清中期 銅錯金銀天雞尊|Vessel in the Form of a Heavenly Rooster

Unknown

19th century · Bronze inlaid with gold and silver · Asian Art

Containers in the shape of a rooster carrying a vessel on its back are an invention of Song dynasty (960–1279) antiquarians, who believed that such ritual vessels existed in the classical age of ancient China. Several bronzes similar to this one were catalogued as “heavenly rooster vessels” (tianjizun) in the collection of Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736–95), who had a deep interest in antiquarianism. The term “heavenly rooster” comes from a Chinese legend about a mythical bird whose crowing awakens the whole world.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Bronze inlaid with gold and silver

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John L. Cadwalader, 1914