Bowl with landscape

The exterior of this shallow bowl is ornamented with a finely chiseled and engraved landscape. The relief features, highlighted with parcel gilding, represent an immortal land with figures leisurely sitting by rocks and pine trees, and a fairy riding on a crane flying through a sky filled with clouds and a full moon. Bronze makers are not often identified in historical records; this is true of Li Qiyun, who left his mark on the base of this bowl. Despite the absence of his name in textual sources, the superb craftsmanship and elegant composition rivals that of works by known masters of this era.