This cup and salver were among a number of gold and silver objects found at the Gaoyoufang site in the north part of the Mongolian Ordos. Much as we saw in the ceramic vase also included in this exhibit, Tangut gold- and silversmiths were also closely influenced by Song metal wares. The cup shape is lobed form popular in China since the Tang period, though some believe this shape may have its ultimate origins in ancient Iranian metalwork produced under the Sassanians. The shape, commonly six- or eight-lobed in Sassanian examples, has been adapted to a ten-lobed form to mimic the shape of a lotus blossom. In Song China, this lotus shape was more commonly found reproduced in lacquer vessels.¹

(1) Adam Kessler, Empires Beyond the Great Wall: the Heritage of Genghis Khan (Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 1994), p. 127.