Box with pommel scrolls

14th century

Not on view

The decoration covering the surface of this box is sometimes known as a pommel-scroll design because it resembles the shape of sword’s pommel. A flowering plum tree and crescent moon made of ivory, gold leaf, lacquer, and glass, are inlaid into the interior of the cover. The motif may allude to any number of earlier poems that evoke the shadows of plum blossoms by moonlight in a night filled with their scent.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

元象牙雕劍環紋盒
Title: Box with pommel scrolls
Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Date: 14th century
Culture: China
Medium: Ivory
Dimensions: H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); Diam. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
Classification: Ivories
Credit Line: Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Object Number: 2015.500.6.5a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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