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Lot Essay
This cup, made in the form of an archaic bronze ritual wine vessel jue, reflects the incredibly high level of artistry and skill possessed by the carver. In addition to the cup's tribute to antiquity as an archaic bronze form, the incorporation of more contemporaneous details, such as the monster-mask ring handles, makes the present lot particularly interesting.
It joins a small and rare group of similarly carved and extremely high quality rhinoceros horn libation cups that includes an example from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 154-5, no.205. Compare also with another jue-form cup illustrated in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no.8.
It joins a small and rare group of similarly carved and extremely high quality rhinoceros horn libation cups that includes an example from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 154-5, no.205. Compare also with another jue-form cup illustrated in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no.8.