The present cup belongs to a well known group of rhinoceros horn vessels fashioned and decorated in the archaistic shape and style with motifs found on the surface decoration of bronzes, jades and lacquer of the pre-Han periods.  Such vessels were favoured by the nobility who were keen collectors of ancient artefacts. Carvers and artists were able to transfer the ritual heritage of archaic bronze forms to mediums such as rhinoceros horn, ceramics and jade. Decorative styles were often blended, as seen on this example, where the archaistic design band on the main body is combined with a single lively chilong forming the handle of the vessel. While no two rhinoceros horn carvings are ever the same, this cup is surprisingly closely related to an octagonal cup, from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2004, pl. 219.

Jan Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pp. 147-156, illustrates a number of comparable examples, which she lists as belonging to the 'archaistic decoration' category, such as the piece, from the Avery Brundage collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, pl. 179; another in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, pl. 185; and a further piece in the Staatliches Museum für Volkekunde, Munich, pl. 184.

This cup bears a comparatively free and casual archaistic decoration, as if the artist was keen to experiment with his design. The ruyi border around the lip is unusual, while the taotie mask band motif around the body is also individual.