Bowl with openwork dragons chasing flaming pearl, 18th century, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Hetian nephrite. H. 3 1/2 in x W. 7 3/8 in x D. 6 1/2 in, H. 8.9 cm x W. 18.7 cm x D. 16.5 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60J456 © 2016 Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture
The outside walls of this small, shallow gray bowl are carved with high-relief waves from which three dragons emerge to peer over the rim and chase a flaming pearl. The thickness of the vessel walls, the dragon motif, and the depth of the carving recall Yuan and Ming basins and bowls. The eighteenth-century carver may have been inspired by a massive Yuan basin that the Qianlong emperor installed in the Round Fort, Beijing (Hansford, plate 78).
