Home Mawangdui Artifacts Winged cup with cloud design and inscription
Winged cup with cloud design and inscription
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Medium:Lacquer
Date:Western Han (206 BCE-9 CE)

Dimensions:Length: 16.9cm; height: 4.4cm

Origin: Unearthed from Han Tomb No.1 at Mawangdui, Changsha City, Hunan Province in 1972.

More than 100 pieces of lacquer winged cups were unearthed from Tomb 1 and Tomb 3. Beautifully made and varied in size, these drinking vessels with wooden bodies shaped by hewing are similar in shape, each with an oval body, round lips, a shallow flat bottom and two slightly upturned crescent flanges. The inner side of each cup is coated with vermilion lacquer and cloud designs, while the interior of the bottom bears the inscription “Junxingjiu” or “Junxingshi”, meaning “please enjoy drinking” or “please enjoy eating”. The outer side and the bottom of the cup are coated with black lacquer but there have no designs. 


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