17TH/18TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE RHINOCEROS HORN LOQUAT LEAF-FORM SHALLOW CUP
17TH/18TH CENTURY
The large leaf borne on a leafy, gnarled branch laden with fruit that forms a handle at one end and continues on the underside to form the base, with a six-character inscription, Mi Shi Ma zhi bin mi zhen (Precious collection of Mi Shi Ma), incised on one side
5¼ in. (13.4 cm.) long

Provenance

G. Menasce Collection, no. 344.
Nils Nessim Collection; Sotheby's, New York, 26-27 February 1981, lot 319.
Sotheby's, London, 18 November 1998, lot 826.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

Low rhinoceros horn cups of this type are not as frequently seen as the deeper cups. An example carved as half a fruit from the collection of Mr. Michael de Salys Longchamps, and dated to the 17th century, is illustrated by T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, 1999, no. 114. The loquat leaf shape of this cup also seems to be rather unusual. A larger cup of this shape, which also shows the fruit, in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, is illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 184, no. 246.

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