A couple of years ago when I contracted the "collecting" fever, I got hold of several precolonial pottery that were on offer in a couple of antique shops. I had to sift through what must have been fakes and restored items and thankfully, got hold of some that were choice pieces. That is, until several days later, I noted that one of the pieces had a restoration mark which I had initially missed.
This goblet or chofa or cup is one of those choice pieces I got. It's quite light, the potting quite thin and it has that iron oxidation on the clay. This I think was sourced from one of the surrounding islands of my province that has been a rich source of precolonial pottery. No restoration so far.
This is the only precolonial object I have encountered that is in a goblet form. Maybe funerary, maybe utilitarian, who knows what purpose this cup is for. The strange thing about this is that the design is not indigenous to the islands. The motif could be either Ming or Vietnamese with the wide lotus petals on the neck. If it were indigenous, it would sport linear or curvilinear or chevron designs instead, not stylized floral. Hence, this must have been created during the Age of Contact probably between 12th-15th century wherein Filipinos have a great deal of trade with China and Annam and Sukhothai. Ceramic goods that were traded may have become the basis for the form and design of such antique. Until then, more study should be made in this direction. And more publications should be read.
Clearly, it's too strange, too specialized, too anachronistic for this to be judged as a fake.
Similar types of precolonial pottery are seen in one of the volumes of Filipino Heritage.
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