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Chinese

Lithophone, 1761 - 1762

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Chinese

Title

Lithophone

Year

1761 - 1762

Medium

Jade and gold

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • wire,
  • teak,
  • gold,
  • jade

Dimensions

41 x 60 x 3.2 cm (16 1/8 x 23 5/8 x 1 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription between the two dragons.

Place

China, Qing Dynasty, 1644–1911

Type

  • Musical Instruments

Credit

Gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

37.113

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Chinese Treasures from the Permanent Collection

March 3 - April 23, 1989

Asian Art Galleries

This inverted L-shaped stone, gold accenting its design and calligraphy, was meant to be struck with a wooden mallet during imperial musical rituals at the Temple of Agriculture in the Chinese capital. Originally one in a set of 12 chimes—for the 12 lunar months—each stone had a distinct pitch, tuned to reflect a mathematical relationship with the celestial world.

Rockefeller Asian Art Gallery

Related

Chinese

Carved bracket for Lithophone with Design of Dragon

More objects +

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Lithophone with the accession number of 37.113. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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