Plaque with Dragons

The exquisite Plaque with Dragons features meticulous relief carving of five sinuous dragons amid stylized clouds. Commonly known as chi dragons, these mythical creatures first appeared on jade carvings from the Warring States period (481-222 B.C.). The motif was revived in the twelfth century, when antiquarianism led to the widespread use of archaic motifs in ceramics, lacquers, bronzes, jades, and various other carvings. Never satisfied merely to copy an antique model, artists frequently made changes to enhance a work's visual appeal, embodied by the novel attributes of these five dragons, including long, elephant-like snouts, single long horns, feline heads, and even beaks resembling those of eagles. The crisp carving, tightly organized layout, powerful postures, and exaggerated musculature are all associated with the masterworks of the early Ming dynasty, a pinnacle of artistic creativity in China.