A SMALL RHINOCEROS HORN CUP WITH A HANDLE MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY

elegantly carved of conical form, the surface left plain save for a circular diaper ground beneath the rim on one side, opposite the delicate tapered handle issuing from a rectangular tab on the rim, suppored on a short waisted circular foot with a concave base, the highly polished patina of golden-amber tone

Collections of Edward T. Chow (purchased in London, 1968) and Franklin Chow.

Craving for Carvings: Rhinoceros Horn from the Chow Collection, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, 2003, cat. no. fc24.

Apart from a 1 cm filled age crack to the rim and a very minute polished nibble on the foot, the overall condition is very good. The surface is very well preserved.
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This miniature cup is both delightful and elegant. It embodies what was considered to be in the 'scholar's taste' during the Ming dynasty. The low foot supports a plain and elegantly curved body decorated with a single round cartouche containing the 'earth' diaper. The handle, also left plain, complements the overall form of the vessel with its pleasing curvature. The modelling of the cup is imbued with grace and vitality.  In his notes Edward Chow comments on its beauty and says, 'kexi de zhi (I am very happy to have it)'.

Attributed to the 16th century, this cup is one of the earliest examples in the collection. It was made when rhinoceros horn was rare and considered highly valuable by the Ming court. In fact, during the early Ming dynasty the craft of horn carving was exclusively controlled by the imperial court. Artisans produced pieces that enhanced the material so that it could be fully appreciated. It was only later, when there was an increase in the supply of horn that more intricately carved designs started appearing with emphasis on skill and technique rather than on the material. 

The 'earth' diaper is discussed by Jan Chapman in The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, p. 149, where she illustrates a cup from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, pl.175. See also a cup, from the Sloane collection and now in the British Museum, London, published in Soame Jenyns, 'The Chinese Rhinoceros and Chinese Carvings in Rhinoceros Horn', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramics Society, 1954-55, pl. 24, fig. A1; and one in the Gerard Levy Collection, Paris, included in Chapman, op.cit., pl. 195, with two roundels containing the 'earth' diaper as its only decoration. This motif continued to be used on later vessels, however, in almost all cases, covering large areas of the body and serving as the main decorative design; see for example a guang form cup illustrated in The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2004, pl. 216, attributed to the Qing dynasty, together with another vessel, pl. 221, also of the mid-Qing period.