Two Tables, One Low with Large Vase and Objects, One Higher with Covered Pot, Lion and Small Bowl

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where you'll find *Two Tables, One Low Large Vase and Objects One Higher with Covered Pot Lion and Small Bowl*, exquisite 19th-century Chinese anonymous work. Created with pen and ink and vibrant gouache, this drawing measures 14 1/8 x 18 3/8 inches and captures a meticulous still life of everyday elegance: a low table laden with a grand vase and assorted objects, with a higher one holding a covered pot, a figurine, and a delicate small bowl. Gouache, an opaque watercolor technique favored in Chinese art, lends the piece its rich, luminous colors and fine details, while precise pen lines define the forms with scholarly precision. This medium was ideal for album leaves or independent sheets, blending the traditions of ink painting with Western-influenced realism emerging in the Qing dynasty's later years. From the Elisha Whittelsey Collection (acquired 1967), this artwork reflects 19th-century China's artistic focus on domestic refinement, where vases, bowls, and symbolic motifs like the lion evoked prosperity and protection. Though anonymous, it showcases the era's masterful draftsmanship, inviting viewers to ponder the quiet beauty of curated spaces in imperial households.