Well, on this grey Monday, with much of the country in deep freeze, I decided to post this bronze object, purchased by the seller from Trinity Antiques in 2015. Although this post is a bit off the beaten path for this forum, I am hoping that the CT experts in ancient Chinese characters can decipher the ones on the bottom of this cup. I was told that this cup was found in Bulgaria, which would normally sound an alarm bell or two if it was a coin. I'm of the opinion that this cup was probably imported into that region by way of Byzantium, possibly by the "Silk Road", which would date it roughly around 100 BC to 150 AD. That's just a guess on my part. The cup is evenly patinated, with earthen deposits over much of the object. The characters, oriented correctly in the last photo, appear to be Chinese. The first, top character, appears to be "da", as shown below. I might be wrong. I am not sure about the remaining characters. There's quite a bit of wear on the bottom, making some characters, especially the two middle ones, difficult to see clearly. The object is about 5 inches in length and weighs around 5 ounces. Thanks
I think the first two characters of the inscription says Ming dynasty in China, 1368-1644 AD. Unsure of third character. Fourth character looks like the upper left word in my attachment. Just my thoughts.
Stunning artifact, @robinjojo. And, Yep, for translation and explication, the 'usual suspects here' are likely to know what's going on. ...Wondering what my Sinologist uncle could've done with it....
I can't translate the inscription but the first of the three below is offered as "late 20th century". https://www.catawiki.com/l/2724337-...ith-ram-s-head-handle-china-late-20th-century https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/57221928_a-bronze-chinese-libation-cup-with-goat-rams-head https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0090/lot-e571fc9f-7995-412f-9602-a69800c615a0
Yes, I have noticed other examples, apparently modern. So, this might be a "decorative" item. Further examination is needed. Thanks
Grumpy Old Man is right on ! This is a well known fake Chinese bronze rhyton that comes up for sale often on eBay & small auction houses . The photos below are from Crows Auction House, & their example also has a fake Ming Dynasty mark.
...Dang. So this kind of (Snort, 're-)repatination happens at the retail level for antiquities, along with coins. Reality inexoraby ensues.... I'm glad that, at least where medieval coins are concerned, all you have to really deal with (for now...) are old collector toning, overcleaning of hoard finds, and the screamingly obvious fakes from central Europe.
