A very rare archaistic signed and inscribed rhinoceros horn ear-cup


Signed Bao Tiancheng, 17th/18th centurySkilfully carved after the archaic Han dynasty bronze form, of oval form with deep flared sides, flanked on the elongated sides by a pair of 'ear'-handles, rising from rectangular foot rounded at the corners, enclosing the incised 41-character inscription followed by the relief-carved three-character mark in kaishu script, the translucent horn of rich-honey and dark-chocolate tone, box. 13.1cm (5 1/8in) long (2).
|十七/十八世紀 犀角雕光素羽觴式耳杯「鮑天成」篆書刻款Provenance:Christie's New York, 18 September 2003, lot 75Angela Chua Collection, Hong Kong來源：紐約佳士得，2003年9月18日，拍品75香港蔡劉木蘭女士收藏The inscription may be translated, 'Collecting rhinoceros horns from Tianzhu (India), these are hollowed out, ground, incised and made into wine/ear cups. The piece is in the Han style, and as if naturally formed. Spreading fragrance, it chases away evil and cures poison. What a wonderful treasure'. Signed Bao Tiancheng.Bao Tiancheng is recorded in Li Wufang's list of carvers as having been born or worked in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province during the late Ming dynasty. One rhinoceros horn cup signed by him is dated to the Wanli period, indicating his period of activity. In a late Ming text Taoan mengyi ('Memoir of the Clay Studio'), the author Zhang Dai wrote:'Among the unparalleled craftsmanship of Wuzhong...the rhinoceros horn carving of Bao Tiancheng...can be safely regarded as unmatched in the hundred years past and to come.'Jan Chapman notes six rhinoceros horn cups and vessels signed 'Bao Tiancheng' or 'Tiancheng', of various forms and illustrates three examples; see J.Chapman, The art of rhinoceros horn carving in China, London, 1999, pp.83, 122-124, figs.56, and 120-122; see also a rhinoceros horn ewer and cover, signed Bao Tiancheng, late Ming dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn, Hong Kong, 2002, pp.128-129, no.117. See also a further rhinoceros horn example signed Bao Tiancheng, carved in the form of a 'Zhang Qian' raft, which was sold at Christie's Paris, 15 June 2004, lot 60. In addition to the select group of rhinoceros horn carvings signed Bao Tiancheng, only three rhinoceros horn ear-cups, signed Bao Tiancheng, would appear to be recorded: the first, is the present cup; the second, also from the Angela Chua Collection, is illustrated by T.Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, p.106, no.58; and the third, from the Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, was sold at Christie's London, 7 November 2006, lot 53. Whilst the two ear-cups from the Angela Chua Collection bear an identical inscription, the present cup is incised in zhuanshu script and the other cup is incised in lishu script. However, the Fowler Museum cup, differs from the first two in several aspects: a shorter version of the full 41-character incised inscription, only noting 14 characters, which are carved in relief in kaishu script and with the signature followed by the character zhi.Rhinoceros horn ear-cup shaped vessels are very rare and in addition to the three noted above only two others would appear to be published: see T.Fok, ibid., pp.99 and 102, nos.51 and 54. The first, from the Harvard University Art Museums, dated 16th century, with an inscription which translates as 'modelled after Han style jades in mid-Spring in the cyclical year renshen, with seals Jiyu Gushi; the second, dated 17th century, signed You Kan and with a further inscription.The form of the present cup and inscription are a clear reference to antiquity and specifically to the Han dynasty. Although lacquered ear-cups, or yu shang, first appeared in the Warring States period, such as the example excavated from a Chu tomb in Jiangling County in Hubei, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji - 8 – qiqi, Beijing, 1989, p.20, no.20, the archaic-style rhinoceros horn ear-cups are much closer in shape to examples made during the Han dynasty, such as the one excavated from the Han tomb in Jiangling, illustrated in ibid., p.45, no.44. This reference to antiquity represented a wish to emulate the perceived virtues of antiquity, underscored in the inscription with the wish to follow the law of Heaven.The text carved on the three rhinoceros horn ear-cups referring to their ability to neutralise poison, corresponds to the popular belief in the horn's powerful magic. Ge Hong in the 4th century wrote in his famous Daoist treaty Baopuzi ('The Master of Embracing Simplicity'):'The rhinoceros lives deep in the mountains. At dawn and dusk, it glows brightly like a torch. Take its horn and make it into a fork. And use this fork to stir in a bowl of poisonous broth. White foam will arise, and the broth will be poisonous no more.'此器造型仿戰國時期流行的羽觴酒器，主體素身無紋，器底足內陰刻楷書「採天竺火犀，追琢其章，厥制維觴，既砥礪以廉隅成器，漢中規兮，法天而成，吐乎芬芳，驅邪治毒，蔚為奇珍」，及刻陽文「鮑天成」款。整體線條淳樸簡潔，刀法流暢，選料上乘，打磨精良，色如蜜糖，為犀角雕刻藝術中的精巧之作。鮑天成，明代江蘇吳縣人，為著名犀角雕名家，所作犀角器風格多樣。張岱於《陶庵夢憶》中有云：「吳中絕技，陸子岡治玉，鮑天成治犀，周柱治嵌鑲，趙良璧治錫，朱璧山治金銀，馬勛、荷葉李治扇，張寄修治琴，範昆白治三弦子，俱上下百年，保無敵手。」鮑天成被明人稱為吳中絕技之一，可見其犀角作品在當時已被文人賞識。Jan Chapman曾在其著作《中國的犀牛角雕刻藝術》中提到六件帶有「鮑天成」或「天成」款的犀角雕傳世品，其中三例錄在此書，見同上，倫敦，1999年，頁83、122-124，編號56、120-122；另見北京故宮博物院藏一件明晚期犀角雕雙螭紋執壺，刻「鮑天成製」陽文款，錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：竹木牙角雕刻》，香港，2002年，頁128-129，編號117。亦參看巴黎佳士得曾售出一件帶「鮑天成」款犀角雕張騫乘搓，2004年6月15日，拍品60。同類犀角雕帶「鮑天成」款之羽觴式耳杯，目前所知傳世品只有三件，其中香港蔡劉木蘭女士藏兩件，一件為本拍品，第二件錄於霍滿棠，《中國犀角雕刻珍賞》，香港，1999年，頁106，圖58；第三件為洛杉磯福勒博物館舊藏，後售於倫敦佳士得，2006年11月7日，拍品53。蔡劉木蘭女士所藏兩件刻相同四十一字款識，分別刻篆書款和隸書款，而福勒博物館舊藏之例所刻銘文較另外兩件有所刪減，為十四字楷書款。其他犀角雕羽觴式耳杯之例，可參考哈佛大學博物館藏一例及松竹堂舊藏一例，見霍滿棠著錄，頁99及102，編號51及54。