Ming Dynasty, China, ca. 1368 to 1644 CE. This is a large reddish brown and grey "ear cup", a particular type of bowl with "ear-shaped" handles flush with the rim that was used for drinking wine. This example has delicate, thin-line swirled and geometric designs on the handles and exteriors. It has a delicate foot. Ear cups were highly valued by the wealthy, city-dwelling business class of Ming society. Size: 3.75" L x 3.1" W x 1.6" H (9.5 cm x 7.9 cm x 4.1 cm).
Chinese art has incorporated jade since the Neolithic period; quarries for nephrite, the formal name for jade, have been found in modern-day southern Mongolia that date to ca. 4000 BCE. The stone was prized for its hardness, its beautiful coloration (with a milky white being the most desired), and its durability. By the third millennium BCE, we know that jade had also come to be associated with immortality. Jade was used to make everything from everyday household objects and decoration to the ceremonial suits in which Han dynasty emperors were buried – with the belief that jade would preserve the body and the soul for eternity.
Provenance: Ex - Ex- Paul and Louise Bernheimer collection, Cambridge, MA and Laguna Woods, CA., acquired before 1980.
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