Painted fish ear cup

[Painted fish ear cup]

Painted fish ear cup, Western Han Dynasty, height 5.4 cm, caliber 17.5-9.2 cm, connecting ear width 12 cm, bottom diameter 9.5-5.7 cm
The cup is made of wood, which is thinner and lighter than the ear cup in the Warring States Period. The cup mouth is oval, with deep belly arc wall, flat bottom, short circle foot, crescent-shaped ears, and upturned ear surface. The cup is painted with black paint on the outside and red paint on the inside. The middle of the inner bottom is painted with black paint on the tail of a small fish. The composition is very simple
This ear cup was unearthed in the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty at No. 28, Gaotai, Jiangling, Jingzhou. Its decorative patterns are simple and realistic, which is a new feature of the decorative patterns of lacquer ware in the Western Han Dynasty. The overall style of lacquer patterns in the Western Han Dynasty tended to be realistic, and the theme content developed from abstract to concrete. The realistic animal patterns such as concrete bird patterns and fish patterns have risen to the leading position, and as the theme decoration, the auxiliary patterns are rarely used, and most of them are directly painted with ink on the red paint floor. The lacquerware decoration in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty is more concise, bright and beautiful than that in the early period, reflecting the cultural style of the Western Han Dynasty in its heyday.