Stem Cup (early 700s): Art, History and Details

Stem Cup (early 700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This stem cup is a supreme example of secular silver. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), vessels like this were used to serve both tea and wine, the beverages enjoyed by the elite. It also demonstrates the effects of east-west exchanges along the Silk Road: the stem cup was a popular shape in Sasanian Iran.

Object facts

• Title: Stem Cup
• Date: early 700s
• Culture: China, Tang dynasty (618-907)
• Type: Silver
• Technique: silver with gilt interior and incised and chased decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 9 x 7.3 x 7.3 cm (3 9/16 x 2 7/8 x 2 7/8 in.)
• Collection: China - Tang Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1951.396

Collection credit

Edward L. Whittemore Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• Ono Katsutoshi, ed. Seikai Bijutsu Zenshu [世界美術全集 = Art of the World]. vol. 15, part 4, The Sui and Tang Dynasties 隋. 唐. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1961
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

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.