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 Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 106.

Sotheby's. London, Masterpieces of Chinese Precious Metalwork: Early Chinese Gold and Silver, 14 May 2008