On the walls of this large basin, five spirited dragons—their sinuous bodies carved in high relief—chase two flaming pearls in and out of swirling clouds. A poem by Emperor Qianlong inscribed on the interior floor dates the jade to 1774 and points to Khotan in far northwestern China as the source of this huge boulder. The overall shape and decoration suggest that the basin was inspired by the colossal jade wine container that Khubilai Khan (1215–1294) commissioned in 1265.
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Heber R. Bishop American, New York (until 1902; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "When the Manchus Ruled China: Painting under the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)," February 2–August 18, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Bishop Jades," March 30, 2004–February 12, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The "Hundred Antiques"," February 18–October 31, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Extravagant Display: Chinese Art in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," December 14, 2010–May 1, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection," March 14, 2015–June 19, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: Heber Bishop and His Collection," October 21, 2017–July 22, 2018.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection," July 2, 2022–February 17, 2025.
Bishop, Heber R. The Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jade and other Hard Stones. Handbook no. 10. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1909, p. 74.
Watt, James C. Y., Leidy, Denise Patry, and Wai-fong Anita Siu. "Chinese Decorative Arts." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 55, no. 1 (Summer 1997). pp. 30–31.
Yang Mei-li. "The Early Western Understanding and Collection of Chinese Antiquities: The Case of Jade." Gugong xueshu jikan 故宮學術季刊 (National Palace Museum Research Quarterly) 22, no. 4 (Summer 2005). p. 169, fig. 3.
Hearn, Maxwell K. "Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 73, no. 1 (Summer 2015) p. 11, fig. 12.
Sun, Zhixin Jason. "A Story of Passion: Heber Bishop and His Collection of Jades." Arts of Asia 46, no. 2 (March-April 2016). pp. 90–97, fig. 5.
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