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Ornament: O.91-1946

An image of Ornament
View image details Mirador icon - view image Mirador deep zoom IIIF Manifest IIIF Manifest Slow looking

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An image of Ornament
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Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Carver: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Green jade with large brown areas, carved with a Da Mo (Bodhidarma) seated inside a cave among craggy mountains. Da Mo was the founder and first patriarch of Chan/Zen Buddhism. In 527, 32 years after the founding of Shaolin Temple, Bodhidharma arrived in Canton province in China. In China he was referred to as Da Mo. Behind the Shaolin Temple there are five breast-shaped mountains. When the Shaolin monks invited Da Mo to come stay at the temple, Da Mo did not reply. Instead, he immediately went to a cave which was located on one of the breast-shaped mountains. Inside the cave Da Mo sat down facing a wall and immediately began meditating. He meditated for nine years. During the years of meditation, Shin Huang stayed outside Da Mo’s cave and protected Da Mo from any wild animals or other threats. A poem was incised on the rock outside the cave. The inscription for this carving may have been a woodblock print on the theme in the 18th century

Notes

History note: Bought at Christie’s July 18th 1917, Hope sale

Legal notes

Oscar C. Raphael Bequest, 1941, received 1946

Measurements and weight

Height: 7.8 cm
Length: 16.8 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1946) by Raphael, Oscar C.

Dating

18th Century
1700 CE - 1800 CE

Materials used in production

Nephrite

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: O.91-1946
Primary reference Number: 167898

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 4 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Ornament" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/167898 Accessed: 2025-12-08 04:39:30

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/167898 |title=Ornament |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-08 04:39:30|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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