A LARGE SILVER 'GOOSE' TEA SPOON, ZE, TANG DYNASTY
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
618-907
The concave oval bowl is attached to a slender, elegantly curved handle terminating in the head of a goose. Provenance: From the collection of Robert Kuo, RenLu Collection, Los Angeles, United States.
Assembled over 25 years, acquiring one special object at a time, his private collection (named the RenLu Collection) encompasses scholarly works of art, furniture, sculpture, and jewelry. Fine, naturally grown, warm patina. Weight: 70 g Dimensions: Length 26.1 cm With an elegant padded storage box. (2) Spoons such as the present lot have been found in Tang sepulchers and hoards. Much used during the Tang dynasty, they most often come in the form of a long bending handle ending in a slightly indented, oval paddle-shaped finial.
Teaspoons were originally used as utensils to measure and transfer powdered tea from the brazier to the bowl. During the early period of diancha (tea whisking) culture, the spoon gradually became a utensil to whisk foam on tea.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material (listing wording)
- silver
- Dimensions or weight (listing wording)
- Length 26.1 cm
Identification
- Source note
- Auction-house description published on Invaluable. Attribution and measurements are the auction house’s statements about the photographed example; independent type authentication remains research required.
- Listing object ID
- 203130015
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Independent confirmation of type attribution and auction-house statements remains research required.