Chinese Glasses & Cups

Used for tea, religious ceremonies, and even for massage therapy, cups are a very important innovation in Chinese art history. Cups are traditionally made of glass, porcelain, silver, bronze, and bone. The earliest forms of cups were made out of bronze and were solely for ritual purposes.

Early bronze ritual cups were called "jue" or "gu." Both were used for drinking and pouring wine. Gu vessels are tall slender vessels, whereas jue are tripod vessels with a lip for pouring wine or spirits. Since the emergence of these bronze vessels, Chinese cups have been created for mass use due to the widespread consumption of tea.

Chinese teacups are usually very small and made out of porcelain. They are often painted with scenes of everyday life, or calming landscapes and flowering motifs. Because tea became such a staple, either for medicinal purposes or in reverence toward ancestors, the decorations on teacups were originally made to depict these experiences. Therefore, teacups were often decorated with poetry referencing family or nature.

Quick Facts

• Chinese cups were not only used for the consumption of beverages. Cupping therapy is an ancient form of massage that dates from as early as 3000 B.C. This form of massage involves creating a vacuum within the cup and applying it to the skin. The practice is believed to relieve muscle pain and stress
• Bronze ritual cups have been excavated from royal tombs dating back to as early as 1650 B.C.
• Chinese teacups hold no more than 30 mL of liquid, unlike the average Western mug that holds between 200-250 mL of liquid