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Cup with Dragon Handles
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this 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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCup with Dragon Handles (雙龍耳杯)), 1662–1722. China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi reign (1662-1722). Pale gray-green white jade; diameter: 14.6 cm (5 3/4 in.); overall: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade, 1920.424
