Page 152 - Nov 28 Chinese Art Hong Kong

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53 Y Ф
A VERY RARE RHINOCEROS HORN ‘LOTUS LEAF’ It is extremely rare to find an undecorated rhinoceros horn cup with
LIBATION CUP the same shape as the present lot. This charming and delightful cup
Qianlong four-character mark and probably of the period displays an outstanding craftsmanship, as the undulating and smoothly
Superbly carved in the form of an open upturned lotus leaf curling at curved frilled edges were created in the process of softening and
the edges to form a deep vessel, supported on five spreading feet, manipulating the horn into the naturalistic shape, elevated on the five
the horn of a gold-honey tone, ivory stand. deftly carved feet, conveying a sense of both elegance and vitality. The
10.8cm (4 1/4in) wide (2). master carver in leaving the horn surface polished yet undecorated
emphasised the pure form and natural quality of the horn.
HK$350,000 - 400,000
US$45,000 - 51,000 J.Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London,
1999, pp.242-243, when discussing the present lot, states the
following: ‘Notice that the seal is framed all around in a double line in
或清乾隆 犀角雕荷葉式菱口五足杯 the same way as occurs in porcelains of the period’. The author goes
「乾隆年製」楷書款 on to say that ‘the five-footed bowl is almost certainly a copy of a jade
piece and shows the ultra-sophisticated taste of Qianlong’. Compare
Provenance: a related white jade lotus-leaf shaped washer, Qianlong, illustrated in
An important European private collection, and thence by descent Classics of the Forbidden City: Scholar’s Paraphernalia, Beijing, 2009,
pp.104-105, no.90.
Published and Illustrated:
J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, There are very few Qianlong marked rhinoceros horn carvings;
1999, pp.147, 242, and 244, pls.171 and 357 compare two libation cups in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and
a brush holder in the Van Veen Collection, Holland, which according to
來源： the author has a much less convincing mark, illustrated by J.Chapman,
重要歐洲私人收藏，後由家族繼承 ibid., pls.353-356.

出版及著錄：
J.Chapman，《中國犀角雕刻藝術》，倫敦，1999年，頁147，
242及244，圖171及357