A fine rhinoceros horn libation cup
18th century
Crisply carved in high relief around the exterior with numerous birds including pairs of phoenix, cranes and mandarin ducks in a grove of bamboo and flowering prunus with twin leafy trunks forming the handle, wood stand.
16.2cm (6 3/8in) long (2).
Crisply carved in high relief around the exterior with numerous birds including pairs of phoenix, cranes and mandarin ducks in a grove of bamboo and flowering prunus with twin leafy trunks forming the handle, wood stand.
16.2cm (6 3/8in) long (2).
Sold for
£94,850
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance: a Scottish private collection
Pairs of birds have an obvious connection with wishes for fertility as well as for happiness in marriage, which is the particular symbolism of the pair of mandarin ducks. Related cups with cranes and phoenix from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, are illustrated by J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.187.
Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art
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Chinese Works of Art