A VERY RARE DATED PARCEL-GILT SILVER TEA GRINDER
- TANG DYNASTY, INSCRIBED XIANTONG THIRTEENTH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 872, AND OF THE PERIOD

TANG DYNASTY, INSCRIBED XIANTONG THIRTEENTH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 872, AND OF THE PERIOD

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$100,000 - $150,000

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Sale 2297
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections
26 March 2010
New York, Rockefeller Plaza

A VERY RARE DATED PARCEL-GILT SILVER TEA GRINDER
TANG DYNASTY, INSCRIBED XIANTONG THIRTEENTH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 872, AND OF THE PERIOD
Of rectangular form with tri-lobed ends, the top with a deep elliptical grinding trough below an attached gilt border, each long side pierced with three shaped apertures and incised with two winged mythical horses and clouds, the base with small central hole and inscribed with a nine-character inscription, which may be read xian tong shisan nian/wensiyuan zao
10 7/8 in. (27.7 cm.) long

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Although the drinking of tea was popular in the south of China as early as the Han dynasty, it was not until the 8th century that tea drinking became a common occurance in the north. The Tang dynasty writer Feng Yan, in his Fengshi wenjian ji (Miscellaneous Notes of Feng Yan), notes the consumption of tea by Chan Buddhists and the fact that they always carried a supply of tea with them. Feng suggests that others copied the Chan Buddhists, and thus the habit of tea drinking spread. Certainly, by the second half of the Tang dynasty, tea was popular amongst Buddhist monks, Daoist priests and scholars in both north and south China.

At this time tea was made by boiling, a style usually referred to as jian cha, or 'simmered tea'. The tea leaves were steamed, in order to get rid of any bitter taste, then pounded into small pieces. These were then packed into molds. The resulting flat slabs were strung and dried over heat, before being stored. When required, a cake of tea was broken up and then ground to a fine powder using a grinder, such as the current example -- the tea being put in the trough of the grinder and a two-handled grinding wheel being rolled up and down the trough to pulverize the tea. After grinding the powder was sieved in order to remove any large pieces before either being added to boiling water in a cauldron, or having boiling water poured over the tea powder, which had been placed in a bowl. The first method was popular in the first half of the Tang dynasty, while the second method rose to popularity in the later Tang. The tea could be flavored with all manner of things, such as spices, ginger and onion.

The importance of tea drinking at the Tang dynasty court can be seen from the Emperor Dezong's instigation of taxes on tea and regulations in the second year of his reign (AD 780) to ensure that the finest quality tea was sent as tribute to the court. Further evidence can be seen in the imperial silver-gilt tea accoutrements that were found in the 'underground palace' of the Dasheng Zhenshen Bao pagoda of the Famen Temple at Fufeng, Shaanxi province. These were amongst the precious items bestowed by Emperor Yizong (r. AD 859-873) as imperial gifts to the Buddha's sacred relics in the temple. Two of the most interesting are a silver tea sieve with parcel-gilt decoration and a silver tea grinder with parcel-gilt decoration illustrated in Report of Archaeological Excavation at Famen Temple, vol. 2, Beijing, 2007, pls. LXXII-LXXVIII, and LXXIX-LXXXI, respectively. The tea-grinder from the Famen Temple is of particular interest for the remarkable similarity between it and the current grinder. The two grinders are of the same shape, similar size, and are decorated with precisely the same motifs. The only significant difference in form is that the excavated grinder has two long, narrow, ogival holes in the base, while the current grinder has small, circular holes. The excavated grinder also has a sliding cover decorated with geese and clouds, and a grinding wheel decorated with petals and clouds. The excavated grinder bears an inscription which includes the information that it was made by the Wensi yuan in the 10th year of the Xiantong reign (of Emperor Yizong r. AD 859-873), which is equivalent to AD 869. The inscription on the current tea grinder also notes that it was made by the Wensi yuan, and gives a date of 13th year of Xiantong, equivalent to AD 872. The Wensi yuan (Office of Arts and Crafts) was an imperial workshop, under the control of palace officials, which manufactured ceremonial and ornamental items, including those made of gold and silver, for the imperial family. The skill of the craftsmen who worked in the Wensi yuan was widely admired.

Of the inscribed silver, silver-gilt and gold items found in the 'underground palace', eight items mention their being made by the Wensi yuan. All of these are dated to the Xiantong reign (of Emperor Yizong). One covered lotus stand is dated to the 9th year of Xiantong; three items, including the tea sieve and the tea grinder, bear the date 10th year of Xiantong; two - a khakkara or ritual rod with loose rings and a gold bowl - are dated to the 14th year of Xiantong; and two items bear the same date as the current tea grinder - the 13th year of Xiantong, equivalent to AD 872. The two Famensi items made at the Wensi yuan, which are dated to the 13th year of Xiantong, are a silver ruyi and a silver hand-warmer illustrated in Report of Archaeological Excavation at Famen Temple, op. cit., pls. CLXVII and CLXVIII, respectively. Three more items bear Xiantong dates, specifically the 12th year, but do not mention the Wensi yuan, while another bears a date of the 2nd year of the Jinglong reign (AD 707-710), the second reign of Emperor Zhongzong. The last piece does not mention the Wensi yuan in its inscription.

For another silver tea grinder found amongst the silver and gilt tea untensils excavated from a Tang dynasty tomb in Yichuan in 1991 see Wenbo (Relics and Antiquities), 1997, no. 4. pp. 51-2. A similarly shaped tea grinder which is part of a set of 12 stone Tang dynasty tea utensils in the collection of the National Museum of Science, Taipei, is illustrated in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practice, and Art of Tea, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, p. 29, no. 5. The set of 12 utensils comprised a small stove, tea ewer and stand, a tea kettle, a ewer with one handle, a tea grinder, a pair of tea bowls, a pair of tea bowl stands, a dish and a tray. However, silver tea grinders from the imperial workshops, like the current example are extemely rare.

A Techinical Examination Report is available upon request.

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