AN AMBER-GLAZED MARBLED POTTERY CUP TANG DYNASTY

the rounded sides rising from a short splayed foot to a gently flaring rim, the brown and white clay marbled to produce a design of mixed dark and light irregular swirling stripes, covered overall in a clear amber glaze, stopping near the foot, revealing the unglazed body

Sotheby's London, 19th November 1963, lot 31 (part, £30).
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1963 (£30).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1963 (£50). 

There is a 1 cm shallow chip to the rim. Other minor glaze flakes and firing flaws, including a 1 cm kiln imperfection.
"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."

The present piece is remarkable for its vibrant marble effect body that is covered by a luminous amber glaze. Wares of this type, known in Chinese as jiao tai, were a Tang dynasty innovation created by twisting and kneading together different coloured clays. A number of fragments of marbled wares have been unearthed at the Gongxian kilns at Huangye in Gongyi, Henan province, illustrated in Three-Colour Glazed Pottery Kilns of the Tang Dynasty at Huangye, Beijing, 2000, col. pl. 71, no. 9; as well as at the Liquanfang kilns in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, published in The Kiln Site of Tricolor-Glazed Pottery at Liquanfang in Chang’an Capital City of Tang Dynasty, Beijing, 2008, col. pl. 39.

A cup of this type, with a matching saucer, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Ceramics, vol. 5, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Beijing, 2013, pl. 330, together with a green-glazed example, pl. 329; another cup from the collection of Dr Bo Ewert, was sold in our London rooms, 24th July 1973, lot 3; and a third example was sold in our New York rooms, 3rd December 1986, lot 123.