Title
Four-lobed cup stand with arrow-shaped ribs
Year/Period
Tang dynasty, around 830s
Region
Xing kilns, Hebei province, China
Material
Dimension
Object Size: 3 x 14.8 x 14.9 cm
Accession No.
2005.1-00481
Collection of
Credit Line
The Tang Shipwreck was acquired through the generous donation of the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat.
Chinese white wares such as this stand were immensely desirable, both within China and abroad. They have been discovered throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It is one of around 300 pieces found in the Tang Shipwreck. Made at the Xing kilns in northern China, it is of high quality and was probably very expensive even in the 9th century. Fired at a high temperature, it has a pure white body. Rice wine and plum wine were popular drinks in Tang China. They were served warm from bottles, and drunk from cups placed on stands such as this The Tang Shipwreck was a 9th century vessel that was en route from China back to the Middle East when it sank off the coast of Belitung Island in the Java Sea.
