Wine beaker (gu)
16th-14th century BCE
Description
Beaker of tall, slender form with flared mouth, and lightly flared pedestal foot with three small tabs encircling the perimeter; lower body encircled by grooved bands; lightly burnished gray earthenware. Vessels of this form became popular for wine drinking in the Shang dynasty and may be based on an Erlitou culture (1900-1500 BCE) prototype.
Dimensions
H. 26.2 x Diam. 10.5 cm (10 5/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Provenance
[Christie's, New York, 21 September 2000, lot 219] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
Related Artworks
View MoreWhite stoneware with clear glaze over molded decoration and stylized Chinese character "shou" (longevity) impressed into the flat floor; the rim banded with metal
17th-18th centuryChineseNumbered Jun ware: light gray stoneware with variegated purple and blue glaze; with Chinese numeral 1 (yi) inscribed on base before firing; "Yangxin dian Changchun shuwu yong" (Hall of Mental Cultivation, used in the Studio of Everlasting Spring) inscription incised on base at a later date
15th centuryChineseEnameled porcelain: porcelain with decoration painted in overglaze red, green and yellow enamels; with underglaze cobalt-blue mark reading "Da Ming Jiajing nian zhi" on the base
16th centuryChineseCeramic
20th centuryGermanLight gray stoneware with localized areas of natural ash glaze and of kiln-darkened surface
5th-6th centuryKoreanReddish earthenware covered in whitish slip and painted with green (chromium) slip under clear lead glaze
10th centuryBronze
7th-2nd century BCEEtruscanSilver
17th-19th centuryFrenchCeramic
18th centuryJapaneseMonochrome glazed ware, "mirror black" type: porcelain with black glaze and with traces of decoration in overglaze gold enamel
ChineseMetal
11th centuryEgyptianFaience
6th century BCEGreek