Description
These vessels attest to the international climate that pervaded the regions of China, Tibet, and Central Asia during the time of the expansionist Tang dynasty (618–907). They are ornamented predominantly with Central Asian elements, including grape vines, beaded borders, heart-shaped motifs, and real and fantastic creatures. Stylistically, the Tibetan objects resemble the metalwork of Sogdian craftspeople, who came from the regions of modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and settled across Asia. These artists are known to have specialized in the technique of offsetting the silver repoussé design with gilded foil, using heat and pressure to adhere the foil to the silver surface of the vessel.
Provenance
(David Tremayne, Ltd., London, United Kingdom, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1988); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1988–)
Accession Number
1988.67
Medium
Silver with gilded foil
Dimensions
Overall: 22.9 cm (9 in.)
Classification
Silver
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund