On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Brush holder with "Three Friends of the Winter" and poem

China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 214

The Qianlong emperor particularly valued novelty and tromp l’oeil effects on artworks. Ornamented with the emperor’s own poem and painting, this brush pot perfectly exemplifies this aesthetic while demonstrating a never-before-seen feature: gold inlaid into a completely blackened bronze surface, mimicking the appearance of gold painting on dark paper. The technique of pressing gold foil into grooves on the vessel surface, rather than using parcel gilding or gold wire inlay, was also novel.

Brush holder with "Three Friends of the Winter" and poem, Patinated copper alloy, gold inlay, China

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