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Lot Essay
A rhyton is a ceremonial libation vessel based on the shape of a horn, hence its Chinese name gong, which includes the Chinese character for ‘horn’ in its composition. These forms have been known since antiquity, inspired by their counterparts in Western metalwork and then elaborated upon by the Chinese craftsmen, creating them out of ornamental material such as jade and adding decorative devices such archaistic patterns and handles in the shape of mythical beasts such as chilong.
Compare a rhyton dating to the 13th century, which may have served as a prototype for the present lot as it is also carved two chilong clambering on the vessel which stands on a dragon-tail foot in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. 92.103.2. A pale greenish-white jade rhyton with an inscription by Qianlong emperor dating to 1787 in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is published in the Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1 May – 22 June 1975, p. 134, catalogue no. 446. Also compare a yellow jade rhyton from the Qing court collection with a single chilong handle and dragon-tail foot published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, no. 137.
Compare a rhyton dating to the 13th century, which may have served as a prototype for the present lot as it is also carved two chilong clambering on the vessel which stands on a dragon-tail foot in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. 92.103.2. A pale greenish-white jade rhyton with an inscription by Qianlong emperor dating to 1787 in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is published in the Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1 May – 22 June 1975, p. 134, catalogue no. 446. Also compare a yellow jade rhyton from the Qing court collection with a single chilong handle and dragon-tail foot published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, no. 137.