Silver Raft-Shaped Cup by Zhu Bishan

The silver raft-shaped wine cup was created by Zhu Bishan, an eminent silversmith in the Yuan Dynasty. In Chinese mythology, one could take a wooden raft across the sea and reach the heavenly river, and this means of transport has inspired many art and craft works.

The wine cup was crafted in the shape of a raft resembling an old tree. The hollow part was used to store wine. A Taoist wearing a loose robe and with his hair tied up, who has long beard and eyebrows, sits on the raft while gazing at a book in his hand. The bottom of the silver raft was engraved with verses such as "Storing jade liquid and feeling free" and "Knowing the fun of wine, leaving a name in the world" to express the joy of drinking.

The front of the tail is carved with the Chinese characters "龍槎 (long cha)", literally meaning "Dragon Raft", and the back is etched with its year and place of production as well as the name of its creator.

The production process for this cup involved a variety of techniques. The main body was carved after casting, and the head, hands, and shoes of the figure were cast and then welded together with other parts. The finished artifact looks flawless, without any welding traces.

Only four silver raft-shaped cups attributed to Zhu Bishan have survived to this day, and the other three are respectively housed in the Palace Museum in Taipei, the Museum of Wu in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, and the Cleveland Museum of Art in the United States.

This silver raft-shaped cup boasts ingenious design and superb craftsmanship and combines the characteristics of Chinese painting and sculpture, representing the high level of silver casting techniques in the Yuan Dynasty.

朱碧山銀槎

朱碧山銀槎（chá）是一件白銀制成的酒杯，為元代著名銀匠朱碧山的代表作品。槎即木筏，在中國古代傳說中，可以乘槎穿越大海，尋訪與之相連的天河，是很多作品的靈感來源。

酒杯被鑄成形似老樹的槎狀，中空以貯酒，一位道人倚坐槎上，束發(fā)寬袍，須眉皓然，正凝視手中書卷。槎底部刻有“貯玉液而自暢”“知得酒中趣，方留世上名”等詩句，表達飲酒之趣。槎尾正面刻有“龍槎”二字，背面則刻槎杯的制作年代、制作地點和作者等。此杯運用了多種制作工藝，主體為鑄成后雕刻，人物的頭、手、云履等則是鑄成后接焊，成品渾然一體，絲毫不顯焊接痕跡。現(xiàn)存于世的朱碧山銀槎僅有4件，另外3件分別藏于臺北故宮博物院、吳文化博物館和美國克利夫蘭藝術(shù)博物館。

這件銀槎構(gòu)思巧妙，技藝精湛，兼具中國繪畫與雕塑的特點，代表了元代鑄銀工藝的高超水平。