A rare large gilt-silver 'fish' basin, Tang dynasty | 唐 鎏金銀雙魚紋大盆

Gold and silver are eternal symbols of wealth and luxury and were coveted in every period, but perhaps never more so than at the court and among the elites of the Tang dynasty (618-907). This silver bowl, with its rich gilding and the baroque opulence of its decoration, is an archetypal work of the period. 

This magnificent basin is remarkable for its lush engraved decoration, rich gilding and large size. A closely related parcel-gilt silver dish, discovered in a Tang hoard in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, identified by an inscription as a gift by the meritorious military official Li Mian (c. 717 - 788) to the Emperor – in that case Daizong (r .762 – 779) – between the years 760 and 767, is illustrated in Tangdai jinyinqi [Gold and silver of the Tang dynasty], Beijing, 1985, pls 134 – 136. Twin fish are a classic Tang design, but found more frequently on ceramics and rarely on precious metal wares.

Compare also a quadrilobed parcel-gilt silver bowl engraved in the centre with two fish swimming side by side amidst plants, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue The Arts of the T'ang Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, 1957, cat. no. 330; and two related lobed oval bowls decorated with double fish, one illustrated op.cit., pls 155 and 156; the other sold at Christie’s New York, 17th September 2008, lot 578.