Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo

Ai Weiwei Chinese
1995
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
By branding a Western Han dynasty (206 B.C–A.D. 9) jar with the Coca-Cola logo—the quintessential emblem of global consumerism—Ai provokes viewers to recognize how China’s engagement with the West has had both destructive and creative consequences.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo
  • Artist: Ai Weiwei (Chinese, born Beijing, 1957)
  • Date: 1995
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Earthenware, paint
  • Dimensions: H. 9 7/8 in. (25 cm); Diam. 11 in. (28 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Lent by M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Ai Weiwei
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art