Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, London, 08 Oct 2014
A fine and rare silver and parcel-gilt cup, Golden Horde, Central Asia, 13th-14th century
Lot 88. A fine and rare silver and parcel-gilt cup, Golden Horde, Central Asia, 13th-14th century; 13cm. max. diam. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 GBP. Lot Sold 43,750 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014
the deep rounded body with central gilt medallion incised and punched with lotus blossom design, a foliate-edged thumb-rest rivetted to the rim with en-suite decoration, external rim with gilt band also incised and punched with foliate details.
Note: This type of drinking cup (or 'belt-bowl'), which has its origins in eastern Asia, spread west from the Ural river during the Mongol expansion of the early thirteenth century. It was carried in a bag that hung from the traveller's belt, and is illustrated in a miniature depicting Sultan Sanjar ibn Malik Shah in the Edinburgh University copy of the Jami al-Tawarikh of Rashid al-Din (see D.T. Rice, The Illustrations to the 'World History' of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh, 1976, p.175).
Two similar cups are illustrated in: The Treasures of the Golden Horde, The State Hermitage Museum, The State Historical Museum exhibition catalogue, St Petersburgh, 2000, cat. no. 41, p.70 and cat. no. 60, p.228.