A VERY RARE 'GRAPE VINE' RHINOCEROS HORN LIBATION CUP, SIGNED ZI ZHEN 17TH CENTURY

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the broad shallow cup formed by a furled grape leaf, finely carved on the exterior in high relief with plump grapes growing from vines and  curling tendrils extending down from the sides, the handle formed by gnarled twisted vines, all resting on a bed of grapes forming the foot, the interior incised with the fine veins of the leaf, signed on the exterior in low relief Zi Zhen, the horn of rich auburn tone

Sotheby's New York, 10/11th April 1986, lot 294.
Collection of Franklin Chow.

Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 107.

Apart from a few minor nibbles and a few minor insect holes, the overall condition is very good. There is a small section of an openwork vine on the mouth that is missing and quite possibly a section of the handle may have been polished down near the base of the handle.
"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."

The two-character inscription in seal script, stet between grape vines on the front, reads Zi Zhen. Bao Yanli, Deputy Director and Research Associate at the Shanghai Museum believes that the inscription was made by the carver. It may be the carver's name or his style name (zi).  Although there is no record of Zi Zhen, a lotus form washer carved with a single crab, in the Shanghai Museum, bears the same two character signature.

This magnificent piece, fashioned as a large grape leaf with finely rendered veins and richly laden with large succulent grapes is a quirky example of a small group of rhinoceros horn carvings decorated with the fruit design. The cup is elegantly shaped and expertly fashioned; even the lip of the vessel is frilled in the form of a grape leaf with the fruit rendered in high relief bulging over the exterior of the surface. The exceptional quality and size of the material is also noteworthy.

The fruiting grapevine as a subject was especially popular in the Ming dynasty, and was frequently painted on early Ming blue and white wares such as the dish recovered from the waste heaps of the Ming Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen included in the exhibition Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, pl. 44. Grapes are also depicted with squirrels forming a popular motif that represent the wish for many children and ceaseless generations of sons and grandsons (songshu putao).

For related pieces, see a rhinoceros horn cup decorated with grape branches, leaves and fruit, in the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich, illustrated in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999. pl. 222; another in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, illustrated in Jan Chapman, 'Rhinoceros Horn Carvings and their Buffalo Horn Imitations', Orientations, January 1988, p. 41, fig.1; and a third example carved with the 'Grape and Squirrel' theme, included in the exhibition One Man's Taste. Treasures from the Lakeside Pavilion, Galleries of the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1988, cat. no. R13, from the collection of Edward Chow. Two cups decorated with grapes, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, are published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Shanghai, 2001, pls.114 and 130, the latter made by using a whole horn. Compare also a grape vine cup in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, published in Craig Clunas, Chinese Carving, London, 1996, fig. 35; one sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 154; and one from the Estate of Cyrus Jasperse, sold in our New York rooms, 13th June 1979, lot 133.