A RARE PAIR OF BLACK AND RED PAINTED LACQUER 'EAR' CUPS

Warring States Period

Footnotes

Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve.
本拍品不設底價

戰國 彩繪三魚紋漆耳杯一對

Provenance
The Feng Wen Tang Collection

來源：
奉文堂珍藏

Lacquer ear cups of this elliptical shape with angular or crescent-moon handles were made from the Warring States period to the fifth century. They are known in three main forms, those with rectangular ears, those with round ears and those with a stem-foot. It is noted in 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 28, that 'ear cups' with rectangular handles appeared in the 5th century B.C. and were no longer used during the Han dynasty. Known in Chinese as bei or yushang, cups of this type were used for drinking wine, as well as for holding small edibles presented at banquets.

Also see a cup with similar motif of three fishes, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji: Qiqi, Heibei, 1998, pl.44, p.45; an example with the ears and the exterior rim decorated with cloud patterns, illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji 2: Zhanguo - Qin, Fujian, 1997, pl.26, p.29; also see two related ear cups from the Warring States Period in the Shanghai Museum Collection with similar form and decoration, illustrated in In a Myriad of Forms: The Ancient Chinese Lacquers, Shanghai, 2018, pp.30-31.

木胎，杯呈橢圓形，弧腹，平底微凹。口沿外有對稱方耳，形如蝶翅，耳面微上翹。耳面、耳側及口沿外壁繪雲紋。器内以朱黃漆彩繪三魚紋及對稱幾何紋，器外通體髹黑漆。

器内三魚紋裝飾見《中國美術全集 卷8：漆器》，河北，1998年，頁45，圖44；耳面、耳側及口沿外壁繪雲紋例子可參考一雲紋耳杯，見《中國漆器全集—戰國、秦》，福建，1997年，頁29，圖26。上海博物館亦藏有兩例造型及紋飾皆類近的戰國彩繪耳杯，見《千文萬華：中國歷代漆器藝術》，上海，2008年，頁30-31。