OVAL CUP WITH SEMICIRCULAR HANDLES

Description This vessel has the typical shape and dimensions of oval “winged” cups (yushangs), usually used for drinking alcoholic beverages, which owe their name to the two narrow horizontal handles placed symmetrically on the long sides at the rim. The cup has thin curved wooden walls that thicken towards the flat bottom. The solid wooden handles, instead of being rounded as on other examples, are shaped with a semicircular cavity in the center. Lacquer covers the entire object, with a clear predominance of the black (dark brown) color on the outside, on the handles and along the inner band of the hem. The red cinnabar lacquer colors the rest of the interior of the cup and decorates the handles and hems with abstract designs on a black background. On the outside, the decoration consists of a simple, sparse circular marks.