WIDE OVAL CUP

Description Cup of rare shape, which recalls “winged cups” (yushang) but varies the shape of the handles and has larger than average dimensions. The flat bottom rests on four semicircular feet faced in pairs. The wooden core is quite thick and has been cut transversely to the grain. The handles, as in the yushang types, start at the rim of the cup and are centered on the long sides. However, they do not have the typical “wing” shape: in the centre of a long, narrow rectangular area, raised above the walls of the cup, a thick trapezoidal body juts out with the larger base at the top. The cup is entirely covered in black lacquer, with a layer of cinnabar-red lacquer superimposed inside. The geometric decoration of the object is at least as singular as its shape, and is executed by alternating red and yellow pigments.