A subtle sparkle of Persian in Ming Zhengde

Imagine yourself in sixteenth-century China. You’re inside the Imperial court in the Ming Dynasty and surrounded by luxurious textiles, brightly colored decorations and the silent movements of servants and court officials scurrying around. As you wander around the precinct, you notice the Emperor’s orders are recorded by professionally trained scribers on ornate scrolls. You see the scriber’s flawless calligraphy in a variety of shapes and sizes. The Emperor’s orders are intertwined with sprawling landscapes of his empire - mountains, rivers, valleys and lakes surrounded by magnificent trees, grass, and flowers. Remember your surroundings as this story explores how the reproductions of the extraordinary beauty of the Chinese landscape and nature are represented in objects used by Chinese Imperial Court Bureaucrats, and how a common object, like a porcelain brush rest, reflects the emergence of the interconnected world of the 16th century.