Lot 157. A rare rhinoceros horn 'chilong' libation cup, 17th century. Estimate GBP 7,000-10,000. Sold for £37,500 (€42,435. Courtesy Bonhams.

The four-lobed cup supported on a gently spreading and hollowed foot encircled by a key-fret band, carved in relief to each lobe with a quatrefoil cartouche enclosing a sinuous chilong reserved on a diaper ground, all below a further band of key-fret to the rim, the handle carved in the form of a gnarled pine branch entwined with prunus sprigs and bamboo. 13.6cm (5 3/8in) long.

Provenance: an English private collection.

Note: The present libation cup is unusual for the combination of the chi dragon within the 'earth diaper' medallions. For examples of rhinoceros horn libation cups with 'earth diaper' medallions, see Lot 154, published in J.Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.158, pl.195; and compare a related rhinoceros horn libation cup, with similar design of 'earth diaper' pattern, adorned with a chilong handle, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2014, lot 3021; and see also a related rhinoceros horn octagonal libation cup, 17th century, which was sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 14. See also the low relief double chi dragon medallion carving on a rhinoceros horn circular box and cover, early 17th century, from the collection of Harvard University Art Museums, illustrated in T.Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no.128.

A carved rhinoceros horn 'Dragon and Lotus' cup, Qing dynasty, 18th century. Sold for 1,180,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2014, lot 3021. Photo Sotheby's

A rhinoceros horn octogonal libation cup, 17th century. 4½ in. (11.4 cm.) wide. Sold for 61,250 GBP at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 14. © Christies Images Ltd 2017

A related carved rhinoceros horn libation cup, 18th/19th century, decorated with similar cartouches enclosing archaistic dragons and with a handle in the form of a prunus branch, was sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 September 2007, lot 13.

A carved rhinoceros horn 'prunus' libation cup, Qing Dynasty, 18th-19th century. Sold for 25,000 USD at Sotheby's New York, 18 September 2007, lot 13. Photo Sotheby's.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 9 Nov 2017, 10:30 GMT - LONDON, NEW BOND STREET