Vase with archaistic design
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Thanks to its dated inscription, we know that this vase was used as a benchmark to inform the development of archaistic patterns from the twelfth century onward. Its decoration features a mixture of ancient and contemporary motifs. Some of the ornamented bands can be traced back to woodblock illustrations from antiquarian catalogues, such as the mountain-dragon bottle from Xuanhe bogutu. In a central band, the scene of dragons and phoenixes rising from tumultuous waves is an innovation of the twelfth century.
Inscription
早念字號，乾道玖年弍月初十日鎮江府都稅務注籍訖官 (花押)
Number twenty. On the tenth day of the second month of the ninth year of the Qiandao reign [1173], the official in charge of tax affairs of Zhenjiang prefecture completed the registration of this piece [sign].
Inscription
早念字號，乾道玖年弍月初十日鎮江府都稅務注籍訖官 (花押)
Number twenty. On the tenth day of the second month of the ninth year of the Qiandao reign [1173], the official in charge of tax affairs of Zhenjiang prefecture completed the registration of this piece [sign].
Artwork Details
- 南宋 乾道九年稅記款銅壺瓶
- Title: Vase with archaistic design
- Period: Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
- Date: ca. 1173
- Culture: China
- Medium: Copper alloy
- Dimensions: H. 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm); Diam. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Lent by Victoria and Albert Museum
- Rights and Reproduction: Photograph © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art