A rare and large rhinoceros horn 'Vaishnava' bowl


Nepal, 17th/18th centuryOf yoni form raised on a short shallow foot with plain flat base, finely carved in relief to the rounded end of the interior with Vishnu wearing crowns and framed by a mandorla, his left hand holding a club aloft with his right hand raised in reassurance, the exterior with a continuous row of cartouches each of which represent incarnations of Vishnu, the horn of a chocolate tone. 17.2cm (6 3/4in) long.
|尼泊爾 十七/十八世紀 犀角雕毗濕奴像杯Provenance:An important European private collection of rhinoceros horn carvings, and thence by descentPublished and Illustrated: J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pp.248 and 273, figs.393-394來源：重要歐洲私人收藏犀角雕刻，並由後人保存迄今出版及著錄：J.Chapman著，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，頁248及273，圖393至394J.Chapman notes with regard to the present lot that 'Whilst most of the figure carving in this group of bowls is extremely crude the carving of the decoration of the bowl shown is of a much higher standard than usual.'; see Ibid,.p.272. The crispness and clarity of the carving around the exterior enables us to identify the different incarnations of Vishnu in order to restore universal harmony, including: a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a man-lion, a dwarf, Rama with an axe, Rama the hero of the Ramayana, Krishna's brother Balarama, the Buddha and Kalkin, who appears in a horse-headed form. Almost all the recorded rhinoceros horn vessels from Nepal are dedicated to Vishnu, since Nepalese kings were traditionally considered to be incarnations of Vishnu. According to the sacred Vaishnava text, Vishnu Purana, a rhinoceros horn libation vessel can consume all sin. The yoni form represents the female generative organ, believed to be the seat of tejas, spiritual power and ardour. It is also worshipped as a symbol of fertility. Thus, this rare bowl would have been highly venerated for its symbolic powers as a ritual vessel.Compare with a similar rhinoceros horn 'Vaishnava' bowl, Nepal, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 May 2018, lot 61.杯尖唇，口沿下內側飾幾何紋兩層，杯壁一側雕毗濕奴像，四手各持發輪，有寶輪、法螺、仙杖及蓮莖，騎在神鳥迦樓羅上，肚臍生出一枝蓮花，贯穿杯壁内堂。杯外壁浮雕毗濕奴十大化身，分别是摩蹉（魚），俱利摩（龜），筏羅訶（野豬），那羅希摩（人獅），筏摩那（侏儒），持斧羅摩，羅摩，黑天，釋迦牟尼佛，迦爾吉（白馬）。J.Chapman認為《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》所著錄的一組尼泊爾犀角雕毗濕奴像碗雕工頗粗，惟此件雕刻精緻。香港邦瀚斯售出一件尼泊爾十七/十八世紀犀角雕毗濕奴像碗可作參考，2018年5月29日，拍品61。