倫敦蘇富比1986年2月20日，編號30

整體品相良好，惟口沿近鋬一處約2公分經磨，另有幾處輕磕及自然棕眼。
我們很高興為您提供上述拍品狀況報告。由於敝公司非專業修復人員，在此敦促您向其他專業修復人員索取諮詢，以獲得更詳盡、專業之報告。

準買家應該檢查每款拍品以確認其狀況，蘇富比所作的任何陳述均為專業主觀看法而非事實陳述。準買家應參考有關該拍賣的重要通知（見圖錄）。

雖然本狀況報告或有針對某拍品之討論，但所有拍賣品均根據印於圖錄內之業務規則以拍賣時狀況出售。

The present rhinoceros horn cup, in the form of a blossoming cockscomb fashioned with a gnarled branch handle, is beautifully shaped and exquisitely carved. The rendering of stemming cockscomb blooms and aster in high relief fosters a sense of naturalism and liveliness in the piece. While this cup displays characteristic elements seen on flower-form vessels, it is distinctive for the elegant and skilful fashioning of the furled edges at the rim, which has successfully added another layer of three-dimensionality to the overall composition.

Rhinoceros horn cups with a cockscomb theme are rare and no other example appears to have been published. For libation cups of this type carved with serrated rims, see a funnel-shaped example in the collection of Mr. Franklin Chow, illustrated in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 118; a cup in the form of a furled loquat leaf, sold in these rooms, 7th April🅷 2017, lot 3644; another in the form of a lotus leaf, sold at Christie’s London, 15th May 2007, lot 45; and a fourth cup, sold in our New York rooms, 25th September 1986, lot 271.

Each plant on this libation cup has been carefully chosen to create a work of art that is both a study of nature and brimming with symbolic meaning. Cockscomb (jiguanhua) blooms in the summer and the brightly coloured blossoms resemble the comb of a rooster, hence its name.  It has a long history of cultivation in China, and in art it conveys the auspicious message for promotion in rank and success.  Aster (cuiju) on the hand, also referred to as chrysanthemum in Chinese, is emblematic of autumn and symbolises longevity. Objects of this type were treasured꧙ by the scholar-literati for their fine design as well as for their medium and messag♐e they conveyed.