Dragon tiles
- Audio guide stop: 616
- Gallery: Room 33
- Culture: Ming dynasty
- Made in: Shanxi (province)
- Date: 15thC-16thC
- Object type: tile
- Materials: stoneware
- Museum number: 2006,0503.1.1-20
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a striking set of 20 glazed ceramic tiles, likely originally used as roof decorations. Each piece is made of stoneware with vibrant fahua-style glazing. You’ll notice powerful three-clawed dragons, energetic and dynamic, chasing a flaming pearl as they twist among swirling lotus and peony flowers.
The tiles have been organized into four rows, each with five tiles, to form a decorative screen. Close inspection reveals fine details—like the careful molding of dragon scales and the vivid color contrasts between black, blue, and yellow glazes.
These tiles come from 15th to 16th century Ming dynasty China, and were likely produced in Shanxi province, an area known for its advanced ceramic and glazed tile production. Some of the tiles bear handwritten Chinese inscriptions that hint at their arrangement and original placement on the building.
The collection was donated by Sir Joseph Hotung, preserving an important piece of architectural and artistic heritage from this period.
See it in person
Dragon tiles is on display in Room 33 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 616, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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