Silver plate decorated with chased “Red Cliff” scene, Song dynasty , 13th century. Silver, 2.22 x 26.19 x 26.19 cm. Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 2012.34. Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Framed by an elegant foliate rim, the pictorial scene from the “Former Red Cliff Ode” by Su Shi (1037–1101) shows him with two companions boating beneath the Red Cliff, a famous ancient battle site along the Yangzi River. A wine pot and cups are set before them. They read poetry and play music as the boat drifts idyllically beside a rocky embankment covered with grasses, and a waterfall spills down from the high cliffs at the far shore. Scenes from Su Shi’s life and literature, especially the scene of the “Red Cliff Odes,” became very popular soon after his death and appeared in a variety of mediums. This silver plate, however, is one of the earliest works illustrating the “Red Cliff” scene, and certainly the earliest extant metalwork bearing the “Red Cliff.”