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The term <em>pipa</em>, known since the 3rd century BC, describes the playing motion of the right hand: <em>pi</em>, “to play forward” (left), and <em>pa</em>, “to play backward” (right). A type of lute played with the fingers, it is used in opera and storytelling ensembles and has an impressive, virtuosic solo repertoire. Historic imagery, such as wall paintings, documents the spread of the pipa, along the Silk Road from western and central Asia to China. The bat finial here is a commonly used device on 19th-century Chinese lutes symbolizing good luck.
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- Page
- 1
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 0ef5efd608882175
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 98644
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "98644",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Pipa",
"description": "The term <em>pipa</em>, known since the 3rd century BC, describes the playing motion of the right hand: <em>pi</em>, “to play forward” (left), and <em>pa</em>, “to play backward” (right). A type of lute played with the fingers, it is used in opera and storytelling ensembles and has an impressive, virtuosic solo repertoire. Historic imagery, such as wall paintings, documents the spread of the pipa, along the Silk Road from western and central Asia to China. The bat finial here is a commonly used device on 19th-century Chinese lutes symbolizing good luck.",
"date": "1800s",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1918.344",
"rights": "CC0",
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"language": "en",
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"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1918.344/1918.344_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 95.4 x 27.4 x 8 cm (37 9/16 x 10 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.)",
"cul": [
"China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)"
],
"accession": "1918.344"
}
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Document identity
{
"localId": "98644",
"label": "Pipa",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "98644",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Pipa",
"description": "The term <em>pipa</em>, known since the 3rd century BC, describes the playing motion of the right hand: <em>pi</em>, “to play forward” (left), and <em>pa</em>, “to play backward” (right). A type of lute played with the fingers, it is used in opera and storytelling ensembles and has an impressive, virtuosic solo repertoire. Historic imagery, such as wall paintings, documents the spread of the pipa, along the Silk Road from western and central Asia to China. The bat finial here is a commonly used device on 19th-century Chinese lutes symbolizing good luck.",
"date": "1800s",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1918.344",
"rights": "CC0",
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"language": "en",
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"thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1918.344/1918.344_web.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1918.344/1918.344_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 95.4 x 27.4 x 8 cm (37 9/16 x 10 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.)",
"cul": [
"China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)"
],
"accession": "1918.344"
}
Document source extras
{
"tec": "Wood, ivory, bone, gut",
"tombstone": "Pipa (琵琶), 1800s. China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Wood, ivory, bone, gut; overall: 95.4 x 27.4 x 8 cm (37 9/16 x 10 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr., 1918.344",
"titleInOriginalLanguage": "琵琶",
"collection": "Chinese Art",
"didYouKnow": "The string holder is made of bone.",
"citations": [
{
"citation": "\"Accessions.\" <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82-85.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: p. 82",
"url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25136230"
},
{
"citation": "D. S. M. \"Exhibition of Musical Instruments.\" <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 8, no. 9 (1921): 134-43.",
"page_number": "Mentioned: pp. 134-137",
"url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25136517"
},
{
"citation": "Peng, Wei 彭薇, and Clarissa von Spee. <em>Migrations of Memory: The Poetry and Power of Music by Chinese Artist Peng Wei in Collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>= 平沙落雁—音樂的詩意與力量: 中國藝術家彭薇與克利夫蘭藝術博物館合作. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 14"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1918.344",
"creditline": "The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr.",
"updatedAt": "2026-05-29 05:19:34.629000",
"imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1918.344/1918.344_print.jpg",
"sourceId": 98644,
"dept": "Chinese Art",
"coll": "Chinese Art",
"med": "Wood, ivory, bone, gut",
"thumbnail_url": null,
"image_url": null
}
Page context
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