A very fine rhinoceros horn 'peony and mantis' libation cup


17th/18th centuryExquisitely carved as an open magnolia blossom with overlapping petals, a naturalistic praying mantis to the well, the handle formed as smooth branches issuing 'insect-eaten' leaves and a further meticulously carved pair of peony blossoms forming the base of the vessel, the horn of warm brownish-honey tone. 15.3cm (6in) long.
|十七/十八世紀 犀角富貴滿堂盃Provenance: an English private collection, and thence by descent來源：英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今The carving of the present lot is exquisite and detailed, with elegant spreading veins and curling raised leaf edges on the interior, contrasting with the crisp peony petals on the exterior and the humorous charming insect straddling two leaf tips, whose enjoyment of his environment is further hinted by the nibbled holes scattered on the leaves.J.Chapman illustrates a detail of a cup from the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich, ref.VIII.118, carved as a leaf with two praying mantis on the front and two more on the back: see The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p.184, no.245. Another libation cup similarly carved as a peony but with a butterfly and bee is illustrated in Ming and Qing Chinese Art from the C.P.Lin Collection, Hong Kong, 2014, p.290, no.174. Compare also a cup carved as a leaf embellished with a similar insect, 17th century, illustrated by T.Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, no.118, and two further rhinoceros horn libation cups with related treatment of the floral carving, 17th/18th century, illustrated ibid., nos.85 and 89.A similar rhinoceros horn libation cup, 18th century, was sold at Bonhams London, 14 May 2015, lot 248.