China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) / 1300s–1400s
Raft Cup
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Raft Cup as silver (China, Yuan (1271-1368) or early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) · 1300s–1400s).
The traditional understanding of the silver vessel 's function is that it was supposed to hold wine.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this silver as hammered silver soldered together, with chased decoration and credits Zhu Bishan (Chinese, c. 1300–after 1362).
The museum's collection notes: The figure watching the stars is believed to be the messenger Zhang Qian (died 114 BCE). Legend says he lost his way in the Milky Way, where he met the Weaving Maid who gave him a stone from her loom. Zhang, in fact, holds a slab inscribed loom stone . The vessel is dated, inscribed, and has a seal of the silversmith Zhu Bishan, from Zhejiang province, who ran a workshop in the Lake Tai area near Suzhou. Zhu is one of the few Chinese silversmiths known by name, producing silverware so desirable that his name was used like a trademark by his competitors and followers. Made of pure silver, and shaped like a hollow log, the cup was assembled fro
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtRaft CupOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.