A RARE, SUPERBLY CARVED AND INSCRIBED RHINOCEROS HORN 'CHILONG' LIBATION CUP MING DYNASTY, DATED RENWU YEAR OF THE WANLI PERIOD (IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1582)

exquisitely carved in the form of a deep musk mallow bloom, one side decorated in openwork with a chilong clambering on the interior of the rim and forming the handle of the cup, the mythical beast rendered with a slender sinuous body terminating in an elongated curling tail extending across the vessel, all supported on a base rendered as the curling stem bearing the floral bloom and enveloping the vessel with attendant leaves and a floral bud, incised in clerical script on one side with a poetic inscription warning against inebriation and dated to the summer of the renwu year of the Wanli period (in accordance with 1582), the surface with an attractive and smooth patina, wood stand

A French private collection.
Christie's Paris, 10th June 2009, lot 262.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

Early Chinese Metalwork in Gold and Silver: Works of Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2011, cat. no. 17.

The cup is in very good condition with the exception of minor drying cracks in consistent with age, including several running down the rim and some shorter ones elsewhere. The patina is very well preserved. The wood stand is in good order, with only minor areas of retouching and faint age cracks.
"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."

This finely carved vessel is particularly rare for its inclusion of a cyclical date, which identifies it as an example carved in the Wanli period. The carving of the present piece has skilfully utilised the natural shape of the rhinoceros horn to render it as an open musk mallow flower, complete with a stamen in the well. The softness of the petals is captured in the smoothly finished surface and delicate lobed rim. A further sense of naturalism and liveliness is captured in the sinuous rendering of the chilong handle and the expertly fashioned foot in the form of a twisting stalk that extends upwards.

A slightly smaller rhinoceros horn cup decorated with similar serrated leaves on the exterior and a chilong handle is illustrated in Maria Kiang, Objects for the Scholar’s Desk, Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 31; one was sold in our New York rooms, 27th February 1981, lot 323; another was sold in our London rooms, 28th October 1988, lot 208; and two were sold at Christie’s London, the first, 15th May 2007, lot 49, and the second, 8th November 2011, lot 5. Another similar cup but lacking the chilong handle, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Rhinoceros Horn in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 13, together with one also carved with bamboo on the body, pl. 12; and a further example in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, published in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 206.