The cup is a study in patience. White jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Jin workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A cup in white 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 Jin taste for white 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 | Golden jade cup (金盖托白玉杯) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00103662 |
| Technique | White jade (白玉) |
| Period | Jin dynasty (1115-1234 CE) |
| 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.