Cleveland Museum of Art

Tide-Changing Jewel with Dragon

Date

early 1900s

Medium

silver, shakudō (copper and gold alloy), and crystal

Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

An early Japanese legend describes a god of the sea who possesses two jewels responsible for controlling the ebb and flow of the tides. In other legends, the jewels belong to the Dragon King who rules from a palace beyond or beneath the sea. Tales received from China feature dragons that can generate rain by using pearls. This okimono (a small sculptural object without a function) mines imagery associated with these tales while aiming to appeal to the interest in gems and minerals embraced by some Americans and Europeans of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

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