A FINE AND VERY RARE PARCEL-GILT 'RHINOCEROS' SILVER DISH TANG DYNASTY, 8TH/9TH CENTURY

of shallow circular shape, the flaring sides supported on a short splayed footring, the centre finely decorated in repoussé and parcel-gilt with the figure of a stylised rhinoceros, standing four-square, his head with a pointed smout facing left, issuing a long and a short horn and ears laid back, his stout figure with a scaly hide, supporting a lotus howdah carrying three large flowers, the figure enclosed by a raised and gilt ring, the rim similarly set with two raised and gilt lines, the back undecorated

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1954-55, cat. no. 120.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain. The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 59.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 120.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 123.

There is some disruption and pitting to the surface of the interior rim and a larger part of the area of the exterior of the dish may have either suffered from corrosion or may have been restored. Some minor chipping is evident to the rim of the dish. The surfaces of the dish appear to have been cleaned and may have been covered with a layer of lacquer or varnish to protect them from tarnishing. The surface shows very light overall wear and scratching consistent with age.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Depictions of a rhinoceros are extremely rare in the Tang dynasty, and in Chinese art in general, although the two-horned rhinoceros species depicted on this dish is recorded to have survived into the Tang dynasty in the Lingnan region of Guangdong and Guangxi, one of the main centres for Tang silver production. Compare a small parcel-gilt silver box from the Hejiacun hoard and now preserved in the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, also decorated with a small rhinoceros, published in Zhongguo jin yin boli falangqi quanji, vol. 2, Shijiazhuang, 2000, pl. 32.

A silver bowl decorated in repoussé with a rhinoceros was included in the exhibition Imperial Gold from Ancient China, Part II, Oriental Bronzes Ltd, London, 1991, cat. no. 6. In the exhibition catalogue it is mentioned, ibid., p. 22, that the ' anatomical portrayal of the animal is incorrect but it is characteristic of its Chinese interpretation. According to the official text recording the history of the Tang dynasty, rhinoceroses were sent to the Tang court by the South East Asians as tribute and gifts'.

A fragmentary quatrefoil oval silver gilt bowl with a reclining rhinoceros in the centre was also recovered from the Belitung wreck that sank off Indonesia in the early 9th century, probably on its way to Iran (as yet unpublished).

Another silver box with the motif of a single seated rhinoceros, in the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum, Kobe,was included in Sekai bijutsu taizenshu: Toyo hen, vol. 4, Tokyo, 1997, pl. 166.

For related examples of vessels decorated with animals in gilt repoussé on a plain silver ground, see a dish with a single mythical beast fashioned in heightened gilding, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Tangdai jinyin qi, Beijing, 1985, pl. 1; another dish decorated with a two-horned beast, in the Museum of Inner Mongolia, published in Zhang Jingming, Zhongguo beifang caoyuan gidai jinyin qi, Beijing, 2005, pls. 70-72; a Tang silver box of quatrefoil shape decorated with a scene depicting a lion attacking a deer, offered at Christie's London, 19^th June 1991, lot 45; and a lobed box with a crouching animal motif, sold in these rooms, 10^th June 1986, lot 38. Further examples of dishes of various forms with animal motifs in raised gilt are published in Zhongguo jin yin boli falangqi quanji, op.cit., pls. 46-48.