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Artist/Maker
Unknown artist, Chinese
Date1850-1880
MediumSoapstone
DimensionsOverall (2023.14.1): 40 × 10 1/4 in. (101.6 × 26 cm)
Credit LineJustus Doolittle, Class of 1846, by transfer from Hamilton College Archives, Burke Library
Object number2023.14.1-2
On view
DescriptionPair of soapstone architectural models of pagodas brought to Hamilton College by Justus Doolittle (1824-1880), class of 1846. Doolittle authored a book on Chinese culture as well as an early Chinese-English dictionary. He served as a missionary in the Foochow and Tientsen regions of China. Doolittle returned to the United States in poor health and died in Clinton in 1880.
The pagodas were likely made for the souvenir market by a local workshop, as soapstone was plentiful in the region. Doolittle's diary indicates that he witnessed soapstone carving as a practice during his time in China. In terms of form, pagodas served as both religious and geographic markers, prevalent in Fujian, where Doolittle lived.
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Additional Details
Alternate Titles
Pagodas (Set of Two)
Yun-Fei Ji
Date: 2015
Medium: Ink and watercolor on Xuan paper, mounted on silk
Object number: 2016.3.1
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Date: 1903
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 19XX.8
Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: 1850-1880
Medium: Soapstone
Object number: 2024.16.1-36
Sunqua
Date: c. 1855
Medium: Gouache on paper
Object number: 2011.1.1
Murray Dewart
Date: 1994
Medium: Silkscreen with watercolor and collage
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William Henry Jackson
Date: published 1899
Medium: Photochrome
Object number: 2006.3
Unknown artist
Date: likely late 19th century
Medium: Soapstone
Object number: 1943.194a-b
Unknown artist
Date: likely late 19th century
Medium: Soapstone
Object number: 1943.192a-b