Small cup of the Ming Dynasty. China, 1573-1620. Porcelain. Provenance: Piece acquired at an auction in the USA with a lot of 50-60 archaeological pieces. Private collection, Connecticut, USA. Parallels: The British Museum has similar examples in its permanent collection. Slight damage in the upper edge. Base with label from the trade of John Sparks (England, 1854-1914), one of the oldest and most respected dealers in Chinese works of art, based in Manchester in 1888. In the mid-1920s, Sparks settled in Shanghai, which allowed him to source objects directly from China. Measurements: 5 cm (height) x 9 cm (diameter). Small cup made of white porcelain. It has an openwork design in the form of a trellis with five large circular medallions, between which are floral forms of marked subtlety and distinction. The lower part of the design is crowned with a ribbed ribbing. The base is unglazed. Like the examples in the British Museum, this piece may have been made in the Chinese province of Jiangxi, specifically in the town of Jingdezhen, which is considered the porcelain capital of China. Jingdezhen was for centuries the home of the ceramic kilns of the Chinese emperors.