Jar with a dragon
- Audio guide stop: 618
- Gallery: Room 33
- Culture: Ming dynasty; Xuande
- Made in: China
- Date: 1426-1435
- Object type: jar, cover
- Materials: metal; enamel
- Museum number: 1957,0501.1
- 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 stunning cloisonné enamel jar from the Ming dynasty, a masterpiece of vibrant colors and intricate craftsmanship. The large jar features a domed cover and is adorned with dynamic, five-clawed dragons—one on the body, open-mouthed and fierce, chasing a pearl through swirling clouds, and another on the lid with a lotus finial enclosed in petals.
This piece showcases the cloisonné enamelling technique, where colored glass paste is set within copper enclosures, revealing a dazzling palette of red, yellow, turquoise, green, white, and aubergine. The base is decorated with a band of ornate lappets.
Made during the Xuande reign—1426 to 1435—this jar was crafted under the 'Yuyongjian', an imperial workshop. Its colors once seemed bold, but by this time, cloisonné was valued enough for palace use. The design echoes Ming blue-and-white porcelain of the same era.
This piece was purchased from R.F.A. Riesco and Messrs Montague Marcussor.
See it in person
Jar with a dragon 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, 618, 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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