Wine vessel (Jue)
Unknown Artist
c. 1200 BCE
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
22.7 × 17.2 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund and Edward L. Wittemore Fund
Accession Number
1960.42
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Wine and food played a major role in ritual offerings to the ancestral spirits and the Supreme Ancestor (Shangdi) performed by the Shang rulers in the state cult of ancestor worship. A variety of wine vessels—each type given a specific name—was cast to bear witness to the power and artistic vitality of this remote civilization. This example of a jue wine cup is for libations. Other types of wine vessels include jia (wine warming vessel), fangyou (square wine container), and gu (beaker with a tru...