Cup with Dragon Handles (1662–1722): Art, History and Details

Cup with Dragon Handles (1662–1722) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Three dragons, auspicious symbols for good fortune, grasp the rim of this bowl. A large shou (longevity) character is visible on the outside wall. Drinking cups with dragon handles were elite luxuries. The yellowish-white color and refined techniques are characteristic of Suzhou workshops that served the court, scholar-officials, and the merchant class. The optimistic attribution to Lu Zigang (late 1500s), a jade master recorded to have been active in Suzhou, suggests that its maker used the master’s name to attract wealthy clients eager to demonstrate their refined taste and connoisseurship.

Object facts

• Title: Cup with Dragon Handles
• Date: 1662–1722
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi reign (1662-1722)
• Type: Jade
• Technique: Pale gray-green white jade
• Dimensions: Diameter: 14.6 cm (5 3/4 in.); Overall: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1920.424

A detail from the museum

Auspicious inscriptions on the base and front of the jade cup convey wishes for longevity.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Michigan Oriental Art Society, and Cranbrook Institute of Science. Chinese Jades, the Great Tradition: Exhibition Sponsored Jointly by Michigan Oriental Art Society and Cranbrook Institute of Science at Cranbrook Institute of Science. Bloomfield Hills, MI: The Society, 1977.
• Watt, James C. Y. Chinese Jades from Han to Chʻing. New York: Asia Society, in association with J. Weatherhill, 1980.
• Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.

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.