Amphora with saucer and cups

Tang (618-906). A broad-shouldered amphora with a narrow neck and shaped, wide mouth, as well as two dragon-shaped handles at the sides. With saucer and seven cups, where three of the cups are stuck in the saucer from the firing. All the parts are glazed in a light, greenish-beige, so-called "straw glaze" over white slip (thin clay slurry), and the light stoneware is visible in the lower part and under the base. PROVENANCE From Tove and Karl Emil Strømstad's collection. Strømstad has one of Norway's largest and most exciting collections of Chinese ceramics. The couple began collecting in the early 1970s after purchasing their first Chinese antique, an 18th-century famille rose bowl. The collection they built up spans from the Han to the Qing dynasties, and comes from auction houses, antique dealers and markets from various parts of the world. Karl Emil has written a number of articles on the subject and is an honorary member of the Norwegian Society for Oriental Ceramics (NSOK - orientalskkeramikk.com), which he also helped to found in 1993. Henrik Gothenburg, March 1998. 167004