In the MET there was many different types of art to explore and look at, but the most interesting art to me were these Chinese Bowls/Trays. These bowls and trays are very different from what we have today because of the time period they were made. The bowl on the left is named “Bowl with Children Among Vines” and it was made in 960-1127 during the Northern Song Dynasty. The one on the right is a tray named “Tray with Dragon and Chinese Characters” made in 1522-1566 during the Jiajing time period. Both of the two items were from China and but they were made from different materials. The “Bowl with Children Among Vines” was made from stoneware and the “Tray with Dragon and Chinese Characters” was made from carved red lacquer. These works of art are about 500 years apart from each other and they do have their similarities and differences. They are similar because both of them have very unique carvings and meanings to them. They do have their differences as well, both are made from very different materials and both do have carvings but they are very different from each other.
The “Bowl with Children Among Vines” is made out of stoneware with molded impress with dimensions of 2 ⅜ by 7 ⅛ inches. This bowl was made in the 11th-12th century in China during the Northern Song Dynasty. This artwork is very detailed because you are able to see what the title is describing. When you look at the bowl you see how much effort was put into it because of what you see inside. You can see the vines and the two children on each side of the bowl. The bowl was made in 960-1127 so it is very different looking from what we are use to today. The shape is something we are not familiar with when you look at the bowl from different angles.
The “Tray with Dragon and Chinese Character” is a carved tray made out of red lacquer. The dimensions of the tray is 2 inches in height and 14 ½ inches in diameter. The tray was made in 1522-1566 during the Jiajing period. This tray also has a lot of detail because you are able to see the carvings of many dragons and chinese characters written on it. This tray is similar to the bowl because you can see how much effort and time was put in to make this artwork, but you can see the differences too. The “Tray with Dragon and Chinese Character” was made after the “Bowl with Children among Vines” so it has more details in my opinion. You won’t see these types of trays anymore because these trays had meaning and was for important people. The trays now and the trays in ancient chinese culture is different because you don’t see carvings like that anymore.
I choose these two works of art because when I was in the MET, these stood out to me the most. I am not a big fan of art but seeing the unique carvings in these bowls and trays are interesting. I think they put these items in the museum because there is so much diversity in our country so they have art from all over the world to look at. You can experience other cultures by looking at these arts from the past. Other cultures may not have these unique detailed carvings in trays so when you look at them you are able to see what this culture is like. The MET had artwork all over the world and different time periods, so they put it on display because the new generation will be able to see how to past was since we weren’t there.
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