J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York
MenuPast Exhibition
Silver and Gold in Ancient China
March 16 – April 14, 2012
11.
A PARCEL-GILT SILVER TEA SCOOP (ZE)
Tang Dynasty, A.D. 7th – 8th Century
finely engraved on the terminal of the long arching handle with a complex pattern of diamond trellis, petal and star motifs on a ring-punched ground, showing remains of light gilding, the rest of the handle and the shallow ovoid bowl of the spoon entirely plain, the surface very well preserved, with bright green malachite encrustation at the margins of the terminal and widely scattered on the back.
Length 10 1⁄2 inches (26.5 cm)
Compare the Tang dynasty gilt-silver scoop of this form similarly decorated with engraved diamond trellis and more complex designs, unearthed in 1987 from the underground chamber of Famen temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Han and Wang in Famensi digong chaju yu Tang ren yincha yishu (Tea Utensils from the Famensi Underground Chamber and the Art of Tea Drinking in the Tang Dynasty), Beijing, 2004, p. 39 and in a line drawing on p. 48, where the author identifies the scoop as a ze (則). The same scoop was previously illustrated in the catalogue of the traveling exhibition, Tō kōtei kara no okurimono (Gifts of the Tang Emperors: Hidden Treasures from the Famen Temple), Niigata, 1999, p. 94, no. 53.
Compare also the Tang dynasty gilt-silver scoop of the same form, decorated with engraved scrolling vines, in the catalogue of the special exhibition of the Uldry Collection, Chinesisches Gold und Silber: die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1994, pp. 166-167, no. 156.
According to Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea), the tea master uses the ze to scoop the proper amount of tea powder and stir it into the boiling water. The elegant long handle is a practical design as it keeps the hand at a safe distance from the heat.
唐 鎏金銀茶匙 長 26.5 厘米
