A Chinese silver 'goose' tea spoon, Tang dynasty, with slender curving handle tapering to a goose head terminal at one end, the other end a very shallow lotus petal-shaped scoop, the reverse of the handle inscribed 大明宮(Dàmíng gōng), 28.5cm long唐 銀鏨雁首茶匙Note: Tea spoons were originally used to transfer powdered-form tea to a tea bowl, and, during the early period of diancha culture, were used as a whisking utensil to create foam. Cai Xiang’s Cha Lu ('The Record of Tea') recorded that ‘Tea spoon must be heavy, such that it gives enough force when tea is whisked. Gold is the best amongst all (material), silver and iron are commonly used, bamboo is too light’.c.f. A comparable Tang dynasty silver tea spoon is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 22.79.2. Another example was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, Echoes of Fragrance – Evolution of Tea Culture from the Tang to the Qing Dynasties, 16th December 2021, lot 5008. Another Tang dynasty spoon, this one with gilded decoration, and its handle similarly ending in a bird’s head, was excavated in 1983 near Xian, Shaanxi province, Han, W. and Deydier, op. cit. no. 399, pp. 164-5. 品相報告 Condition Report: Some verdigris to the surface of the scoop, with some stress-marks to the metal where it is has been bent. Slight tarnish throughout, with some old marks and nicks to the edges and surface. Wear commensurate with age.