An extremely rare cup (tanzhan) with the inscription "Jinlu Dajiao Tan Yong", probably Jiajing period (1522 - 1566) White glazed cup with everted rim, made of fine white porcelain and covered with transparent glaze. On the bottom within the footring the blue underglaze inscription: "Jinlu Dajiao Tan Yong" (= For use on the gold grand sacrificial altar). The "cha" (= tea) character in blue underglaze in the well of the cup. The mark is repeated in deep cobalt blue on the bottom. Probably Jiajing period (1522 - 1566) of the Ming Dynasty. Intact. No cracks. Light signs of use at the rim in the form of minimal glaze chippings. Height 4.9 cm. Diameter 9.2 cm. With old storage box.This type of ceremonial cup is extremely rare. The "Taoshuo" and the "Jingdezhen Taolu" mention tanzhan (altar cups), small white cups inscribed with the characters for "tea", "wine", "hot water with dates", and "hot water with ginger", respectively. These Daoist ceremonial vessels were used by Emperor Jiajing. They don't have the same high quality as the cups from the Xuande period. These cups from the Jiajing period exist in three sizes: large, medium, and small. Those with the "tea" character are of good quality, while those inscribed ‘hot water with ginger’ are of inferior quality. They are inscribed "Jinlu Dajiao Tan Yong". In Daoist terminology Jinlu is an edict from the High Lord. The Jinlu dajiao (gold register), the huanglu dajiao (yellow register), and the yulu dajiao (jade register) are three important sacrificial ceremonies. The present cup (and excavated shards) provides important information as to what was placed on the altar on such occasions.Provenance: South German private collection.Condition: II