Stele

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Artist Unknown

Culture Chinese

Title Stele

Date 1368–1644

Medium Schist

Dimensions Overall: 36 7/8 x 11 3/4 x 7 5/8 in. (93.66 x 29.85 x 19.37 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 64.47

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About this Work

At first glance this stele looks like a pastiche of styles: Ming architecture, flat, Six Dynasties figural types but in poses typical of the Tang dynasty, and an inscription copied from the imperial cave site of Longmen in China. But rather than think of it as something meant to deceive, it is more likely that it is deliberately assembled from stylistic parts to endow it with meaning and gravitas thorugh references to the past. It might have been an offering to a temple or perhaps it once graced a scholar's garden.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Stele | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=64.47