Lot 35. A small oval silver cup with ring handle, Tang dynasty (618-907); 4 5/8in (10.7cm) length. Sold for US$7,650 . © Bonhams 2001-2023

The deep straight sides rising from flat rimless base, gently extended to one end for ease of sipping, the other end on the exterior applied a single floret attached with a small ring handle, another floret on the interior to secure the attachment, the burnished silver slightly tarnished with scattered malachite green.

Published: Silver and Gold in Ancient China, J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 2012, no. 15.

Exhibited: Silver and Gold in Ancient China, J. J. Lally & Co., New York, March 16 to April 14, 2012, no. 15

Note: A very similar bronze basin of this form with loose ring handle attached to one end is illustrated by the Kubosō Memorial Museum of Art, Chūgoku no kyōdō: rokuro hiki no seidōki (Tin-Bronze of China: Bronzes of the Potter's Wheel), Osaka, 1999, p. 53, no. 108, described by the author on p. 109 that this rare oval form may have been introduced by Silk Road traders from Central Asia.

Bonhams. J. J. Lally & Co. Fine Chinese Works of Art, New York, March 20, 2023