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Lot Essay
The inscription on one side reads, 'Cuocang Qingluo Anzhu Shen Zhuozhang cang wan'. 'Qingluo Anzhu' refers to the studio name of the collector Shen Zhuozhang, and the inscription notes that this was a treasure from the collection of Shen.
The inscription on the reverse reads, 'Guichou nian eryue Songchuang tiji' ('inscribed by Songchuang, the second month of guichou year', the date corresponding to 1913), with the seal 'duanyou ke' ('carved by Duanyou').
The collector Shen Zhuozhang may have commissioned an inscription by Songchuang (1871-1942), which was later carved onto the raft by Chen Duanyou.
The subject of this rhinoceros horn cup, Zhang Qian in his log boat, was a popular theme during the late Ming and early Qing periods and can be seen in other rhinoceros horn carvings of the period. Several of these are illustrated by T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999: no. 70, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum; no. 71, in the collection of the Harvard University Art Museums; no. 72, in the collection of Madam Dora Wong; no. 73, in the collection of Mrs. Angela Chua, formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler collections and sold in these rooms, 1 December 1994, lot 17; and no. 74, in the collection of Mr. Franklin Chow. Another well-known example is the one included in the exhibition, Chinese Art from the Collection of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, The British Museum, 1972, p. 119, no. 186.
All of the published examples are slightly different, not only in the manner in which the hollow log is carved but also in the carving of Zhang Qian, and in what he holds. In some he holds a fly whisk, in some a ruyi sceptre, in others a book and in the Shanghai example a book as well as a lotus stem, as does the present figure.
It is possible that these carvings were inspired by the famous silver example from the collection of Lady Percival David. It is inscribed with a poem and the artist's seal, Bishan, for Zhu Bishan, a silversmith working during the 14th century, and was included in the exhibition, Chinese Art under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 37.
The inscription on the reverse reads, 'Guichou nian eryue Songchuang tiji' ('inscribed by Songchuang, the second month of guichou year', the date corresponding to 1913), with the seal 'duanyou ke' ('carved by Duanyou').
The collector Shen Zhuozhang may have commissioned an inscription by Songchuang (1871-1942), which was later carved onto the raft by Chen Duanyou.
The subject of this rhinoceros horn cup, Zhang Qian in his log boat, was a popular theme during the late Ming and early Qing periods and can be seen in other rhinoceros horn carvings of the period. Several of these are illustrated by T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999: no. 70, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum; no. 71, in the collection of the Harvard University Art Museums; no. 72, in the collection of Madam Dora Wong; no. 73, in the collection of Mrs. Angela Chua, formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler collections and sold in these rooms, 1 December 1994, lot 17; and no. 74, in the collection of Mr. Franklin Chow. Another well-known example is the one included in the exhibition, Chinese Art from the Collection of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, The British Museum, 1972, p. 119, no. 186.
All of the published examples are slightly different, not only in the manner in which the hollow log is carved but also in the carving of Zhang Qian, and in what he holds. In some he holds a fly whisk, in some a ruyi sceptre, in others a book and in the Shanghai example a book as well as a lotus stem, as does the present figure.
It is possible that these carvings were inspired by the famous silver example from the collection of Lady Percival David. It is inscribed with a poem and the artist's seal, Bishan, for Zhu Bishan, a silversmith working during the 14th century, and was included in the exhibition, Chinese Art under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 37.