19 juillet 2017

Lidded container with birds and floral scrolls, China, Shaanxi province, probably Xi’an, mid-Tang dynasty, early 8th century. Cast, hammered, and turned silver with chased and ring-punched decoration and mercury gilding. Purchase, Freer Gallery of Art, F1931.17a-b © 2017 Smithsonian Institution This object is not gold but rather gilt silver. The entire surface of the finished piece was heavily gilded after the decoration was chased into it, filling the recessed lines with gold and making it look as... [Lire la suite]

Lot 60. A fine and very rare parcel-gilt 'rhinoceros' silver dish, Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century, 15.2cm., 6in. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 168,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. possibly a pair to lot 59, this dish is of similar shallow circular shape with everted sides rising from a splayed footring, the interior similarly decorated in repoussé and parcel-gilt depicting a rhinoceros standing four-square and facing right, his stout body with scaly hides and supporting a... [Lire la suite]

Lot 59. A fine and very rare parcel-gilt 'rhinoceros' silver dish , Tang dynasty, 8th-9th century, 15.2cm., 6in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 GBP. Lot sold 390,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. of shallow circular shape, the flaring sides supported on a short splayed footring, the centre finely decorated in repoussé and parcel-gilt with the figure of a stylised rhinoceros, standing four-square, his head with a pointed smout facing left, issuing a long and a short... [Lire la suite]

Stemmed wine cup with floral scrolls, China, Shaanxi province, probably Xi’an, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–early 8th century. Cast bronze with chased and ring-punched decoration and mercury gilding. Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art,  F1911.70 © 2017 Smithsonian Institution This small gilt bronze stem cup is virtually identical to a gilt silver example from the cache burial of silver and gold vessels found at Hejiacun [linkage to an article] in Chang’an (modern Xi’an,... [Lire la suite]

Silver stemcup with an incised and ring-punched design of archers chasing deer amid a landscape of trees and flowers, Tang dynasty (618-907). Height: 9.8 centimetres; Diameter: 7.7 centimetres (at lip). Bequeathed by Mrs Walter Sedgwick, 1968,0422.10 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum Stemcups in gold, silver and gilded bronze were introduced to China from Central Asia and lands further west. They closely resemble the shapes of stemcups used in the Mediterranean area, although the decoration... [Lire la suite]

Lot 55. A silver stemcup, Tang dynasty (618-907), 6.8cm., 2 5/8 in. Estimate 2,000 — 3,000 GBP. Lot sold 11,875GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. the rounded bowl rising from a knopped stem on a splayed base, the body decorated in repoussé with three rows of overlapping lotus petals and an undulating palmette scroll on a ring-matted ground chased around the lipped rim, the foot similarly decorated with stylised palmettes. WEIGHT 74.5g. Literature: Bo... [Lire la suite]

Lot 47. A fine small silver stemcup, Tang dynasty, late 7th-early 8th century, 5.5cm., 2 1/8 in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Lot sold 50,900 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. the rounded bowl rising from a short knopped stem and wide flared foot, the body finely chased and engraved with a meandering scrolling vine bearing palmettes and trefoil-shaped leaves, fruit and tendrils, all within a broad central register bordered by narrow silver bands between similar simplified scroll bands encircling the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 58. A fine silver stemcup, Tang dynasty,  7th-8th century, 6.8cm., 2 5/8 in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Lot sold 156,500 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. the deep bowl flaring towards the rim and divided horizontally just below by rim by a single raised band, supported on a knopped stem rising from a wide splayed foot, with some bright malachite green encrustation to the sides. WEIGHT 78.5g. Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the... [Lire la suite]

Stemmed wine cup with floral scrolls, China, mid-Tang dynasty, 8th century. Cast silver with chased and ring-punched decoration. Purchase, Freer Gallery of Art, F1929.16 © 2017 Smithsonian Institution This unique cup is unlike other silver objects in the Freer collection that resemble pieces scientifically excavated in China or housed in museums. The shape of the wide but shallow cavity is not foliated, the decorative floral scroll is continuous around the circumference, and the conical stem of the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 71. A rare petal-shaped silver stemcup, Tang dynasty, 7th century, 5.4cm., 2 1/8 in. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 46,100 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's. the bowl worked in rounded relief with two rows of ten petals below the everted rim, each petal superbly engraved with small birds flying amidst flowering stems and sprays against a finely ring-matted ground, all supported on a knopped stem rising from a gently splayed base divided into ten petals and forming a scalloped... [Lire la suite]