蓮花|Lotus
Unknown Artist
Medium
Gilt bronze
Dimensions
Overall: H. 4 in. (10.2 cm); Diam. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm) Overall (with stand): H. 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm)
Classification
Metalwork
Culture & Period
China · Tang dynasty (618–907)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.79.11a, b
Art Historical Context
This exquisite gilt bronze lotus blossom, titled *蓮花* (Lotus), hails from China's Tang dynasty (618–), a golden era of innovation and cultural flourishing. Standing just4 inches tall (with a base reaching ⅜ inches), this delicatework captures the flower's layered petals in intricate detail, its surface gilded for a luminous golden sheen that evokes the sacred purity of the lotus in bloom. Crafted by an unknown artist, it exemplifies Tang metalworking techniques, where bronze was cast and meticulously overlaid with gold mercury amalgam, fired to create enduring opulence. In Tang China, lotuses...