A FINE AND RARE SMALL SILVER BOWL EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, 4RD/3RD CENTURY B.C.

of oval section, the shallow rounded sides with scalloped lobes springing from a flat base, a handle shaped like a raptor-head with gold-inlaid eyes projecting from one side opposite an indentation, the overall dark grey patina with some traces of malachite encrustation

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 76.

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 33, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 76.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 79.

The cup is in overall very good condition. There is some bright malachite and azurite encrustation adhering to the surface.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Like the present cup, a number of similarly shaped silver cups with raptor-heads are known in Western collections and were reputedly found in royal tombs of the Eastern Zhou at Luoyang in Henan province. For one such example similarly adorned with a raptor-head but of slightly larger size and with plain rounded sides formerly in the Frederick M. Mayer Collection and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated in Jenny F. So and Emma C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China's Northern Frontier, Washington, D.C., 1995, cat. no. 73.

While the raptor-head feature is believed to be an iconographic feature associated with the herding tribes of the Eurasian steppes throughout the first millinnium BC, and particularly with Scythian art, the shape of the present cup frequently appears in both lacquer and bronze in 4th and 3rd century BC burials of the Chu state, excavated in present-day southern central and eastern China. A larger bowl of this basic form but terminating in a spout instead of a handle and with plain sides, attributed to the Chu state and the Warring States period, is illustrated in Francois Louis, 'Die Goldschmiede der Tang- und Song-Zeit', Schweizer Asiatische Studien, vol. 32, Bern, 1999, pl. 9, together with a covered stembowl with similar scalloped motifs, excavated at Zibo, Shandong province and attributed to the Western Han dynasty, ibid., pl. 10. 

The influence of northern iconographic features on an established decorative repertoire such as on the present example is reflected in a gilt bronze stemcup adorned with a bird head but resting on a flared stem which was uearthed from the Chu state tomb no. 2 at Baoshan in Hubei province, illustrated in Baoshan Chu mu, vol. 2, Beijing, 1991, col. pl. 11:3.