Dish with long-tailed birds and hollyhock. Culture: China. Dimensions: H. 1/8 in. (0.3 cm); Diam. 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm). Date: 14th century.Several features help date this remarkable dish to the fourteenth century. Two birds circle one another playfully in a composition suited to the circular shape. The lush hollyhock blossoms, shown from multiple perspectives, have petals of different sizes that overlap to suggest depth. Long, narrow leaves fill at least three layers of carving, adding to the richness of the surface. The unworked dark background seen here is more commonly found in earlier carved lacquers. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.