Looking for medina, metius, media, medic?

Warrior with Shield, 1953–54
Henry Moore

G371

Leopard Aquamanile, Bronze, Benin Culture, Africa, XVIIc; covered with incised spots and smnall punch marks. Rare example. — Water pitcher, 18th century
Edo

G250

Found in a temple near Pondicherry. The figure represents cosmic activity. The significance of the gestures is as follows the drum in the right hand signifies creation; the fire in the upper left hand, destruction; the abaya (fear not) position of the lower right hand, protection; the position of the raised left foot, salvation; the foot placed on the prostrate dwarf, Apasmarapurusa, removal of illusion/ignorance. — Shiva Nataraja (Lord of the Dance), c. 1100
India

G211

Golden Bird, Constantin Brancusi — Golden Bird, c. 1919
Constantin Brancusi

G377

face-covering helmet with back and sides curled upward; vertical opening at center from eye holes through bottom; organic design on forehead; curving eyebrows, connected at center — Corinthian helmet, c. 540 BCE
Greece

G241

Vessel in the shape of an owl. Two flanges, one ending just under the beak in front and the other continuing to the top of the head in back, have alternating straight and L-shaped scores, those on the front flange being much the deeper of the two. The tail, with a scored flange border, forms the back support of the vessel. Apart from the realistically-formed feet, the bird is strongly stylized. The body is completely covered by rows of scales except for the shoulder line, expressed by a vigorous spiral, and the wings quills, rendered by bands filled with antithetical spirals. Patina green. — Zun wine vessel in the shape of an owl, 13th-12th century BCE
China

Not on View

Bust — Portrait of Luca Salvioni, c. 1536
Agostino Zoppo

G340

Baboon and Young, Pablo Picasso — Baboon and Young, 1951
Pablo Picasso

G376

Portrait Bust of Pope Clement X, Circle of Gianlorenzo Bernini — Portrait Bust of Pope Clement X, modeled c. 1668 (cast late 17th century)
Circle of Gianlorenzo Bernini

G310

standing horse with legs slightly splayed outward; wide eyes; open mouth with exposed teeth; upward-pointed ears; green patina with white, blue and red pigment traces — Celestial Horse, 25-220
China

Not on View

head (male) wearing thick collar up to lower lip; openwork caplike headdress with hanging braids and beaded cords around ears; two "beads" on forehead; flower-like beaded elements at temples--one at PR ear, two at PL ear; open circle at top of head — Memorial head, 1550-1650
Edo

G250

possibly a cast of the bozzetto of the larger sculpture modeled by Giovanni Bologna for a statue at the Medici Villa of Castello, outside Florence; base is of a later date — Florence or Venus, first half of the 17th century
Italy

G310

standing female figure holding an apple in her proper left hand — Eve with Apple, c. 1902
Aristide Maillol

G324

Figure; This work was cast posthumously from a terracotta sketch, ca. 1900; casting history and edition size unknown — Dancer Putting on Her Stocking, 19th century
Edgar Degas

G351

standing male nude; represents man awakening to a fuller comprehension of his physical powers — The Age of Bronze, 1876–77 (plaster model); casting date unknown
Auguste Rodin; Caster: Alex Rudier Fondeur

G355

Female Figure; Figure of Diana with bow in left hand (goddess in classical Greek Mythology) — Diana with a Bow, 1890
Frederick William MacMonnies

G323

The Avenger, modeled 1914, cast 1923
Ernst Barlach

G371

Light golden brown patination. After the monument in Dijon, France, commissioned 1852. — Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter, model c. 1853-55 (casting history and edition size unknown)
François Rude; Caster: Thièbaut Frères

G354

Old base (b) R5A2.1 MS — Psyche Abandoned, c. 1800
Augustin Pajou; Caster: Possibly Pierre-Philippe Thomire

G306

Portrait. — Portrait of John Scott Bradstreet, 1915
Paul Fjelde; Depicted: John S. Bradstreet

G319

nude little smiling boy with two dimples and short curly hair, riding on a seahorse; lily pads and scallops on base; octagonal bottom has alternating seahorses and fluted designs; greenish patina — Putto on Seahorse, 1933
Evelyn Beatrice Longman

G280

bronze hollow cast in the lost wax process, representing the goddess Isis in a striding attitude — Goddess Isis, 1st century
Ancient Egyptian

G250

Goddess Isis holding the infant Horus on her knee — Goddess Isis, c. 664 BCE - 30 CE
Ancient Egyptian

G250

The Fighter of the Spirit, 1928
Ernst Barlach

Exterior Grounds

Equestrian Figure — Bronco Buster, 19th century
Frederic Remington

G301

cast no. 2/10; figure — Large Seated Nude, c. 1923–1925
Henri Matisse

G377

Woman in a Bathtub, 1889 modeled (cast 1920-21) no. 26/C
Edgar Degas

G351

Theseus Slaying the Centaur Bianor, Antoine-Louis Barye; Caster: F. (Ferdinand) Barbedienne — Theseus Slaying the Centaur Bianor, c. 1850 (modeled, cast c. 1891)
Antoine-Louis Barye; Caster: F. (Ferdinand) Barbedienne

Not on View

Ptolemaic Ruler in the Guise of Hercules, Graeco-Egyptian — Ptolemaic Ruler in the Guise of Hercules, 2nd century BCE
Graeco-Egyptian

G242

Clock, Jean-Antoine Lepine; Painter: Joseph Coteau — Clock, c. 1789
Jean-Antoine Lepine; Painter: Joseph Coteau

G314

scepter with 2 snakes with knotted bodies at top, a pair of wings below and a bulbous form on a bent stem — Caduceus, 2nd century
Roman

G241

possibly a votary figure for placement in a tomb; dimensions include permanent mount. — Figure of a Youth, 470-460 BCE
Etruscan

G242

Coat of arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1579–1633), Italy — Coat of arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1579–1633), c. 1620–30
Italy

G330

Concave, incised; scene represents the Dioskouroi, the twins Castor and Polydeuces (Polyx) with their sister Helen and the goddess Minerva — Mirror, 3rd-2nd century BCE
Etruscan

G242

Bowl with short stem and lobed foot; two protruding elements at front with floral motif decorations; large openwork decorative element above handle with flower and leaf designs — Oil Lamp, 1st century BCE - 1st century CE
Roman

G242

dagger, double-edged. Arms and Armor-Edged Weapon — Dagger, 900-400 BCE
Persia (Iran)

G242

base in the form of a man, kneeling, with PR arm raised; curved apron; curling hair, bushy brows over bulging eyes, large nose, moustache and small beard; wearing robe decorated with raised medallions, apron, chain mail issuing from animal masks on shoulders, boots; foliate drip pan with baluster-shaped socket cast with coiled dragon balanced on man's head; seperate candleholder of flaring cylindrical form, raised on long stem, with two horned, four clawed dragon in very high relief, chasing a flaming pearl amid clouds; blackish patina — Two-piece Candlestick, one of a pair, early 17th century
China

G201

base in the form of a man, kneeling, with PL arm raised; curved apron; curling hair, bushy brows over bulging eyes, large nose, moustache and small beard; wearing robe decorated with raised medallions, apron, chain mail issuing from animal masks on shoulders, boots; foliate drip pan with baluster-shaped socket cast with coiled dragon balanced on man's head; seperate candleholder of flaring cylindrical form, raised on long stem, with two horned, four clawed dragon in very high relief, chasing a flaming pearl amid clouds; blackish patina — Two-piece Candlestick, one of a pair, 14th-17th century
China

G201

figure seated with legs crossed, one hand raised and one hand resting on a rail; dressed in flowing robes, crown on head; incised line details overall; rail curving around figure at front, supported behind at sides and in center front of figure; sculpture sits on a fitted black wood base — Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, 15th-16th century
China

G201

Crouching hoofed mythical animal; double horn with head turned to side and mouth open; scaly body with flamelike ribbons at haunches; tufted mane and tail — Water Dropper, 16th-17th century
China

G217

Four inch gilt bronze mirror decorated with seahorse, grape, bird and foliage design; box — Mirror, 7th-11th century
China

G208

Round, silverized, animal and grape design — Mirror, 8th century
China

G208

Round, Tree of Life design, rabbit preparing elixir of long life. — Mirror, 8th century
China

G208

Round, lacquer, gold and silver. — Mirror, 8th century
China

G208

nude male figure with short hair and elongated earlobes standing rigidly upright on a base with incised designs — Jina, 11th or 12th century
Jain

Not on View

The decor is disposed in the three areas usual in vessels of this class the foot, bulb, and neck. The foot belt, divided into four panels by deeply scored flanges, displays a mask t'ao-tieh with a C-shaped mouthline, hooked forehead shield, small eyebrows, and S-shaped norns. Above is a narrow band with consecutive trunked dragons. The decor ground is of squared spirals throughout. The bulb, also divided into four panels, displays a t'ao-tieh bodied to the extent that some simple lines of a vertical body still remain above the leg. The central line of the face, with no forehead shield, is formed by the flange. The lower zone of the high throat is filled with consecutive snakes, their heads turned EN FACE. Above are slender rising blades, the major part of each filled with a t'ao-t'ieh to be seen from above. Streaked eyebrows appear over buldging eyes, and over these, again, long-drawn-out C-shaped figures forming the horns. Below the eyes are two C-shaped figures, modifications of mouthlines. At the end of the blade, separated from the t'ao-t'ieh by a narrow, empty band, is a V-figure- a corruption of a cicada drawing. Patina grey-green and blue-green with patches of red. Except for a cross-shaped perforation between the foot and the area above, the beaker is in almost every detail exactly similar to the one with a Yin inscription published in Huang, TSUN KU CHAI. — Gu wine vessel, 12th-11th century BCE
China

Not on View

Rich light brown patina with lacquer. The figure stands with left arm raised and the weight resting on the right foot. The left foot is placed on a skull, a very rare feature. On stepped, circular, mottled green base. On the base of the bronze, the number 27 (Mayer Collection). — Anatomical Man (Ecorché), c. 1600
Italy

G310

One of a pair of similar bronze escrutcheons, the shield in each bearing the Arms of the Borghase family: a crowned eagle with outspread wings, above a griffin. The shield incorporates at the top a man's head, and above this a cross, which appears under a Cardinal's hat. Each side is supported by a nude winged cherub. — Coat of arms of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1579–1633), c. 1620–30
Italy

G330

Round-bodied pot with 3 legs, 2 decorative, curving, detachable 'handles' and fan-like lattice element at back; decorated overall with organic and geometric designs — Censer, 1723-1735
China

Not on View

long-necked ewer with motif of dragons on handle and lid; bulbous body, gently curving spout with scalloped design around base — Ewer, 15th-16th century
Rihei

G220

flower vase with squat, round body, high neck, and high foot; ornately decorated with figures in relief; figure of a sage and a crane on each side of neck; two handles — Vase with Rin Nasei (Ch. Lin Hejing) and crane, 18th-19th century
Japan

G225

bronze ritual bell with handle in the shape of a five-pronged vajra, handle stem and bell shoulder decorated with lotus petal design; probably intended for use in Esoteric Buddhist rites — Ritual bell with handle in the shape of the vajra, 18th century
Japan

G220

incense burner in the shape of an antique Chinese bronze basin with three legs, tall slotted handles and lid; lions in relief over a tao-tieh design on front and back and larger lion with ball on the top on a cloud design of the lid; perhaps originally coated with black lacquer — Incense burner with Chinese lions, 16th century
Japan

G220

standing nude woman with long wavy hair, with a mischievous expression, and her PR hand drawn up to her mouth; small figure with the head, torso and arms of a human and a long serpent's tale twined around a tall stump covered with a vine; small figure leans of woman's PL shoulder and pushes a tiny fruit toward her PL hand — Eve Tempted, 1874
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

G324

standing nude female with her arms drawn up and hands clasped, with her head resting on her PR upper arm; slightly contrapposto pose; woman wears an necklace with petal-like pendants, bracelet on her PL wrist and a headband; hair pulled back on the back of her head; woman wears sandals; turned knob element on back at vertical edge; dark coppery patina; black Neoclassical base (stone or plastic?) with round platform and square lower portion with rounded and indented corners — Phryné, 19th-20th century
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière

G324

galloping horse with flat, stylized rider (wearing long headdress); flat, stylized figure beneath front legs of horse; incised decoration on both figures (front only); on wooden base (attached) — All Of You Get Out Of My Way! (Hanta Po!), 20th century
Wanbli Koyake

Not on View

Charmed Circle of Youth, Esther Moore — Charmed Circle of Youth, late 19th century
Esther Moore

Not on View

bronze budhist temple bell; tall football shaped body with flat top; two dragons turned away from each other form hanger at top center; sides decorated with two rectangular fields striped with three bands of three raised circular bumps — Bo bell, late 6th-5th century BCE
China

Not on View

A Chief of the Multnomah Tribe, 1905
Hermon Atkins MacNeil

G301

Sixth casting, inventory No.1022 — The Cathedral, after 1908
Auguste Rodin

Not on View

Equestrian figure — Horse and Rider, 1950
Marino Marini

Not on View

L'Amour et L'Amité, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse — L'Amour et L'Amité, c. 1857
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse

Not on View

Janus, Max Ernst — Janus, modeled 1973 (cast 1975)
Max Ernst

G376

rounded body supporting a tall neck tapering to domed disk surrounded by a thin faceted sprinkling spout; set at one side with a tall waisted spout and attached lid. Koryo dynasty. — Water Vessel, 12th-13th century
Korea

G206

round, flat object with scalloped, pointed edges; raised knob at center; rough ship just R of center knob; stylized waves at L; four Korean characters at top center; green with patina — Mirror showing a ship at sea and inscription, 12th century
Korea

G206

round bronze medallion with raised knob at center; five bands inside encircling center knob; each band with different figures inside including four directional guardian animals and twelve zodiac signs in relief — Mirror with Cosmological Design, 12th-13th century
Korea

G206

thinly cast with a narrow spout and pointed lip above an oblong body cast with three medial lines, a single loop handle; all standing on tall blade-form legs — Jue wine vessel, 16th-15th century BCE
China

Not on View

Bronze cast after a plaster model exhibited in Paris Salon of 1850 entitled 'Jaguar et Lievre' — Panther Devouring a Rabbit, c. 1850
Antoine-Louis Barye; Caster: F. (Ferdinand) Barbedienne

Not on View

Seated Bird Man, Leonard Baskin; Founder: Bed-Rosey Foundry — Seated Bird Man, 1963
Leonard Baskin; Founder: Bed-Rosey Foundry

G376

green ox with attachable cart consisting of yoke, 2 side rails and 2 wheels, with accompanying free-standing farmer — Cart with Ox and Farmer, 1st century
China

G215

cast no. 6; figure — Madeleine I, modeled 1901
Henri Matisse

Not on View

Free standing figure, modeled in the round, with a rich brown patination. — Justice, early 16th century
Attributed to Niccolò Tribolo

G310

cast no. 8/10; cast in 1948 — Reclining Nude II, 1927
Henri Matisse

G377

unique cast; figure — Little King, 1958
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi

Not on View

Free standing figure, modeled in the round, with a rich brown patination. — Faith, early 16th century
Attributed to Niccolò Tribolo

G310

Leda and the Swan, Antonio Montauti — Leda and the Swan, c. 1710
Antonio Montauti

G310

rectangular metal wicket; open center with elaborate scrolls, foliate motifs and floral motifs with a grid aroudn center opening; arched opening in base; five small holes on edge of each long side; some curved motifs resemble parts of gears — Cast of teller's wicket, 1967 (designed 1908)
Louis Henri Sullivan; Designer: George Grant Elmslie; Caster: Jerry Bonnette

G300

bronze, of warm brown patination — Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (1743-1794), 1891
Aimé-Jules Dalou

G354

Satyr and Nymph, Ferdinando Tacca — Satyr and Nymph, 17th century
Ferdinando Tacca

G310

The decor of incised lines and spirals on this animal recall those on the Middle Chou water buffalo, Karlgren Number 90 (50.46.113). It should be noted, however, that the spirals on shoulders and hind quarters area here centered by a raised ring with turquoise inlay. These decor figures might point to a similar epoch were it not for certain details that are a clear indication of a later date. The rope pattern around the eyes, on the eyebrows, the fetlocks, and on the dragon decorating the socket, as well as the granulation on the front of the ears and the head of the dragon, point to the Early Huai Style Period. The socket on the back suggests that the tiger served as a podium. Patina bluish- green. — Tiger, 6th-5th century BCE
China

Not on View

The sculpture quality of these dashing beasts is admirably conveyed by their carriage, the proud pose of their heads, and the almost arrogant suppleness of their bodies. The forceful comma-shapes of the tails and their jaunty tufts, as well as the double-rope pattern on the mustachios, give ample proof that, in spite of the scale that, in these creatures must be dated later than Middle Chou. Patina grey-green — Winged dragon, one of a pair, 5th-4th century BCE
China

Not on View

The name Kuei for this vessel type is well established in the early literature. The surfaces of the vessel are divided into four vertical panels by four flanges on the foot, two flanges and two handles on the body. These narrow, thin flanges contrast contrast sharply with the heavy handles and their massive bovine heads. The principal figures in the decor, executed in low relief except for the strongly protruding eyes, are so covered with adorning lines that they tend to merge with the ground of squared spirals. In the foot belt are rudimentary t'ao-t'ieh masks, the central line formrd by two of the flanges, and two consecutive, head-turning dragons with C-shaped horns. The mask t'ao-t'ieh on the belly, with ordinary features strongly detatched, is flanked by vertical dragons. The flanges form the centers of two such t'ao-tieh, the handles of two other masks in which the face (nose and hooked forehead shield) has been cleft, leavint an interstice as broad as the handles between the two halves. This space under the handles is decorated with a bovine head in flat relief, thus creating a small t'ao-t'ieh inside a larger one. The neck belt displays dragons with oversized beaks. Patina blackish. — Gui food vessel, 11th century BCE
China

Not on View

Jia wine vessel, 12th century BCE

China

Not on View

This vessel, the disposition of its decor on a bare ground, the panels and the system of flanges, free animal's heads, and handles that delimit them, are the same as in the Kuei 50.46.19, Karlgren pl.49. The beaked dragons in neck and foot belts have the unusual feature of an additional plume which hangs down from the curled-up tail. The handles are topped with rams' heads and terminate at the bottom with a C-hook reminiscent of the bird's tail on vessels 49 and 52. Most interesting feature of the vessel is the decor on the bottom surface. It is a coiled dragon, in threadlike relief, with a rolled-up nose and a body adorned with a row of big scales. A foot with claws and fetlock is seen on the inside curve. The outer edge of the body has tufts which in pairs form C-figures. The space behind the tail has been filled out with a simple figure with is really the rudiment of a dragon body. Patina grey-green. — Gui food vessel, 11th-10th century BCE
China

Not on View

The principle surface displays a rectangular field of interlocked T's on a ground of squared spirals framed on three sides by rows of spikes. Scored flanges at the four corners of the vessel are supplemented in the upper belt by additional flanges which thus divide it into eight panels. Antithetical, long-tailed birds flank the short flanges forming the central ridge of a rudimentary t'ao-t'ieh mask. Hanging blades appear on the cylindrical legs, and disfigured dragons in flat relief on the outer surface of the upright handles. Patina green — Fangding food vessel, 11th century BCE
China

Not on View

This ting represents the Huai style at its extreme point in the matter of the vessel shape. The tradition that in this style the body of the Ting is big and bulky in proportion to the extremely short, thin legs, is here carried to the ultimate degree. The high lid, its ring-shaped top capable of serving as a foot if the lid is inverted, is fully spherical in shape. The legs are very small and thin and display a t'ao-t'ieh with spiral horns on their upper parts. (The t'ao-t'ieh, all but extinct during Middle Chou, reappeared in the Huai Style Period). Dissolved dragon rigid ring handles are adorned with a row of cowries bordered by rope-patterned bands. On the top of the lid, a loosely twined cord pattern encloses a quartefoil with its central disk filled with granulation. Patina blue-green. — Vessel with Cover, 5th-4th century BCE
China

Not on View

'Kia', with uprights. A strongly S-profiled wall, its inward curvature placed low, creates a high, flaring collar decorated with a band of dragonized t'ao-t'ieh. Above is a row of rising blades filled with stylized cicadas. On the body, three deeply scored flanges form the central ridges of three dissolved t'ao-t'ieh on a spiral ground. The handle is surmounted by an animal's head with well defined feratures. The upper part, forming the neck of the animal, is covered with rows of scales; the lower part, starting from the mouth, is decorated with incised compound spirals in front and with lozenges in low relief on the sides. Directly under the handle, two small dragons with turned heads stand opposite each other. Patina blue-green. — Jia wine vessel, 13th-12th century BCE
China

Not on View

The low-relief decor is confined to the belly of this flask. In the lower, main belt, on a ground of squared spirals, it displays a geometrical pattern reminiscent of the compound lozenge and interlocked 'T' motifs. It also recalls the decor of the white ceramic wares of Anyang. The band of highly stylized dragons above presents another point of contact with Anyang ceramics. The top belt on the body carries a band of 'S' shaped spirals bordered by circle bands.The lid and its knob are almost conical. Both are adorned with whorl circles; in relief on the lid, on the knob in incised lines. On the throat, just below the lid, are two small ears, perhaps for passing a cord. Patina grey-green. — Hu wine vessel, 13th-12th century BCE
China

Not on View

The decor of the upper part of this bipartite boiler is restricted to a neck belt with low, narrow flanges of which every second becomes the central ridge in the face of a dragonized t'ao-t'ieh,the halves formed by winged dragons.The bulbs of the Li-ting forming the lower half of the vessel are adorned with forceful t'ao-t'ieh heads of a fairly realistic bovine type, with eyebrows, ears, scaly horns . — Yan steamer, 11th century BCE
T'Ien Nung

Not on View

Wine Can, so-called 'YOU', inscribed. The decor is limited to the neck and corresponding lid belts, and to the handle bow. The first is divided into four parts by the rings of the handle and two free animals' heads. The lid with a ring-shaped knob, is divided into two parts by toothlike projections corresponding to the handle-rings of the body. The two belts are filled with antithetical deer, reminiscent of the Northern Nomad animal style, in rounded relief on a bare ground. The handle carries three t'ao-t'ieh like figures in narrow thread relief between three lozenges in high, angular relief. The handle terminates in rams heads. Patina silvery-greeen wih patches of red. This vessel is one of two that belonged to the Imperial Colllection. The inscription is the same on both the known vessels. See Karlgren, number 15 (50.46.94a,b) for comment. — 'You' wine vessel, 11th century BCE
China

Not on View

Stout Wine Beaker,'Tsun', inscribed. A high degree of sophistication is evident in the decor of this broad beaker. In the foot and principal body belts it is disposed in six panels formed by six flanges with straight and L-shaped scores. The foot belt displays a dragonized t'ao-t'ieh with S-shaped horns, and a tail rising in an S-curve. The same decor occurs in the main body belt, where the vertical dragons under the raised tail are clearly visible. The narrow belt above has only three flanges, which form the central lines of dragonized, winged t'ao-t'ieh. The spaces occupied below by additional flanges are filled by t'ao-t'ieh in flat relief. All of these dragonized t'ao-t'ieh have T-shaped horns. The six panels on the shoulder, delimited alternately by flanges and big, plastically rendered rams heads, carry dragon figures with protruding eyes executed in exaggerated loops. In the lower belt of the neck, which has no flanges, pairs of consecutive trunked dragons facing to the right confronting pairs facing to the left. They have bottle horns and quills on their backs. Above, in the slender, rising blades, the decor filling consists of antithetical dragons with standing C-shaped horns, their trunk-like noses meeting in the median line, their narrow, band-like bodies joining at the tip of the blade and its filling is probably meant to suggest an eyed cicada, which it does in fact vaguely suggest. Patina green with patches of blue. The inscription depicts a wine vessel. — Zun wine vessel, late 12th-11th century BCE
China

Not on View

The term Tou for this type of vessel is confirmed by inscriptions. The slightly flattened sphere formed by body and lid appears huge and bulky in comparison with the short, footed stem. When inverted on its shallow disk the lid serves as a separate bowl. This top is adorned with a whorl circle surrounded by squared spirals. The surrounding border is filled with interlaced snakes on a granulation ground. On the lid proper there are three decor belts, separated by bare bands, filled with a minute comma-pattern. The body of the vessel has a similar belt of commas set off by a bare band at the rim and by a narrow rope-patterned band in relief below. There follows a very narrow band of comma pattern above a band of heart-shaped hanging blades filled with commas. the foot, like the disk on the lid, has a belt with interlaced snakes on a granulation ground. The ring-shaped handles have pointed spirals and a rope-patterned band. Patina Grey-green with patches of blue. — Dou food vessel, one of a pair, 400 BCE
China

Not on View

Hu wine vessel, late 9th-8th century BCE

China

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bowl with loop handles on three legs; band of t'ao-t'ieh masks and medallions surrounding rim — Ting (Ritual Food Vessel), 12th century BCE
China

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bulb shaped with ring handles; handles held on by hardware with animal-like "face"; incised pattern covers entire vessel; vessle is green with areas of white showing through the pattern — Hu wine vessel, 5th-4th century BCE
China

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The pronounced sperical shape of this flask is most unusual. the decor is disposed in four broad belts set off from each other by narrow, bare, ridged bands bordering a single line of spirals. The belts, and the rising blades on the neck, are filled awith the comma pattern. The t'ao-t'ieh on the ring handle has scale bands on top and two big scales under the eyes. Patina blue-green. — Hu wine vessel, 4th century BCE
China

Not on View

Thick, unusually heavy flanges, narrowing toward the vessel, divide the foot, bulb, and neck into panels. They are scored with alternating straight and T-shaped scores, the stem of the T turned inward instead of outward in the usual fashion. This is a most eccentric feature. The decor, on a ground of squared spirals, covers almost the entire vessel. The t'ao-t'ieh on foot and bulb are similar but vary in detail.The foot monster has a lower forehead shield, no eyebrows and S-shaped horns, as against the recumbent C-shaped horns of the beast on the bulb. The remnants of a vertical body and a leg are the same on both. In the lower neck belt are antithetical beaked dragons. Above are blunt, sturdy rising blades with a decor to be seen from the top. Flanking the flange, as a central line, are two antithetical dragons with strongly hooked beaks and C-shaped horns, their bodies going down (with a leg half way and a tuft lower down) meeting at the end of the blade. Together their heads form a t'ao-t'ieh (observe the ears in the outer border of the blade). In the decor throughout, the principal raised features, shaped as broad, flat bands, are quite smooth except for a few scores on the horns of the bulb t'ao-t'ieh. Patina green with patches of red. The symbol in the inscription may be an abbreviation of the graph lu. For a comment see Karlgren, Number 18 (50.46.97). — Zun wine vessel, 11th century BCE
China

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This vessel is a remarkable example of its type, and of perfect workmanship. The body is divided into three horizontal belts by narrow, bare interstices uninterrupted by the scored flanges which, with the handle of the vessel, delimit four panels. The plain handle has an animal's head with zigzag lines across the nose and C-shaped horns with parallel lines in thin, thread relief. The lid is partly shaped as a plastic animal. The head, with the forehead lozenge and bottle horns of a t'ao-t'ieh, has other, more realistic details well-modelled ears and a mouth with saw-like teeth. The body is that of a long-drawn-out dragon in low relief reclining along the center of the lid. The central flange, curving with the body in the looped tail, has straight and T-shaped scores. A t'ao-t'ieh and various types of dragons figure in a decor scheme that covers almost the entire body of the vessel. The bodied t'ao-t'ieh with S-shaped horns in the middle belt is flanked by strongly stylized head turning dragons. Also strongly stylized are the dragons in the foot belt, which are similar to those on vessels 50.46.43, Karlgren #11, and 50.46.89, Karlgren #21. The consecutive dragons in the neck belt are not identical. To the right is an ordinary beaked dragon with recumbent C-shaped horn and a small vertical crest. The dragon under the spout of the vessel has no crest. Its horn is heart-shaped, and it has the drawn-out, pointed eye of the t'ao-t'ieh below. Its enormous beak is drawn out to parallel the curve in the rim. Inside the curve of the beak is a small, head turning dragon. The big dragon on the lid has spirals at the base of the horns and a single scale between parallel zigzag lines that flank the central flange, forming the common lozenge pattern. The legs, in flat relief, flank the big dragon, thier tails meeting at the end of the lid. Patina light blue-green. — Gong wine vessel, late 13th century BCE
China

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He, inscribed. Vessels of the He class vary according to the shape of the belly, which may be that of a Li, a Li-ting, or a Ting. This unique specimen has the hemispherical shape of a Ting. The handle, surmounted by an animal's head; the chain and its rings; the small handle on the lid decorated with dragon heads; the spout and the legs are very simple. The blade decor of the spout and legs, and the dragon motif in the neck and lid belts -- so dissolved as to leave only the eyes and interlocked double spirals as remnants of the bodies -- are in no way uncommon. In view of their off-hand treatment, the decor of the belly is doubly striking. It consists of rows of scales in flat,double-band relief, each scale being filled with a dissolved cicada motif in thread relief. This scale decor is a harbinger of the scale-band of the Middle Chou style. Therefore this vessel, with its cylindrical legs of the earlier periods, is best dated in the latter part of the early Chou, on the border of Middle Chou, i.e., circa B.C.900. Patina gray and blue-green — He wine vessel, 11th-10th century BCE
China

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This small sculpture of a kneeling man holding a tube-like vessel in his extended hands is one of a group of similar figures that may have served as torch bearers in a tomb. The sensitively modelled face, with an expression at once tentative and hopeful lends credibility to this supposition. The figure is clothed in a close-fitting garment that wraps from left to right in a broad overlap and is belted with a narrow band. The head-covering, rather like an open helmet, is broad at the back and rises to a peak-like top before descending in a narrow, tounge-shaped band to the forehead. It is bound to the head by a strap that goes down in front of the ears and under the chin. A second strap passes around the head from the forehead to the occiput. This figure is one of a group of bronze sculptures found in the Han family tombs a Kin-ts'un near Lo-yang and reported by W. C. White in Tombs of Old Lo-Yang. The artistic tradition of the early Yin culture, modified by an approach to nature, still persists in some of these small bronze sculptures from the old Lo-yang area. Their general characteristics - the unvarying block-like form, the broad type with large round eyes, the details of costume, particularly the head gear, reflect a new interest in and a closer observation of nature. Such figures constitute the links between early Yin sculptures and those of Han time. Essential characteristics of the earlier works do persist, but in a modified form. One discerns also in these small works, as in some other early Chinese bronzes, a resemblance to certain examples of pre-Columbian art -- a kind of parallelism which points to a similar artistic disposition or a common origin, rather than to any direct influence or intercommunication between these centers of art so widely separated in time and space. However this paralleleism came about, it is clear that the sculptural products of Yin-Chou art reflect traditions of style no longer to be found in those of Han time. Patina green — Kneeling figure, 4th century BCE
China

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