Wrong gold and silver bird pattern tiger

The object carries gold-and-silver-inlaid bronze, and bronze was never just a material. It was the medium of ceremony, its weight and ring part of the rite itself.

A object of this kind was cast to be seen in low light, its relief doing the work that paint would do later. The gold-and-silver-inlaid bronze finish keeps the form readable across the centuries.

The Jin court used bronze to make lineage visible. A object could carry an inscription or a pattern that named the family and the favour that elevated it.

The object is a document in metal. Sinocra keeps it in view with more from The Palace Museum, and the shop carries the craft forward.

Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum Digital Collection.