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chrysanthemum flowers to the interior and exterior, and a cricket to one side, 18cm long
Please Note: Rhino horn products can be sold within the EU without a license, but not exported beyond the EU (unless the hammer price reaches $100 per gram in weight)
Provenance: Private West Country collection, inherited from the Grandparents of the present owner in the 1960s
Note: Carved into the libation cup are a number of chrysanthemums. The Chinese word for chrysanthemum is similar to the Chinese word 'ju' which means to remain, and 'jiu', which means 'long time'. So the chrysanthemum, as suggested by this homophone, symbolises long life. An appropriate motif to carve on a rhinoceros libation cup, bestowing sentiments of long life upon whoever receives the cup.
The inclusion of the cricket on the body of the cup, together with the chrysanthemums, forms the rebus 'guan jiu yi pin'. The name for cricket, 'guo', sounds similar to 'guan', which means ‘official’, and paired with 'jiu' (to sit) and 'yi pin' (meaning a first-rank official), the rebus evokes the image of a cricket sitting on the branch of a chrysanthemum. This imagery is a metaphor for a scholar who wishes to move quickly to a high rank, and therefore the utilisation of this rebus on the libation cup expresses wishes of success for the scholar who is in possession of it. The central form of the cup is carved as a lotus leaf, and the word for lotus, 'lian', is a homophone for 'lián' (meaning continuous), therefore the inclusion of the lotus imagery expresses the wish for a long career in high office.
Traditionally these were gifted to successful scholars upon passing their exams. Apt, then, that this cup, decorated with chrysanthemums, is also reminiscent of the hermetic poet Tao Qian (365-427 AD). He left the civil office to avoid the tribulations of the mundane world, and seek solace in nature. He returned to his rural estate and planted numerous chrysanthemums. Since then, the flower has also come to symbolise the literati ideal of tranquil solitude in the 'autumn' of one's life.
Cf. A comparable 18th century example was offered at Bonhams London, Fine Chinese Art, 14th May 2015, lot 248. Another 18th century libation cup with a similar insect from the collection of Mr Franklin Chow, see ‘Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China’, Hong Kong, 1999, no.118.Two chips/losses from one of the leaves and its branches.