Page 358 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

3698

PROPERTY OF AN ENGLISH LADY AND 十七世紀 犀角雕螭龍靈芝紋盃
GENTLEMAN
來源：
A RHINOCEROS HORN ‘CHILONG 倫敦蘇富比1979年6月15日，編號128
AND LINGZHI’ LIBATION CUP
17TH CENTURY

the flared sides carved in relief on the exterior
with a sinuous long-horned chilong, grasping
a sprig of lingzhi in its mouth and clambering
amongst stems issuing further lingzhi and
leafy bamboo, the double handle formed from
intertwined bamboo and a stem issuing further
clusters of lingzhi around the rim, the interior
skillfully rendered with angled contours to
suggest a lingzhi, the horn of a honey-brown tone
with lighter striations
14.7 cm, 5¾ in.

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London, 15th June 1979, lot 128.

◉ HK$ 600,000-800,000
US$ 77,000-103,000

Expertly carved with sinuous chilong among
lingzhi and bamboo stalks, this cup is notable
for its attractive light-brown colouration which
resembles the colour of honey. Rhinoceros horn
of this colour was highly sought after by Ming and
Qing connoisseurs and Jan Chapman in The Art of
Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999,
p. 60, notes that ‘carvings in the honey tones are
almost invariably associated with the best quality
carving’.

A cup carved with a similar motif, in the Chester
Beatty Library, Dublin, is illustrated in Jan
Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in
China, London, 1999, pls 205 and 206, together
with one in the collection of Gerard Levy, pl. 204;
three were sold in our New York rooms, the first
from the collection of Annie R. Bird, 7th/8th April
1988, lot 343, the second, 12th October 1987,
lot 257, and the third, of slightly larger size, 21st
September 2006, lot 1; another cup was sold in
these rooms, 29th November 1978, lot 394; and
a further example was sold in our Los Angeles
rooms, 2nd November 1978, lot 1391. See also a
slightly larger libation cup sold in our New York
rooms, 10th/11th April 1986, lot 295, and again in
these rooms, 7th October 2006, lot 911; and two
others offered in this sale, lots 3695 and 3702.

356 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比