Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) Date:13th century Culture:China Medium:Silver with repoussé decoration and gilding Dimensions:H. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Diam. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); Diam. of foot 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm) Classification:Metalwork Credit Line:Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, in honor of Brooke Astor's one-hundredth birthday, 2002 Accession Number:2002.180 The theme of children at play, which expresses a wish for the birth of children and the concomitant joys they engender, is a ubiquitous motif in Chinese decorative arts from as early as the tenth century. Some of the figures seen on this dish—for example, the two boys at left, one riding a hobbyhorse and the other holding a lotus leaf—are a stock figural grouping, appearing on art objects until the seventeenth century. The cluster of leafy palms with rocks and the balustrade enclosing a lotus pond are standard features of Chinese garden designs.
Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) Date:13th century Culture:China Medium:Silver with repoussé decoration and gilding Dimensions:H. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Diam. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); Diam. of foot 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm) Classification:Metalwork Credit Line:Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, in honor of Brooke Astor's one-hundredth birthday, 2002 Accession Number:2002.180 The theme of children at play, which expresses a wish for the birth of children and the concomitant joys they engender, is a ubiquitous motif in Chinese decorative arts from as early as the tenth century. Some of the figures seen on this dish—for example, the two boys at left, one riding a hobbyhorse and the other holding a lotus leaf—are a stock figural grouping, appearing on art objects until the seventeenth century. The cluster of leafy palms with rocks and the balustrade enclosing a lotus pond are standard features of Chinese garden designs.