TANG DYNASTY, 8TH CENTURY

The shape of the white and green-glazed cup may be based on silver prototypes, such as the engraved silver example in the collection of Dr. Carl Kempe illustrated by W. Willetts, Foundations of Chinese Art, from neolithic pottery to modern architecture, London, 1958, pl. 176. The author also illustrates line drawings of a series of cups with handles, p. 272, fig. 61, showing the progression of this shape at various times in various cultures, all of which preceded the Tang dynasty versions in silver and pottery. Another glazed pottery cup of this shape is illustrated in The Charles B. Hoyt Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts: Boston, vol. I, 1964, no. 99, where a globular cup very similar to the Falk example, including the foliate medallion beneath the handle, is also illustrated, no. 98.