A rare and large rhinoceros horn archaistic 'sixteen-dragon' libation cup


18th centuryExpertly carved in high relief around the body formed as an archaic gu vase with fifteen writhing chilong of various sizes with curling bifurcated tails and arched backs, seven forming the handle, the adult with finely incised hair biting the rim and peering onto the high-relief and three-dimensional dragon carved in the well chasing a flaming pearl, the exterior with notched flanges dividing stiff plantain-leaf lappets enclosing further stylised dragons, the horn of dark chocolate-brown tone. 15cm (5 8/9in) high.
|十八世紀 犀角雕螭龍仿古蕉葉紋觚形杯 Provenance:An important European private collection of rhinoceros horn carvings, and thence by descent來源：重要歐洲犀角雕收藏，並由後人收藏迄今Published and Illustrated: J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.156, fig.191出版及著錄:J.Chapman著，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，頁156，圖191The present cup is an imaginative tour-de-force, exhibiting masterful carving, with the sinuous chilong clambering atop the cup, carved in high relief in striking contrast to the archaistic low relief carving on the exterior. This prized possession would have delighted the person admiring the cup with a further unexpected pleasure in the form of the remarkable high relief carved dragon writhing in the well of the cup, requiring masterful skill to accomplish this astonishing feat of carving. The motif of adult and young chi-dragons seems to have been favoured by the Qianlong emperor and has been interpreted as conveying the message of the father teaching his son the way of life, and within the Imperial family, that of the emperor giving lessons to the prince. Such motifs can also be found on jade carvings and Imperial porcelain of the 18th century. The archaic form and design of the present lot, inspired by archaic gu vessels of the Shang dynasty, also relates to the Qianlong emperor's instruction to craftsmen to take inspiration from antiques in order to reinstate the intrinsic qualities of simplicity, sincerity and happy exuberance of the ancient cultures.See a related archaistic 'dragons' libation cup, signed Hu Yunzhong, mid-Qing dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, p.255, no.204. Compare also with a related rhinoceros horn cup, signed Hu Xingyue, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 December 2015, lot 11.杯侈口，下收內束，至腰部凸起一層，圈足微撇，整體呈觚形。杯身滿雕十五隻螭龍，浮雕、圓雕、鏤空之法並用。最大一隻成年螭龍匍匐於杯口一側，鬃毛後散，絲絲如縷，刻畫尤精，其下纏鬥六隻幼螭恰作杯鋬，螭龍首尾顧盼，爭纏鬥繞，動態十足。杯身攀附八隻幼螭，各不相同。杯內浮雕一隻四爪昇龍，身形矯健，四足上攀。杯身上下飾仿古蕉葉紋，以雷紋填地，四面及四棱出齒棱。犀角深染，或仿古銅皮色。 成年螭龍和幼年螭龍的組合或源自「蒼龍教子」的題材，明代以來廣見，清代乾隆帝獨好之，同一時期的玉器作品亦常見類似題材。杯身仿自商周青銅器觚，紋飾饒有古意。參考一件北京故宮藏清中期胡允中款犀角雕螭紋觚形杯，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集一竹木牙角雕刻》，香港，2002年，頁255，編號204。另可比較一件十七/十八世紀犀角雕胡星岳款仿古螭龍紋杯，售於香港邦瀚斯，2015年，拍品11。