Lot 760. A silver ‘lotus’ cup, Song dynasty (AD 960-1279); 3 3⁄4 in. (9.3 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Unsold. © Christie's 2022

The cup has rounded sides chased with overlapping petals with stamens rising over the top row just below the mouth rim. The center of the interior is chased with a ring of stamens encircling a seed pod. The stem foot is incised with a narrow band of undulating waves below a four-character inscription on one side reading Wang Shi lian ju (Wang Shi’s precious dressing case). 

Note: A very similar gilt-silver cup, described as a wine cup and dated to the Southern Song dynasty, excavated in 1981 in Jiangsu province, Liyang area, and now in the Zhenjiang City Museum, is illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan, qingtong juan (The Compendium of Chinese Art, Gold, Silver, Jade and Stone), Hong Kong, 1994, p. 140, no. 149. Unlike the present cup, the splayed foot of the Zhenjiang cup is decorated with pendent overlapping petals and lacks an inscription.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022