A SILVER ‘GOOSE’ TEASPOON, 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 detailed with neatly incised eyes and feathers. Provenance: British trade.
The back of the handle with a finely incised later inscription ‘Da ming gong’ (Palace of the Great Ming), indicating that the present teaspoon was excavated during the Ming dynasty and subsequently taken into possession by the Ming court. Fine, warm patina with malachite encrustation. All as expected from a Tang-dynasty object. 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.
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 28.5 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
- 173566452
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.