A SILVER 'GOOSE' TEASPOON, TANG DYNASTY China, 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.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Some wear, tiny nicks, light scratches, minor dents. Fine, warm patina with malachite encrustation. All as expected from a Tang-dynasty object.

Weight: 74.6 g
Dimensions: Length 28.5 cm

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. Cai Xiang's Cha Lu (The Record of Tea) states that the 'Teaspoon must be heavy, such that it gives enough force when tea is whisked. Gold is the best amongst all materials, silver and iron are commonly used, bamboo is too light'.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related silver spoon with a similar handle terminating in a goose head, also dated to the Tang dynasty, excavated in 1983 near Xian, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, pages 164-165, no. 399. Compare a closely related spoon in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 22.79.2.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Near identical
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 December 2021, lot 5008
Price: HKD 60,480 or approx. EUR 7,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A silver 'goose' teaspoon, Tang dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the near identical form, goose head, and length (28.3 cm).


唐代銀質鵝形茶匙
中國，618-907年。橢圓形的凹形勺，手柄末端是一隻鵝頭，鵝頸纖細、優雅，鵝頭上面刻有眼睛和羽毛，栩栩如生。

來源：英國古玩交易市場；柄背面刻有“大明宮”三個字，表明此茶匙為明朝時出土，後為明朝所藏。
品相：狀況極佳，與年齡相稱。有些磨損，微小的刻痕，輕微的劃痕和凹痕。細膩的包漿，有綠色結殼。

重量：74.6克
尺寸：長28.5厘米

茶事活動興盛於唐代，其中茶匙、茶瓢均是量茶、取鹽、濾水、拂沫、拌湯等烹茶飲茶環節中不可缺少的工具。在唐的墳墓和寶庫中發現了像現在這樣的勺子。在唐代最常以長彎曲手柄的形式出現。蔡襄《茶錄》中說：“茶匙要重，擊拂有力。黃金為上，人間以銀鐵為之。竹者輕，建茶不取。“

文獻比較：
比較一件1983年在陝西省西安附近出土的非常相近的唐代銀勺，其柄端為鵝頭，Han Wei和Christian Deydier，《Ancient Chinese Gold》，巴黎，2001年，頁164-165，編號399。比較一件非常相近的唐銀勺，收藏於大都會藝術博物館，編號22.79.2。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2021年12月16日，lot 5008
價格：HKD 60,480（相當於今日EUR 7,500）
描述：唐銀鏨雁首茶匙
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的外型、鵝頭柄端，以及手柄長度(28.3厘米)。