A carved 'tixi' lacquer stem cup, Southern Song-Yuan Dynasty. Photo: Sothebys.

supported on a pedestal foot, crisply carved through layers of black and red lacquer to create a design of lappets formed from scrolls, the interior fitted with a silver liner. Height 3 in., 7.5 cm. Estimation 8,000 — 12,000 USD

Provenance: Christie's New York, 20th and 21st November 1979, lot 573. 

Note: A set of cups with a similar scroll design dating to the Southern Song dynasty is illustrated in Simon Kwan, Chinese Lacquer: The Muwen Tang Collection Series, vol. 20, Hong Kong, 2010, no. 13.  A stem cup with slightly different design is illustratedibid., no. 18, and another is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it is dated to the 13th century. 

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 17 sept. 2013 -http://www.sothebys.com/