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.
Ritual vessel (dou)
This pedestal bowl (its lid missing) was made for the family shrine of Zhang Rou, a military leader who supported the establishment of Mongol rule in north China and was subsequently awarded the title Zhongwu King. Its decoration is both more faithful to antique prototypes and more aesthetically refined than what appears on most surviving ritual bronzes made for local Confucian temples. The vessel’s fine casting and sophisticated calligraphy make it an outstanding example of fourteenth-century bronze production.
Inscription
汝南忠武王廟,至正十年, 歲在庚寅良月日, 玄孫監察御史張旭堇誌
On the tenth month of the tenth year of the Zhizheng reign, great-great-grandson Zhang Xu, the Imperial Censor, respectfully inscribed [the vessel] for the Temple of the Zhongwu King of Ru’nan.
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