Open daily. Always free.
Spirit Wall

Spirit Wall

Qiao family workshop

This Spirit Wall originally formed part of an architectural structure that stood in front of the entrance of a temple or sacred precinct in China. The central placement of spirit walls served to prevent the entry of evil spirits, which were believed to travel only in straight lines. Composed of four separate square pieces of hollow earthenware, the wall is decorated on the front surface with lively dragon imagery in relief that is brilliantly colored in green, turquoise, yellow, black, and cream glazes. The unglazed back of the wall bears an incised inscription arranged in four vertical lines that gives the date, the reign-era, and the makers—twenty apprentice clay workers. Also on the back of the spirit wall is an inscription written in black ink that provides information about the place of production.
Artist
Qiao family workshop
(Chinese)
Title
Spirit Wall
Date
1567
Period
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Longqing Reign Period (1567-1572)
Medium
Earthenware with glaze
Dimensions
52 x 52 in. Overall
Credit
Ineva T. Reilly Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
1999.70a-d
Classification
Architectural Decoration
Geography
China

Related

1999, sold by Kaikodo (New York, NY) to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Biennial Report 1999-2001." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 2002. p. 81
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 16, No. 3, Spring 2000. p. 13

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.