Page 42 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

Circular
Plaque
....................................................................................
Yuan to Ming dynasty, 13th-l5th century
Ivory
Diam. 4 9/16 in. (11.4 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1919
19.19o9a,b

his widely published plaque illustrates
the difficulties inherent in the study and
dating of Chinese ivories. Known by Western
scholars since the seminal Chinese exhibition
at Burlington House, London, in 1935-36, it has
been given dates ranging from the twelfth
through the nineteenth century and assigned
various functions. Some have suggested that
it was used for inlay, such as on a mirror box
or a piece of furniture, while others argue that
it was intended for display as an independent,
freestanding work of art.
Much of the confusion regarding the dating
centers around the plaque's primary decora-
tion-a set of four long, snakelike dragons,
two large and two small. These dragons, or
chi-hu-long, can be traced back to the Han
dynasty. They were prominent images in
Chinese ceramics and lacquers during the
Southern Song and Yuan periods. Chi-hu
dragons are also found in late-seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century ceramics and other works
that illustrate the revival of shapes and designs
of the thirteenth to the fifteenth century.
Features such as long, narrow necks and
raised lines down their backs and along their
branching tails, however, are more frequently
associated with fourteenth-century represen-
tations of these creatures and provide a
rationale for a relatively early dating for this
intriguing work. DPL

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