AN INSCRIBED AND PAINTED LACQUER WINE 'EAR' CUP Warring States Period - Early Western Han Dynasty (2)AN INSCRIBED AND PAINTED LACQUER WINE 'EAR' CUPWarring States Period – Early Western Han Dynasty Of elliptical form, elaborately constructed with deep rounded sides supported on a slightly raised oval base, set with a pair of rounded 'ear'-shaped handles set at a slight angle, two characters incised on one side reading zushi, and three faint engraved characters below, the delicate wood core lacquered in black with red-painted decorations, the interior painted with a pair of dragons flying amidst clouds, the inner rim, the ears and the exterior painted with stylised birds and bands of yungu ('cloud energy') spirals, box. 19.5cm (7 5/8in) wide. (2).戰國至西漢早期 漆繪雙龍鳥紋耳杯Provenance:A Hong Kong private collection, 1998–2007Chenglan Tang Collection, Hong Kong Published and illustrated:Courage & Joy Asian Art Advisory, Transition to Empire: Art from the Warring States to Han China, New York, 2011, no.12Exhibited:Courage & Joy Asian Art Advisory, Transition to Empire: Art from the Warring States to Han China, New York, 18th-26th March 2011來源:香港私人舊藏，1998至2007年香港澄覽堂珍藏出版及著錄：勇興，《Transition to Empire: Art from the Warring States to Han China》（帝國轉變：中國戰國至漢代藝術），紐約，2011年，編號12展覽:勇興，《Transition to Empire: Art from the Warring States to Han China》，紐約，2011年3月18日-26日Known in Chinese as yushang, cups of this type were used for drinking wine, as well as for holding small edibles ('xiaochi') presented at banquets. Ear cups were mentioned in bamboo and silk excavated from the Mawangdui Han tomb as specifically for wine, xing jiou bei, in Changsha Mawangdui yihao Hanmu, Beijing, 1973, bamboo 185-192; the lacquer ear cups excavated from the same tomb were inscribed with Jun xing jiou, illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji (Lacquer Treasures from China), Fuzhou, 1998, vol.3, no.82; and the ones made for holding food were inscribed with jun xing shi, see ibid., vol.3, no.83. Ear cups were also made in various materials during the Warring States period to the Western Han dynasty, such as in bronze and jade.The stylised bird patterns on the present cup are significant during the Warring States period to early Western Han dynasty; compare with the handles of a Qin dynasty lacquer ear cup excavated in Hubei Yunmeng, see ibid., vol.2, no.147. The combination of needle incised and engraved mark is also a distinct characteristic of the period; see an ear cup decorated with stylised cloud patterns excavated in the same site with needle incised inscription and an engraved word ting, ibid., no.148. For an example with similarly decorated interior of a pair of dragons flying amidst clouds, see an early Western Han dynasty lacquer box excavated also in the Yunmeng site, ibid., vol.3, no.1; compare also with a Western Han ear cup of similar size as the present lot, painted with stylised bird patterns, illustrated in Chu-Qin-Han Lacquerware Art, Hubei, 1996, p.229, no.185.杯成對開橢圓蛋形，兩側有耳，略微上翹，平底，通體髹黑漆，耳緣、耳身及口沿下一周皆繪朱漆變體鳥紋，鳥紋之間空隙繪雲穀紋，杯心繪朱漆交身龍紋一對，一側耳背部針刻「俎是」二字，其下似有三字烙印款識，惜不復可辨。 耳杯又稱羽觴杯，因兩側雙耳展翅如雙羽故，此為後世民間講法，戰國至漢代並無此稱。馬王堆漢墓遣冊記載的稱呼為「幸酒杯」，見《長沙馬王堆一號漢墓》，北京，1973年，簡185-192；墓中亦出土耳杯杯心漆書「君幸酒」三字，見《中國漆器全集》，福州，1998年，卷3，編號82。耳杯既可作為酒器，亦可作為食器，盛用肉羹，馬王堆漢墓出土耳杯繪有「君幸食」三字，見前書，編號83。漢代酒精飲品多為植物糧食直接發酵過濾而成，度數偏低，酒器容量偏大，故耳杯淺者為食器，深者為酒器。戰國至西漢耳杯材質多樣，青銅，玉，漆器皆有製作，而漆耳杯較多，青銅耳杯則可架於染爐加熱。此杯所飾變體鳥紋流行於戰國至西漢早期，可比較湖北雲夢出土一件秦代鳥雲紋漆耳杯，其耳部所繪紋飾與本件相似，見前書，卷2，編號147。針刻加烙印文字款識的做法亦見於這段時期，雲夢同墓出土一件卷雲紋耳杯便有烙印一「亭」字及針刻銘文，見前書，編號148。杯心所飾交身龍紋則可參考一件雲夢西漢早期墓出土之雲氣對鳥紋漆盒盒身所飾雲氣紋與本件龍身設計頗似，見前書，卷3，編號1。另可參考一件長度相若的西漢彩繪變形鳥紋耳杯，1986年出土於江陵毛家園1號墓，現藏於湖北省博物館， 見《楚秦漢漆器藝術》，湖北，1996年， 頁229，圖185。