A SILVER ‘GOOSE’ TEASPOON, TANG DYNASTY

拍品描述

A SILVER ‘GOOSE’ TEASPOON, TANG DYNASTY China, 618-907. The concave oval bowl is attached to a slender, elegantly curved handle terminating in the head of a goose detailed with neatly incised eyes. Dimensions: Length 18.9 cm Spoons such as the present lot have been found in Tang sepulchers and hoards. Much used during the Tang dynasty, they most often come in the form of a long bending handle ending in a slightly indented, oval paddle-shaped finial. Teaspoons were originally used as utensils to measure and transfer powdered tea from the brazier to the bowl. During the early period of diancha (tea whisking) culture, the spoon gradually became a utensil to whisk foam on tea. Cai Xiang’s Cha Lu (The Record of Tea) states that the ‘Teaspoon must be heavy, such that it gives enough force when tea is whisked. Gold is the best amongst all materials, silver and iron are commonly used, bamboo is too light’. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related silver spoon with a similar handle terminating in a goose head, also dated to the Tang dynasty, excavated in 1983 near Xian, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, pages 164-165, no. 399. Compare a closely related spoon in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 22.79.2. Auction result comparison: Type: Near identical Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 December 2021, lot 5008 Price: HKD 60,480 or approx. EUR 7,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, material, and goose head. Note the size (28.3 cm).

图片