CHINESE RHINOCEROS HORN LIBATION CUP,17th/18th century, Qianlong seal mark. Well carved with dragons climbing around the sides, several clustered at one end to form the handle, of deep honey color. 乾隆 犀角雕螭龍耳杯 - 5 5/8 in. long; 3 1/4 in. high.; weight: 234 gram. Estimate $20,000-25,000
NOTE: Jan Chapman, "The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China: "Once we move to the eighteen century ...we come to the evidence of several carvings that carry the...seal of the Qianlong emperor who reigned from 1736-95...Qianlong ...was an enthusiastic and prolific calligrapher and a highly cultivated man...he was also an avid collector of art...He...seems to have possessed an unquenchable desire to place his carved seal on the thousands of art works he assembled during the sixty years of his rule...The evidence...now shows us that the Qianlong emperor...placed inscriptions and seals on rhinoceros horn carvings of an earlier period which happen to please him."
PROVENANCE: Private collection, Maryland. Acquired at Sotheby's, sale 4682Y, lot 321, September 18, 1981
Small chips on the mouth, restoration to the foot going up to two carvings on the back side, restoration to one dragon and one leg missing to the same dragon, otherwise in good condition.
