Ceremonial vase with interlacing motifs

Warring States period
China
475–221 BCE
Bronze inlaid with silver
Louvre Abu Dhabi
LAD 2010.005 | 48.5 x 25 x 24.6 cm

This Chinese bronze vase was produced between 475 and 221 BCE, at a time when several kingdoms were fighting for overall control of China. It is inlaid with a gold and silver alloy and demonstrates the wealth of its owner, who probably belonged to an important aristocratic family. The decoration in the form of a strange maze of geometric shapes actually conceals stylised representations of several mythological creatures, including dragons, a symbol of fertility in ancient China.