Weight in the Shape of a Chimera (bixie)
Not on view
This masterfully cast bronze weight exemplifies a transformation in Chinese art around the second century B.C., when artists began to conceive and create three-dimensional sculptures with anatomical accuracy and naturalistic details that are distinct from the stiffly frontal or profile depictions of the previous period. A legendary beast, the chimera melds the features of a lion with the attributes of the imaginary griffin. The subject originated in Mesopotamian art, starting from Babylon and traveling to China by way of Central Asia, evidence of the frequent contact and exchange between ancient China and Western civilizations.
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