The cup is a study in patience. Green jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Imperial workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A cup in green jade was never merely pretty. In a culture that called its rulers’ virtue ‘jade-like’, the stone was a standard as much as a material.
The Imperial taste for green jade favoured objects that could be held and turned, read in the palm as much as on the shelf. A cup was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This cup is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Sapphire Bamboo Cup (青玉竹节杯) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00095898 |
| Technique | Green jade (青玉) |
| Period | Imperial dynasty |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum Digital Collection.