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Ancient Dian Kingdom bronze liquor cup decorated with green peafowl
Updated: Aug 4, 2025
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More than 2,000 years ago, people of the Dian Kingdom in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) coexisted with the green peafowls and even honored them in art. This bronze liquor cup, now housed in Yunnan Provincial Museum, tells that story.
Tall and slender with a hollow lid shaped like a five-tiered pagoda, it features two golden pheasants on the first tier and a peafowl standing on the top. Its rare and ornate design suggests it may have been used in grand ceremonies, celebrating the significant status of green peafowls in ancient Yunnan.
