Covered box with catfish

China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 221

The ingenious design and impeccable craftsmanship of this box reflect the technological and artistic excellence achieved in China’s glass industry in the eighteenth century. Its humorous decoration forms an auspicious rebus: “catfish” (nianyu) rhymes with “year” (nian) and “abundance” (yu), thereby conveying a wish for “abundance year after year.”

Covered box with catfish, Blue glass, China

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Covered box with catfish, Blue glass, China
Covered box with catfish, Blue glass, China
Covered box with catfish, Blue glass, China

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