- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
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This vessel is decorated with a pair of elephant heads. In China, elephants have several symbolic associations, including strength and astuteness. The elephant masks are carved to look connected and are seemingly held in place on the vessel by rows of knotted cords, a motif that harks back to vessels that were in fashion almost one thousand years earlier. During the Song dynasty antiquarian motifs and a taste for restrained design, both seen here, were highly popular.
- Published References
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- S. Howard Hansford. Chinese Carved Jades. Greenwich, Connecticut. pl. 74.
- Bo Gyllensvard. Celadon, Jade: Finds, Specimen, Scientific Results; Exhibition. Exh. cat. Stockholm, May-June 1963. cat. 139.
- Jessica Rawson, John Ayers. Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages: An Exhibit. Exh. cat. London. fig. 275.
- unknown title. no. 36 Stockholm, 1963. pl. 29-3.
- The Arts of the Sung Dynasty. Exh. cat. London, 1959. cat. 282, pl. 87.
- Les Trois Reves du Mandarin. Exh. cat. Brussels. cat. 18, p. 37.
- et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 80, p. 125.
- Collection Area(s)
- Chinese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-5972_12