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Ritual Disc of Unknown Use

CultureChinese
DateWestern Han dynasty (206 B.C.E-9 C.E.)
MediumGilt bronze, silver plate, turquoise, and glass
DimensionsOverall: 5/16 × 5 1/2 inches (0.79 × 13.97 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: the Lillian M. Diveley Fund
Object number2000.11
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 231
Collections
Gallery Label
This openwork disc epitomizes the Han love of combining a variety of precious materials-turquoise, gilt bronze, silver and glass-to form a single luxurious, multi-colored object. The design brilliantly combines the rotating dynamism of the dragons, their claws grasping each others' bodies around the circumference of the disc, with the heraldic formality of the central quatrefoil.  
Provenance

R. H. Ellsworth Ltd.;

Purchased from R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2000.

Published References

Orientations, Special issue for the Chinese art collection in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Vol. 39, no. 8 (November/December 2008), 51 (repro.).

Colin Mackenzie, with contributions by Ling-En Lu, Masterworks of Chinese art: the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Mo.: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2011), 30-31, no. 5 (repro.).   

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


overall
Warring States period (480-221 B.C.E.)
47-46
overall
Shang dynasty (1500-1045 B.C.E.)
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32-186/9
Belthook
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Photo taken in 2018 prior to offsite move
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The Dharmapala Yamantaka
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