Crown

This gilded, high-peaked crown is distinguished by extraordinarily fine repoussé (metalwork pushed up from the underside) in high relief. The image of a large flaming jewel, flanked by two large, seated dragons, rises to the height of high auspicious clouds from an opened lotus, the blossom itself emerging from an endless sea of waves. Thousands of minute dragon scales are individually hammered and picked out with pin-prick indentations. What seems like a single strand of beads along the bands of grapes and vines is fine hammer work so fluidly produced that the crown appears as if cast from molten metal instead of cold-worked with tools. This elaborate crown was presented by the Chinese Song court as tribute to a Qidan envoy of the Liao dynasty (916-1125). The foreign Qidan were a confederation of powerful northern tribes that threatened the borders of China and were often erstwhile allies of the Chinese, who soothed the temper of the Qidan with gold bullion, rare tea, and sumptuous goods, including fine gilded metalwork such as this crown.