A DEHUA MOLDED 'IMMORATLITY' LIBATION CUP 18th centuryPROPERTY OF VARIOUS OWNERSA DEHUA MOLDED 'IMMORATLITY' LIBATION CUP18th centuryMolded in the form of a rhinoceros horn libation cup, one side with a deer walking beneath a towering pine branch and a crane soaring overhead, the opposite side with a four-claw dragon pursuing a flaming pearl all above a fish leaping from the water, covered overall in an ivory glaze, the recessed base unglazed. 5 1/4in (13.3cm) wide十八世紀 德化窯白釉凸花紋杯Provenance:Ex. coll. Bishop William C. White (1873-1960), by repute (according to label)Bishop White was born in England and moved to Ontario, Canada with his family as a young child. He became an Anglican missionary to China, first from 1897 to 1909 in Fujian province as part of the Canadian Church Missionary, and after he was promoted to Bishop in 1909, he served in Henan province until 1934. Upon his return to Canada, White became Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Toronto and Keeper of the East Asiatic Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. His legacy is closely associated with important Chinese art collections and with early scholarship in that field.