Bidspirit auction | A FINE AND RARE SILVER

A FINE AND RARE SILVER AND PARCEL-GILT CUP, GOLDEN HORDE, CENTRAL ASIA, 13TH-14TH CENTURY - Silver and parcel-gilt the deep rounded body with central gilt medallion incised and punched with blossom design, a foliate-edged thumb-rest riveted to the rim with en-suite decoration. 11 cm. Height 2,5 cm. This type of drinking cup (or 'belt-bowl'), which has its origins in eastern Asia, spread west from the Ural river during the Mongol expansion of the early thirteenth century. It was carried in a bag that hung from the traveller's belt. Catalogue Note Two similar cups are illustrated in: The Treasures of the Golden Horde, The State Hermitage Museum, The State Historical Museum exhibition catalogue, St Petersburg, 2000, cat. no. 41, p.70 and cat. no. 60, p.228.