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Lot Essay
The four-character hall mark reads Yanyue jia chang which may be translated, Yanyue family collection.
No other example of a rhinoceros horn ewer of this form and unusually large size appears to be published. Two smaller ewers, each of different form, and ornately carved with reticulated handles and spouts, are illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 103, nos. 89 and 90, where they are dated to the late Ming period and 17th century respectively. The closest comparison to the present lot appears to be the rhinoceros horn gu-form beaker vase sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5 November, 1997, lot 1015, and again 31 October, 2000, lot 1013. Both the Hong Kong beaker vase and the present ewer are of the same size, of simple form, and carved with low-relief decoration incoporating taotie masks and other archaistic motifs. Unlike the example sold in Hong Kong, which was composed of three separately carved sections, the present lot is extremely rare in that the body of the vessel appears to be carved from a single piece of horn.
The form of this ewer can also be related to jade examples of contemporary date. See, for example, the greyish-white jade ewer dated to the Ming dynasty, of broader, flattened pear form, but also with a similar handle linked to the domed cover by a loose chain, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi quanji, Sui Tang Ming, vol. 5, Hebei, 1994, no. 285.
No other example of a rhinoceros horn ewer of this form and unusually large size appears to be published. Two smaller ewers, each of different form, and ornately carved with reticulated handles and spouts, are illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 103, nos. 89 and 90, where they are dated to the late Ming period and 17th century respectively. The closest comparison to the present lot appears to be the rhinoceros horn gu-form beaker vase sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5 November, 1997, lot 1015, and again 31 October, 2000, lot 1013. Both the Hong Kong beaker vase and the present ewer are of the same size, of simple form, and carved with low-relief decoration incoporating taotie masks and other archaistic motifs. Unlike the example sold in Hong Kong, which was composed of three separately carved sections, the present lot is extremely rare in that the body of the vessel appears to be carved from a single piece of horn.
The form of this ewer can also be related to jade examples of contemporary date. See, for example, the greyish-white jade ewer dated to the Ming dynasty, of broader, flattened pear form, but also with a similar handle linked to the domed cover by a loose chain, illustrated in Zhongguo Yuqi quanji, Sui Tang Ming, vol. 5, Hebei, 1994, no. 285.