Chinese Imari cup with dated silver rim, c.1720

This porcelain cup was made in China during the latter part of the Kangxi period (1662-1722) and measures 3.25 inches high. It is decorated with flowers and leaves in the Chinese Imari style and with a palette of blue, iron red, and faint traces of gilt highlights.

At some point in the middle of the 1700s, the cup broke and was brought to a silversmith, who not only rejoined the 2 broken halves using 3 metal staples, but also added a thick silver rim with scalloped bottom edge. The rim is inscribed: “In Remembrance of a Friend,” along with a date “Jan 8, 1766” and monogram “JM.” Sadly the silversmith did not leave his hallmark, but I am thrilled he added the date. Now, if only we knew who JM and his friend were…

This example shows that my cup may have had a matching top.

Photo courtesy of Bidspirit

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 7th, 2019 at 11:53 am and is filed under cup/saucer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Chinese Imari cup with dated silver rim, c.1720”

  1. Joy says:
    April 7, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    I believe this now wins the prize as my all time favorite. This vessel epitomizing all that is fine and delightful about treasuring imperfection and celebrating the beauty of love and loyalty.

  2. Joanne Hendricks says:
    April 7, 2019 at 5:20 pm

    Looks like a trick dribble cup. It’s beautiful.

  3. Andrew Baseman says:
    April 14, 2019 at 9:40 am

    Thanks for your comments, Joy and Joanne!

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