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Lot 140Y
A rare carved rhinoceros horn 'dragon' seal 17th/18th century
30 May 2017, 15:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceSold for HK$237,500 inc. premium
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A rare carved rhinoceros horn 'dragon' seal
17th/18th century
Of oval form, surmounted by a sinuous coiled five-clawed dragon with its head raised high, its left front claws grasping a flaming pearl, the base deftly carved with a four-character zhuanshu seal mark. 5.3cm (2 1/8in) high
Of oval form, surmounted by a sinuous coiled five-clawed dragon with its head raised high, its left front claws grasping a flaming pearl, the base deftly carved with a four-character zhuanshu seal mark. 5.3cm (2 1/8in) high
Footnotes
十七/十八世紀 犀角雕龍鈕圓形印章 「華封三祝」印面
Provenance:
Roger Keverne Ltd., London, Summer Exhibition, 2002, no.142
A European private collection, and thence by descent
來源：
Roger Keverne有限公司，倫敦，《夏季展覽》，2002年，編號142
歐洲私人收藏，後由其家族繼承
The seal mark reads huafeng sanzhu and is an auspicious Chinese idiom, which means 'as far-reaching as the edges of Chinese heritage, bearing three auspicious wishes of longevity, wealth and many male offspring'.
Among all forms of rhinoceros horn carvings, scholarly seal carvings are very rare. Compare a rhinoceros horn seal carved with a mythical-beast finial, Ming dynasty, illustrated by J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.117, no.118, which was later sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23 October 2005, lot 82; see also a related example illustrated by Sydney L. Moss, Ltd., Documentary Chinese Art in the Scholars' Taste, London, 1983, no.139.
Compare a related rhinoceros horn seal with a xiezhi finial, 16th/17th century, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2010, lot 2210.
「華封三祝」典出《莊子·天地》，意為華州人對上古賢者唐堯的三個美好祝愿，此典故後亦被宮廷及民間引用，並據以此典繪成吉祥圖案。
參看瑪麗及莊智博舊藏一件犀角雕瑞獸鈕橢圓形印章，著錄於J.Chapman，《The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China》，倫敦，1999年，頁117，編號118，後由蘇富比售出，2005年10月23日，拍品82。另見一例犀角雕印章，著錄於Sydney L. Moss，《Documentary Chinese Art in the Scholars' Taste》，倫敦，1983年，編號139。
香港蘇富比曾售出一件明十六/十七世紀犀角雕獬豸鈕印章，可資比較，2010年10月8日，拍品2210。