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Plaque with winged carp-dragon
Plaque with winged carp-dragon

Plaque with winged carp-dragon

Date13th-14th century
Label TextThe Chinese civil service examinations were very difficult to pass—those who did gained an official position in government and prestige for generations. An ordinary carp leaping over Dragon Gate to transform into a fantastic dragon was a popular motif symbolizing success in getting through the hellish process.
Object number33.1274
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Live Long and Prosper: Auspicious Motifs in East Asian Art, May 23, 2009 - Feb. 21, 2010. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions2 5/8 x 3 3/8 x 1/2 in. (6.67 x 8.57 x 1.27 cm)
MediumNephrite
Chinese
1127–1279 or later
Object number: 33.1264
Dragon plaque
Chinese
second half 16th century - early 17th century
Object number: 33.1296
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Chinese
14th century
Object number: 33.1273
Plaque fragment
Chinese
206 B.C.-220 A.D.
Object number: 49.106
Plaque pendant
Chinese
late 17th-early 18th century
Object number: 37.112
Chinese
18th-19th century
Object number: 33.1320
Photo: Paul Macapia
Chinese
19th century
Object number: 37.25.1
Photo: Paul Macapia
Chinese
10th - 8th century BCE
Object number: 39.11
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Chinese
ca. 1200 BCE
Object number: 62.24
Bi-dragon
Chinese
19th century
Object number: 92.61
Vase in shape of carp
Chinese
16th-17th century
Object number: 33.84