Covered bowl in the shape of a five-petaled flower

late 8th to early 9th century

Richly decorative gilded images, featuring large, finely drawn leaves, pomegranates, lotus flowers, and palmette blossoms, adorn this five-lobed bowl and cover. To compete with imported gold and silver objects, Chinese workshops produced variations for the urban elite market, using similar shapes and motifs and borrowing western metalworking techniques, such as repoussé, chasing, and ring-punching (as in the cup displayed nearby).

Hammered silver with parcel gilt chased decoration

.a Diam.: 9 7/16 in.

.a D.: 2 1/8 in.

.b Diam.: 9 1/2 in.

.b D.: 1 1/2 in.

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

45.61.2

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, "Chinese Art: A Seattle Perspective", December 22, 2007 - July 26, 2009 (12/22/2007 - 7/26/2009)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 69 (b&w)

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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