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Cylindrical Container with Cover (Lian)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This magnificent gilded bronze vessel with openwork decoration shows all kinds of fabulous creatures, real and imaginary, chasing each other among swirling scrolls. There is an emphasis on the unbroken rhythms of movement, rather than the ferocity of animals in combat. Cylindrical bronze vessels in this shape, called lian , were often used as cosmetic boxes.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCylindrical Container with Cover (Lian), 100 BCE–100 CE. China, Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). Gilt bronze with openwork and chased designs; diameter: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.); overall: 17.2 cm (6 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1972.44.a
