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Covered bowl in the shape of five-petaled flower, with floral patterns

Photo: Susan A. Cole

Covered bowl in the shape of five-petaled flower, with floral patterns

late 8th - early 9th century

A great surge in the creation of luxury items in metal occurred during the Tang period, often employing shapes and motifs borrowed from Central Asia. Certain families of aristocratic lineage had a heritage that could be traced back to unions between members of the Chinese aristocracy and the non-Chinese rulers of northern China, giving them confidence to look beyond their borders for new artistic influences.



Beaten silver with gilt decoration
Diameter: 9 1/2 in. (24.1cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
45.61.1
Photo: Susan A. Cole
location
Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryDayton, Ohio, Dayton Art Institute, Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty in American Collections, Nov.3, 1984 - Sept. 22, 1985 (New York, New York, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Feb. 5 - Apr. 21, 1985; Northampton, Massachusetts, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, June 1 - July 14, 1985; Birmingham Museum of Art)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Chinese Metalwork, July 12 - Nov. 27, 1988.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Timeless Grandeur: Art from China, Apr. 25, 2002 - June 12, 2005.

Tokyo, Japan, Suntory Museum of Art, Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum, July 25 - Sept. 6, 2009 (Kobe, Japan, Kobe City Museum, Sept. 19 - Dec. 6, 2009; Kofu, Japan, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Dec. 23, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010; Atami, Japan, MOA Museum of Art, Mar. 13 - May 9, 2010; Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Art Museum, May 23 - July 19, 2010).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012.
Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 69 (b&w)

Kawai, Masatomo, Yasuhiro Nishioka, Yukiko Sirahara, editors, "Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum", 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun, catalogue number 65

Waugh, Daniel C. "The Arts of China in Seattle." The Silk Road, vol. 12 (2014): pp. 137-152, reproduced p.144, fig.22.

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