Lidded box with design of a dragon cavorting in the ocean
Place of OriginChina
Date1522 - 1566
DynastyMing dynasty (1368 - 1644), Reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522 - 1566)
MaterialsCarved multicolor lacquer
DimensionsOverall: H. 3 11/16 in × W. 9 1/8 in × D. 9 1/8 in (9.4 cm × 23.2 cm × 23.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB60M308.a-.b
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsDecorative Arts
On View
Not on viewThis round box with a lid depicts a five-clawed dragon cavorting between heaven, represented by the mushroomhead–shaped clouds, and earth, indicated by the three rocks emerging among the waves. These two essential realms of the Daoist world are set off against a background with distinct patterns.
The body of the box was coated with many layers of colored lacquer, with red alternating with brown and dark green, and different areas were carved at different depths to reveal the appropriate colors.
1400 - 1450
approx. 1600-1700
1700 - 1800
1550 - 1600
approx. 1800-1900
1800 - 1900