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Sword Blade

Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Not on view
The gold and silver wire inlays on this blade depict animals moving through a stylized landscape. As in Han painting, naturalistic forms are reduced to quintessential linear expressions that vividly convey a sense of life and motion.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 西漢 錯金銀青銅劍
  • Title: Sword Blade
  • Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Bronze inlaid with gold and silver
  • Dimensions: L. 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm); W. 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); D. 1/4 in. (.6 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Gift of Florance Waterbury, 1965
  • Object Number: 65.74.1
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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