Dish
Unknown Artist
Medium
Nephrite, light sage-green veined and specked with white and sprinkled with some black spots
Dimensions
H. 1 3/16 in. (3 cm); W. 10 7/8 in. (27.7 cm)
Classification
Jade
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902
Accession Number
02.18.642
Art Historical Context
This elegant jade dish, crafted during China's Qing dynasty Qianlong period (173695), exemplifies the imperial era's reverence for nephrite—a tough, precious stone revered for millennia as a symbol of purity, immortality, and moral virtue. Carved from a single block light sage-green nephrite, veined and speckled with white and accented by black spots, the dish measures a delicate 1 3/16 inches high and 10 7/8 inches wide. Its shallow, wide form suggests use as a ritual vessel, perhaps for offerings, cosmetics, or elite display, highlighting the artisan's mastery in shaping the unyielding mater...