MUSEUM JADE CUP WITH BRONZE MOUNTING.
China. Probably Western Han dynasty. Ca. 2nd/1st c. BC.

Bright; buff colored; partly opaque jade with calcifications. Finely carved and polished. Bronze mounting gilt. The high cup is divided into two sections with a handle with a carnivore face and a movable ring in a taotie mask. In both sections different animals in an abstracted landscape under clouds. On the upper part two oxen; a monkey and birds; on the lower register a bear; a tiger and a dragon. On the slightly arched lid a liying panther and three fenghuang birds from bronze. In the stout legs with inlayed stones; which might have been replaced. Condition A/B.

The style of this cup is similar to other Han dynasty jades. The calcifications of the jade; the earth incrustations and the corrostion of bronze speak for its authenticity.

Compare:
The collection of the Harvard Art Museum/Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Under Object No. 1943.51.22 a similarly decorated cup; but from lower shape.Art trade; Van Ham.