c.1300 Silver and Parcel gilt cup

This type of drinking cup (or 'belt-bowl') It was carried in a bag that hung from the traveller's belt, Ithad its origins in eastern Asia, spread west during the Mongol expansion of the early thirteenth century.
Note the gilded central medallion with a winged sphinx with dragon-headed tail against a foliate ground.
Private collection. Auctioned by Sotheby's, London, in 2007

Exhibited by:

SilkRoadVirtualMuseum

More from SilkRoadVirtualMuseum

Sutra of the Ten Kings of Hell, 10th century , 10th century CE
108 x 192 x 1 cm (h x w x d)
SilkRoadVirtualMuseum
Sutra of the Ten Kings of Hell, 10th century , 10th century CE
108 x 192 x 1 cm (h x w x d)
SilkRoadVirtualMuseum
God of Heavenly Punishment, 1127 - 1192 , 1127 - 1192CE
h = 100, d = 1 cm
SilkRoadVirtualMuseum
Green Tara with devotees, early 12th century
h = 100, d = 1 cm
SilkRoadVirtualMuseum
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, early 12th century , Early 12th century
h = 100, d = 1 cm
SilkRoadVirtualMuseum