Double cup with mythical beasts
The origin of this vessel, often called a “champion vase” in Western scholarship, remains unclear. It is possible that the term is a loose translation of the phrase yingxiong bei, or hero’s cup, a reference to the bird (ying) and bear (xiong) depicted on the front. The dragon-headed scroll pattern that covers the surface is based on imagery found during the Shang (ca. 1600–1046 B.C.) and Zhou (1054–256 B.C.) dynasties. It was most likely adapted from woodblock-print illustrations of antiquities.
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