Footnotes

十七/十八世紀 犀角雕葵花瑞獸人物杯

Provenance:
An important European private collection

來源：
重要歐洲私人收藏

Zhang Qian, born in Chenggu district in the north central part of Shaanxi Province, was an official and diplomat who served as an Imperial envoy during the Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. He was reputedly the first diplomat to have brought back reliable information about Central Asia. He played an integral role in the conquest of the region now known as Xinjiang, and is credited with playing a key role in opening China to the world of commercial trade and major trade routes such as the Silk Road.

It is exceptionally rare for a high-relief figure to be carved in the interior of a rhinoceros libation cup as this would have required a particularly thick-walled horn and a significant loss of the prized horn carved around the figure; however, for a related example with a Zhang Qian figure carved within the cup, see J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl.293.

Figures of Zhang Qian in rhinoceros horn are more prevalent within the form of a raft and occasionally in brushrest form, examples of which can be found in important museum and private collections: see four examples from the Qing Court collection, late Ming dynasty, two of which are carved with the marks of You Tong and You Leifu, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pls.118-120 and 122; see also the Shanghai Museum, the Harvard University Art Museums, the collections of Dora Wong, Angela Chua and Franklin Chow, illustrated by T.Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pls.70-74; and from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Gerard Levy collection, Paris, the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, the Kneib collection, the Gerard Arnhold collection, Brazil, and Durham University Oriental Museum, illustrated by J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pls.48, 50-52, 105 and 293.

A rhinoceros horn 'log raft' vessel, 17th century, carved with Zhang Qian, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2013, lot 3239.

此小杯外壁浮雕葵花及瑞獸，鏤雕葵花莖作為杯底，花瓣形杯口，杯內浮雕張騫坐於葉上，手持書本。張騫為西漢漢中郡成固人，曾從長安出使西域，歷經13年返回長安，成功開拓了絲綢之路，增進了漢朝與西域的友好關係。

此杯將張騫人物雕於杯內的手法較為少見，類似僅見一例，見J.Chapman，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，圖293。存世作品中，大多以「張騫乘槎」為主題雕刻，如北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏四例，見《故宮博物院珍藏文物珍品全集：竹木牙角雕刻》，香港，2002年，圖118-120及122。另外五件，分別屬於上海博物館、哈佛大學博物館、黃蕙英女士、劉木蘭女士以及仇大雄先生舊藏，見霍滿堂，《中國犀角雕刻珍賞》，香港，1999年，圖70-74。舊金山亞洲藝術博物館、巴黎Gerard Levi 、新加坡亞洲文明博物館、巴黎柯乃柏、巴西Gerard Arnhold，杜倫大學東方藝術博物館均各有收藏一例犀角雕「張騫乘槎」杯，見J.Chapman，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，圖48，50-52，105及293。

香港蘇富比曾售出一件犀角雕張騫乘槎杯，2013年10月8日，拍品3239。