BRONZE EAR CUP

This ear cup was found to be existed in the 475-221BCE such that has a rough and rusty inner surface while the outside is smoother and consists of some patterns. The first one is composed with two isosceles triangle pointing opposite direction decorating around the edge of the cup. The second one locates at the lower part of the cup which looks like the face of an animals such that also decorating around the cup. Not only the body of the cup was decorated, but also the handle was made with certain kind of patterns.

This object is made of bronze which, was the hardest material in The Bronze Age, is a kind of alloy consisting copper and usually tin (Helmenstine, 2019). Besides, the antioxidizing properties made them durable under air exposure due to the formation of copper oxide which protects the interior material from further oxidation (Helmenstine, 2019). This results in a frequently usage of bronze in the Warring States period and the utensil remains intact until now.

The overall shape of the cup is more likely to be rough. One noticeable feature is that the edge of the cup becomes thinner in the middle. This implies that this cup was made to be functional instead of entertaining.



Reference list:

Anne Marie Helmenstine, P. (2019, June 21). What are the composition and properties of bronze? Retrieved March 23, 2021, from https://www.thoughtco.com/bronze-composition-and-properties-603730