Cleveland Museum of Art

Harpist

Date

mid-700s

Medium

glazed earthenware

Culture

North China, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

After four centuries of political turmoil and social disorder, a reunited China during the first half of the Tang Dynasty (618–906) was an age of unprecedented prosperity and vitality. Figurines placed in Tang tombs give a vivid glimpse of everyday life. The elegant earthenware ladies in various hairstyles, costumes, and activities suggest the fashions of the time. This lady musician is seated on a circular plinth, playing a harp balanced on her right thigh. The plump face has well-defined features, with straight nose, pursed lips, and round cheeks. Her hair is drawn into a coiled chignon over the forehead. A long, high-waisted robe flows down to her shoes' upturned tips. The angular harp, like the one held by this musician, occupied a prominent position in the court orchestras by the mid-eighth century.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.