Object
Musical instrument (paixiao) with dragon design
- Lacquer with gold paint
- China, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1743
- Collection of National Museum of China
This wind instrument featuring 16 bamboo tubes for sound was used to perform imperial music during rituals and banquets in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Both sides feature decorations of two dragons amidst the clouds facing an auspicious jewel, together created by the miaojin gilding technique. The inscription states that the instrument was made in the eighth Qianlong year (1743). Traditional musical scales are inscribed in Chinese characters in regular script (kaishu) on the bamboo tubes.
