A rare small rhinoceros horn documentary 'vishnu' bowl


Nepal, dated by inscription to 1678 and of the periodCarved in yoni form and raised above a short flat base, the rounded edge of the interior carved with a small figure of the deity Vishnu above a lotus-petal pedestal, surrounded by a mandorla, the exterior carved with a Nepalese inscription, the horn of dark-brown tone. 7.3cm (2 7/8in) long.
|尼泊爾 一六七八年銘 犀角毗濕奴像小杯The present bowl bears a rare documentary inscription which reads as follows: Lalitapaṭṭanādhipati śrī śrīnivāsa malla śrī śrī joganalyandaMalla / śreyostu samvat 798 //X//Which may translated as:'During the auspicious year of 798 (CE 1678), Śrīnivāsa Malla, the king of Patan (lalitapaṭṭana) and (his son) Jogalyanda Malla (commissioned this object).'Translation by G.V.Vajracharya, October 2018.Compare with a related Nepalese rhinoceros horn bowl, illustrated by J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.274, figs.395-396.此杯體量輕小，平口上陰刻兩道弦紋，內壁一側浮雕毗濕奴像，外壁刻銘文兩周，銘文大義為「798年（公元1678年）吉日，帕坦國王斯里尼瓦薩·馬拉和（兒子）約格蘭達·馬拉（委託製作此物 ）」一轉譯自G.V Vajracharya之英文翻譯，2018年10月。可參考一件類似尼泊爾犀角雕盌，見 J.Chapman著，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，頁274，圖395至396。