Middle Qing Dynasty
Mouth diameter: 10.5cm
Bottom diameter: 9.8cm
Height: 17.1cm

The silver-based vase has a flared mouth, big belly and round leg. It is made of three types of silver wires of different thickness, with the silver block forming the base, thick wires forming curved grass motifs and thin wires forming curved lines on the outer surface.

The mouth and the belly are in the shape of a 12-ridged melon, with an arc-shaped concave between every two ridges. This design is somewhat different from the usual melon ridge-shaped chrysanthemum petals. The wired grass patterns are also completely different from those commonly found on imperial handicrafts of the Qing Dynasty court.

This vase with ingeniously wired patterns was made by Uygur craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty. It gives an exotic flavor and reflects the Xinjiang silver-wiring techniques of the mid-Qing Dynasty and its local styles.