Vase

China

Not on view

Similar vessels excavated in Inner Mongolia suggest that this somewhat awkward vase was produced for a member of the Ruzhen, or some other confederation of Mongol people, who ruled parts of northern China from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The shape of the vessel derives from the hu form, first produced in China during the Bronze Age, and the mask-like imagery on the lower section has similar roots. Both allude to the antiquarianism that was common in China in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The cresting waves at the top of the vase, on the other hand, are a contemporaneous motif commonly found in ceramics and metalwork.

Vase, Bronze, China

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.