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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.
This vase demonstrates a special appreciation for unadorned bronze among medieval Japanese tea masters. Covered in a brown patina with subtle gradation, it would have been considered perfect for a tea ceremony, where it might be featured holding flowers in the teahouse’s display alcove (tokonoma).
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元/明 銅小折杵瓶
Title: Mallet vase “shō-kine-no-ore”
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date: 14th–15th century
Culture: China
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: H. 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm); Diam. of rim: 3 7/16 in. (8.8 cm); Diam. of base: 3 15/16 in. (10 cm)
Classification: Metalwork
Credit Line: Lent by Tokugawa Art Museum
Rights and Reproduction: Photograph © Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, Image Archives/DNPartcom
