Large Libation Cup in the Shape of Bronze Ritual Vessel (guang)
Culture
Chinese
DateQing Dynasty, late 19th century
Mediumpurple-green jadeite with brown and lavender
Dimensions15.5 × 13.5 × 6 cm (6 1/8 × 5 5/16 × 2 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsJades
Credit LineGift of John and Maria Dirlam
Object number1997.134
Label Text2006-03-04: Large Libation Cup in the Shape of Bronze Ritual Vessel (guang)
Jadeite; Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), late 19th century
Gift of John and Maria Dirlam, 1997.134
Playful dragons crawl on both libation cups. The large jadeite cup resembles an ancient sauceboat-shaped bronze vessel called a guang. The shape of the rhyton was inspired by Western and Central Asian cups made of horns or horn-shaped metalwork. Cups modeled after these imported works were first made in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). Courtiers and scholars commissioned copies of these early works during the archaistic revival of the Song dynasty (960 - 1279 CE). This rhyton, which shows a monster head gulping the up-swung end of the "horn," interpreted as the monster's tail, emulates a Song prototype.
ProvenanceJohn and Maria DirlamOn View
Not on view
Chinese
late 18th century, Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese
Qianlong period (1736–1795) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
