Longshan culture, 3rd millennium B.C.
The very thinly potted pear-shaped body with a wide cupped mouth is supported on a tall open foot with splayed base. The upper stem is finely incised with concentric lines, the lower stem decorated with six groups of three seed-shaped piercings.
11.5 cm high
Provenance: A Dutch private collection
It is rare to find a stemcup of this unusual form. A near identical one from the Julius Eberhardt Collection is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Collection Julius Eberhardt – Early Chinese Art, Hong Kong, pl. 7. A further closely related example was sold at Sotheby’s New York, March 2007, lot no. 576.
