Opium Cup
c. 1675
Description
This elegant cup is carved from jade, thinned to the point of translucence. The artist took inspiration from a poppy, the plant from which opium is derived. Overlapping petals create the basin, and a stem with leaves forms the curving handle. Opium latex, a milky fluid produced by the plant, was dried, then dissolved in wine, milk, or water and drunk from a cup. Opium had been used in India since ancient times, for purposes ranging from medicinal to religious to recreational.
Dimensions
2 x 7.9 cm (13/16 x 3 1/8 in.)
Provenance
Stuart Cary Welch (by 1999 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum, 2009. Notes: Object was part of temporary loan to Museum in 1999.
Related Artworks
View MoreSilver
18th centuryAmericanTerracotta
5th century BCEGreekCeramic
18th centuryJapaneseTerracotta
6th century BCEGreekPlaster
Coin silver
19th centuryAmericanLeaded brass
2nd-5th century CERomanBronze
5th century BCEEtruscanBlue-green glass
1st-2nd century CERomanBlue-and-white ware: porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue; with spurious underglaze cobalt-blue mark reading "Da Ming Xuande nian xhi" within a double circle on the base
19th centuryChineseEarthenware
3rd-2nd millennium BCEChineseBiscuit porcelain with decoration painted in green, aubergine, turquoise, and black enamels against a yellow enamel ground; with spurious underglaze cobalt-blue mark reading "Da Ming Chenghua nian zhi" within a double circle on the base
17th centuryChinese