A VERY FINE SMALL SILVER CUP TANG DYNASTY, LATE 7TH/EARLY 8TH CENTURY

the slightly waisted sides resting on a low splayed ring foot, the body superbly decorated with a wide band of finely chased and engraved foliate scrolls enclosing open blossoms interspersed with palmettes, all reserved on a finely ring-punched ground, one side set with a small delicate ring handle with a tab

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 90.

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 70, an exhibition touring the United States and shown also at nine other museums.

From Silver to Ceramic, the Potter's Debt to Metal Work in the Graeco-Roman, Oriental and Islamic Worlds, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1986, pl. 33 (bottom).

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 90.

Bo Gyllensvärd, 'T'ang Gold and Silver', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1957, no. 29, pl. 12b, figs. 24g, 78i.

Han Wei, Hai nei wai Tangdai jin yin qi cui bian [Tang Gold and Silver in Chinese and overseas collections], Xi'an, 1989, pl. 72.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 92.

The cup is in overall quite good condition. The surface shows some very light overall wear and scratching and may have been covered with some form of lacquer or varnish to prevent tarnishing. There is an old 4mm area of loss to the base of the ring handle at the point that it is attached to the cup.
"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."

Small handled cups such as the present example reflect the quality of the finest Tang gold and silverware. Several examples of similar form with gently waisted sides rising from a splayed foot ring have been found in a number of Tang hoards and tombs. Two well-known and published gold cups, discovered among the gold and silver pieces in the hoard at Hejiacun south of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, illustrate the wide range of techniques and the decorative repertoire employed by the Tang silversmiths. While one cup is decorated with cloisons in the form of six-petaled flowers against a plain polished gold ground, the second is cast with figures in high relief around the waisted body. See Tangdai jinyin qi, Beijing, 1985, col. pl. 3 and pl. 64. For other examples in silver, see ibid., pls. 5 and 25.