Gilt Silver Wine Drinking Game Set

Pictures below showing a gilt silver wine drinking game set from Tang Dynasty. Shaped like a cylindrical pagoda, the silver container rises from a slightly wider cylindrical stand nestled in the center of a large finely crafted lotus blossom, the double layer of graceful petals opening in a halo around the stand, itself finely incised with narrow upright blades above a border of vertical lines, the stand and base all gilded, mounted on a gilt silver base in the form of a tortoise. The upper portion of the cylinder is a removable lid surmounted by an organically rendered lotus leaf striated with veins, the leaf rising into a dome topped by a bud-shaped knob, the six leaf tips around the periphery of the lid each curling up to reveal the naturalistically rendered veins beneath, all gilded. The knob is fitted with a silver chain linking the cover to a loop on the body of the container. A rectangular cartouche on the side of the body encloses a four-character inscription, Lun Yu Yu Zhu (論語玉燭), “Analects Jade Candle”. A coiling three-clawed, scaly dragon with prominent saw-tooth dorsal fin ascends with legs akimbo on the left of the cartouche, its eyes bulging and mouth agape. On the right-hand side a phoenix with head held high, beak open and crest flowing above the arched neck spreads its finely feathered wings while the long tail extends rearward, the creatures amid scrolling vines, the slender stems issuing loops ending in curls, with scattered clouds rendered as short scrolling bands floating amid the vines. Pairs of small dove-like confronting birds occupy four large upright panels around the base, each panel formed by two confronting “C” shapes. The same paired-bird motif is repeated on the cylindrical cover on a ground of vines and clouds similar to that of the vessel. The motifs on body and lid are all set against a minute and uniform ring-punched silver ground.

While no mention of this particular drinking game is known from Tang period literature, the game is self-named by way of the inscription. The cylindrical container represents the “jade candle” and the bud or flame-shaped finial the burning wick. The Lun Yu, “Analects”, are a collection of ethical maxims formulated by Confucius (479BC) in conversations with friends.

Height : 22cm

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Picture showing men playing the wine drinking game during Tang Dynasty.