Page 203 - Pavillion Sale OCt 6 2015 Christies

PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN COLLECTION (detail 細部) (inscription 款識)

~ 256

A VERY RARE HORNBILL CARVING

QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

The front of the casque is deeply carved with
immortals accompanied by their attendants
standing on clouds. Each side of the casque is
inscribed and gilt with a scene of cranes and pines
below a poetic inscription, with a Qianlong
date corresponding to 1792 followed by a seal of
Qianlong on one side. The eyes are inlaid with
jadeite beads.
7º in. (18.2 cm.) wide, wood stand

HK$200,000-300,000
US$26,000-39,000

Provenance:

Sydney Moss, London
French private collection, 1970s

The current lot is a very rare example of hornbill ivory
carvings. The material is derived from the helmeted
hornbill (Buceros vigil), a large bird indigenous to
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, distinguished
by its casque, or a decorative growth above the bill,
which is similar to ivory in texture but softer. Hornbill
casques first entered China around the 14th century
as tributes, when they were carved as belt plaques for
high-ranking officials. The Code of Great Ming Dynasty
suggests that during the Hongzhi period, the value
of one hornbill casque was equivalent to two jin of
ivory. The quantity of hornbill import dwindled as the
plight of the Ming dynasty worsened, and the coastal
blockade imposed by the early Qing government
during the 17th century further limited its import.

清 鶴頂紅雕擺件

來源：

倫敦 Sydney Moss
法國私人收藏，入藏於 1970 年代

此鶴頂紅擺件為盔犀鳥的頭冑部分，其
產於馬來半島、婆羅州和蘇門答臘等地，
十四世紀起曾作為貢品進入中國，多為
製作帶板之用，價值珍貴，據弘治時期
《明會典》記載，一個鶴頂相當於當時
兩斤象牙的價值。晚明遠貢不至，清初
時更因為海禁使其進口量大幅減少。

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