A rare and large rhinoceros horn 'Vaishnava' bowl


Nepal, 17th/18th centuryOf yoni form raised on a short shallow foot and plain flat base, finely carved in relief to the rounded end of the interior with Vishnu adorned in body ornaments and crown framed by a mandorla, flanked by another pair of deities on lotus pedestals all above a lotus blossom in the centre issuing stems with two further deities flanking a conch shell, the exterior with a row of cartouches enclosing Hindu deities, the horn of a reddish-brown tone. 15.6cm (6 1/8in) long.
|尼泊爾 十七/十八世纪 犀角雕毗濕奴像杯 Vishnu, the 'All Pervader' personifying solar energy and described as encompassing the whole universe in three strides, is one of the most important Hindu deities, along with Shiva and Brahma. He sustains the universe and occasionally descends to earth assuming various forms to redress the balance between good and evil, thus he is also known as the Preserver. In time, Vishnu came to represent the traditional order of society, ever mindful of maintaining orthodox standards of behaviour, standing for law and order. Therefore, the kings of Nepal, where this bowl was made, were traditionally considered to be incarnations of Vishnu.Vishnu's usual attributes can be seen on the present lot, including the conch shell (shanka), symbol of the five existential elements and the lotus (padma) symbol of the powers of illusion from which the universe originates and the impulse towards liberation. Beside Vishnu are probably Shridevi and Bhudevi, representing wealth and earth respectively.See a similar Nepalese rhinoceros horn bowl, illustrated by J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.273, figs.393-394, which is offered in this catalogue Lot 84.Compare with a related but slightly larger rhinoceros horn 'Vaishnava' bowl, Nepal, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2018, lot 61.杯尖唇，兩側雕幾何形花紋，內壁雕毗濕奴像及無邊之蛇，外壁浮雕毗濕奴十大化身。毗濕奴為印度教神系中的主神之一，左上手握寶輪，左下手握法螺，右上手執仙杖，右下手執蓮莖。無邊大蛇又名阿南塔，多頭，毗濕奴枕於其身，乃印度教對「終極實在」理解的形象體現。杯心雕蓮花一朵，內嵌點狀黃色金屬。據印度教經典，毗濕奴肚臍生出蓮花一朵，蓮花綻開而生多頭梵天，梵天而生世界。 參考一件類似的尼泊爾犀角碗，見 J.Chapman著，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，頁273，圖393至394，即本場拍賣之拍品84號。另可參考一件略大之十七／十八世紀尼泊爾毗濕奴犀角雕碗，2018年5月29日售於香港邦瀚斯，拍品61。