Page 52 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

Cup

i8th
Qing dynasty, century
Rhinoceros horn
L. 41/2 in. (11.2 cm)
and Herbert
Promised Gift ofFlorence Irving
he oval vessel is carved in the shape of
waves, which part in the center to reveal
heads. It must have been an
two dragons'
extraordinary sight to see the dragons partially
when wine was
submerged poured into the
on the
cup. The bodies of the dragons appear
exterior as if they are maneuvering through
the waves, which break in crests on one side
contour con-
to form a handle. The undulating
of the ever
veys a sense of motion suggestive
nature of water.
changing
The dating of rhinoceros-horn is still
cups
and
have firm
imprecise, very few examples [scroll] I8, leaf Isa, published 1750) and dated jade, cloisonne enamel, and rhinoceros horn.
dates. Judging from the vivid illusionism of to the Tang dynasty; however, this dating The designs on rhinoceros-horn champion
the design, however, this example needs further investigation. vases usually reflect a strong archaistic incli-
is datable
to the eighteenth century. WAS During the middle and late eighteenth cen- nation, characterized by the integration of
tury, the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-95) exhib- animal motifs with fancy angularized scroll-
ited a fondness for multibodied vessels, as work. On this vase a wide horizontal band,
evidenced by porcelain produced for the court. raised by carving the background away, dis-
a
Champion vases were popular during the plays dragon-headed scroll pattern, which
middle and late eighteenth century and were was adapted from woodblock illustrations of
manufactured in different media, including antiquities. WAS
"champion"vase
....................................................................................
Qing dynasty, (1736-95)
Qianlongperiod
horn
Rhinoceros
H. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
and Herbert
Promised Gift ofFlorence Irving
his vessel has two narrow vertical com-
connected a
of a
partments by carving
bird. The term
mythical "champion" vase,
which appears only in Western
writings, may
be derived from two possible
sources. It has
been suggested archery
com-
that winners of
were rewarded with rhinoceros-horn
petitions
the
The term also
cups during Ming period. may
have been a loose translation of yingxiong
bei
to the bird
(hero's cup), referring (ying) and
the bear (xiong) it is standing
on.
The origin of the champion
vase is not
clear. Double
exactly cups with carvings of
birds had been made from lacquered
wood as
early as the late Warring States period (48I-
22I B.C.), but their relationship champion
to
vases is not obvious. A bronze version with
partially fluted walls from the Qing palace
collection was illustrated in Xiqing Gujian
of
(Catalogue Xiqing Antiquities,juan
5I