Page 36 - Chiense Silver and Gold, 2012, J.J. Lally, New York

14. A Large R epoussé and Chased P arcel-Gilt Silver Bowl
Tang Dynasty, A.D. 8th Century

boldly decorated with a gilded dragon-fish in high relief, shown leaping with large jaws stretched
open in an attempt to grasp the ‘flaming pearl’, its scaly body twisted to fill the central medallion
and chased with fine details, surrounded by rippled churning waves engraved on a finely punched
ring-matte ground, within a border of feathery overlapping petals also picked out in gilding, the
plain flaring sides divided into four lobes by raised radiating ribs, and the notched rim embellished
with a gilded band of engraved foliate scroll on ring-matte grounds, the underside plain and the
whole raised on a high, flaring ring foot with sides notched to match the notches on the underside
of the bowl, the side of the foot with a single character qiong (瓊) lightly scratched onto the surface,
possibly the name of the original owner, and with two indecipherable characters lightly scratched
onto the side and two more on the base.
Diameter 8 ⁄2 inches (21.6 cm)
1
Compare the Tang dynasty parcel-gilt silver bowl similarly decorated with a repoussé dragon-fish in a central medallion,
excavated from Inner Mongolia and now in the collection of the Ordos Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu fenlei
quanji, Zhongguo jin yin boli falang qi quanji (Illustrated Classification of Chinese Art, Chinese Gold, Silver, Glass, and
Cloisonné), Vol. II, Gold and Silver (II), Shijiazhuang, 2004, p. 47, no. 91.
A Tang dynasty parcel-gilt silver dish decorated with a pair of repoussé dragon-fish in the central medallion, excavated in
1976 from the Karachin Banner, Zhaomeng, Liaoning province, is illustrated in Kaogu, 1977, No. 5, p. 328, no. 3 and in a
rubbing on p. 329; one other silver dish of closely related design unearthed from the same pit includes a dedicatory inscription
by the owner, Liu Zan (d. 796), indicating that the dish was made to be presented as tribute to the imperial palace.
唐 鎏金摩羯紋四曲銀碗 徑 21.6 厘米