PLEASE NOTE HIS LOT IS NOW TO BE OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE. A RARE CHINESE RETICULATED POTTERY CUP

NEOLITHIC, DAWENKOU CULTURE

The gently flaring body with a strap loop handle on one side, the openwork base with hollow interior containing clay rattle balls, with traces of reddish brown decoration, 9.8cm.

Provenance: an English private collection, Surrey, UK; sold on behalf of Parkinson's UK.

These rattle cups may have been used in ancient rituals, to alert the spirits when a libation was poured on the ground.