

Unknown Artist
The characters on this coin exhibit Emperor Huizong's distinctive calligraphic style, known as "slender gold" because it resembled finely spun filaments of the precious metal. Huizong made an effort to present himself as a man of cultivated tastes through various means. His writings were often carved in stone or metal, as here, and circulated widely among the public.
Credit: Gift of James C. Y. Watt, 2013
1102-06
Copper alloy
3.5 cm
2013.43
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025

Permanent collection