A VERY RARE AND SUPERBLY CARVED RHINOCEROS HORN CARVING OF THE HEHE ERXIAN MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI

superbly carved as the Hehe twins, wearing long robes falling around them in numerous undulating folds, seated shoulder to shoulder with their toes sneaking outside the bottom edge, both with finely-detailed, expressive faces with broad grins, dimples and wavy hair, one holding a bat, the other with a circular, broad-rimmed straw hat trailing down the back to a covered wicker box, the base lacquered and painted in gilt with a six-character mark in three columns within a wide key-fret band

Sotheby's New York, 28th November 1994, lot 130.

There is some expected wear and minor nicks in areas, some age cracks with small filled-in repairs around the edges of the robes, wear and rubbing to the gilding under the base with slight retouching to the lacquer, but overall the group is in fairly good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Rhinoceros horn figural carvings are extremely rare, and even more unusual are those that bear a reign mark on the base as seen on the present example. The Hehe twins were the patron deities of Chinese merchants and represented 'the twins of Immortality and Harmony'. A related carving of the two brothers jointly holding a bat, offered in these rooms 20th May 1987, lot 623, is illustrated in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 108, fig. 102 right, where Chapman notes that 'the shape of the carving does not indicate whether it is made from African or Asiatic horn'. Her guess is that it comes from the posterior horn of the Sumatran rhinoceros (ibid., p. 109). A further group carving of the twins was offered at Christie's New York, 2nd June 1994, lot 6, also with a Wanli reign mark incised on the base.

For examples of rhinoceros horn figures see a carving of Budai, from the collections of Marcel Lorber of London and Mary and George Bloch, sold in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 34; a seated figure of a lohan illustrated ibid., pl. 103; and a figure of Guanyin, in the Shanghai Museum, published in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 77, together with a figure of Manjusri, from the Arthur M. Sackler collection, pl. 76. A carving of a bodhisattva, attributed to the late Ming dynasty, is included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo. Wood. Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Shanghai, 2001, pl. 137, together with another late Ming period carving of Budai, pl. 138.