Three exceptional signed rhinoceros horn cups @ Christie's

The following three rhinoceros horn carvings bear either the signature or seal of two of the most revered artists working in this medium: You Kan (zi Zhi Sheng) and You Yutong (zi Yuyuan).

You Kan is amongst the most famous rhinoceros horn carvers, with more works attributed to his hand than any other carver. He is also one of the few identifiable carvers whose name is listed in traditional sources. It is now generally accepted that You Kan is, in fact, the legendary You Xibei ('Rhinoceros Horn Cup' You), who was active during the period, c. 1660-1720, and who was summoned by the Kangxi Emperor to the capital to work at the Imperial ateliers. The incredible range and virtuosity of the extant cups signed You Kan justify his fame. He carved in the archaistic manner, but excelled in intimate and evocative depictions of flora and fauna. The exquisitely carved banana leaf-form cup, with an alert praying mantis and a charmingly rendered katydid, represents one of the most daring and imaginative designs of the examples bearing his signature. Figural cups bearing his name are exceptionally rare, and the brilliant composition and masterful carving of the cup depicting the legendary lover of wine, Lin Jin, accompanied by his attendants in a majestic mountainous landscape, displays a unsurpassed mastery of this genre.

Formerly in the collections of W. Fleisher and the great American philanthropist, Edwin Meader, and published in 1971 by Bo Gyllensvärd, the magnificent raft cup carved with the legendary explorer Zhang Qian is distinguished not only for being one of the largest recorded examples, it is also one of only three known to bear the seals of Yuyuan, the studio name (zi) of the master carver, You Tong. The other two are in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing. The latter bears an inscription on the interior, written in the year 1782 by the Qianlong Emperor, praising the work of You Tong. Such raft carvings are technically amongst the most complex and challenging forms to create, and Qianlong's inscription on the raft signed by Yuyuan in the Palace Museum testifies to the high esteem in which such vessels were held at the Court.

Like You Kan, You Tong has also been linked to You Xibei, and, indeed, many sources identify You Kan and You Tong as the same artist from Wuxi, who was active in the late Ming and early Qing periods. While several superb cups bear the signature of these two renowned artists, and it is difficult to ascertain with certainty which examples were indeed by their hand, the present cups remain unquestionable masterpieces of the medium.

A magnificent and extremely rare rhinoceros horn 'log-raft' cup. Kangxi period (1662-1722). 

Superbly carved as Zhang Qian floating down the Yangzi River in a hollowed log-boat, the legendary Han dynasty explorer shown grasping the cords of his belt in one hand and a blossoming prunus branch in the other, while seated casually atop a naturalistic platform beneath an arbor formed by an arched and twisted trunk of tree peony, with a lotus plant rising from the interior of the cup to the front of the platform, the vessel tapering towards the front to form an elongated spout sprouting intertwined, gnarled branches and flaring at the stern into an irregular, undulating rim, the exterior of the raft accented with knots and burls, and the underside carved with two whirlpools and eddies which crest into waves and spume along the sides, one side of the stern with a five-character inscription in relief reading, Zai lai hua jia zi, followed by a circular seal, You, and a square seal, Yuyuan, the material of deep amber tone running to dark walnut; 12¼ in. (31.6 cm.) long, box ; 354.6g - Estimate $1,200,000 - $1,800,000 

Provenance: Collection of Mr. W. Fleisher, Stockholm.
Edwin Meader Collection, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Literature: Bo Gyllensvärd, "Two Yuan Silver Cups and Their Importance for Dating of Some Carvings in Wood and Rhinoceros Horn", BMFEA 43, Stockholm, 1971, pl. 5.

Notes: The inscription may be translated as, '[May you live] for another 60 years,' followed by the signature, You Yuyuan, the studio name, or hao, of the master carver, You Tong.
The charming figure depicted seated in this raft-form cup is the Han-dynasty imperial envoy and traveler, Zhang Qian. In 139 BC, Zhang was ordered by the Han Emperor Wudi to seek allies among the states beyond the Xiongnu, a nomad tribe that was a constant threat on the north-western frontier of China. Although Zhang failed in his main goal, he returned with invaluable information about Central Asia, and his extraordinary travels were later embellished into legendary poems. According to legend, Zhang is said to have traveled in search of the source of the Yangzi River, and found himself floating on the Milky Way ('River of Heaven') where he caught sight of the Weaving Maiden and the Cowherd, the two mythical lovers separated by that galaxy. Among the many benefits accredited to Zhang's explorations was the introduction of grape wine to China, hence the popularity of wine-pouring vessels in the form of the legendary explorer in his log boat floating down the Yangzi River.

The present magnificent raft-form cup is amongst the largest recorded examples, with only two known examples slightly exceeding it in length. The largest example (33.7 cm.) is in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland, and illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London 1999, p. 78, no. 47. The second largest example (32.5 cm.) would appear to be the raft bearing the inscription, You Kan Zhi Sheng, from the collection of Kenyon V. Painter, sold at Sotheby's, New York, 21 September 2006, lot 8.
The present raft-cup is also distinguished as one of only three known raft carvings inscribed with the name Yuyuan. One of the other two rafts is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and illustrated by J. Chapman, "The Use of Manipulation in Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Cups", Arts of Asia, July-August, 1982, fig. 6; the other (27 cm.) is in the Qing Court Collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 132-33, no.119. (Fig. 1) All three of these raft carvings are stylistically very similar and bear the same inscription, Zai lai hua jia zi. The Palace Museum example, however, bears an inscription on the interior by the Qianlong Emperor, written in the year 1782, praising the work of one You Tong, suggesting that You Yuyuan and You Tong are the same person. Interestingly, a very similar raft of slightly smaller size (27 cm.), also bearing an inscription by the Qianlong Emperor written in the year 1782, was exhibited on loan by the Chinese government to the famous exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 1935. See, Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-6, London, no. 2948. Unfortunately, there is no mention in the exhibition catalogue of an artist's signature or seal on that vessel, and this piece does not appear to have been subsequently published.
Of the twenty or so known rhinoceros horn raft cups, only a handful bear inscriptions. One of the few other signed examples includes the famous raft bearing the signature of the Ming-dynasty carver Bao Tiancheng (active c. 1573-1619) in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, op. cit., p. 124, no. 122. Chapman also illustrates several unsigned examples, including no. 48, from the Avery Brundage Collection; no. 50, from the Gerard Levy Collection, Paris; no. 51, from the Edward and Franklin Chow Collection, The Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore; no. 52, from the Knieb Collection; and no. 293, from the Henry G. deLazlo Collection, Durham University Oriental Museum. Further unsigned examples are illustrated by Tom Fok in Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, and include no. 71, in the collection of the Harvard University Art Museums; no. 72, in the collection of Madam Dora Wong; and no. 73, in the collection of Mrs. Angela Chua, formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections and sold in these rooms, 1 December 1994, lot 17. Another well-known example is the one included in the exhibition, Chinese Art from the Collection of H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, The British Museum, 1972, p. 119, no. 186. All of these published examples are slightly different, not only in the manner in which the hollow log is carved, but also in the carving of Zhang Qian, and in what he holds. In some he holds a fly whisk, in some a ruyi scepter, in others a book, and in the Shanghai example, a book as well as a lotus stem.
In order to achieve this unusual hollowed horizontal form, the carver would have initially had to soak the horn to render the material pliable, then slice along the short side of the horn and hollow it out to form the receptacle. In the case of the present cup, a section of the side wall near the base was cut and bent upwards to form the section from which the figure of Zhang Qian and the bower of entwined branches under which he sits would be carved. Such log-rafts are technically amongst the most complex and challenging forms to create, and Qianlong's inscription on the raft signed by Yuyuan in the Palace Museum testifies to the high esteem such vessels held at the Court.
It is possible that these carvings may have been inspired by prototypes in silver of earlier date, such as the example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and one formerly in the collection of Sir Percival David and now in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Both examples are illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, op. cit, p. 263, nos. 382 and 383, respectively. Both are inscribed with the seal of the 14th-century silversmith, Zhu Bishan, but according to Chapman, p. 264, the Cleveland raft is generally accepted as being made in the Ming dynasty, probably in the 16th century, while the Tapei raft is generally accepted as dating from the 14th century.

A very rare and superbly carved rhinoceros horn cup. Kangxi period (1662-1722).

The flaring sides superbly carved with a scene inspired by Du Fu's poem 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', with Lin Jin, Prince of Ruyang, accompanied by two attendants, one tending to his horse, the other balancing upon his back a pole strung with various cloth-bound accoutrements, including his master's bow, while the prince looks longingly towards two elegant women and a peddler pushing a wine cart, the two groupings separated by a meandering stream spanned by a foot bridge, the scene set within a lush mountainous landscape punctuated by pine, willow and wutong trees growing amidst rocky outcrops, with a retreat with tall triangular roof nestled amidst the trees in the distance, the handle formed by pierced rockwork and a pine tree, its boughs arching over the rim and into the interior of the cup, the flowing waters of the stream continuing to the underside of the cup carved with further rockwork framing a finely carved square seal reading You Kan, the material of a rich walnut tone; 5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) high, box; 350.9g  - Estimate $300,000 - $500,000

Provenance: Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm McHenry, Sacramento, California.

Notes: This extraordinary cup features the Tang dynasty scholar, Li Jin, Prince of Ruyang and nephew of Emperor Xuanzong, as well as one of the protagonists of the famous poem 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup' by the Tang dynasty poet, Du Fu. Li Jun was known for his love of alcohol and for his skill with the bow and drum. On the current cup, Li Jin is shown distracted by two elegantly dressed ladies, and by a wine cart peddler, all to the apparent consternation of his accompanying servant tending to his horse. Du Fu's poem, 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', enjoyed a renewal of popularity as a theme during the Transitional and Kangxi periods, particularly as a motif on porcelains of the period, as evidenced by the Kangxi-marked blue and white wine cup sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1 December 2009, lot 189, which also depicts Li Jun distracted by a wine peddler.
Figural cups bearing the seal or signature of You Kan are extremely rare. A rhinoceros horn cup carved with a garden scene with a scholar seated in a 'moon-viewing' chair and tended by his boy attendant, bearing a seal partially obscured by a section of rock, but beginning with You, and attributed to You Kan, is illustrated by P. Moss, The Literati Mode, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1986, pp. 200-1, where the author cites another stylistically very similar cup by You Kan in the collection of the late Dr. Ip Yee, illustrated in 'Notes on a Collection of Chinese Rhinoceros Horn Carvings', International Asian Antiques Fair, Hong Kong, 1982, pp. 22-3, no. 2. Dr. Ip's collection contained nine signed cups, four of which are by You Kan, and the group was bequeathed to the Palace Museum, Beijing. See, also, the rhinoceros horn cup carved with a scene very similar to that on the present cup and bearing the seal, Zhi Sheng, the studio name (zi) of You Kan, sold at Sothebys, New York, 17 April 1985, lot 141.

A superb rhinoceros horn cup. Kangxi period (1662-1722).

Brilliantly conceived as a large inverted banana leaf with meticulously rendered veining, nestled within smaller banana leaves entangled with fruiting mulberry, with a praying mantis shown on one side clinging to an insect-eaten section of a folded-over banana leaf that forms the handle of the cup under which a large katydid seeks shelter, its large plump hind-quarters shown peeking out on the reverse, a twisting branch, that forms the openwork base, rising up inside the leaf-form handle to the rim where it continues into the interior, one side of the cup incised with a two-character inscription in clerical script reading Zhi Sheng, the material of golden honey and walnut-brown tone; 6 1/8 in. (5.5 cm.) long, box ; 283.6g - Estimate $300,000 - $500,000

Notes: This extraordinary cup ranks amongst the most daring and creative of the masterfully carved rhinoceros horn cups bearing the seal or signature of You Kan. The compositions on both sides are equally strong, but it is the brilliant depiction of the large katydid seeking safety under the furled banana-leaf handle, with just its large, plump abdomen poking out, that particularly distinguishes this example.

A 'lotus-leaf' cup signed Zhi Sheng, and carved on the exterior with a similarly rendered praying mantis crawling on an insect-eaten lotus leaf, is in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin and illustrated by J. Chapman, The Art of the Rhinoceros Horn Carving, London, 1999, p. 240, no. 347. See, also, the 'lotus leaf' water dropper, signed You Kan, and carved on the interior with a praying mantis clinging to the stalk of a young lotus leaf, illustrated by R.Y. d'Argencé, Treasures from the Shanghai Museum: 6,000 Years of Chinese Art, Shanghai and San Francisco, 1983, p. 119, no. 121.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 16 - 17 September 2010, New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com