Rhinoceros-horn cup with scenes from "Romance of the Western Chamber"

Object Details

• Description

  Full-tip rhino-horn cup with scenes from "Romance of the Western Chamber" carved over the exterior surface on all sides. High-relief carving. A pine tree and clouds that appear as decorative elements near the top of the cup are carried over inside the cup to form a design on the interior lip.

• Inscriptions

  1. (Jan Stuart, 29 August 1997) Bie jiu wei yin xin xian cui (Before the wine of parting is yet drunk, my heart is already shattered). From Xixiangji.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on Objects (August 18, 1994 to July 3, 1997)

  Bicentennial Exhibition: Chinese Art (December 5, 1975 to November 10, 1976)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1690s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Trees, Pine tree, Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Romance of the Western Chamber

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)