Lot 2907. A rare and superbly carved rhinoceros horn 'dragon' libation cup, Qing dynasty, early 18th century; 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 5,000,000 - HKD 7,000,000. Price Realized HKD 7,340,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2011

The exterior finely carved in high relief and openwork with five scaly four-clawed dragons of varying sizes, their contorted bodies weaving in and out of swirling clouds in pursuit of a 'flaming pearl' which the two largest dragons contest to form the handle, the tail of one of the larger dragons bursting through the clouds to the interior of the cup while the powerful leg of the other extends through the turbulent waves surrounding the lower section to appear at the openwork base, the interior carved with a further large sinuous dragon, its claws spanning the sides of the cup and its head turned to tone side resting beneath swirling clouds near the handle, the material of an attractive rich honey-brown tone.

Note: This cup belongs to a rare group of rhinoceros horn carvings depicting dragons in a naturalistic manner as opposed to the more standard archaistic variety. Perhaps the example that compares closest is a 'nine dragon'cup in the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art displaying very similarly rendered dragons emerging from clouds illustrated by T. Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 12. Interestingly one of the dragons is shown with its tail emerging at the base in a similar manner to the dragon's leg on the base of the present cup. Another closely related example signed by the famous artist You Kan was sold at Christie's London, 11 July 2006, lot 37.

Compare also an example in the Chester Beatty Library Collection illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 178, no. 234 along with dragons on the interior of another example from the J.J. Witsenburg Collection, no. 236 and a 'dragon' cup from the Dora Wong Collection, no. 235. In all three cases, a dragon has been carved as the handle of each cup, and according to Chapman, "Even more challenging from a technical viewpoint are those carvings in which the body of the dragon is made to weave in and out from the exterior to the interior of the cup.", p. 178.

See, also, a large cup carved with very similar dragons in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing illustrated in The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2002, no, 206.