A jade 'dragon and phoenix' ear cup, Han dynasty | 漢　浮雕龍鳳螭紋玉羽觴盃

Splendor Jade Collection of the Han Dynasty, Taipei, 2025, no. 55.

Elegantly carved with crescent-shaped flanges, the present vessel is an exceptionally rare Han dynasty jade yushang 'winged cup' or erbei 'ear cup'. Originating in Warring States lacquerware, this banquet vessel form is commonly found in lacquer and earthenware, but jade examples were strictly reserved for the highest nobility.

The exterior is masterfully carved in shallow relief with a dynamic, interconnected scene of a dragon, phoenix, and chi dragon in pursuit, showcasing the rhythm and vitality of peak Han dynasty jade carving. Adding a hidden layer of refinement, the interior base is finely incised with two abstract phoenixes.

Han dynasty jade ear cups with such elaborate relief carving are exceedingly rare. For a related late Warring States jade ear cup excavated from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, also featuring incised abstract phoenixes to the interior, see Nanjing Museum, ed., Yurun zhonghua: zhongguo yuqi de Wannian shishi tujuan, [An Epic of Chinese Jade for 10000 Years], Nanjing, 2023, p. 209. Compare also an undecorated example excavated from the tomb of the King of Chu at Shizishan, Xuzhou, illustrated ibid., p. 266.

出版

《漢家琳琅》，台北，2025年，編號55

本品呈橢圓形，如舟狀，兩側帶半月形雙耳，雕工精緻，為漢代「羽觴」或「耳盃」之經典且極為罕見之作。此器形源自戰國時期漆器，至漢代蔚為風尚，常作宴飲時盛酒或盛食之用。考古發掘中常見漆器及陶製耳盃，然玉製耳盃則極為罕見，昔日僅供最高階級之貴族使用。

盃身外壁以淺浮雕精刻龍、鳳與螭龍互相追逐之生動場景，構圖流暢連貫，展現漢代玉雕工藝巔峰之非凡韻律與生機。圈足內底細刻兩隻抽象鳳鳥紋，平添一抹內斂之雅緻。

漢代玉耳盃存世極罕，而帶有如此繁複浮雕紋飾者更為難得，江西南昌海昏侯墓出土一件戰國晚期之相關玉耳盃，內底亦陰刻抽象鳳鳥紋，見南京博物院編，《玉潤中華：中國玉器的萬年史詩圖卷》，南京，2023年，頁209。另可比較一件徐州獅子山楚王陵出土之素面玉耳盃，載於同上註，頁266。