Mystic Caravan of Dragon’s Well

Red Weldon Sandlin, Mystic Caravan of Dragon's Well, 2000, glazed clay, wood, and acrylic paint, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ann and Tom Cousins, 2000.82A-J
Copied Red Weldon Sandlin, Mystic Caravan of Dragon's Well, 2000, glazed clay, wood, and acrylic paint, 2310 789 12 in. (58.427.624.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ann and Tom Cousins, 2000.82A-J

Artwork Details

Title
Mystic Caravan of Dragon’s Well
Date
2000
Dimensions
2310 789 12 in. (58.427.624.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Ann and Tom Cousins
Mediums Description
glazed clay, wood, and acrylic paint
Classifications
Keywords
  • Travel — land
  • Chinese
  • Fantasy — fairy
  • Fantasy — animal — frog
  • Fantasy — animal — bird
  • Object — written matter — book
  • Fantasy — animal — turtle
  • Fantasy — animal — lizard
Object Number
2000.82A-J

Artwork Description

This was the first sculpture that Red Weldon Sandlin made in 2000, the Chinese year of the dragon. It was inspired by a Chinese children's book titled Mystic Caravan of Dragon's Well. The book and Sandlin's teapot are named after a town in Zhejiang Province called Dragon's Well, which is famous for its green tea of the same name. Sandlin bases many of her pieces on books and teapots, objects that she thinks represent important ideas of containment. They become, according to the artist, "symbols of information, informed truths, childhood experiences . . ." ("Once Upon a Teapot," Ferrin Gallery Web site). She incorporated two actual teapots into this sculpture: The turtle forms one pot, with the first branch as its spout and the lizard as a lid, while the frog forms another, with a removable head and a dragon puppet for a spout. Sandlin researches a wide variety of subjects for each of her whimsical sculptures, and in this piece the dragon pattern on the frog's costume came from an illustration in a book on Chinese dress.

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