Set of cup and dish "Dragon and phoenix", Han Dynasty

A glass paste of a beautiful cobalt blue colour, known as Liulí, ‘琉璃’. The piece consists of a cylindrical-bodied cup, flanked by a scroll-shaped handle, resting on a baluster foot and a circular base. The exterior is decorated with reliefs depicting a sinuous dragon and a phoenix, all set against a background of raised scrollwork. The saucer, with a flat, circular base, features a rim adorned with a frieze of stylised dragons carved in relief. Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) or later.

Plate size: 3.4 x 21 cm; Cup size: 10.5 x 5.4 x 8.1 cm