A RARE RHINOCEROS HORN 'THREE-STRING' VASE, LAIFUZUN QING DYNASTY

elegantly carved with a slender ovoid body rising at an angle from a low, neatly cut footring, sweeping up to a high rounded shoulder and a trumpet neck circled with three raised fillets, the recessed based inscribed in relief with an apocryphal four-character Kangxi yuzhi mark within a raised circle, the banxi horn of rich golden brown colour figured with reddish-brown streaks, the surface finished to a smooth patina, carved wood stand

Yamanaka & Co., 1940.
Collection of Kenneth Mroczenski.
Collection of Gary Mack (acquired in 1982).

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth: Gems of Antiquities Collections in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 2004.

Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pls. 351-2.
Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 126.

The vase is in overall very good condition.
"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."

Rhinoceros horn carvings of vases are extremely rare.  Only one other vase of this shape is recorded, from the collection of Angela Chau, illustrated and discussed in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 91.

For examples of rhinoceros horn vases see a beautiful plain ribbed vase, attributed to the 18th century, in the collection of the Harvard University Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass., included in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 125, and in Chapman, op.cit., pl. 92, where the piece is depicted with four lotus leaves, a lotus bud and a lotus blossom, all of which have long stems that fit into the top of the vase, suggesting how it may have been used at the court. Chapman, op.cit., pl. 93, also illustrates a vase, in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, of bottle form and carved with an archaistic motif; and another ‘archaistic’ vase is included in Fok, op.cit., from the collection of Dora Wong. Compare another bottle vase sold in these rooms, 9th October 2012, lot 3051, inscribed with the owner’s name and bearing a poem referring to its use.

The form of the vase is well known from contemporary peachbloom or celadon glaze ceramic vessels called ‘three-string’ or ‘radish vases’ (sanxian or laifuping).  For Kangxi mark and period peachbloom vases of this type see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 137, pl. 120, together with a celadon-glazed version, p. 146, pl. 129; and another, from the Meiyintang collection, offered in these rooms, 7th April 2011, lot 20B, part of a group of seven peachbloom vessels made for the scholar’s desk.