Rhinoceros horn cup depicting the Land of the Immortals, Qianlong period (1736-1795), Qing dynasty. h. 9.9 cm © National Palace Museum

The slightly oval cup is made of a rhinoceros horn, with a flaring mouth and deep inside. It is wide at the top and narrows down to the flat, black bottom, revealing somewhat chipped damage along the light brown mouth rim. Below the rim, it is all dark brown. Fairy mountains and dwellings cover the entire outer surface, with clumps of trees here and there, and groups of immortals engaged in profound spiritual discussion. On the narrower side of the cup, protruding mountainous rocks and trees are carved in high relief and meant for the cup handle. Inside the mouth rim, on one side, a front-view dragon in relief coils amid floats of drifting clouds. On the opposite side is engraved in gold-filled intaglio six characters in Li (clerical) script, "Antiquarian Style, Qianlong of Great Qing". On the bottom is the emperor's four-line poem also in yinke (intaglio), in Kai(regular) script, dated "Qianlong, Xinchuo Year, Imperial Poem", which was 1781, the 46^th year of his reign. The legend of the Zhuan (seal) script seal reads: "Antique Aroma". The royal verse is included in the emperor's anthology. The custom-made brocade wrap and case are still in existence, with a label affixed to the case cover, "one Rhinoceros horn cup depicting the Land of the Immortals inside".

The matching wood stand of the cord-weave pattern is raised all round the side, so the cup could sit snugly and secure in place. The same verse and signature by the emperor and inscribed on the cup are also carved in gold-filled on the bottom of the stand, only in different styles of scripts. The impression of the seal, different too, reads "As Virtuous".

Back in antiquity, rhinoceroses roamed in the Yellow River valley but the number dwindled with the time as the region became unfitting for their existence. Down to Tang dynasty, wild rhinoceroses could still be seen in the mountainous areas in the southern China. Once into Song, however, as a whole the rhinoceros became extinct in China Proper. People accordingly knew less and less about the beast's physical attributes yet their needs for its horn never went less. Import was the only source for this rare material which could be used as medicine as well as for carving. Vessels carved out of the rhinoceros horn were appreciated by people from all walks of life and deemed valuable collectibles. Ming and Qing literati repeatedly extolled them in their writings; even the royal house joined the praising crowd. The present cup is one of such court items. What Qianlong said in his verse indicated that the emperor associated the piece with the craft tradition of Xuancheng, Anhui Province. 

Text and images are provided by National Palace Museum