Libation Cup (c. 235–185 BCE): Art, History and Details

Libation Cup (c. 235–185 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The remarkably clear, tiny carvings in an uninterrupted frieze around the lower section include one sacred palm tree and one fig tree (ficus religiosa) that divide the space into two main scenes. One features female musicians, the other has two chariots, each drawn by a pair of galloping horses. Bulls, birds, and flowers fill the background spaces. This cup is from a group found in an area with close links to Indo-Greek kingdoms, and the chariots and framing motifs reveal knowledge of Hellenistic art.

Object facts

• Title: Libation Cup
• Date: c. 235–185 BCE
• Culture: India, Maurya period (322–185 BCE)–Shunga period (185–78 BCE)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: bronze, lost wax technique
• Dimensions: Diameter: 7 cm (2 3/4 in.); Overall: 6 cm (2 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art - Maurya
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2001.2

A detail from the museum

The tree carved into the cup is of the same species as the Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha reached enlightenment.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” April 4, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
• Czuma, Stanislaw. “Two Vessels from Ancient India,” The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine (December 2001): 6-7
• “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2000-2001.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 53, 2002, pp. 111–125.

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.