Vessel in archaic dou form
Date1773
Maker
Chinese
Label TextThe Qianlong emperor commissioned a catalog of the imperial art collection, which includes an illustrated record of a Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050–256 BCE) cast-bronze dou, decorated with T-pattern bands against a “thunder ground” of square spirals. That vessel’s shape and decorations are reproduced here in jade, and an inscription confirms that it was created “in imitation of antiquity.” Qianlong’s successful campaign to subjugate the Dzungars, who occupied the jade-producing areas of Khotan and Yarkand (present-day Xinjiang province), enabled such extravagant use of large jade boulders.
Object number35.10
Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.Published ReferencesHandbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 80 (b&w)
Watt, James C. Y., Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1989, p. 89Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions8 1/8 x 10 in. (20.64 x 25.4 cm)
Diam.: 7 1/2 in.
MediumPale green nephrite
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