Collection record · Everyday wonders
Raft Cup
The collection record classifies this work as silver. It is dated 1300s–1400s. Recorded culture or place: China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Raft Cup
- Date
- 1300s–1400s
- Culture / origin
- China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
- Materials and technique
- hammered silver soldered together, with chased decoration
- Dimensions
- Overall: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Zhu Bishan (Chinese, c. 1300–after 1362)
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1977.7
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
The figure watching the stars is believed to be the messenger Zhang Qian (died 114 BCE). Legend says he lost his way in the Milky Way, where he met the Weaving Maid who gave him a stone from her loom. Zhang, in fact, holds a slab inscribed loom stone. The vessel is dated, inscribed, and has a seal of the silversmith Zhu Bishan, from Zhejiang province, who ran a workshop in the Lake Tai area near Suzhou. Zhu is one of the few Chinese silversmiths known by name, producing silverware so desirable that his name was used like a trademark by his competitors and followers. Made of pure silver, and shaped like a hollow log, the cup was assembled from several silver pieces that were then soldered together.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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