Introduction
The Chinese culture has a thousandth history and embodies the traditions and religious beliefs of the Chinese people. The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibits a beautiful collection of the Chinese household items, the décor objects and other artifacts. The aim of this essay is the describe one of the objects displayed by the museum.
The Main Body
The Chinese collection by the Metropolitan Museum of Art consists of a number of interesting cultural artifacts. In this essay, I am going to describe one of them, a porcelain dish decorated with the traditional Chinese ornament. The dish is round shaped and it is rather deep. The size of the object is 4.8 cm in height and 23.8 cm in diameter. The design is traditional Chinese with the decorations depicting the dragon and the lotuses.
The prevailing colors are blue and white. The elements are emphasized with black lines. The dish can be referred to the Jingdezhen ware. It is made of the porcelain decorated under the transparent glaze[1]. The porcelain is the traditional medium of the Chinese ware. “China is the hometown of porcelain and the invention of porcelain was China’s great contribution to the world civilization”[2].
The Chinese culture is saturated with the symbolism, which has a long history. The Ancient Chinese people believed that the symbols had the impact on the subconsciousness of people. It was considered that the system of conformances in the national symbolism indirectly influenced the behavior of people.
In the Chinese culture, the dragon symbolized the wisdom, energy, and strength. It was a very positive sign and represented the nobleness and greatness. According to the legend, the dragon lived in the water but had the ability to float in the air. It is still one of the most important symbols in the Chinese culture.
Lotus is another popular symbol in the country. We can also see that its flowers take the central place in the dish’s decoration as well. The lotus is the symbol of purity and beauty. Due to its natural ability to unfold with the sunrise, it is considered to be the symbol of the revival and new life. “The lotus was a rare water plant of imperial and private gardens in the past times, and in modern scenic gardens, it is even more favored and extensively planted”[3].
The dishes similar to the one described above were used as the part of the table set. The porcelain was expensive enough. Probably, the dish described in the essay belonged to the wealthy family. The object is dated to the XVI century.
Conclusion
In order to sum up all above mentioned, it should be said that the Chinese culture has a long history. The dish displayed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art represents the Chinese culture of the XVI century. It was made of porcelain, which was the traditional medium of the Chinese ceramics.
The symbolism plays a crucial role in the national culture. The dragon is the symbol of the greatness and nobleness, whereas the lotus is considered to be the symbol of purity, beauty, and revival. Overall, the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is rather interesting and helpful for the study of the Chinese art.
References
“Dish with Dragon and Lotuses”, Metmuseum. 2013. Web.
“Lotus and Traditional Chinese Culture”. Cultural-China. 2010. Web.
“Origin of Chinese Porcelain”. Chinaculture. 2013. Web.
Footnotes
- “Dish with Dragon and Lotuses”, Metmuseum. 2013.
- “Origin of Chinese Porcelain”. Chinaculture. 2013.
- “Lotus and Traditional Chinese Culture”. Cultural-China. 2010.