Cup (1736–95): Art, History and Details

Cup (1736–95) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In the Qing dynasty, luxury items became more affordable to larger parts of the society, including women, merchants, and literati in nonofficial positions. Imperial patronage and a growing urban population also encouraged consumption of luxury goods and local craftmanship. This cup with open-work interlacing dragons shows the creative mind of the skilled artisan who carved it from a round piece of jade.

Object facts

• Title: Cup
• Date: 1736–95
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
• Type: Jade
• Technique: jade
• Dimensions: Overall: 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1952.502

Collection credit

Anonymous Gift

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “Chinese Carved Jades.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 41, no. 4 (April 1954): 67–71.
• Watson, William. L'art de l'ancienne Chine. Paris: Mazenod, 1979.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.