Lot 3013. A carved rhinoceros horn 'Prunus' cup, Qing dynasty, 18th century; 15.3 cm., 6 in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's

naturalistically carved as a prunus blossom with furled petals forming the cup and a circular stamen on the interior, the exterior detailed in high relief with branches issuing prunus buds and blossoms, all enveloping the sides and issuing from the openwork foot, the undercut handle formed on one side with two branches, one extending to the rim with two prunus blossoms resting on the interior, the horn of a warm caramel colour darkening towards the base.

Provenance: Collection of Justin Dupratt White, acquired in Nanjing in 1921, thence by descent within the family.
Collection of Charles Biondi Taylor.
Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2012, lot 2178.

Note: Deftly carved with branches of naturalistically carved prunus branches, the design is particularly suited to the warm caramel hues of the rhinoceros horn. Comparable examples decorated with similar designs include one in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, illustrated in Jan Chapman, The Art of the Rhinoceros Horn Carving of China, London, 1999, pl. 215; one in the Sydney L. Moss collection, included in the exhibition Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, Hong Kong, 1999, cat. no. 72; another sold in our London rooms, 12th March 1982, lot 74; and a fourth cup sold in our New York rooms, 12th October 1984, lot 256.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 april 2014