefs. Many of these figures are guardians, and some are associated with wisdom. The griffin in this Roman fresco combines two fearsome animals, the lion and the eagle, making it a strong protector and a guardian of treasures. 

In the case below are other fantastic creatures. 

• the hintha, a mythical bird in Buddhism, similar to the Hindu hamsa 

• a Greek sphinx combining a human, lion, and eagle 

• the horse-like winged buraq, important in Islamic tradition 

• a sea-horse guardian from China 

• human-fish figures revered in South and Southeast Asia

—GB | WC 

Rockefeller Asian Art Gallery

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Chinese
Jade Bowl with Human-Fish Figures, 1736-1795
Jade (jadeite)
Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 inches)
Bequest of John M. Crawford, Jr. 1989.110.67

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