The small cup is supported on a narrow foot with a widely splayed base, the stem cast with a raised midsection. The rounded cup with flaring rim is finely engraved around the exterior with a scrolling floral design, below a raised border and another scroll encircling the rim, all against a fine ring-punched ground.

This stem cup is a testament to the refined craftsmanship of Tang-dynasty metalworkers. Its precise engraving shows the high level of skill involved in producing metalwork during the period. Gold and silver vessels were among the most prized objects in Tang China, reflecting both the technical accomplishments of Chinese artisans and the influence of Persian, Sogdian and Roman-Byzantine metalworking traditions, which inspired new forms and decorative approaches.

A very similar gilt-bronze cup is illustrated in H. Trubner, The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty, 1957, pl. 121. Cups of this shape and design were also made in beaten silver, see for example a cup published by Bo Gyllensvärd in Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1953, pl. 102 a.


PROVENANCE
Formerly in the collection of Erwin Harris, Miami, Florida, by 1991
Christie’s New York, 2017

PUBLISHED
Christie’s New York, The Harris Collection: Important Early Chinese Art, 16 March, 2017, 
lot 87