A DOCUMENTARY SEALED RHINOCEROS HORN LIBATION CUP

17TH/18TH CENTURY, INCISED WITH THE MAKER'S NAME HU XINGYUE

Details

A DOCUMENTARY SEALED RHINOCEROS HORN LIBATION CUP
17th/18th century, incised with the maker's name Hu Xingyue
The flaring body carved in thread relief with three bands of stylised chilong, the mid section divided by four verticals imitating flanges, the rim incised with a narrow key-fret band, intricately carved and pierced to one side with a group of chilong clambering from the base to the rim forming the handle, the splayed foot with an incised maker's mark at the base, the exterior of light honey-brown and the interior of a darker red-brown tone, minor chips
6 in. (15.2 cm.) wide

Provenance

Purchased in London, 11 July 1966, lot 15.

Lot Essay

The carver Hu Xingyue probably worked in the 18th Century, according to research by Jan Chapman. He invariably signed his work by incising a square four-character seal below the foot of his cups, which are, as the present lot, all decorated in the archaistic style. Only eight cups with his seal appear to exist; two are in the Aberdeen Art Gallery. Further examples are in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and in the Museum voor Volkerkunde, Rotterdam, no.29344. The others are in private collections.

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