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 pot in the shape of a tree trunk
This unusual brush pot bears an inscription identifying it as having once belonged to Qian Shisheng (1575–1652), a Ming dynasty minister of rites, who made or commissioned it in 1641 for his retirement residence. The aged-looking surface exemplifies how literati favored old and curious items during the seventeenth century. The pot would have been a perfect companion to archaistic bronzes and other scholar’s objects exhibiting an antiquarian style.
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