Lot 656. A rare circular rhinoceros horn 'Prunus' libation cup, Qing Dynasty, 17th-18th century; 12.1 cm., 4 3/4 in. Estimate 500,000 — 700,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,540,000 HKD  (198,629 USD). Photo Sotheby's

of circular section, elegantly carved with flared sides rising from a hollow splayed foot, decorated around the exterior with a band enclosing low-relief prunus buds and blossoms gently floating on rippling waters, the openwork handle formed from a gnarled branch bearing prunus buds and blossoms stemming from the inner rim and extending across the cup below, the interior rim picked out with a 'classic' scroll in low relief, the dark brown horn lightening to a warm caramel tone towards the rim, wood stand

Note: This libation cup is notable for the elegant prunus branch forming the handle and extending around the sides. The branch and flowers are modelled in the round to contrast with the low relief band of flowing waters that gently carry petals and blooms. A cup of related form and design, but with chilong carved amongst the prunus branches, which are all set against a diaper band, in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, is illustrated in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 196, where she mentions how rhinoceros horn cups of this type fall into a small group of carvings that combine an archaistic form with flora and fauna (p. 156).

A similarly carved cup of archaistic form, but with lobed sides, from the collection of H. G. Beasley, was sold in these rooms, 22nd May 1984, lot 261; another cup carved with prunus and a butterfly in flight, was sold in our London rooms, 13th July 2005, lot 107; and a third example of similar form, but with two prunus-shaped handles, from the collections of Edward T. Chow and Franklin Chow, was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 2723. The classic scroll adorning the interior rim of the cup, a design commonly known on porcelain, is also found on two rhinoceros horn cups published in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pls. 18 and 38, from the collections of the Thomas Fok and Michael de Salys Longchamps respectively.

Sotheby's. Playthings From The Collection of Edward T. Chow Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Collections Chinese Art Through the Eye of Sakamoto Gor - Asian Lacquer, Hong Kong, 27 may 2014