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Lot Essay
Underglaze copper-red stem cups, with similarly revolving bowls, were excavated from a Yuan dynasty hoard in Gao'an county, Jiangxi province in 1980 and are discussed by Liu Yuhei and Xiong Lin in a paper published in Wenwu, 1982:4, pp. 58-66, illustrated p. 67, figs. 10 and 11. The interlocking arrangement of bowl and stem, which allows the bowl to revolve independently of the stem is illustrated in fig. 3 on p. 61 of the same article. One of these Gao'an revolving stem cups, which is illustrated in color by Wang Qing-zheng in Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 44, no. 30, is of similar shape and size (H: 9.5 cm.) to the current stem cup, with the same bamboo-shaped stem, and a similar small, scrolling handle on one side.
Another similar stem cup (H: 10 cm.) in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 209, no. 194, where it is dated to the Yuan dynasty.
The eight-character inscription on the exterior, is an auspicious wish for long life and abundant wealth.
Another similar stem cup (H: 10 cm.) in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 209, no. 194, where it is dated to the Yuan dynasty.
The eight-character inscription on the exterior, is an auspicious wish for long life and abundant wealth.