
Framed by an elegant foliate rim, the pictorial scene from the “Former Red Cliff Ode” by Su Shi (1037–1101) shows him with two companions boating beneath the Red Cliff, a famous ancient battle site along the Yangzi River. A wine pot and cups are set before them. They read poetry and play music as the boat drifts idyllically beside a rocky embankment covered with grasses, and a waterfall spills down from the high cliffs at the far shore. Scenes from Su Shi’s life and literature, especially the scene of the “Red Cliff Odes, ” became very popular soon after his death and appeared in a variety of mediums. This silver plate, however, is one of the earliest works illustrating the “Red Cliff” scene, and certainly the earliest extant metalwork bearing the “Red Cliff.”