A FINE AND VERY RARE PARCEL-GILT SILVER BOWL TANG DYNASTY, 8TH/9TH CENTURY

with shallow, petal-lobed sides, the interior chased and gilt to the centre with a roundel of exotic flowers and pomegranate-like fruits set amidst large feathery leaves, the gently flared sides divided into five lobes, each decorated with a different floral sprig composed of large veined leaves and fully opened blossoms, the exterior with the same design on each lobe, a narrow band of gilt overlapping petals chased on the notched, everted rim, all raised on a splayed circular foot ring chased with a band of overlapping petals

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 116.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 116.

Bo Gyllensvärd, 'T'ang Gold and Silver', Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1957, no. 29, figs. 42d, 96e.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 118.

The bowl is in overall very good condition. It has been cleaned and may have been covered with some form of varnish or lacquer to prevent tarnishing. One lobed area to the inside of the bowl has been left out and is tarnished. There is some very minor pitting, scratching and overall wear to the exterior rim and some very light overall wear to the surface of the bowl.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bowls such as this and its companion piece with cover, lot 64, with their outstandingly fine feathery flower designs, picked out in gilding, are among the finest Tang parcel-gilt silver objects recorded. A small group of similar bowls are preserved in the West, handed down from old collections formed in the 1930s. See also the discussion of the covered bowl in this sale, lot 64

Two similar bowls in the collection of Pierre Uldry were included in the exhibition Chinesisches Gold und Silber, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1994, cat. nos 147 and 148, the former sold in these rooms, 13th June 1989, lot 59, the latter sold in our New York rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 90, from the Lauritzen collection; another from the collection of Robert C. Bruce and now in the Bristol City Art Gallery, was sold in these rooms 12th May 1953, lot 21; and another lacking its foot, from the British Rail Pension Fund collection, illustrated in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Ornament. The Lotus and the Dragon, London, 1984, fig.102, was sold twice in these rooms, 12th December 1978, lot 245 and 12th December 1989, lot 36; and one from the collection of Natanael Wessen, was included in the exhibition Early Chinese Art from Tombs and Temples, Eskenazi, London, 1993, cat. no.32.