Artwork Page for Raft Cup

Details / Information for Raft Cup

Raft Cup

銀槎杯

1300s–1400s

attributed to Zhu Bishan 朱碧山

(Chinese, c. 1300–after 1362)
Culture
China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Medium
hammered silver soldered together, with chased decoration
Measurements
Overall: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1977.7
Public Domain
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Location
240B Chinese Decorative Arts
Print
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Did You Know?

The traditional understanding of the silver vessel 's function is that it was supposed to hold wine.

Description

The figure watching the stars is believed to be the messenger Zhang Qian (died 114 BCE). Legend says he lost his way in the Milky Way, where he met the Weaving Maid who gave him a stone from her loom. Zhang, in fact, holds a slab inscribed loom stone. The vessel is dated, inscribed, and has a seal of the silversmith Zhu Bishan, from Zhejiang province, who ran a workshop in the Lake Tai area near Suzhou. Zhu is one of the few Chinese silversmiths known by name, producing silverware so desirable that his name was used like a trademark by his competitors and followers. Made of pure silver, and shaped like a hollow log, the cup was assembled from several silver pieces that were then soldered together.
A silver cup is shaped like a man riding down a river. The man has a naked torso and sits at the lip of the cup, his head tilted back. The waves envelop each side of the cup and its upturned tip.

Raft Cup

1300s–1400s

Zhu Bishan

(Chinese, c. 1300–after 1362)
China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

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