This goddess, as her name implies, is the mother of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, the constellation also known as Ursa Major. It is unclear when worship of the Dipper Mother began, but she did not gain prominence until the 1400s, when she appeared in the Daoist canon. This porcelain sculpture, combining Buddhist and Daoist elements, shows the Dipper Mother, with a third eye in her forehead, sitting on a lotus throne and wearing a crown. In her eighteen arms she holds various symbolic implements, among them sacred weapons and vessels. The finely sculpted hands and face are distinctive features of Dehua porcelain.

Ceramics from Iznik, the preeminent ceramic production center in Ottoman Turkey, were made in a range of styles and colors. This bowl is delicate in both painting and coloring, and it shows several plants characteristic of Iznik ware: cypress, tulips (on the rim), and small blue flowers that may be delphiniums.

This bowl is a classic example of the radiating panel style seen in fourteenth-century Persian ceramics, with its decoration organized into twelve panels of stylized leaves and arabesques, outlined and surrounded by detailed backgrounds. The exterior walls of the bowl have slightly molded indentations, hinting at a close link to the lotus petal molding of some contemporary Chinese bowls. In Persian wares, petals were often painted but not molded. The technical complexity of such ceramics lies in the careful application and control of the metallic and mineral glazes, which have different chemical properties and require different firing times and temperatures.

A proud phoenix spreads its elaborate plumage and takes center stage, surrounded by Chinese-style clouds on this star-shaped luster tile. Originally a Chinese imperial motif, the phoenix was often combined with a dragon to represent the empress and emperor. As a decorative motif brought from China by the Mongols and used by their successors in Persia, the Ilkhanids (1265-1353), the phoenix lost its original associations and was merged with the Persian mythical bird the simurgh. This auspicious bird figures prominently in the Persian national epic the Shahnama, written about 1000 CE. The tile’s border is inscribed with a Persian lyrical poem describing the qualities of the beloved, “whose face is like the sun, if only the sun were adorned with musk.” The upper right corner contains a date of 691 AH, which is equivalent to 1292-1293 CE. This architectural tile would have been part of a panel of star-and-cross tiles adorning the walls of a palace like Takht-i Sulaiman (built in the 1270s), the only surviving Ilkhanid palace.

This sculpture depicts Ushnishavijaya, an important Tibetan Buddhist god who grants longevity. Ushnishavijaya has three heads and eight hands. Buddhist texts specify that she traditionally holds many symbolic implements, but all of them are missing here. In her central hands she would have held a double thunderbolt; the other missing implements would have included a miniature Buddha image, a bow and arrow, and a vase containing the nectar of immortality, which prolongs life.

This piece was created by shaping sheets of metal and hammering them from the back to create a three-dimensional form, a technique known as repousse. The crown, earrings, and scarves were made separately and riveted together. Dolonnor, which used to be the main metalworking center of Inner Mongolia, was famous for its repoussé works.

The designs on the backs of this mirror are typical of those found in Han dynasty arts dating from around 50 BCE to 100 CE, and they provide a window into the complex religious practices of the time. It was felt that if all the forces of the universe could be lined up at the same time, great peace and prosperity would follow. The designs on this mirror represent that alignment: the various notches represent what would have been a working compass, the animals represent different directions, the characters are auspicious sayings, and so on.

The inside of the cover and the bottom of the body of this vessel bear two nearly identical twelve-character inscriptions. These begin with a clan sign including the picture of a bird and then state: Second son Qi [?] made for esteemed and accomplished father Ding [this] sacrificial vessel.

This sculpture is the single most published piece in the Chinese collection at the Asian Art Museum and is included in almost every major publication on early Chinese Buddhist sculpture. Its importance lies in the fragmentary inscription on the back of the base, which dates it to 338, making it the earliest known dated Buddha image made in China. Stylistically this figure belongs to a group created in China from the appearance of Buddhism to around 450. This style was influenced by Buddhist sculptures of the ancient region of Gandhara (which included parts of present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwestern India). Scholars theorize that the models for such pieces were small sculptures carried along the Silk Road. Most of the surviving Chinese versions are small gilded bronze Buddhas.

However small or insignificant the object or its donors, these sculptures came to life and were given meaning by associations with specific people, places, and times. Many of these early Buddhist images are dated and their donors mentioned by name. These objects were donated to accrue merit and good karma. The piece comes from the Later Zhao, a state in northern China ruled by the Jie, a non-Chinese people, from 329 to 350. In addition to practicing Buddhism, Jie rulers bolstered their rule by using the influence of Central Asian Buddhists and their Chinese disciples.

A vessel of this shape is called a gui. This one consists of two distinct parts: the bowl, which would have been used for the ritual serving of food, and a square base. A small bell is attached at the center point of the underside of the base. The vessel has a pair of handles in the form of horned animals with curling tails. The decoration is divided into two primary bands, one on the bowl and one on the base, divided by narrowed bands of abstract designs. The designs on the bowl consist of a pair of plumed animals, often identified as dragons, facing away from each other. One pair appears on each side of the vessel. Similar animals appear on the base, but with their heads facing downward. The designs are best identified by first finding the eyes-raised circular patterns with dots in the middle-and constructing the head and minimal bodies from them. With some effort, one can identify plumes, bodies, tails, and even feet. These animal patterns fall into a trend of increasing abstraction found in the decor of Western Zhou bronzes. By the late Western Zhou dynasty these animal-like forms had almost entirely vanished.

The inscription on the bottom of this vessel tells us it was cast for someone named Zhui. It can be read: “Zhui fulfilled his obligation with all his heart and might day and night [therefore] the king bestowed many bounties upon Zhui. Zhui made so bold as to extol the king by using [these gifts] to make for his august ancestors this sacred gui. [May] it be used for memorial sacrifices to [these] late accomplished men and to beg for longevity, eternal life, loyal service to the emperor and a good death. May Zhui’s sons and grandsons for 10,000 years treasure and use it.”

The Buddha Shakyamuni sits at the foot of Mount Meru, the strangely shaped, four-colored peak marking the central axis of the Buddhist universe. Fanning out above him are the heavenly realms of Form and Formlessness. Below, golden letters announce the question at the heart of this thangka— how can one attain the “summit of existence”? As if pointing towards the cosmic heights behind him, the Buddha replies that the attainment comes through the “knowledge of the heavens.”

Below the Buddha, a multicolored disk of seven sections shows how worshipers may gain “knowledge of the heavens.” Inscriptions in gold mark its spokes. Around the disk, earthly scenes emphasize the importance of donations. By making donations to the Buddha, worshipers can gain merit and be reborn in the heavens at the “summit of existence.”