Lot 304
PAIR OF 'SAWASA' PARCEL-GILT HANDLED CUPS
CHINESE OR JAPANESE, 18TH CENTURY
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 3 November 2023 from 09:00 GMT
Description
中國或日本 十八世紀 局部鎏金銅梅花紋花口杯（一對）
each with rounded sides resting on a ring foot rising to a foliated mouth, the exterior covered in black lacquer with gilt-ground reserved cartouches minutely decorated with prunus and birds, further flanked by elaborate prunus branches as handles, interior and base gilded
Dimensions
widths: 8.7cm and 8.5cm; 76g and 71g
Provenance
Provenance: Private Scottish collection, Glasgow
Footnote
Note: Sawasa is the Japanese term given to describe a distinctive style of metalwork produced in Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Asian artists and craftsmen adopted European models and combined them with Chinese and Japanese materials and decorative motifs of gilt reliefs and engravings on a lustrous lacquered surface. The final objects were finished in black and gold, the black was often achieved through controlled patination but sometimes through lacquering, and the gold was usually applied by means of mercury gilding.
A highly comparable Sawasa tea cup with saucer, dated 1731AD, is in the Metropolitan Museum, accession no. 1984.233a, b; Similar cups with saucers, Edo period, were sold at Christie's Paris, 15 Jun 2004, lot 93; Two related Sawasa ware cups, both 18th century and sold at Bonham's London, one 14 May 2019, lot 719, and the other 4 November 2019, lot 281.