wine-cup BM-1955-1024.1

Period:Western Han dynasty Production date:4 (4th year Yuan Shi)
Materials:lacquer, gold,
Technique:gilded, lacquered,
Subjects:bird
Dimensions:Height: 6 centimetres Width: 17.60 centimetres Depth: 12 centimetres

Description:
Lacquer wine-cup. Exterior decorated with angular bird motifs and scrolls (resembling patterns on contemporary bronzes). Gilded and inscribed.
IMG


Comments:Rawson 1992:This cup is one of a number of similarly inscribed lacquer pieces made in the same period, which document the widespread and early use of division of labour in manufacturing in China. From this pieces we also learn that not only the states of Early China controlled the raw materials, but that they set up workshops to supply their palaces with all their needs, from religious utensils to furnishings and dress, weapons and tools. Michaelson 2006:This cup was found in Pyongyang, North Korea (part of the newly expanded Chinese territory of the time) and may have been given by the emperor to an official in lieu of salary, as was then common.Lacquer was much more prized and expensive than bronze, and records of the time relate that you could buy ten bronze cups for the price of one in lacquer.The long inscription of 65 characters around the base of this cup gives the names of the six craftsmen who were involved in every process of manufacturing it, from the wooden core to the placing of the bronze ‘ears’ as handles, and the seven men who acted as product inspectors at every stage of its production. The inscription tells us which emperor it was made for and the year of his reign (the equivalent of AD 4), and that it was made in Sichuan province. This cup is a good example of early mass-production and quality control.